Davida

A few years ago we received a letter from a girl in one of the villages near to Shkoder. This is what the letter said...

“Dear evangelists of the Christian church, I am sending this letter hoping that it finds you in good health. I, who am writing this letter am 17 years old from Mnela, near Shkoder. After a great struggle, I have found the time and the opportunity to write, and I write these words with all my heart and soul. The time is now 11.30p.m., and it is only at this opportunity that I am free to write to you, due to the fact that my family do not give me permission to be involved in these things.  Dear evangelists, for the last 3 years I have been reading books about the Christian faith, and I will continue to do so till I die, even though my family do not let me, and I have to do this against their desire, and with much opposition. Maybe what I am doing is a sin, but I do not know what else to do, because since I started to read I have found a true peace and do not want to separate from what I have found. At the moment I am at the end of the book, “Jesus – our destiny” by Wilhelm Bush, and this book has given me the courage to write to you, especially since I found your address at the end of the book. It would be the greatest pleasure of my life to have you visit me here at my home, but I know full well, that this is impossible, but if you truly want to obey the words which you have written in this book, then visit me – for me and for you. It would be the most beautiful thing in my life to be able to do a bible course, but I know that it would be impossible because my family would respond in a most aggressive manner if they were to find out, but still I would give everything to be able to do it. If a visit to me is impossible, then please send me some books, and if possible reply to my letter. At the moment I am at school and you can reach me at this address.
Please reply as quick as possible,
With respect.

Davida ”

When we received this letter, we knew that we needed to meet Davida, so as it was early New Year and we still had some Christian calendars, we decided the “safest” way was to go to her school and speak to her there, whilst distributing some calendars. We attended her school and spoke to the headmaster, who was very pleased at receiving free calendars and he allowed us to distribute them to some of the classes. However, he was very suspicious when we mentioned that one his pupils, Davida had been in contact with us and that we wanted to speak to her.
He was not in agreement with this.
It turned out that the headmaster was Davida’s Uncle !!
Praise the Lord, he relented and allowed us to speak to her, but only in the school yard. In fact, he allowed us to visit every second week, and gave Davida permission to leave her class and speak to us for a short time.
That was Davida’s final year at school, and she was keen on going to University in Shkoder, as this would mean living in the halls of residence which are two minutes from our rented meeting hall.
Her parents did not want Davida to go to University. They told her that she could only go to University is she renounced her faith in Christ. Davida refused to do that, and stayed in the village. Living in the villages for a young girl is much like a prison sentence , as they very rarely ever leave their house to go outside.
The next year, Davida’s parents moved to the outskirts of Shkoder, and realising that Davida had no intention of renouncing her faith, allowed her to go to University—and to the meetings. Davida was then able to carry on a bible study with one of our believers each week, and her sister Gjelina also made a profession of faith.  God willing, Davida and Gjelina were baptised last year.

Please pray for their growth in the knowledge of their Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and for the difficulties they have, especially the  pressure from their family to marry a non-Christian.