Tuesday, December 6, 2016
Dec 5 NDODHI!!!!
Hey Familja! Sorry, I don't have a whole lot of time, but my week was top fare!
We found this awesome place to serve this week! It's this place that serves old people that live on their own, and it gives them tea and lunch! We got to go there and help out, and I'm super excited to keep going back and seeing what kind of people we'll be able to influence there! We also set up a Christmas tree there!
We've been working super hard this week with Less Actives! We met with four families on Saturday, and unfortunately, only one lady came, but we're working! So remember how last week I told you about that "almost miracle?" Well we found that house this week! We met with a member, and he gave us the number of another member, and we went to where he told us, and we went to the wrong building, but we met with this guy who was super awesome, and has 3 daughters, and he's a good guy! Which is awesome! It's a treasure to find genuinely good people! And then we asked this lady where the Bako family lived, and we we're on the fourth floor, and she's like, "oh yeah, let's go!" And we went down the building, and out, and found his building! Then we were taking some pictures of the 696 on the wall, and this guy walks by, and we say hi and find out he is Haxhi Bako!!!!! WHAT!?!?!? That's like 6 miracles by now or something! So we went up to his room, and met with him, got his number, gave a lesson, and now we're gonna go back there! It was incredible. We couldn't believe it. Almost. Miracles happen. By the way, "ndodhi" means "it happened."
I love my mission so much. I am being sanctified and purified. I love my Savior. I am being changed, and I love the process of coming closer to Christ. He is my Savior, and my Redeemer. I am His servant, and I will profess His name as long as I live and into the eternities. I am coming to know Him more and more every day. We have a commitment from President Weidmann and it says, "I will with all my heart dedicate my life to the Savior. He can then sanctify me and purify me so that I can know Him and see Him." President Weidmann was inspired when he made that. It's real. I love my savior. :) I love you all!
Elder Shnajder
We found this awesome place to serve this week! It's this place that serves old people that live on their own, and it gives them tea and lunch! We got to go there and help out, and I'm super excited to keep going back and seeing what kind of people we'll be able to influence there! We also set up a Christmas tree there!
We've been working super hard this week with Less Actives! We met with four families on Saturday, and unfortunately, only one lady came, but we're working! So remember how last week I told you about that "almost miracle?" Well we found that house this week! We met with a member, and he gave us the number of another member, and we went to where he told us, and we went to the wrong building, but we met with this guy who was super awesome, and has 3 daughters, and he's a good guy! Which is awesome! It's a treasure to find genuinely good people! And then we asked this lady where the Bako family lived, and we we're on the fourth floor, and she's like, "oh yeah, let's go!" And we went down the building, and out, and found his building! Then we were taking some pictures of the 696 on the wall, and this guy walks by, and we say hi and find out he is Haxhi Bako!!!!! WHAT!?!?!? That's like 6 miracles by now or something! So we went up to his room, and met with him, got his number, gave a lesson, and now we're gonna go back there! It was incredible. We couldn't believe it. Almost. Miracles happen. By the way, "ndodhi" means "it happened."
I love my mission so much. I am being sanctified and purified. I love my Savior. I am being changed, and I love the process of coming closer to Christ. He is my Savior, and my Redeemer. I am His servant, and I will profess His name as long as I live and into the eternities. I am coming to know Him more and more every day. We have a commitment from President Weidmann and it says, "I will with all my heart dedicate my life to the Savior. He can then sanctify me and purify me so that I can know Him and see Him." President Weidmann was inspired when he made that. It's real. I love my savior. :) I love you all!
Elder Shnajder
Nov 28 So That's What Miracles Feel Like...
Oh Familja Ime! Ç'bëni!? Më ka marrë malli për ju të gjithë! Ditë Falëndërimi ishte një kenaqësi! Ok, that's enough. I said, "Oh my family! What's up!? I miss you! Thanksgiving was a pleasure!" I got a good email this week! Siguroni vetët tuaj!
E Hënë- So Elder Jaunay and I have a bad habit of not being very well planned for P-day. At 6 p.m. every p-day, we resume our normal proselyting work, and recently, we've been a little rough at that! But last week we were blessed, and got to go to the home of a less active! And we played Uno and had a surprise very Albanian dinner, and by that I mean we had kos, which is yogurt, but more sour, some cabbage salad that was swimming in this oil/water mixture, french fries, which Shqiptar have at dinner like all the time, pastiçëri which is like this pasta thing with cheese that's kind of like lasagna, but not with the red sauce like lasagna, and qofte which is sausage! Whew. It was good. I actually didn't have any kos. It's too sour for me. We're looking forward to meeting with them some more! They're an awesome family :)
E Martë- We had district meeting, and filmed part of a skit we were making for our Thanksgiving party! It was about some of the funny stuff that has happened in our district, because we're all really new in Shqiperia still! We have 2 sisters and us in our district, and about 3 weeks ago, there used to be 3 sisters here. One was the trainer, and 2 brand new missionaries like me. Haha but 3 weeks ago, the trainer just got transfered because another sister finished her mission! The 2 brand new sisters were left to train each other! Ha! And then my trainer, Elder Jaunay is in his second transfer, making our district the most "new" district in the mission! Haha, so a lot of funny things can happen because of that! Also, I was studying family history and temples and I had this really cool thought. I wrote this in my planner, "This work isn't only for one person that will be baptized, but for her ancestors, her children, until eternity. Wow." It's true. Think about what kind of possibilities are opened up for work in the temple if one person is baptized. Hundreds or thousands of people now have a greater likelihood of receiving the restored gospel, or of receiving the essential ordinances needed to enter the Celestial Kingdom. How incredible is that!? It was a cool thought to have. It encouraged me to talk to more people and work harder, because there's a whole lot of people on the other side hoping that I will talk to their descendants. I know it. Also, that night, we went and watched the Restoration film with Aden's family, and it was sweet! His dad seems really interested, but his mom isn't too keen of the idea of having more lessons. We're hoping to teach the Plan of Salvation, and that his dad will be touched with the hope we can have in the Resurrection. Right now, he can't see out of his right eye, and he can't see very well out his left, so I was thinking it would be so cool to teach that his body will be restored to perfection in the life following. I'll let ya know what goes on with them this week!
E Mërkurë- We worked on our stinkin' video all day! Then we had dinner with Familja Pina, the first counselor in the bishopric here! They're so awesome! He loves joking around, and he even knows english! One thing you should know about Shqiptar is that they love teasing and joking around! Brother Pina is exactly like that. Awesome family. That morning during study however, I had a great study! I was in Alma 37:36-44. It was incredible, because, I have wanted to improve my prayers, and read the Book of Mormon more lately so that I can be inspired, and use the daily inspiration I receive from the Spirit in my missionary work! It talks about how the Book of Mormon is like the Liahona, because it simply and clearly leads to "eternal bliss." That's why i want to read the Book of Mormon every chance I get! I love the Book of Mormon. I told Claire before, that when I read the Book of Mormon in Shqip, it's like I'm reading it for the first time, because some words have different connotations for me than the translation from English, so I get a different insight on like the entire Book of Mormon! It's so cool. If you know another language, or even if you don't, try reading the Book of Mormon in another language, and I bet the same thing will happen!
E Enjtë (Ditë Falëndërimi "Falëminderit Day")- It was Elder Jaunay's first Thanksgiving! Ha! It was great! We ate a kind of classic Thanksgiving meal with turkey and mashed potatoes and peas, and stuffing, and corn, and carrots! It was awesome! And the whole mission was there, including Elder Gardiner my MTC companion, who I had really missed! It was great though! We watched our skit, and people liked it, and we also got to hear the departing testimonies of some missionaries, and we had a little presentation about the Christmas initiative! Have you heard about that yet? It's like last year's "Because He Lives" thing. This year is "Light the World." Here's the URL: https://www.mormon.org/christmas/light-the-world?play=hero I'm way excited for it! It's got an activity we can to each day leading up to Christmas to encourage us to share our light! I would challenge each of you also to watch that video, and listen to the feelings you have, and decide how you will share your light this year. I'm excited for it :) also, I got my package! Ah man, and I'm loving the Sour Patch Kids and fruit roll ups right now! I'm saving the other stuff for later! I read all your letters also, and they made me smile, laugh, cry, and love you all even more! Tell Grandma, especially, that I loved her letter, and I cried a little bit, and I will try to write her a letter also! I love you Grandma!
E Premtë/E Shtunë- There was a baptism in Durres of a girl from Shkoder which is about 45 minutes from Durrës, and it was incredible. It was the first one I've seen in my mission, and it was so cool to see one again after teaching about it. She came out of the water, and after a second, she was just incredibly happy! The Spirit was palpable in that room, and it was so cool to see the "end" result of missionary work!
E Dielë- So we've been doing more work with Less-Active members lately, because in Durrës, we have maybe 300+ members in the directory, and only about 70 are active! We're trying to get 800 as a stake before Christmas. We were searching for a family, and a cool thing happened. This is the message I sent to President Weidmann today: This week was great! We've been working hard to meet with some more families that are less active. We searched for maybe 4 hours for this one family, and we had an interesting experience at the end of our searching. We said a prayer, and immediately after, we asked a woman if she knew where their apartment building was, and she said, "That's my apartment building." My jaw dropped, and I felt like I was floating. It was incredible. The only thing is that it wasn't actually her building. She thought we said building 996, but we said 696. I was a little bit crushed. I felt so incredible the moment she said it was her building, and I almost couldn't believe what had happened, because it truly was a miracle. I felt a confirmation that miracles are real. They can happen. With the prayer of faith, miracles can happen. I felt it was true. I believed it. However, when she told us that it wasn't actually the correct building, I had this thought, "If it had been the correct building, you would have believed." And it was true. If it had been building 696, I would have definitely believed in miracles. It was not building 696, but I still felt a confirmation from the Spirit that miracles happen. For me, it was still worth it. I believe in miracles. I will exercise faith in my Heavenly Father, and I have faith that I will see more miracles in this work as I do so.\ I can testify that God will teach us the things He wants us to learn if we allow it, and seek to learn from all situations. Even though we searched for 4 hours, it wasn't fruitless.
Today was actually really different from most P-days! We woke up at 6 this morning and ran to the sea shore, and then waited to watch the sunrise! Which we didn't actually end up seeing. But it was raining lightly, and we were running in the rain and there was nobody outside, and it was still dark, and it was so beautiful! Haha but after that, we went and got Byrek and a croissant for breakfast, and it was so good. Anyways, fam. I love you all so much! I told Dad before that I feel like the things that should be happening to me as a missionary, and as a maturing adult are happening! I'm understanding people better, I feel like I'm growing closer to the Savior little by little, and I feel like I'm doing the Lord's work, and I love it :) Be sure to take pictures of you all! Also, how are Sister Kirby, Taya, and Sidney? Will you say hi to them for me, and let I'm know I miss 'em? Love you!
Elder Shnajdër
E Hënë- So Elder Jaunay and I have a bad habit of not being very well planned for P-day. At 6 p.m. every p-day, we resume our normal proselyting work, and recently, we've been a little rough at that! But last week we were blessed, and got to go to the home of a less active! And we played Uno and had a surprise very Albanian dinner, and by that I mean we had kos, which is yogurt, but more sour, some cabbage salad that was swimming in this oil/water mixture, french fries, which Shqiptar have at dinner like all the time, pastiçëri which is like this pasta thing with cheese that's kind of like lasagna, but not with the red sauce like lasagna, and qofte which is sausage! Whew. It was good. I actually didn't have any kos. It's too sour for me. We're looking forward to meeting with them some more! They're an awesome family :)
E Martë- We had district meeting, and filmed part of a skit we were making for our Thanksgiving party! It was about some of the funny stuff that has happened in our district, because we're all really new in Shqiperia still! We have 2 sisters and us in our district, and about 3 weeks ago, there used to be 3 sisters here. One was the trainer, and 2 brand new missionaries like me. Haha but 3 weeks ago, the trainer just got transfered because another sister finished her mission! The 2 brand new sisters were left to train each other! Ha! And then my trainer, Elder Jaunay is in his second transfer, making our district the most "new" district in the mission! Haha, so a lot of funny things can happen because of that! Also, I was studying family history and temples and I had this really cool thought. I wrote this in my planner, "This work isn't only for one person that will be baptized, but for her ancestors, her children, until eternity. Wow." It's true. Think about what kind of possibilities are opened up for work in the temple if one person is baptized. Hundreds or thousands of people now have a greater likelihood of receiving the restored gospel, or of receiving the essential ordinances needed to enter the Celestial Kingdom. How incredible is that!? It was a cool thought to have. It encouraged me to talk to more people and work harder, because there's a whole lot of people on the other side hoping that I will talk to their descendants. I know it. Also, that night, we went and watched the Restoration film with Aden's family, and it was sweet! His dad seems really interested, but his mom isn't too keen of the idea of having more lessons. We're hoping to teach the Plan of Salvation, and that his dad will be touched with the hope we can have in the Resurrection. Right now, he can't see out of his right eye, and he can't see very well out his left, so I was thinking it would be so cool to teach that his body will be restored to perfection in the life following. I'll let ya know what goes on with them this week!
E Mërkurë- We worked on our stinkin' video all day! Then we had dinner with Familja Pina, the first counselor in the bishopric here! They're so awesome! He loves joking around, and he even knows english! One thing you should know about Shqiptar is that they love teasing and joking around! Brother Pina is exactly like that. Awesome family. That morning during study however, I had a great study! I was in Alma 37:36-44. It was incredible, because, I have wanted to improve my prayers, and read the Book of Mormon more lately so that I can be inspired, and use the daily inspiration I receive from the Spirit in my missionary work! It talks about how the Book of Mormon is like the Liahona, because it simply and clearly leads to "eternal bliss." That's why i want to read the Book of Mormon every chance I get! I love the Book of Mormon. I told Claire before, that when I read the Book of Mormon in Shqip, it's like I'm reading it for the first time, because some words have different connotations for me than the translation from English, so I get a different insight on like the entire Book of Mormon! It's so cool. If you know another language, or even if you don't, try reading the Book of Mormon in another language, and I bet the same thing will happen!
E Enjtë (Ditë Falëndërimi "Falëminderit Day")- It was Elder Jaunay's first Thanksgiving! Ha! It was great! We ate a kind of classic Thanksgiving meal with turkey and mashed potatoes and peas, and stuffing, and corn, and carrots! It was awesome! And the whole mission was there, including Elder Gardiner my MTC companion, who I had really missed! It was great though! We watched our skit, and people liked it, and we also got to hear the departing testimonies of some missionaries, and we had a little presentation about the Christmas initiative! Have you heard about that yet? It's like last year's "Because He Lives" thing. This year is "Light the World." Here's the URL: https://www.mormon.org/christmas/light-the-world?play=hero I'm way excited for it! It's got an activity we can to each day leading up to Christmas to encourage us to share our light! I would challenge each of you also to watch that video, and listen to the feelings you have, and decide how you will share your light this year. I'm excited for it :) also, I got my package! Ah man, and I'm loving the Sour Patch Kids and fruit roll ups right now! I'm saving the other stuff for later! I read all your letters also, and they made me smile, laugh, cry, and love you all even more! Tell Grandma, especially, that I loved her letter, and I cried a little bit, and I will try to write her a letter also! I love you Grandma!
E Premtë/E Shtunë- There was a baptism in Durres of a girl from Shkoder which is about 45 minutes from Durrës, and it was incredible. It was the first one I've seen in my mission, and it was so cool to see one again after teaching about it. She came out of the water, and after a second, she was just incredibly happy! The Spirit was palpable in that room, and it was so cool to see the "end" result of missionary work!
E Dielë- So we've been doing more work with Less-Active members lately, because in Durrës, we have maybe 300+ members in the directory, and only about 70 are active! We're trying to get 800 as a stake before Christmas. We were searching for a family, and a cool thing happened. This is the message I sent to President Weidmann today: This week was great! We've been working hard to meet with some more families that are less active. We searched for maybe 4 hours for this one family, and we had an interesting experience at the end of our searching. We said a prayer, and immediately after, we asked a woman if she knew where their apartment building was, and she said, "That's my apartment building." My jaw dropped, and I felt like I was floating. It was incredible. The only thing is that it wasn't actually her building. She thought we said building 996, but we said 696. I was a little bit crushed. I felt so incredible the moment she said it was her building, and I almost couldn't believe what had happened, because it truly was a miracle. I felt a confirmation that miracles are real. They can happen. With the prayer of faith, miracles can happen. I felt it was true. I believed it. However, when she told us that it wasn't actually the correct building, I had this thought, "If it had been the correct building, you would have believed." And it was true. If it had been building 696, I would have definitely believed in miracles. It was not building 696, but I still felt a confirmation from the Spirit that miracles happen. For me, it was still worth it. I believe in miracles. I will exercise faith in my Heavenly Father, and I have faith that I will see more miracles in this work as I do so.\ I can testify that God will teach us the things He wants us to learn if we allow it, and seek to learn from all situations. Even though we searched for 4 hours, it wasn't fruitless.
Today was actually really different from most P-days! We woke up at 6 this morning and ran to the sea shore, and then waited to watch the sunrise! Which we didn't actually end up seeing. But it was raining lightly, and we were running in the rain and there was nobody outside, and it was still dark, and it was so beautiful! Haha but after that, we went and got Byrek and a croissant for breakfast, and it was so good. Anyways, fam. I love you all so much! I told Dad before that I feel like the things that should be happening to me as a missionary, and as a maturing adult are happening! I'm understanding people better, I feel like I'm growing closer to the Savior little by little, and I feel like I'm doing the Lord's work, and I love it :) Be sure to take pictures of you all! Also, how are Sister Kirby, Taya, and Sidney? Will you say hi to them for me, and let I'm know I miss 'em? Love you!
Elder Shnajdër
November 21 Falëminderit që Ti Ekziston
Hahahaha! Guess what! (I wish I knew how to say "guess what" in Shqip.) We met with Armand! He's that one guy that I said kind of disappeared! We met with him Saturday morning! Woot! I'll talk more about that in a bit. Just a li'le bi' na'! Mbaj kuajt e tua!
E Hënë- We had another lesson with Elona, the wife of Festim, and it went super great! She's doing incredible. She's super funny, and likes joking around with us which is great, because it shows that we've got a relationship more than just missionaries that are teaching her, but she's like a sister for us! She's actually only 23, so it really feels like she's my sister! Festim is super hilarious too. He's got a pretty high voice, and he laughs a lot and loves joking around too, so it's super fun to see them interact, and just to hang out at their house. Also, he's got such strong incredible devotion, and it's inspiring to be in lessons with him. So normally, we do weekly planning on Thursday, and normally missionaries would finish on Thursday, but we haven't been so good at that lately, and so we finished up Monday, and at the end, we do a companionship inventory, which is kind of like a DTR for companions, and you also share your personal goals, ask for help from your companion, and tell him of his strengths, and what you appreciate about him. So we did that, and it was something. We've been together now for like 6 weeks or 7 maybe! Ha! Wow. Kallon kohë! But Elder Jaunay was close to crying in the companionship inventory! He really does love me so much, and I feel it. I love him so much too. He's a party to be around, and a pleasure to teach and work with! He helps me out so much, and is so loving, and so fun to work with. Such a great example, has a powerful rooted testimony in Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon. He's definitely a brother. Gosh, I don't want to separate from him! :(
E Martë-"Happy Burfday Son!" It was a good birthday! We had district meeting, and my district bought me a cake, and it was incredible! Ah! I always think about how different my mission is from Conrad's, because I'm eating really well here! To be honest, I've probably never ate as well, before in my life, because we have a ton of member dinners, and the food here when we eat out is so good and so cheap! Whew! But yeah, we ate cake, and then we all went and each had two suflaces each! They're so good. I don't know if i'll be able to recreate a suflace when i get back, but I'll make some byrek! We had bryek with apple last week. "It was heavenly!" -(does somebody say that in Spongebob? I feel like somebody said something like that in Spongebob.) It was a good day though! We taught English Course, and apparently, English isn't very hard for Albanians to learn! Ha! We also taught Elona again, and we taught Word of Wisdom, and The Law of Chastity. Oh man. Ready for an awkward Law of Chastity story? HAHA! Ok, so first off, the lesson went great, and I really felt that we were directed by the spirit! To be serious before I tell the funny part, I'm actually really thankful for the Law of Chastity. It is so beautiful, and so is the Word of Wisdom. Studying those, you can just feel that the church is true, because we embrace such great values! I love it. Haha, so we taught it well, and Elder Jaunay was testifying of how he has been blessed from his parents living the law of Chastity, and we had just finished talking about staying completely faithful to your spouse. Elder Jaunay says something like, "I have been blessed because my Dad and your Mom--" and then stops, and we all bust out laughing for like maybe three or four minutes until we refocus again! Ha! It's really easy to mix up the possessive pronouns in Shqip like "my, your, our" and stuff. Haha, but yeah, basically, we were feeling the Spirit, and then the next second, we're like dying laughing! Ha! Oh man. I gotta write that one down.
E Mërkurë- We helped a less-active boy with his English homework, and during that, I was getting a little bit annoyed, because I didn't feel like we were using our time well, but I said I prayer in my heart, and my attitude changed, and I focused on Mateu (the less active) and we are able to have a lesson, that I hope helped him! The power of constant prayer is real. Later that day, we taught another less active man named Gezim, which means Joy! He was pretty upset that day, I think because he lost his cell phone, but we had a good lesson with him, and I really felt directed by the Spirit. We had planned something, but we changed what we taught, because it didn't feel right for me, and as I did so, I felt a concern for Gezim and for his happiness. I wanted him to experience the happiness I have felt from coming to church, reading the scriptures, and praying. It was quite an experience. The Spirit is real. It can and will change you and the people you teach.
E Enjtë- Oh man. We had an incredible dinner appointment with a family on Thursday. It was with the Cani (pronounced "Tsahnee") Family, and we had homemade byrek and groshë! I'm telling you, it's so good here. The mom works hard, and she has three kids, one of which is a missionary in Kosovo right now, and another 19-year old girl, who is waiting for a mission call, and a 13-year old boy who is really cool! We got there, and she opens her mouth to show us that she doesn't have any teeth now! She had them last week, but she just doesn't have any now! I don't know if she'll get dentures or what, but she seemed to be pretty bummed about that. We shared Alma 26:27 which says, "Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success." I had studied that chapter a day earlier, or maybe that morning, and wrote down the reference that we could share it with members who are feeling depressed, and it seemed to be the perfect scripture for that day for Motra (Sister) Cani. Elder Jaunay also gave her a photo of Elder Cani, because they had met up at a training, and it was touching to see how joyful she got when she saw that picture. Thinking about it now makes me miss ya, Momma! But we shared this scripture, and I asked how the Lord has comforted them before when they have felt this way. Motra Cani answered and I don't remember everything she said, but I remember that she quoted Ether 12:27, and 1 Nephi 3:7, and talked about how the Lord can make our weaknesses into strengths, and how He can remind us that He has prepared a way that we might accomplish every commandment. It was incredible for me to see how well she knew her scriptures, because she hasn't been in Seminary, or a mission, but she knew those scriptures word for word, and they meant something to her. I'm sure that she knows those scriptures and has that testimony through a constant, diligent study of the scriptures. It was really incredible for me to see her faith.
E Premtë- We had an exchange with the Zone Leaders, and it went really well! We learned a few things that we want to change in our work, and I actually did pretty well without Elder Jaunay in Durres! He went and served in Tirane, and I stayed in Durres and served with one Zone Leader. I'm finding that my relationships with people in the ward here are really blossoming, which I'm really grateful for! I am hoping more that I can stay here for another transfer, because I've become good friends with some people here.
E Shtunë- Oh Armand!!! Hahahaha! Alright, so like I said earlier, Armand met with us again! It's been two weeks since we've had a lesson with him, and we didn't really know what happened, he just stopped answering his phone, but we had a lesson Saturday morning! I wish you all could meet him, because it's hard to describe him what he's like in person, but it was so great to meet with him again! He always wears this white shirt, and ah, what a bro. Haha, but we watched the Restoration film with him, and he's kind of got a short attention span, and about 12 minutes in, (we were in another room in the institute building) the sister missionaries entered into the main room, which we weren't in, and we heard them enter, and in the middle of the Restoration film, Armand just stands up and walks out and is like, "Hi Sisters." Hahahaha! Elder Anderson was cracking up, because Armand just left in the middle of the film! Haha, but he came back, we finished it, and he seems to understand the events in the life of Joseph Smith much better than before! He told us the answer that Joseph Smith received from Heavenly Father, and he talked about the Gold Plates, and about the Book of Mormon a bit! Whew. It was great to hear that, because before, Armand didn't seem to understand things very well, but he does understand! Whew. Also, we had another lesson with Elona, and she's really progressing towards her baptism! Which is December 3rd! Whew! We're so excited for her. Also, remember Aden? That boy we've been teaching from our English Course? Well his family has a store right outside our house, and we're friends with them, which is a really important part of the story, and we talked with them the other day, and told them we wanted to meet with them, and we had dinner at their house and taught the Restoration and gave them copies of the Book of Mormon! AUGH! It was so great. And his dad even said the closing prayer. They said we're welcome to come back anytime, which is just the coolest thing ever. We're praying real hard for them. They are so loving and so kind, and I'm so thankful we have a good relationship with them, because especially with Aden, when we teach our friends, it just feels normal, because your desire for them to be blessed by the gospel is rooted in your friendship! It was great. Also, I've changed my personal study a bit. I want my desire to share the gospel to grow always, so I've been trying to be inspired more and simply to read more when I have time!
E Dielë- We met with a member that's been a member for a long time, and we found a bunch of info for some less actives, which means we've got some work to do, and a whole lot of cookies to make!
Momma, I think any candy like airheads, sour patch kids, jelly beans, blowpops, hubba bubba would make these kids happy! I can't think of anything I need besides letters, twizzlers, sour patch kids, Jelly Beans, and On the Border chips and salsa! I love you all! Thank you all for your emails! I'm out of time, but I read them, and I love you all! Thank you for inspiring me, and Daniel, you made me cry. I can tell you've already grown so much. Crap man, I miss ya, but I love you! You inspire me! :)\
Elder Shnajdër
E Hënë- We had another lesson with Elona, the wife of Festim, and it went super great! She's doing incredible. She's super funny, and likes joking around with us which is great, because it shows that we've got a relationship more than just missionaries that are teaching her, but she's like a sister for us! She's actually only 23, so it really feels like she's my sister! Festim is super hilarious too. He's got a pretty high voice, and he laughs a lot and loves joking around too, so it's super fun to see them interact, and just to hang out at their house. Also, he's got such strong incredible devotion, and it's inspiring to be in lessons with him. So normally, we do weekly planning on Thursday, and normally missionaries would finish on Thursday, but we haven't been so good at that lately, and so we finished up Monday, and at the end, we do a companionship inventory, which is kind of like a DTR for companions, and you also share your personal goals, ask for help from your companion, and tell him of his strengths, and what you appreciate about him. So we did that, and it was something. We've been together now for like 6 weeks or 7 maybe! Ha! Wow. Kallon kohë! But Elder Jaunay was close to crying in the companionship inventory! He really does love me so much, and I feel it. I love him so much too. He's a party to be around, and a pleasure to teach and work with! He helps me out so much, and is so loving, and so fun to work with. Such a great example, has a powerful rooted testimony in Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon. He's definitely a brother. Gosh, I don't want to separate from him! :(
E Martë-"Happy Burfday Son!" It was a good birthday! We had district meeting, and my district bought me a cake, and it was incredible! Ah! I always think about how different my mission is from Conrad's, because I'm eating really well here! To be honest, I've probably never ate as well, before in my life, because we have a ton of member dinners, and the food here when we eat out is so good and so cheap! Whew! But yeah, we ate cake, and then we all went and each had two suflaces each! They're so good. I don't know if i'll be able to recreate a suflace when i get back, but I'll make some byrek! We had bryek with apple last week. "It was heavenly!" -(does somebody say that in Spongebob? I feel like somebody said something like that in Spongebob.) It was a good day though! We taught English Course, and apparently, English isn't very hard for Albanians to learn! Ha! We also taught Elona again, and we taught Word of Wisdom, and The Law of Chastity. Oh man. Ready for an awkward Law of Chastity story? HAHA! Ok, so first off, the lesson went great, and I really felt that we were directed by the spirit! To be serious before I tell the funny part, I'm actually really thankful for the Law of Chastity. It is so beautiful, and so is the Word of Wisdom. Studying those, you can just feel that the church is true, because we embrace such great values! I love it. Haha, so we taught it well, and Elder Jaunay was testifying of how he has been blessed from his parents living the law of Chastity, and we had just finished talking about staying completely faithful to your spouse. Elder Jaunay says something like, "I have been blessed because my Dad and your Mom--" and then stops, and we all bust out laughing for like maybe three or four minutes until we refocus again! Ha! It's really easy to mix up the possessive pronouns in Shqip like "my, your, our" and stuff. Haha, but yeah, basically, we were feeling the Spirit, and then the next second, we're like dying laughing! Ha! Oh man. I gotta write that one down.
E Mërkurë- We helped a less-active boy with his English homework, and during that, I was getting a little bit annoyed, because I didn't feel like we were using our time well, but I said I prayer in my heart, and my attitude changed, and I focused on Mateu (the less active) and we are able to have a lesson, that I hope helped him! The power of constant prayer is real. Later that day, we taught another less active man named Gezim, which means Joy! He was pretty upset that day, I think because he lost his cell phone, but we had a good lesson with him, and I really felt directed by the Spirit. We had planned something, but we changed what we taught, because it didn't feel right for me, and as I did so, I felt a concern for Gezim and for his happiness. I wanted him to experience the happiness I have felt from coming to church, reading the scriptures, and praying. It was quite an experience. The Spirit is real. It can and will change you and the people you teach.
E Enjtë- Oh man. We had an incredible dinner appointment with a family on Thursday. It was with the Cani (pronounced "Tsahnee") Family, and we had homemade byrek and groshë! I'm telling you, it's so good here. The mom works hard, and she has three kids, one of which is a missionary in Kosovo right now, and another 19-year old girl, who is waiting for a mission call, and a 13-year old boy who is really cool! We got there, and she opens her mouth to show us that she doesn't have any teeth now! She had them last week, but she just doesn't have any now! I don't know if she'll get dentures or what, but she seemed to be pretty bummed about that. We shared Alma 26:27 which says, "Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success." I had studied that chapter a day earlier, or maybe that morning, and wrote down the reference that we could share it with members who are feeling depressed, and it seemed to be the perfect scripture for that day for Motra (Sister) Cani. Elder Jaunay also gave her a photo of Elder Cani, because they had met up at a training, and it was touching to see how joyful she got when she saw that picture. Thinking about it now makes me miss ya, Momma! But we shared this scripture, and I asked how the Lord has comforted them before when they have felt this way. Motra Cani answered and I don't remember everything she said, but I remember that she quoted Ether 12:27, and 1 Nephi 3:7, and talked about how the Lord can make our weaknesses into strengths, and how He can remind us that He has prepared a way that we might accomplish every commandment. It was incredible for me to see how well she knew her scriptures, because she hasn't been in Seminary, or a mission, but she knew those scriptures word for word, and they meant something to her. I'm sure that she knows those scriptures and has that testimony through a constant, diligent study of the scriptures. It was really incredible for me to see her faith.
E Premtë- We had an exchange with the Zone Leaders, and it went really well! We learned a few things that we want to change in our work, and I actually did pretty well without Elder Jaunay in Durres! He went and served in Tirane, and I stayed in Durres and served with one Zone Leader. I'm finding that my relationships with people in the ward here are really blossoming, which I'm really grateful for! I am hoping more that I can stay here for another transfer, because I've become good friends with some people here.
E Shtunë- Oh Armand!!! Hahahaha! Alright, so like I said earlier, Armand met with us again! It's been two weeks since we've had a lesson with him, and we didn't really know what happened, he just stopped answering his phone, but we had a lesson Saturday morning! I wish you all could meet him, because it's hard to describe him what he's like in person, but it was so great to meet with him again! He always wears this white shirt, and ah, what a bro. Haha, but we watched the Restoration film with him, and he's kind of got a short attention span, and about 12 minutes in, (we were in another room in the institute building) the sister missionaries entered into the main room, which we weren't in, and we heard them enter, and in the middle of the Restoration film, Armand just stands up and walks out and is like, "Hi Sisters." Hahahaha! Elder Anderson was cracking up, because Armand just left in the middle of the film! Haha, but he came back, we finished it, and he seems to understand the events in the life of Joseph Smith much better than before! He told us the answer that Joseph Smith received from Heavenly Father, and he talked about the Gold Plates, and about the Book of Mormon a bit! Whew. It was great to hear that, because before, Armand didn't seem to understand things very well, but he does understand! Whew. Also, we had another lesson with Elona, and she's really progressing towards her baptism! Which is December 3rd! Whew! We're so excited for her. Also, remember Aden? That boy we've been teaching from our English Course? Well his family has a store right outside our house, and we're friends with them, which is a really important part of the story, and we talked with them the other day, and told them we wanted to meet with them, and we had dinner at their house and taught the Restoration and gave them copies of the Book of Mormon! AUGH! It was so great. And his dad even said the closing prayer. They said we're welcome to come back anytime, which is just the coolest thing ever. We're praying real hard for them. They are so loving and so kind, and I'm so thankful we have a good relationship with them, because especially with Aden, when we teach our friends, it just feels normal, because your desire for them to be blessed by the gospel is rooted in your friendship! It was great. Also, I've changed my personal study a bit. I want my desire to share the gospel to grow always, so I've been trying to be inspired more and simply to read more when I have time!
E Dielë- We met with a member that's been a member for a long time, and we found a bunch of info for some less actives, which means we've got some work to do, and a whole lot of cookies to make!
Momma, I think any candy like airheads, sour patch kids, jelly beans, blowpops, hubba bubba would make these kids happy! I can't think of anything I need besides letters, twizzlers, sour patch kids, Jelly Beans, and On the Border chips and salsa! I love you all! Thank you all for your emails! I'm out of time, but I read them, and I love you all! Thank you for inspiring me, and Daniel, you made me cry. I can tell you've already grown so much. Crap man, I miss ya, but I love you! You inspire me! :)\
Elder Shnajdër
November 14 Biskota!
Ç'bëni familja!
I don't have a lot of time today, but this week was a great one! I finally was able to make cookies this week after I found brown sugar finally, and the members so far have liked them! Also, by the way, this week I had Byrek with apple inside, and it was stinking good. I played that Piano yesterday in church, kind of unexpectedly, and whew! It was fun! It could've gone a little bit better, but it felt so good to play the piano again! Daniel, don't stop practicing.
We had a super cool zone training on Friday, and Elder Jaunay and I both learned a lot and we're looking forward to using everything we learned to help establish the church here! We plan on working a lot with less actives and members to encourage people to come to church and do their missionary work, and bring friends to church. We had some awesome meals here this last week! The food here is incredible, and the members are so nice! Some of the old ladies here are so hilarious! Elder Jaunay has a really good relationship with the members here, especially this one family, The Pina Family, and the mom is so funny! Dinners here are so much fun! Haha also, we went tracting one night, and we knocked on this door, and this old lady opened it, and after talking a little bit, she gave us cookies, and she was calling us, "zemër" which means "heart." Haha it was sweet! And i think she even like kissed us on the cheek also! Haha!
Aight! So for our investigators. Elona, the wife of Festim is golden. She's got a solid support system, (Festim, who is a recent convert himself), she reads the Book of Mormon, and she's having a baby in three months! She's incredible. As long as we can figure out her work problem, I think she'll be baptized on the 3rd of December.
Then there is Aden, who is that boy in my pictures, and he is super smart! He remembers and understands the gospel really well. He's only 13, but I feel like he really is special. He always does that thing where you stick out your hand to shake hands, and then you pull it away really fast and like slick back your hair, and he gets me like every time! Gah! He's awesome though. and really funny with his english!
Armand, who was super cool a couple weeks ago has kind of disappeared. He won't answer our calls, and we don't know what happened, but we're praying that we'll be able to meet with him!
Haha, so I uploaded a video where Elder Jaunay is beatboxing, and there is another kid that's saying "macë!" Haha! I had to get a video, because now that kid saying that is like a joke between our district. "Macë" means "cat," and we don't know why he says it, but one time, we were just messing around at Sindi's and Celeste's house, and being silly, and beat boxing, and he's like "Mace, mace, mace!" Hahahaaha! I love watching people here being so entertained at little things like beatboxing and stuff like that!
I read a really cool scripture this morning in 2 Nephi 2:3:
Wherefore, I know that thou art redeemed, because of the righteousness of thy Redeemer; for thou hast beheld that in the fulness of time he cometh to bring salvation unto men.
I liked it because it shows that the Savior has agency. It was possible for Him to sin, he just didn't! He is the perfect example, and while not making any mistake in His life, he took upon Himself all our sufferings however big or small, in order to prepare a way for us to return to live with Him. I love the Savior. I know that the power of prayer is real, and I know that He will help us when we seek Him :)
I love you all! I pray for you every day :) Please keep sending pictures! I love getting pictures!
Elder Shnajdër
I don't have a lot of time today, but this week was a great one! I finally was able to make cookies this week after I found brown sugar finally, and the members so far have liked them! Also, by the way, this week I had Byrek with apple inside, and it was stinking good. I played that Piano yesterday in church, kind of unexpectedly, and whew! It was fun! It could've gone a little bit better, but it felt so good to play the piano again! Daniel, don't stop practicing.
We had a super cool zone training on Friday, and Elder Jaunay and I both learned a lot and we're looking forward to using everything we learned to help establish the church here! We plan on working a lot with less actives and members to encourage people to come to church and do their missionary work, and bring friends to church. We had some awesome meals here this last week! The food here is incredible, and the members are so nice! Some of the old ladies here are so hilarious! Elder Jaunay has a really good relationship with the members here, especially this one family, The Pina Family, and the mom is so funny! Dinners here are so much fun! Haha also, we went tracting one night, and we knocked on this door, and this old lady opened it, and after talking a little bit, she gave us cookies, and she was calling us, "zemër" which means "heart." Haha it was sweet! And i think she even like kissed us on the cheek also! Haha!
Aight! So for our investigators. Elona, the wife of Festim is golden. She's got a solid support system, (Festim, who is a recent convert himself), she reads the Book of Mormon, and she's having a baby in three months! She's incredible. As long as we can figure out her work problem, I think she'll be baptized on the 3rd of December.
Then there is Aden, who is that boy in my pictures, and he is super smart! He remembers and understands the gospel really well. He's only 13, but I feel like he really is special. He always does that thing where you stick out your hand to shake hands, and then you pull it away really fast and like slick back your hair, and he gets me like every time! Gah! He's awesome though. and really funny with his english!
Armand, who was super cool a couple weeks ago has kind of disappeared. He won't answer our calls, and we don't know what happened, but we're praying that we'll be able to meet with him!
Haha, so I uploaded a video where Elder Jaunay is beatboxing, and there is another kid that's saying "macë!" Haha! I had to get a video, because now that kid saying that is like a joke between our district. "Macë" means "cat," and we don't know why he says it, but one time, we were just messing around at Sindi's and Celeste's house, and being silly, and beat boxing, and he's like "Mace, mace, mace!" Hahahaaha! I love watching people here being so entertained at little things like beatboxing and stuff like that!
I read a really cool scripture this morning in 2 Nephi 2:3:
Wherefore, I know that thou art redeemed, because of the righteousness of thy Redeemer; for thou hast beheld that in the fulness of time he cometh to bring salvation unto men.
I liked it because it shows that the Savior has agency. It was possible for Him to sin, he just didn't! He is the perfect example, and while not making any mistake in His life, he took upon Himself all our sufferings however big or small, in order to prepare a way for us to return to live with Him. I love the Savior. I know that the power of prayer is real, and I know that He will help us when we seek Him :)
I love you all! I pray for you every day :) Please keep sending pictures! I love getting pictures!
Elder Shnajdër
November 7 It was 10:00 p.m., I was running down the street in the sketchy part of Durres, and then I saw something I never thought I'd see...
C'beni! How are you all doing!? I hear Conrad's got a lady friend! *Spongebob eyebrow raise* Hahahahahaha! Dooty, I miss Spongebob! My companion doesn't like Spongebob a whole lot, but there were a couple times this week where i quoted it, and I wanted to laugh with him about it, but nope! S'ka gje.
Anyways, I have a lot of insights I want to share this email, so I'm gonna alternate with a spiritual insight and then a story! Here we go! Insight 1!
We were studying the Plan of Salvation this week, and we were studying in the Pre-Earth Life, and we talked about how cool it is to think that all our investigators, everyone we talk to on the street has already accepted to follow Jesus Christ in a life before this one. Everyone we know has accepted to follow the Plan of the Savior, and they are children of God like us. I am here as a messenger to help remind people of what they've already chosen! What an opportunity we all have as members, as those who have come to a remembrance of the beautiful Plan of Salvation, to help our brothers and sisters remember and come to a knowledge of this Plan we all have for our lives! It's so cool. If you have fears of doing missionary work, study the Restoration and the Plan of Salvation, and as you do so with real intent to be taught and gain an understanding through the spirit, you will be filled with a renewed zeal to share this gospel. I promise that.
So our English course was way better this week! We taught about passive reflexive verbs, and how we do them in English! It's funny, because I'm learning more about English than I did before, but at the same time, I'm kind of forgetting how to be a normal English speaker! Haha! But it's sweet! We met this one boy named Aden from English course. He's 13 years old, but he's like almost as tall as me! He plays soccer, and he's a goalie! Sidenote, in Albania, if your even a little chubby, they'll let ya know! Ha! The sisters in Durres were in a lesson and they were showing one of their investigators one of their rings, and the investigator tried to put it on, and it didn't fit, and she was like, "Why doesn't it fit? You all are fat, and I'm not, but it doesn't fit! You have like meat on your fingers!" Haha! But yeah, Aden is a homie. He's like a little brother! Two weeks ago, he asked to come to church with us, and he did! And he came again this week too! We taught him the restoration, and watched the restoration video, and it was so beautiful! I had a thought that I shared with Aden that we don't know the desires of his heart, and what he truly desires, but God does, and He can help Aden to recieve that. It's true. Right now, I think Aden may just like being our friend and speaking English with us, but we're praying that he'll have real intent, and a sincere desire to be taught the gospel.
I had a thought this week as I was in a lesson. Ever since I've been here it's been a little bit hard to focus on people and to stay focused so I can understand them, because it takes a lot of focus. This week though, after I had that thought about the Plan of Salvation, and I realized that if I strive to focus on the person I am teaching, the Spirit will come and guide me, because the Spirit is working to speak to the heart of that person, and when I focus on helping the person I'm talking to, my worries of understanding them are suppressed, and I am able to focus on that person, and help them! I just have to remember that they are a person who is in need of the gospel, who I can help, and when I seek to do so with love, I feel the Spirit help me!
Haha ok, guess what! We cleaned out our Area Book this week, and we found a paper from 2007 with a bunch of names of potential investigators! We started calling them, and we get to Muhamet. So not knowing what to expect, I call him, and surprisingly, his number still works from like 10 years ago, and he wants to meet with us! We meet him the next day, and he's about 55 years old and he seemed really interested in the message! Woot! Also, apparently he had met with some missionaries in the past, but didn't make any progress.
So we saw a little fight between two boys this week! It was kind of intense! They were right in the middle of the sidewalk punching each other in the face and stuff! It was kind of awful to watch because they were just going at it and attacking each other. It made me think about what Joseph Smith endured, and about what the Savior suffered for us. I can't imagine what they went through for us. I also read this scripture this week and it helped me feel the love of the Savior more. I read 2 Nephi 1:1-5, and 1 Nephi 22:24-25. Here is 1 Nephi 22:24-25:
24 And the time cometh speedily that the righteous must be led up as calves of the stall, and the Holy One of Israel must reign in dominion, and might, and power, and greatglory.
25 And he gathereth his children from the four quarters of the earth; and he numbereth his sheep, and they know him; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd; and he shall feed his sheep, and in him they shall find pasture.
I thought about how beautiful it is that in verse 24, it talks about how powerful the Savior is, and then in contrast, it talks about how He is a Shepherd, and He feeds His sheep, and they know Him. He is a King that knows every single one of His sheep. And then when I read 2 Nephi 1:1-5, I thought about how the Savior truly is our Big Brother. He brings us through our challenges over and over again, blessing us with his mercy, and He does so not asking for recognition, or appreciation, but that we seek to do as He does.
So we had some AWESOME food this week! We went to this pasta place here, and I had this pasta with shrimp, and it was stinkin' incredible. We went with this senior couple that came and did an inspection, and it was way fun! Mom and Dad, I'm so excited for you two to be able to do that when Dan moves out! We also had a meal with the Tahiri's, the family of Sindi and Celeste, and it was cool! They're pretty poor, so we had this like boiled spinach, eggs, french fries, hot dog, with kos, which is yogurt, but it was more sour. Hehe, I didn't actually drink it, but yeah! It was fun! Their family is amazing. They don't even have a toilet in their house though. Ugh. And they have two beds that Sindi and Celeste use. They are really special. It's actually really hard for Sindi and Celeste, because their family are not members, and they are recent converts as of 2 months. Their whole family is incredible, and we've got a really strong relationship with them, so I hope that with time, they will want to have that joy that Sindi and Celeste have!
Haha! Ok, now for the kind of crazy story! So there is a recent convert here named "Festim" which literally means "party" and he's so cool! Whenever we think of who would be a good fellowshipper for an investigator, we think that Festim would be perfect for them! Well his wife is not a member, and they've got a baby on the way, and we started teaching her last week! It was a little late, and after Festim surprised us with dinner after the Restoration lesson, we left his house at like 9:20, and he's like, "Oh yeah! You can catch a bus back to your house!" Cool! Well, no bus. We're like 45 minutes from our house right now. Crud. So, we start running! We're running down the street, in the sketchy part of Durres, with some clubs, and there it is... A stray horse eating out of a trash can with his trusty dog friend behind him. I felt like I was in some kind of twisted Budweiser commercial. It was one weird side all together. A horse eating garbage, with a dog friend with two missionaries running down the street. Haha! But yeah, we got back to the house at like 10:20. Oops. That won't happen again. Haha! Funny story though!
Anyways, gotta go now, but I love you all so much! I'm praying for you! I love America! I found some tortilla chips today! I'm so excited!
Elder Shnajdër
Anyways, I have a lot of insights I want to share this email, so I'm gonna alternate with a spiritual insight and then a story! Here we go! Insight 1!
We were studying the Plan of Salvation this week, and we were studying in the Pre-Earth Life, and we talked about how cool it is to think that all our investigators, everyone we talk to on the street has already accepted to follow Jesus Christ in a life before this one. Everyone we know has accepted to follow the Plan of the Savior, and they are children of God like us. I am here as a messenger to help remind people of what they've already chosen! What an opportunity we all have as members, as those who have come to a remembrance of the beautiful Plan of Salvation, to help our brothers and sisters remember and come to a knowledge of this Plan we all have for our lives! It's so cool. If you have fears of doing missionary work, study the Restoration and the Plan of Salvation, and as you do so with real intent to be taught and gain an understanding through the spirit, you will be filled with a renewed zeal to share this gospel. I promise that.
So our English course was way better this week! We taught about passive reflexive verbs, and how we do them in English! It's funny, because I'm learning more about English than I did before, but at the same time, I'm kind of forgetting how to be a normal English speaker! Haha! But it's sweet! We met this one boy named Aden from English course. He's 13 years old, but he's like almost as tall as me! He plays soccer, and he's a goalie! Sidenote, in Albania, if your even a little chubby, they'll let ya know! Ha! The sisters in Durres were in a lesson and they were showing one of their investigators one of their rings, and the investigator tried to put it on, and it didn't fit, and she was like, "Why doesn't it fit? You all are fat, and I'm not, but it doesn't fit! You have like meat on your fingers!" Haha! But yeah, Aden is a homie. He's like a little brother! Two weeks ago, he asked to come to church with us, and he did! And he came again this week too! We taught him the restoration, and watched the restoration video, and it was so beautiful! I had a thought that I shared with Aden that we don't know the desires of his heart, and what he truly desires, but God does, and He can help Aden to recieve that. It's true. Right now, I think Aden may just like being our friend and speaking English with us, but we're praying that he'll have real intent, and a sincere desire to be taught the gospel.
I had a thought this week as I was in a lesson. Ever since I've been here it's been a little bit hard to focus on people and to stay focused so I can understand them, because it takes a lot of focus. This week though, after I had that thought about the Plan of Salvation, and I realized that if I strive to focus on the person I am teaching, the Spirit will come and guide me, because the Spirit is working to speak to the heart of that person, and when I focus on helping the person I'm talking to, my worries of understanding them are suppressed, and I am able to focus on that person, and help them! I just have to remember that they are a person who is in need of the gospel, who I can help, and when I seek to do so with love, I feel the Spirit help me!
Haha ok, guess what! We cleaned out our Area Book this week, and we found a paper from 2007 with a bunch of names of potential investigators! We started calling them, and we get to Muhamet. So not knowing what to expect, I call him, and surprisingly, his number still works from like 10 years ago, and he wants to meet with us! We meet him the next day, and he's about 55 years old and he seemed really interested in the message! Woot! Also, apparently he had met with some missionaries in the past, but didn't make any progress.
So we saw a little fight between two boys this week! It was kind of intense! They were right in the middle of the sidewalk punching each other in the face and stuff! It was kind of awful to watch because they were just going at it and attacking each other. It made me think about what Joseph Smith endured, and about what the Savior suffered for us. I can't imagine what they went through for us. I also read this scripture this week and it helped me feel the love of the Savior more. I read 2 Nephi 1:1-5, and 1 Nephi 22:24-25. Here is 1 Nephi 22:24-25:
24 And the time cometh speedily that the righteous must be led up as calves of the stall, and the Holy One of Israel must reign in dominion, and might, and power, and greatglory.
25 And he gathereth his children from the four quarters of the earth; and he numbereth his sheep, and they know him; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd; and he shall feed his sheep, and in him they shall find pasture.
I thought about how beautiful it is that in verse 24, it talks about how powerful the Savior is, and then in contrast, it talks about how He is a Shepherd, and He feeds His sheep, and they know Him. He is a King that knows every single one of His sheep. And then when I read 2 Nephi 1:1-5, I thought about how the Savior truly is our Big Brother. He brings us through our challenges over and over again, blessing us with his mercy, and He does so not asking for recognition, or appreciation, but that we seek to do as He does.
So we had some AWESOME food this week! We went to this pasta place here, and I had this pasta with shrimp, and it was stinkin' incredible. We went with this senior couple that came and did an inspection, and it was way fun! Mom and Dad, I'm so excited for you two to be able to do that when Dan moves out! We also had a meal with the Tahiri's, the family of Sindi and Celeste, and it was cool! They're pretty poor, so we had this like boiled spinach, eggs, french fries, hot dog, with kos, which is yogurt, but it was more sour. Hehe, I didn't actually drink it, but yeah! It was fun! Their family is amazing. They don't even have a toilet in their house though. Ugh. And they have two beds that Sindi and Celeste use. They are really special. It's actually really hard for Sindi and Celeste, because their family are not members, and they are recent converts as of 2 months. Their whole family is incredible, and we've got a really strong relationship with them, so I hope that with time, they will want to have that joy that Sindi and Celeste have!
Haha! Ok, now for the kind of crazy story! So there is a recent convert here named "Festim" which literally means "party" and he's so cool! Whenever we think of who would be a good fellowshipper for an investigator, we think that Festim would be perfect for them! Well his wife is not a member, and they've got a baby on the way, and we started teaching her last week! It was a little late, and after Festim surprised us with dinner after the Restoration lesson, we left his house at like 9:20, and he's like, "Oh yeah! You can catch a bus back to your house!" Cool! Well, no bus. We're like 45 minutes from our house right now. Crud. So, we start running! We're running down the street, in the sketchy part of Durres, with some clubs, and there it is... A stray horse eating out of a trash can with his trusty dog friend behind him. I felt like I was in some kind of twisted Budweiser commercial. It was one weird side all together. A horse eating garbage, with a dog friend with two missionaries running down the street. Haha! But yeah, we got back to the house at like 10:20. Oops. That won't happen again. Haha! Funny story though!
Anyways, gotta go now, but I love you all so much! I'm praying for you! I love America! I found some tortilla chips today! I'm so excited!
Elder Shnajdër
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