The transformation was apparent to her large circle of friends and family. At first, she had only shared with a few close confidants the reason for the changes. She was unusually open about most things but somewhat guarded when it came to matters of faith. She had a Bektashi Muslim background, though she had been living a secular lifestyle. Her tendency was to do everything energetically and whole-heartedly, and she wanted to be certain that Jesus wouldn’t let her down before she told the world about Him.
Sean and I first met Blerina through her husband who had been one of my English students. Blerina was friendly to us but seemed a little reluctant to join her husband when he first came to our house for Bible studies. She was always busy with other things. We made it a point to meet with the family socially whenever we could and occasionally helped them with things like health and transportation needs. Little by little, Blerina began to trust us. In post-communist Albania, it’s natural to be suspicious of strangers who offer help without apparent self-interest.
As the months passed and her husband’s faith in Christ strengthened, Blerina’s interest grew, and she began to attend Bible studies and Sabbath worship regularly. Her Bible knowledge increased, and she often requested prayer, but for more than a year she held back from declaring her acceptance of Jesus as her Lord and Savior. Finally, after her husband’s baptism, she made her decision to follow Jesus. After that, she became exceptionally generous with her time, energy and limited resources to help others in her neighborhood. She also couldn’t stop telling them about the love of Jesus! She occasionally brought one or two of them with her on Sabbaths, and some of them continued to attend fairly regularly.
A year after her husband’s baptism in a nearby river, Blerina’s joy was evident as she publicly expressed her devotion to her Lord Jesus at her own baptism. Three of her guests were there to witness this wonderful event. They are now part of the small Bible study group that meets each week in her apartment. Between that day and now, all three of them, plus Blerina’s cousin, have expressed their desire to be baptized!
Conversion means to change or transform; to head in a new direction. Though a converted Christian may yet be far from holiness, it’s not hard to notice when they have changed course and begun moving toward Christ. True conversion is an incredibly effective witness to the power of God. It brings hope to the hopeless, and it brings encouragement to our hearts. What a privilege to see Christ’s new disciples inviting others to become disciples and multiplying the kingdom of God!
Blerina and the other church members are excited about the church building/Center Of Influence/Missionary Training Center that we hope to build very soon. Perhaps you would like to help this vision become a reality.
