The rumors are true. If you would like to know how and why this is happening please continue reading as we share the story of how we came to this decision.
Unlikely Calling
Jane: Beginning in my teen years, I had the desire to serve God overseas. God led me to Moody Bible Institute, and after graduating in 2002, I left my dear family and friends to serve God in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. I spent three years teaching kindergarten, being a part of the local church, and discipling youth. During thistime God was confirming the call to serve as a missionary to youth overseas.
Dan: I graduated from North Central College in 2005 with a B.A. in History, intending to be a teacher. However shortly after graduating, I felt God’s call to serve in the church full time. Therefore, I went through Grace Church of DuPage’s Pastoral Ministry Internship program and pursued a Masters in Theology.
Purposeful Preparation
Jane: After three years in Bolivia God called me back home, and eventually led me to study Teaching English as a Second Language and Intercultural Studies at Wheaton College. While there, I became involved at Grace Church of DuPage and participated in two Josiah Venture English Camps in Tirana, Albania. While there I got to know a group of Albanian girls and really enjoyed participating with them in ministry. I specifically remember taking some of the girls from camp out to coffee along with Majlinda, one of the Albania student ministry leaders. During that outing we had some wonderful conversations about the gospel. Knowing that only 1% of the 3.5 million people living in Albania know and follow Jesus Christ, I developed the desire to help the Albanian youth find their identity in Christ. So I began to pray God would somehow grant this desire.
Dan: In the summers of 2006 and 2007, I had the opportunity to be a part of a team from Grace Church of DuPage which went on a two week long short-term mission trip to Tirana, Albania. I went because it seemed like a neat opportunity. I had no intention of getting involved long-term with ministry in Albania. It was not until 2008, when the opportunity arose for me to spend the entire summer in Tirana, that I entertained the idea of actually moving to Albania. That summer I spent a lot of time around the younger generation of Albanian believers, developed a deep affection for the church there, and realized that the current generation of youth is foundational to the Albanian church’s growth for generations to come. Some, such as two brothers, Fation and Andi, along with Elios were among the few raised by Christian parents and this showed in their maturity. They were examples of what the Albanian church could look like a generation or two from now. Thus, by the time I headed back again for two additional weeks in the summer of 2009, I was exploring what ways I could be of use in Albania. I wanted to be a part of the development of young Albanian church leaders.
Our Story Together:
We met while serving at Grace Church and began dating after a year of friendship. We married in June 2010. After settling down, we began to talk and pray together about how God would use us. Although we were not able to return to Albania in 2010, we decided together at that time that we were fully committed to finding out how we could serve in Albania. This process involved prayer, conversations with those already serving in Albania, talks with our church’s elders, discussions with other close friends and family, and personal reflection.
Unexpected Destination
Why Albania? Twenty five years ago Albania considered itself the world’s first officially atheist nation. The oppressive communist regime of Enver Hoxha rose to power after World War II and completely outlawed all religious belief. Albanians were to give their full allegiance to the State, not God. No community of believing Christians remained. However, in 1991 Albania began to change. It opened itself up from its extreme political isolation. It also ceased outlawing religious belief. Thus, over the past two decades the Gospel of Jesus Christ has spread in Albania in some unprecedented ways. The church, which was essentially non-existent in 1990, continues to grow. What the Albanian church has experienced over the last twenty years is a miraculous resurrection from the dead. God has graciously allowed new life to sprout up in Albania. If the next generation of Albanians embrace being disciples of Jesus Christ, then this new life will be a blessing to the entire country for generations to come.
Purposeful Planning
In light of all this, our desire is to continue building upon the work which has already been done throughout the past two decades. As God enables, we will work to empower the next generation of the Albanian church to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ as they call other Albanians to this same discipleship. This is why we are partnering with an organization called Josiah Venture (JV). Through this partnership, God has provided an opportunity to serve the church in Albania which we could not pass up. We will be one piece of a larger team which JV is sending to Tirana, Albania. We officially joined JV in February 2013 and are excitedly looking forward to our departure to Albania in the summer of 2014.
About Josiah Venture:
Josiah Venture is a movement of God among the youth of Central and Eastern Europe that finds it home in the local church and transforms society.
JV is located in 12 countries throughout those regions. It began in 1993 in Czech and Poland but did not begin working in Albania until 2008.
Half of JV’s staff is made up of nationals. JV’s goal is to see nationals leading and discipling their own people.
Your Partnership:
It is obvious to us that we have been called by God to join him in the work he is doing in Albania. However, we are not meant to do this on our own. We need your partnership. There are two main ways in which you can partner with us and Josiah Venture:
- The first way to partner is through prayer. Our work is in vain unless it is the Lord’s work. Prayer is how we confess our need and ask for God’s power and provision.
- The second way to partner is financially. Financial support can be a one-time gift, a monthly commitment or an annual commitment. We are incredibly thankful for any amount of support you are willing to give to us. Our outgoing expenses amount to approximately $49,000 while our monthly expenses in Albania will be around $6,500.
You can partner with us through Josiah Venture’s website: www.josiahventure.com/give
Thank you for your consideration in partnering with us as we continue traveling forward. We could not have imagined that our journey to this point would look like it has. We are certain that the future will have many other surprising twists and turns along the way as well. However, we are certain that God is faithful and that joy is found in serving him wherever we are called.
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