Last Suflaqe Feb. 12, 2018

Ate my last sufllaqe today. Tears were almost shed. Ha.

Ok so this is the last email I will send as Motra Hegërd. Gjynah. It's such a better spelling too.

This is where I've seen a lot of missionaries with a list of all the things they've learned on their missions. It's weird because I feel like I've been here for ages but then at the same time...woah...going home this week. SO the list that I have is all the BIG Scriptures for me during this time. In each one, I learned a lesson, or got peace. At all the ups and downs and questions, through the scriptures is where I get the "Ah-ha! I get it now". or the "oh...yep you're right" It's a very cool gift that we have, the ability to receive an answer from a God who listens to our concerns. What a miracle. But I would say out of all of the scriptures that have touched me, the phrase I love the most is..."and I shall heal them". This is what Christ does. This is what He offers us.

3 Nephi 18:32

Nevertheless, ye shall not cast him out of your synagogues, or your places of worship, for unto such shall ye continue to minister; for ye know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal them; and ye shall be the means of bringing salvation unto them.

3 Nephi 17:7,9-10

Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy.

Christ HEALS. even when we don't feel like we aren't even broken. That is the miracle of a mission. We testify of Christ. of Him and what He did and what He does now. We also testify of what people can become because of Him. This is why we have a Savior! So that people, so that we can...(and this is where we come in). Let us never stop discovering what we can do because of Christ! 

Love love :)

Motra Hegërd

Loving Life Feb. 5, 2018

Loving life. These past weeks I've really been studying the Fall and the Atonement. Wow it's weird that we think that we understand something and then someone asks you a question about it and you're like..huh I've never even thought about that before. It was super cool. Eva, a girl we are teaching, is like the contact in the road you always wanted more time to talk to. Let me explain...sometimes there are people in the road that totally believe differently than you, they tell you that, but then they walk away before you even get to explain what you believe. Eva is like that! Except she gives us time to show her! It's cool because-she has cool questions so then I have cool questions to study! So why would God have wanted/been part of His plan for Adam and Eve to fall? Why would He want to give them death, sadness, and sickness? Would a loving God do that? 

ok so i went to lds.org to go to the book of mormon and i got distracted...

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/mormon-messages-2018?cid=HP_WE_31-1-2018_dPFD_fMLIB_xLIDyL1-C_&lang=eng

WOAH talk about questions and how to find answers to questions. First of all I definitely enjoyed how çuditshëm this was...interesting haha but the message in the end. We all can be understanding something and believe we are right, maybe we are not necessarily wrong but there is One who sees the whole picture. The truth of God is the light that we need to see clearly. We have to trust in Him who sees because sometimes, because we are human, we are blind.

so then I guess the "answer" is that God knows. Sometimes we have to trust that He knows what He's doing. Trust.

Isaiah 59:10
We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men. 


Matthew 15:31
Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.

We don't have to wonder or wander if we let the light lead us. Lead Kindly Light <3

Love

Motra Hegërd

This is happiness people :) BUZëQESHNI Jan. 29, 2018

I'm sooooo sorry. We went to Berat last Pday and I was a little confused about the email situation and thought we were going to be able to do it some more...then we didn't...im sorry :/

Ok let's tell you a little bit about the amazing human that I get to serve with :) We were just talking about the first weekend we were together and she was telling me how scary it was when we talked to everyone on the road. (it didn't seem like that to me because she was doing just that-talking to everyone) I think it was really important that we did that, a solid "scary" amount of time finding at the very beginning so then it wasn't a scary part of missionary work anymore. We love it :) Talking with everyone becomes fun when you just think of everyone as your new best friend haha and then you share with your new best friend what makes you happy :)

In the Book of Mormon, we read about when Jesus Christ, after His resurrection, came to the Americas and blessed the people there, one by one. He is still blessing people today. Some people ask where God is, but we just have to do more than ask. We have to seek Him out. He stands at the door and knocks. What a beautiful picture  (that one with Christ at the door, waiting). We can read about Christ blessing others, and then we can have those blessings in our lives if we, like those in the Bible and the Book of Mormon, Go to Him in faith and let him heal us. 

This is happiness people :) BUZëQESHNI

love

Motra Hegërd

You haven't had a goat brain?! Jan. 15, 2018

Quote of the week from an appalled Majlinda: "you haven't had a goat brain?! how old are you?!"...well watch out for the next couple weeks because something just got added to my bucketlist :)

This week has been so great and so busy. First of all-Romina. She called us on monday and was like hey I got a card and I want to meet (turns out we gave her an "its christmas come to church" flier) So we meet. This is the second person on my mission who has called us off of a card with our number on it. Miracle right there haha. But then at Zone Conference we were challenged to use members with us more in lessons. So we did. And it was so cool because then when Romina didn't feel super comfortable praying, Anita, a convert of about a year, was like ya i get you. Then she had friends immediately when she came to church and didn't hang out with us the missionaries. BLESSED.

Majlinda-So basically she's given up on her "happy ever after" but I have not!!! She deserves it! So we challenged her to do what ever it takes, pray, fast, read, talk with your Heavenly Father and get up the courage to change your situation! Change your life! She's already doing it. She has changed so much and grown and developed her faith. It is really the coolest thing to be able to be a part of. 

I know that people can change! We just have to trust God that He knows how we can be happy. If we just have that trust in Him, and if we have the courage to act on it, to follow Him, He shall direct us for good! It's really a blessing to be His missionary. To be able to be directed, to be able to feel the Spirit guiding this work. What a blessing! 

For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Isaiah 55:12

Go out and have joy! What a happy missionary scripture :)

Love 

Motra Hegërd

Wisdom Teeth Miracle Jan. 8, 2018

Majlinda is doing well. She is stopping smoking right now and working for the 17 of February to be baptized. So get this. We need to stop smoking right? So all of a sudden she has to get a wisdom tooth out. So she can't smoke for this whole week. A miracle no? :)

The cool thing to see with her, is a person changing because of the Book of Mormon. She reads it, studies it, loves it, and then finds what she has to change because of it. She is amazing. :) Gati? So she read a chapter of the Book of Mormon and read this verse about idol worship and she was like so when I read this I suddenly understood that a cross can be an idol. I used to think that I couldn't pray without it. But I bought this. Someone made money off this. I don't need to hold this to talk to God. It was a super simple principle, but she learned it because the Spirit teaches us when we read. It is SOOO cool to see her changing because she is reading the Book of Mormon.

People change. That is the coolest thing that you learn about yourself and others when you are on your mission. I don't know how much I've changed. But i know for sure that I can't think a lot about "normal life" too weird. It has been a lot of time here. What a blessing. I used to think missions were just for the people who "don't know". There's a lot more people out there that have a need for you in their life. We can be angels in peoples' paths! Not just missionaries. Anyone who wants to care :)

Love

Motra Hegërd

One Thing Is Needful Jan. 2, 2018

Motra Christensen and I are now over the first and third wards in Tirana. Taking over the other sisters' area. We are looking forward to a busy transfer. 

Motra Godfrey finished her mission. To be poetic: Godfrey taught me how to dance in the rain <3 Bye buddy. Ishalla me një fat të mirë.  [Mom comment: Hopefully you will have good luck - something like that.]

Majlinda, the investigator who left after the baptism fiasco, came back. Ready? So she said after she left, the whole day she felt like she was hearing the Spirit tell her that she needs to continue learning with us. And she felt so bad. So she was praying hard for forgiveness. Then she said that she just felt this peace, that she was forgiven. She got her answer. She said that she's not looking for that sign now. She doesn't need to see a sign. Not anymore. And everything that happened on Monday had to have happened so that she would leave, so that she would get her answer. She came to church on Sunday.  She is finding her faith and it is really cool to see! Now we are going to stop smoking. Here in comes the power of God. :) You never know why things happen. It's a good thing God does.

"The Atonement will carry the missionaries perhaps even more importantly than it will carry the investigators."  (Missionary Work and the Atonement by Elder Holland aka the BEST talk EVER) So I have really had a cool past transfer, really thinking about what I'm doing here. It's been kind of hard when you think of what the "good" missionaries do, ya know what you are supposed to be doing here. And when you don't have all that success, you begin to wonder why. Why don't we have success? What am I doing wrong? Then you start feeling like an awful person, like a failure. This is why a mission is hard. But this is also something that you don't have to feel. I think I just kind of got to a point this transfer when I decided you know what? I don't want to be depressed right now. Everything just fell through. Everything is my fault. But I don't want to be sad anymore. Then I read in the Bible, Luke 10:40 - 41 "And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her." Then it hits, ok ya ya I get it, ok I'm worried and troubled about everything. But there is only one thing that cannot be taken away from me. Investigators will leave, members will leave, things will not go as planned, but Christ will not leave. So if we take our own advice, to build our foundation upon Christ, then we won't fall, we won't get sad, when everything around us fails. So I obviously need to change my focus. Of course we are going to keep working hard, of course we want to find success in helping people come unto Christ, but my goal for this transfer is to know my Savior. So then at the end of the transfer I can see success. I will measure my work on how I have come to Him. :)

Love,

Motra Hegërd

Christmas Day Dec. 25, 2017

So this has been a great week, full of miracles and lights and Christmas. 

Majlinda.  so we found her last monday. She is totally searching for the truth. She hasn't been baptized yet because she wants to really feel it. She says that she feels so good when we come over and she loves the scriptures, really reads and studies and understands them. We met her off the bus the other day and right away she whips out her Book of Mormon and shows me a scripture that she loved about baptism. Then she asks ok give me more scriptures to read. ok will do. amazing.

[Mom comment: Becca explained a sad moment after church which heavily discouraged Majlinda.  She doesn't want to come back.  The sisters talked to her and invited her to a baptism later that day.]

Sunday night; we go over to the Capi's house (members) because their 8 year old is getting baptized on Christmas. The 2 year old has a fever but we have a good lesson then when we end it...the mom shoots up on her feet, the baby's choking, he's suffocating, and they can't fix it. They take him in the other room, everyone is hysterically crying and freaking out. They keep saying "u shkeput u shkeput" which means he's gone he's gone. We are standing there not knowing at all what to do. Holy cow it was so scary. Seeing the mom was probably the worst part. She thought that her baby son was dying. She was so pale I thought she was going to faint. Then they take him downstairs to the neighbor, we basically are just standing outside with the 2 little girls and are hearing the panic but not seeing anything. So we decide to say a little prayer with the girls. The 8 year old gets down on her knees and asks me to say it. Shaky. ok like 3 minutes later-he's stable, he's ok he's ok. They take him to the hospital. Whew. That was probably the most traumatic moment of my life. I think afterwards we were in shock. Not fun. Not fun. BUT he is ok! He is ok! Christmas miracles :)

[Mom comment: Another stressful incident at the baptism later that day.  Again Majlinda is wanting no more to do with the lessons.]

i love christmas bye

[Mom comment: So sad to see your daughter have such a great week and then a very disappointing Christmas Day.]

motra haggard

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