August 20, 2024 • 29 mins
What lead a devout Muslim boy from Albania to radically change his beliefs and embrace Christianity?
In this episode Hervin Fushikati, hares his journey from a strict Muslim upbringing to discovering faith in Christ. Hervin's story is intertwined with the rich history of Albania, once known as Illyricum, and its turbulent journey through the centuries. From being a Christian nation mentioned in the Bible to enduring Ottoman rule and becoming a predominantly Muslim country, Hervin offers a unique perspective on Albania's spiritual landscape. His personal transformation began in an extremist mosque and culminated in an unexpected encounter with a loving Christian community that forever changed his life.
You will also learn the socio-economic challenges Albania faces today, including youth migration and corruption, and explore how the church can be a beacon of hope. Hervin shares inspiring tales of Albanian hero Skanderbeg, who defended Europe against the Ottoman Empire, drawing parallels between historical and contemporary faith-driven transformations. As we wrap up, we highlight opportunities for global mission work, encouraging those who feel called to make a difference to consider joining our mission to Albania in March 2025. Hervin's journey is a testament to the transformative power of faith, and we invite you to visit World Missions Alliance's website at rfwma.org to learn more about participating in short-term missions across 32 countries. Don't miss out on this heartfelt and inspiring conversation.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Limitless Spirit, a weekly podcast with
host Helen Todd, where sheinterviews guests about pursuing
spiritual growth, discoveringlife's purpose through serving
others and developing a deeperfaith in Christ.
Welcome to the.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Limitless Spirit, a podcast for those who are
actively pursuing their greaterpurpose in Christ.
One of my favorite parts ofgetting to know a person is
hearing how they came to knowJesus.
My guest today is HervinFushikati.
He is a Christian leader from aMuslim country of Albania and
(00:38):
his story is quite remarkablebecause it does not involve a
person directly sharing thegospel with him.
In this conversation, hervinshares some incredible facts
about his beautiful country.
He talks about the uniquehistory of Albania, what is
happening there today and howmissions-minded Christians can
(01:00):
impact Albania for Christ.
You will also hear what hethinks about the Trump family
developing an Albanian islandinto a luxury resort.
Hello, herben, welcome to theLimitless Spirit.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Hello, good to be here.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
It is so cool that you are joining us all the way
from Tirana, albania.
Thank God for technology right.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Amen, yes indeed.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Well, I think we're going to have a very interesting
conversation, because not onlyyou deeply love your country,
but you're also a history buff,so anyone who wants to know more
about Albania today is in for atreat.
I personally love when you giveus tours when we're in Albania,
because I feel like each time Ilearn so much.
(01:52):
But you know, for our listenerswho maybe don't know much about
Albania, what are some of themost important things that you
would want them to know aboutyour country.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Well, our ancient name is Illyricum, which stands
for the free ones.
It is a.
It's mentioned in the Bible, inRomans and, as a matter of fact
, when the Roman Empire wasexpanding, they built highways
to connect the east to the west,and these highways passed
(02:26):
through Albania, right in thecenter, and because of that it
became a very strategic location.
As a matter of fact, it wasused for commerce, for military
purposes, but it was also usedfor the expansion of the gospel.
When Paul says in Romans thatyou know, under the power of the
(02:50):
Holy Spirit, he has preachedthe gospel from Jerusalem and
all the cross until Illyricum,followed by signs and wonders,
in the power of the Holy Spirit,he actually.
The reason for it is because hewas going through the routes
(03:10):
where the population had spreadin that time of the world.
So, as a matter of fact, paulwas possibly in Illyricum trying
to fundraise to further hismission to Europe, and he is
writing a letter to the Romansstanding on the other side of
(03:32):
the Adriatic at that time.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
I find it incredibly cool that Christianity came to
Albania through the Apostle Paulor, you know, other early
Christian missionaries, andthrough centuries.
There were many differentinfluences that came to Albania,
including Islam through theOttoman Empire, and then atheism
(03:54):
.
Albania was known as theofficially atheist country
during the years of thecommunist regime, but now that
there is freedom in Albania, Ifeel like this wave of
Christianity is returning toyour country, and so what a
great testament to the fact thatthe seeds of the gospel are
(04:16):
never lost, even if, for a time,they have to remain deep in the
ground.
So I want to ask you about yourstories.
How did you come to know Christ?
Because you were born in aMuslim family.
Am I correct?
Speaker 3 (04:32):
That's correct.
Yes, so Albania, it'spredominantly a Muslim country.
About 75%, 80% of thepopulation of the Albanians is
Muslim.
Originally it used to be aChristian country, but we were
under the Ottoman Empire forabout 500 years and as a result
(04:52):
of that, culture was imposed.
You know, muslim culture wasimposed in Albania and you know,
moving fast forward 500 yearslater, I am born in a Muslim
family.
For a lot of Albanians, to bean Albanian means to be also a
Muslim.
So for me, the history it'sactually interesting because it
(05:15):
was the mosque that introducedme to the Christians and then to
the gospel, in a way, the youthactivities that the mosque that
I was attending was a kind ofan extremist group, so they were
giving me and other youth,muslim youth.
They were giving us brochures,written some of them from Ahmed
(05:37):
Didat, trying to disproveChristianity or to say to prove
that the Bible is not the wordof God and it's a corruption of
what the Christians did with theBible.
So I was 17 years old, I wouldgo to one of the first churches
that was planted in Albania,evangelical Church, and I'll try
(06:01):
to distribute this literature.
One of the brochures was evencalled the 50,000 Mistakes of
the Bible.
What was interesting was that,even though the Christians knew
my agenda and they knew that myintentions were not good ones
you know I was trying to causeintimidation, make noise in the
(06:21):
church during worship and allthis Yet they were very happy to
see me come back.
They would welcome me back.
That was one thing, the lovethat they had for me.
The other thing that I noticedwas that during worship service,
the Christians had testimonytime and in the testimony time I
(06:44):
saw these teenagers that wouldactually claim to speak to God
or to hear from God.
Now, in a Muslim context, thepeople that hear from God have a
very special status, that is,the status of a prophet, and
that was Muhammad.
Muhammad heard from God.
He was the messenger of God.
(07:04):
So here I am in this church andit is shocking to me because
this church is like infestedwith teenage prophets.
So that was also shocking forme.
In the debates that I wouldhave with the Christians, they
would always tell me in a veryloving way that I was taking
things out of context.
So when I would quote from thescriptures, from you know, based
(07:27):
on this leaflets from AhmedDidat, they said haven't you
taken that out of context.
So I placed a commitment onmyself to be a better debater
against Christians.
So in order to do that, Istarted to read the Bible, the
New Testament, the Old Testamentback then was not translated
(07:49):
yet, so and I started with theGospel of Matthew.
You know Mark, luke and thenJohn.
When I reached the gospel ofJohn, I understood that for
Christians, jesus is the.
You're either included orexcluded in salvation through
(08:12):
Jesus.
Because John 3 speaks about.
You know that he who has theSon has life.
He who does not have the Sonshall not see life.
Has the son has life.
He who does not have the sonshall not see life.
So for me it was.
I came to a by the time this wasa process of about several
(08:33):
weeks and for me it was likewhat if the Christians are right
and the Muslims are wrong?
You know I understand how thegospel works because I've been
debating it for several months.
It's not like I'm accepting it,but I understand how it works.
I understand that Jesus diedfor the sins of humanity and so
I thought I should give it toGod in prayer.
Now you've got to understandalso that I am surrounded by
(08:57):
love of these Christians.
I also am always welcome back.
I also am faced with the dailytestimonies of the Christians
where they claim to hear fromGod.
So I was like I'm going to giveit to God in prayer and ask God
for a sign and experience, justlike these Christians have an
experience.
I gave God three options.
(09:18):
I said God, you can cause anearthquake, you can shoot the
lightning or you can cause awind inside of this room.
And then I waited and waitedfor a miracle.
None of those miracles actuallyhappened.
But what was interesting wasthat right after I go back to
church the next time to debate,to intimidate Christians, today,
(09:43):
when I look at it inretrospective, the whole
spiritual atmosphere in thechurch had changed.
During the worship, I startedhaving an emotional reflection
to what the songs you know wasbeing said, you know.
And during the sermon thepreacher starts speaking about
(10:04):
sin and I have this strongconviction that I'm a sinner.
And then he talks about Jesus,how Jesus died for our sins, and
I have a strong convictionabout that.
Only Jesus can take away my sin.
So and this I believe is a workof the Holy Spirit, because
Jesus himself promised in John14 and then John 16, he says
(10:27):
that there will be two thingsthat the Holy Spirit will do
when he comes he will bringconviction of sin and he will
testify for Jesus.
So, and this was exactly whathad happened, and so, and this
was exactly what had happened, Ihad prayed, a sincere prayer to
God, even though God did notanswer exactly what I requested.
(10:47):
You know those three miracles.
He had used that opportunityfor the Holy Spirit to come in
my life and then, you know,bring conviction of sin and then
testify about that.
I need Jesus.
So, this powerful emotionalexperience, you know I would
have goosebumps and tearsrepeated itself.
That worship service, the nextone and the next one, until I
(11:10):
finally surrendered my life toJesus.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
So you know, your story is a very interesting
perspective on what missionarywork is all about, because it
seems like sometimes it is moreimportant to be a Christian than
to preach Christianity, becauseit wasn't a person that won you
to Christ, it was the HolySpirit working in your heart and
(11:35):
in your spirit.
But that love that theChristians showed you, in spite
of you being the disruptor andthe opponent initially, what
kept you coming back.
And so what a beautiful,beautiful testimony really
blessed my heart hearing thisstory.
(11:55):
So what is happening in Albaniatoday from the Christian
perspective?
Do you feel like there is arevival of Christian faith?
Is there a hunger?
What is happening?
Speaker 3 (12:08):
I believe, first of all, what happened to me can
happen to a lot of other Muslimsor nominal Muslims that are in
Albania.
The Holy Spirit isorchestrating a certain context,
different people that arehungry, spiritually hungry, and
they want to know more and wantto know God in a personal level
(12:28):
and have a personal experience.
So it's not like one particularway or another.
Just like in the Bible, it saysthat you know, one sows,
another one waters, and Godmakes it, you know, grow.
So we do not know when wechoose to join to trips, to come
(12:49):
to Albania and share the gospel.
We do not know at what pointGod is actually bringing us to
this plan, that he's about toget ready and to harvest the
soul that he will harvest.
What I want to say asencouragement, though, is that
the Albanian people are a veryloving people, very friendly.
They like to talk about God andhear about God.
(13:12):
Even if they would come from aMuslim background, they are very
open to hear about the gospel.
They are not mostly, they arenot antagonistic, you know,
especially in the big cities,they're open to let, to allow
their children also to hear thegospel.
So this is a great opportunity.
(13:32):
I'm reminded that Jesus wouldsend, two by two, his disciples
to different places and he wouldsay you know, if you find a
person of peace, do not moveaway from him.
You know, go and stay with thisperson of peace.
And my encouragement is that inAlbania, when Christians come,
(13:52):
they will find a lot of peopleof peace that will be open to
hear about the gospel and to berooted in some kind of a
Christian community and thengrow.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
And I certainly witnessed this myself Absolutely
loved interacting with theAlbanian people.
So let's talk about what's theheartbeat of Albania today.
What are some of the challengesthat Albania is facing as a
country?
What are some of the concernsthat are on people's minds?
Speaker 3 (14:24):
The big concerns in Albania would be some economical
concerns.
Albania is somewhat, you know,geographically it's an integral
part of the European continentand with the changes in policies
in Europe have made it morefavorable for people to
immigrate.
(14:44):
So a lot of Albanians and youthis immigrating and leaving the
country.
This is to some extentparalyzing the social fabric in
Albania, you know, when it comesto professionality, in the
medical sector, in the educationsector and all of that.
So this would be the bigchallenge A lot of youth is
(15:06):
leaving and churches arestruggling, the economy, the
society in general, isstruggling because of that, so
that I would say, together withmaybe some levels of corruption
in the policy, in the politics,this would be the main problems
in Albania.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
I see.
So how do you feel Christianitycan address these problems?
And maybe, yeah, how do youfeel overall the church in
Albania can address theseproblems?
Speaker 3 (15:43):
do you feel, overall, the church in Albania can
address these problems?
Yes, correct.
I think one of the main thingsis that different social
structures, you know, like thechurch actually being on the
lead of it, you know needs toencourage.
What are the main?
If we could talk in a capitalaspect, you know what is the
strongest social capital that wehave, the identity that we have
(16:04):
as being Christian and beingAlbanian.
What does that mean?
How can we actually contribute,be encouraged?
The challenge with a lot of theyouth that is leaving the
country is that they arediscouraged, and I believe the
economical aspect can stilldiscourage, can still disappoint
.
You know, wherever they go, ifthey do not know God, they will
(16:28):
be disappointed, you know.
So I think that is why thechurch needs to even stronger
share the gospel, use thisopportunity of people being open
.
This openness, thisfriendliness that we have can be
utilized by God, by the HolySpirit, for people to convert,
to be transformed and then to becontributors, even in a
(16:49):
sacrificial way.
Stick in the country, stay inthe country, stay around and
improve the country.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
It's interesting because one of my previous
podcasts I was talking withPastor Berer from Serbia.
You know him and he was talkingabout Serbian nationalism and
how it sometimes can be toxicand how in many ways
incompatible with trueChristianity.
(17:16):
But it seems like for Albania,perhaps Christianity can revive
the nationalism in society wherethey can embrace their country
and commit to their country andto the well-being of their
country.
Do you think so?
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Yeah, that's interesting.
There is different factorsplaying in the Balkans.
So in Albania, because ofhistory, Albanians always have
felt in a humbling way as aninferior group, so the national
pride is not really playing andnationalism is not playing a
(17:53):
very important role in Albania.
So I think the humbleness thatthe people have connected with
Christianity actually will playa very important role.
This would not be the same, Ithink, if it would be in Greece
or in Serbia, where the nationalpride is at a much higher level
.
We don't really have that, youknow.
(18:16):
That's why the Albanians mightbe leaving.
You know they are like they.
It's not that they don't havelove for the country, but they
are looking for a different kindof identity.
They have a kind of lost theirown identity and I think the
true identity that will neverdisappoint is, whether we are
Albanians or Serbs or Greeks,the real identity is in Christ,
(18:36):
because he is the image of Godand he's the redemption of the
image of God in every human,whether it's Albanian or Serb or
Greek.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Amen to that.
I couldn't agree more with you.
Well, our conversation aboutAlbania would not be complete if
we didn't talk about yournational hero, Skanderbeg.
So for people who have neverheard about him, why is he a
hero and what is his story?
Speaker 3 (19:06):
Yeah, well, in many similar ways.
So he's a hero to me first ofall.
So he's a national hero, buthe's also my personal hero.
We mentioned the Via Ignatia,or the highways that the Romans
built 2,000 years ago.
Those roads were utilized 1,500years later by the Ottomans to
(19:28):
have the Muslim expansion ofEurope and in order for them to
go to Europe, they needed tomaintain and control this
pathway, this road, the Agnatia.
And our national hero has asimilar history of mine.
He was taken, forced into Islam.
He became a Muslim general,then top general.
(19:52):
He was the one that was sent toconquer Europe.
He was sent to conquer an armyled by Hunyadi, the national
hero of Hungary, Hunyadi, thenational hero of Hungary.
On the way, he has a conversionexperience to Christianity,
no-transcript.
And he took control of theVyagnatia, or of this narrow
(20:14):
valleys through the mountains inAlbania.
And it's a miracle because,with an army of about 5,000 to
8,000 people for 30 years, afull generation he put a stop to
the Muslim expansion or theTurkish expansion.
The Turks put all the effortsthey had at times 250,000
(20:38):
soldiers against just 5,000 or8,000 soldiers, because they
needed to conquer Skanderbeg inorder to go to Europe.
Bankrupted, A lot of historianssay that if it was not for the
event of Skanderbeg, ournational hero, Europe, would be
(20:59):
a Muslim country.
But because he put a stop andhe bankrupted them, Europe and
the rest of the world, you know,because it was the developed
world of the time, the developedChristian world.
Now it's a Christian world.
But the interesting thing is,though a lot of historians still
debate why he won, why he wonall the battles, I personally
(21:21):
believe that his Christian faith, connected with the war and
defense of, you know, Albania,played a very important role.
Some of the chronicles thatspeak about him speak how he
encourages soldiers by quotingscriptures.
For example, he would say ifGod is for us in this war, who
(21:41):
can be against us?
So, with that encouragement anda lot of sacrifice, they
actually withstood a powerful,mighty army, and it is proof
that God was on his side of thishumble Christian.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Wow, you know.
So many conversion experiencesin our conversation today point
to the fact how much value is inconversion of just one person.
You know, paul becoming aChristian led to Albania having
Christian roots, and Skanderbegbecoming a Christian led to
Albania having Christian roots,and Skanderbeg becoming a
Christian essentially influencedthe Christianity remaining the
(22:23):
prevalent religion in Europe.
And then your conversionessentially leads to you being
in charge of ISTL and one of thebest educational institutions
in the Balkans, raisingChristian leaders.
Let's talk about that, thankyou.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Yes, about 16 years ago, at the church that I
planted, we needed to have aneducational program that would
train other leaders to encouragediscipleship and as a byproduct
of that, a lot of churcheswould be planted.
And it started with a veryhumble beginning, but then it
(23:03):
moved beyond our church borders,our denominational borders and
now national borders.
So the International School ofTheology and Leadership today
has every year about 150students that are pioneers for
the gospel in many, manydifferent ways, and ministries
(23:23):
primarily focused indiscipleship and mission work.
So I'm very excited to say thatin the last 16 years over 120
churches have been blended.
Last 16 years over 120 churcheshave been planted and,
interesting enough, all thesechurches have been planted If we
trace the Pauline routes,missionary journeys and Peter's
(23:45):
missionary journey to go to Rome.
These churches have beenplanted right along this Via
Ignatia.
Via ignatia, you know, fromdurus, tirana, elbasan, going to
macedonia, to ohrid and beyond.
So I'm very excited that in thisstretch of the road we are
experiencing a reverse ofevangelism.
(24:07):
You know, the gospel, accordingto paul, started in jerusalem
and when he was writing Romansit had reached already Illyricum
and Rome and he wanted tofurther it away through the
corners of the earth.
Today, we see that there ismore Christians in the outer
skirts of the earth of what usedto be from Jerusalem.
(24:28):
The outer skirts, you know,latin America, us, korea,
australia, indonesia, china, allof these countries.
And I believe that the gospelis about to reverse back,
following those ancient routes,those ancient journeys, like
that ripple effect, and is goingto go back to Jerusalem, which
(24:49):
is interesting because Jerusalemand Israel is a kind of
surrounded by Muslim countriesaround that were once Christian
countries, and I believe thatGod is going to use, you know,
like former Muslim Albanians, toreverse this evangelism back
all the way to Jerusalem as wewait for the return of our Lord.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Oh, my goodness, you made me so excited, excited
about the work I'm doing.
And, of course, all the roadsgo through Illyricum, so the
gospel will be channeled throughAlbania back to Jerusalem.
My goodness, how amazing isthat.
Well before we finish ourconversation, that Well before
(25:37):
we finish our conversation, Iwant to address the modern day
news.
So apparently, the Trump familyis developing an island in
Albania.
Is that true?
Speaker 3 (25:52):
That's indeed.
Yes, yes, it's actually ourbiggest island.
We hear it on the news and wecheck on the news.
I actually was on holidays veryclose to the island, wanted to
do a trip there before itstarted getting developed.
But it's a lot of excitementabout it because it's going to
bring it's going to strengthenthe economy.
So it's a good thing for ourcountry.
It's going to strengthen theeconomy.
I think our governmental systemis happy because it's going to
bring a lot of taxes in.
But I also am happy becauseit's going to bring a lot of
(26:16):
taxes in.
But I also am happy becauseit's going to encourage
employment in the country andthose professionals that I said
that are immigrating outside ofthe country.
This kind of entrepreneurshipis going to keep them in country
.
So it's a beautiful area ofAlbania, so I'm happy it's going
to be developed that way.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
So I'm happy it's going to be developed that way.
Well, God works in mysteriousways and seems like he's
answering the prayers ofChristians to keep the brain
power in Albania.
So we'll see what comes throughthat.
Well, thank you so much, Hervin, for this conversation.
We look forward to being withyou next year in March, and in
(26:56):
the meantime, my prayer is thatGod blesses your work, your
ministry and your familyabundantly.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
Thank you very much, helen, and thank you for
reaching out and thank you forencouraging good friends and
ambassadors for Albania, for themission of God here in Albania.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
What I loved about Hervin's salvation story is that
, though nobody formally sharedthe gospel with him, the way
church members treated a Muslimboy trying to disrupt their
services intrigued him enough todig deeper.
The Great Commission can beaccomplished in many different
(27:39):
ways.
If Jesus' call to go into allthe world and make disciples
resonates with your heart.
If Hervin's story about Albaniapiqued your interest about his
lovely country, perhaps you canpray about joining our mission
to Albania in March of 2025.
(28:00):
Visit the website for WorldMissions Alliance it's rfwmaorg
and find out how you can becomeinvolved in taking the gospel to
the nations.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Until next time, I'm Helen Todd.
Others experience thistransformation.
Christ called his followers tomake disciples across the world.
World Missions Alliance givesyou an opportunity to do this
through short-term missions inover 32 countries across the
globe.
If you want to help those whoare hurting and hopeless and
discover your greater purpose inserving, check out our website
(28:53):
rfwmaorg and find out how to getinvolved.
Welcome to Limitless Spirit, a weekly podcast with
host Helen Todd, where sheinterviews guests about pursuing
spiritual growth, discoveringlife's purpose through serving
others and developing a deeperfaith in Christ.
Welcome to the.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Limitless Spirit, a podcast for those who are
actively pursuing their greaterpurpose in Christ.
One of my favorite parts ofgetting to know a person is
hearing how they came to knowJesus.
My guest today is HervinFushikati.
He is a Christian leader from aMuslim country of Albania and
(00:38):
his story is quite remarkablebecause it does not involve a
person directly sharing thegospel with him.
In this conversation, hervinshares some incredible facts
about his beautiful country.
He talks about the uniquehistory of Albania, what is
happening there today and howmissions-minded Christians can
(01:00):
impact Albania for Christ.
You will also hear what hethinks about the Trump family
developing an Albanian islandinto a luxury resort.
Hello, herben, welcome to theLimitless Spirit.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
Hello, good to be here.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
It is so cool that you are joining us all the way
from Tirana, albania.
Thank God for technology right.
Speaker 3 (01:29):
Amen, yes indeed.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Well, I think we're going to have a very interesting
conversation, because not onlyyou deeply love your country,
but you're also a history buff,so anyone who wants to know more
about Albania today is in for atreat.
I personally love when you giveus tours when we're in Albania,
because I feel like each time Ilearn so much.
(01:52):
But you know, for our listenerswho maybe don't know much about
Albania, what are some of themost important things that you
would want them to know aboutyour country.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Well, our ancient name is Illyricum, which stands
for the free ones.
It is a.
It's mentioned in the Bible, inRomans and, as a matter of fact
, when the Roman Empire wasexpanding, they built highways
to connect the east to the west,and these highways passed
(02:26):
through Albania, right in thecenter, and because of that it
became a very strategic location.
As a matter of fact, it wasused for commerce, for military
purposes, but it was also usedfor the expansion of the gospel.
When Paul says in Romans thatyou know, under the power of the
(02:50):
Holy Spirit, he has preachedthe gospel from Jerusalem and
all the cross until Illyricum,followed by signs and wonders,
in the power of the Holy Spirit,he actually.
The reason for it is because hewas going through the routes
(03:10):
where the population had spreadin that time of the world.
So, as a matter of fact, paulwas possibly in Illyricum trying
to fundraise to further hismission to Europe, and he is
writing a letter to the Romansstanding on the other side of
(03:32):
the Adriatic at that time.
Speaker 2 (03:32):
I find it incredibly cool that Christianity came to
Albania through the Apostle Paulor, you know, other early
Christian missionaries, andthrough centuries.
There were many differentinfluences that came to Albania,
including Islam through theOttoman Empire, and then atheism
(03:54):
.
Albania was known as theofficially atheist country
during the years of thecommunist regime, but now that
there is freedom in Albania, Ifeel like this wave of
Christianity is returning toyour country, and so what a
great testament to the fact thatthe seeds of the gospel are
(04:16):
never lost, even if, for a time,they have to remain deep in the
ground.
So I want to ask you about yourstories.
How did you come to know Christ?
Because you were born in aMuslim family.
Am I correct?
Speaker 3 (04:32):
That's correct.
Yes, so Albania, it'spredominantly a Muslim country.
About 75%, 80% of thepopulation of the Albanians is
Muslim.
Originally it used to be aChristian country, but we were
under the Ottoman Empire forabout 500 years and as a result
(04:52):
of that, culture was imposed.
You know, muslim culture wasimposed in Albania and you know,
moving fast forward 500 yearslater, I am born in a Muslim
family.
For a lot of Albanians, to bean Albanian means to be also a
Muslim.
So for me, the history it'sactually interesting because it
(05:15):
was the mosque that introducedme to the Christians and then to
the gospel, in a way, the youthactivities that the mosque that
I was attending was a kind ofan extremist group, so they were
giving me and other youth,muslim youth.
They were giving us brochures,written some of them from Ahmed
(05:37):
Didat, trying to disproveChristianity or to say to prove
that the Bible is not the wordof God and it's a corruption of
what the Christians did with theBible.
So I was 17 years old, I wouldgo to one of the first churches
that was planted in Albania,evangelical Church, and I'll try
(06:01):
to distribute this literature.
One of the brochures was evencalled the 50,000 Mistakes of
the Bible.
What was interesting was that,even though the Christians knew
my agenda and they knew that myintentions were not good ones
you know I was trying to causeintimidation, make noise in the
(06:21):
church during worship and allthis Yet they were very happy to
see me come back.
They would welcome me back.
That was one thing, the lovethat they had for me.
The other thing that I noticedwas that during worship service,
the Christians had testimonytime and in the testimony time I
(06:44):
saw these teenagers that wouldactually claim to speak to God
or to hear from God.
Now, in a Muslim context, thepeople that hear from God have a
very special status, that is,the status of a prophet, and
that was Muhammad.
Muhammad heard from God.
He was the messenger of God.
(07:04):
So here I am in this church andit is shocking to me because
this church is like infestedwith teenage prophets.
So that was also shocking forme.
In the debates that I wouldhave with the Christians, they
would always tell me in a veryloving way that I was taking
things out of context.
So when I would quote from thescriptures, from you know, based
(07:27):
on this leaflets from AhmedDidat, they said haven't you
taken that out of context.
So I placed a commitment onmyself to be a better debater
against Christians.
So in order to do that, Istarted to read the Bible, the
New Testament, the Old Testamentback then was not translated
(07:49):
yet, so and I started with theGospel of Matthew.
You know Mark, luke and thenJohn.
When I reached the gospel ofJohn, I understood that for
Christians, jesus is the.
You're either included orexcluded in salvation through
(08:12):
Jesus.
Because John 3 speaks about.
You know that he who has theSon has life.
He who does not have the Sonshall not see life.
Has the son has life.
He who does not have the sonshall not see life.
So for me it was.
I came to a by the time this wasa process of about several
(08:33):
weeks and for me it was likewhat if the Christians are right
and the Muslims are wrong?
You know I understand how thegospel works because I've been
debating it for several months.
It's not like I'm accepting it,but I understand how it works.
I understand that Jesus diedfor the sins of humanity and so
I thought I should give it toGod in prayer.
Now you've got to understandalso that I am surrounded by
(08:57):
love of these Christians.
I also am always welcome back.
I also am faced with the dailytestimonies of the Christians
where they claim to hear fromGod.
So I was like I'm going to giveit to God in prayer and ask God
for a sign and experience, justlike these Christians have an
experience.
I gave God three options.
(09:18):
I said God, you can cause anearthquake, you can shoot the
lightning or you can cause awind inside of this room.
And then I waited and waitedfor a miracle.
None of those miracles actuallyhappened.
But what was interesting wasthat right after I go back to
church the next time to debate,to intimidate Christians, today,
(09:43):
when I look at it inretrospective, the whole
spiritual atmosphere in thechurch had changed.
During the worship, I startedhaving an emotional reflection
to what the songs you know wasbeing said, you know.
And during the sermon thepreacher starts speaking about
(10:04):
sin and I have this strongconviction that I'm a sinner.
And then he talks about Jesus,how Jesus died for our sins, and
I have a strong convictionabout that.
Only Jesus can take away my sin.
So and this I believe is a workof the Holy Spirit, because
Jesus himself promised in John14 and then John 16, he says
(10:27):
that there will be two thingsthat the Holy Spirit will do
when he comes he will bringconviction of sin and he will
testify for Jesus.
So, and this was exactly whathad happened, and so, and this
was exactly what had happened, Ihad prayed, a sincere prayer to
God, even though God did notanswer exactly what I requested.
(10:47):
You know those three miracles.
He had used that opportunityfor the Holy Spirit to come in
my life and then, you know,bring conviction of sin and then
testify about that.
I need Jesus.
So, this powerful emotionalexperience, you know I would
have goosebumps and tearsrepeated itself.
That worship service, the nextone and the next one, until I
(11:10):
finally surrendered my life toJesus.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
So you know, your story is a very interesting
perspective on what missionarywork is all about, because it
seems like sometimes it is moreimportant to be a Christian than
to preach Christianity, becauseit wasn't a person that won you
to Christ, it was the HolySpirit working in your heart and
(11:35):
in your spirit.
But that love that theChristians showed you, in spite
of you being the disruptor andthe opponent initially, what
kept you coming back.
And so what a beautiful,beautiful testimony really
blessed my heart hearing thisstory.
(11:55):
So what is happening in Albaniatoday from the Christian
perspective?
Do you feel like there is arevival of Christian faith?
Is there a hunger?
What is happening?
Speaker 3 (12:08):
I believe, first of all, what happened to me can
happen to a lot of other Muslimsor nominal Muslims that are in
Albania.
The Holy Spirit isorchestrating a certain context,
different people that arehungry, spiritually hungry, and
they want to know more and wantto know God in a personal level
(12:28):
and have a personal experience.
So it's not like one particularway or another.
Just like in the Bible, it saysthat you know, one sows,
another one waters, and Godmakes it, you know, grow.
So we do not know when wechoose to join to trips, to come
(12:49):
to Albania and share the gospel.
We do not know at what pointGod is actually bringing us to
this plan, that he's about toget ready and to harvest the
soul that he will harvest.
What I want to say asencouragement, though, is that
the Albanian people are a veryloving people, very friendly.
They like to talk about God andhear about God.
(13:12):
Even if they would come from aMuslim background, they are very
open to hear about the gospel.
They are not mostly, they arenot antagonistic, you know,
especially in the big cities,they're open to let, to allow
their children also to hear thegospel.
So this is a great opportunity.
(13:32):
I'm reminded that Jesus wouldsend, two by two, his disciples
to different places and he wouldsay you know, if you find a
person of peace, do not moveaway from him.
You know, go and stay with thisperson of peace.
And my encouragement is that inAlbania, when Christians come,
(13:52):
they will find a lot of peopleof peace that will be open to
hear about the gospel and to berooted in some kind of a
Christian community and thengrow.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
And I certainly witnessed this myself Absolutely
loved interacting with theAlbanian people.
So let's talk about what's theheartbeat of Albania today.
What are some of the challengesthat Albania is facing as a
country?
What are some of the concernsthat are on people's minds?
Speaker 3 (14:24):
The big concerns in Albania would be some economical
concerns.
Albania is somewhat, you know,geographically it's an integral
part of the European continentand with the changes in policies
in Europe have made it morefavorable for people to
immigrate.
(14:44):
So a lot of Albanians and youthis immigrating and leaving the
country.
This is to some extentparalyzing the social fabric in
Albania, you know, when it comesto professionality, in the
medical sector, in the educationsector and all of that.
So this would be the bigchallenge A lot of youth is
(15:06):
leaving and churches arestruggling, the economy, the
society in general, isstruggling because of that, so
that I would say, together withmaybe some levels of corruption
in the policy, in the politics,this would be the main problems
in Albania.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
I see.
So how do you feel Christianitycan address these problems?
And maybe, yeah, how do youfeel overall the church in
Albania can address theseproblems?
Speaker 3 (15:43):
do you feel, overall, the church in Albania can
address these problems?
Yes, correct.
I think one of the main thingsis that different social
structures, you know, like thechurch actually being on the
lead of it, you know needs toencourage.
What are the main?
If we could talk in a capitalaspect, you know what is the
strongest social capital that wehave, the identity that we have
(16:04):
as being Christian and beingAlbanian.
What does that mean?
How can we actually contribute,be encouraged?
The challenge with a lot of theyouth that is leaving the
country is that they arediscouraged, and I believe the
economical aspect can stilldiscourage, can still disappoint
.
You know, wherever they go, ifthey do not know God, they will
(16:28):
be disappointed, you know.
So I think that is why thechurch needs to even stronger
share the gospel, use thisopportunity of people being open
.
This openness, thisfriendliness that we have can be
utilized by God, by the HolySpirit, for people to convert,
to be transformed and then to becontributors, even in a
(16:49):
sacrificial way.
Stick in the country, stay inthe country, stay around and
improve the country.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
It's interesting because one of my previous
podcasts I was talking withPastor Berer from Serbia.
You know him and he was talkingabout Serbian nationalism and
how it sometimes can be toxicand how in many ways
incompatible with trueChristianity.
(17:16):
But it seems like for Albania,perhaps Christianity can revive
the nationalism in society wherethey can embrace their country
and commit to their country andto the well-being of their
country.
Do you think so?
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Yeah, that's interesting.
There is different factorsplaying in the Balkans.
So in Albania, because ofhistory, Albanians always have
felt in a humbling way as aninferior group, so the national
pride is not really playing andnationalism is not playing a
(17:53):
very important role in Albania.
So I think the humbleness thatthe people have connected with
Christianity actually will playa very important role.
This would not be the same, Ithink, if it would be in Greece
or in Serbia, where the nationalpride is at a much higher level
.
We don't really have that, youknow.
(18:16):
That's why the Albanians mightbe leaving.
You know they are like they.
It's not that they don't havelove for the country, but they
are looking for a different kindof identity.
They have a kind of lost theirown identity and I think the
true identity that will neverdisappoint is, whether we are
Albanians or Serbs or Greeks,the real identity is in Christ,
(18:36):
because he is the image of Godand he's the redemption of the
image of God in every human,whether it's Albanian or Serb or
Greek.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
Amen to that.
I couldn't agree more with you.
Well, our conversation aboutAlbania would not be complete if
we didn't talk about yournational hero, Skanderbeg.
So for people who have neverheard about him, why is he a
hero and what is his story?
Speaker 3 (19:06):
Yeah, well, in many similar ways.
So he's a hero to me first ofall.
So he's a national hero, buthe's also my personal hero.
We mentioned the Via Ignatia,or the highways that the Romans
built 2,000 years ago.
Those roads were utilized 1,500years later by the Ottomans to
(19:28):
have the Muslim expansion ofEurope and in order for them to
go to Europe, they needed tomaintain and control this
pathway, this road, the Agnatia.
And our national hero has asimilar history of mine.
He was taken, forced into Islam.
He became a Muslim general,then top general.
(19:52):
He was the one that was sent toconquer Europe.
He was sent to conquer an armyled by Hunyadi, the national
hero of Hungary, Hunyadi, thenational hero of Hungary.
On the way, he has a conversionexperience to Christianity,
no-transcript.
And he took control of theVyagnatia, or of this narrow
(20:14):
valleys through the mountains inAlbania.
And it's a miracle because,with an army of about 5,000 to
8,000 people for 30 years, afull generation he put a stop to
the Muslim expansion or theTurkish expansion.
The Turks put all the effortsthey had at times 250,000
(20:38):
soldiers against just 5,000 or8,000 soldiers, because they
needed to conquer Skanderbeg inorder to go to Europe.
Bankrupted, A lot of historianssay that if it was not for the
event of Skanderbeg, ournational hero, Europe, would be
(20:59):
a Muslim country.
But because he put a stop andhe bankrupted them, Europe and
the rest of the world, you know,because it was the developed
world of the time, the developedChristian world.
Now it's a Christian world.
But the interesting thing is,though a lot of historians still
debate why he won, why he wonall the battles, I personally
(21:21):
believe that his Christian faith, connected with the war and
defense of, you know, Albania,played a very important role.
Some of the chronicles thatspeak about him speak how he
encourages soldiers by quotingscriptures.
For example, he would say ifGod is for us in this war, who
(21:41):
can be against us?
So, with that encouragement anda lot of sacrifice, they
actually withstood a powerful,mighty army, and it is proof
that God was on his side of thishumble Christian.
Speaker 2 (21:59):
Wow, you know.
So many conversion experiencesin our conversation today point
to the fact how much value is inconversion of just one person.
You know, paul becoming aChristian led to Albania having
Christian roots, and Skanderbegbecoming a Christian led to
Albania having Christian roots,and Skanderbeg becoming a
Christian essentially influencedthe Christianity remaining the
(22:23):
prevalent religion in Europe.
And then your conversionessentially leads to you being
in charge of ISTL and one of thebest educational institutions
in the Balkans, raisingChristian leaders.
Let's talk about that, thankyou.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
Yes, about 16 years ago, at the church that I
planted, we needed to have aneducational program that would
train other leaders to encouragediscipleship and as a byproduct
of that, a lot of churcheswould be planted.
And it started with a veryhumble beginning, but then it
(23:03):
moved beyond our church borders,our denominational borders and
now national borders.
So the International School ofTheology and Leadership today
has every year about 150students that are pioneers for
the gospel in many, manydifferent ways, and ministries
(23:23):
primarily focused indiscipleship and mission work.
So I'm very excited to say thatin the last 16 years over 120
churches have been blended.
Last 16 years over 120 churcheshave been planted and,
interesting enough, all thesechurches have been planted If we
trace the Pauline routes,missionary journeys and Peter's
(23:45):
missionary journey to go to Rome.
These churches have beenplanted right along this Via
Ignatia.
Via ignatia, you know, fromdurus, tirana, elbasan, going to
macedonia, to ohrid and beyond.
So I'm very excited that in thisstretch of the road we are
experiencing a reverse ofevangelism.
(24:07):
You know, the gospel, accordingto paul, started in jerusalem
and when he was writing Romansit had reached already Illyricum
and Rome and he wanted tofurther it away through the
corners of the earth.
Today, we see that there ismore Christians in the outer
skirts of the earth of what usedto be from Jerusalem.
(24:28):
The outer skirts, you know,latin America, us, korea,
australia, indonesia, china, allof these countries.
And I believe that the gospelis about to reverse back,
following those ancient routes,those ancient journeys, like
that ripple effect, and is goingto go back to Jerusalem, which
(24:49):
is interesting because Jerusalemand Israel is a kind of
surrounded by Muslim countriesaround that were once Christian
countries, and I believe thatGod is going to use, you know,
like former Muslim Albanians, toreverse this evangelism back
all the way to Jerusalem as wewait for the return of our Lord.
Speaker 2 (25:10):
Oh, my goodness, you made me so excited, excited
about the work I'm doing.
And, of course, all the roadsgo through Illyricum, so the
gospel will be channeled throughAlbania back to Jerusalem.
My goodness, how amazing isthat.
Well before we finish ourconversation, that Well before
(25:37):
we finish our conversation, Iwant to address the modern day
news.
So apparently, the Trump familyis developing an island in
Albania.
Is that true?
Speaker 3 (25:52):
That's indeed.
Yes, yes, it's actually ourbiggest island.
We hear it on the news and wecheck on the news.
I actually was on holidays veryclose to the island, wanted to
do a trip there before itstarted getting developed.
But it's a lot of excitementabout it because it's going to
bring it's going to strengthenthe economy.
So it's a good thing for ourcountry.
It's going to strengthen theeconomy.
I think our governmental systemis happy because it's going to
bring a lot of taxes in.
But I also am happy becauseit's going to bring a lot of
(26:16):
taxes in.
But I also am happy becauseit's going to encourage
employment in the country andthose professionals that I said
that are immigrating outside ofthe country.
This kind of entrepreneurshipis going to keep them in country
.
So it's a beautiful area ofAlbania, so I'm happy it's going
to be developed that way.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
So I'm happy it's going to be developed that way.
Well, God works in mysteriousways and seems like he's
answering the prayers ofChristians to keep the brain
power in Albania.
So we'll see what comes throughthat.
Well, thank you so much, Hervin, for this conversation.
We look forward to being withyou next year in March, and in
(26:56):
the meantime, my prayer is thatGod blesses your work, your
ministry and your familyabundantly.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
Thank you very much, helen, and thank you for
reaching out and thank you forencouraging good friends and
ambassadors for Albania, for themission of God here in Albania.
Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (27:19):
What I loved about Hervin's salvation story is that
, though nobody formally sharedthe gospel with him, the way
church members treated a Muslimboy trying to disrupt their
services intrigued him enough todig deeper.
The Great Commission can beaccomplished in many different
(27:39):
ways.
If Jesus' call to go into allthe world and make disciples
resonates with your heart.
If Hervin's story about Albaniapiqued your interest about his
lovely country, perhaps you canpray about joining our mission
to Albania in March of 2025.
(28:00):
Visit the website for WorldMissions Alliance it's rfwmaorg
and find out how you can becomeinvolved in taking the gospel to
the nations.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Until next time, I'm Helen Todd.
Others experience thistransformation.
Christ called his followers tomake disciples across the world.
World Missions Alliance givesyou an opportunity to do this
through short-term missions inover 32 countries across the
globe.
If you want to help those whoare hurting and hopeless and
discover your greater purpose inserving, check out our website
(28:53):
rfwmaorg and find out how to getinvolved.
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