Week 37: Freaky Saturday...Voodoo & An Earthquake

Çkemi!

It's been a great week here in sunny Tirana! Motra Holt and I had a lot of great finding experiences and first lessons with people. There are a few people that I have a really good feeling about. Hopefully we'll have some new, solid friends to teach this coming week!

One standout experience was when we met our new friend L yesterday. We had found her street contacting a couple weeks ago, and yesterday we had a first lesson with her after church. At the end of the lesson she said that she almost hadn't come to the lesson because she was running so late with other errands and her daughters told her she should just not bother going but she really felt like she needed to come. L said she knew why she felt so prompted to come to the lesson; it was because what we were teaching her was true! I felt the spirit so strongly in that moment. She's golden!

Onto the subject line... Saturday was a really bizarre day. First off we went on splits, meaning that Motra Holt and I split from each other and paired up with other church members so that we could get more lessons done. I was with a member named Jona at the time and we went to a lady's home for a first lesson. We were sitting there just getting to know each other and then the lady started telling us about how she could do magic where she put her hand over our eyes and if the sun was in the right position we'd be able to see our families and God in a vision. Then she started doing some crazy chanting. Jona said that she was really freaked out so we got out of there pretty quickly.

Then that night Motra Holt and I were writing in our journals chillin on our beds at around 10 pm when our beds started rocking back and forth! I was super confused and then I looked up and the ceiling light was swinging. Turned out there was an earthquake in Greece and we felt the effects from it!

Luckily yesterday everything was back to normal. I don't think I've mentioned this but we're in charge of two wards now! So Motra Holt and I go to 5 hours of church every week... pretty long. But yesterday was super cool, an Area Seventy from England came to the ward, Elder Charles! It was a really nice surprise. Then last night we went to a family's home for dinner in the American Embassy. It was an interesting, we went through pretty tight security but once we got through it was literally a little patch of America with tennis courts, trampolines, and actual GRASS! Then we went to the member's home and had tacos... it felt so nice to be back in America for an evening :).

Something spiritual... I've been studying about charity this week. This is my favorite scripture in connection with charity: "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal." (1 Corinthians 13:1). If we speak without charity in our hearts then our words have no worth in the sight of God. Let's continually try everyday to speak kind words to others. We'll become more Christlike every time we strive to do so!

Have a great week! Ju dua shumee Zoti qofte me ju!

Motra Fulop xoxo

We got a special delivery of Swiss chocolates :)

Pretty accurate. We collapse every time we get back into the house.

​Cutest pup I've ever seen. He's in a little pet shop right down the street from us... it makes my day every day seeing my buddy <333

 

Week 36: When Pinterest Fails Hit Albania

Mirë dita!! Si jeni?!

It's been The Amazing Race 24/7 for Motra Holt and I this week. There was much sprinting and sweating involved but I swear I haven't killed my daughter just yet. We had three mission-related conferences Wed Thurs and Fri, then General Conference Saturday and Sunday. Other than the conferences we had a lot of great opportunities to teach this week! We've been getting to know all of the members and they're so ready and willing to help with our lessons. It makes the work a lot more fun!

Pinterest fails this week.... as I've mentioned before our oven doesn't work but we were asked to make cookies for a conference so I was like hey no problem we can just make no bakes on the stove! Well we didn't have a recipe... so I was like hey no prob I think I can remember how to make them and we'll just throw everything on the pan and it'll work out. Nope. They turned out like oaty, gross things and someone said they tasted like pepper. Elders proceeded to chuck them at each other's cars like snowballs. Then our Relief Society President, Megi told us one night that she was going around heart-attacking people's doors. So we thought we'd be cute and heart attack her door as she was gone so that when she'd get back SURPRISE. We covered her door that night but then days passed and she didn't say anything about it. Turns out we heart attacked the wrong door in the building over from her... woops.

Spiritual thought: General conference was streamed to us this weekend (it's a week late because they have to translate it into Albanian) but it was SO good, as always! Of course a standout is listening to the prophet. I know that Thomas S. Monson truly is our prophet in these latter days. In 1 Nephi 10: 18 it reads, "For He (God) is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him." I love that! God is the same yesterday, today, and forever; so why would He only have had prophets in ancient times? It only makes sense that He would have a prophet on the Earth at all times! I know that Thomas S. Monson is God's mouthpiece for us. I'm thankful for the modern-day revelation and guidance that we can receive from God through him.

Have a great week! Ju dua shumë!

Motra Fulop :)

 

Lunch Part 2... I ate 6 crepes this week woops

Today we took Motra Gjonca to the mission office - she's headed off to the Switzerland temple for endowments!

Sad to say it but... The Door of Regrets

Lunch Part 1

Us and Megi!

 

Week 35: Frozen Pizzas and Sardines and I GOTTA BABY

Ç'kemi! Si jeni??

It's been another great week! It really flew by because we have been so busy. I LOVE the work that we have here in Tirana - there is never a dull moment! Our progressing investigator, F, came to church all three hours yesterday and she loved all of it. Our lessons with her in her fruit stand have been so spiritually uplifting - they're the highlight of my week. She's literally my Albanian mom. We were also tracting last Monday and I started talking to a girl named E. She came for a lesson the next night and then Wednesday night she came again and asked if she could get baptized - before we even got the chance to ask! Talk about prepared people ready for our message!

Frozen Pizzas - I moved yet again into a new apartment and our oven is broken but we bought these beautiful looking frozen pizzas sooo we did the next logical thing and stuffed them in the microwave. The cheese was still rock hard by the end but we ate them and... they were edible I'll just leave it at that.

Sardines - We use the buses here a lot in the city and sometimes they are CRAZY packed - we are packed like sardines and it's pretty uncomfortable. I think I need to repent after getting out of the bus I'm squished between so many people. And the other day I was pushed right where the door was closing and it shut close right on my bag strap so my bag was hanging out the door and I was completely smashed against the door. Fun times.

I GOTTA BABY -  I got a new companion this week. Motra Holt! She's from Sandy, Utah, and she's the coolest daughter I could have ever asked for. She's considered my "daughter" because she's my first trainee fresh from America. We're having a lot of fun together and God has really been blessing us with great experiences and opportunities to teach - I think It's been a great kick-off for Motra Holt at the beginning of her mission! The greenie fire in our companionship is working miracles!

Lastly, I gotta say the gift of tongues is real! I was really worried about training because I didn't think my Albanian would be good enough to lead everything, but it's proven to be okay. My mission president promised me the Lord would bless me with understanding for everything I need to understand - I can't deny it he was completely right when he promised that.

Spiritual thought: One of my favorite scriptures, Alma 26:12 "Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."

Ju dua! Have a great week as always.

Motra Fulop :)

DAUGHTER AND I

View from my new apartment - I'll never get tired of seeing the mountains

Motra Lyng and Gjonca were sent back up to Kosovo :)

​We went bowling today so naturally I had to get an awk pic

 

Week 34: Transfer Madness!

Ç'kemi!! Si jeni?!

It's been another fun week in Tirana! We got a call from president on Friday night and I've been called to stay here. I'll be training a "fringo fare" aka new greenie missionary from America. It'll definitely be an adventure especially because she won't know much Albanian but I'm pretty confident we'll be able to get around just fine. I'm sooo excited for some new "green blood" because there is so much work to be done here! The past week Motra Lyng has been showing me around the area and I've been able to meet the members,and holy cow, the members here are amazing. I'm soooo happy to be staying here with these people!

Something marvelous: We've been continuing to teach our friend F at her fruit stand. She's the sweetest. Her biggest roadblock since the beginning has been for her to come to church because she needs someone at her fruit stand all the time. But her faith has been growing every time we meet with her; the spirit is stronger than I've felt in many other lessons. Then yesterday morning I called her asking if we could come pick her up for church. She said she really wanted to come so she got her daughter to man the fruit stand and she walked to church with us. I was so thankful for her sacrifice to come to church! It's so cool to see the gospel soften and change hearts.

I went on another exchange this week and a missionary shared this quote with me - I love it! "The Lord works from the inside out. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of the people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.... yes, Christ changes men, and changed men can change the world." -Ezra Taft Benson

Ju dua shume keni nje jave shume e bukur! Zoti qofte me ju!

Motra Fulop 

Thanks for the package madre!!! I loved the Megpie :)

Yup we had to.

Almost...JUST almost as good as my favorite Cali Pizza Kitchen barbecue chicken pizza.

CHOW CHOW I'm gonna die.

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