Hello everyone!!
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| My companion loves me enough to serve me, and wash the lice out of my hair |
Firstly, thank you SO much to everyone for caring about me and my hair!!! Hahaha, I appreciated all of you for sending me uplifting e-mails and I'm glad that y'all could get a good laugh! Sister Smith and I sure did too.. Sometimes life just sucks and you just have to laugh.
So, this past week was pretty good overall.. Other than the fact that it's flipping HOT. Oh my gosh.. I think today or yesterday or something was 89% humidity.. What even is that. I walk outside and I'm instantly like.. Nope. Not doing it. Seriously, walking to some appointments is literally a death sentence. Hahaha, when I'm home and if I ever complain about cold weather I give everybody permission to remind me of this weather right now and I will be instantly grateful. For real.
So this week 2 more of my investigators were baptized!!! I was so excited for all of my investigators, but this week Ledi was baptized, and she just has such a special place in my heart. Seriously though. As I watched her get baptized, I was just overwhelmed with love and I was just so proud of her. Her testimony and her understanding of the gospel truly are incredible, and I love listening to her pray. You know, they send us on missions to teach people about the gospel, but sometimes I feel like I learn more than they do. When Ledi prays, she talks to Heavenly Father as she would her best friend and it's just so great because you can feel that she knows she has a relationship with Him and it's just so incredible. I absolutely love her, and her mom came to her baptism!! I'm really hoping that we can start to teach her too! :) Our other investigator Redvina also got baptized, she's so sassy and so great, I know she'll do great things!
This week had some really great experiences for me. As I'm starting to get more and more comfortable with this language I've been able to really use the language of the Spirit and the Albanian language together and I'm SO grateful for those opportunities because they truly manifest the power of the Lord. Not that my language is anywhere near perfect or anything but it is coming, finally. There are still days where people speak and I'm just like uh... Oh my GOODNESS. Especially the older Albanians that don't have teeth. I get nothing. I'm just like.. um, nuk kuptova.. fare. But this is besides the point.. So, this one day this past week we had such a hard time planning, everyone was busy or couldn't meet or something and it was so frustrating. But we finally got lessons lined up and let me tell you.. By the end of the day we realized why we needed those specific lessons.
So, first we went to the Rrapo family (remember Lina was baptized a few weeks ago) and we had planned to teach a lesson on family history. Sajmir offered the opening prayer and it was such a sincere prayer, you could just tell by the sound of his voice that he was at the end of his rope. He was just pleading for the companionship of the Holy Ghost and for blessings from his Heavenly Father. So, Sister Smith and I completely scratched the lesson we had planned. We instead just talked about trials. I had Sajmir read the first few verses in D&C 121. This is where Joseph Smith is pleading for relief from the Lord. As Sajmir read these verses I saw him truly connect with the words that Joseph Smith had said. I feel that's very much how Sajmir feels.. Simply, how long will my trials persist? How long will it be until I'm relieved from my burdens? We had such a great lesson that was so spiritual and I really saw his demeanor change. It was powerful.
So, first we went to the Rrapo family (remember Lina was baptized a few weeks ago) and we had planned to teach a lesson on family history. Sajmir offered the opening prayer and it was such a sincere prayer, you could just tell by the sound of his voice that he was at the end of his rope. He was just pleading for the companionship of the Holy Ghost and for blessings from his Heavenly Father. So, Sister Smith and I completely scratched the lesson we had planned. We instead just talked about trials. I had Sajmir read the first few verses in D&C 121. This is where Joseph Smith is pleading for relief from the Lord. As Sajmir read these verses I saw him truly connect with the words that Joseph Smith had said. I feel that's very much how Sajmir feels.. Simply, how long will my trials persist? How long will it be until I'm relieved from my burdens? We had such a great lesson that was so spiritual and I really saw his demeanor change. It was powerful.
Following that lesson we made our way over to the Mucaj's and we taught Sister Mucaj who was also just on the verge of tears because of some changes that we occurring with her husband's work. It was so great to give her a lesson assuring her that the Lord will provide aid and that everything will be well. I seriously have such comfort in my heart because I've realized that a lot of what we worry about isn't really of great significance. And if it is, the Lord will help us. I sometimes wonder how much easier things would have been for me throughout my life if I had relied on myself a little less and on the Lord a lot more. But both of these lessons were an absolute testimony to me that this is the Lord's work. He sent us to the people that we needed to see. He heard their prayers and knew that they needed His light and His words to pull them through. I'm so humbled to be His servant.
We got some new investigators this week from one of our recent converts. They are an older couple and are so amazing and so humble. We're really excited to work with them more! In fact, we already have them on a baptismal date for July 27th! We'll keep working with them, but it's definitely a goal!
I'm super excited for this upcoming week because we have mission conference, and I'm just super stoked to see everyone again and have some fun! I'll send ya some pictures of that next week!
So, this week I read the book "Our Search for Happiness" By M. Russel Ballard. It's just a little simple book that discusses our basic doctrines, but I loved reading it because truly it just opened my eyes and reaffirmed to me how blessed I am to have this knowledge. One thing that really struck me was when Elder Ballard talked about quality of life. I don't know about any of you, but when I think about quality of life I think materialistically. That's what we learn in school right? I don't know.. Anyway, Elder Ballard states that the quality of someone's life is based on their ability to influence those around them to do good, and their ability to influence comes from the fact that they themselves have such genuine and rich goodness. I mean think about it.. It might be great if you have a beautiful new truck or a really expensive home and those things will happiness and satisfaction, but how much more happiness would you have knowing that you've made the lives of those around you better by simply being in it. It really made me think and I'm just so grateful for the opportunity that I have right now to focus on trying to become a person that can maybe do that one day.
Anyway, I hope all of you have a beautiful week and that you all pass well!! Also, I hope you all know I'm so jealous that I couldn't make it to Uncle Brent & Auntie Care's farewell. I have so much respect for them and I cannot wait to see what brilliant things they will do in their mission. They're incredible.
Do me a favour and drink some slurpee's for me while I dwell in this dreadful heat.
All my love,
Motra Vermunt
Motra Vermunt
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