Chronicles from Albania (May 25 2009)

Hello everyone!

Well, that’s a real bummer that my email didn't go through. Oh well! I looked in my sent folder and sure enough it was blank! I have no idea what I wrote about last week, hopefully it wasn't too important. I can’t usually remember what has happened more than a week or so back, the rest of the events are a jumble of images and words that have no coherent place in time.

I can get most usual vegetables here, so no worry there. In the area of cheeses they have all sorts of weird things, I can get mozzarella like cheese, but nothing else is like the usual stuff we get in America, absolutely no Cheddar. We can find meat, that’s not really a problem. Just nothing steak like. There is plenty of rice and potatoes. All condiments can be found also, some, however, like ketchup, are nothing compared to the quality found in America, but you can’t really tell because I've forgotten what the good stuff tastes like. LOL ! I imagine that while I am here when I say I had something good that was like something we can get in the States, I’m probably quite wrong.

Sewage got fixed, we did not get sick from it. I do have a cold now, but I doubt it had anything to do with our sewage problem. I have received a package! I talked about that last email, I remember now. It was my birthday package, it was great to get it! I was thrilled to get it and loved the contents, they were wonderful birthday presents!

My first Sunday here we had 23 members at church. 2 Sundays ago we had 2. Yesterday, we had 6 members and 2 investigators. Many of our members are choosing to loose faith, however I have great hopes for some and it looks as though they might pull through. Anyway, with that said, we have only 2 sections of church or “hours”. The first hour is Sacrament meeting, which usually lasts for about 45 minutes. The second hour is Sunday school, which usually lasts from 30 min-45min. Usually half the members leave, or try to, when we go from first hour to second hour. I say try because they we usually protest and try to help them understand why staying is important. We do not have any of the auxiliaries, like relief society, priesthood, primary, etc. Only 5? members hold the Aaronic priesthood, only 1 of them is currently active. We did have a Sunday school teacher, but after he was called he stopped coming to church, even though we went over to his place often and helped him prepare to teach. We meet in a little room off of a back alleyway that holds about 30 people. Elder Suell is the branch president. Fortunately members do speak from time to time, and Zef (the active priesthood holder) blesses and passes the Sacrament occasionally when he arrives on time. That is a summary of our Church part of Sunday, I realize it is probably a little negative, but do not think me hopeless, I really think there are several members who are starting to realize the covenants they made at baptism. While we are losing half or more of the branch to apostasy, those members who are pulling through are growing in testimony. One day they will be the solid members that new members look up to as an example. One day Shkoder will flourish and be a strong branch. We just have to get through the early trials! So the rest of my Sunday: before church we have the usual individual and comp study. After church (which is from 10 to 12ish) we go out and proselyte on the street with a table until lunchtime at 1:30. We eat and study, I try to avoid sleeping even though on the current schedule we only get 7.5 hrs of sleep a night because we wake up earlier and have a longer lunch. Lunch goes until 4:30. If we don’t have any appointments we go tracting until about 7:30. Then we go back to the center of the city and do a table or something.

Yesterday we had the opportunity to see a baptism in Tirana, it was a man who Elder Flack had found in a previous area and taught. It was very cool and refreshing to see lots of Albanians that had testimonies of the gospel and were part of the gospel culture.

Ken wrote me a letter before coming here that gave some advice that he thought was not just the usual stuff. The part that has always struck me the most has been the part about how I should do everything I can to befriend the people, even the people I contact on the street. From the moment I begin talking to someone I am beginning to create a relationship, and I should try, even at that time, to approach them with the attitude of trying to establish a friendship with them. I have been pondering this, and I seem to have a very hard time doing this, even with the members. Of course it doesn't help that I do not speak well (LOL, most of the members are getting to the point to where they don’t try to speak to me, and if I try to speak to them they listen for about 10 seconds and then begin ignoring me, starting a conversation with someone else!), but there is more to it than that, my language is improving from week to week, but my affinity for the people and for individuals is not really changing. How does one begin to gain that mentality of trying to befriend people? All these people have stories, they all have lived lives and thus have many interesting stories. I know asking people about themselves is important, trying to find their concerns and the things that they think about as well, and I also need to share things about myself. I know all these things, I do try them, but I never think, when meeting with people, that I am trying to befriend them, I always forget. I want to desire these peoples salvation! I want to be actively concerned for their welfare, but I don’t really feel like I am. We teach them, we testify to them, we try to serve them and through this I am growing closer to members, but not to investigators. I think I allow it to get to me that we usually never see people again after the first or second lessons. I realize prayer will help me to overcome this, and I pray daily for Charity.

OK, cool experience for the week: We were having a table out on the street (it’s a table with pamphlets, a Book of Mormon, and a poster organized together in various formats that we see fit). Suddenly a Nun approached us on her bike. Nuns do not like us, they quite loath us actually, I've been told by several that I am wrong, without even a nice hello! If they stop to talk to us, they usually stop to tell us that we are liars and followers of satan. Anyway, this Nun approached, but rather than spouting fire at us, she greeted us (she was one that has always nicely greeted us as they pass, one of 2 or 3 of the younger Nuns) and then started to ask us legitimate questions. Elders Suell and Flack started teaching. In about 30 seconds there was a crowd of maybe 20 people around, listening to us because this Nun had stopped. They testified with power and authority, the spirit was clearly present. After some time, when the Nun had stopped asking questions and the crowd was, she tried to leave. Before she could though I offered her to take a restoration pamphlet, which she took. That was my contribution. It was outstanding though. In the end we didn't get a single contact or distribute a single pamphlet other than the one to the Nun, but the gospel had been proclaimed, people had listened, maybe someone was touched. Very awesome experience.

Anyway, I hope you all are well. I am in decent spirits and excited about this weekend (Elder Christofferson is coming!) I do love it here in Albania, the Lord gives me so much strength. I am a weak and hardly useful servant, but he continues to help me to grow and better myself. Perhaps one day I’ll see that I affected at least one person in a positive way. If that is the case, then I will have been successful. I will continue to try to work hard, and find ways to work harder. The Lord has given me this amazing blessing and opportunity to try and help others feel the amazing way I did at my ‘conversion’, and experience the infinite power of the atonement in their lives. This work is the Lord's, and he will see that it goes forward. I only hope I can do my part. I miss you all, I love you all very much! I thank you all for your prayers and your support, I feel it and am ever grateful. I keep you all in my prayers. May God be with you all!

With Love
Elder Scadden