The bustling seaside town of Shëngjin on the NW coast of Albania is where Spark Ministries started back in 2000. Vali has been part of our team since its early beginnings, and now leads our ministry to children and young people in the town.
At the beginning of 2022 we leased a waterfront shop which has become our base. Every week Vali welcomes a regular group of 30 to 50 children who enjoy fun activities and bible-based teaching – it’s a thriving group. She’s supported by an enthusiastic team of young leaders whose are growing in their faith. There are several children’s discipleship groups during the week where children are excited to meet and learn together.
In 2021, Shëngjin became an Albanian hub for welcoming Afghan refugees. We’ve been delighted to be a part of that warm hospitality. We regularly host a group of up to twelve refugee women and sometimes their young children. They enjoy crafts and activities, and conversations around a convivial cup of coffee – the way Albanian’s love to socialise! The women are very open to talking about the trauma of displacement and also the deeper things of personal faith. We are mutually blessed through these times together.
Our annual summer adventure camp provides an important event to enrich and bless some of the children from Shëngjin. It’s always a joy when children decide to accept an invitation to follow Jesus during these camps.
Shëngjin does not yet have an Evangelical church. Our dream and prayer for this growing group of children and young people to become the beginning of a worshiping community of Christians in the growing community of Shëngjin.