Trip with Honorable Missionaries

This is a stop we made on our trip with the missionaries who have almost completed their honorable missions. This is overlooking the small city of Dhermi.

These are the honorable missionaries we went with on their earned trip before they return home. This is taken from one of the lookout towers at the Roman ruins. Their names are: (from top to bottom) Elder McGlothin, Foulk, Monson, Shields, Motra Bentley, Larson and Elder Rispoli (Australia).

Roman Ruins

Below are some pictures of the Furgon that five elders, two sisters, the driver and Sister Smith and I went on the two day End of Their Mission trip.

Below is the Baptismal Font at the ruins that was put in after the Roman era.

The Main Chapel built after the Roman era.

A picture of the top of the wall which goes around the Roman Ruins. An opening in the wall.

View of Dhermi

Video!

These are two videos I did on our trip with the Missionaries.

One is with a trail of goats coming off a hill, one goat stops the other until the bus goes by. The other is at the beach where our Branch will be going this Saturday for a Branch activity.

Butrint

When missionaries have completed all their required mission learning before their first year is complete they get to go on a trip for two days. They pick a missionary couple (Chief-T) to go with them, which is one of the requirements. We just went on our first of these trips to some ancient Roman ruins just outside of Saraunde, which is southeast of Vlore. These are some pictures of “Butrint” the name of the Roman Ruins.

Humanitarian Ceremony

Elder Smith went out with Elder and Sister Williams, the humanitarian couple, to a hand off ceremony at a mental hospital today. The Church helped with some supplies, chairs and other items to be used at the hospital. We explained that the funds used are donated by the church members throughout the world and the hospital administrators were appreciative of what they had received. Elder Smith did not get the names of the director who is in red or the supervisor who is in blue. They got the picture with his eyes closed.

This is a picture from a Furgon going down from a small hill as we are arriving in our city, Vlore.

Interviews

This is Eftali (Eva) Isufi who was the first Sister (Motra) or anyone else who I interviewed for a Temple Recommend. We went to her home because she is having some very serious health problems. She is a faithful member of the church and has been a member for 3 years. She was one of the first to be baptized in Vlore. You can see how young the church is here in Vlore. The Branch is 90 members with attendance averaging about 65 per Sacrament meeting. When the two twins (Parold & Parid) were baptized last Sunday, Parold was a little afraid of the water and so he ended up needing to be baptized twice. When he came up the second time everyone (the Albanian's) all clapped. You would never see this in America and something I will have to help them with. They are such a loving and caring people that I just can't get too strict. I will just have to love them into understanding the ways of the Lord and his church.

Monument

These are pictures of when we first arrived in Albania. The pictures, except for the one that will be in the mission home, were taken at the spot where Elder Oaks dedicated the country of Albania for preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

On April 23, 1993, Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles visited Tirana, and on a hillside overlooking the city (near the national memorial, “The Monument of the Heroes”) dedicated the country for the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Elder Dennis Neuenschwander of the Seventy and a counselor in the Europe Area presidency and Austria Vienna Mission President Kenneth D. Reber accompanied Elder Oaks. Seventy eight people were in attendance, including 55 Albanian members and 18 missionaries. Carefully read the dedicatory prayer. It will be your privilege to help bring to pass the promised blessings!

“Oh God, our Eternal Father, as the sun steams over the mountains from the east and warms the land, we thank thee for this beautiful day. We thank thee for the light of the gospel. The light of the gospel warms the land and gives light to our hearts and minds, just as the sun lights us this morning. We thank thee for the restoration of the gospel in these latter days. We thank thee for the Prophet Joseph Smith and for the other prophets of this dispensation, including our present prophet, President Benson. We thank thee for all of the leaders of thy Church. We pray for them. We pray for the members of the Church in every land. We thank thee that thou hast seen fit to send the gospel to the nation of Albania. We thank thee that the leaders of this land have consented for the missionaries to be here. We thank thee for the missionaries who have come to proclaim the gospel. We thank thee for thy worthy sons and daughters who have accepted this message and who have gone into the water of baptism to make covenants with thee. We are reminded of the words of a modern apostle, Parley P. Pratt, who declared,

“The morning breaks, the shadows flee, lo Zion’s banner is unfurled; the dawning of a brighter day, majestic rises on the world.”

"We thank thee for this brighter day and we pray they blessings upon all who hear the message of the gospel. We pray for this land, for it's leaders, and for the citizens of this land. Wilt thou bless them with wisdom and strength, that the light of freedom be preserved in this land, that those who are hungry may be fed, that those who are suffering may be comforted. We pray that this land may produce an abundance for this people. We pray that it's industries may flourish. We pray that peace may be preserved in this land for the blessing of it's people. We pray that thou wilt forestall the forces of evil and frustrate every effort that would interrupt the peace and freedom and prosperity of this land. And now, in the authority of the holy priesthood, and in the office of an apostle which I hold, I turn the key for the preaching of the gospel in this land of Albania. I open the door for thy work in the land that the gospel may be proclaimed here, that this message in its fullness may lighten this land and bless the lives of its people. I bless the people of the scattered tribes of Albania wherever they may be in this world, in Italy, in Kosovo, in the United States of America, and in other lands that their hearts may be inclined to their native land, that the missionaries may be led to their doorsteps, that they may hear and understand the message of the gospel, that they may send aid and support to their native land."

“We bless the people of this land that they may hear and understand the message of the gospel, that they may make covenants with thee, and keep those covenants, that they may be blessed. We bless this land that the spiritual gifts may be rich here, that the gifts of communication and understanding may be felt in abundance, that the gifts of blessing and healing and translating may be here. We pray that those who translate the scriptures may be guided of thy Holy Spirit, that the message of the gospel may be given in its fullness and clarity through thy holy scriptures, and by those who preach and teach in this land. And now, Holy Father, we pray that all of these blessings may be granted to thy children, and in the office of the holy apostleship that I hold, I bless this land and its people, and open the door for the preaching of the gospel here, and all of this according to thy holy will. We testify of Jesus Christ, our Savior, and thank thee for his atonement and redemption. As we have sung, we believe in Christ, and all that we do in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, Amen.”

Zone Conference

These are pictures from the Zone Conferences in Albania. Our Zone Conference is the outside zone because we are so far away from Tirana.

This was a 3+ hour Furgon ride in the heat to and from Durres. The three on the chars in front are the missionaries who will be going home in about 3 weeks. Two of them are from Vlore and Missionary on the front with the red tie is my first Councilor Elder McGlothin. It will be hard to see him go because he knows so much about what has been going on in the Branch. He is from Arizona, Gilbert.

I left the picture from the inside zone so you could see how many missionaries are in Albania. (The girl in the green blouse is my 2nd cousin from Provo, Utah, Motra Peatross.)

June 14, 2010

This is P Day that is why I am able to get all these emails done. We only have 8 Elders and Motras over to eat lunch, that Sue is fixing right now and then a family the Hodaj's who I will be interviewing. There is the father Mehmet, moter Lrida, children Arti (Artion) & Suny (Edison). I will send their pictures later.

The group of pictures I am sending is from a service project we are working on. I need to give a little background so this will make more sense.

Albania was under communism until around 1990 and were always being told what to do and when to do it. They did not have any control of their lives. The communist leaders would tell them to clean up all the time and so when they were free and could do what they wanted to do they, out of defiance, throw garbage everywhere.

There is an alley way where the missionaries walk to get to the church building. It is very much filled with trash that we figure some had been there for a decade. They decided for a service project to clean it up. They have spent three days and many many trash bags we are about 1/4 th the way done. Many people to begin with would walk by and say it wont do any good just leave it and go home. Some also said other things even worse. As we have been working there have been many neighborhood children come out and want to help as you can see in the pictures. This last time we have had Albanian people say thanks or it looks good (mire). We even had some come by and bring us cold drinks and cups, and when we went to the store to buy more trash bags the store owner gave us the bags and said that if she didn't have to work she would be out there with us cleaning up. My guess is that we will have some teaching opportunities from this project. This trash is very smelly and we are very glad when we can change cloths and take a shower. It is also hot even though we start early in the morning.
The first picture is of two of the girls that were helping that did not want to get in the picture.

A Day in the Life of a Missionary

There is a picture of a Furgon when we went to Zone Conference.

Another. picture of the Fetollari family who I have visited in their home and who came to our apartment for interviews. The father (Hasan) is not baptized but has committed in two weeks from now, He and the entire family was at church on Sunday. The son (Egy) was committed to wear a white shirt and tie and pass the sacrament which he did on Sunday. I interviewed the Daughter, Alda, and talked about her worthiness and being an example to others by being reverent in sacrament meeting. The mother received a Temple Recommend interview but still has a few months before her year is up. She is so excited to go to the Temple.

The Temple trips from Albania to Frankfurt Germany and the Church pays for their first trip. I am trying to convince Motra Lilli Fetollari to wait and go with all her family, I think I will be able to but she is so excited. I prayer is that we, Sue and I, will be able to go with them to Frankfurt. This would be next September.

12Jun To give you an idea of what our days are like.

UP at 5:00AM and read the scriptures, chapter 15-16 of 3^rd Nephi. Showered and ate a small breakfast. Then a meeting with the two sets of missionaries to set up what three of them would do while I took Elder McGloclan (my First Councilor) to Tirana (3 ½ hours away) for a District Branch Presidents meeting. We left at 7:30 AM and finally arrived at the meeting at 11:15 AM, 15 minutes late after walking for 15 minutes from where the Furgon droped us off. The meeting had not started yet so we were not late. We rode in a Furgon which is a nine passenger van, full, and no air-conditioning. We walked to the place where the Furgon’s are which is about a 10 minute walk from our appartment. You ask for the one going to Tirana, get in and wait until they have the van full and then they start off. It was 88 degrees and 80% humidity when we left at 8:05 AM. The roads are rough, narrow and they drive a little crazy but not real fast. Our meeting lasted until 1:30 PM with no breaks and was all in Albanian but Elder McGloclan interpreted for me. Elder McGloclan is my 1^st Councilor in the Branch Presidency so we held a Branch Presidency meeting as we went. It was a hot and stick ride with my cloths all soaked even before we left on the Furgon.

After the meeting we talked with a Medical Doctor, who is in the District Presidency, about Sister Eva Isufi and her serious medical condition. He gave us some good advice and we left the meeting and took a Taxi to the Mission Home. We picked up some Temple Preparation Manuals and the heavy Preach My Gospel manuals. We then took a Taxi to the Furgon station and waited in the van for about 15 minutes, sweating, until it was full and we took off for Vlore. It was a long trip back and we arrived at 5:00 PM and was able to eat a sandwich before I interviewed twins (Parold & Parid Bylyshi) for the priesthood as Deacons. They are very polite and smart young men and excited to be able to hold the priesthood. (I found out after their interviews that they had studied all after noon so they could answer any questions I might ask!)

Then we had the Young Adults come for the first activity ever in Vlore. We were hoping for three to show up but we had ten, 5 members and 5 investigators. I think they are hungry for something like this to get going. This was an overwhelming success. We started with prayer talked a little about us and let them ask questions about us then we had each one of them talk a little about themselves. This was to let them know something about each other because they did not all know each other. We then played a game and closed with prayer and had some cookies, fruit pizza, water melon and water. They all had a ball and really enjoyed themselves. We decided on starting institute on Wednesdays at 7:00 PM at the church and that we would call a president and a vice president to start organizing activities ect.

Elder McGloclan and I then walked 30 minutes to Sister Isufi’s house and talked with her about what we had learned from the Doctor and her order of garments that was lost somewhere.

I then felt impressed to see if she would like a blessing for her illness. She said yes and asked me to be the one giving the blessing. I met her children, three (two boys and a girl) she plays the piano sometimes at church. She is only 12 years old. We then walked home and I said goodbye to the Elders at their apartment and I walked back to our home.

Staying Busy

On our walk today, Motra Smith found the car she would like to drive.

Notice the name of the car, Brabus, like in the scriptures who was freed before Christ was condemned.Notice the price for a liter of gas along with the two small doon-doons!
This is two little bunkers from communist times. There are thousands of them throughout the country, some small like these and others ten times larger. One is now even used as a restaurant after it was cleaned up and painted.

Behind Sue is a three-wheeled truck, that we see all over the country, which is called a doon-doon. Most are very old and run very rough and use diesel.

You can't see very well, but the ocean is just behind these old apartments.

This is some of the buildings along the beach.

June 13, 2010

Dearest Family,

Thank you all for being our family! We miss you a lot but we feel close to you when we look at the Christmas photos.

Today at church the attendance was not as many as last weeks. We started having them write their names and that is helping to sound out the names, like Samantha, MaryAna and Natasha. The newest members of our branch, who were baptized last Sunday Pariad, & Parold twin brothers that studied all day yesterday to come have their interview to get to be ordained deacons. What sweet and loving people who are so very hungry for the gospel truth. Mom has an investigator who interprets and Dad has the Elder who conducts the meeting (his first counselor).

Last night the Young Single Adults really brighten up our living room with laughter and excitement. We sang to them a little bit of "I Am a Child of God" in Japanese. We had all of them introduce themselves and then try to play a game, but did not know what to play so at the last minute a thought come to have each one of them write a name of and animal they like and put the slips of paper in a basket and the sister who translates for us read the animal told us what the animal was in English and they had to guess who liked that animal. There were 5 members & 5 investigators. We had fruit pizza and they seemed to enjoy it. We will start institute classes on Wed. evening. This was a huge success because we were only expecting 3 but to have 10 was big.

Dad has gone out with the Elders to visit (we taught the lesson on the plan of salvation and two sister want to be baptized on the 4^th of July) and I am expecting the sister who is coming for an interview. So we are keeping busy and loving it. I did call and set apart tonight a President and Vice President of the Young Single Adults in Vlore. They are so excited and will do a wonderful job, even before they were set apart they were working on their callings. They talked about who needed to be there and who would call or visit to make sure we were successful. It is such a blessing.

We hope all is going well for you all and we hope to be able to do some skype/MS Live visits with you maybe later on today.

The gospel is true and Christ atoned for our sins and pains.

Love Always
Dad & Mom

June 7, 2010

Here is an update from today.

This is where we pay the water bill each month. Not sure how much yet, we will pay it in the third week, around the 21st.

This is called the Treg, an open air market. We buy our fresh fruits and vegetables here. They are quite inexpensive and are very good. It’s very bright and sunny today. When we shop, we take our backpacks to carry the things we buy. This was the trip to pick up the last minute shopping items before feeding the 6 (hungry) young missionaries. We had a baptism after church on Sunday and these twin 12 year old young men (Parid & Parold) were baptized. Their mother (Nanza Parime) is in the back with us. I will interview them this Sunday after they are confirmed and ordain them to the Aaronic priesthood as Deacons.

Today we had the Vlore District meet at our house for a meeting and to eat a Mexican meal that Motra Smith fixed.

This and the next two pictures are from our balcony (left, front and right). In this picture you can see the bread store we go to it is just in back of the white van. They have the best home made bread with hard crust, just the way your Dad likes it.