Albert Dosti remembers Albania’s former dictator Enver Hoxha boasting of abolishing religion in 1967. Now, 15 years after communism’s fall, he sees the difference the gospel makes.
“During communism, most people were thinking: ‘How can we damage the other person?’” he recalls. “But when the gospel came, people could really understand what it was to love your neighbor, serve one another and take care of one another.”
Dosti became a believer during his tenure in the communist military. He had been working on radios and came upon a Christian program—one broadcast by Trans World Radio. As he listened in secret, he became more intrigued, and eventually requested a Bible from the station. It was a momentous occasion when the Bible—something he knew most people did not have—came in the mail.
In 1992, Dosti received an invitation to attend a Bible camp. While he was there, he met a group of people who promised to visit him and his town. When they did, what they had to say to him came as a shock.
“I was really surprised when they said to me, ‘You know that God has a plan for your town,’” he says. “And they said: ‘We think that God will use you in your town.’”
Another group came to town a couple of weeks later and stayed with Dosti.
“During those weeks, I was thinking a lot and when the team came in my house, I was telling them everything that I knew about God and everything that I decided so far,” he remembers. “At that moment they invited me to receive Christ in my heart. I kneeled before God, and I [bowed down] my pride, and I told Him, ‘God, you take my life. Use me and my family.’”
Today, Dosti is chairman of TWR’s Albanian partner, Gospel Waves. He’s also a pastor and the director of Victory School, a school with the purpose of sharing the gospel and providing opportunities for Albanians to compete in the modern work force by learning English and computer skills. Albania is one of Europe’s poorest nations due to its struggles under communism and the Balkan conflicts.
The school has 26 Christian teachers and has expanded to other areas. It is well-known as the place to go to for learning how to work with computers.
“In Albania, every institution is being computerized. Computers are everywhere now,” Dosti says. “Even people who work for the government or who have a high position in the town come there to learn. And this is a great testimony and impact on the community.”
Justin Boulmay is a summer intern at Trans World Radio. He is a senior journalism major at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC.
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