Christina & Josif at their one room home
Christina has passed into the Kingdom of Heaven
One of the stark realities here in Albania is the frequency of debilitating disease and terminal illness. Sometimes, we meet someone who must face both. That was the condition of our friend Christina. Not only had she been confined, for many years, to a wheelchair with MS, but she also suffered from a malignant, inoperable tumor in her throat.
We met Christina, and her husband Josif (more on him in a minute) very soon after our arrival in Albania. They are Orthodox Christians and other missionaries, Fr. Luke and Faith Veronis, as well as Nathan and Lynette Hoppe, introduced us to them. We met them outside the Orthodox Cathedral here
in Tirana, where Christina sat in her wheelchair, on Sunday mornings, with the all the other beggars.
Every Sunday morning, Christina and Josif would leave the house at 5:00 am for the long, 3 mile journey to the cathedral. Josif would have to push Christina in the wheelchair, in every kind of weather, for over one and a half hours to get there early enough to find a good spot to beg.
When the Veronises returned to America, they asked the rest of the mission team here to look after Christina as best we could. All the missionaries here contributed something to their care. We bought a bed for Josif (he had been sleeping on the floor) and we also, along with the Hoppe's, provided money for a worker who cleaned the house and cared for Christina during the day.
When Christina learned of her cancer, her first words were "I want to be an example of faith for people, just like like Lynette Hoppe ". As the tumor grew, she had more trouble eating and more difficulty breathing. Eventually, the doctors told us, the tumor would kill her and we tried to ease her suffering as much as possible. Through everything, Christina and Josif maintained a faithful and positive outlook on life. Their courage and faith were an inspiration to all of us here.
On Sunday, April 15th, 2007, only a week after celebrating her last Pascha here on earth, Christina died in her sleep. She was at her home, surrounded by family and loved ones. We were able to help Josif with the funeral arrangements and expenses and we tried to comfort him as best we could. He told us "I will miss Christina, but I know she is with Our Lord now and that her suffering is at an end".
Please pray for Christina, and also for Josif, who now continues life without his beloved wife.
