IKA [I left]

...I am leaving...the country...to GJAKOVA in KOSOVE. Just when it started warming up...just when I thought that I could understand people pretty well...

Basically there are two dialects: tosk and gheg. The people in Kosovë speak gheg and people in Albania can't even understand them...oh good that's good...so Elder Xhonej gave me gheg notes and basically all the crucial words are now different words entirely woo. haha hey ya know starting over is good. Also starting winter over. Except they actually have winter up there. All the funny tidbits aside, I am excited to serve in Kosovë with Motren Grigg. 

It was weird saying goodbye to people all weekend. Everyone knows that you get to love the people you serve, but it is really a fantastic blessing. I find myself contacting people in the street and sincerely being able to talk to them like they are a good friend and to sincerely care for what happens to them. Please, please listen and let yourself find this happiness. Let your heart accept this message. Let it accept Christ into your life.

There was this one older man the other day who basically said that he doesn't believe in anything he can't see. He was all alone, his wife had died a couple years earlier. He was such a cute little grandpa and I couldn't help get a little emotional when I told him that families are for eternity. We were never meant to be alone. We aren't now. Even if we have no one on Earth, we have people in Heaven looking down on us. No we cannot see those that have died. No we can't see up into Heaven. But they are there. If we could see how many angels are surrounding us we would be amazed. I believe in angels. I believe in God. I believe in Jesus Christ. I have never seen them. That's faith. Ya it's crazy to just believe. That's why we have an invitation. We invite people to know for themselves, to just ask God by praying. It's really a simple thing. That's why I am here. This is the message. Kaq. 

Motra Hegërd

Family Koçillari with me and Cox

Blerina

Anxhela and Rei bebe rei

It Snowed Again! Jan. 16, 2017

It snowed again! And yes it is still fun even though it means that the water will stay frozen...so we lived out of bottled water, yes those showers with a bucket that we warmed up on the stove...it was a fun, cold, cold experience. On Friday, I swear I have never loved the sound of the flush of the toilet so much-the water's back. MIRACLE. I love water.

So in the center of Durres, meaning a big open space full of people...it had just snowed...and I decided to step on the metal part of the ground. It was fun and slippery...until I fell...literally I got up and all the nënas in the center had their hands up covering their mouths haha I motioned that I was fine...just a little wet...GRACE

For Christmas I bought myself a lovely albanian style sweatshirt. It's so soft and so classic albanian XD. So sometimes you'll be walking and see someone wearing a shirt that has English on it, you'll read it over and over, and nope it doesn't make sense. So when I saw the teddy bear sweatshirt- waitny for you waitiny, couldn't resist. Thanks mom and dad haha :) BEAUTY

Motra Risk said that this week was full of Miss Congeniality moments- what's that quote from it? Beauty and Grace, she's Miss United States? yup I agree.

You know we are really lucky here. When we get rejected sometimes we also get a candy. Literally these people are soooo <3 can't even describe. I have so many goals of how I can be an Albanian nëna when I come home. "No we are not interested but hold on a second and let me get a caramel for you."

I think one thing I have gotten better at is not getting flustered when people want to tell us that we are wrong. It's not like we have to come up with a "right answer" or we lose. Like hey this is what I have done, I have prayed about it, and I got my answer. If you know for yourself it doesn't matter what people say because I'm not rooted in things (if that makes sense), I'm rooted in what I have felt-for myself. It's not my job to convince people because I can't. The Spirit can. If we have an open heart we can feel the Spirit, we can feel the truth. That's a thing that doesn't really make sense, but then it does. Nobody can tell you what you feel. It is something totally individual. Like everything else in this gospel. One by one. One on one, Heavenly Father talks to us. Feel that. ah love it <3 

Motra Hegërd

Familja Ime Jan. 23, 2017

As I have been on my mission I have really developed a hunger to read stories, from parents, grandparents, ancestors, everything. This week we looked at the Familja Ime pamphlets so we could help people start getting to know their families and find work to take the temple. On every page there is a spot to put that ancestor's story. I filled out the information and put in pictures, now I just need the stories. I love conversion stories. Cyrena Dustin, one of my ancestors was baptized in 1837. It's because of that companionship of elders that shared the gospel with her that I was raised in the church. How amazing is that?? There is a big picture. No we can't see it. Too bad. How cool would it be for you to see the impact your life could have on the world, on your kids, and their kids?

Helaman 5:6-7 ...Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first parents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were good. 7 Therefore, my sons, I would that ye should do that which is good, that it may be said of you, and also written, even as it has been said and written of them.

Hey some day we are going to be the old guys- weird but true. Hope that we can live up to it.

Motra Hegërd

Photos Durres Jan 16, 2017

k so the elevators here are really unforgiving...so it shut before Elder Schneider was in and ah no big deal we will open it back...nope...and we had 9 floors with poor Elder Cox hahahaha

tabling

Warming up the water to shower

Becca said I could post the one picture out of this group that looked good. I think she must mean this one.  Cute!

Waitiny!

Snow! Jan. 9, 2017

1 slab of chicken. Half a plate full of french fries. 2 sausages. 2 hunks of cheese. 1 hard-boiled egg. 4 cups of orange fanta. Sounds like a meal...and then she adds 6 pieces of pizza. Literally food just keeps appearing on our plates. 1 piece of Bakllava. And to take home: a mandarin and a cake thing...Thank you Albanian members for teaching us how to consume food. 

Learned a new word this week: Ngrij = to freeze

We got snow! And we ran in it for exercise. And didn't fall. First time in 7 years that Durres has had snow. :) Special for us. Yes it's very cold. So a day after the snow fell our water wasn't working...we thought that we hadn't paid or something until everyone in Durres had the same problem...except the elders. the elders have water. So Durres is not used to this cold so the water froze. Now we haven't had water for 3 days but it's all good because we have bottles of water. We warmed up water on the stove this morning so that we could shower in a bucket. Ha it's an adventure. 

And this week we gave our makinë to the missionaries in Korçë so that we can better appreciate what we have when we have it...Makinë and water. BUT let me quote a woman in our ward when she said "S'ka ftohtë që mund të jetë pengesë të Shpirtit" or basically that there is no cold that can block us from feeling the Spirit. Hoping the Spirit will keep us nice and warm this week :)

Motra Hagërd

a Facebook photo from a friend in Becca's ward - with SNOW!

Illegals Jan 2, 2017

So we had to go get our allowance [permit] to stay in the country. We went on Wednesday and we looked for 4 hours for this place that we have to go to. We finally found it and oh it just closed 10 minutes ago? oh great alright we will come back tomorrow. So we go back and Elder Cox starts doing the paperwork and now apparently he's missing documents (apparently missionaries keep going back and they keep being told that they are missing more documents still...) anyway great so we'll just come back then...but then the guy asks how long Elder Schneider and I have been in country without legal papers and he says that at 3 months we either have to pay a lot of money or get out of the country. It was 3 months on the dot...Literally everyone is thinking of how fast we can get to the border to get us out...holy cow I was freaking out. Then the guy after chewing us out realizes that we were American (I guess he figured we were all British because Cox is) and he's like oh stay stay you're Americans? hide. rri [stay]. haha and I'm proud to be an American cuz at least I know I...won't have to drive up to Kosovo today. whew. dodged a bullet. 

VIT Të MBARë! [Prosperous New Year]

New year's was soooo amazing ahhh it was the best firework show I have ever seen AND it was in the comfort of our apartment. Our neighbors were doing fireworks, people's balconies looked like they were on fire, fireworks were coming from all directions-beautiful. And because we had to be inside since 4 we got to watch movies! 

Starting off this year our mission has a goal of reading the whole Book of Mormon cover to cover in January. I'm trying to think of other goals that I should do. Usually our family do goals for each theme like spiritual goals, physical, social etc. It has always been hard for me to think of goals but we have had a couple of lessons for the start of the new year with members and how a new year is a new refocus on enduring to the end. We can't just endure. We actually have to change. 

Motra Hagërd/Hegërd (mom-idk having a midlife how my name is pronounced here crisis)