Week 33: The Power Duo is BACK!

Ç'kemi!

It's been another crazy week. Moving on Tuesday, then living with four sisters in our apartment for a couple days, (party) and I went on an exchange! Now I'm reunited with my MTC companion Motra Lyng and we're working hard and having a ton of fun. We have been meeting with a girl about 25 years old named A and she seems so prepared. We've taught her a few lessons last week and she loved everything. Also we've met with a lady named F at her fruit stand a few times. The first few times we stopped by I was afraid we were bothering her;she didn't seem too happy that we kept stopping by while she was working because she was busy. But I kept reminding myself that she needs what we have and we needed to keep trying. So we went back to her stand on Saturday and it was perfect timing. I saw her Book of Mormon sitting open in the back which made me really happy. She embraced everything we taught her in the lesson!

When I was unpacking the other day I saw a random quote in the empty closet. It read, "We must not lose HOPE. Hope is an anchor to the souls of men. Satan would have us cast away that anchor. In this way he can bring discouragement and surrender. But we must not lose hope. The Lord is pleased with every effort, even the tiny, daily ones in which we strive to be more like Him. though we may see that we have for to go on the road to perfection, we must not give up hope." - Ezra Taft Benson

Ju dua shume! Have a great week as always. Shout out to Emma getting baptized and to the Philly temple dedication! I've been thinking about home a little extra this weekend because of both of these great blessings :).

Motra Fulop <333

A super nice lady gave me flowers from her garden!

Went on an exchange with this cute gal!

Week 32: Dogs, Durres and... Moving Again?!

Pershendetjaaa

This week has been pretty crazy... but what else is new. First I'll explain the dog part. There are street dogs chillin around Prishtina and there was a new one I hadn't seen on our street before this week. He looked so cute, like a lab puppy. So as we were walking past I was looking at him and we made eye contact... It's not good to make eye contact with the street dogs. He ran right up to me and started nipping my skirt and we were playing tug-of-war with my skirt until he ripped a nice, fat hole in it. Wahhhh.

Today is Bajram which is a huge Muslim holiday so there are literally no people on the streets and all of the stores are closed. It's comparable to Christmas evening when there are no cars, no nothing outside. But since it's our break day today it's allll good the work will continue tomorrow.

What else... this week Motra Gjika and I were stood up one too many times! We had a lot of first lessons planned but we would wait and wait for these people and they didn't show. That's missionary life for ya though. We had one great lesson with B though, she's a college student here. We called her because she's actually not in Prishtina now but we talked about the Book of Mormon and how she can apply what she reads into her life. She was so glad that we called!

Yesterday we had stake conference in Durres which was so nice! Everyone in Albania and Kosovo gathered there for a big church service; they had two sessions and I got a better idea of how many members are in the area. There are a ton of saints here; really cool to witness!

I've been reading "Our Heritage" in the mornings which is a book about the history of the establishment of the church; how the pioneers moved from New York to Salt Lake City and everything they had to sacrifice and go through. It's really eye opening... all of the trials and amazing faith that they had. There are so many horrible things that happened but so many miracles as well. Reflecting on this, I'm realizing how many of the Albanians here are like pioneers. A lot of them are the first members in their families. Three of my Albanian companions that I've had now are the only members in their families. But because of it their testimonies are so strong! I feel so inspired everyday as I not only read about, but work with amazing, faithful people that put their lives in God's hands. They make me want to be better!

Until next week... dashuri nga Kosove!

Motra Fulop <333

P.S. I'm moving to Tirana, the capital of Albania, on Tuesday! We got a last minute call from President the other night. I'm getting moved around a lot lately because we barely have any sisters... only 11 in the mission right now. But guess who I'm going to be companions with again..... Motra Lyng (my MTC comp!) I'm pretty excited!

It was a 4 hour drive

Driving to Stake Conference in Durres

Church headquarters sent us a box of Books of Mormon with Albanian covers and Armenian writing inside.... woops.

Motra Ime <33

What all of the streets look like in Prishtina today

neWborn

Joe Biden was staying here a couple weeks ago! Crazy right?! It's only a five min walk from our apartment.

Week 31: Fishy Fishy....

Hejjjj si jeni?!

Not too much to report this week! We had a zone conference on Friday which was really good because President Weidmann came up. It gave Motra Gjika and I a much-needed spiritual boost! Also, yesterday was really awesome at church. B brought her two cute nephews and her brother from Switzerland. One of our less active members, D, came to church with her son which was cool, too, because she hadn't been for months! So yesterday I got to teach five cute kids in Primary - better than the usual two (yes I've been given that calling once again - seems it'll follow me everywhere!).

The other day I was reading "His Grace is Sufficient" by Brad Wilcox. This is my favorite BYU speech of all-time! I'd like to share one thing that really jumped out at me. He says, "Grace is not a booster engine that kicks in once our fuel supply is exhausted. Rather, it is our constant energy source. It is not the light at the end of the tunnel but the light that moves us through the tunnel. Grace is not achieved somewhere down the road. It is received right here and right now. It is not a finishing touch; it is the Finisher’s touch (Hebrews 12:2)." This is such a beautiful thought! God's grace is sufficient for us all - He is working along side us always because he sent his only begotten, Jesus Christ to be our brother. All that is unfair in life can be made right because of the Atonement. I add my witness that "Jesus doesn’t make up the difference. Jesus makes all the difference. Grace is not about filling gaps. It is about filling us.”

Have a great week! 

Motra Fulop

 

I got a FISH MASSAGE today! I can check that off my bucket list. They just eat your feet, it's pretty sick

Took lots of pics

We had lunch looking over Prishtina today!

Cute