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
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