Pray for Albanian Missionaries in Macedonia

Dear All,

David and I (Yulia) wanted to let you know about an incident in Skopje, in the country of Macedonia on Thursday night, 19 November. Geni, one of the Albanian full time missionary men on our team was called by an Albanian who had questions about the upcoming Student Retreat. Geni did not know the person but they wanted more information. Geni suggested they meet in the center. The contact called him while Geni was waiting at the agreed location and suggested they meet closer to the old city which is a very Muslim part of town. Geni said that wasn't a good idea and eventually headed home.

On the way home, two guys caught up with him (he had seen them at a distance while waiting in the center) and asked if he wanted coffee, Geni said "no" because it was late. They attacked him and hit him a few times. The attack was very quick and the guys ran. One was about 16 yrs old and the other was in his 20's. The older was mujahadeen.

Most of Geni’s injuries are deep bruising. However, he is VERY scared. According to the testimony of Geni’s Albanian team leader he is afraid to sleep alone, afraid to sleep in the dark, and constantly worried about who could have passed his name and number on to the two guys. Please pray for him.

Geni is presently back in Albania for some documents related to his Macedonian visa. He was asked to stay there a little longer in order to have a chance to process what has happened and receive some wise Christian counseling.

Please pray for Geni and other Albanian missionaries in Macedonia. Their goal is to reach out with the gospel of Christ to the very Muslim Albanian minority that lives in the country. Ethnic Macedonians who are culturally Christian Orthodox have not been able to bridge the cultural and religious gap with Albanian Muslim minority. Our Albanian friends who moved to Macedonia as missionaries stand as servants of the King of Kings in the face of a dark enemy. They love the enemy deeply out of their intimacy with Christ. But, things like this can drive us to fear. Please pray for protection physically and also emotionally.

David and Yulia Beatty