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Limitless Spirit
For the seekers of a greater purpose in life, opportunities to serve in missions and personal growth in Christ with host Helen Todd.
Limitless Spirit
All about Albania: a path to spiritual awakanening
What lead a devout Muslim boy from Albania to radically change his beliefs and embrace Christianity?
In this episode Hervin Fushikati, hares his journey from a strict Muslim upbringing to discovering faith in Christ. Hervin's story is intertwined with the rich history of Albania, once known as Illyricum, and its turbulent journey through the centuries. From being a Christian nation mentioned in the Bible to enduring Ottoman rule and becoming a predominantly Muslim country, Hervin offers a unique perspective on Albania's spiritual landscape. His personal transformation began in an extremist mosque and culminated in an unexpected encounter with a loving Christian community that forever changed his life.
You will also learn the socio-economic challenges Albania faces today, including youth migration and corruption, and explore how the church can be a beacon of hope. Hervin shares inspiring tales of Albanian hero Skanderbeg, who defended Europe against the Ottoman Empire, drawing parallels between historical and contemporary faith-driven transformations. As we wrap up, we highlight opportunities for global mission work, encouraging those who feel called to make a difference to consider joining our mission to Albania in March 2025. Hervin's journey is a testament to the transformative power of faith, and we invite you to visit World Missions Alliance's website at rfwma.org to learn more about participating in short-term missions across 32 countries. Don't miss out on this heartfelt and inspiring conversation.
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Welcome to Limitless Spirit, a weekly podcast with host Helen Todd, where she interviews guests about pursuing spiritual growth, discovering life's purpose through serving others and developing a deeper faith in Christ. Welcome to the.
Speaker 2:Limitless Spirit, a podcast for those who are actively pursuing their greater purpose in Christ. One of my favorite parts of getting to know a person is hearing how they came to know Jesus. My guest today is Hervin Fushikati. He is a Christian leader from a Muslim country of Albania and his story is quite remarkable because it does not involve a person directly sharing the gospel with him. In this conversation, hervin shares some incredible facts about his beautiful country. He talks about the unique history of Albania, what is happening there today and how missions-minded Christians can impact Albania for Christ. You will also hear what he thinks about the Trump family developing an Albanian island into a luxury resort. Hello, herben, welcome to the Limitless Spirit.
Speaker 3:Hello, good to be here.
Speaker 2:It is so cool that you are joining us all the way from Tirana, albania. Thank God for technology right.
Speaker 3:Amen, yes indeed.
Speaker 2:Well, I think we're going to have a very interesting conversation, because not only you deeply love your country, but you're also a history buff, so anyone who wants to know more about Albania today is in for a treat. I personally love when you give us tours when we're in Albania, because I feel like each time I learn so much. But you know, for our listeners who maybe don't know much about Albania, what are some of the most important things that you would want them to know about your country.
Speaker 3:Well, our ancient name is Illyricum, which stands for the free ones. It is a. It's mentioned in the Bible, in Romans and, as a matter of fact, when the Roman Empire was expanding, they built highways to connect the east to the west, and these highways passed through Albania, right in the center, and because of that it became a very strategic location. As a matter of fact, it was used for commerce, for military purposes, but it was also used for the expansion of the gospel. When Paul says in Romans that you know, under the power of the Holy Spirit, he has preached the gospel from Jerusalem and all the cross until Illyricum, followed by signs and wonders, in the power of the Holy Spirit, he actually. The reason for it is because he was going through the routes where the population had spread in that time of the world. So, as a matter of fact, paul was possibly in Illyricum trying to fundraise to further his mission to Europe, and he is writing a letter to the Romans standing on the other side of the Adriatic at that time.
Speaker 2:I find it incredibly cool that Christianity came to Albania through the Apostle Paul or, you know, other early Christian missionaries, and through centuries. There were many different influences that came to Albania, including Islam through the Ottoman Empire, and then atheism. Albania was known as the officially atheist country during the years of the communist regime, but now that there is freedom in Albania, I feel like this wave of Christianity is returning to your country, and so what a great testament to the fact that the seeds of the gospel are never lost, even if, for a time, they have to remain deep in the ground. So I want to ask you about your stories. How did you come to know Christ? Because you were born in a Muslim family. Am I correct?
Speaker 3:That's correct. Yes, so Albania, it's predominantly a Muslim country. About 75%, 80% of the population of the Albanians is Muslim. Originally it used to be a Christian country, but we were under the Ottoman Empire for about 500 years and as a result of that, culture was imposed. You know, muslim culture was imposed in Albania and you know, moving fast forward 500 years later, I am born in a Muslim family. For a lot of Albanians, to be an Albanian means to be also a Muslim.
Speaker 3:So for me, the history it's actually interesting because it was the mosque that introduced me to the Christians and then to the gospel, in a way, the youth activities that the mosque that I was attending was a kind of an extremist group, so they were giving me and other youth, muslim youth. They were giving us brochures, written some of them from Ahmed Didat, trying to disprove Christianity or to say to prove that the Bible is not the word of God and it's a corruption of what the Christians did with the Bible. So I was 17 years old, I would go to one of the first churches that was planted in Albania, evangelical Church, and I'll try to distribute this literature. One of the brochures was even called the 50,000 Mistakes of the Bible. What was interesting was that, even though the Christians knew my agenda and they knew that my intentions were not good ones you know I was trying to cause intimidation, make noise in the church during worship and all this Yet they were very happy to see me come back. They would welcome me back. That was one thing, the love that they had for me. The other thing that I noticed was that during worship service, the Christians had testimony time and in the testimony time I saw these teenagers that would actually claim to speak to God or to hear from God. Now, in a Muslim context, the people that hear from God have a very special status, that is, the status of a prophet, and that was Muhammad. Muhammad heard from God. He was the messenger of God. So here I am in this church and it is shocking to me because this church is like infested with teenage prophets. So that was also shocking for me. In the debates that I would have with the Christians, they would always tell me in a very loving way that I was taking things out of context. So when I would quote from the scriptures, from you know, based on this leaflets from Ahmed Didat, they said haven't you taken that out of context.
Speaker 3:So I placed a commitment on myself to be a better debater against Christians. So in order to do that, I started to read the Bible, the New Testament, the Old Testament back then was not translated yet, so and I started with the Gospel of Matthew. You know Mark, luke and then John. When I reached the gospel of John, I understood that for Christians, jesus is the. You're either included or excluded in salvation through Jesus. Because John 3 speaks about. You know that he who has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son shall not see life. Has the son has life. He who does not have the son shall not see life. So for me it was.
Speaker 3:I came to a by the time this was a process of about several weeks and for me it was like what if the Christians are right and the Muslims are wrong? You know I understand how the gospel works because I've been debating it for several months. It's not like I'm accepting it, but I understand how it works. I understand that Jesus died for the sins of humanity and so I thought I should give it to God in prayer. Now you've got to understand also that I am surrounded by love of these Christians. I also am always welcome back. I also am faced with the daily testimonies of the Christians where they claim to hear from God. So I was like I'm going to give it to God in prayer and ask God for a sign and experience, just like these Christians have an experience. I gave God three options. I said God, you can cause an earthquake, you can shoot the lightning or you can cause a wind inside of this room. And then I waited and waited for a miracle. None of those miracles actually happened.
Speaker 3:But what was interesting was that right after I go back to church the next time to debate, to intimidate Christians, today, when I look at it in retrospective, the whole spiritual atmosphere in the church had changed. During the worship, I started having an emotional reflection to what the songs you know was being said, you know. And during the sermon the preacher starts speaking about sin and I have this strong conviction that I'm a sinner. And then he talks about Jesus, how Jesus died for our sins, and I have a strong conviction about that. Only Jesus can take away my sin.
Speaker 3:So and this I believe is a work of the Holy Spirit, because Jesus himself promised in John 14 and then John 16, he says that there will be two things that the Holy Spirit will do when he comes he will bring conviction of sin and he will testify for Jesus. So, and this was exactly what had happened, and so, and this was exactly what had happened, I had prayed, a sincere prayer to God, even though God did not answer exactly what I requested. You know those three miracles. He had used that opportunity for the Holy Spirit to come in my life and then, you know, bring conviction of sin and then testify about that. I need Jesus. So, this powerful emotional experience, you know I would have goosebumps and tears repeated itself. That worship service, the next one and the next one, until I finally surrendered my life to Jesus.
Speaker 2:So you know, your story is a very interesting perspective on what missionary work is all about, because it seems like sometimes it is more important to be a Christian than to preach Christianity, because it wasn't a person that won you to Christ, it was the Holy Spirit working in your heart and in your spirit. But that love that the Christians showed you, in spite of you being the disruptor and the opponent initially, what kept you coming back. And so what a beautiful, beautiful testimony really blessed my heart hearing this story. So what is happening in Albania today from the Christian perspective? Do you feel like there is a revival of Christian faith? Is there a hunger? What is happening?
Speaker 3:I believe, first of all, what happened to me can happen to a lot of other Muslims or nominal Muslims that are in Albania. The Holy Spirit is orchestrating a certain context, different people that are hungry, spiritually hungry, and they want to know more and want to know God in a personal level and have a personal experience. So it's not like one particular way or another. Just like in the Bible, it says that you know, one sows, another one waters, and God makes it, you know, grow. So we do not know when we choose to join to trips, to come to Albania and share the gospel. We do not know at what point God is actually bringing us to this plan, that he's about to get ready and to harvest the soul that he will harvest.
Speaker 3:What I want to say as encouragement, though, is that the Albanian people are a very loving people, very friendly. They like to talk about God and hear about God. Even if they would come from a Muslim background, they are very open to hear about the gospel. They are not mostly, they are not antagonistic, you know, especially in the big cities, they're open to let, to allow their children also to hear the gospel. So this is a great opportunity. I'm reminded that Jesus would send, two by two, his disciples to different places and he would say you know, if you find a person of peace, do not move away from him. You know, go and stay with this person of peace. And my encouragement is that in Albania, when Christians come, they will find a lot of people of peace that will be open to hear about the gospel and to be rooted in some kind of a Christian community and then grow.
Speaker 2:And I certainly witnessed this myself Absolutely loved interacting with the Albanian people. So let's talk about what's the heartbeat of Albania today. What are some of the challenges that Albania is facing as a country? What are some of the concerns that are on people's minds?
Speaker 3:The big concerns in Albania would be some economical concerns. Albania is somewhat, you know, geographically it's an integral part of the European continent and with the changes in policies in Europe have made it more favorable for people to immigrate. So a lot of Albanians and youth is immigrating and leaving the country. This is to some extent paralyzing the social fabric in Albania, you know, when it comes to professionality, in the medical sector, in the education sector and all of that. So this would be the big challenge A lot of youth is leaving and churches are struggling, the economy, the society in general, is struggling because of that, so that I would say, together with maybe some levels of corruption in the policy, in the politics, this would be the main problems in Albania.
Speaker 2:I see. So how do you feel Christianity can address these problems? And maybe, yeah, how do you feel overall the church in Albania can address these problems?
Speaker 3:do you feel, overall, the church in Albania can address these problems? Yes, correct. I think one of the main things is that different social structures, you know, like the church actually being on the lead of it, you know needs to encourage. What are the main? If we could talk in a capital aspect, you know what is the strongest social capital that we have, the identity that we have as being Christian and being Albanian. What does that mean? How can we actually contribute, be encouraged?
Speaker 3:The challenge with a lot of the youth that is leaving the country is that they are discouraged, and I believe the economical aspect can still discourage, can still disappoint. You know, wherever they go, if they do not know God, they will be disappointed, you know. So I think that is why the church needs to even stronger share the gospel, use this opportunity of people being open. This openness, this friendliness that we have can be utilized by God, by the Holy Spirit, for people to convert, to be transformed and then to be contributors, even in a sacrificial way. Stick in the country, stay in the country, stay around and improve the country.
Speaker 2:It's interesting because one of my previous podcasts I was talking with Pastor Berer from Serbia. You know him and he was talking about Serbian nationalism and how it sometimes can be toxic and how in many ways incompatible with true Christianity. But it seems like for Albania, perhaps Christianity can revive the nationalism in society where they can embrace their country and commit to their country and to the well-being of their country. Do you think so?
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's interesting. There is different factors playing in the Balkans. So in Albania, because of history, Albanians always have felt in a humbling way as an inferior group, so the national pride is not really playing and nationalism is not playing a very important role in Albania. So I think the humbleness that the people have connected with Christianity actually will play a very important role. This would not be the same, I think, if it would be in Greece or in Serbia, where the national pride is at a much higher level. We don't really have that, you know. That's why the Albanians might be leaving. You know they are like they. It's not that they don't have love for the country, but they are looking for a different kind of identity. They have a kind of lost their own identity and I think the true identity that will never disappoint is, whether we are Albanians or Serbs or Greeks, the real identity is in Christ, because he is the image of God and he's the redemption of the image of God in every human, whether it's Albanian or Serb or Greek.
Speaker 2:Amen to that. I couldn't agree more with you. Well, our conversation about Albania would not be complete if we didn't talk about your national hero, Skanderbeg. So for people who have never heard about him, why is he a hero and what is his story?
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, in many similar ways. So he's a hero to me first of all. So he's a national hero, but he's also my personal hero. We mentioned the Via Ignatia, or the highways that the Romans built 2,000 years ago. Those roads were utilized 1,500 years later by the Ottomans to have the Muslim expansion of Europe and in order for them to go to Europe, they needed to maintain and control this pathway, this road, the Agnatia.
Speaker 3:And our national hero has a similar history of mine. He was taken, forced into Islam. He became a Muslim general, then top general. He was the one that was sent to conquer Europe. He was sent to conquer an army led by Hunyadi, the national hero of Hungary, Hunyadi, the national hero of Hungary. On the way, he has a conversion experience to Christianity, no-transcript. And he took control of the Vyagnatia, or of this narrow valleys through the mountains in Albania. And it's a miracle because, with an army of about 5,000 to 8,000 people for 30 years, a full generation he put a stop to the Muslim expansion or the Turkish expansion. The Turks put all the efforts they had at times 250,000 soldiers against just 5,000 or 8,000 soldiers, because they needed to conquer Skanderbeg in order to go to Europe.
Speaker 3:Bankrupted, A lot of historians say that if it was not for the event of Skanderbeg, our national hero, Europe, would be a Muslim country. But because he put a stop and he bankrupted them, Europe and the rest of the world, you know, because it was the developed world of the time, the developed Christian world. Now it's a Christian world. But the interesting thing is, though a lot of historians still debate why he won, why he won all the battles, I personally believe that his Christian faith, connected with the war and defense of, you know, Albania, played a very important role. Some of the chronicles that speak about him speak how he encourages soldiers by quoting scriptures. For example, he would say if God is for us in this war, who can be against us? So, with that encouragement and a lot of sacrifice, they actually withstood a powerful, mighty army, and it is proof that God was on his side of this humble Christian.
Speaker 2:Wow, you know. So many conversion experiences in our conversation today point to the fact how much value is in conversion of just one person. You know, paul becoming a Christian led to Albania having Christian roots, and Skanderbeg becoming a Christian led to Albania having Christian roots, and Skanderbeg becoming a Christian essentially influenced the Christianity remaining the prevalent religion in Europe. And then your conversion essentially leads to you being in charge of ISTL and one of the best educational institutions in the Balkans, raising Christian leaders. Let's talk about that, thank you.
Speaker 3:Yes, about 16 years ago, at the church that I planted, we needed to have an educational program that would train other leaders to encourage discipleship and as a byproduct of that, a lot of churches would be planted. And it started with a very humble beginning, but then it moved beyond our church borders, our denominational borders and now national borders. So the International School of Theology and Leadership today has every year about 150 students that are pioneers for the gospel in many, many different ways, and ministries primarily focused in discipleship and mission work. So I'm very excited to say that in the last 16 years over 120 churches have been blended. Last 16 years over 120 churches have been planted and, interesting enough, all these churches have been planted If we trace the Pauline routes, missionary journeys and Peter's missionary journey to go to Rome. These churches have been planted right along this Via Ignatia. Via ignatia, you know, from durus, tirana, elbasan, going to macedonia, to ohrid and beyond.
Speaker 3:So I'm very excited that in this stretch of the road we are experiencing a reverse of evangelism. You know, the gospel, according to paul, started in jerusalem and when he was writing Romans it had reached already Illyricum and Rome and he wanted to further it away through the corners of the earth. Today, we see that there is more Christians in the outer skirts of the earth of what used to be from Jerusalem. The outer skirts, you know, latin America, us, korea, australia, indonesia, china, all of these countries. And I believe that the gospel is about to reverse back, following those ancient routes, those ancient journeys, like that ripple effect, and is going to go back to Jerusalem, which is interesting because Jerusalem and Israel is a kind of surrounded by Muslim countries around that were once Christian countries, and I believe that God is going to use, you know, like former Muslim Albanians, to reverse this evangelism back all the way to Jerusalem as we wait for the return of our Lord.
Speaker 2:Oh, my goodness, you made me so excited, excited about the work I'm doing. And, of course, all the roads go through Illyricum, so the gospel will be channeled through Albania back to Jerusalem. My goodness, how amazing is that. Well before we finish our conversation, that Well before we finish our conversation, I want to address the modern day news. So apparently, the Trump family is developing an island in Albania. Is that true?
Speaker 3:That's indeed. Yes, yes, it's actually our biggest island. We hear it on the news and we check on the news. I actually was on holidays very close to the island, wanted to do a trip there before it started getting developed. But it's a lot of excitement about it because it's going to bring it's going to strengthen the economy. So it's a good thing for our country. It's going to strengthen the economy. I think our governmental system is happy because it's going to bring a lot of taxes in. But I also am happy because it's going to bring a lot of taxes in. But I also am happy because it's going to encourage employment in the country and those professionals that I said that are immigrating outside of the country. This kind of entrepreneurship is going to keep them in country. So it's a beautiful area of Albania, so I'm happy it's going to be developed that way.
Speaker 2:So I'm happy it's going to be developed that way. Well, God works in mysterious ways and seems like he's answering the prayers of Christians to keep the brain power in Albania. So we'll see what comes through that. Well, thank you so much, Hervin, for this conversation. We look forward to being with you next year in March, and in the meantime, my prayer is that God blesses your work, your ministry and your family abundantly.
Speaker 3:Thank you very much, helen, and thank you for reaching out and thank you for encouraging good friends and ambassadors for Albania, for the mission of God here in Albania. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2:What I loved about Hervin's salvation story is that, though nobody formally shared the gospel with him, the way church members treated a Muslim boy trying to disrupt their services intrigued him enough to dig deeper. The Great Commission can be accomplished in many different ways. If Jesus' call to go into all the world and make disciples resonates with your heart. If Hervin's story about Albania piqued your interest about his lovely country, perhaps you can pray about joining our mission to Albania in March of 2025. Visit the website for World Missions Alliance it's rfwmaorg and find out how you can become involved in taking the gospel to the nations.
Speaker 1:Until next time, I'm Helen Todd. Others experience this transformation. Christ called his followers to make disciples across the world. World Missions Alliance gives you an opportunity to do this through short-term missions in over 32 countries across the globe. If you want to help those who are hurting and hopeless and discover your greater purpose in serving, check out our website rfwmaorg and find out how to get involved.