Janet Handy

Our final concert was at the Evangelical Church in Slovenia. We had visited this church last year for the first time, and what a warm welcome we received from Bishop Leon and Pastor Judit.

The atmosphere was electrifying as people came with anticipation and expectation.

As the choir began to sing, stoic faces softened into warm smiles, and hearts melted as they received the gospel in song.

The children’s faces lit up as they heard the music, and their bodies moved to the rhythm of the beat. People were led into exuberant worship!

The large church doors were flung wide open, and passersby stopped in their tracks as they heard the singing.

A lady from Zimbabwe who had been living in Slovenia for 15 years said, “Thank you! I so miss this type of singing.” She had just heard about the event and decided to attend. She said, “The people of Slovenia need this.” Throughout the concert, her face expressed the joy she was experiencing.

There was a family of five who attended the local Catholic Church. They were so excited about sharing what they had experienced from the concert. The eldest child, a 14-year-old boy, couldn’t stop talking about what he had experienced, and this led to us giving him details of the resources available on our website. They were so grateful for the information they received.

The concert was organized to raise funds for treatment for a young boy who has kidney tumors. His name is Jan, and he is a relative of the church organist. They requested that we continue to remember him in prayer. We know that our God is a miracle worker, and we pray for total healing.

It was apt that Reverend Taylor’s message was from John chapter 5, where Jesus healed the man at the pool of Bethesda by simply asking him, “Do you want to be made well?” This was a message of hope and encouragement to all.

We want to thank everyone for your support in prayer; the Lord certainly answered superabundantly above all that we could have asked or thought. We are so grateful that we could be a part of His end-time plan.

Special thanks to Pastor Ivan and Brother Andreas for organizing the venues and to our drivers, Leonid and John, for their servant hearts.

After a refreshing night’s sleep, we were ready to face a new day!

Our first service was held at the Calvary Chapel Evangelical Church in Čakovec, a town that has a number of free churches.

As people entered the building, you could see the joy and excitement on their faces. It was the first time a gospel choir from abroad had ever visited their church. It was so wonderful to be with another part of the body of Christ and to share the Lord’s Supper with them.

The singing of the choir moved people to tears, and the Holy Spirit ministered to lives in a very special way. Many felt that the message Rev. Taylor delivered was directly for them. The message was entitled “Allowing Christ to Change Us,” based on Luke 19:1-10.

Armando is 14 years old, and he told us that he has given his life to the Lord Jesus Christ. As a result, he is having difficulties at school, being teased by his peers. He said that it was wonderful for him to hear the message and the singing and asked if we could come again.

Elikica was in tears and could hardly speak. She tried to explain in her limited English how blessed she was by the message. Nova shared that she had a spinal injury some years ago, and her friend Elikica invited her to the service this morning. She expressed that it was as if the message was directly for her.

Tony, who was a visitor to the church, said he couldn’t keep still when the choir was singing. He was jumping up and down at the back of the church. He said, “This is just what we need!”

Gloria attended the festival and concert yesterday evening and, as a result, came to the church this morning. She asked for prayer for her daughter and her friends to come to know the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone asked us to return, as what they had received was inspiring and life-transforming, and they wanted others in Croatia to experience the uniqueness of this life-giving ministry.

Isaiah 55:12-13 (NKJV): “For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.”

We awoke to glorious sunshine after a night where we witnessed God move in an awesome way. Our driver told us that he was so blessed by being with the group, hearing the message by Rev. Taylor and the singing. All glory to God!

We left mid-morning for Čakovec and two hours later arrived at our destination. We were warmly greeted by our hosts in preparation for the evening’s event, which was the final day of a five-day festival. The festival, we were told, stems from a traditional Franciscan feast and has become the main summer attraction in Čakovec, which is predominantly Catholic. The festival is made up of different events and is attended by hundreds of people.

There was a hive of activity as we arrived. The stage and sound equipment had been set up, and after a sound check, Minister Jenny led the choir in prayer. We prayed for a move of the ‘Holy Spirit’ over the entire event and for souls to be won into the Kingdom of God.

The organizer informed us that they had never had a gospel choir sing there before, and we were aware that God had miraculously opened a door of divine opportunity for the Gospel message to go out in song. As if to confirm this, the local priest came to check on things but stayed on.

We were told by the sound man that they had never had such a large crowd of people attending the festival. More people attended in that one evening than the full five days. When they were told that a gospel choir would be singing, this drew people, and because the organizers knew this, they kept the choir as the last group. This, we believe, was by God’s design so that the message of the Gospel could be heard.

As far as the eye could see, there were hundreds of people standing, sitting, and milling around. People came up and inquired if we were a gospel choir and were excited when we confirmed that we were.

As the choir sang, the crowd responded positively—some by waving hands, standing, filming, dancing, singing along, and applauding enthusiastically. As people had to leave, they were quickly replaced by others. As the announcer attempted to bring the evening to an end, the audience kept asking for more, and the choir had to sing further songs.

Some used their phones to display thank you messages to the choir; another placed bottles of water for the choir.

After the choir finished ministering, many people came forward and shared their experience of how the songs had impacted them.

We arrived in Otočac in the early evening after an exciting, winding, and scenic ride across lush, hilly terrain.

The platform for the choir was set up in a local park used for events. This was the first time it had hosted a gospel choir. The warm rays of the evening sun cast a golden glow on the trees and local vegetation. The melodic bells of the local church chimed to mark the hour as the group prepared. A few local people were there when we arrived, eagerly awaiting our performance, and there was a real air of anticipation.

Otočac is a small town with approximately 15,147 inhabitants, mainly Catholic, with the local Catholic Church nearby. It is 73 kilometers from Zagreb, the capital of Croatia.

As we set up, I spoke to Victoria, a lady who has been attending the Catholic Church since she was a little girl. She told me that she plays guitar in the church and was very excited about the choir being there. She said this has never been done before—a gospel choir coming to Otočac.

As Minister Jenny led the choir, there was a hush as people listened intently to the words of the songs. As the evening progressed, the audience clapped their hands and participated. A group of young people in the park ran in when they heard the sound of the music and formed a long chain, jubilantly dancing around the audience.

Rev. Taylor brought a powerful message from John chapter 4, about Jesus’s encounter with the Samaritan woman by the well of Sychar. The emphasis was on how Jesus came to break down all the barriers that divide us: cultural, social, racial, religious, and sexual. People focused keenly on what Rev. Taylor was saying as she shared the good news of salvation and her personal testimony of how she came to know Jesus as her Lord and personal Savior. Applause went up from the audience when she finished speaking.

As our time of praise came to an end, there was a real energy and feeling of joy and celebration among the attendees and a move of the Holy Spirit as the choir and Rev. Taylor ministered. Each time the choir attempted to leave the platform, the audience kept shouting, “Just one more song!”

After the service, people reported how much the ministry of Sincere Praise and Rev. Taylor had affected them and asked for prayer.

A young lady approached Rev. Taylor and told her that she would like to give her life to the Lord; Rev. Taylor had the privilege of leading her to Jesus. She expressed how happy she was and thanked us for coming to Croatia with the good news of Jesus Christ.

One such lady, Marica, came with her two daughters, Petra, aged 14, and Magda, aged 12, and reported that she had been feeling low and experiencing a very difficult period over the past few months. She said the event was just what she needed, and Reverend Taylor’s message spoke to her in a very special way. She explained that her sister, who lives in Italy, heard about the concert through local adverts and told her about it. Later, it was revealed that their younger sister, who is very young, developed multiple sclerosis after giving in to the pressure to take the COVID vaccine. She reported that her sister had only a short time to live. When they heard that the choir and WWMF would be praying for them, they expressed how very grateful they were.

As we got into the transport to begin the two-hour return journey home, a violent and terrifying thunderstorm broke out with flashes of lightning that lit up the sky, accompanied by deafening claps of thunder. We were informed that the storm had been due to break just as we were due to go onto the stage. However, because of prayer, we had clear weather while the choir was singing. As soon as we got into the van to leave, the storm broke. It continued throughout the journey home but stopped as soon as we reached our destination. It started again with ferocity as soon as we got inside.

We want to give grateful thanks to God and offer up the highest praise for all that He has done, and express our grateful thanks to everyone for your prayers.

To God be all the glory!

On the final day of our mission trip, we went on an excursion to Kruje where we visited a castle and learnt a bit more about the history of the Albanian people.

Krujë

During the Middle Ages Krujë became the first capital of the Albanian state. However, the village is best known as the hometown of national hero Skanderbeg, a military commander who fought off Ottoman forces for 25 whole years before his death in 1468. Skanderbeg abandoned Islam and converted to Christianity.

As we left Albania, we committed this country and its wonderful people into God’s hands. 

Prayer points from Minister Lorna

LET US pray for all the Pastors and their families in the churches the mission team were privileged to go into.

LET US also pray for Pastors unknown to us but known to God, who faithfully serve the Lord in other parts of Albania and Kosovo, who may have little or no support or encouragement from outside.

PRAY for Pastor Festim, his wife and beautiful young family. Their love for The Lord and servant hearts were so evident!

ASK THE LORD to strengthen and encourage them as they obediently serve the Lord in Albania.

ASK THE LORD to raise up faithful and committed labourers who will come alongside Pastor Festim and the other Pastors, like ‘Hurs’ and Aarons’ to lift up their tired hands when the battle gets tough.

PRAY for the beautiful youth in all the churches, whose desire for the Lord was evident!  Things are not always easy for them, as they shared with us, but their desire for the Lord and fervour has enabled them to be fruitful witnesses for Jesus!

Let us pray this continues!

LET US DECLARE that out of the mouths of all the youth God would perfect His praise!

Psalm 8:2 (TPT)

You have built a stronghold by the songs of children.

Strength rises up with the chorus of infants.

This kind of praise has power to shut Satan’s mouth.

Childlike worship will silence the madness of those who oppose you.

PRAY that amid the darkness, the youth will remain true lights for Jesus; in their homes among unsaved family members, in schools or colleges and wherever they go.

PRAY for strong bible based Spiritual mentors to come alongside them.

PRAY that the true church in Albania will grow and be stronger than their oppressors:

Psalm 105:24

The Lord made his people grow rapidly in number and stronger than their enemies.

PRAY for an unshakable church established on The Word of God in Albania.

PRAY for the men to come out of the dark strongholds of the world and into ‘The body of Christ.

PRAY for dreams and visions of who Jesus Christ is!

 PRAY for Salvation for whole families and for prayer altars to be set up in homes.

THANK THE LORD for breaking the stronghold of Islam over the lives of family members especially among young people and using the church to reach out to them through the love of God shown in practical ways.

BREAK the spirit of nicotine and all other addictions that cause ill health and death.

Acts 26:18

…To open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’

 THANK AND PRAISE THE LORD, in faith, for setting Albania free, by opening their blind eyes and turning the whole nation from darkness to His marvellous Light and from the power of Satan to God; that they will all receive forgiveness of their sins and a place among all those sanctified by faith in Almighty God!

Psalm 7:17

I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness,

And will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.