Albania (MNN) — In Ecclesiastes 7:8, King Solomon wrote the following about practical wisdom: “The end of a thing is better than its beginning; the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” This adage is as true today as it was when Solomon penned it.
Storytellers packaged and ready for distribution in Albania.
(Photo, caption courtesy Keys for Kids Ministries)
Keys for Kids Ministries needed help raising funds in March to send 500 Storytellers to Albania. Believers didn’t know the Lord would use those devices mightily in May.
After communicating the need, Keys for Kids’ Greg Yoder says, “God just blessed. He used people to come forward and not only hit the goal, but we also went past it, which we needed.”
The Lord had a plan for these Storytellers. First, a short-term missions team from West Michigan went to Albania in May to help distribute them. The Storyteller devices were ordered, produced, and delivered well in advance.
“They (the Storytellers) actually beat the team that was heading there,” Yoder says.
However, believers then encountered an unexpected hiccup. “Customs said, ‘No, now you’re going to have to pay a tariff,’ and it was not cheap, it was in the thousands of dollars,” Yoder continues.
Thankfully, “God saw fit to raise more than enough money for the 500 [Storytellers], and so we had money in the bank to pay the tariff to get them out of customs so that they could be used.”
Storytellers reach Albanian families
Hundreds of Albanian Storytellers have been distributed, and more than 30 children have come to Jesus so far.
“What they’re hearing is that families are sitting down and listening” to the Storytellers, Yoder says.
“Now, in Albania, they’re predominantly Muslim in their faith, so for them to listen to Christian stories and to hear the Gospel – this is a game-changer for them.”
The blessings don’t end there. After the Storytellers arrived in Albania, a different young woman contacted Keys for Kids Ministries to order an Albanian Storyteller for her mission trip.
130 kids receive Storytellers at an event in Albania.
(Photo, caption courtesy Keys for Kids Ministries)
“They were all gone, and so I told her, ‘The only way that you could possibly get it is if you were in Albania in a week.’ She said, ‘We’re actually going to be there in a week,’” Yoder recounts.
“We arranged for her to pick that up; she was able to take it to an orphanage, and it was amazing what God was able to do.”
More Storytellers needed
Keys for Kids’ partners have big plans for future orders of Albanian Storytellers. They “have opportunities to go into a lot of different areas. Not just Albania, but Montenegro and other places where there are Albanian refugees, [such as] Kosovo, northern Macedonia,” Yoder says.
If the Lord has given you a passion for Albania, reach out to Keys for Kids Ministries.
“We’re building an Albanian fund now. We want to make sure that we are able to be responsive to any needs that they have there,” Yoder says.
Learn more about Keys for Kids’ Storytellers ministry here. Pray that the Lord will continue to use Albanian Storytellers to reach entire families for Christ.
Header and story images courtesy of Keys for Kids Ministries.
