CHRISTMAS W/ JENNY

HELLO HELLO. It has been an AMAZING WEEK. We have seen CRAZY miracles and had the BEST CHRISTMAS EVER. This week we were able to participate in tons of different service opportunities. We helped orphans, people affected by the earthquake, disabled persons, and abused women and children. As we helped all of these different people in different situations the true spirit of Christmas FILLED our hearts and it was the most unforgettable day. We caroled to members, ate lots of food, and enjoyed a make-shift Albanian Christmas. Jenny Oaks Baker also came and performed at a few locations in our mission and we were able to attend her concert and bring our cute Albanian friends with us. WHAT A GOOD WEEK. However, the festivities have just begun. New Years is absolutely PSYCHO IN ALBANIA. We are excited to celebrate this coming week:) 

CULTURE SHOCKS: 

1. Christmas does not exist in Albania. Haha there are not many people that celebrate, and if they do, they celebrate very differently than us! They get ready for the day and then they walk outside for hours hehe 

2. If you knock on an Albanian's door they absolutely will not let you leave without food. They usually stuff mandarins or apples or cashews into my pockets hehe. 

3. Christmas trees are known as New Years trees here woot woot it is going to be a crazy week celebrating New Years! THEY GO CRAZY FOR NEW YEARS! 

KNEE SLAPPERS: 

1. So we got to help with the Jenny Oaks Baker concert in Tirana! We offered free tickets to everyone and it was a good experience for people to be introduced to our church! We were also instructed to set up a VIP room for people after the concert!  Well funny story- they told us to prepare a VIP room for people with food and stuff but we were unaware who was vip, how many people there would be, or where to put the room. The day of the concert we found out that around 50-70 people would come to the VIP room. So we went to the venue thing to give it a look and they told us we didn't have a room and had to pay for it and we were so confused. It was kind of hilarious though because we had already bought like 200 oranges, 70 things of baklava, a whole bunch of nuts, and a bunch of drinks and then they told us food wasn't allowed lol. We had also carried the HEAVIEST tables all the way there HAHA it was a mess. The missionaries that had brought the baklava spilled it ALL OVER THEMSELVES TOO HAHAH. That was a literal mess. It seriously looked like they took showers in sugar water. I cannot explain how funny this whole thing was. They looked destroyed HAHA. It ended up working out fine though and we found a room lol but it was all last minute. Then we asked some other missionaries to help us by bringing a tablecloth and they showed up with a freaking picnic blanket HAHHAHAHA. So it was this really nice and elegant room with people all dressed up drinking from a punch bowl  HAHA. IT WAS SO GHETTO. It looked like we were having a barbeque oh my gosh it was so bad. Right before the concert ended we went to go help set up the VIP room (keep in mind we had no idea who was even VIP) and we were waiting and waiting and still no one came. Well we came to find out that apparently the VIPs didn't even know they were VIP HAHAHA SO HALF OF THEM LEFT. So we ended up having like 2000 mandarins for maybe 20 people! Sister Anderson (the mission president's wife) and I had a good laugh especially because a bunch of random Albanians saw the room and just walked in and started eating the food hahahaa. Also another funny thing was that there is only about 600 seats at the place but we were told to give out tickets up until the concert started basically. So we ended up having over 800 people total sign up for 600 seats which was CRAZY. So everyone left at the end and we had to clean up everything but at this point it was already 10:15 pm and we were stuck with probably 150 oranges left, 30 liters of drinks, and a case and a half left of baklava and we live 45 min away. BUT WE MADE IT ALIVE AND WELL. 

2. We have been trying to make good impressions in our new ward/ group since the transfer! Well, I sure made an impression this week. We were talking to some people in the bishopric and I was sitting on the stairs and I put my feet on the railing thing and then this part just popped off! As I was trying to fix it I hit another one and that one popped off too hahahaha. After I had broken 4 of them they made me take a step back and now won't let me touch anything. Hahahah good reputation I have got goin on here. 

3.  I am not quite sure why.. but there is a major problem with the electricity in Albania. This week our electricity went out for 3 nights and we were left without light or heat! It didn't help that we were also making cookies at the same time during one of the outages... Sister Long and I became very creative and made makeshift lamps and other fun things using our flashlights. We felt like spies. It was awesome. 

SPIRITUAL GOODIES:

I absolutely love EVERY single day of my mission. I am learning so much from these amazing people and from these amazing experiences. One of the most important things we can do in this world is to LISTEN. It is really easy to go go go all of the time and to forget to LISTEN. There are so many situations in which we can listen, and learn. First, probably the most important, is listening to our Heavenly Father. He has so much direction for us that we can receive when we LISTEN after we pray! Second, we need to listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. He wants to lead us and inspire us but we must LISTEN for him in everything we do. Third, we must listen to those around us. We must listen to our families, spouses, companions, friends, neighbors, and coworkers. Without listening we cannot understand! I encourage you all this week to pray your guts out and listen afterwards for the direction that the Lord has for you in your lives. He loves you and wants you to talk with him. PRAY PRAY PRAY. I LOVE YOU ALL! Have a wonderful week and a HAPPY NEW YEAR. 

Love, Motra Sëtën

Adriatic South Mission

P.O. Box 2984

Bulevardi Gjergj Fishta 

Qendra ALPAS

Shkalla NR. 5 Apartamenti NR.14

Tirana, Albania

Pics: me and Elder Deda (he leaves to England next week), burnt cookies, VIP PARTY, christmas selfie, fun christmas eve tradition with pinecones:) 

CHRISTmas!!!!! :)

GËZUAR KRISHTLINDJET!!!!!!!! I can't even believe it has been over a year since I have started this amazing journey of a mission!! It was just one year ago that I was in the MTC celebrating Christmas with my cute district <3 SO FUN!!!! This week has been a little crazy for us here in Tirana! We have had to start from ground zero building up this area!! A little bit about the area... there are two areas we are over here one is a "ward" and the other is a "group". However, in order for the group to stand like half of this ward in Tirana will be transfering to the group in a place called Kombinat! There will be about 50 people in our ward and 20 in the group. SOOO COOL. We have been helping them with this transition and it has been crazy!! We have SOOO MUCH WORK TO DO. It is so so fun working in a big city with TONS of fun people to talk to! Because Sister Long and I are both brand new to this area it has been quite the adventure finding our way around a MASSIVE city, meeting new people, and finding the members! My companion is AMAZING. She is super service oriented and I just love her so much. We have been having some FUN getting ready for Christmas because Christmas is basically non-exsitent in this country.

Culture Shocks: 

1. So it doesn't actually snow in Tirana. However, it does rain. A LOT. Like I'm talkin BUCKETS. Another funny thing is that they stand in front of their stores and sweep out the rain so that it doesn't go into their stores. Haha every single day we have spent in the pouring rain and it has been awesome.

2. All of the old people refer to themselves as "nënë" and "xhaxhi" which mean grandma and grandpa! We can just walk up to people and say, "hi grandma!!" And they take it as a compliment:)

3. They have these sunflower signs EVERYWHERE! They are these big mural things that say, "You are a sunflower". Apparently, they are a symbol of peace here! 

FUNNIES: 

1. So everyone thinks that my cute comp is Albanian!!! Hahaha this week we were in a lesson and the lady wouldn't make eye contact with Sister Long at all! Then, as she was telling me about communism she stopped and looked at my companion and said, " I know you understand since you have lived here. Maybe you can translate." I started laughing so hard and the lady was absolutely SHOCKED to find out that my companion is American hahaha. She looks EXTREMELY Albanian apparently. This was only 1 of MANY instances. More to be continued about Motra Sëtën and her Albanian sidekick;) The lady also told me that I have a face like a baby's bum... thank you Xhulieta. 

2. This week we had a special Christmas program in church! Well, it so happens that the ward was under the impression that I could play the piano. HAHAA. I walked into sacrament meeting and was thrown onto the piano bench directed to play last minute. Fun fact.. I do not play the piano (I told them this many times by the way). I RUINED THEIR CHRISTMAS PROGRAM HAHAHA. I attempted to play the first song while the music director yelled at me because it was so rough. The second song I found on the piano (to play itself!!) However, when I clicked the "play button" it started playing the deepest organ music and was sooooo painfully slow oh my goodness. By the third song I thought I had it figured out right?? I clicked the music button again and out came some fast pace, chipmunk version of Joy to the World. *palm to face* The last song we all sang accapella... but let me remind you. My sweet wonderful Albanians cannot sing:)) also the music lady made one of our elders sing a solo and he is not a singer and it was just awesome. hehehehe it was a great program.

3. We have an awesome apartment here! There is a little damage on the walls from the earthquakes.. but we didn't really think anything of it. However, I was just doing a study when I heard this loud cracking sound and I was like what in the world... I turned around and boom. I was covered in white dust. The wall just fell off hahaha. Whoops. We should probably get that fixed. 

SPIRIT FOOD: 

We had the opportunity to attend 2 baptisms this week and they were so wonderful. This cute lady named Mina taught me a powerful lesson. She explained to me how she found the church through the missionaries and that she is lucky because she just happens to live across the street from our church building. She said, " I am so lucky that I can wake up every morning, get out of bed, and say GOODMORNING JESUS" I loved that!!!! Hahaha Mina is exactly right! We all have the opportunity to think of our Savior FIRST THING in the morning. Our days are dedicated to Him whether we wear a tag or not:) This is something all of us can do better... we can put His will before ours at ALL TIMES. We show our love for Him when we pray for guidance FIRST THING in the morning. We show Him our dedication when we seek from the scriptures FIRST THING in the morning. We show Him our faith when we plan around attending the temple FIRST THING in the morning. He guides us, helps us, and inspires us each and every day. WE ARE SO BLESSED. We are so blessed to know of His Atonement and saving grace. We are so blessed to know Him. I encourage you all to think of ways you can wake up HAPPY and think "GOODMORNING JESUS." I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas this week and have the opportunity to celebrate with your loved ones!!! REMEMBER CHRIST. REMEBER THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!!!! LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! 

Love, Motra Sëtën

Adriatic South Mission

P.O. Box 2984

Bulevardi Gjergj Fishta 

Qendra ALPAS

Shkalla NR. 5 Apartamenti NR.14

Tirana, Albania

Pics: me and my cute comp @ the lake next to our house, sunrise!!!, rain!!!, sunflower sign, me and cutie sister butters at zone conf, service project pic  

Goat head?? & lots of tears:')

Holyyyyy guacamole it is almost CHRISTMAS!!!!!! I hope you all had a rockin' week! This week was pretty crazy for us out here. I found out that I am being transferred to Tirana, the capital of Albania!! I am going to be companions with a newer missionary named Sister Long:) We are going to be "whitewashing" an area in Tirana and are going to be the only area with just sisters! Crazy! I'm not worried about getting lost though... I mean you all know me... I'm a rockstar with my directions;) It has been hard saying goodbye to the wonderful people in Korça. In such a short time we have seen CRAZY MIRACLES, had tons of baptisms, and made lasting relationships. Saying goodbyes are so hard :'( However, I AM SO EXCITED. There are so many more adventures to come. 

Culture Shocks: 

1. On Christmas Eve Albanians have this cool tradition where they will go from door to door and drop off little treats for people :) THEY LOVE IT. 

2. When we ask people what religion they are they usually tell us that they are both Muslim and Orthodox (meaning that their mom and dad are different religions). Religion and nationality often get mixed up here. 

3. Albanians are terrified of water. They are afraid of swimming and sometimes even baptism. Also fun fact: they call ice skating "skiing on ice". 

FUNNY THINGS: 

1. This week we decided to paint these pumpkins and use them as decorations. We couldn't find any paint anywhere! One day we were cleaning our apartment and found some wall paint! We set up a good little area and then went crazy painting these pumpkins. As I went to wash the paint off my hands I wasn't paying attention and then BOOM my entire hands and arms were COVERED in paint. The paint just spread its way over my hands and made them GLOWING WHITE HAHA. I tried scrubbing them for like 30 minutes and it never came off it only got worse lol. We tried using lemon juice and all other sorts of concoctions but I spent the night covered in white wall paint. Finally, we found out an Albanian tip. USE OLIVE OIL. The olive oil helped me out in just 10 minutes:) 

2. The people of Korça sure have unique traditions when it comes to food. This week we really wanted to try one of the most popular foods here... goat head!!! Yummmmmmyyyyyy.The photo is attached below... let's just say that I was not expecting a literal goat head on the plate. Goat brains are so scrumptious (not). 

3. We had the FUNNEST Saturday ever! It started with us playing soccer with a bunch of our cute friends. I love learning Albanian futbol slang it is awesome. All the cute little boys made fun of me because I was a girl until my team kicked their butts 8-2 ;) After playing soccer we were going to have a fun service activity by giving people free hot chocolate in the road! We went to go make the hot chocolate and realized that we had no way to transport the hot chocolate over to the designated spot... hahaha we spilled it EVERYWHERE. It was still awesome though. TONS of people came over and we met TONS of new people! I even met people that live in my new area!!! What a miracle. Our service project then turned into a dance party which surely made for a fun time and got lots of people excited for the Christmas party they will have this week:) #dancecontacting 

Spiritual Thought:

I am so thankful for the amazing people I have met in Korça and for their love and examples that they are for me. They have taught me so much! It is so amazing how much they have learned in such little time. I have come to learn a big concept in my life. When we follow our Savior we cannot fall. No matter how smart, how tall, how old, or how much money we have we are all the same, and we are all learning!! Constantly! We are promised that as we continue to follow the example of our Savior that we can have even MORE blessings, even MORE happiness, and even MORE miracles; but, sometimes it is easy to fall back into the world. Satan is smart, and he knows how to get us!! I picture it like this... Satan doesn't tell us to jump off cliffs because that would be too obvious! We would never do that. However, Satan will place slides, and hills, and other things in our path that will slowly but surely get us off the path if we are not careful. We can all continue on the road that leads to our Heavenly Father when we do the small and simple things each day:) Jesus Christ has showed us the way. As we constantly learn, live, and walk as Christ did we will find him. I love my Savior. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY. I love you all!!!! Be happy and find Christ in CHRIST-MAS and have a fan-freaking-tastic week!!!!<3 

Love, Motra Sëtën

Adriatic South Mission

P.O. Box 2984

Bulevardi Gjergj Fishta 

Qendra ALPAS

Shkalla NR. 5 Apartamenti NR.14

Tirana, Albania

Pics: HOT CHOCOLATE GANG, futbol friends (2), goat head, cute hat that Elder Linton gave us for Christmas, my cute friend Edmond, cute fam I will miss very much

5 BAPTISMS, goat poop, & old xhaxhis:)

Ooooh hello hello!!! I cannot believe we are already in December!! I hope you are all happy and well and had a great week:) I am doing just fine and dandy here in Korça. The temperature is dropping concerningly fast but still no snow... it will come though! We had a good week! We decorated the heck out of our house and the church, our favorite nënë got baptized and a miracle family of 4 got baptized, and the city finally turned on the Christmas lights!!!!! Woot woot!!! We are celebrating SHUMË up in here:) 

Culture Shocks: 

1. In Korça they decorate ALL the cobblestone streets with lights and it is beautiful!! It is part of Orthodox tradition that they turn on the lights on December 6th through January 6th to celebrate Saint Nicholas!! They did a way cool light show and there were tons of visitors that came to see the lights too! 

2. People are rarely named after their parents but often times named after their grandparents! The Orthodox people also have two names because they receive a new name (named after one of the saints) when they are baptized! They celebrate the day that "their saint" died too (kind of like a second birthday) 

3. Funerals are pretty big here! They think we are crazy that we wait a week after someone dies before having a funeral. If someone dies in their neighborhood they whisper and don't mess around at all to show respect even in their own homes! They also have this cool culture thing that you are supposed to turn on your hazard lights when you are near a hearse. 

FUNNY STUFF: 

1. Okay so this week was so funny. It started out with us going to this village in Pogradec to do some service for a SUPER old member and his wife. We were cleaning their house and oowee that was a sight to see. After we had fished out DARK BLACK hair from their drains for 1 hour the old 80 year old man turned on some crazy music and we all started dancing!! He was so loosey goosey out there on the dance floor wearing his cute traditional hat it was awesome. He was really trying to impress us because then he did like 10 push ups and they were perfect!! Hahaha the rest of our service project consisted of us eating STRAIGHT pumpkin off of the skin (I do not recommend), crazy dancing, and the old man attempting to set us up on dates with the elders lol. 

2. We had 5 baptisms this week it was such a miracle!!!! Hahaha but let me tell ya... we are not that organized. At the very last minute our friends changed their minds about who they wanted to baptize them and we didn't have enough baptismal clothes!! Our branch president was supposed to be the baptizer but he also didn't have any white clothes... then our first councilor said that he had some white clothes and baptismal slippers that our branch president could use at his house!!!! So we went to his house 5 minutes before the baptism was supposed to start and opened his door and there were just these 2 random guys in tank tops  walking around the house wearing the baptismal shoes as house slippers! HAHAA it was so freaking funny oh my goodness. I am not quite sure why this member had the baptismal slippers in the first place but ummm yeah that was stinking funny. 

3. We were driving to a lesson this week with a member and we had only been in the car for MAYBE 2 min when she started complaining about her tummy hurting. We were almost to our lesson so I told her just to be patient and that we were almost there (hahaha I'm gonna be a great mom). All of the sudden she JUMPED OUT OF THE CAR WHILE WE WERE DRIVING AND STARTED THROWING UP EVERYWHERE. Hahahaa she told us she gets really car sick but just forgot to tell us... it was so funny but so scary and sad at the same time haha. She now calls our car the devil's car hahaha. 

4. When we were teaching our miracle family last week we taught about the word of wisdom!! Sadly, the dad didn't keep his commitment to stop smoking the first time so we went over again a few days later to check up on him! We walked in and saw him standing in a chair in their one room house preaching to 5 little boys. He was standing up holding the word of wisdom pamphlet with his glasses on the tip of his nose and his arms out wide. He was so proud that he had stopped smoking so he started preaching to anyone who would listen!! The 5 little boys stayed for our lesson and then afterwards we started talking about futbol. They are my best friends hahaha. They were so excited that I play futbol so we decided we could play this Saturday. Every time they see me they say, "5 more days motra!!!" They are pretty dang excited. THEN- the next day they asked us when they could get baptized so we are pretty excited to help them reach the waters of baptism:)) However, the story goes on. They kind of live in a rough neighborhood and so we came out of their house to a surprise. We had 4 flat tires!!!! Hahaha that kinda stunk especially because when we finally got home we accidentally locked our keys in our house * palm to face* and didn't have any spare keys.... whatta day. Whatta day. We ended up getting in around 10:30 though so all is well:) 

5. For pday we went to one of the oldest cities in Albania to see some old churches! We were going up this mountain in the mud when I accidentally slipped and kicked Sister Mann in the face with my muddy shoe. I was all muddy and gross and so was she it was hilarious. Then I picked up these berries that I thought would be so scrumptious but when I showed them to the other elders and sisters I found out they were goat poops. I am so thankful I didn't eat those lol. That would have been horrible lol.

SPIRIT FOOD: 

I am so proud of our beautiful friends that were baptized this week. They truly know the meaning of conversion and are the most joyful people! How do we have the MOST joy in our lives? President Nelson said that the real test "is to be able to look in the mirror, first thing in the morning, and feel real joy." The way we feel this IMMENSE joy in the morning comes when we feel good about the people with whom we live and work—our companions in life; when we feel good about ourselves—in a humble way; and most important, when we feel good about our relationship to God and sincerely love him. Every morning can be a joyful morning if we allow ourselves to see it! The first thing we ought to do is offer a simple and sincere prayer of gratitude. When we pray with our whole hearts and souls we find answers to our questions, comfort to our concerns, and guidance each day! I am so thankful for my Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ. Don't forget Him this holiday season! <3 I love you all SOOOO MUCH. Do some service! Sing some holiday songs! Go to church! Say your prayers! Make some cookies! STAY JOYFUL. LOVE YOUUUU <3 

Love, Motra Sëtën

Adriatic South Mission

P.O. Box 2984

Bulevardi Gjergj Fishta 

Qendra ALPAS

Shkalla NR. 5 Apartamenti NR.14

Tirana, Albania

Pics: CHRISTMAS DECORATING (2), lights on the boulevard, CUTE LILI'S BAP PHOTOS, me telling Lili a joke ;) (we have a very special relationship) , more lights, miracle family and my cute futbol friends, volleyball at the beach!!! 

WE DUNKED ETLEVA

WHAT IS UP MY PEOPLE! I hope you have all had a fantastic week full of lots of fun and miracles :) We had such an awesome week this week! There is so much to love about being a missionary! These people are SO STRONG. This week our dear friend Etleva was baptized!! It was sooo beautiful! I am so so proud of her. ALSO HAPPY THANKSGIVING. There is so much to be thankful for so eat lots, get fat, and workout later ;)

CULTURE SHOCKS: 

1. Albanians feed us super interesting food when we eat at their houses in the fshats (villages). One thing we ate this week was something they call compost... and it tastes as good as it sounds. Some people make it so scrumptious but if you are in a fshat it is an EXPERIENCE to say the least. Compost is basically random ground fruit with a bunch of random sauces and often times tastes like dirt lol. Also they will give us bowls of honey to eat before our meals with the honeycombs still there! 

2. I smell like smoke ALL the time. TONS of people here smoke plus in the winter they all have their chimney things that make us constantly smell like a campfire haha :) breathing good air people. 

3. Korcë is different from most cities in Albania! For one, they have their own traditional foods (one is called lakror which is like byrek) and they use different words than the rest of the Shqiptars! Also everyone has been to Greece. They almost all know Greek too because it is so close to us! 

FUNNY THINGS: 

1. This week we went to go see one of our cute friends and she lives in a village about 10 minutes away! It was kinda spooky because she lives in the middle of nowhere, has a creepy path up to her door, and she doesn't have lights so it was super dark because we went at night! When we got there she didn't answer her door so we thought we would walk around back to find her.  Hahaha this would be so so creepy if it wasn't Albania. We were walking around inspecting the house and then we just hear "oj" and out pops this little 12 year old from the bushes holding a chicken who then told us she wasn't home. It scared the crap out of me but we laughed so hard after. However, we are still confused about who he was and where he came from hahaha. The weirdest things happen to us here hehe. 

2. We went to our branch president's house this week to visit him and his mom and they are so awesome! As we were sitting down I bent over to put my bag down and BOOM there was this stuffed deer next to me! It was actually pretty scary I actually jumped hehe. I told our Branch President I liked his deer and then he told me I could have it. Hahaha big mistake because then for about 20 minutes he tried to convince me to take this massive stuffed deer home with me. The only way I got out of that was telling him I had no room in my luggage hehe :) 

3. Believe me when I tell you that Albanians LOVE to yell at each other. I was sitting in relief society and a cute sister made a comment and suddenly EVERY single woman in the room started talking and yelling over each other and it was so hilarious. They were arguing over the meaning of the SIMPLEST comment. A member was translating for Sister Coleman, the senior couple sister, and the member just stopped translating and says, "sorry I can't translate for you I have gotta get in on this" All of the sisters were just interrupting each louder and louder each time it was like I was in a zoo holy cow. Sister Coleman's eyes were bulging so wide at the sight of these women screaming at each other. Then all the sudden our teacher of the class made a comment and everyone just shushed and silently agreed with her and nodded and held hands with one another and boom there was peace. 

SPIRITUAL WONDERFULNESS: 

This week we had a baptism and it was so great! Her story is so sweet! So, Etleva was introduced to the church about 2 years ago but she had no interest in anything. However, a few weeks ago the sisters here before me found her and taught her but they did not think she would go very far. They taught her a lesson and it wasn't looking very promising. THEN, my first day in Korcë we had a lesson with her and it was amazing. The spirit was SO strong and she decided that day that she was going to commit fully by reading, praying, and going to church. It was amazing. We talked about the importance of the spirit and that if we were dedicated we would find answers. EVERY single day she has remembered her commitments and has progressed so much!! She has learned SOOO MUCH the past few weeks and she has just blossomed into one of the most amazing members. Her testimony is so strong!!!!! I look up to her for her dedication and determination. She now has been able to see the fruits of her efforts and she has understood so much more than ever before. If you are sad, confused, hurt, angry, lost, happy, or even all of the above, decide NOW to use the faith you have to dedicate yourself more to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He will bless you. I can promise that! Read that verse, say that prayer, help that person. As Elder Holland says, "The size of your faith or the degree of your knowledge is not the issue-it is the integrity you demonstrate toward the faith you do have and the truth you already know. " Be not afraid, only believe. (Mark 5:36). 

I love you all so much! Be thankful! Be happy! Have a wonderful turkey week!! 

Love, Motra Sëtën

Adriatic South Mission

P.O. Box 2984

Bulevardi Gjergj Fishta 

Qendra ALPAS

Shkalla NR. 5 Apartamenti NR.14

Tirana, Albania

1 YEAR, A BROKEN BUTT, & A MIRACLE

WHAT A GOOD OL WEEK FOLKS!!!! I have officially been a missionary for 1 year!!! Crazy stuff. On November 14th I hit my year mark woo hoo how fun! We had fun celebrating this week and I was also super excited because I got to hang out with my bestie Sister Mann for 2 days! I am so blessed to get to see her so much. This week we were blessed with rain, another baptismal date, and LOTS of laughs :) 

Culture shocks!!!! 

1. There are not any addresses here which is pretty funny. This is how they describe where they live, " go straight, then turn right, then turn left then go straight until you see a blue door and then go right and if you have seen a goat you have gone too far" super helpful. We only got lost like 30 times this week ;) 

2. Everything has seeds! The grapes, the oranges, the olives, and just everything has seeds inside!! We are constantly on the look out for seeds so that we don't grow grapes in our tummies ;) 

3. To have a bathroom in your house is like royalty here! Most of the people have to go out in the cold to wash and prepare food and go to the bathroom. They are so strong!! 

FUNNY STUFF: 

1. This week we had an unfortunate case of events hahaha. We had planned a lesson with this miracle family out in a fshat (village) about 30 minutes away but we came to find out that we wouldn't have the car because some things came up with our elders! We really didn't want to miss our lesson so we decided we would use our bikes!!! BRAVO. Well, let me set the scene for ya real quick. First of all, helmets are NOT used in Albania so 2 blonde girls in skirts riding bikes in the freezing cold with helmets in the middle of nowhere was quite a sight to see. We got some FUNNY looks and even funnier comments as we passed by the old cute fruit vendors on the side of the road. Our biking trip ended up taking us 4 hours total because we did not realize how long the trip would be into the village in the mountains HAHAH. It was also uphill both ways and both of our bikes were broken lol. My handles were about 20 klm from my hands and so my back was absolutely destroyed AND the gears were broken so our legs were going super sonic speed yet we were hardly moving. Oh man it was so stinkin funny. I was laughing so hard!! Oh also as we were leaving they gave me a peach to eat as I was biking and I totally crashed while eating this stinkin peach. Let's just say that I WILL be fixing those handlebars... Despite my broken butt (which has been bruised for the last 3 days) I had the time of my life and we met ANOTHER miracle family!!!! Once we got to the village we couldn't find the house and so I decided to ask these cute little kids playing futbol in the road for directions! While my comp was looking for directions with their mom I started playing futbol in my skirt and helmet with like 8 kids and we had so much fun. The mom was so happy that we played with her kids that she wants us to come back and teach her about The Book of Mormon!!! Ahhh I am so excited. #worthit 

2. Hahha okay so this week I was in the bathroom and saw all of these powder things on this ledge hanging in our bathroom. I thought it would be a good idea and open them so that I could see what was inside! Hahhaha so the first one I opened was just some kind of cream thing or something and the second one was quite the surprise. I opened the second bottle and BOOM it exploded black powder all over the entire bathroom and all over my clothes. I was completely black HAHAH. I figured out that it was some kind of powder for your teeth or something lol but it was quite hilarious looking at the reaction of my companion when I walked out of the bathroom. 

3. We went to dinner at this cute lady's house and all she wants to do is feed us! She is so cute. However, we didn't have very much time to eat with her because we had an appointment so as we were leaving she was just throwing tons of food on us putting them in my pockets, my coat hood, my shoes, and just everything. It was so funny!! I kept telling her that I didn't have enough room for all of her nuts and fruits but she somehow was able to find every cranny. Oh man, I love Albanians. 

SPIRITUAL GOODNESS:

This week I have been thinking a lot about angels. President Nelson has made it very clear that the work of salvation is proceeding here on the earth and is also continuing on both sides of the veil!! What a wonderful thing. There are spirits all around us who are constantly helping us, lifting us up, and encouraging us in everything we do. It is so comforting to know that we have those special spirits who know us and love us and want us to grow closer to our Heavenly Father! They cry with us and they rejoice with us. They comfort us and they help us in EVERY SITUATION. Each day they help us and minister to us and perform miracles for US. We have access to their power and that is such a blessing! Moroni 7:29 says, "And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men."  Don't forget the amount of people that love and care for you. They are here on earth and they are in the spirit world! Don't forget about the angels. They are numberless and they are real. They are cheering you on! I am cheering you on!!! I love you and miss you more than you know!! Have a spectacular, groovy, and happy week :) 

Love, Motra Sëtën

Adriatic South Mission

P.O. Box 2984

Bulevardi Gjergj Fishta 

Qendra ALPAS

Shkalla NR. 5 Apartamenti NR.14

Tirana, Albania

Pics: me and my cute new futbol friends, futbol field!!!, biking, cute lil road