"The Power is in Jesus"

In Bathore, Albania, pastors Genci and Ilda Zeka share their hearts while the Muslim call to prayer echoes up the street past their church. “In Albania, not many people want to live in Bathore,” they say. “There is poverty, unemployment is around 70%, and many children come to our programs to escape the abuse of drunken fathers at home. But we believe God is going to change the reality here and that believers across the country will look to us as an example.”

“Our power is not in our speaking or our programs,” Genci continues. “The power is in Jesus. We visit the community members, and I ask them just to give me five minutes to pray in the name of Jesus for their families. We share the gospel in our prayers, and release His power.”

The blanket of faith that Genci and Ilda have laid over their community is bringing miraculous results. One churchgoer, Silva, was paralyzed, yet continued attending church as faithfully as she could. One night, a Man dressed in white appeared in her dreams.

“I saw no face, only a great light,” Silva says. “He told me to throw away my crutches and walk.”

At 1 a.m., Silva got out of bed and did just that. When her husband, a staunch communist, saw her, he replied, “I am going to work. When I get back at 6 o’clock, if you are still healed, then I will become a follower of Jesus too.” When he returned, Silva was up, having already prepared dinner. Her husband accepted Jesus, and the pair were soon baptized. In their home they now host a weekly cell group with pastor Genci and Ilda.


Excerpted from Worldview magazine, Vol. 5, Issue 8 — “Albania: Bought by Blood.”