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
Monday, August 24, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
"Mish i Fresket"
August 17, 2009
One side of Zogu i Zi (roundabout in Tirana e Re)
Our district after 2 straight hours of futbol a couple weeks ago.
Me on the shore in Durrës.
Our district minus Elder Bullough who was taking the picture.
How's it goin'?!
Okay and yes I know what you're talking about with the activity badges now. I guess I'm just one of those guys that needs someone to draw a picture for me. Or maybe I'm like Coach. I don't need someone to draw a picture for me, but I really like it when they do. =) So what is with the rooster thing? That is so weird ha ha. Funny though. Ha ha yeah Bear would have destroyed that thing. How did you catch Bear though?! He is fast! Okay funny thing we saw yesterday that is kind of along the same track. We were going back home for lunch and we saw this cow tied to a dyqan (store) along the road and we were like, "Well that's weird." So we looked at the sign for the store and it says "Mish i Fresket"--in English, "Fresh Meat." Ha ha we thought that was funny.
Okay so questions. Elder Bullough is a really good Elder. We are extremely different. And when I say different, I mean like EXTREMELY different. And if I were to be completely honest, we probably wouldn't have been friends in high school or anything. BUT, we're getting along really well and we both want to do the work. He is very obedient which is a blessing and a half and we have been working together to get things back in order in Kamëz. He is from Orem, Utah and I think his mom either tried to or is going to try to e-mail you at some point. They just decided that they were going to move to China and in a period of 3 weeks made the decision, packed, got the house ready, and left. Crazy sauce. But yeah so I am grateful for my companion and I think this next transfer will be just as good as the last. This is actually the first day of my second transfer, but neither me or Elder Bullough are leaving so that was big news!
Our apartment is small obviously but just great. It was pretty much a mess when I got there, but we've cleaned it up (and yes I did play a major role in that cleaning) and it looks pretty good now. It's hard to fit everything in there without a little bit of clutter, but it's pretty much organized. Elder Bullough is a fantastic cook and I'm learning a little bit. I've set a goal to learn to cook like 2 or 3 meals every week. So hopefully by the time I get home, I will be able to cook pretty well. =) To give you an idea on my progress, I cooked some white sauce yesterday and doubled the butter, but forgot to double everything else and it just ended up all lumpy and gross and yeah. So yeah that's going well! As far as the pictures go, technically we're not even supposed to have our cameras on us except for P-day so it's kinda hard. But I'm just bad at taking pictures anyway. I did get a couple from our district trip to Durrës so I'll try to send you those today. And I'll try really hard to take some more because I definitely want to have pictures to remember my mission by. Um stuff I could use. . . .ha ha I actually wrote a list. Deodorant is the number one thing cause they have like one kind here and it's way hard to find so some Sure would be great! Music would be great, too. I have 2 CD's and that's it ha ha. But no I don't really have a CD player. So that's the problem. So I don't really know what to do about that. And also if you could send me one of the copies of the Children's Hymnbook that we have. That has really good music for prelude and baptisms and stuff. But that's basically it. And that's not urgent at all so seriously this isn't something that has to be done like tomorrow. I was debating whether or not to just wait until Christmas to ask you for that so that gives you an idea of how much time you have ha ha. And no I haven't gotten any packages yet, but we did just barely get mail for the first time in like 2 1/2 weeks.
So this week was kinda disappointing. We didn't even get close to the goals we made. Tons of stuff prished on us and even Flamur's appointments ended up not really happening. We're going to have to move Flamur's baptismal date, which is pretty much lame. We were supposed to meet him every day at 7:00 this week. I think we met him twice. We call him every time and he just says, "I'm having some problems with my family." So I don't know what's going on, but he has his own makinë (car) and he's a strong guy so it's not like his family is doing anything physical to keep him from coming. It's frustrating, but we're meeting him tonight and telling him about the baptismal date thing and hopefully making a baptismal calendar with him. So we'll see how that goes.
But on the good side of things, last night we met a man named Denis who we've met once before. He can't read and so we're going to teach him how to read using the gospel pamphlets and stuff. I'm really looking forward to that. And he says that we teach him how to read for 4 days a week and he'll come to church on Sunday! ha ha sounds good to me!
Well things are going well. Just a frustrating week. Hopefully this one will be better. I love you guys and thanks for all your support and love. It really means a lot. Have a good week, mom!
-Elder Swenson
Hey Dad,
So you guys are just doing the Utah transfer from summer to winter, eh? Sounds like a party. It's definitely still hot during the day here. But it's really nice at night and early in the mornings when we go running. So yeah the answer to the question where is global warming? It's in Albania. Ha ha ha just kiddin'.
Wow there's actually a lot of people that are going on missions that I didn't even think were going to go. That's crazy! Way awesome and they will not regret that decision. I'm so pumped to see where Cameron is going (by the way, he is not one of those that I didn't think was going ha ha). You guys have to tell me as soon as you find out. Tell him good luck and I'm praying for him. He's an awesome kid and he'll do wonders wherever he goes.
Yeah the homesickness has actually been really hard lately. I think it just hit me that I'm not going to see you guys or anybody else that I love from home for a really long time. But I've been praying for help to get lost in the work and to find joy in others. It's really hard when I can't even carry out a conversation with somebody, but I'm trying. It's just like I wrote mom last week. It might take a long time, but I'm going through this for a reason and I'm going to be that much stronger after it's over. But it's true. When we're teaching a lesson or talking to somebody or teaching our members how to lead music =) it is an amazing feeling and I don't feel homesick at all. It's just hard when I have time to think.
We've definitely just experienced some people not following through which is really sad. You know that they know it is true, but they just don't have the determination to do what it takes for the truth. Now, I understand it's a lot harder here than it was for me or anything, but it's still frustrating to me. But we know that there are people here that are waiting for us to share the gospel with them that have that willpower and have that courage to go against all odds and do what it takes to live the gospel. We just have to find them.
Dad thanks for your e-mail. Thanks for everything you do for our family. I'm grateful for you and I'm praying for you. Love you.
-Elder Swenson
One side of Zogu i Zi (roundabout in Tirana e Re)
Our district after 2 straight hours of futbol a couple weeks ago.
Me on the shore in Durrës.
Our district minus Elder Bullough who was taking the picture.
How's it goin'?!
Okay and yes I know what you're talking about with the activity badges now. I guess I'm just one of those guys that needs someone to draw a picture for me. Or maybe I'm like Coach. I don't need someone to draw a picture for me, but I really like it when they do. =) So what is with the rooster thing? That is so weird ha ha. Funny though. Ha ha yeah Bear would have destroyed that thing. How did you catch Bear though?! He is fast! Okay funny thing we saw yesterday that is kind of along the same track. We were going back home for lunch and we saw this cow tied to a dyqan (store) along the road and we were like, "Well that's weird." So we looked at the sign for the store and it says "Mish i Fresket"--in English, "Fresh Meat." Ha ha we thought that was funny.
Okay so questions. Elder Bullough is a really good Elder. We are extremely different. And when I say different, I mean like EXTREMELY different. And if I were to be completely honest, we probably wouldn't have been friends in high school or anything. BUT, we're getting along really well and we both want to do the work. He is very obedient which is a blessing and a half and we have been working together to get things back in order in Kamëz. He is from Orem, Utah and I think his mom either tried to or is going to try to e-mail you at some point. They just decided that they were going to move to China and in a period of 3 weeks made the decision, packed, got the house ready, and left. Crazy sauce. But yeah so I am grateful for my companion and I think this next transfer will be just as good as the last. This is actually the first day of my second transfer, but neither me or Elder Bullough are leaving so that was big news!
Our apartment is small obviously but just great. It was pretty much a mess when I got there, but we've cleaned it up (and yes I did play a major role in that cleaning) and it looks pretty good now. It's hard to fit everything in there without a little bit of clutter, but it's pretty much organized. Elder Bullough is a fantastic cook and I'm learning a little bit. I've set a goal to learn to cook like 2 or 3 meals every week. So hopefully by the time I get home, I will be able to cook pretty well. =) To give you an idea on my progress, I cooked some white sauce yesterday and doubled the butter, but forgot to double everything else and it just ended up all lumpy and gross and yeah. So yeah that's going well! As far as the pictures go, technically we're not even supposed to have our cameras on us except for P-day so it's kinda hard. But I'm just bad at taking pictures anyway. I did get a couple from our district trip to Durrës so I'll try to send you those today. And I'll try really hard to take some more because I definitely want to have pictures to remember my mission by. Um stuff I could use. . . .ha ha I actually wrote a list. Deodorant is the number one thing cause they have like one kind here and it's way hard to find so some Sure would be great! Music would be great, too. I have 2 CD's and that's it ha ha. But no I don't really have a CD player. So that's the problem. So I don't really know what to do about that. And also if you could send me one of the copies of the Children's Hymnbook that we have. That has really good music for prelude and baptisms and stuff. But that's basically it. And that's not urgent at all so seriously this isn't something that has to be done like tomorrow. I was debating whether or not to just wait until Christmas to ask you for that so that gives you an idea of how much time you have ha ha. And no I haven't gotten any packages yet, but we did just barely get mail for the first time in like 2 1/2 weeks.
So this week was kinda disappointing. We didn't even get close to the goals we made. Tons of stuff prished on us and even Flamur's appointments ended up not really happening. We're going to have to move Flamur's baptismal date, which is pretty much lame. We were supposed to meet him every day at 7:00 this week. I think we met him twice. We call him every time and he just says, "I'm having some problems with my family." So I don't know what's going on, but he has his own makinë (car) and he's a strong guy so it's not like his family is doing anything physical to keep him from coming. It's frustrating, but we're meeting him tonight and telling him about the baptismal date thing and hopefully making a baptismal calendar with him. So we'll see how that goes.
But on the good side of things, last night we met a man named Denis who we've met once before. He can't read and so we're going to teach him how to read using the gospel pamphlets and stuff. I'm really looking forward to that. And he says that we teach him how to read for 4 days a week and he'll come to church on Sunday! ha ha sounds good to me!
Well things are going well. Just a frustrating week. Hopefully this one will be better. I love you guys and thanks for all your support and love. It really means a lot. Have a good week, mom!
-Elder Swenson
Hey Dad,
So you guys are just doing the Utah transfer from summer to winter, eh? Sounds like a party. It's definitely still hot during the day here. But it's really nice at night and early in the mornings when we go running. So yeah the answer to the question where is global warming? It's in Albania. Ha ha ha just kiddin'.
Wow there's actually a lot of people that are going on missions that I didn't even think were going to go. That's crazy! Way awesome and they will not regret that decision. I'm so pumped to see where Cameron is going (by the way, he is not one of those that I didn't think was going ha ha). You guys have to tell me as soon as you find out. Tell him good luck and I'm praying for him. He's an awesome kid and he'll do wonders wherever he goes.
Yeah the homesickness has actually been really hard lately. I think it just hit me that I'm not going to see you guys or anybody else that I love from home for a really long time. But I've been praying for help to get lost in the work and to find joy in others. It's really hard when I can't even carry out a conversation with somebody, but I'm trying. It's just like I wrote mom last week. It might take a long time, but I'm going through this for a reason and I'm going to be that much stronger after it's over. But it's true. When we're teaching a lesson or talking to somebody or teaching our members how to lead music =) it is an amazing feeling and I don't feel homesick at all. It's just hard when I have time to think.
We've definitely just experienced some people not following through which is really sad. You know that they know it is true, but they just don't have the determination to do what it takes for the truth. Now, I understand it's a lot harder here than it was for me or anything, but it's still frustrating to me. But we know that there are people here that are waiting for us to share the gospel with them that have that willpower and have that courage to go against all odds and do what it takes to live the gospel. We just have to find them.
Dad thanks for your e-mail. Thanks for everything you do for our family. I'm grateful for you and I'm praying for you. Love you.
-Elder Swenson
"Be of Good Comfort"
August 10, 2009
Mirëdita! (I finally found out how to do the “ë” on the keyboard. It’s pretty sweet.)
Yeah I remember that piece of his talk! I’m not gonna lie, I don’t remember much else though, but I think I have a copy of the Liahona in our house so I’ll probably read that. But I remember him talking about that. I haven’t really ever done that. When I pray, I try to give thanks for the majority of the prayer (which can be difficult because I definitely have my hard days) but maybe I should try writing it down. I’ll make that one of my goals for next week!
I haven’t got the package yet. It might be in the mission office though. I don’t get mail as constantly as I did in the MTC. I am pretty far away from the mission home so I usually get mail like once every two weeks, but we’re going in Wednesday I think so hopefully it’s there. =)
So Webelos sounds pretty awesome! Oh my heck I laughed about Wil Neves being the Den Chief. Ha ha don’t tell him that, but I thought it was funny. Okay and what in the heck is an Activity Badge? I’ve never heard of that before. Good luck with those boys! I know they will have fun with you guys.
So I’m kinda limited on time today since we had a district trip and so e-mail got pushed to the last thing, but I learned something really cool this week. Basically. . . .I’m not gonna lie, I’ve been struggling a little with homesickness. Not a ton, but every once in a while there will be a day where I will really just miss home. Yesterday I read in Mosiah 24 ( I think it was 24, but maybe it wasn’t) where the people are captive under King I-forget-his-name (yeah I know I’m a killer scriptorian). They were having a really hard time, but they had faith and prayed to God. And God comforted them. Now, the interesting thing is that God said to them, “Be of good comfort. I will deliver you out of bondage.” And then a couple verses later he says, “On the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage.” I thought that was interesting because we don’t really know how much time passed between those two verses. The people in all likelihood were in bondage for a long time. It was probably really hard! In the previous chapter, it reads something like the Lord seeth fit to try his people. To try their faith and their patience. So these people had to suffer. It was essential for them to grow in their faith. But God did hear their prayers and he did answer them. That was very comforting to me. I know it’s going to be hard for a while, but I’ve been praying for help to lose myself in the work and I know that God will help me as long as I do my part.
As far as Flamur goes, this week was kinda weird because we found out that he got engaged last week! Which he did not tell us and he just said he was busy and we ended up not meeting him at all last week which was a little concerning. But then he came to our activity Saturday and had a pretty good time. Then yesterday he didn’t show up at church! So I’m kinda confused right now. He is so good. He is willing to accept everything. I guess he was talking to Elder Bullough and asked, “So we don’t drink alcohol?” and Elder Bullough replied, “No we don’t.” And he was like, “Not even wine?” Elder Bullough, “Not even wine.” And then Flamur said the coolest thing ever: “Okay.” He is so willing to do what we ask him to do, but I’m still kinda concerned about what’s going on with everything else. So I’ll let you know more about that next week.
Anyway, I’ve got to e-mail Lindsey! I’ve only got 9 more minutes. Love you mom!
-Elder Swenson
Hey dad,
I'm glad to hear that Alpine Days still went well without the best band on earth playing. ;) Ha ha that's kinda funny that a bunch of old guys played. But what can you do? And as far as a band goes when I get back, let's hope. But I don't know as of right now. I'll work that out when I get back, but I'm sure I will. That is my favorite thing to do.
Man I wish the cold had set in here ha ha. It is so hot over here. But apparently it gets way cold in the winter too. So I don't know if I should wish that upon myself. But it is getting darker a little bit earlier which makes the nights a little cooler. So after about 7:30 it's really nice outside. Sounds like the fishing has been good this season. Did you go to Porcupine more than Strawberry this year? It seems like you didn't go there much before.
Do the Gappmeyer's have a son named Oliver? If so, then I have actually met him. He probably doesn't remember me though, but we've met. And yeah that's a really good tip. In fact, I told that to Elder Bullough a couple weeks ago when we were doing weekly planning. We had basically just been going up to people and saying, "Hey! We're missionaries and we teach people about Jesus. Wanna hear?" But if that is the only way you go about it, almost nobody will listen. So I said that we should set a goal that every door we knock, we have to find out (1) their name and (2) ask about one other thing like for example if they're doing yardwork, ask them what they're doing or something like that. And then you kind of establish a friendly relationship which opens the door for the gospel. We've been trying, but it's been proving kind of hard. Seeing as I can't speak well at all and he's pretty much been doing it that way for his whole mission, it's difficult. And holy cow I'm way excited for Nate! Is he in the Provo MTC? He'll be great!
Well, I love you dad! Hope you have a good week!
-Elder Swenson
Mirëdita! (I finally found out how to do the “ë” on the keyboard. It’s pretty sweet.)
Yeah I remember that piece of his talk! I’m not gonna lie, I don’t remember much else though, but I think I have a copy of the Liahona in our house so I’ll probably read that. But I remember him talking about that. I haven’t really ever done that. When I pray, I try to give thanks for the majority of the prayer (which can be difficult because I definitely have my hard days) but maybe I should try writing it down. I’ll make that one of my goals for next week!
I haven’t got the package yet. It might be in the mission office though. I don’t get mail as constantly as I did in the MTC. I am pretty far away from the mission home so I usually get mail like once every two weeks, but we’re going in Wednesday I think so hopefully it’s there. =)
So Webelos sounds pretty awesome! Oh my heck I laughed about Wil Neves being the Den Chief. Ha ha don’t tell him that, but I thought it was funny. Okay and what in the heck is an Activity Badge? I’ve never heard of that before. Good luck with those boys! I know they will have fun with you guys.
So I’m kinda limited on time today since we had a district trip and so e-mail got pushed to the last thing, but I learned something really cool this week. Basically. . . .I’m not gonna lie, I’ve been struggling a little with homesickness. Not a ton, but every once in a while there will be a day where I will really just miss home. Yesterday I read in Mosiah 24 ( I think it was 24, but maybe it wasn’t) where the people are captive under King I-forget-his-name (yeah I know I’m a killer scriptorian). They were having a really hard time, but they had faith and prayed to God. And God comforted them. Now, the interesting thing is that God said to them, “Be of good comfort. I will deliver you out of bondage.” And then a couple verses later he says, “On the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage.” I thought that was interesting because we don’t really know how much time passed between those two verses. The people in all likelihood were in bondage for a long time. It was probably really hard! In the previous chapter, it reads something like the Lord seeth fit to try his people. To try their faith and their patience. So these people had to suffer. It was essential for them to grow in their faith. But God did hear their prayers and he did answer them. That was very comforting to me. I know it’s going to be hard for a while, but I’ve been praying for help to lose myself in the work and I know that God will help me as long as I do my part.
As far as Flamur goes, this week was kinda weird because we found out that he got engaged last week! Which he did not tell us and he just said he was busy and we ended up not meeting him at all last week which was a little concerning. But then he came to our activity Saturday and had a pretty good time. Then yesterday he didn’t show up at church! So I’m kinda confused right now. He is so good. He is willing to accept everything. I guess he was talking to Elder Bullough and asked, “So we don’t drink alcohol?” and Elder Bullough replied, “No we don’t.” And he was like, “Not even wine?” Elder Bullough, “Not even wine.” And then Flamur said the coolest thing ever: “Okay.” He is so willing to do what we ask him to do, but I’m still kinda concerned about what’s going on with everything else. So I’ll let you know more about that next week.
Anyway, I’ve got to e-mail Lindsey! I’ve only got 9 more minutes. Love you mom!
-Elder Swenson
Hey dad,
I'm glad to hear that Alpine Days still went well without the best band on earth playing. ;) Ha ha that's kinda funny that a bunch of old guys played. But what can you do? And as far as a band goes when I get back, let's hope. But I don't know as of right now. I'll work that out when I get back, but I'm sure I will. That is my favorite thing to do.
Man I wish the cold had set in here ha ha. It is so hot over here. But apparently it gets way cold in the winter too. So I don't know if I should wish that upon myself. But it is getting darker a little bit earlier which makes the nights a little cooler. So after about 7:30 it's really nice outside. Sounds like the fishing has been good this season. Did you go to Porcupine more than Strawberry this year? It seems like you didn't go there much before.
Do the Gappmeyer's have a son named Oliver? If so, then I have actually met him. He probably doesn't remember me though, but we've met. And yeah that's a really good tip. In fact, I told that to Elder Bullough a couple weeks ago when we were doing weekly planning. We had basically just been going up to people and saying, "Hey! We're missionaries and we teach people about Jesus. Wanna hear?" But if that is the only way you go about it, almost nobody will listen. So I said that we should set a goal that every door we knock, we have to find out (1) their name and (2) ask about one other thing like for example if they're doing yardwork, ask them what they're doing or something like that. And then you kind of establish a friendly relationship which opens the door for the gospel. We've been trying, but it's been proving kind of hard. Seeing as I can't speak well at all and he's pretty much been doing it that way for his whole mission, it's difficult. And holy cow I'm way excited for Nate! Is he in the Provo MTC? He'll be great!
Well, I love you dad! Hope you have a good week!
-Elder Swenson
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
I had a lot of epiphanies this week.
August 3, 2009
Oh My Dearest Mother,
Ha ha the mission is going great. This week has actually been an extremely. . . .uh I don’t really know what the word for it is, but I had a lot of epiphanies this week. I think my testimony grew this week more than it has in a long time. I LOVE Preach My Gospel. Seriously, if you’ve never studied it before, you should. You will learn so much. And it’s funny because as I was just re-studying the lessons this week, the two things that struck me the most were super short sentences with super simple ideas. There were two things that I’ll share with you. The first was just that because of Christ’s Atonement and his suffering for our pains, he helps us. I always knew that, but for some reason that “sunk deep into my heart” as Enos says. If you think about how much help you receive on a day to day basis, I think you will be amazed at how much he really does help us. I have definitely had more help than I deserve as I’ve been at the MTC and now here. Sometimes it’s hard, but I know that I always have someone that can and will help me at any time.
The second thing was also about the atonement coincidentally. In Preach My Gospel it says that through the power of the Atonement, we can conquer temptation and sin. Now in my head I always knew that we could conquer sin, but the concept of actually conquering temptation was just astounding to me. We can actually overcome temptation. I always thought that we just have to deal with the temptations and choose not to act on them, but this means that slowly as we choose not to act on them, that will just become a part of us and we will just not act on them because that’s part of who we are. I think Elder Packer share’s a really good example of this. At least I think it’s Elder Packer. =) But he says that he always had a hymn in his head that, whenever he faced a temptation, he would replace the impure thoughts with a hymn. One day he was walking down the street and after a while he noticed he was singing the hymn. He thought to himself for a while and remembered that a while back down the street, there was an immodestly dressed young woman that he saw. It had just become part of who he was to not even let those thoughts in. I love that story and I think that is a great idea. But just the concept of conquering temptation was awesome for me is basically the point I was trying to make. =)
Holy cow sorry if that was too long for you! Anyway, yeah Sefer is doing well. . . .I guess. He did quit smoking which was good, but the program has 15 steps that you have to follow. And you have to follow them EXACTLY. The program is designed to clear all the nicotine out of your body in one week so you won’t have the “need” for a cigarette anymore. But in order to do that, you have to follow the program exactly and he followed it. . . .less than exactly. And just simple things like drinking grapefruit juice, he didn’t do. He said he would at our first lesson, but didn’t keep his commitment. So I’m grateful he is done smoking, but I guess I’m just nervous that he’s going to start back up again. Oh well, I should probably have more faith than that, huh?
But guess what?! I’ve got a highlight for you this week. We’re going to baptize Flamur!!! We taught him on Wednesday and committed him to baptism. He is scheduled for the 23rd of August. I’m so excited for that. He definitely has a testimony that the Book of Mormon is true. He said he’s “never felt as good as he does when he’s at our church.” I really didn’t even think lessons like that happened. I always just thought people just beefed up their stories ha ha, but this was an INCREDIBLE lesson. He also said that he’s the kind of guy that, when he does something, he does it 100%. He’s studied with other religions, but he feels like this is what he needs to do. I’m so excited for him. Yesterday actually we were walking back home for lunch and his brother stopped us in the road and wanted to talk to us too. It was kinda freaky at first cause he just walked up to us and was like, “Hey! Let’s go back behind all these buildings where nobody can see us and have a drink.” I was kinda weirded out cause I didn’t know if he just wanted to just like take us out cause we were bugging Kamez or something, but we ended up giving him a Book of Mormon with my testimony inside. He’s a really good guy and I’m grateful to Flamur for talking to him about our church.
Well I just realized I haven’t answered like any of your questions ha ha sorry about that, but I’m kinda running low on time! Holy weddings Batman! That’s like our entire ward a year ago. What is with all these people getting married? That’s weird. =) And it sounds like the ward is definitely changing, but change is a good thing, right? I know the Lord puts people in the places they’re supposed to be and that includes callings in the church. They will be able to do what the Lord needs them to do.
And yes. IT. IS. HOT. And humid like no other. Basically anytime I am not in our house, I’m sweating. And even sometimes when we’re in the house. It is so bloody hot it’s not even funny. But it’s starting to get darker at night earlier and so it cools down around 7:30-8ish. So it’s a good way to end a day. Oh yeah my tan is going to be KILLER. . . .on my forearms and my face. Other than that, I’m still pasty. =) And yes the people are definitely that nice. Even if they reject you hardcore, they’re like, “Come inside and have a drink!” So yeah they are very very giving. Some people are so dang funny though. We are teaching this one lady named Xhuma (Juma) who is one of those women that you just don’t mess with, ya know what I’m sayin’? And we went over to her house one day, but there wasn’t another man there so we couldn’t teach her. She kept inviting us to come in and have a drink, but we explained that it’s a rule. She looked at us like we were insane and then she was like, “I AM THE MAN! SIT THE HECK DOWN!” But she was nice and let us leave without beating us up. =) I love the people. They are so funny and so loving.
And yeah I do get well fed. We’ve only eaten at a member’s house once, but my companion can cook really well. So it’s not too bad. But there are some Albanian foods that are SO delicious. I’m gonna learn how to make some of the stuff like fasule or tasqebap and make it for you guys when I get home. I haven’t had anything disgusting yet, but I’m sure that’s coming. Joy.
Anyway, I better go. If I didn’t answer anything, let me know next week ha ha. Tell Nate good luck! I love that kid. And let me know where Cam is going! Ah! It’s killing me!
Mirupafshim,
-Elder Swenson
Oh My Dearest Mother,
Ha ha the mission is going great. This week has actually been an extremely. . . .uh I don’t really know what the word for it is, but I had a lot of epiphanies this week. I think my testimony grew this week more than it has in a long time. I LOVE Preach My Gospel. Seriously, if you’ve never studied it before, you should. You will learn so much. And it’s funny because as I was just re-studying the lessons this week, the two things that struck me the most were super short sentences with super simple ideas. There were two things that I’ll share with you. The first was just that because of Christ’s Atonement and his suffering for our pains, he helps us. I always knew that, but for some reason that “sunk deep into my heart” as Enos says. If you think about how much help you receive on a day to day basis, I think you will be amazed at how much he really does help us. I have definitely had more help than I deserve as I’ve been at the MTC and now here. Sometimes it’s hard, but I know that I always have someone that can and will help me at any time.
The second thing was also about the atonement coincidentally. In Preach My Gospel it says that through the power of the Atonement, we can conquer temptation and sin. Now in my head I always knew that we could conquer sin, but the concept of actually conquering temptation was just astounding to me. We can actually overcome temptation. I always thought that we just have to deal with the temptations and choose not to act on them, but this means that slowly as we choose not to act on them, that will just become a part of us and we will just not act on them because that’s part of who we are. I think Elder Packer share’s a really good example of this. At least I think it’s Elder Packer. =) But he says that he always had a hymn in his head that, whenever he faced a temptation, he would replace the impure thoughts with a hymn. One day he was walking down the street and after a while he noticed he was singing the hymn. He thought to himself for a while and remembered that a while back down the street, there was an immodestly dressed young woman that he saw. It had just become part of who he was to not even let those thoughts in. I love that story and I think that is a great idea. But just the concept of conquering temptation was awesome for me is basically the point I was trying to make. =)
Holy cow sorry if that was too long for you! Anyway, yeah Sefer is doing well. . . .I guess. He did quit smoking which was good, but the program has 15 steps that you have to follow. And you have to follow them EXACTLY. The program is designed to clear all the nicotine out of your body in one week so you won’t have the “need” for a cigarette anymore. But in order to do that, you have to follow the program exactly and he followed it. . . .less than exactly. And just simple things like drinking grapefruit juice, he didn’t do. He said he would at our first lesson, but didn’t keep his commitment. So I’m grateful he is done smoking, but I guess I’m just nervous that he’s going to start back up again. Oh well, I should probably have more faith than that, huh?
But guess what?! I’ve got a highlight for you this week. We’re going to baptize Flamur!!! We taught him on Wednesday and committed him to baptism. He is scheduled for the 23rd of August. I’m so excited for that. He definitely has a testimony that the Book of Mormon is true. He said he’s “never felt as good as he does when he’s at our church.” I really didn’t even think lessons like that happened. I always just thought people just beefed up their stories ha ha, but this was an INCREDIBLE lesson. He also said that he’s the kind of guy that, when he does something, he does it 100%. He’s studied with other religions, but he feels like this is what he needs to do. I’m so excited for him. Yesterday actually we were walking back home for lunch and his brother stopped us in the road and wanted to talk to us too. It was kinda freaky at first cause he just walked up to us and was like, “Hey! Let’s go back behind all these buildings where nobody can see us and have a drink.” I was kinda weirded out cause I didn’t know if he just wanted to just like take us out cause we were bugging Kamez or something, but we ended up giving him a Book of Mormon with my testimony inside. He’s a really good guy and I’m grateful to Flamur for talking to him about our church.
Well I just realized I haven’t answered like any of your questions ha ha sorry about that, but I’m kinda running low on time! Holy weddings Batman! That’s like our entire ward a year ago. What is with all these people getting married? That’s weird. =) And it sounds like the ward is definitely changing, but change is a good thing, right? I know the Lord puts people in the places they’re supposed to be and that includes callings in the church. They will be able to do what the Lord needs them to do.
And yes. IT. IS. HOT. And humid like no other. Basically anytime I am not in our house, I’m sweating. And even sometimes when we’re in the house. It is so bloody hot it’s not even funny. But it’s starting to get darker at night earlier and so it cools down around 7:30-8ish. So it’s a good way to end a day. Oh yeah my tan is going to be KILLER. . . .on my forearms and my face. Other than that, I’m still pasty. =) And yes the people are definitely that nice. Even if they reject you hardcore, they’re like, “Come inside and have a drink!” So yeah they are very very giving. Some people are so dang funny though. We are teaching this one lady named Xhuma (Juma) who is one of those women that you just don’t mess with, ya know what I’m sayin’? And we went over to her house one day, but there wasn’t another man there so we couldn’t teach her. She kept inviting us to come in and have a drink, but we explained that it’s a rule. She looked at us like we were insane and then she was like, “I AM THE MAN! SIT THE HECK DOWN!” But she was nice and let us leave without beating us up. =) I love the people. They are so funny and so loving.
And yeah I do get well fed. We’ve only eaten at a member’s house once, but my companion can cook really well. So it’s not too bad. But there are some Albanian foods that are SO delicious. I’m gonna learn how to make some of the stuff like fasule or tasqebap and make it for you guys when I get home. I haven’t had anything disgusting yet, but I’m sure that’s coming. Joy.
Anyway, I better go. If I didn’t answer anything, let me know next week ha ha. Tell Nate good luck! I love that kid. And let me know where Cam is going! Ah! It’s killing me!
Mirupafshim,
-Elder Swenson
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
We Just Tract and Tract and Tract
Mother Albania Monument
Cameron's Birthday
July 27, 2009
Hey Mom!
Okay holy cow sorry about the pictures. Myldsmail.net is ridiculous. So basically you’re probably not going to get a ton of pictures because it took me forever to pick like 7 pictures to send and then I couldn’t send them in one e-mail. It was dumb. Now that I know that maybe I’ll be able to send more next week. So yeah sorry about that. I got my Tie picture in there for Cam’s birthday. Tell him I said hi!
Anyway, how are things going at home? The summer is already coming to a close for you guys I guess. When does Lindsey go back to school? Summers are way too short. Ha ha but you guys can’t complain about heat anymore! You have no idea.
Yeah Nate is Awesome! And Leslie too, but I didn’t really know her all that well ha ha. But I know they’ll both do fantastic! Tell them good luck for me! I would say that Nate was probably the most in tune with the spirit of any of our group. You could just always tell that he was going to be a missionary. You could see his testimony even when we weren’t even doing things that related to the gospel at all. He is a great example and he will be an awesome missionary!
I love that scripture in Alma that talks about them being depressed and ready to turn back. It shows that they were human. It also says “With patience bear thine afflictions” which always reminds me of Be Still, My Soul. I love that line. And then the most important part, if we do bear our afflictions with patience and with faith we will have success. That is a really good chapter. I will read it again this week.
Ha ha mom did you say you’re really “kot” on those machines? Ha ha that’s funny. That made me laugh. That word gets used a lot here. And woohoo! Go Lindsey! You catch those minnows. =) Ha ha I got the funniest picture in my head of her reeling in this little dinky fish and I laughed a hearty chuckle. That sounds like it was a fun week! I miss going camping with the Jessop’s and Jim and Kathy. They always make things entertaining.
Okay so your phrase for the week is something that I say at least a million times every day: Me fal, nuk kuptoj. It means I’m sorry, I don’t understand. =)
Ha ha so we have definitely been working hard this week. We just tract and tract and tract. I don’t really mind tracting though. It’s not that bad. You just have to be willing to work. And it’s helping with my understanding. I understand more and more everyday, but I still usually can’t put it together fast enough to understand what they’re really saying. But I’m working at it. So we spend the huge majority of our time tracting. Other than that, tonight we’re starting the Stop Smoking Program with a man named Sefer. It is a really good program and often leads to the participants taking the lessons and being baptized. It is a seven day thing which to me is pretty impressive. I’m excited to do that and so is he. I can’t wait to see him make this change in his life. And Flamur is doing well. He came to church again this week, but he didn’t have time to meet with us after so we’re meeting with him on Wednesday. I’m excited for that. Coming to church is a really good sign. I think we’re going to be inviting him to be baptized either this week or next. Pretty cool!
Anyway, I should go. I have like 10 minutes left and I haven’t written Dad or Lindsey. Have a good one, mom!
I love you!
-Elder Swenson
Yo Linds!
Ha ha yeah that does sound like a crazy week! That sounds so dang fun. Okay as soon as I read that you went on dune buggy rides I was like, “please say that Lindsey got to drive, please say that Lindsey got to drive.” AND! My wish was definitely granted and I was definitely fully satisfied with the result of you driving. =) Ha ha ha you crashed?! Yeah it is a good thing that Grandpa likes you so much! Ha ha ha ha ha oh my gosh that’s so funny. I love stick shifts. EVERYTHING here is a stick shift. Oh my heck I’m so screwed if I end up having to drive because the roads are C.R.A.Z.Y. It’s not even funny. But you should learn how to drive one! They’re fun.
Ha ha yeah we only have five members. It’s not very big. And the piano is a not full size keyboard that doesn’t have touch sensitivity and no pedal. Yeah we’re pretty hardcore out here in Kamez. =) Ha ha, but at least I get to play. I miss the piano and my guitar so bad. I was so lucky to have those things at my disposal. And yes I think I will lose weight in Kamez just cause we are always walking and it’s hotter than a lava pit of death out here. I can already move my belt in one more notch. =) Ha ha, but honestly I don’t think I will come back looking that different. Except for a KILLER farmer’s tan. It’s awesome.
Well I gotta go. I love you Linds! It’s great to hear from you every week. I’m sorry if my e-mail was short. I didn’t have a lot of time today. Love you!
Cameron's Birthday
July 27, 2009
Hey Mom!
Okay holy cow sorry about the pictures. Myldsmail.net is ridiculous. So basically you’re probably not going to get a ton of pictures because it took me forever to pick like 7 pictures to send and then I couldn’t send them in one e-mail. It was dumb. Now that I know that maybe I’ll be able to send more next week. So yeah sorry about that. I got my Tie picture in there for Cam’s birthday. Tell him I said hi!
Anyway, how are things going at home? The summer is already coming to a close for you guys I guess. When does Lindsey go back to school? Summers are way too short. Ha ha but you guys can’t complain about heat anymore! You have no idea.
Yeah Nate is Awesome! And Leslie too, but I didn’t really know her all that well ha ha. But I know they’ll both do fantastic! Tell them good luck for me! I would say that Nate was probably the most in tune with the spirit of any of our group. You could just always tell that he was going to be a missionary. You could see his testimony even when we weren’t even doing things that related to the gospel at all. He is a great example and he will be an awesome missionary!
I love that scripture in Alma that talks about them being depressed and ready to turn back. It shows that they were human. It also says “With patience bear thine afflictions” which always reminds me of Be Still, My Soul. I love that line. And then the most important part, if we do bear our afflictions with patience and with faith we will have success. That is a really good chapter. I will read it again this week.
Ha ha mom did you say you’re really “kot” on those machines? Ha ha that’s funny. That made me laugh. That word gets used a lot here. And woohoo! Go Lindsey! You catch those minnows. =) Ha ha I got the funniest picture in my head of her reeling in this little dinky fish and I laughed a hearty chuckle. That sounds like it was a fun week! I miss going camping with the Jessop’s and Jim and Kathy. They always make things entertaining.
Okay so your phrase for the week is something that I say at least a million times every day: Me fal, nuk kuptoj. It means I’m sorry, I don’t understand. =)
Ha ha so we have definitely been working hard this week. We just tract and tract and tract. I don’t really mind tracting though. It’s not that bad. You just have to be willing to work. And it’s helping with my understanding. I understand more and more everyday, but I still usually can’t put it together fast enough to understand what they’re really saying. But I’m working at it. So we spend the huge majority of our time tracting. Other than that, tonight we’re starting the Stop Smoking Program with a man named Sefer. It is a really good program and often leads to the participants taking the lessons and being baptized. It is a seven day thing which to me is pretty impressive. I’m excited to do that and so is he. I can’t wait to see him make this change in his life. And Flamur is doing well. He came to church again this week, but he didn’t have time to meet with us after so we’re meeting with him on Wednesday. I’m excited for that. Coming to church is a really good sign. I think we’re going to be inviting him to be baptized either this week or next. Pretty cool!
Anyway, I should go. I have like 10 minutes left and I haven’t written Dad or Lindsey. Have a good one, mom!
I love you!
-Elder Swenson
Yo Linds!
Ha ha yeah that does sound like a crazy week! That sounds so dang fun. Okay as soon as I read that you went on dune buggy rides I was like, “please say that Lindsey got to drive, please say that Lindsey got to drive.” AND! My wish was definitely granted and I was definitely fully satisfied with the result of you driving. =) Ha ha ha you crashed?! Yeah it is a good thing that Grandpa likes you so much! Ha ha ha ha ha oh my gosh that’s so funny. I love stick shifts. EVERYTHING here is a stick shift. Oh my heck I’m so screwed if I end up having to drive because the roads are C.R.A.Z.Y. It’s not even funny. But you should learn how to drive one! They’re fun.
Ha ha yeah we only have five members. It’s not very big. And the piano is a not full size keyboard that doesn’t have touch sensitivity and no pedal. Yeah we’re pretty hardcore out here in Kamez. =) Ha ha, but at least I get to play. I miss the piano and my guitar so bad. I was so lucky to have those things at my disposal. And yes I think I will lose weight in Kamez just cause we are always walking and it’s hotter than a lava pit of death out here. I can already move my belt in one more notch. =) Ha ha, but honestly I don’t think I will come back looking that different. Except for a KILLER farmer’s tan. It’s awesome.
Well I gotta go. I love you Linds! It’s great to hear from you every week. I’m sorry if my e-mail was short. I didn’t have a lot of time today. Love you!
The Albanian Greeting
July 20, 2009
What’s up!
Okay so the translations of that stuff. I actually kind of lied last week in saying that it all meant the same thing, but you do have to say like 5 of them before you can consider yourself sufficiently greeted. =) It’s basically like, “How are you? Are you well? How have you been? With health? From the house? (That one is my personal favorite) Good.” But yeah so they’re pretty much self explanatory. You can also say stuff like C’fare thote puna? (How is work) Si e ke familjen? (How is your family) and stuff like that. But anyway yeah so those are some Albanian greetings.
So about the companion thing. . . .long story. Back when he was in Fier he developed a problem called Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome (I don’t know if that’s spelled right), but basically it just kills when you walk and as much as we were tracting and street contacting here in Kamez , it started to act up on him again. So he actually got emergency transferred to Tirana in 3rd branch where they have more work at the moment. So today is my first day with my new companion Elder Bullough! He seems pretty cool, but I’ve actually only been with him for like 2 hours now so I’ll let you know more next week. ;)
So the schedule for the summer is kinda weird. We wake up at 6:00 and work out and make breakfast and stuff and then we have personal study from 7:30 to 8:30. Companion study from 8:30 to 9:30 and then we’re out of the house until 1:30 we come back in for lunch. During the summer the Albanians basically have a siesta type thing because it’s so hot so we have lunch from 1:30 to 4:00 and then we do language to 4:30. After that we’re out of the house working until 9:30 again. Most of the time we’re out of the house, we are either street contacting or tracting. I’m definitely tired every night when we get back to the house. It is hard work.
But I have a cool story about street contacting. One day we were street contacting in the Qendra e Kamzes and all of a sudden out of the blue this guy named Flamur comes up to us and is like, “You guys have a meeting here on Sunday, don’t you? Call me and I’ll come.” We were like, “Heck yes we do!” We found out that he had been contacted by some missionaries when he was in Tirana one day and so he was obviously interested. So we called him Saturday night and he came to church yesterday! After sacrament meeting we showed him The Restoration and talked with him about prophets and the Book of Mormon. He seemed really interested. So we gave him a Book of Mormon and told him to read 3 Nephi 11 and he’s coming to church again next week. We’ll have another lesson after sacrament meeting. He also asked if he could get baptized and how fast so we were pretty excited about that! I hope he is sincere and I think he is. So hopefully we will be able to make this happen. It was really cool. That was probably the highlight of my week.
So about our Branch. The Kamez branch is very small as of right now. We have I think five members. They are so great though. It is fun to talk to them and teach them. A couple of our members are actually trying to go on missions soon so hopefully they are able to do that because they would be fantastic missionaries. But yeah, we meet in the bottom floor of a three story house. It’s a pretty small building, but it works for us right now. So obviously the work in Kamez is just starting out right now, but I have faith that it will grow to be just like any of the other areas. We just have to keep working.
I have a funny story for you. We were taking the sisters around Kamez last night so they could meet the sister members and teach them and we were at Alketa’s house. Motra Bentley had never met Alketa before and so she was showing her some pictures of her family and stuff. Apparently Albanians are a little bit blunt sometimes which, as you could imagine, makes for some funny moments. Alketa saw one of the pictures of Motra and she said, “Is that you? You were so thin! Why are you so fat now?” Ha ha ha ha oh we all had a good laugh at that one. That brightened up my night at least. =)
So tell Nate good luck! That is so exciting! It’s coming right up. So he’ll just be in the MTC for three weeks then, right? That is way cool. I’m so excited for him. And let me know where Cameron goes! I can’t wait to hear! He’ll be an awesome missionary wherever he goes. I think about the guys from time to time and think how cool it is that we’re all going to be on our missions within a very short time. I have freakin’ awesome friends.
Anyway, I should go. I’m praying for you guys and hope you are doing well. It sounds like you are all doing well and I hope that you know how grateful I am for your support and love on my behalf. Thank you so much for everything!
Te Dua!
-Elder Swenson
What’s up!
Okay so the translations of that stuff. I actually kind of lied last week in saying that it all meant the same thing, but you do have to say like 5 of them before you can consider yourself sufficiently greeted. =) It’s basically like, “How are you? Are you well? How have you been? With health? From the house? (That one is my personal favorite) Good.” But yeah so they’re pretty much self explanatory. You can also say stuff like C’fare thote puna? (How is work) Si e ke familjen? (How is your family) and stuff like that. But anyway yeah so those are some Albanian greetings.
So about the companion thing. . . .long story. Back when he was in Fier he developed a problem called Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome (I don’t know if that’s spelled right), but basically it just kills when you walk and as much as we were tracting and street contacting here in Kamez , it started to act up on him again. So he actually got emergency transferred to Tirana in 3rd branch where they have more work at the moment. So today is my first day with my new companion Elder Bullough! He seems pretty cool, but I’ve actually only been with him for like 2 hours now so I’ll let you know more next week. ;)
So the schedule for the summer is kinda weird. We wake up at 6:00 and work out and make breakfast and stuff and then we have personal study from 7:30 to 8:30. Companion study from 8:30 to 9:30 and then we’re out of the house until 1:30 we come back in for lunch. During the summer the Albanians basically have a siesta type thing because it’s so hot so we have lunch from 1:30 to 4:00 and then we do language to 4:30. After that we’re out of the house working until 9:30 again. Most of the time we’re out of the house, we are either street contacting or tracting. I’m definitely tired every night when we get back to the house. It is hard work.
But I have a cool story about street contacting. One day we were street contacting in the Qendra e Kamzes and all of a sudden out of the blue this guy named Flamur comes up to us and is like, “You guys have a meeting here on Sunday, don’t you? Call me and I’ll come.” We were like, “Heck yes we do!” We found out that he had been contacted by some missionaries when he was in Tirana one day and so he was obviously interested. So we called him Saturday night and he came to church yesterday! After sacrament meeting we showed him The Restoration and talked with him about prophets and the Book of Mormon. He seemed really interested. So we gave him a Book of Mormon and told him to read 3 Nephi 11 and he’s coming to church again next week. We’ll have another lesson after sacrament meeting. He also asked if he could get baptized and how fast so we were pretty excited about that! I hope he is sincere and I think he is. So hopefully we will be able to make this happen. It was really cool. That was probably the highlight of my week.
So about our Branch. The Kamez branch is very small as of right now. We have I think five members. They are so great though. It is fun to talk to them and teach them. A couple of our members are actually trying to go on missions soon so hopefully they are able to do that because they would be fantastic missionaries. But yeah, we meet in the bottom floor of a three story house. It’s a pretty small building, but it works for us right now. So obviously the work in Kamez is just starting out right now, but I have faith that it will grow to be just like any of the other areas. We just have to keep working.
I have a funny story for you. We were taking the sisters around Kamez last night so they could meet the sister members and teach them and we were at Alketa’s house. Motra Bentley had never met Alketa before and so she was showing her some pictures of her family and stuff. Apparently Albanians are a little bit blunt sometimes which, as you could imagine, makes for some funny moments. Alketa saw one of the pictures of Motra and she said, “Is that you? You were so thin! Why are you so fat now?” Ha ha ha ha oh we all had a good laugh at that one. That brightened up my night at least. =)
So tell Nate good luck! That is so exciting! It’s coming right up. So he’ll just be in the MTC for three weeks then, right? That is way cool. I’m so excited for him. And let me know where Cameron goes! I can’t wait to hear! He’ll be an awesome missionary wherever he goes. I think about the guys from time to time and think how cool it is that we’re all going to be on our missions within a very short time. I have freakin’ awesome friends.
Anyway, I should go. I’m praying for you guys and hope you are doing well. It sounds like you are all doing well and I hope that you know how grateful I am for your support and love on my behalf. Thank you so much for everything!
Te Dua!
-Elder Swenson
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
First Real Week
July 13, 2008
Mommy!
C’Kemi! Mire je? Si ke qene? Me shendet? Nga shtepia? Mire. Ha ha that is a traditional Albanian greeting. It’s funny because basically all of those ask the same question, but they have to ask you five times to be considered normal. It’s good stuff. So yeah I’m here safe! And I was thankful that the mission president let me e-mail you as well. I knew you were worried. Ha ha. I do not like the picture he sent you anymore though. I was so dang tired ha ha. I’m pretty much off the jet-lag now and doing well. This is definitely not Utah anymore. It has definitely been a change for me, but I am catching on. And yeah! Motra Bentley is actually in my district still which is really cool. She’s going to be a great missionary.
So my companion is Elder Tracy. . . . .he is a great elder. He is a fantastic teacher and he is really good at the language. By the way, forward these to my MTC teachers, Brother Krumweide and Brother Tamanaha. Faliminderit shume! (Thanks a lot!)
And no Lindsey didn’t tell me that about her wisdom teeth. Ewwww, that’s gross. =)
It’s funny that you say that sun thing because I just got a nice little sunburn on my arms. Long story that I won’t go into right now, but yeah. Tell Grandpa I love him and hope he is well. That does sound pretty painful so I’ll be praying for him. Oh man, I miss those 2nd Sunday dinners. That is so great. I’m glad that Grandpa and Kris came as well. This will be a good chance for him to relax a little and do some fun things. It’s good to hear that he is doing alright. Tell him that I wish him the best!
Yeah I’ve had some Albanian food! Luckily, I’ve only had a lot of the good stuff for right now. I haven’t had pacekoke (cooked sheep’s head) or anything else like that. . . .yet. But it’s inevitable. Oh well! I’ll get used to it. Oh my heck the ice cream in Albania is THE BEST! It’s called akullore. It is way good. And I’ve also had suflaqe (soo-flaw-chey) which is basically just a gyro, but better. It’s pretty good, but I’ve had better stuff as well. My companion, Elder Tracy, likes to cook so we have good food when we get home, too.
So as far as understanding Albanians. . . .I’m pretty much kot (useless/worthless). It is so dang hard to understand them! But I’m getting better. Our first night, me and Motra went street contacting with the Assistants and after awhile they were like, “Okay you guys go try one by yourselves!” So we stopped this guy and he was looking at our pass along card and he kept asking us this question and neither one of us could understand him worth beans so eventually I was just like, “Uh. . . .po.” (Po means yes by the way.) And we gave him a card and he gave us his number! Shume Mire! (Very good) So yeah it’s going to take me a while to get to where I can actually communicate effectively in the language. But don’t worry, I’ll get it.
Oh man I’m excited for the newsletter! I love that testimony book and I love hearing from all of them. It’s way cool to see how everybody’s doing. Make sure you let me know the next time I need to write a paragraph for them. Right now I just want to tell them to BE OBEDIENT! That’s pretty much the best advice I could give as of right now, but let me know when I can write them. =)
You know, I’ve only been here for like 5 days, but I can already tell two things: 1) This is going to be freaking hard. In lots of ways. 2) This is going to be the most amazing thing ever! I can already tell that I’m going to have so much fun and have amazing experiences! We’ve taught a couple lessons already and it’s just amazing how much of a change it is from walking down the streets where horns are constantly honking and music is consistently blaring to sitting down with somebody and teaching them about the gospel. You can really feel the Spirit come in when you’re teaching. It’s such an amazing feeling and I can’t wait to feel that for the next two years as I teach the people of Albania. I’m so excited! I really didn’t think I was going to be this excited, but I just want to do everything I can while I have this time here. I want to be able to look back on my mission and not have any regrets. I want to serve the Lord. He has given us everything and now I can give him something back.
I love you guys and thank you for your constant support. You are amazing! Miss you! See you soon!
-Elder Swenson
Hey dad!
Sorry I don't have much time. I kind of write both you and mom in mom's e-mails ha ha. But I just wanted to thank you for your e-mail and for your prayers. I've been doing really well so far.
Yeah my Mission President is a really nice guy. He's going to be great to get to know while I'm here serving. He will be a great support on the mission. He has definitely been called of God to lead the missionary efforts in Albania. He's a great guy. And I will ask him in my e-mail this week about the picture thing. Speaking of pictures, I will send them next week because I don't have what I need to send them as of right now, but I will next week for sure. Sorry about that! But yeah, hopefully they will give you a little bit of a taste of what Albania is like!
Anyway, I've gotta go! I will talk to you next week! I hope you're doing well. I hope work is doing alright and you're happy. Do what
Billy says and "Keep the Faith" =)
Love,
-Elder Swenson
Mommy!
C’Kemi! Mire je? Si ke qene? Me shendet? Nga shtepia? Mire. Ha ha that is a traditional Albanian greeting. It’s funny because basically all of those ask the same question, but they have to ask you five times to be considered normal. It’s good stuff. So yeah I’m here safe! And I was thankful that the mission president let me e-mail you as well. I knew you were worried. Ha ha. I do not like the picture he sent you anymore though. I was so dang tired ha ha. I’m pretty much off the jet-lag now and doing well. This is definitely not Utah anymore. It has definitely been a change for me, but I am catching on. And yeah! Motra Bentley is actually in my district still which is really cool. She’s going to be a great missionary.
So my companion is Elder Tracy. . . . .he is a great elder. He is a fantastic teacher and he is really good at the language. By the way, forward these to my MTC teachers, Brother Krumweide and Brother Tamanaha. Faliminderit shume! (Thanks a lot!)
And no Lindsey didn’t tell me that about her wisdom teeth. Ewwww, that’s gross. =)
It’s funny that you say that sun thing because I just got a nice little sunburn on my arms. Long story that I won’t go into right now, but yeah. Tell Grandpa I love him and hope he is well. That does sound pretty painful so I’ll be praying for him. Oh man, I miss those 2nd Sunday dinners. That is so great. I’m glad that Grandpa and Kris came as well. This will be a good chance for him to relax a little and do some fun things. It’s good to hear that he is doing alright. Tell him that I wish him the best!
Yeah I’ve had some Albanian food! Luckily, I’ve only had a lot of the good stuff for right now. I haven’t had pacekoke (cooked sheep’s head) or anything else like that. . . .yet. But it’s inevitable. Oh well! I’ll get used to it. Oh my heck the ice cream in Albania is THE BEST! It’s called akullore. It is way good. And I’ve also had suflaqe (soo-flaw-chey) which is basically just a gyro, but better. It’s pretty good, but I’ve had better stuff as well. My companion, Elder Tracy, likes to cook so we have good food when we get home, too.
So as far as understanding Albanians. . . .I’m pretty much kot (useless/worthless). It is so dang hard to understand them! But I’m getting better. Our first night, me and Motra went street contacting with the Assistants and after awhile they were like, “Okay you guys go try one by yourselves!” So we stopped this guy and he was looking at our pass along card and he kept asking us this question and neither one of us could understand him worth beans so eventually I was just like, “Uh. . . .po.” (Po means yes by the way.) And we gave him a card and he gave us his number! Shume Mire! (Very good) So yeah it’s going to take me a while to get to where I can actually communicate effectively in the language. But don’t worry, I’ll get it.
Oh man I’m excited for the newsletter! I love that testimony book and I love hearing from all of them. It’s way cool to see how everybody’s doing. Make sure you let me know the next time I need to write a paragraph for them. Right now I just want to tell them to BE OBEDIENT! That’s pretty much the best advice I could give as of right now, but let me know when I can write them. =)
You know, I’ve only been here for like 5 days, but I can already tell two things: 1) This is going to be freaking hard. In lots of ways. 2) This is going to be the most amazing thing ever! I can already tell that I’m going to have so much fun and have amazing experiences! We’ve taught a couple lessons already and it’s just amazing how much of a change it is from walking down the streets where horns are constantly honking and music is consistently blaring to sitting down with somebody and teaching them about the gospel. You can really feel the Spirit come in when you’re teaching. It’s such an amazing feeling and I can’t wait to feel that for the next two years as I teach the people of Albania. I’m so excited! I really didn’t think I was going to be this excited, but I just want to do everything I can while I have this time here. I want to be able to look back on my mission and not have any regrets. I want to serve the Lord. He has given us everything and now I can give him something back.
I love you guys and thank you for your constant support. You are amazing! Miss you! See you soon!
-Elder Swenson
Hey dad!
Sorry I don't have much time. I kind of write both you and mom in mom's e-mails ha ha. But I just wanted to thank you for your e-mail and for your prayers. I've been doing really well so far.
Yeah my Mission President is a really nice guy. He's going to be great to get to know while I'm here serving. He will be a great support on the mission. He has definitely been called of God to lead the missionary efforts in Albania. He's a great guy. And I will ask him in my e-mail this week about the picture thing. Speaking of pictures, I will send them next week because I don't have what I need to send them as of right now, but I will next week for sure. Sorry about that! But yeah, hopefully they will give you a little bit of a taste of what Albania is like!
Anyway, I've gotta go! I will talk to you next week! I hope you're doing well. I hope work is doing alright and you're happy. Do what
Billy says and "Keep the Faith" =)
Love,
-Elder Swenson
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