September 4, 2019
Celebration of New Life in Tirana
Jim Fox, the long-time member of the WEI board of directors, has taught WEI students in Tirana, Albania virtually every summer for two decades, and God has used him to lead many of his students to Christ. This summer was no exception.
On September 4, Sadete Hoxha (WEI Secretary in Tirana), wrote, “Klea Hyka was baptized last evening. She is the daughter of Arjan and Aida, two faithful Christians. Klea studied with Sofi Xhaferaj [and Jim Fox] this Summer Session. She is continuing to study with Brother Jim. It was an evening filled with joy. Thank God!”
Jim writes, “Klea had expressed her desire to give her life to Jesus Christ, and subsequently, she woke up in the middle of the night and told her mother that she was ready to be baptized. At her baptism, there was a great celebration at the Tirana Church of Christ—a celebration attended by her family and a large number of church members and friends.
“Klea has been a part of the Tirana church most of her life. Her father, Arjan, her mother, Aida, and her sister, Kamila, were all taught with WEI materials by Ellen Walker, a longtime missionary who lives in Albania. Praise God for this new Christian, and for families like this.”
Editorial comment: At the turn of the 21st century, WEI short-term missionaries ate lunch together at the London Restaurant in downtown Tirana. The head waiter who served us each day was a friendly young man by the name of Arjan Hyka. When Arjan showed an interest in Christ, Ellen Walker studied with him, and he was baptized. Ellen then studied with Arjan’s sweet Muslim wife Aida, but Aida was highly resistant to the gospel. Ellen was almost ready to give up on her when she surrendered her life to Christ. I was there to share the joy when Arjan baptized his wife in an outdoor baptistery. There was hardly a dry eye in the group.
Later, Aida gave birth to a daughter, and they named her Kamila. When Kamila came of age, Ellen studied with her, and she obeyed the gospel. Now, all four members of the Hyka family are Christians. In this one family, we see evidence of the ongoing work of God in Albania, our beautiful little nation just north of Greece on the Adriatic Sea.
