Tirana June 12, 2017

TIRANA. I'm in love with this city already. It's so big.PEOPLE. There are people all over, every time of the day (just a little thin at nani nani time). The later schedule is so good because there are seriously so many people out at 9-10 at night, it's crazy! EVERYWHERE. Ok so I dont know how big Tirana actually is but it's split up into 4 ward areas. We are in charge of two. Two areas! That means "we could take a bus and go for like an hour and still be in our area"-motra ollsen. AH. So different than Gjakova haha. HOT. Ok so definitely sunshine in my soul ;) We carry around 2L water bottles. It's hot. On foot, on bus. And it's even better on the bus because we're all hot and sweaty BUT we are all hot and sweaty TOGETHER! literally, stuck together! Another pair of shoes down...bummer.

Tender little mercies.

So I was studying the book of mormon, and I was reading in 3 Nefi about people who had seen all the signs come true about the coming of Jesus (like the star appearing) but then afterwards they began to forget the signs. It reminded me of that one scripture that said something like "how quick are people to forget the Lord" and I wanted to read it but I couldn't find it. I looked in the Bible dictionary and in True to the Faith to see if I could find it but didn't, so then I was just kinda flipping through the book and pop I opened to Helamani 12:2-3

2 Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people...sparing their lives, and delivering them out of the hands of their enemies...doing all things for the welfare and happiness of his people; yea, then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet the Holy One—yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity.
3 And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him.

How sad is this?? A goal for me: to always Remember Him. I mean the word always is pretty often...but for a start-recognizing more "hand of the Lord" things in my life. One-that I just "randomly" flipped to that scripture that I wanted to find. hmm. If you read randomly backwards it actually spells remember Him. nope. hey but you get what I'm trying to say. Remember Him in your life so that you will never come to a point in life that you find that you have forgotten Him. 

Because He will never forget us.

"wherever you are, whatever your circumstances may be, you are not forgotten. No matter how dark your days may seem, no matter how insignificant you may feel, no matter how overshadowed you think you may be, your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. In fact, He loves you with an infinite love."--Forget Me Not, Dieter F Uchtdorf

Also I'd add... and if you ever feel alone...come to albania and get on a bus. You don't even have to hold on to anything because the people on all sides of you, they got you. Hajde.

Motra Hegërd