I want to use this blog post to share an interview of a young man I had the privilege to meet and get to know in Vlorë, Albania. His name is Klitijan Cibuku, also known as Kliti. He is 21 years old and I met him at our first ministry event through Cru. Throughout my month 6 in Albania, getting to know Kliti has been a blessing. He impacted my life as much as he claims I impacted him. I asked God if I can be part of the process of helping someone understand the truth of who He is, and then he put Kilit in my path. And wow! God is good!
I’ve came a long way on the race, with God revealing so much to me that I didn’t know was possible before. For the first time, since I started the race, I shared my entire testimony to someone: including who I was before the race and who I am today because of what God has been doing in my life. I shared with him the truth, he listened and he wanted in. Below I will share the interview I had with him that he wanted me to share with you all. Questions are from me and the answers are Kliti.
What is the context of how you know Cru and how did you meet our world race team?
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Several months ago, in October, I had started a friendship with Arber, 18yo, volunteer of Cru. I always understood what Cru was – an organization that helped students understand who Jesus was, and guide them through their faith, but I didn’t care for that religion part. I only came to events to hang out with Arber. I have always been against religion. My dad came from a Jehovah’s Witness background that included a lot of rules, like not celebrating birthdays or new years, and my dad always tried to convert me to this God. I hated religion. I did not want to talk about it, since I was so against it. Arber and Rennise, the team leader of Cru, knew this, so they respected my wishes, accepted me and still wanted to hang out with me. I always thought Arber and Rennise were different than other men in this city, and I always enjoyed spending time with them. I knew there was going to be a project coming up that involved this world race team supporting them and helping them in sharing the love of God. When I first heard of you American girls visiting Albania, I was interested in meeting new you all and only saw you as potential friends.
What was life like before you accepted Jesus?
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I felt like a failure because I had just quit my job at the supermarket. They weren’t paying enough and it became very stressful. I was overworked and underpaid. In the beginning of December 10th, I moved back with my parents in the village. I helped my parents with the cows, and worked on the land. During that time, I went into a dark depression, because I was 21 without money and living with my parents. So one day I decided to leave my home around 10 in the morning. Where was I was going? I didn’t know, but I walked 50 miles for 10 hours. I brought nothing with me except for the clothes on my back. My parents did not know I left, but I left because I did not feel complete. Even though they were supportive of me, I felt like I was becoming a burden to my family.
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By the last few hours of that walk, my hands turned frozen, like a dead man’s hands. I laid down on the ground asking my hands to get warm, and they wouldn’t. A car stopped right next to me on the street. The boys in the car asked me if I wanted a ride. I was too cold and tired to reply to their questions, but they drove me to the next biggest intersection where I hitchhiked my way to Vlorë where my sister lives. That was February. I’ve been living with my sister since. A friend fixed me a job at a call center, but I had to learn Italian, and it was hard. I did not enjoy this job, but it was something in the moment. Then I met your world race team.
How has our world team impacted your experience toward Jesus?
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When I first found out you were a group of women who are about God, I thought it was interesting. I figured, “Hey I don’t need to talk about God with them. I’ll just be friends with them.” But when I heard you guys praying with the Cru team, or heard you sing these worship songs, and hear your stories about how God changed your life, I couldn’t resist anymore, I wanted to learn more. So when you, Jasmine, asked me to go out for coffee to hang out and learn more, I was excited. Thank you for sharing your story with me. I was very surprised to hear that our stories of childhood were similar: my parents don’t have a house, and your parents don’t have a house. Your family grew up with financial problems and so does mine. How is it that an American can have similar problems like me? We have a lot in common. I thought Americans were the land of opportunity! I didn’t realize that there would be money problems. But what was also surprising was how you responded to your problems! Your past did not define you. It was hope-giving. I learned it was because you had a relationship with God. Because you know him, you can have a family who doesn’t own a house, but it’s okay because you have God. Jasmine, your past is dark, but it gave me hope. It’s like God is the light at the end of the tunnel. No matter how hard the problems may be. Then I saw how Meggie changed (another girl who accepted Jesus a week earlier), and I saw how she was glowing every time I saw her. It was like something inside her shifted. The new perspective of God made her become filled with so much joy. The way you girls talked about God made it seem like you have met God yourself, as if you know what he looks like, like you actually have a relationship with Him. That was heart changing for me. I didn’t realize you can look at God like that. I thought he was just this divine presence that we can’t interact with. I also really liked our friendship too. It was different than other friends I’ve known before. Then I talked with Rennise a few days after and he helped me understand something really important about my Dad that hindered me from accepting God. I want to give Rennise a big hug and thank him for being there for me. Everything was wrapped up perfectly, then I accepted Jesus into my life.
What made you want to accept God?
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Well if I want to be better, I want to be better in the right way. When I understood that God wants me to be better, and he has a plan for me, because he loves me, then I’ll follow him. I learned there is no hypocrisy in loving God. It’s either I do or I don’t. Now I want to meet Meggie and read the Bible with her.
Now that you have given your life to Jesus, how do you feel?
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I feel relieved. I would not be failed by him. I also just got a job interview! I understand now, that when you have God, you have everything. From your story, you said “if you don’t get married, it’s okay, it’s not the end of the world. Marriage is good, but I’m learning like marriage, sometimes life situations doesn’t happen when we it want to. So I’m learning to trust God. I’m surprised that as a Christian you can get tattoos, drink alcohol (not get drunk), and have fun as long as you have Christ. Because as a son of a Jehovah’s witness, it was all about rules, inside the box, do not celebrate any birthdays or do not visit any relative’s grave. It was non-human. But both of my parents are happy for me. My Dad seems to be glad. My sister told me to understand the Bible from not just my mind, but also my heart, and I want that too.
Is there anything you want to tell the readers who follow this blog and are reading your story?
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Yes, trust God in Jesus Christ because he is the truth, and if you truly love Him, there is no obstacle in the way. You’re the only obstacle in the way of getting to God. There’s no formula to get to him, except for you stopping yourself. I had to learn the hard way. I was stopping myself. God has always been there, is here and will always be here. I believed him, but didn’t trust him until recently.
Thank you for taking time to read this interview between Kliti and I. Below is a video of Kliti speaking and giving his thank you to our team. I posted it on YouTube since he asked me to share it with you all.
