Our Story!

Dear friends!

My name is Genci and I come from a family of Muslim tradition. As I grew up I learned the fear and the reverence towards this god. My grandfather was a devoted Muslim and he had a strong influence on where I should believe. So, during this time I began to follow some of the Muslim religion. One of them was to go to “holy places” (like small huts where was buried the body of a devoted Muslim etc). Another was to keep the Ramadan (Muslim fasting). But the truth is that also though I would follow all these things, I felt empty, unsecured and not complete.
In 1992, on my school there were distributed some flyers shortly introducing Jesus, I read them and while I was on the 8th grade I decided to accept Jesus in my life. I was impressed by the death of Jesus although He had done no sin. On the 4 following years of high school I knew only that Jesus was God, but I had not given up to Him all the areas of my life.
When I came to college in Tirana (the capital) I got to meet other Christians involved with Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC). These years as a student helped me to get to know God better, while He gently changed my view on how: everyone should know Him personally in their lives. Latter, changes came to whole family where my sister and my parents accepted Jesus as their savior.
One thing that I am very thankful is that God has changed so much my father’s heart that from a person that did not have any interest in Jesus has become the one that talks about Him in his work as a teacher.
After I finished college, my plans were to go back home. But at the same time in my heart had begun to grow a desire to serve God by telling others about the hope that is in Him.
I graduated with a bachelor in Electric Engineering Faculty specialized in Telecommunication on 2002. And immediately I joined staff in CCC serving with high school ministry. I am happy that I can tell others about the good news that changed my life. One thing that I am thankful is the fact that I can see the lives of students change through Jesus love. I know many students that are now my friends. Friendship, time with students is my biggest encouragement and joy.

Irida and I were married on August 5, 2006. Now we are both serving with the High School ministry. On September 3, 2007 God blessed us with a son, Daniel.

My name is Irida Hoxha.
I came from a muslim tradition. I graduated for Mathematics. While I was a student I was introduced with Jesus and the salvation God offered to every human and since than I trusted Him as Lord and savior of my life. CCC staff members helped me to know God better through Bible studies and the best way through the testimonies of their lives. They let me see how they honored and trusted Jesus in daily life. They got involved very dipply and patiently in my life. I went back into my hometown working as a teacher but my heart was full of thankfulness towards God and the way he used the staff members into my life. Into my heart was growing a great desire to serve Him full time in the youth ministry by helping them to know Jesus.
Since 2001 I have been serving with the CCC-Albania. I started in Shkodra, a large city in North Albania, than I served in Kosovo, Prishtina for 1 year.
In June 2006 I got involved into an other ministry, Youth at the Threshold of Life, which is a ministry with the high school students of Tirana (our capital).

Like a warm breeze

Irida: One evening I received a text message in my cell phone. When I read it I wanted to read and reread it again for joy. It was from two girls I had met two years ago, named Genta and Esa. They wrote: “How are you? How has Daniel been? We know we haven’t showed up for some time now, but we want to make up for it. Can we meet tomorrow?” I could hardly wait to see them.
I had met Genta and Esa during an evangelistic project “The American Week” in March 2007. I made good friends with them during this time. I was pregnant and they made my life beautiful by their joy and enthusiasm for the baby that was growing inside me. At the beginning I was embarrassed to meet teenagers in the state that I was, but Genta and Esa as soon as they would see me, they would come running to me and just encouraged me so. During our project, Esa accepted Christ and joined a Bible study group. At that time Genta heard about faith, but never made a decision to accept Jesus.
What delighted me about these two girls was that besides their being very good students, they were also very companionable and with their openness they created a very good atmosphere.
After the birth of Daniel, I wasn’t able to get a hold of them anymore. They had changed their cell numbers, and were focused more on their studies preparing for University. I remembered them and their friends very often in my prayers, until the text message came and warmed my heart.
I met them the next day. They were now University students of Law. Here in Albanian studying law is a success that shows a lot of work during high school. So, two successful girls. I was wondering what brought them back. Sometimes failure brings people to God, but they were successful and optimistic.
They told me they missed us as staff and remembered our meetings with longing and emotion. I encouraged them to join our university students’ ministry. I introduced them to a staff of Student Life and told them, “I want you to join the Student Life meetings, because you have great potential and will surely make an impact for good, besides learning more about God.” They said, “We will try to go there and be what you say.” They also went to the student weekend in fall organized by Student Life. They have been going regularly in the weekly meetings and Genta says she trusts Jesus now.
I (Irida) thank God for the joy they gave me and for the reassurance about the work with high school students.
God bless you,
Irida, Genci and Daniel

Dear Friends

Here in our website you can see our prayer letters and also some pictures from my family.

We thank God every time we remember you in our prayers.
This is a short encouragement about the prayer, I shared on the International Prayer Day we had as staff members of CCC-Albania.

Walk on water

Why should we pray? What do we need to pray about? Why to pray when we know that God is sovereign and that His plan is designed? Does prayer bring any change and what kind of change is that? These are some of the questions that come in my mind when I am in a usual prayer meeting, and especially when the whole day is dedicated to God in prayer. Today the question in my heart has been: will my prayer bring any change?

We all know the story where Jesus walks on water at Matthew 14:22-36. Piter, as the natural leader of the group of desciples asked Jesus to do the same thing, to walk on water too. Only Piter asked to Jesus something like this that night. And Piter walked on water, although later he began to sink. The important thing is that Piter asked something to Jesus and that request was recorded in history as the story we have today written.

What if the twelve disciples would have asked Jesus the same thing, to walk on water? Would Jesus allow them to do it? Sure, why not?! What would have happend? We would have a story of 12 disciples walking on the water. May be one of them would have had more faith than the others and would have walked on water more than Piter and the others.
12 disciples that asked something to Jesus that night...12 desciples walking on water...the story would have been so different!

The same thing happens when we pray. If you ask something to Jesus and that request is in His will, it will be done. The story will be written according to what you ask to Him. While you and me pray, we write our prayer stories which are written in the heaven through the things that God wants to do in our lives. These stories will be written only if we ask Him something today, if not nothing will be written. Let ask from Jesus today not alone but all together, that He will do the things that only He can do! Today, while praying, you are writing your prayer story. It will be written by the things you ask in prayer. Ask to God! Walk on water!
We pray this will be an encouragement for you.

Please pray for us:

That we as a family will continue to walk close with God.

In 14 - 16 November we will have our fall retreat with students.

We will share the Gospel there. Please pray for open hearts.

With Christ's LOVE
Genci Irida and Daniel