What does ignominious mean?

Hey mom!

Okay so the power definitely just went out and shut off every single computer in this place so I just lost my entire e-mail to you. SO. I’m going to write it again shpejt e shpejt (quickly), okay?

First question. What does ignominious mean? It says in Alma chapter 1 that Nehor dies an ignominious death. And I am either too lazy or just too dumb to figure it out ha ha. So if you could help me out with that one, that would be great!

So anyway, how are things going? It looks really nice at home from the pictures you’ve sent me. It’s amazing how perfect our yard looks after you’ve been surrounded by a bunch of yards that 1.) don’t have grass and 2.) are not landscaped at all. So yeah just so you know, from my point of view the yard looks amazing! Ha ha and I got a serious kick out of the picture of Bear on the couch. I told Elder Bullough to check out my dog’s hard knock life. ;) It looks like he has taken over for me pretty well! And those waterfalls are amazing! Did you do that for some special reason or was it just for kicks. Either way that looks like a way nice place. Is that just up Sundance Canyon? We’ll have to go again when I get back.

So that apartment sounds wicked awesome. Ha ha it’s so weird that places get that messed up. In Albania the houses are way clean for the most part. No matter how they look on the outside, the inside is usually very clean and homely. It’s kinda cool. A lot of the houses here make me think of living at Bear Lake for some reason. So yeah, we decided to go with the culture and clean our house too! And it was definitely not as messed up as that apartment sounds. Pretty much there was just a bunch of stuff all over the place and it needed a mopping and a dusting, but we got it done! And we’re keeping it pretty clean. I think I just got used to having a clean house and so it really bugged me and still bugs me when it’s not clean.

Thanks for the scripture! Ha ha what can I say, I’m basically like Shiblon, right? ;) Ha ha I wish. No I love that chapter though. I just love when Alma is giving advice to his sons. And the next chapter is Alma giving counsel to his wayward son so maybe I should read that one more often, huh? Right now I just barely started the New Testament and I have set a goal to get through the Acts by the end of this transfer. I just finished the Sermon on the Mount today which is just jam packed with good stuff. Seriously like every line is awesome. You should read it again if you get the chance. There have been a lot of things that stuck out to me in that Sermon, but I think something that is really cool is how he relates us to a city on a hill or a candle in a house. We are an example and people do see us. (Matt 5:14-16) So therefore we should be an “example of the believers.” We have a quote on our fridge and I don’t know where it came from or who said the quote, but it says “Live so that people who know you, but don’t know Christ will want to know Christ because they know you.” I think that fits along perfectly with that scripture. So I would encourage you guys at home to continue doing your best to do that. You always have so it’s definitely not going to be a big change for you, but I just realized since getting here that people do notice you. They do see something different. We need to make that a good thing and not a bad one. =)

So the contacting is. . . .awesome. We had another week of basically solid tracting. But I kinda like tracting and I’m glad I’m getting used to it right at the beginning of my mission because I am learning how to work hard and to just be happy. And yes you would be right. Most people just blow us off pretty quick. . .but they always ask us if we want to come in and have a drink after they reject us so I guess they’re still good, right? We’ve actually got some pretty hardcore rejections this week. I mean we get rejected a lot, but this week for some reason we just got REJECTED, ya know what I’m sayin’? One of them was so funny though. This one lady who was just determined to say that we were evil was like, “How do you do the cross? Show me how you do the cross.” And I was like, “Well we don’t do the cross actually.” And like right then before I could get out why she was like, “OOOOH! LARG QOFSHIT!” which means literally “may you be far away.” Ha ha basically just like get outta here. I then proceeded to tell her why we didn’t, but she just wouldn’t listen so yeah that was funny. I totally could imagine her like chasing us with like a stick down the road. Ya know, like in the movies you’d see two missionaries running by and then a few seconds later this crazy lady screaming at the top of her lungs with a stick in her hand. Oh man so that was entertaining.

But yeah, it’s hard to just let people have control of their lives ha ha. We definitely wish they could just see why they need to be a part of this church, but it is their choice. Preach My Gospel says that after you’ve done everything you can it is still their choice whether to accept the gospel or not. And in reality most of them don’t. In my patriarchal blessing it says that “. . . most people will not even listen, but you will indeed rejoice in those few that do.” So I know there are people here and that we will find them. We just have to have faith and go through all the ones who aren’t ready in order to find those that are.

Ha ha the place we live in really actually isn’t all that ghetto. It’s small yeah, but it’s fairly nice. Like I really like it. It’s like my safe hole. Right now though we have no water heater or pump for the shower so every morning is just a stream of fetchin’ cold water. But it wakes me up! And I definitely need that when I’m waking up at 6:00 in the morning!

Okay really quick before I go. (Sorry long story, but our P-Day is kinda being interrupted so I’m going to be finishing my e-mails tonight.) Të shkuara means like get well as far as I can tell. At least that’s what Elder Bullough says whenever someone is sick or something so yeah. And makinë is car in Albanian, but if you say “car” here that is a really bad word so I’m trying to get used to saying makinë instead.

Anyway, I gotta go! If I think of anything later, I’ll add it tonight! Love you!! Sorry about the rush!

-Elder Swenson