Once upon a time in Albania (November 23, 2009)

Hello all from Albania!

I hope you all are well! I miss you all. I want to congratulate my niece, Kinsey, on her being allowed to be baptized, that is exciting! I also just wanted to shout out Happy Birthday to Brother Bray, his birthday happens this week. So, remember last week how at internets I was complaining about being a little sick? Well, I got home and found I had a fever of 102.2, and was condemned to stay indoors for the next 4 days. That was horrible! And being sick was pretty sucky too, it got worse that night, but improved a great deal the next day, yet I still had to stay inside for some time. One thing I really did not expect about my mission is how many sick days I’ve had. I suppose they are not exceptional compared to normal life, but in a day of mission life I feel like so much more valuable time is lost. What can you do? I am completely better now. The Lord blessed me with a quick recovery, considering that it was probably the flu.
Grej and Kajn's baptism was awesome! The water was freezing because the gas tank that had gas wasn’t working so the heater wasn’t working but it was still excellent. 2 of their cousins, their aunt, and their mom came. I think the best part of the service was at the very end the mother asked if she could stand up and say a few things. She said a lot of thank yous and the like, but then she said “I had no idea how amazing this church was, how amazing this would be, and I know that I too must follow the same road that my boys have chosen.” It was a great thing to hear! So we are going to start for real trying to teach her again and her boys will be able to help her. It is amazing the way the Lord works. She went from being a very kind, but quite indifferent women to the gospel, to realizing that this is what must be done in her life. I hope to be reporting on her progress in coming weeks.

Donald, our investigator who did not get baptized because of the hardness of his parents hearts, did give a talk in 4th branch on Sunday and it was amazing! The whole audience was stunned by how well this 15 yr old boy delivered his talk and how doctrinally sound and powerful it was. It was a really great thing for Donald to do since he was not able to be baptized that day. I am glad that President Apostulli thought he was a member of the church and asked him to speak. I hope that soon his parents will allow him to be baptized. We are praying much for him.

OH! I have a story! So I have been having mad crazy dreams recently and I do not think that they are fever induced but I would like to share one. It is a good reminder to all of us! So, in the dream, I am driving the Pilot, backing out of our drive way. I am taking grandma to her hair appointment. As I am backing, I see a big black SUV parked at the top of our driveway in the rear view mirror so I stop and I look into my left side view. In the mirror I see Denzel Washington. He is wearing a completely white suite like that of a temple worker and sunglasses. He grabs the edges of the opening of his suite (you know, the V of the suite? He takes them with his fingers) and lifts up his suit jacket a little as though he is indicating it and then says to me “Remember your covenants”. LOLOLOL! The moral of the story, Denzel Washington says, Remember your covenants! Man, I laughed so hard after I woke up, as did my companion when I explained it to him.

THANKSGIVING! We are going to the mission home and having a huge meal on Thursday, so fear not, I will be partaking of some home cooked goodness. However, do think of me because I am sure that it still will not be as amazing as the out of this world cooking that is commonplace at our family meals, especially on so great an occasion as thanksgiving. Now, I asked president if we could play football but he said no, so all those going to the turkey bowl, please play your hearts out for me! Now, I do think we have successfully warded off all the silly movie ideas, like Lion King, a good movie, but thanksgiving and football are inseparably connected, and therefore football must be watched! I think we are going to watch Remember the Titans, great movie!

Dad recently shared a story with me about how his temple shift coordinating always works out regardless of the obstacles that they face. It is a simple testimony builder to me that the Lord will always provide that His work will go forward. It is really miraculous, however small it may seem sometimes, to see His hand revealed. I have seen many miracles, like the one at the baptism last night, as I have been here on my mission and it is a blessing to be a part of so great a work. Anyway, thank you all for your love and your support, and your prayers. I know that this is God's work. I miss you all, and I pray for you often. I love you, may God be with you!

With love
Elder Skadi