Family Reichert
Daniel:
At 21 years of age I moved to Albania. I was a very shy and insecure. Soon I made friends with Albanians; their uncomplicated way of life and friendliness helped me extent my personal boundaries. I am grateful to God that he sent me to Albania so that I could profit from the Albanians.About us:
11 years of church ministry in Albania have passed. It has been the most fulfilling time of my life so far.
At the beginning of the 90’s there was a sense of renewal in the land.
Young people were looking for the true meaning of life after the fall of communism and many opened their hearts for Jesus.
Christian churches were established in many places.
We also however, experienced many disappointments. Many converts suddenly stopped coming, walked away from God and away from the family of believers.
Sometimes this even happened to the best co-workers in our church. How sad.
What was the cause? There were different reasons, but the main root causes were hurt, unforgiveness and unhealthy relationships. “Heart problems” had never really been dealt with.
New hope
The summer discipleship training schools, were we shared our lives with our dear Albanian sisters and brothers, were particular highlights during those years.
The Albanians would suddenly open up about the most difficult experiences of their lives. Because of their deep trust in us they experienced no sense of shame. God light was shed on the dark areas of their hearts and as a result, healing was possible.
Discipleship schools saw breakthroughs even after just a few weeks, whereas, through ordinary church life, such breakthroughs had not been possible, even after months. This experience crystallized a vision within me for a place of communal living; an interdenominational place that equips people for full time ministry; a place where we can share our lives and be open and honest with one another.
The relationship with God is our priority. He heals hearts through the life- changing impact of the Gospel. This is the foundation which equips people to meet the needs of a lost world.
Monika:
I grew up as a missionary child in Congo and when we returned home (I was 8 at that time) God put the desire in my heart that I would eventually go out into missions again.
When we got married in 2001, Daniel had already spent 6 years in Albania and had already become half an Albanian, it became clear to me, that Albania would become "my country", too.
I had just finished my teacher training for elementary school and during that time I had lived for 4 years in an international student's home. I got to know people from different cultures and I learnt that community living holds some advantages; you learn to be committed, honest and sensitive to one another. One has to take off his own mask, as it takes too much energy to pretend...
It has always been on my heart to invest into children and the young generation; also in these 4 years in Albania this has been my desire. Now that we have got children ourselves, we also got closer contact to young couples and families. As ND community we want to invest into families, we want to see healthy marriage life and child education, so that children can grow up in sound families, because they are the smallest cell in society. Our own daughters Sophie (3 1/2) and Olivia (nearly 2) help as keep our feet firmly on the ground.  |
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Last Updated on Monday, 16 February 2009 18:51 |
New Dimensions Team 
