Volume 7 | Number 1
WAVELENGTH
Winter 2018 | woh.org
In This Issue: • No Longer Atheist • Albanian App Upgrade • Building the Church in Kosovo • Albanian Devotional
WORDS
HOPE OF
Good News. No Boundaries.
A WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT Welcome to 2018! Not only is it a new year, but it is also my one-year anniversary as president of Words of Hope. I am so grateful for every one of you. Your prayers and gifts in 2017 were a huge encouragement. You have made it possible for the hope of Jesus to reach the unreached. I’ve met several hundred of you now, and have enjoyed many conversations. One question in particular has stuck with me: How do you know you are being effective? It’s a great question, because some of our work can feel like mere drops of water trying to fill an empty bucket. Drip … drip … drip …. Will the bucket ever be full? And then one day, with great surprise, we find that the bucket is overflowing, fruit is abounding, and an unstoppable kingdom force has been unleashed! Such is the story of Albert Dosti that you will read on the following pages. For years, your prayers and gifts dropped the gospel into atheistic Albania. Drip ... drip ... drip ... came the gospel message into Albert’s heart. Eventually Albert’s heart swelled with the gospel and today is watering a flourishing movement of churches. In fact, our Albanian brothers and sisters are now multiplying the movement in Kosovo as well! Albert’s story gives me great hope for what God is about to do in places like Iran and Bhutan. The ground is beginning to break. Seeds planted over the years are now bearing fruit. Thank you for being faithful to the call to share the hope of Jesus!
Jon Opgenorth
WAVELENGTH Volume 7 | Number 1 WAVELENGTH is published quarterly by Words of Hope, an international media ministry working to build the church throughout the world. Written by Megan Nollet. Designed by Claudia Elzinga. All photos are by staff and volunteers of Words of Hope unless otherwise noted. Specific names may be changed to protect our listeners. Copyright 2018 by Words of Hope. Words of Hope 700 Ball Ave NE Grand Rapids, MI 49503 1-616-459-6181 www.woh.org
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NEWS BRIEFS
Photo credit: AP
EARTHQUAKE IN IRAN
PASTORS' CONFERENCE IN UGANDA
A 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit the country of Iran in midNovember of 2017. Hundreds of individuals were killed and thousands injured. People living in low-income apartments were disproportionately affected. Now, Iranians are left mourning those who have died, and working to rebuild their lives. Investigations are underway to see why so many public structures were not able to withstand the quake. We are thankful to report that our radio producer’s family was spared in the midst of this tragedy. Pray with us that the word of God broadcast into Iran over the radio would bring peace to those who hear it. Pray also for basic needs to be met, as many are still without housing at this time.
Words of Hope President, Jon Opgenorth, and a team of six ministry supporters, recently traveled to Uganda. While there, they had the opportunity to attend a pastors’ conference. At the gathering they met with pastors from the region who are partnering with Words of Hope by providing follow-up for radio program listeners interested in connecting with a local church. Referencing his time there, Jon says, “I shook hands with each of the 35 pastors gathered. I was blessed to see them taking diligent notes and hanging on every word of the presentations from both local leaders and our team members. Theirs are the hands that Christ is using to bring the hope and healing of the gospel to this region.”
VOLUNTEERS DISTRIBUTE RESOURCES
CHURCH PLANT IN NIGER
In Tibet, Words of Hope partners with Gaweylon to produce radio programs, literature, and CDs. We are so thankful for the many volunteers in the area who help deliver various types of media throughout Tibet and India. “I have been in touch with you for so many years, and thank you for your radio programs and resources,” shares one volunteer who lives in a large Tibetan settlement in India. “I am always happy to distribute them in my camp. I consider this to be a small contribution from my side to help your efforts for our people.”
Through your support, a new church is being planted in Niger. A plot of land is being purchased, and construction will begin soon. Sani Nomaou will serve as the planting pastor. Sani will also record and produce local radio programs in the city of Agadez. The broadcasts will occasionally feature locals from the community. They will help to familiarize people in Agadez with Christian concepts. Our prayer is that many in this region will come to know the truths of Scripture through the combined efforts of the radio programs and the new congregation.
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R E G N O NO L
Atheist Less than 30 years ago, religion was illegal in the country of Albania, but even dictators cannot stop the Word of God.
An Anniversary Celebration The church looks like any modern worship center that one might walk into in North America today. The walls are white and square. There is no stained glass to be seen. A simple cross is displayed behind the pulpit. Drums, keyboards, music stands, and microphones crowd the stage. It’s hard to believe that this ordinary, modern church exists in a country once declared to be the world’s only atheistic regime. Albania—ruled in the past by a cruel dictator who exacted absolute loyalty from his citizens—is today open to evangelism and Christian worship.
Nearly 200 Albanians have gathered to celebrate the anniversary of Words of Hope’s media ministry to Albania. Words of Hope broadcasts began beaming into the country thirty years ago, while it was still illegal to speak openly of Jesus. Ten years ago, Words of Hope Albania broadcasting was able to move inside the country itself. Pastors, partners, and people whose lives have been impacted by the message of hope we share have all gathered to remember and give thanks. Videos are shown—one featuring footage originally recorded by Lee DeYoung, Words of Hope’s Vice President for International Ministry, when he traveled to Albania with then president Dr. Bill Brownson just after the fall of communism in the early 90s. Testimonies are shared. “It was interesting to see people who had come out of a fierce atheistic regime, seeking to hear things about God,” says Albanian Director Roni Prendi. “The most amazing thing was that God had been working in the hearts of the people all along, even in the midst of a ruthless atheist government that persecuted and killed everyone who went against its propaganda.”
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Top left: Lee DeYoung receives award. Bottom left: Jona Kumaraku and Roni Prendi address the crowd.
Awards are handed out. One is received by Lee in recognition of Words of Hope’s commitment and dedication to empowering the work of Christian media in Albania. The other award is given to Albert Dosti, the broadcaster who has voiced the Words of Hope Albania programs for many years. Albert knows firsthand what it was like to live under the stifling conditions of communist-era Albania.
From the Outside In Albert Dosti served as a captain in the Albanian army. He was a radio specialist, and during the 1980s, his job was to monitor the airwaves, always searching for whispered threats of invasion or anti-party messages to warn the government about. One evening, while scanning the static, he heard a voice speaking in Albanian, “If you want to learn more about God, we will meet again tomorrow.” Albert stopped, stunned, wanting to hear more, but those had been the last words of the program. He pondered his options. Religious programming of any kind was strictly forbidden in Albania.
Today, Pastor Dosti continues to serve as the Albanian voice for Words of Hope. “God is using me on the radio in the same way he brought the gospel to me through the radio all those years ago,” he says.
Albert Dosti and his wife Berti, now (left) and then. His responsibility was to immediately report what he had heard to government officials. But he didn’t want to. He wanted to tune into the program again. “Something deep down was telling me to listen,” Albert says. “Religion was a total mystery. But I wanted to find out more.” He was wary, because he knew that if he were caught, he could be sent to prison. The seriousness of the offense would likely extend punishment to the rest of his family as well. He knew that his children, possibly even his grandchildren, would not be allowed to attend university if his crime were discovered. Thankfully, radio was much safer and more secretive than other forms of media making their way into Albania those days. The programs were being sent into Albania from Monte Carlo, since no one would have dared to broadcast Christian programming from inside the country. Cautiously, Albert began listening to the broadcasts every night during his shift. Behind the closed door of his little office, Albert listened through headphones. “Gradually, I began to understand and feel that I was a piece of God’s plan,” he says.
Coming to Christ Albert Dosti continued listening to the radio programs over the next few years, and, as the grip of communism loosened, he eventually summoned the courage to
write to the radio station and ask for a Bible. Albert recorded programs onto cassette tapes so that he could listen again and again, and, in time, he told others to listen to the programs as well. In 1993, after the fall of communism, Albert accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Words of Hope and partner Trans World Radio sent Albert fixedfrequency radios to distribute inside the country. These radios were tuned to the Words of Hope programming, and Albanians were eager to receive them. Albert helped to start, and eventually pastor, one of the first churches in Albania, called the Way of Peace church. “The radio has changed my life,” he explains, “not only my life, but even other people’s lives.”
From the Inside Out In the early 2000s, the spiritual climate in Albania became such that it was finally possible to record and broadcast Christian radio programs from inside the country. Who better to voice these programs than Albert Dosti, a man who had himself come to know Christ through radio!
The country of Albania still has a long way to go, but as churches continue to grow, it is encouraging to see that 30 percent of the population now identifies as Christian. And while we advance the scope of our broadcasting efforts inside the country, we are also expanding our reach outwards to include neighboring Kosovo, where the religious climate remains much more hostile. Through God’s grace and your support, we believe the good news will reach hearts in Kosovo just as it has in Albania, because nothing can stop the Word of God!
Still Listening In the archival footage shown at the WOH Albania anniversary event, a young man named Bledi Hodobashi was featured. In Bledi’s 1992 interview with Dr. Bill Brownson, Bledi said: “I was tuning the radio when I heard for the first time the word ‘Jesus.’ In our country at that time there was no other way of hearing, and I thought, ‘this could change the world!’ I kept turning back to the broadcast on the radio, and that was my source of food.” After the video was shown, a woman at the event exclaimed excitedly, “I know Bledi. He goes to my church.” Praise the Lord that the Christian message Bledi heard over the radio 25 years ago led to lasting faith and a lifelong relationship with Jesus Christ.
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App Upgrade Brings More Features for Albanian Users Christians and interested seekers can access the Words of Hope daily devotional in Albanian via a smartphone app called Fjalët e Shpresës, available for both Android and iPhone. The app not only features the same daily devotional that North American readers enjoy, but also includes a daily Bible verse, a yearly Bible reading plan, and the complete Bible in Albanian. Now, a new version of the app has been launched with a design refresh and several exciting new resources. Version 2.0 allows users to listen to the entire New Testament via searchable audio recordings. Plans are underway to include audio of the Old Testament as well. A video gallery in the app showcases Words of Hope Albanian programs that are made for television. Two discipleship courses are offered through the app, including the Alpha Course and the Heidelberg Catechism, both translated into Albanian. Other tools are presented as options for spiritual growth too, including the Lord’s Prayer, tips for living a life of faith, posts on spiritual growth, and more. A calendar in the app alerts users to events of interest that will be occurring via radio or television programs, or at local churches. A prayer request form allows users to email their prayer requests via the app to a network of more than 40 churches across Albania.
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“People love the practicality of having so many resources in the convenience of their smartphone,” Director Erion Prendi shares. One Albanian user wrote in to say:
“I would like to thank all of the workers
who maintain and pray for this app. It has
helped me read my Bible every day. I find it hard at times to keep a regular habit of
reading God’s Word. But through this app it is now much easier for me. I would like to ask you to pray that I will understand what God’s will is for me. Thank you again, and God bless you.”
BUILDING THE CHURCH IN KOSOVO Elton is a young man from Albania who is working to plant a church in the neighboring country of Kosovo. Through your support, Words of Hope is able to supply Elton with Christian media materials to aid him in his outreach. “Just by looking at the small number of churches in Kosovo, you can immediately understand the great need,” Elton explains. “Kosovo’s population is about 2.5 million, with only about 30 churches.” “Even those churches that do exist here are small,” he says. The largest is made up of 80 believers, while the smallest has an attendance of only 10. The majority of the population in Kosovo are ethnic Albanians. Most are Muslim, a religion they have embraced to differentiate themselves from Orthodox Christian Serbs living in the same
region with whom they have long been in conflict. Most Albanian Kosovars say that to be truly Albanian, one must also be Muslim. In the country of Albania, however, Christianity is becoming increasingly accepted and mainstream. As more and more Albanians come to Christ, their influence can extend across the border to their relatives living in Kosovo. According to Elton, “The people in Kosovo still retain a special respect for people from Albania. In fact, they are more open to listen when they realize you are from Albania.” For this reason, Words of Hope Albania continues to reach out in Kosovo. We believe that the voices and testimonies of Albanian Christians are key to reaching the hearts of the people living there. Elton sees that the younger generation of Albanian Kosovars is gradually becoming more open to hearing the gospel, but even still, converts may face being disowned by their families if they reveal their belief in Christ. Elton is working to open a chain of small businesses in Kosovo that will provide jobs for such new believers if they are forced out of their homes. Thank you for supporting this ministry in Kosovo with your gifts and prayers as together we work to share the hope of Christ in this very hard place.
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WORDS OF HOPE ALBANIAN DEVOTIONAL IS WELL RECEIVED BY READERS Because of your support, the daily devotional can be translated into Albanian for a whole new readership!
I love the devotionals because they are more than just reading a passage. They are about a closer relationship with God. I have often received practical lessons, encouragements, and revelations from the devotionals, and they have helped me develop a godly nature.
– Fitim The booklet is very clear and valuable. As I get answers to questions I did not understand before, I am learning to walk rightly with Jesus. I feel like what is written is directed especially at me.
– Adela As Christians, we do need God in every step and every moment of our lives. Our love for Him and His word is what makes us grow; it is what gives us life and a purpose to live. We all need a word from the Lord and different testimonies to grow in our faith. This is what Words of Hope does with its daily devotionals and the messages they give. Thank God for these devotionals, and blessed is he who nurtures us with his word.
– Albi The daily devotionals are very important to me because they help me in my everyday walk with God. They always make me reflect on the situation I am in, and often show me how I need to behave.
– Amandia