This week was a good one:) As I say always, but being a missionary is just so awesome! haha I love it so much and everything that comes with it.
This week was a little sad for me and sister Bezas though.  Only because I'm going to miss her so much.  We had weekly planning on Friday and we didnt even make it to Companionship Inventory before I was laying on her lap crying my eyes out. haha I cannot express enough gratitude to my Heavenly Father for the blessing it has been to be her "Trainee" for the past 3 months.  She has lifted me up, encouraged me, listened to me, helped me, and taught me how to be a good teacher. To think I was nervous to come to Albania because I didnt know what my trainer was going to be like is crazy to me.  If I would have known I would have her to help me through, I wouldn't have been scared at all.  We were pre ordained to serve together. I KNOW IT. I will be forever grateful to the fact that I have had the chance to serve with such an amazing person.
Transfer calls usually come on Sunday night (so I heard..) but on
Saturday night we were on the phone with our Sister Training Leader and we got a text from President Weidmann that said "Sisters Please call me" Sister Bezas and I took a long glance at each other in silence and then she called of course.  As soon as we answered the phone President Weidmann said " How are you? Are you ready for your transfer
assignments?"
DRUM ROLL PLEASE..........I am not STL... I am not Training... you may ask "Then what are you doing?" Well... I am staying in Tirana 4th Ward co-senioring with Sister White.  Sister White was in the MTC with me and is SOOOO AWESOME.  I am so excited to work with her and to stay in
Tirana with my awesome ward :) I know that I said in my last email
that there was a 100% chance that I was either Training or a STL, but
if there is one thing that I've learned this week is that you can't
predict the Lord's plans. I am excited for what's ahead of me this
transfer.  The rest of the missionaries in my ward are leaving, even the AMAZING Senior Couple missionaries (The Smiths) are getting transferred. I don't know everyone that will be coming in but im excited to find out.  I know that there is no such things as
coincidences and my work in Tirana 4th ward is not done yet.
BRING IT ON:) I love you all. Thank you for supporting me and loving
me. Until next week:) Me Dashuri - Your Motra :)

I am officially not a trainee as of today!  I have graduated from the trainee program and can no longer pull the "greenie card".  Transfers are next week and I hear that there are 7 new sisters coming in so there is a 100% chance that I will either be training or a Sister Training Leader. I'm not going to pretend that I am fearless because then I would be lying, but I can tell you that I will be doing what I need to be doing, In the place I need to be with the companion I am supposed to be with. I know that for a fact. I will keep you posted on
the situation next week:) It should be pretty exciting!
 

About this week, It has been VERY busy and VERY awesome. We had a women's conference this week where all of the sisters from our whole mission came together for a training and meeting.  I was spiritually uplifted to say the least. We talked a lot about spiritual gifts and how we all have them but sometimes we as human beings, overlook our gifts and focus on the gifts we don't have/ gifts other people have.  We did this activity where they put us in groups and we all had to list a gift that each person in our group had. THE CATCH: we had to say a gift that we have also. None of us wanted to do that part.  It is
hard to list off gifts that you have personally, because like they said, It is easier to focus on the gifts that other people have. We didn't have a choice though haha. Everyone hesitated when they got to themselves but it ended up being a really awesome experience and I
encourage everyone to do it as friends or families for family home evening. The wonderful part about it is that you can feel the spirit testifying to you that those gifts that people say you have... are true.  I promise you will feel the spirit. After that activity we had the
pleasure of hearing from sister Weidmann and she talked more about our worth and how much we mean to our Heavenly Father.  Everyone has had an experience where they worked really hard for something and it seemed to go unnoticed. She talked about how our efforts are not in vain, because the world and the people of the world are never going to
fully see your works and efforts and sometimes it feels like we are invisible, but God sees.  He sees the whole picture. The blood,  the sweat, and the tears. He sees it and he cares.  We then proceeded to watch part of a talk by President Uchtdorf called "You Matter to him"
I encourage everyone to watch/listen to it.  Its super powerful and I guarantee it will make you feel better about yourself and your works. Sisters Conference was amazing and I cant really put to words the power of the spirit that I felt. As always, its hard to describe.

We had the conference the day after we found out our progressing investigator who was supposed to have a baptism this Saturday can no longer get baptized right now so it came at just the right time, when I needed it most and I know that wasn't a coincidence.
 

This week was amazing over all and filled with the spirit.  Heavenly Father has definitely been looking out for Sister Bezas and I.   I feel his love SO OFTEN. The fact that I get to be here serving is a sign of His love. The fact that I have gotten to serve with Sister Bezas is another sign of His love for me. She is such a huge blessing in my life and I know and feel so strongly that she was meant to be my companion and trainer. This week has been a little testing for us but I am so glad that I have her by my side.

 

Im thankful for all my many blessings I have in my life and the Angels I have by my side. Me
dashuri- until next week:) TE DUA - your Motra

"REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD :)
Trainees at the Sisters Conference"

"Our cute Fabiola...I love these two more than life"



"A flower I picked for Sister Bezas because she cant play futboll"



First of all, I want to say that God sees our struggles. He knows what we are going through. He sees the sacrifices we make. We may not feel like we are adequate, we may not feel like anyone knows what we are going through, but God does. Second, I want to say that God WILL bless
those who make sacrifices for His sake.

Now, about this week. We received a phone call from the zone Leaders on Tuesday morning and they told us that they were talking to President Weidmann and  discussing how we could help the work go
forward more powerfully in our zone and President Weidmann said that we were going to have to make a sacrifice as a zone to show God our willingness to do His work. He told the zone Leaders to pray about what sacrifices we could make and they felt strongly that we should wake up earlier than usual and cut some of our lunch time out. They told us that the rest of the month we are going to be waking up 30 minutes earlier and our lunch will be 30 minutes shorter. I know you are all probably thinking "only 30 minutes earlier? That's nothing" but it is something haha especially as missionaries... Sleep is vital and those of you who knew me well before my mission know that I love my sleep, but when your mission President tells you to do something, you do it.   No complaining,
no questions. After the phone call, Sister Bezas and I looked at each other and she says to me
"your two favorite things!"haha  But we didn't hesitate to cut the hour of resting out of our day.
 
We began that day and we have done it this whole week and BOY have we seen blessings! I'll share a couple of them with you because that's what missionaries do right?:)  We had an exchange that next day and I was with Sister Favero again.  We were in my area so I chose who we
visited, what we did, and where to go.  Of course, she helped me along the way because she's awesome and knows I'm still just a baby trainee (for one more week!)  That night we had a lesson with our progressing investigator Fabiola who is still on her baptismal date for the 28th of March! (YAY!) We talked a little bit more about prayer and obedience and the blessing they both bring into our lives. Sister Favero asked her a very specific question "So when the missionaries leave, are you still going to be obedient?" Fabiola looked taken back and I was a little nervous of what her answer might be but she went on to say that shes not doing this for us. Shes doing this for herself and for God. I wanted to cry because I was so happy. I think that's one of the best things a missionary could hear. I don't want to just help people become better while I'm here. I want them to stay obedient and

apply the things we teach into their lives. This work isn't just for a life time, its for eternity.  The spirit was so strong in our lesson and I am amazed everyday by the love God has for His children.

The next day we had a lesson with a potential investigator Melika. When we got to her house we taught her and her husband the Restoration and since this week is one of my last weeks as a trainee, I had to take charge in the lessons we had. Melika and her husband were super receptive to the message and at the end, we invited them to be baptized and they both accepted! They still have a lot to be taught but it was a miracle if you ask me.

We received so many other blessing this week and the strength that Heavenly Father has been giving us cant be explained. I know that because we sacrificed that small amount of time and because Sister
Bezas and I have been working extra hard this week Heavenly Father has blessed us so much. Like I said, God sees our sacrifices, God sees how hard we try, God sees our struggles and He wants to help us if we let Him. My testimony grows everyday as I see Gods mercy and love in my life. I reflect back on my life everyday and how blessed I have been. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for my Savior and brother Jesus Christ. I owe it all to Him and I owe it all to my merciful Father in Heaven. I have no doubt in my mind that he loves each and everyone ofus. "Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of Heaven" Me dashuri - your Motra

 

"I made lunch yesterday...we had to get creative and use what we had and the fact that I don't
know how to cook made it even more interesting! hahaha  Pasta, corn and pesto anyone??  It
was actually really good.  Maybe I will be a chef when I get home ;)"

 

 

SO this week was CRAZY busy! We had a Zone Conference, a Stake Conference, and I went on another exchange this week:) I'll Talk a little about all three of them.
So first of all was the Zone Conference. IT WAS AWESOME! President Weidmann showed up and surprised us all. Whenever you're around him you tend to have a mixture of emotions. You feel excited because you knowyou are about to be spiritually uplifted with his wisdom and council, and then you start to get super nervous and feel like a little child while talking to him!  He's so wise and awesome. haha. We made new goals as a zone and set new goals of how we can accomplish them and the best part was when President Weidmann bore his testimony at the end. He said he was prompted to say all the things he said and I felt like he was talking directly at me.  The spirit was SUPER strong.  After that we went on an exchange and I went to the Tirana 2nd ward with Sister Favero's new companion, Sister Braha who is an Albanian.  Sister Braha has been a member of the church for almost 7 years and she taught me SO MUCH. She has such a strong testimony and she knows her stuff! These Albanian members strengthen my testimony and touch my heart because they are all converts so they know what it's like to not grow up with the Gospel in their homes and in their lives.   They can really touch the hearts of the investigators. IT IS AMAZING TO SEE. I don't know how to describe it, but it was an awesome exchange. I believe that you can learn something from everyone you serve with.  Everyone has something to offer and something they can teach you. God places certain people in our lives for a reason that is for sure.
Yesterday we had STAKE CONFERENCE!! I was so excited because I didn't really know what to expect. The stake center is in Elbasan, which is an hour away so I got to ride on a bus with all of our ward.  When we got to the building it was breathtaking. It is seriously such a beautiful building and to see all of the people going inside just strengthened my testimony of this true church. I was singing in the choir so I got to sit on the stands.  Looking out into the crowd and seeing all of the members of Tirana and their beautiful smiling faces with the Light of Christ in their eyes. I cant put into words how it felt. There was many talks given and I did my best to try to understand everything being said and I think I got the jist of it but the most beautiful part of stake conference was when there were no words being said at all.  After The choir sang "Israel, Israel God is calling" The stake President got up to give a few remarks but no words came out. He stared out into the crowd and started crying which is not very common here in Albania.  Nothing needed to be said for you to feel the Spirit there. He thanked us in the choir for singing when he finally was able to speak. By this time basically everyone was crying. Then he gave an AWESOME talk about missionary work. The whole thing was very overwhelming and spiritual and it was probably my most memorable Stake Conference. Not just because I was in a different country, but because of the Spirit I felt. It cant be described. I'm so thankful for this week and all that I learned from  it. My testimony was strengthened even more. I love being a missionary, and I love the people of Albania. I hope you

all had an awesome week. God loves you. I love you:)  Me shume dashuri
- Your Motra





The bus ride to stake conference in Elbasan