Week 54 - Lushnje

 here's me in Lushnje!

TRACTing

 the golden family!! 

the fam's 1st sel!fie!  /  this awesomee family! 

 i duam<3 

Pershendetje nga Lushnja! jkxh e jdsh e klm :)

Hej! E and L got baptized yesterday morning before church.. it was wonderful and they are so great. <3 During second hour (I go on splits with a member and teach primary) I taught "a Child's prayer" (in Albanian po pra) to the little girls there and they were so cute singing it and a powerful reminder to me that eloquence and big vocab is not important when we're just talking with our Heavenly Father.. no need to try to impress when the objective is simply to speak from the heart!

For our training we felt like our zone just needed a little pick-me-up so we went for a more light-hearted approach and it was fun. Had an exchange and I got to go back to Durres! <3 With Motra Ariza :) basically my 2nd and 3rd transfers morphed into one day ha? While I was away the sisters here met an awesomee new investigator, M, and she is probably the most prepared person I've taught on my mission yet. When asking her to be baptized on the second lesson she said, "yes! it's a dream come true!" etc. and we also met an awesome family who owns a little fruit treg.. when we went to stock up on bananas etc. and spinach (gonna make some byrek) we ended up having a great, friendly conversation with the sweet mom who works there and daughter our age, and it turned to more of a gospel discussion when the dad came because he works in the neighboring villages with nonprofits and basically his goal is to serve as many people as possible and he's the referral jackpot because after we came back and taught restoration the next evening (on some plastic chairs and wooden stools out on the street next to the crates of veggies) he told us about the many families he works with who have great faith but need the hope and strength of the gospel just like anyone else and he recognized that with his job he helps them out temporally but as missionaries we are here to help people spiritually, and that's exactly right. We make sure to testify of Christ and his atonement in every lesson and it's powerful. I'm so grateful for this great sacrifice... see Alma 7: 11-13  ("11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.   12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.  13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me").

Ju dua shume, ju perqafoj, ju uroj nje jave te mbare, sa me bukur etj..

<33 Motra Rajlli :)

this girl is amaazing

got to see my old investigators at kurs when I went back to Duress <3 love that place <3  

gotta serve w/ motra arithe-solar again, this is the durres sisters' new apt. #saraja?

haha got a picture w/ these ice-cream scooper friends (sis davis and i knew them too well..) 

and exotic fruit salad yess ignore our faces  

impromptu vocal point dance party after planning?

hahah one of our members gave us a home-grown squash so i told her i'd make her a treat with it (i.e. pumpkin bars) but it turned out a lot different than what I had in mind (none of the right ingredients and it wasn't even a pumpkin.. wrong kind of squash ha! and possibly rotten)... probably the ugliest "pumpkin pie" ever? ;) but i told her i'd make it so i kept my word; integrity>self-respect ha (plus her 1-yr old son loved it #babyfood)

tonsss of pics for you since i have a bunch from last wk too haha  

everytime we go to someone's house we leave with a bag full of pomegranates (throwback to Gpa Ernie's house!) so I put some in your (vegan) choc. cake 

and we make the bestt turli/ gjelle 

and yuum curry lentils with fresh bay leaves (dafin) from an investigator fam 

haha didn't have tape to hang up this pic he drew (in my little primary class btw haha!) so these little address labels you made me came in handy 

and little cutie A whose parents were baptized yesterday and he says great prayers