Us Elders on the train to SLC at 4:00 in the morning. Below, Marking scriptures on the plane to Vienna. (Red - Pronouns referring to Christ, Yellow - Direct Quotations or Words of Christ)
Most of the Elders attempting to take a picture. This one was the best of 20. There are some pretty funny ones. Everyone was so dead tired. It was hilarious
Përshendetje, everyone! I am loving life. It was so great to talk to you the other day. So, the flights were great, and I slept the whole plane right to Vienna and then to Albania, but then was mesmerized by how beautiful it was as we were landing. It is definitely Europe and I love it so. It is a whole new world over here, and it is so cool.
The Mission President is great. The first few days were actually a blur. We got to Albania on Wednesday, met President and Sister Weidmann (from Switzerland), had dinner, and went to bed. Oh, and I lost my suitcase, or the airline lost it. So that stunk. Luckily it turned up the next day, but that was a little stressful. It was my carry-on that they made me check in Chicago, but I was still worried. Motra Miles and Elder Schneider's bags also went missing, and arrived the next day. I have been able to see Motra Miles all the time, which is really cool, because we are both being trained and are still clueless Americans.
My new companion, Elder Samuel -- and -- President and Sister Weidmann
Oh, also Wednesday, everyone got taken out for lessons or tracting and things like that. I went with Elder Lords, and we went street contacting. It was awesome. He is my mid-wife. Ok, so maybe dad understands this, but everyone here in the mission has terms for the mission 'life'. All us trainees were born on Wednesday, and the person who took us out that first day is known as our mid-wife. My father, of course, is my trainer, Elder Samuel. My mother is the oldest sister in my district, Sister Eliason. We are known as 'fringo's, which is Shqip for new-borns. It is awesome. I have a whole family tree here. It is so funny. Also, the missionaries keep talking about missionaries who have gone home as being dead. Like, "Oh, It is so crazy that Elder so-and-so is dead." It caught me off guard at first, but I seriously love it. So funny.
So, we slept over at the mission home Wednesday night. Then we took a bus to Shkodër, while the Motrat took the car. We had to bring the new-found suitcases with us. It was an adventure. Then, we got our stuff and crashed at the other Elder's place on Thursday night. The next day, Friday, we spent the day in Shkodër and then drove down to Lezhë and unpacked.
Ok, funny story, Our apartment's lights don't work, except for the bathrooms and the outside balcony, so at night we go by that light alone. There was a crazy thunderstorm and it was awesome and then our lights all went out right as some lightning flashed so we could not see a thing all night. Then, the lights just came back on about 8:30 this morning. It was crazy.
We have four hours of study every day. Personal, Companion, and Language. And then an extra hour of companion study for the first twelve weeks. It doesn't leave much time in the day.
We watched a session of General Conference as a district in English and loved it, especially Elder Uchtdorf's talk, and Elder Uceda's who actually spoke to us in the MTC as well. We have to wait for General Conference to be translated to Shqip and we will watch it next Sunday.
It has been crazy talking to people and trying to understand and respond në Shqip. I am not very good at it yet, but it is coming. I have so much study, and so many meetings each day. But, we get a lot done.
My companion is great. His name is Elder Samuel. We have set a goal to be the most obedient, diligent, and productive missionaries we can be. Elder Samuel is from England. He has a great accent. His name is actually Samuel Carr, but his last name is a curse word in Albanian, so he uses his first name.
In our district, we have Elder Samuel and I, Elder Ellsworth (loves Lord of the Rings, District Leader), Elder Sadiku (from Albania), Sister Eliason (extended her mission 6 weeks to help train Motra Miles, who is also in my district!) and Elder and Sister Collins, a Senior Couple in our area. Super Fun! So there are actually only 9 sisters here to train the 10 sisters coming in, so one trainer has to have twins.
So, everyone in our district is in Shkodër and works only in Shkodër. Elder Samuel and I live in Lezhë, which is about 35 minutes from Shkodër, but work in Shkodër, Lezhë, and Laç, which is 20 minutes from Lezhë. So a lot of driving to many different cities. Luckily, we have lots of MoTab to listen to while we drive and some movie themes too for P-days.
But, Shkodër is good and has a fair amount of members and a brand new church building. (Small by our standards, but great for them.) Lezhë has 3 members, siblings, ages 11, 14, and 17, and a tiny room for a church building. And, Laç has 0 members. We have gotten the special assignment from President to open Laç. So, yeah we have a lot of work to do. It is insane.
I am so happy to be here, and am still getting used to the fact that I AM IN ALBANIA! Today, we arose, studied, and cleaned the apartment a bit. Then, we walked around Shkodër a bit. There is a huge catholic church right across the street from our little church building. We went inside and also took some great pics around the city. We had some amazing suflaches for lunch, basically just tons of meat and french fries and ketchup and mayonnaise, with some lettuce and tomatoes, in a pita. But it was great. …and a Magnum bar. Right now, I am in an internet place with a bunch of computers in Shkodër. It is great. I am also drinking a Fanta Exotic. Delicious! So, no limit on emailing time here on P-Days, which is nice. We are going to see a castle next P-day so that's exciting.
The food is great, the people are greater, and yes, the church is true in Shqipëri too.
I am really loving it. I am trying to work hard, and I’m having a great experience. Time is just flying already. I love you all.
Elder Xhansën
My apartment in Lezhë --- my bedroom, Pictures and Calendar, the entry way, the living room, and the bathroom. The bathroom is small (like all bathrooms in Shqipëri) and NO shower curtain. Nuk i di pse. Don't know why. It is so weird. Water gets everywhere. I think just our apartment has that problem.
The chapel in Shkodër - I bore my testimony there on Sunday.
'Come in a Temple. In a House of the Lord.' I thought this was cool, because it is our temple. The Frankfurt Germany temple. This is also their temple. Any members here drive all the way to that temple to get endowed and sealed. So cool. In one of the buildings in Tiranë, It also said Qellimi ynë, meaning 'our goal' with a picture of that temple. I love that. Their are some great members here.
The huge catholic church. Everyone here calls it Kisha e Madhe. (The Big Church) And, The Soccer Stadium of the Beselidhja which means the covenants. I just got a kick out of a soccer team named the covenants.
The best picture I have even taken in my life. I think it looks pretty great. A statue of Luigi in Shkoder that looks pretty cool. I like to think he was a missionary here too. We have no idea who he is, but it looks cool, huh.
Elder Samuel and I in the car. We do a lot of driving.
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