Gëzuar Krishtlindjet! 12/18/2017

We made a make-shift tree for our new house because we have no money haha so black yarn in a corner of the room in a zig zag to make a tree if you can imagine it. then sticky note ornaments. if you shine the flashlight through our pink soap suspenser then it has a red tint lighting. classic.

We spent saturday setting up the Durres church with lights. in the rain. Fun thing about that is--when you put up lights in the rain they sometimes shock you. qejf. also we decorated baby palm trees so by the end our hands looked diseased...little red dots everywhere. pokey. but hey the church is pretty! lots of lights :)

Someone asked me this week what my favorite part of a mission is: I love talking to random people. I love it. You like don't realize how many people just will talk to you about their lives. Even if they aren't interested in your message all the time, at least you took time to talk to someone about their family. This is something you don't have to be a missionary to do. I can't wait to talk to people. Ya know, not be a turtle. I have been a turtle. I'm super shy. I don't really talk to people haha until we are friends...ya well there's a cooler way to live. I love people. I love their stories. And I think people like it when people around them realize they are there. Christmas is love. Let's share it :)

Ndriçoje Botën!  [Light the World!]

25 Days, 25 Ways

Motra Hegërd

Celebrate Christmas! Dec. 11, 2017

We moved into our own house this week. That's kinda fun. It was weird. We like went to the store and bought...everything...$$$

We continue to find find find. Lots of hours of tracting!! I like it. It reminds me of Gjakova. That's where we did a lot of finding and where I learned to love it.  

We helped a family decorate their Christmas tree <3 aw almost like family.

Do a lot with your families. Celebrate Christmas :) Gëzuar!

Photos from Tirana 12/13/2017

New Companions and Candy!

25 days 25 ways! Dec. 4, 2017

Day 1: For the kick off day all the tirana missionaries went to a retirement home. It was soooo fun! I loooove just talking to cute old people. Then we sang Christmas carols :) Then we went back the next day just to talk to somebody about doing this as a ward and one of the ladies yelled out "the girls came back!!!" haha adorable <3

Day 2: Honor your parents! I love them so much. We went to a young family's home and we all wrote little letters to our parents. Man I miss you, love you, so grateful for you :)

Day 3: Worship by going to church. Well we did that. check.

What a fun month! Can't wait to see what other ideas we come up with!

Ok so there's this one apartment building. Everytime we go we have a lesson with someone there. It happened 2 times with Motren Godfrey and I told Motres Christensen about it as we came up to it. So we go and do some tracting there and we set up a lesson with someone for another day and then we kind of had to leave so we left and then when we were walking down the hill, we felt like we had to go back. So we went back and...boom we got in and did a lesson! The legend lived on.

Then we went back to do that lesson that we had planned. It didn't happen. So we tracted some more and then---(all week we have been practicing to do a Restoration lesson in 2-4 minutes) and we did it at a door! THE LEGEND lives on :) haha what a fun pallat.

Motra Hegërd

LIGHT THE WORLD Nov. 27, 2017

Also LIGHT THE WORLD! Watch the video!

https://www.mormon.org/?cid=HP_FR_24-11-2017_dMIS_fMORG_xLIDyL1-A_

Ya, we aren't in Vlore THANKSGIVING Nov. 27, 2017

So we are actually still in Tirana. Now we are just in the 1st ward. So Motra Christensen or Krishqënsën is from Washington, right out of high school, SHE is so cute. Man, she's like excited about everything. And, before we knew who were our companions, we had a meeting with the trainors and new missionaries and President like called me out on doing SYL (speak your language, meaning speak albanian) and asked how I love the language. nice prez. don't scare them. haha.

Ok little little thing about albanians: they care a lot about you...they will care you to death.

So we are 4 sisters living in one house now and so we have 2 umbrellas. We left before the other sisters so I was like well they can have the umbrellas...one hour later when we arrive at choir practice we are soaking wet. Soaking. Somewhere in the middle of choir the nena behind me like stands up and announces to the whole choir (all tirana and durres missionaries plus members) that Motra Hegerd is wet...then all of a sudden it seemed like i had a group of albanian women surrounding me and stripping me down...so they took off my cardigans which were soaked then a little vest sweater was put on me, and a jacket, and a scarf....wish we had that on video...then she like is ringing out my dress...after choir she pulls me aside, threatens the APs to drive us home and almost pulls out the free give away clothes to dress me up...we left quickly. oooh brother. haha

Do shkoj ku ti do qe te shkoj o Zot. kaq. [I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go Dear Lord..So]

Motra Hegërd

How to Eat an Elephant Nov. 20, 2017

So transfers----We are going to open up Vlorë again! I don't know my companion yet because she'll get off the plane on Wednesday!! Ahh how exciting! A fringo and a me-starting with nothing! I started planning our goals for this week. Looking at the people we will be working with...blank page. Scary.

I'm going to steal this that my grandma sent me this week: 

"I’ve been told that we can eat an elephant if we eat it one bite at a time. 

And I think that we can  follow the Savior if we take it one step at a time."

A lot of times I get so scared of the big things we have to do. Man there's a lot. But how nice that we really only have to take one step at a time. Lead Kindly Light became my favorite hymn the first week of the MTC when we had choir. I finally understood the meaning-

Lead kindly light-amid th’encircling gloom;

Lead thou me on!

The night is dark, and I am far from home;

Lead thou me on!

Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see

The distant scene—one step enough for me

It's hard to be able to say that-only one step to see is enough for me. We want to see the whole picture. Bummer. But I think it's better. So if you saw the whole mountain that you're supposed to climb, we automatically get tired looking at it. But if it's only one step. Ok I can do that. Then you do. Just keep going. One more step. Just one more. Then before you know it, you're at the top!

So then as I'm thinking of the big work we have to do in Vlorë, I just thought ok wait. All we have to do is work. Just get there and work. Easy enough. I know how to do that. All is well :) I'm super excited! Here we go!!

Motra Hegërd

Parable of the Piano Nov. 13, 2017

ok well bummer another quick one...working on the skits for Thanksgiving...

There's a talk that compares the Atonement to a student learning to play the piano. Love it. I really understand it better. So your mom pays for the piano lessons and asks you to practice. You can practice all you want and obey your mother but that doesn't pay her back. but that is what she asks. wow i remember not practicing piano...sorry mom. And then will you make mistakes? yes. So does the teacher say well I guess that's it, you're done for, quit now? um no...she says keep practicing. ok you made a mistake. get better. you will still make mistakes. but the important part is that you keep practicing. THE PIANO DOES NOT HATE THE STUDENT THAT MAKES MISTAKES. So were you supposed to have a perfect showcase? Maybe the teacher is a little disappointed, maybe frustrated when you can't get it right. ya well so are you. so then what do you do? give up. yep. NOOO! You keep stinkin' practicing. And your mom and the piano teacher still love you. 

So even when we make mistakes we can always keep trying to become better. We will never be too far to feel God's love. :)

Motra Hegerd

Motra Godfrey's blog Nov. 6, 2018

I tried to steal Motra Haggard's weekly email so I wouldn't have to write one..but she didn't want to write one either so it was 2 sentences and I thought if I sent that Mom would send me a hate letter. So here I am..This week was so good! For reals, we had so much fun. There isn't much of anything new..but Gerta is still making my life happy. She is doing so great and will be ready for baptism in 2 weeks. If you ever doubt miracles, remember Gerta. She means everything to Moq Haggard and I. We had a Halloween party with our ward Monday night and it was classic. I wish you could all see Albanian parties. Motra Haggard made like...a lot of caramel for caramel apples..but the Albanians were confused because they don't have that type of thing here and so this bowl of caramel just sat out untouched for an hour. Then, one of the Relief Society members came up to me and said:

"What is that?" *points at caramel "It's Caramel" "Who made it?" "Motra Haggard..it's for apples." "Look at it. No one wants it. It is just sitting there and it looks sad. Take it away." 

So...we had to take the caramel away. Motra Haggard still feels salty about it. 

Our friends Anamaria and her mom came to church yesterday and it was the best surprise ever! When I first met Anamaria, I bonded with her by discussing One Direction and she bought me a One Direction notebook. It was a beautiful thing. I love her and I am so excited for her to continue to progress. Besides that, not much is new. 

In the words of Motra Haggard: "(Spmetimes) life is like when you are holding your laundry and a sock falls and you go to pick it up and 2 more fall and eventually everything's on the floor. But it's ok because I love the smell of laundry and I'd probably just sleep in it. So basically when life goes wrong, smell the socks."

Life can be hard but we can always have hope for a better tomorrow..with faith in Christ, we are promised an eternity of happy days. I love the Lord..and I am so grateful for Him each day. 

I love Albania and those I am privileged to serve. Have a good week!

Love you!

1. Motra Haggard doesn't like chunky yogurt..so we have to strain it so it has no fruit lumps in it.

2. If you can guess how many bugs we had to kill at church I will send you the video of it in action.

3. I don't know why it is blue..but this is Lejda..she is my homie.

4. A blasphemous picture we found while tracting.

5. Relief Society Activity

My Life is Like... Nov. 6, 2017

My life is like when you are holding your laundry and a sock falls and you go to pick it up and 2 more fall and eventually everything's on the floor. But it's ok because I love the smell of laundry and I'd probably just sleep in it. So basically when life goes wrong, smell the socks. have a great week.

[Mom comment:  We think she means clean laundry smells good.  By the way, Becca can identify people by the way their laundry smells..so be aware!]

Praying in English Oct. 30

Let me just start by quoting a prayer...that I had to give in english...

-We pray for the Rome temple...that it will be speedy built...

-Please bless family Roberts...

-...for the ability to be here...(that one doesn't seem wrong to me...but these are the endless quotes that i hear from the missionaries that were at that dinner last night)

Well whadayoudo. Praying in english was probably the hardest thing of the week.

So this girl walked into the church on Tuesday. So when she was 9, she remembers missionaries teaching her family. That's 20 years ago. What? And then she found the church. She has so many questions. I love her! The most impressive thing is that she has said well there are just a couple things in my church that I don't know if I feel totally right with it (the doctrines). Then she said that her pastor told her it is because she just doesn't have enough faith yet. But the only way that we can know is-prayer. Then we will know. Having questions doesn't mean that we don't have faith. It's great. Because then we are open to receiving answers. And we can get them straight from God. From no one other. SO here are some questions that I've had to answer in my life:

Does Heavenly Father love me?

Is the Book of Mormon true?

Why was I called to serve a mission here?

These are pretty simple, but I'm pretty sure I have asked them over and over and over. It's almost like a constant dependence on knowing that God is there. Some people think that that dependence makes you weak. The problem is that everyone needs Him, just not everyone is willing to ask for His help. I know I am pretty proud. I don't like asking for people's help. That's something I'm working on. But I think I've learned that you can think that you're doing it all alone and that you're working your own success out, until you lose all that success and then you're left begging for help. In that moment you realize that you need God. It's really a humbling relationship. But I know that it is an actual relationship. And that it's a relationship with a god, who is actually a father. Out of all the names that belongs to Deity, He has asked us to call Him- Father :) He has asked Us to call Him, to call upon Him in prayer. Zoti vonon, por nuk harron.

Motra Haggard