The Jesus of Deçan

They beat him only because he did what the hoxhas (Muslim clerics) should have done a long time ago. Protestant missionary is attacked only because he was building a protestant center in a neighborhood of Deçan.

By Gjergj Filipaj (in Kosova paper Express, August 2005)

When the attacker struck him in the face, Mark Orfila turned the other cheek, suggesting to the Junik police that they forgive him because the young man didn’t know what he was doing. American Mark Orfila, protestant missionary in Deçan, took to the end the advice of Jesus Christ that when the enemy strikes you to turn the other cheek.

 Missionary Mark Orfila was beaten last Sunday evening only because he was preaching different from the local hoxha of Deçan. He didn’t oppose his attacker, even asking for him to be spared two months jail time. â€œI said to the police that I have forgiven him because God teaches us to forgive those who do bad to us,” says the beaten missionary.

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