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Christ and the KalashnikovA trip out of the comfort zoneCHRIST AND THE KALASHNIKOV This book is a well written, inspirational account detailing what God can do through the lives of a man and a woman who are totally committed to him. It tells the story of how, after initial aid work among illegal Albanian refugees in the railway yards of Thessaloniki in Greece, Ian Loring and his Californian wife, Caralee, are led by God's Spirit to take the gospel into Albania, following the collapse of the Communist regime in April 1981. The book catalogues God's bountiful provision for those who are willing, as Ian says, 'to step out of their comfort zones and go to the edge, trusting that God will be there to meet them too'. On many occasions in the ten years of pioneering mission work covered in this story, Ian and Caralee find themselves 'on the edge' in their service for him. Following under-cover forays into the country in 1991, they eventually move in Korce in 1992 and establish a church in the town. From there the work expands to the town of Erseke in October 1994 and, after much opposition, a new church is born there. In 1997 anarchy strikes the nation, but the couple (with their unborn child) continue their ministry in spite of gun battles and death threats. Through all these events, they prove God's faithfulness as he meets them 'on the edge' physically, mentally and spiritually, so when they are faced with the massive burden of caring for 6,000 Kosovan refugees in 1999 and the sheer logistics again bring Ian to his knees 'on the edge' before God, he not only answers but provides Albanian Christian helpers to aid the rehabilitation of the refugees! Read this book! It's a must, but it will challenge your paltry 'comfort zone' Christianity!! Graham Laywood© Evangelicals Now - September 2001 |