There and Back Again: A Missionary's Tale

4 August 2014

Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you so much for your email! And thank you so much for your package! It was nice to finally get it! Thank you so much for everything that was inside! I celebrated it's opening by making peanut butter bars. They don't have graham crackers here, but we substituted with what we had available. They didn't turn out exactly like them, but they were pretty close in taste. It was like a piece of home. Thank you so much for sending that package again. It's also very nice to see an American flag as well. So thank you for sending that package, again!

That's great that Mirtha and Genesis are moved into their new home. I bet it was really nice to have them stay at the house for a while and get to know them, but I know that they will be better off together as a family. If they live in Crystal, will they be going to Church at the Minneapolis Stake Center? The one at the top of the hill? How's Phil doing? I haven't heard a whole lot about him recently. How's work going for him? What job specifically is he doing at the plant?

I can't remember if I had weekend homework in middle school. I know that I didn't have nearly as much homework as Rachel did when I was in school. Wow, I can believe that Rachel had someone like that at the orthodontist! {Rachel had a rude assistant who made fun of her when her mouth hurt.} That's horrible! I hope it doesn't happen again! That's a sweet lego set! {Mom found Dad a Mini Cooper Lego set as he used to drive a Cooper.} The other day, I saw an original Mini Cooper here in Prishtina this last week! It sounds awesome that everything is getting closer with "The Project". {A small cabin/shed that we started working on about 8 years ago! It was supposed to be a learning experience for Jacob, but he lost interest in it. Now, Rachel will have to take over.} It'll be interesting to see how the place has changed over time.

So today for P-day we stuck around Prishtina. I have had a cough for a couple days, and a couple other missionaries started getting sick about the same time as me. We're not completely recovered yet, so today we had a movie day. We went to the Church and we got to watch Ephraim's Rescue. We ordered a pizza and just kinda' chilled out today. It was a nice relaxed day.

Yeah, I know Elder Gunther. {He is a friend of Elder Crook's who is serving in the Princeton, MN, Ward right now.} He was actually trained here in Prishtina! I haven't talked to him a whole lot, so I don't know him very well. Elder Clawson knows him a lot better. Yeah, Elder Clawson is back in my district! It's super nice to see him again! It's really nice to catch up on his experiences. Elder Roberts is an amazing missionary! Elder Roberts has been in Prishtina for most of his mission. He was born here and now this is his third time serving here. He only has two months left, so when he leaves, he will have been in Prishtina for nine months of his mission! Right before coming to Prishtina, he was serving in Tirana as one of the Assistants to the President. So Elder Roberts is a very obedient and hard working missionary. He also knows how to have a ton of fun with the work. He has a great understanding of how a mission works. He is super motivated to set Prishtina on fire in his last transfer. I have a lot that I can learn from him, and I'm super excited for that opportunity! We've already seen the work start to pick up here already!

For example, in Prishtina this next Saturday we have a baptismal service set up. Nope, it's not for one new convert or even two. It's for five! We have five people getting baptized on Saturday, August 9! Everyone here is super excited! There is a family of three (Xhevat, Mexhide, and Lindite) and another young man (Suad) being taught by Elder Clawson and Elder Price, and Elder Roberts and I have one investigator (Hazir) will be baptized as well. Hazir actually asked me to baptize him! So on Saturday, I'll actually be baptizing my first person on my mission. It will be awesome to baptize someone in Albanian as well! As the district leader in Prishtina, I also had the opportunity to perform the baptismal interviews for those being baptized. It was a very humbling experience to hear their testimonies and see that they had a change of heart. They have really been changed by the Gospel and they really have a strong desire to be baptized. It was such a spiritual experience for me to be in those interviews. I felt the Spirit so strong! And it was a testimony to me of the truthfulness of this work. I know that the Book of Mormon is true and the message that it contains is for us in our day. I know that we can learn so many important things from the Book of Mormon daily, and if we apply those things, we can improve and become better people. We will truly be happier in our lives if we follow the teachings of the Book of Mormon. When we come to know the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, we want to follow Jesus Christ and follow his example of baptism. It's so wonderful that Prishtina will be having so many baptisms next week. I know that the Gospel has truly helped them, and it will truly help anyone else that has a sincere desire to learn.

Thank you so very much for your email and the love that you send to me every week! Thank you again for everything!

Zoti ju qoftë. Zoti ju bekoftë. Javë të mbarë!

Love,

Elder Uacën