Getting involved has never been easier

I’m writing this update to invite you to get closer to our ministry. Great things happen, and you too can be part of it!

God has bigger plans…
I had a coffee with one of our chaplains, and we discussed the importance of going to seminars.
He said: “One seminar actually did change my life completely. God spoke there clearly to me: I have bigger plans for your life”. Surprisingly (?) somebody during that seminar prayed for him in exact the same words: God has bigger plans with your life.
When he was a young boy, he was on his way to be a serious hacker. But God had something better prepared for him. He now is a pastor in a small village, and great things happen. He is also our prison chaplain, and a church has started in the prison where he serves.

Becoming members of the family of believers
We just finished our 4 months Winter Project through which we distributed food parcels and fire wood to 300 families of prisoners. We work closely together with 35 local churches all over Albania.
When we prepared our reports for our donor partner, we realized that almost 200 families have become regular members of the local churches around them. They’re not all devoted believers yet, but they found their place in “the family of believers” and when they really want, they can find God. As Acts 17:27 says: “.. so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;”

The Prisoners Journey
The Prisoners Journey is such a great program. I can’t thank God enough that PFI has selected Albania to be part of the pilot phase.
A couple of hundred prisoners have already finished the course, and many lives have been changed since then! One young man in his twenties said about the course: “I actually came to oppose everything that you were to teach us. But you made us read and think ourselves, and now I believe there is Hope, even for me and the bad things I’ve done”.
Recently I’ve met with several prison wardens about our TPJ courses. To my pleasant surprise we got plenty of backing from chiefs of education, police officers and even the national directory for Albanian prisons.
This year we want to graduate 1.300 inmates. Would you pray that we reach this challenging goal?

And how do you get involved?
Subscribe – The easiest way is to subscribe to this blog via email. Check the menu right on this page.
Pray – You could add our ministry to your regular prayer list. We have big plans, and great expectations. Please pray that we “.. run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith .. ” Hebr.12:2
Give – We’ve opened an account via JustGiving.com and it’s plain simple now to donate. To reach our Prisoner Journey’s goals this year we only need 100 donors for 25 euro!!
And when 4 persons each donate 15 dollar, we can support a family of a prisoner for a month, buying medicines, school material, food, a vocational training – whatever is needed. That easy!

Get involved, stay updated, and join our mission:
To share the gospel of Jesus Christ and break the circle of Poverty and Impossibilities

Many blessings to you,
Fred Westerink
Director Shkbsh – Prison Fellowship Albania