Scatter Sunshine: Adriatic South: MREKULLIT

Oh hello you wonderful beautiful people!! This week was a good one! Oh how much happiness this gospel brings-truly! I saw SO MANY MIRACLES this week so just you wait :) Also this week I got a new mission president. Because I am here in Tirana, us Tirana missionaries went to the airport to welcome the new president, President Andersen, and sing to him and his wife as they came in. It definitely was an emotional day as well as our previous mission president left that day and we said our goodbyes. I am just so thankful for his service! I have learned so much from him and I know that he truly was called of God to serve the people here in the Adriatic South.

Culture Shocks of the Week:

1. So apparently there's a culture belief or saying here that if your eyebrows are far apart, you're going to marry someone that lives far away. If they're close, then you'll marry someone from your own town haha I thought it was funny because this lady at the end of the lesson was like, "your eyebrows are far apart so you'll probably marry someone far away, like an Albanian! haha they are always trying to marry us off to Albanians here....

2. Because it is so hot here, I've seen too many old men without shirts in the streets and in speedos haha I don't know. I think it's a European thing.

3. I love how open the people are here. We've had so many funny stories of older ladies just going on a walk and calling out to us, "What time is it?" We also were giving a card to a lady and a man across the street on top of his roof called out to the lady-"TAKE IT!" No they did not know each other haha Also one more story: My companion and I go running every morning and we pass by the same people everyday so they are our running buddies. One morning, we just see this older lady sprinting at us and we were so confused. The lady then runs up to me and gives me a rose saying, "YOU WIN!"

So this last was filled with a ton of finding people in the nice heat :) Just day after day we were out talking with people, meeting people to find people to teach and share this message. After a week of this, yesterday, we saw so many miracles! I have to say how much the Lord truly is in every little thing in this work. This is HIS work! To start off the day yesterday, we went out to meet a little at the park to walk with her to church. The lady didn't show up (it's okay, it's a usual thing) but INSTEAD because we were out there, we ran into another lady we've talked to and invited her to come to church with us right then. She came and shared how much she loved it and felt like it was a place to truly take away all of her worries and relieve her from the stress of the world! She then said, "I want to bring my family here!"

So then we had another lady we've met with once show up to church and she absolutely loved it and set up to meet with us again! Then as we went out to meet another lady at the park who didn't show up, we needed to be there to have a different lady who I've met 2 months before approach us and say, "Hey come on over to my house right now!" Then as we did that, that lady that came to church wanting to bring her family was free so we went over to her home afterwards. Her entire family was there and we were able to share our message! Oh my goodness it was a day of miracles and truly having the Lord place people in our path so that we can serve them, and share this message of the restored gospel with them!!

I just wanted to share my gratitude for the little things. The Lord truly places people in our paths, in our lives so that we can serve them and they can impact us! I truly have seen that so much! It is through the littlest things that we find the greatest miracles! I am so thankful for all of the people here that have impacted my life. I LOVE THESE PEOPLE! And it's a love I can't express with words! I truly can testify that the love of Christ is SO REAL! It is when we serve with love to those around us that we can find this love and feel of His love.

Romans 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

His love is REAL! I can testify that if we truly look around, when maybe things seem to have not gone as we planned or things go wrong, the Lord always has a plan for us. He knows us and loves us and even when we find ourselves lost or stood up at a park ;) He has a greater plan and purpose for us. I can testify of that in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Wow that was a long one. Just know you are in my prayers-and I mean that literally!! Love you and have a FANTASTIC 4th of July! I will be celebrating that here :)