CULTURE SHOCKS:
1. Albanians/Kosovars walk in a very closed off kind of way. They walk slowly, very straight, and they don't flail their arms at all. They can pick out all of the foreigners in Prishtina immediately because of the way they walk!! Apparently I walk very Americany ;))
2. There is a traditional food called fasule which is like a bean soup. To add some good flavor they just throw in a slab of meat with bloody veins hahaha interesting...
3. They are so loving and wonderful here that their entire families will walk you home or to the bus stop whenever you leave their houses! It is extremely rude and unheard of NOT to say goodbye to everyone before leaving a place.
GOOFY GOOBERS:
1. This week was full of losses... HOWEVER, they most definitely turned into wins. I will start with our most recent scare on Saturday. So we planned this fun futbol activity about 30 min outside the city because our friend told us there was a free open field next to her house there. So we got everyone who wanted to play together and got on the bus and headed to play some futbol! After about 45 min we realized we were on the wrong bus and that our friend ACTUALLY lived like another 1 hr away in the mountains.... she definitely had some open space that is for sure. So all 15 of us got off the bus in the middle of nowhere. No one had money and we had no idea where we were or when the next bus could pick us up. HAHAHAH it was a mess!! Not to mention that our group looked pretty dang hilarious too. We had 4 children, a set of twins, 3 Bangladesh men, a massive Kosovar man and his son, 1 Albanian missionary, and 3 lost Americans all sitting on the side of the road in the middle of no where. We ended up getting a bus and getting home about 3 hrs later hahaha. The good news was that it turned into quite a spiritual experience and we had some amazing laughs. A dear friend of mine said, " Who cares if it didn't work out. You got up and cared enough for them to give them a good experience when no one else would have." I love these people so much oh my goodness.
2. A few weeks ago we ate at the best restaurant in the city of Gjakova and we ended up having to stay the night there in the old sisters apartment. Well, long story short, I left my leftovers in the fridge and then totally forgot about them for the past 2 transfers hahahahah. So that was a fun treat to go clean up. Moldy fridges yummm.
3. At church so many people came up to sister Mann and whispered to her asking if she was a Muslim and went to the xhami (mosque). We kinda laughed about it after the first person asked but then everyone kept asking her and we were so confused what led them to believe that she was Muslim. Turns out she was wearing this moon necklace that is totally the sign of the xhami !!! I didn't even notice!!! Hahaha that was hard to explain to our Muslim investigators I will tell ya that.
Spiritual goodness:
We are teaching this wonderful family right now. The dad is baptized but we are teaching his wife and his cute son who is 6 (he is my best friend). This family has been through so much and it is so humbling to hear their stories. Uran (the dad) has been shot at, caught by the Serbs, injured in all ways, flew out of the windshield of a car, and escaped death in over 20 instances. Instead of losing his faith, his faith has only increased. He believes that he was saved so many times for a purpose! As are we!! Elder Rasband said, " Think of those times, some daily, when the Lord has acted in your life—and then acted again. Treasure them as moments the Lord has shown confidence in you and in your choices. But allow Him to make more of you than you can make of yourself on your own. Treasure His involvement. Sometimes we consider changes in our plans as missteps on our journey. Think of them more as first steps to being “on the Lord’s errand.” God is very aware of each and every one of us. He is in the details! Look unto him in all things and I testify you will find the answers to the questions you've been asking.
I LOVE YOU ALL FOREVER!!!! THANKS FOR LOVING ME & PUTTING UP WITH MY NOVEL EMAILS :))
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 mann & ice cream, cool mural, our fav senior couple, beautiful Prizren <3 with over 45 mosques in sight
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