sooo enjoy, love you all!!!
GOOD STUFF
Pogi is officially in the green zone which means we are allowed outside everyday until 9 now...so we are pretty much back to the normal missionary life here! Yay! President Anderson came this week for a priesthood training and told us we needed to fill up the font. That had us superrr stressed out especially because most of our interaction with people has only been through messaging. Later that day, we finally got to meet with the Mingo family!! When we got near their house they saw us outside of the window and screamed with excitement! They yelled, "Motrat" which means "the sisters". Then they ran out and gave us the BEST hugs it was so precious. They just ran into our arms and held us. AHHH I missed them! We went into the lesson assuming that they had forgotten everything we had taught them, but they remembered it all and were so excited to have a new baptisimal date. We invited them to keep praying and reading and to send us a message when they had completed them. To our surprise, we got the cutest videos of them reading and praying. Their muslim neighbors layed out their prayer rugs and sent a video of them praying as well. It was ADORABLE. Through this whole quarantine thing, I was really worried about all of the families that we hadn't been able to reach. As a companionship we would pray and pray for them to remember! I am grateful that Heavenly Father was watching out for the Mingos during this time and that He allowed them to remember what we had taught. He has a plan for them!
Before the quarantine we finally got a family to come to church 2 solid weeks in a row. It was a miracle!!! Anxhelina, the Mom, participated in one of our zoom calls on Sunday and then invited us to come to her house to do a lesson. Her mother in law, Xhuli, and her were home and he husband, Genti, was at work. We did a resoration lesson. Usually Anxhelina is super distracted and occupied with her two little girls and doesnt really participate in lessons. BUT THIS TIME she was so into it!! Xhuli was asking questions that clearly proved she had been reading the Book of Mormon, and they are SO excited to come to church on Sunday. IT FELT SO GOOD to be able to go out again and see everyone again!
RANDOM STUFF
We got invited to a surprise Birthday Party! We didnt know it was going to be a party, but when we got there we were shoved into a room with tons of little girls. We felt a little out of place, but it was cute! It's Albanian trafition that every five years you throw a party for someone's birthday. Geraldina was turning 15 so it was a big one. When she walked in she was soooo happy. Her teacher even came. It was cute.
There are two nënës named Dituria and Flutera that live outside of the senior couples old house. We have gotten really close with them since we pass by them multiple times a day. They sit down on the rock wall and knit little socks and hats. We started talking to them for a while and Flutera started showing us some bumps on her fingers that were hurting her so I told her I had an oil that could maybe help her out a little bit. I ran and grabbed the oil with some paper towels that she could use to wrap around her fingers and she was soooo happy. I came back about two hours later and she was still seated on the little rock wall. She motioned for me to come over and i could immediatly smell the oil so strongly. Coughing, she told me the oil was too strong. Half of it was gone from the container. Then she said she drank it. I kept my laughter in. I felt soooo bad. That poor nënë!!
SPIRITUAL STUFF
Now that this whole quarantine thing is almost over with here in Pogradec, I've been able to reflect on how grateful I am to be a missionary and to be doing the Lord's work. I am grateful for all the miracles that have taken place and for the opportunity I've had to see missionary work from a new perspective. I think when hard times come, or even just changes in life, our blindfolds are taken off and we begin to think about the things we wish we would have done better, or we begin adding up our regrets. The hard times sometimes allow us to see more clear what matters most. However, we should not need a natural disaster or other crisis to remind us of what matters most. The gospel and the Lord's Plan of Happiness and Salvation should be out reminders. What matters most is what lasts longest, and our families are worth eternity!! So, work on eternity!
Love you all,
Motra Mann
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