23 November 2015

Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you so much for keeping in touch every week, I really enjoy hearing about what is going on back at home. Sorry, I don't have a whole lot of time to email today, so I'll try to write as much as possible in the time that I have. We had a pretty busy P-day today. We were busy preparing for the Thanksgiving Mission Conference that'll be this Thursday. I'm super excited. I'll show you more about the skit we'll do soon. This week was pretty good. The temperature has dropped quite a bit and snow is falling in the mountains. I love the look of snow on the mountains!! I'm so excited to see snow again! Hopefully in the next couple of weeks snow will start falling here. It's nothing like back home, I've heard, but they still get a decent amount here in Gjakova. We had a pretty big windstorm that came through Gjakova this weekend and it caused a bit of damage. We're fine and the members are fine too. It was super noisy though. All night our windows were howling like crazy. It got so bad that I spent about half an hour duct-taping them so they'd be quiet. It muffled the noise quite a bit. The handyman's secret weapon! {Red Green would be so proud!} When we went out the next day, there were so many leaves and lots of debris everywhere. Tons of windows on shops were broken. We didn't have power through Church, so that was a little interesting. Haha, what can you do?

Elder Harline is super awesome with the language! He speaks super well for only knowing Albanian for a couple months! He's from Lindon, UT, and he's fresh out of high school. It's so weird that he graduated this last summer. I was in Gjakova when he graduated. Woah, I feel old saying that. Charmander is a super solid investigator. He's accepted all of the commitments we've given to him and he's progressing to his baptismal date; however, the biggest problem we're facing is finding a way to baptize him by immersion without dousing his tail, he is fire type you know. We know he'll do well with the baptism by fire, but we're a little worried about the baptism by water... 

We'll go down to Tirana on Thursday for Thanksgiving and for my birthday, we'll probably just do a special lunch with the district and that'll be about it. It falls on a Sunday, so we'll also have Church. Hopefully the Sisters will enjoy my birthday for me. Haha. You'll have to send me pictures of them eating my cake and opening my presents. Haha. {The Princeton Ward Sisters will celebrate Jacob's birthday with his family this year.} I was looking forward to going out with the Elders when I got back, but I guess I'll have to wait a bit. 

So this past transfer I've been studying a ton about the Restoration of the Gospel and about the Prophet Joseph Smith. I came across one of his quotes that I absolutely love! I'll share it with you:

"The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done."

I really love this quote and the desire it gives me to devote myself to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I love serving as a missionary and I love serving the Lord! Things are going great here in Gjakova. Say hello to everyone at family Thanksgiving. Also tell Grandma Hawkins happy birthday for me. I didn't forget, I just forgot during our email time, but I wished her a happy birthday. Elder Harline is my witness.

Ju dua shumë. Kalofshi mirë!

Me dashuri,

Elder Watson