“OHHHHHH, WE’RE HALFWAY THERE…WHOA-OH LIVIN ON A PRAYER…”
- 42 minutes ago
- 8 min read
(in case you’re wondering, I’m channeling my inner Bon Jovi) Yikes!! We are actually MORE than halfway there…We are 11 months into the mission already and we cannot believe how fast it has gone! It could be because we are BUSY BUSY BUSY!!!. We wear so many different hats here, often we are out the door around 9 a.m., get home around 9, head to bed between 11:30 p.m. and midnight. We continue to have new experiences, and definitely get laughs from the crazy things that happen. For instance:
Our newly arrived sister missionary from the U.S. was talking to one of the investigators at church. Albanian is a very hard language, and even after 9 weeks of study, most missionaries come here and realize they hardly understand anything. Anyway, this investigators was talking to her about his stomach, he pointed to four points on his abdomen, and she proudly understood that he was telling her he had four stomachs, thinking it meant he eats a lot! Ha ha, she laughed, me too!!! Well, turns out that he was actually telling her he had diabetes and had to have 4 shots in his stomach! Ha ha!!! Me too??? (she was dying)
The missionaries had been visiting and teaching this man named Astrit for quite awhile. One day, we were with them on a visit to Astrit, and as we sat down, he pulled out his ID card, handing it to the Elders. He tells them that his name is Arineet, that Astrit was his brother and they were very close in age and looks so everyone has pretty much just always called him Astrit. But his real name was Arineet. It only took a few months for that to come out! Still not quite sure whether we are supposed to call him Arineet (his real name) or Astrit (what everyone calls him!).
Google Maps strikes again: somehow it led us to driving our car down a bike path. The path was fenced on both sides so there was no hope of turning around, or getting off of it. We had to drive for a kilometer or 2 before there was a break to turn off, praying no bike riders would be riding toward us because our car took up the entire path.
Google also took us down a road that ended abruptly at a drop off of about 3 feet, then stairs below–it was a dark rainy night but miraculously, we saw the drop and slammed on the brakes before taking the plunge. Had to back down the tiny narrow alleyway google had taken us on to get out of that one! It was tricky navigation, but a man walking by stopped and helped direct us out of there, even though it was raining! People here are so kind and helpful! More than once we have had strangers stop to help when they see us having issues!
There are often occasions when the water shuts off. Not so fun when you’re in the middle of a shower. (That has happened to me twice!) Sometimes there is a notice from the water company, but more often no notice at all. One time, the water had been shut off because storms had caused a flood of muddy water to overpower the water pumping station. When the water came back on, we looked in fascination as brown water poured out the faucet and a pile of dirt formed on the shower floor. Needless to say, after a water shut off, we run the water for 20-30 minutes before using it to make sure the pipes are clear!
Never a dull moment here in the mission!! Definitely some great times: We had the opportunity to take 13 members of our branch to the Rome Temple in June. It was a lot of work making this happen, but it was so worth it. Three of the other branches in our mission also took some members at the same time and it was gratifying seeing these wonderful people meet and get to know each other–an opportunity not easily obtained due to the distances between towns and cities and lack of transportation here in Albania. One fun little miracle was that 2 youth from Pristina, Kosovo attended the temple with their branch, while 2 of our youth the same age attended the same time. We introduced them, our 12-year old girl from Fier, Albania to the 12-year old girl from Pristina, Kosovo and our 14-year old boy from Fier, Albania to the 14-year old boy from Pristina, Kosovo and said “ok, now be friends”. And although a little awkward at first, in the 3 days we were there they became fast friends. The 14-year old boys will be together next month at the Church’s “For Strength of Youth (FSY)” conference in the Czech Republic and are looking forward to that. The 12-year girls are “best friends” and are in constant contact through txts and playing games together on their phones. They also look forward to attending FSY next year together when they are old enough to go. What are the chances that kids from 2 different countries would find each other and become such friends? The world is a huge place, but small in the church. Wherever we go, we find members who become like family.
We also had a wonderful opportunity to travel to the Czech Republic to be mentors for a week at the Cumorah Academy. It is not church affiliated, but founded by church members and offers faith-based, 3-month programs for Young Adults to help improve their English, learn leadership and other business skills. The students are from all over the world, our group was mostly from all over South America. We loved our week there, such amazing young adults (and the Czech Republic is soooo beautiful!!). If you ever worry about future generations, spend some time there. Our future is in good hands with such awesome young adults!
In spite of all the amazing experiences we have here, not gonna lie–it’s not always easy. If we wanted to sum up the past few months, the title of Emily Belle Freeman’s general conference talk would work: “Best days and Worst Days”
It’s been a rough couple of months with so many highs and lows. In February, a family of 9 was baptized. Such a wonderful day and they have been such a light to our branch!! We also helped plan a YSA mini conference in TIrana which went very well! Best days! Sadly, as we were leaving the conference, we got a message that my (Michelle’s) brother-in-law Tom had passed away unexpectedly. Best day turned into WORST Day. Tom was a very hard-working, willing-to-help-anyone kind of guy. It was a shock and very hard to process. It also was hard being so far away, and not being able to jump in to help or to support my sister as she navigates a different phase of life.
Then, in April, we got an early morning call from my brother that our son Kyle had been in a serious car accident. Kyle suffered a small skull fracture and brain bleed and had a pretty good concussion. WORST day! Miraculously, he didn’t have any other breaks or spinal issues.
Again, being so far away was torturous and we looked at coming home. But in all these events, family was there to support and take care of everything that needed to be done. My niece attentively took care of her mother following the death of her husband and continues to do so. My siblings and our daughter Morgan attended the family memorial and we were able to zoom in. After Kyle’s accident, his wife Carolina, my brother Dana and my sister-in-law Laura were at Kyle’s side the entire 3 days he was in the hospital. Carolina is an awesome wife and daughter-in-law, she made sure Kyle followed doctors advice and took SUCH good care of him. Dana took care of disposing of the totaled car; Laura, my mom, and members from our home’s church congregation brought meals and visited. Dana and our Bishop gave Kyle a Priesthood blessing. Carolina’s parents from Ecuador were visiting her sister in Atlanta and they all flew to California to help and support. Soooo many wonderful people! We so appreciate all the prayers and service on his behalf!! We know that all those kind deeds and prayers led to his full recovery, and happy to say he is back at work with no ill effects.
Then, in the beginning of June, we had fun weekend traveling with another senior couple, our friends the Lakes, to Gjirokastër and Sarandë (cool Albanian tourist spots) Best Day! As we returned, I got the message that my mom had a small stroke and was in the hospital. WORST DAY! Fortunately, it was just a TIA, but concerning nevertheless. My mom felt fine the next day and went home. Grateful for more prayers on her behalf. She is doing well and has promised me she will be there when we return in February. BEST DAYS!!
In the talk I referenced earlier, Sister Freeman teaches that life intentionally includes both our highest and lowest moments to refine our faith. Using the life of the Apostle Peter and her own husband's cancer diagnosis, she illustrates how quickly circumstances can shift from joy to trial. She related how Peter stepped into the water but after a few steps, started to sink, and noted: “On your worst days, when the waves feel overwhelming and you start to sink, remember the Lord is never shouting from the shore—He steps into the water with you and stays within reaching distance.” Sister Freeman quotes from the For Strength of Youth Guide: “Joy is not the absence of sorrow in our life, but rather the presence of Jesus Christ.” This is true, if we can trust in God’s perfect plan, pour out our hearts to Him, lean on Christ’s comfort, walk in His light, and seek temple power, no matter how bad things feel right now, our best days are still ahead. We have experienced this on our mission. We have seen our best days go to worst days, but have also seen those worst days fade into best days. We have interacted with so many wonderful people, have seen hope come to those who, due to circumstances of life, have been without hope until they learn they have a Heavenly Father who knows and cares for them. As we drive around Albania and have had opportunities to visit other areas in Europe while here, we are struck by the beauty of the Earth created for us by a loving God–the same feeling we have as we’ve lived our lives in California, traveled the US and other places in the world. God loves ALL his children. We feel privileged to share that message here in Albania.
So yes, for those of you who are wondering if we are still alive, the answer is YES! We are grateful for technology that allows us to hear what’s happening in your lives, and we will be better about using it to tell you what’s happening in ours – in a more timely fashion!!
P.S. Here is a link to Emily Belle Freeman’s talk, it’s worth a read!
Beautiful Himarë, Albania - more about this next time! Just let me say, it felt good to be back in the water!
A wonderful family of 9 was baptized in February! Birthday celebration time at their house!
A group of our branch members traveled to Tirana for Stake Conference which is held in the Intercontinenal hotel. Always a treat to get to be with other church members since all the branches are so far apart.
Pictured with our mission leaders, President and Sister Auras who finished up their 3 year assignment in July. Before they left, they took all the seniors missionaries on a trip to Ohrid, Macedonia, located on Lake Ohrid which borders Albania and Macedonia. Ohrid is one of the oldest human settlements in Europe
Temple trip to Rome, Italy! The Rome temple is so beautiful, and everyone loved being there!
4th of July Celebration with our District. Beautiful day at the beach!
This man was the first church member in Macedonia baptized in 2011. Great guy and speaks 8 languages!! Macedonia was part of our mission but has now been moved to the Bulgaria mission. Our mission area still consists of Kosovo and Albania.
Click on the picture above to enlarge and see the beautiful landscape of Albania. This is an area near Tepelëne where several waterfalls come down from the mountain and go under the buildings built over them. Second picture is at Gjirokastër
The Cumorah Academy in Czech Republic. Visted Prague (such a beautiful city!) then spent a week in the peacefull and scenic Czech countryside at the Academy, So many awesome students, truly a highlight for us to be there with them!