Branch Hike to the Castle

Biking around the Lake

DOES NOT ENVY

Lorin went to Macedonia with 6 Elders —this is the first time I didn’t go.  I just needed to clean this apartment and get it smelling better.  A transient  must have come last night and stole one of our neighbor’s chickens (just outside our window)  Lorin had cleaned up the whole area of junk, garbage everything and it was starting to look nice but apparently last night a chicken was killed, plucked and eaten outside our kitchen window while we slept   —the evidence is ours to look at until Lorin gets the stomach to clean it up… I know I don’t….  

Lets just say I try not to think about apartments anymore.  Below is the sisters apartment in Korce.  A beautiful apartment indeed.  I am writing this as my cute neighbor lady is burning her trash outside my window after I spent my entire P-day getting the smoke out of my house yesterday!! UUUGGH
GOING TO KORCE TOMORROW AND IM JUST GOING TO SIT AND RELAX IN THE LADIES APARTMENT! --oh yeah I forgot I'll be bringing  10 people in a van and be at the church instead.....Patience!  Envy NOT!

Personal Progress is the Best!

MARCH 18TH BAPTISMS--MONIKA LEKA AND KONSTANDINA PANAJOTI

MARCH 11 BAPTISM

Driving through Elbasan

Tender Mercies of the Lord

PRAYER ROCKS-LUTJE!

VISITING THE SCHOOLS and HUMANITARIAN VISITS

MACEDONIA TO DO THREE WAY SPLITS

  I stayed in Pogredec and prepared personal progress and Big Meals for Wednesday.  Jeta's Family and AP coming for dinner.

Fireside in Korce

Above is Erald a newly baptized Single Adult--We went to Stake Conference with him and his eyes popped out when he saw so many people who belonged to the church!  He was thrilled.  He is a gymnast that can spin and twist, but put him in a (Makim)car for a ride to Dures he gets sooo car sick!  This sweat guy is our first official success with the Self-Reliance Plan with Elder Holding and Elder Divkovic.  After going through even the first two weeks of the 12 week plan he was able to interview, give a resume and get a job.  The greatest of all is that his job is not on Sundays and he will be able to go to church and fulfill his calling.   The Lord is giving to those who seek Him and Obey His Commandments....  

Above is our Pogradec young mens group.  We have had an influx of Young men 12-17 who want to come to church, read the Book of Mormon, Play soccer and go to FHE together.  Pray for our Pose two are members, three have baptismal dates and we will need to get their parents permission.  This is going to be a wonderful summer baptizing in the Pogradec Lake!

ACTIVITET

SHQIP FOOT BALL!

  

Greta, Monika, Drini, Emanuel, Me, Xhoana, Elder Isufaj, Xhonaton, Rei, Elder Anderson, Greta little brother, on the ground...Klevis

Playing Football with the Pogradec "Almost Branch" for a Ward Branch Activity!  We are a close fun-loving "Almost Branch" 

PERSONAL PROGRESS

PRAYER ROCKS!

Greta, Christina, Me, Xhoana, Rea (Rei's Sister)

 

This week was Conference after conference.

We had a two giant conferences.  The first was Stake conference in Dures.  The one below is mission conference .  We traveled 6-7 hours for Stake Conference  and turned around the next day and traveled 3 hours to Elbason for our Mission Conference. There are only two ward buildings in all of Albania and we were at both of them in the last two days. Our bus (furgon) load held 20 people in it for Stake Conference.   With our almost branch and our investigators it was full so Lorin and I hopped in the back seat of a rented 6 passenger Makine of our Korce  because there were too many in their  furgon also.  Unbelievable ! We had over fifty people just from our two areas!   One of the newly baptized members driving in our Makine just about jumped out of his skin for joy when he saw how many people in Albania were Mormons and there would be a general authority there!  His name is Erald, a Gymnast who can twirl and jump but gets EXTREMELY car sick--we had to pull over for him three times as our driver whirled around through the curvy rocky bumpy road going about the speed of the Star Wars ride in the dark at DisneyLand.    One time we swerved so hard our tires squealed!  In the back with NO SEATBELTS I read all of Mosiah to keep me from watching the driving with my legs up on Lorin to make room for his legs.  

 We were promised in a blessing that we would be protected from harm or accident....

.."counting on that blessing!"

We road with our German Elder D  He made us all a Cake for a treat with his new hand mixer that Lorin bought him.... A prized possession!  

Elder Maxfield-office, Elder Holden in Korce                 Elder Anderson

  

Motra Willey dhe Motra Olsen   Korce                               Elder Davis Elder Dibble --Macedonia Bishoft

Ok, conference with our area 70  from Portugal a former mission president in Brazil, who guess what his hobby is:  He is a part-time clown--He takes three hours to put on his makeup by his wife and he makes kids laugh.  That was surprising to hear!  

The following is what he spoke abou:t

Oh my goodness, on our way home I kept thinking of one thing after another - I just loved his account about receiving personal revelation concerning "God" and our "Heavenly Father" - also how he invited us to sing hymns to our friends before teaching - and his invitation for us to study our patriarchal blessings by dividing it into parts.: asked us to separate our blessing by

Counsel

promises

Directions

Blessings

I also liked how he spoke about how we can ask for what we desire and to also understand the purpose of the experiences we have (i.e. patience, longsuffering, etc.) He said that what changes we make in our life as a missionary and the closer we are to Christ --Our investigators will also make changes and draw closer to Christ. Basically, that our investigators who follow the spirit reflex the Missionaries. The two go together for both the missionary and the investigator. I also liked him sharing with us how the Seventy and Apostles now have the same charge - to be special witnesses of the Name of Jesus Christ. Not a witness of Christ, but of his NAME-- thought that was interesting —I alway thought it was a literal witness of him. It was great!

  the Copelands

The Weidmans -humanitarian and the Weidmanns-President

Made our Way to Macedonia Today

District Meeting in Macedonia--with Elder Dibble, Davis and Bishof  Elder Anderson and Isufaj came with us .  We did house checks and found out that our Sweet Elder Dibble has been sleeping on the floor for a month.  We've  got to do something about that.!  What a great group of young Elders with a laborious daunting task ahead of them.  Opening a city is so very difficult.  They are often the focus of my prayers.  There is something about that Elder Dibble that I love.  He is selfless and pure of heart...... I can feel it!    These three modern day Nephites are asked to go into this city open it without a Book of Mormon in the Language of the Country,  speaking and reading an unrecognizable alphabet and bring people to church in a store front tucked away off a far street next to another church with a bigger sign.   Dibble has been working here week after week, month after 7 months.  It is amazing how they just keep at it with pleasant attitudes even after sleeping on the floor.  Resilient is what these men are!  Resilient!  

Change of Heart