Scatter Sunshine: Adriatic South: The Gift of the Gab and the Byrek Battle

Hello everyone!! Just wait until you hear about this week!! IT's a GOOD ONE!! I have not seen so many miracles at once before! This week was a week of miracles! And I mean MIRACLES!! Along with that, try getting challenged and then crushed greatly at a byrek battle with an Albanian Nëna haha Also for my P-Day I went to KORCE today and met with some of my most FAVORITE people!! They are my family! It was fun to feel like I was back home, like I never left :) I love Korcë...if you can't tell haha

Culture Shocks of the Week:

1. Something I've learned is that you cannot compliment people on their clothing or anything they own because they will than GIVE IT TO YOU! The people here are incredibly selfless and giving it's incredible! Included in that is that they just give you SO MUCH FOOD! We have collected so many apples (apple season) and have been giving so many homemade jellies and juices (cherry juice and plum jam). So. Good.

2. The old men here carry around these portable radios and they sit and jam out to their popullore traditional music. It is so funny. We were talking to this old man one time and he would not turn down his music so we were basically yelling over his music. As we gave him a pass along card, we were walking away and 5 minutes later we get a call. It's from him! We opened it and all we heard was the music. He called us to then hold up his phone to his radio so we could listen! haha it was so funny.

3. The time it takes for me to make a byrek is about 6 times longer compared to a Nëna here. While I take 3 hours to make a byrek (you have no idea how tedious it is), a Nëna takes about 30 minutes.

This leads right into my BYREK BATTLE!! We were walking home and I was holding a byrek pan. This older lady from her balcony called down to me asking me, "Do you know how to make byrek?" She then runs down from her balcony and says that she'll take my pan, make me a byrek, and then return it to me. Then in return, I'll make a byrek, then share it with her and we'll see who makes it best. I just got challenged by an Albanian Nëna to a Byrek Battle! I shared we'd love to do that, as long as we could also share a little something else with her that is greater than byrek and that is the message of the Restoration! It was so fun! I definitely was put to shame haha but we were able to share with them the message of the Restoration! I am also thankful for all of the previous Nënas who have taught me to cook up to this point. I just don't think I could ever compare to their cooking though!

Another huge success this last week was that we began English Course and prepared to have a big picnic with the members in the "group" here (not a branch yet) along with just inviting those who wanted to come from our English Course. We show up to the picnic with what we expected to be just a few of the members, but then we enter into the church to find 30 kids and their moms from English Course prepared for the picnic. We then call up the Senior Couple here grabbing the pizzas for the picnic and we were like, "Uh.....we don't think 5 pizzas are going to cut it" haha it was so awesome to have such a huge family here! We went out to the picnic and were able to show others that we are not just these strange Americans with skirts, shirts and ties walking the streets but that we truly are a family here! We had many come up and ask who we were! Our members and the people here were so happy to say, "We are from the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Saints!" Pogradec is growing!! And it's only been open for about a year!!

Then for some other MIRACLES from this week! First off, the greatest compliment ever was from the senior couple here telling us "You Sisters have the Gift of the Gab" a new Spiritual Gift :) From just trying to talk and meet with everyone, we have been able to meet with a lot of families! Some INCREDIBLE miracles were that we were able to meet with 2 of the members families and as we testified of temples and of eternal families, they BOTH accepted to prepare for baptism so their families can prepare to go to the temple and become eternal families! We also had such a special lesson with a girl here who has been concerned about getting baptized again as she has been baptized in the Catholic Church. However, as we shared and testified about the Restoration and asking the Lord what He wants for her, she prayed right then and there with us if she had to get baptized again, and in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. What was key was she shared that if she received an answer, she would get baptized. She then prayed and it was so special as we felt such a powerful Spirit. The whole room was so warm and I was beaming and I couldn't help it! After the prayer, she shared that she felt SO GOOD and knew it was the Spirit and knew she needed to get baptized as the Lord was letting her know that this was true.

I truly cannot even begin to express my joy that I am experiencing here in Pogradec. Miracles are SO REAL and they are happening! I have just seen that I need not to fear or worry about anything. As long as I have faith and I trust in the Lord and just do my part inviting, testifying, and showing my love for the people here, The Lord brings about His work here! Through this, I just see the joy from others! I want to share a scripture from the Book of Mormon that describes me:

Alma 27: 17 Now the joy of Ammon was so great even that he was full; yea, he was swallowed up in the joy of his God, even to the exhausting of his strength; and he fell again to the earth.

18 Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy

which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and

humble seeker of happiness.

I about passed out a few times this last week ;) But I truly want to testify of this. I couldn't be happier. True joy truly comes from the LORD! Is this not exceeding joy? If we truly are seeking happiness, then we are seeking Christ. I can testify of that because I HAVE EXPERIENCED it! It is so true! Please, turn to Christ because you will taste of this JOY!!! I testify of that with all that I am in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I love you all!! Have a wonderful week!!!