A Tale of Two Young Girls...

CrossWorld has been working in this Balkan country for roughly 5 years. The following story that we received from our team there this week illustrates the extreme difficulties that both missionaries and the locals face on a daily basis... 'Johanna' is a very outspoken Albanian teenager. She knows what she wants and what she doesn't want in life. Yet, here, there is no luxury of deciding what she wants out of life. The pinnacle of life for a woman is the hope that she will be the first wife of a good man with a good job and that they will have many kids.

'Danielle' rides her bike on the train tracks to camp every morning because she can’t bear to pass by her old house on the main street. Back in 2004, the Albanians burned 25 Serbian houses in an act of power against the Serbians.

One of those homes happened to be 'Danielle's'. Since then, her life is spent in defense of herself, her family, and her Serbian Orthodox heritage. These determined girls mean so much to me and I will never forget their friendship. I encourage you all to continue to pray for 'Danielle' and 'Johanna'. They are so alike, but their nationality divides them. Pray for unity in this region. There is not one known Christian in the whole city of some 50,000 people, so pray for interest and a church in this area. The spiritual oppression is great, and to become a Christian is to turn your back on your own culture, so pray for whole families and communities to come to Christ.