October 5, 2005
On October 3 and 4, six men met at the Adams Boulevard church building in Bartlesville, Oklahoma to finalize plans for launching International Bible Institute of Albania: Steve Stamatis, Bob Seat, Art Henley, Doug Reeves, Chris Swinford, and Dick Ady.
Initially, IBIA will conduct classes in an apartment in Tirana. This apartment will also serve as a dining hall and dormitory facility for full-time male students. As soon as the new multipurpose building is completed next door, IBIA will share classroom space with WEI and the church.
About $10,000 will be needed for purchasing chairs, desks, file cabinet, white board, markers, TV, VCR, teaching materials, bunk beds, linens, washing machine, pots, pans, dishes, flatware, fans, and a generator. $6,350 has already been given. That means we need to raise another $3,650 to get started.
Seven men have expressed a desire to study at IBIA: (1) Bledi Valca, (2) Besnik Balliu, (3) Skender Kola, (4) Dashmir Xhika, (5) Driton Mallaku, (6) Elvin Xhimitiku, and (7) Ray Wheeler. Inquiries have also come in from Nigeria, India, and the Netherlands. Each fulltime Albanian student will need a scholarship fund of $400 a month. This fund will cover the cost of food, lodging, classroom space, study materials, and a $50 stipend for transportation and personal items. The Adams Boulevard congregation has agreed to provide scholarship funds for three students. An estimated eight students will enroll in the first class. That means we must find scholarships for four or five additional students. On weekends and during the summer months, the students will work with their own Albanian churches, preaching and teaching.
At this point, one church in Arkansas has pledged $100 a month toward a student scholarship. Are there other congregations who will help these promising young men prepare for ministry? Please put IBIA in your church budget during the coming year.
For more information about IBIA, contact Dick Ady at weiady@aol.com or call
503-661-0348.
