Testimonies

My name is Enver Berisha, I was born in Durrës and until the age of 30, I lived under the dictatorial regime of Enver Hoxha. I come from a Muslim family but I grew up in the most convinced atheism. As the elementary school teacher I was, I unfortunately instilled my convictions in my students, particularly regarding the origins of man from monkeys.

Communism, which permeated all aspects of human and social life, taught us that basically man is good and that it was up to us, through our behavior, to bring out the good within. Because of this, I tried to practice and highlight good things to earn the respect of those around me. The mere fact that I had never been to prison and had never killed anyone made me feel like a good person.

In 1991, upon returning from military service, I experienced a period of great change. Many of my peers and some cousins were no longer in Albania but had emigrated to Italy and other countries. I began teaching again, also holding positions of responsibility in the school; deep down, however, I also wanted to flee, like so many others, for a better life. But how?

In Durrës, every Saturday, a group of Italians would gather to read the Bible at a neighbor’s house. For three months, I attended this group with the intent of finding a girl—it didn’t matter where she was from—just to cross the Adriatic. However, I only met married women and for this, 30 years later, I am grateful to the Lord who evidently had another plan for me.

Starting to read the New Testament, I discovered among other things a reality that scared me to death: hell. A meeting with a Muslim priest in April ’92 on this subject did not reassure me, and reading the Quran in Albanian only created confusion. Furthermore, fear prevented me from reopening the Bible because of what I had read there.

One day, while brother Mimmo Caramia was preaching, I understood the love of God and that Jesus had died for me too. I immediately responded to the appeal for those who wanted to be forgiven, and for the first time, I knelt down and with tears in my eyes, I prayed asking God to forgive me. From that moment, I decided to follow the Lord and serve Him for my whole life.

In 1995, I married Manushaqe, a fellow teacher and recent convert, whom the Lord chose to give me for a wonderful service together. At that time, there was a great evangelistic ferment in Albania, and some brothers, encouraged by Salvatore Corcelli, were praying for Albanian missionary couples willing to dedicate themselves to the work.

After 8 months of prayer, Brother Salvatore and the church recognized our missionary service as the Lord’s will. And so, on February 18, 1995, my wife and I left teaching to dedicate ourselves full-time to our only Savior.

Under the Lord’s guidance, we have served in various neighborhoods and villages of Tirana and several cities such as Laç, Shkodër, Elbasan, etc. From 1999 to 2003, we were in Kosovo, and our service extended to female and male prisons, as well as radio ministry.

Since 2017, we have been in Via Besa in Tirana, one of the poor neighborhoods inhabited by Roma people, and near the peripheral village of Babrru. Being teachers, we immediately felt the need to teach young and old to read and write and to get children into school. This also allowed us to spread the Gospel and see souls converted to Christ.

Today, the church consists of about 30 baptized people, in addition to 40 children and adolescents. Since 2020, we have also been overseeing a group of believers in Manza, near Durrës. The work in prisons continues, and God has given us the joy of seeing several baptisms, both men and women.

Our goal, God willing and in His timing, is to move on to establish new testimonies. To God be all the glory!