Preacher James

Last week James taught five different lessons to five different gatherings of Christians.

Each lesson is a challenge. First he has to write the lesson in English, translate it to Albanian, then translate it back to English to make sure it didn't get garbled in translation. Then he creates his PowerPoint slides, then writes notes in English so that he doesn't forget what his PowerPoint says. It's a long process. We appreciate online translation apps, and James is learning Albanian faster than all of us. But it's a ton of work and dedication to detail.

After all this, his lesson has to be translated verbally as he speaks. He is working with some teenage translators who are gaining experience from translating and so he will give them some terms and phrases in advance and encourage them to read the key scriptures in English.

The church in Berat is unique in that most members are very elderly and also new Christians. Arthritis and eyesight make turning pages in a Bible difficult, so every verse is shared on the large screen.

This last weekend, he also taught the youth and Sunday service in Durrës. The Durrës church of Christ is a lot more established with many young people. It's always a breath of fresh air to worship with them.

He also teaches youth classes. Many of the youth know English, which is a blessing to us and our kids, but we also have those lessons translated for everyone.

It's a big shift for someone who is used to speaking off the cuff and from his heart to put so much time into preparing for just one lesson, I'm so proud of him for dedicating so much time and attention to it.

His current series are on the people of Faith from Hebrews 11 (Thursdays) and Spiritual Gifts (Sundays) and The Story of the Bible (teens). I always love to hear him teach. He inspires me so much.