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 

1ST WEEK IN KORÇA

Wowww what a week it has been!!! It has been the craziest week EVER. Transfers were this week and I am officially in Korça woot woot!! My first day I actually spent in Pogradec (another city on a lake) because we had exchanges! I got to hangout with my cute bff trainee!!! Motra Mann!!!! That was soooo fun. We had the best day ever. The next day we had zone conference in a different city called Elbasan which is about 2 hours away. I got to see a bunch of my friends there so that was awesome! Everything is far away from Korça haha. I went from the furthest north to the furthest south!! Korça is beautiful! It is in the mountains and absolutely gorgeous. It is very very cold and old. The streets are cobblestone and the buildings are very old! The branch here is wonderful!  There were about 60 people that came to church and it was amazing. It was a huge change from what I am used to! The people are predominantly Orthodox so that has also been an interesting transition from teaching Muslims before. There are so many miracles happening here it is unreal. Within my 5 days here we already found and taught 3 people here who will be getting baptized!!!! What a miracle!!!! My companion is Sister Wilson. She is so rad!!! She is American but she has lived in Italy, Turkey, Germany, and some other places and she went to school for a year at SUU! Everyone thinks we are sisters here because of our twinning blonde hair :) 

CULTURE SHOCKS: 

1. Soo there are a ton of culture shocks from my transition to Albania from Kosovo. One thing different is that they shake their heads no when they mean yes and they shake their heads yes when they mean to say no. Very very confusing. 

2. Korça is a very poor area of Albania. Most of them make their clothes straight from their own sheep. Many of them also wash their dishes, laundry, and bodies in the same pot of water. This is a very humbling experience let me tell ya. 

3. Grape season is coming to an end however, it has been fun watching the cute old women here make jam. They stomp on the grapes with their bare feet and then serve you their famous grape jam yummm.

GIGGLES AND LAUGHS: 

1. HAHAH okay so Sister Mann and I had quite the adventure when I was on my exchange in Pogradec hahaha. We always have the most interesting experiences together. We drove to this members home up this random horrible dirt road in the mountains. As we were driving down the mountain the car suddenly dropped and we couldn't drive forward. SHE DROVE INTO A HOLE! IT WAS A MASSIVE HOLE TOO HAHAHA. It wasn't just a pothole though it was like a deep hole for construction. We tried lifting the car and pushing it out but I guess my p90x isn't helping too much because we couldn't do anything (keep in mind we didn't have reception on our phones lol). Finally, someone came to help us out and we made it out alive and well :) #goodmems 

2. This week we went to a beautiful city by the lake called Lin. It was gorgeous! We went with our fellow Pogradec friends and had so much fun haha. Most of it contained them throwing onions at me (idk why), us teasing Motra Mann because she has lice LOL, and then us hitch hiking trying to find a bus for an hour #classic Then as we were walking home from the bus stop I got hit with a moped!!! I was walking and he totally saw me and boom he just smacked right into me. Awesome. 

3. We taught a lesson to this family this week and they are so wonderful. They brought us some mystery meat with this flour pasta stuff. As I was about to take a bite one of their 5 cats just stepped into my bowl. Haha they have a dog, 2 birds, and 5 cats that were just running around their 1 bedroom house hahahaha yeah I didn't eat that stuff just fyi. There was a point that I had 2 cats crawling in my dress, one of my lap, and a dog rubbing up against my leg. It was so uncomfy!!!!!!! Hahahahha. 

SPIRITUAL GOODIES: 

I am in Moroni 7:40-42 this week. Boy do I love these scriptures!! They are all about hope! Hope and faith go hand in hand. Hope helps faith develop and true faith gives birth to hope! When we begin to lose hope, we also falter in our faith. I learn more and more from the people of Albania each day. Here in Korça they have so much faith. This faith has led them to find hope in Jesus Christ. This hope has led them to have true charity in their lives despite their circumstances. They give and give until they cannot give anymore. If we will all find and develop more faith in Jesus Christ we will find hope in his Atonement; which is easily the GREATEST gift we have ever been given. Have hope!!! Things will work out. There is a plan. He loves you more than you will ever comprehend. There is so much to live for and be happy for!!!! I love my Savior! I love you and miss you all so so so much!!!! Talk to you next 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: some of my fav missionaries at zone conf, beautiful lake in Lin, BOYCE AND WEBSTER (MTC GROUP), pogradec sisters, korça streets, DINNER TIME!

KOSOVO HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

We had a SpOokY week here in Kosovo!!!! Lots of spiders and spooky things up our allies if ya know what I am sayin. This week we had a HUGE Halloween party and it was SOOO FUN. We had lots of friends and members come it was a huge hit!! I am tellin ya, Albanian's know how to party. In other news, we got transfer calls this week. I am heading to Albania! I will be leaving my beautiful homeland, Kosovo, and be off on my next adventure in the land of Korça (Korcha). I have now been in Kosovo for over 7 months and made friends that I will keep FOREVER. It is gonna be a hard leave but I know that Heavenly Father will take care of them :) 

CULTURE SHOCKS: 

1. Peoples' names here are hilarious. They name their kids after common things and objects. For example, flamur= flag, fortessa= fortress, lumturie= happiness hahaha it is awesome lol. 

2. Albanian's don't celebrate Halloween!!! They don't dress up at all!!! Those crazies!!! 

3. They are very respectful of the elderly here! They will not sit down for dinner before the elderly and cannot eat until they take a bite first!! 

GIGGLES: 

1. Our Halloween party was rockin awesome hahahaha. We played a bunch of games and listened to music and everyone had an awesome time we laughed really hard the entire night. We have this cute little boy we are teaching and he was going CRAZY about our hanging donuts game (not donuts by the way). He wanted to fight them boxing style and kept hitting the strings anytime someone would try and eat the donut thingy. We finally got him to settle down and then out of nowhere he comes SPRINTING with his axe he used for Halloween and just bonks this girl on the head and cut the string with axe. Then he started swinging the string with the donut on it and it shot up and smacked me in the eyeball HAHAHA I LOVE HIM!!! Also at least 5 people may have almost drown during our bob for apples activity... ;)

2.  We went to have a lesson this week with these two girls and sometimes our lessons can be a little different. We always try to have our lessons at people's houses or at our church but the culture is a little different here so sometimes that is not always possible. We decided to meet at a quiet little cafe where we could talk! Right before we met together the girl told us that she had a better and quieter place to meet so we said sure! Well, we went to our lesson and it looked like we were in the desert hahaha. We sat on these little round cushions and there was like Arabian music playing and the walls were painted with camels and pyramids and it was very interesting. To make it better they started smoking those massive bong things so that really added to the experience. 

3. We have awesome Elders here in Kosovo. For some reason (I don't know why) we thought it would be hilarious if we pulled a joke on them. So one day we went and put tortillas in their crocs. HAHHA. This does not sound funny but I was laughing so hard. Well, turns out they actually never noticed there were tortillas in the lining of their crocs until today. Do not ask me how.... hahah but OH MY GOODNESS THERE WERE TORTILLAS IN THEIR CROCS FOR 3 DAYS HAHAH that is so funny. 

THE GOOD STUFF: 

This week I have just been on a spiritual high. The spirit has been so strong in all that we have done. The spirit has directed me and guided me and comforted me in so many ways. This week has been rough preparing to leave Kosovo. I am so excited for the opportunity to serve in Albania but the people here have a very special place in my heart and for that it hurts to leave. There have been lots of tears shed by members in the branch (hahah okay and me too). They are wonderful. I have learned so many things from the people of Prishtina. They have taught me so much. They have changed me forever. Here are 5 things I have learned while serving in Prishtina (although I have learned much more). 

1. I have learned to love. THEY LOVE EVERYONE. They have Christlike love and it GLOWS from their very beings. I have learned how to TRULY love while I have been here. 

2. I have learned how to be strong. They continue to amaze me everyday. They have been through war, abuse, trials, and hardships and they ALWAYS stay strong and keep on going. They never give up. 

3. I have learned that no one is outside the reach of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. No matter what religion they are and no matter how active they are in their religions they have hope. I have truly learned this as I have watched my friends serve and have taught the people here about Jesus Christ. 

4. I have learned that with Jesus Christ, everything is possible. We can do the impossible!! The hard days become the best days and there are ALWAYS miracles!!! 

5. I have learned how to truly be happy. A lot of people in this country are not happy. However, the people of this branch are truly happy because of their knowledge of the Plan of Salvation and their relationship with their Father in Heaven. THAT has helped me learn how to truly be happy. It is lasting, and it is contagious. It is divine. It is a gift from our GOD. 

Anyways, my testimony has grown so much while serving here. You should all give Alma 34 a read <3 that chapter has blessed my life in so many ways!! 

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVE AND PRAYERS. 

Love, Motra Sëtën

Adriatic South Mission

P.O. Box 2984

Bulevardi Gjergj Fishta 

Qendra ALPAS

Shkalla NR. 5 Apartamenti NR.14

Tirana, Albania

Pics: the strongest people, this massive leaf I found hehe, me and my cute companion, bowling with KOSOVO, HALLOWEEN PARTY 

SMOOCHES 3

WOW WOW WOW. Another week has just flown by again! Things are groovy up here in Prishtina. I love it so much!!! There is SOO MUCH to love about missionary work!!! This week was fun for us though! I got to go on my second exchange EVER (in my 7 months here) and it was awesome!! We couldn't do exchanges before because me and my comp were the only sisters in Kosovo lol. I got to go hangout in Gjakova with Sister Shaw from Utah and that was awesome. WE HAD SO MUCH FUN. I love her. 

Culture SHOCKS:

So the funny thing about my culture shocks is that slowly but surely the shock is going down because everything is becoming normal and that makes me laugh. So when our cute upstairs neighbor calls us drunk at 2 in the morning to buzz her in the door we smile and don't even take a second blink :) 

1. They don't have a lot of orange punkins here!!! Also every different color of pumpkin has a different name and isn't considered a pumpkin! Weird! 

2. Bathrooms= an experience. Most of the public bathrooms here don't include soap, or tp, or any other necessities! They are squatters that is for sure. Look out everyone. My thighs are getting ripped. 

3. The peaches have now disappeared from the shops :( HOWEVER, that means it is now cutie (orange) season!! There is nothin like the smell of fresh bread and cuties in the morning air!! 

GOOD CHUCKLES: 

1. This week we had a very interesting man come to church. He came about an hour early all ready for church and everything. We are always very welcoming here so we shook his hand and that is when things escalated!! Albanians have this thing where they will kiss you on your cheeks as a "welcoming thing". So this man was leaning in towards my comp but let me tell ya... he wasn't goin in for the cheek that was for dang sure. He wrapped his arms around her into a hug but she escaped milliseconds before smooching a 50 year old man. He then proceeded to follow us around begging to get a picture with us. We said no, but that he could get a picture with the Elders. He wasn't quite down for that hahhaha. 

2. Soooo interesting fact. Daylight savings is actually a week early here. Sister Bringhurst and I woke up really confused because it was extremely light outside! Plus, all of our clocks said that it was 7:30 so we were like oh no we must have slept in!!!! Hahaha we were rushing around and didn't really check our phones. When we finally checked our phones we were still so confused because our phones were an hour behind, or so we thought. Finally after some digging we found out it was just daylight savings hehe. Thank you Europe.

3. When I had my sleepover in Gjakova we had the best time ever. Sister Shaw is HILARIOUS. We also had some funny things happen to us. First of all, we were talking so much that we missed our turn to head to Gjakova and were in the middle of nowhere until we both were like hmm something is wrong... so that was funny. We also made these cookies for an activity that I absolutely demolished because I forgot about them in the oven lol. Our quote of the day was when she said, " So many crazy things happen in this mission. I am so numb to it all. At this point I could get shot or win 1 million dollars and I would feel exactly the same." I learned this week that I love exchanges hahahaha. 

SPIRITUAL FOOD: 

Recently, I have LOVED the scripture 4 Nephi 1:36 that says the people were "true believers in Christ". Many of us have testimonies and beliefs of all sorts but what does it mean to be a true believer in Christ? Elder Neal A. Maxwell described true believers perfectly. He said,

1. True believers are settled in their views of Christ. Despite their weaknesses, their spirituality is centered on the Savior, so their views of everything else are put in that precious perspective.

2. True believers gladly perform their duties in the kingdom. 

3. True believers are humble.They are not easily offended and they do not resist counsel.

4. True believers are willing to do what Christ wants... even if that involves stretching. 

5. True believers have a balanced contentment.

6. True believers truly pray. Their prayers are sincere! 

7. True believers have both right conduct and right reasons for that conduct.

8.True believers rejoice in the success of others.

9. True believers remember that forgetting is part of forgiving. 

10. True believers are innocent as to sin, but not naive.

11. True believers are HAPPY. 

Although many of us have different beliefs we sometimes take 'the backseat' and don't act upon the things we believe!! There are always areas in which we can improve and become TRUE BELIEVERS in Christ, our Lord. I am thankful for his guiding hand in every aspect of my life. He truly is our Savior!! Be a true believer this week!! Try it out!! You will see a difference in your countenances! 

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 our COOLEST FRIEND BESFORT, FALL LEAVES, me and a cucumber flower, cute bags, pic with us and the PRESIDENT OF KOSOVO INBETWEEN US!! HAHAHAHAHAHAH #famous