Scatter Sunshine: Adriatic South: Numero Bekimet!!!

Numero Bekimet-Count your many blessings. God is so good. This email is a long one-but it is a GOOD one! I just want to share with you an email filled with gratitude. There were definitely ups and downs in the week, but I have SO MUCH to be thankful for!

My breshk (turtle) :)

Culture Shocks of the Week:

1. I'm out of the hotel and INTO my new apartment! We are on the 7th floor and we literally have a penthouse view of the lake and the futboll stadium next to our apartment. Yeah we get to watch a couple of games ;)

2. We traveled to Durres yesterday (a 6 hour ride across Albania there and back) in a bus like vehicle called "furgon". Basically it's a trip filled with popullore music, belting out "Count Your Many Blessings" and carsickness. It's the best.

3. I'm becoming an Albanian Nëna (old woman)! From making byrek to cooking Albanian dishes, I am now KNITTING! It's the best! I've gotten some lessons from the Nënas in our little group. A 6 hour furgon ride helps you to get the knitting down.

This week was a pretty sick week! Let's just say one day I got a sandwich and then that night ended up throwing it all up ;) What I'm GRATEFUL for is that while it hit me hard the next day, I have not been able to rest for a day on my mission. It was so hard to not be out serving and working-I was so sad. However I felt such a love from my Savior telling me He is giving me this day of rest to then strengthen me for the rest of the week. I want to share how GRATEFUL I am for the restored priesthood of God on the earth. The Elders gave me a blessing and I just knew I'd be healed for the next day. Faith has power, and I saw that as the next day I woke a new person ready to work!

I AM SO GRATEFUL for the little group here in Pogradec. Honestly I love them so much! I have a new family here! We usually do an activity every week to strengthen the members here and to invite others to join us. We played some futboll this last week. I definitely think I'm getting worse. However, it's a step up from my 6 year-old self sitting down and picking grass in the middle of the field. It's a close step though ;)

We are also teaching this incredible girl here that I LOVE SO MUCH! I am so GRATEFUL for her! She wanted to become a nun in the Catholic church but something happened which caused her to stop her to pursue that desire. As she's been meeting with us, she has been curious about the family. As she's been praying for that, we had an INCREDIBLE experience going to stake conference in Durres (basically all of the branches and wards from all over Albania and Kosovo meeting up for a conference) which was centered around-you guessed it-families. I wanted to share some things I have learned that has impacted my life. God's plan of happiness is ALL ABOUT the family. It is everything! That is why family is so crucial-A man, a woman, and children. We are not saved individually, but in families. That's why there's a huge focus on turning the hearts of children to their fathers through family history work. We need our ancestors, and each other, to be saved. It's not just a matter of perfecting ourselves in this life, but perfecting our relationships. We are not just preparing to build Zion right now, we are BUILDING Zion! With our families, we are building heaven on earth as we build each other. These relationships that we are developing and creating are not just temporally, but eternally! Everything begins with the family. As we strengthen our family relationships, then there will be peace in the home and eventually peace on earth!

One way to help our family relationships is to look at the good. I have an example that has impacted me.

Look at this page. What do you see? Most people would say (including me) that you see a small blue dot in the center of the page. However, has anyone thought of the rest of the page? The vastness of the white surrounding the blue dot? How much of life do we focus on the one, small blue dot, and miss the whiteness and the rest of the page? How much good do we miss? Change is hard. I've been experiencing a lot of change lately on my mission and it's easy to want to be in the past when things were good or to be with the people that you're close with. However I had such a special experience at this stake conference. When I arrived, I was ambushed by people from Tirana, Gjakova, and Korcë. Tears were shed as we just embraced. I just saw the white of the page when I saw that while I am not with these people, I was able to impact them in some way. I looked around and saw families there of individuals I had taught. I had people run up saying how much they had missed me and waited to see me. I honestly felt what heaven is like at this conference. I love these people so much and it is all about the family. These people are my family and my new family is Pogradec! Please give your families the biggest hug. I wish I could do that with mine but I just want to share how much I KNOW that this gospel is true! The gospel of Jesus Christ is ALL ABOUT the family! We need to be living the gospel WITH our families! That is how we perfect our family relationships! That is how we cleanse ourselves! God-Our loving Heavenly FATHER loved the world SO MUCH that He gave His only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, that whosoever that believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). We can live with our family forever. What greater gift is there than this from our loving Heavenly Father. Meet with the missionaries. Read the manual for a perfect family: The Book of Mormon. I testify of these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Thank you for being apart of MY family! I love you! Have a wonderful week!