April 28, 2014

Hey Everyone!

Another week in Fier! I love Fier, it is so great here! The people are awesome, the language is some of the clearest spoken Albanian, as far as dialect goes, in the country and the food is really good! There are a couple places that I really like! First there is Green Doors (not it's actual name don't think, but that's what we call it) and it has some really good souvalaki! Supposedly the best in the mission, but I haven't tried many other places (just 1 haha) and that's not everyone's opinion! but It's good so whatever haha. Another mission wide and apparently nation wide favorite is Pizza Roma, but I prefer one right across the street called Pizza Italia! it's good stuff! and then right by Pizza Italia, is a really good Burek stand! and I love it all! hahah.

On to more important things! The branch is doing awesome! we had 60 at church yesterday, including 15 investigators, I think! I love all the members, and I am so thankful with their patience as I try to learn this language! haha I wanna speak it so bad, but it's so hard!! oh man! but it's slowly coming I think! haha We have some awesome investigators right now, some new ones, and some that are close to baptism! We have one investigator, Saimir, and he has been investigating for a few months, 8 I think. And he has a baptismal date this Saturday! we are so excited for him and that he is taking this leap of faith! We have some other investigators who were just ready for the Gospel, and they are accepting it so fast. It is incredible to see and it is such an honor to be a tool in the Lord's hands during their conversions! I love them so much! We are really excited for the coming weeks and all the work that we will have the opportunity to do! Especially since this transfer started off pretty slow since we were white washing! but we have some work to do now and it feels so incredible! I love this work!

I have been noticing a lot of emphasis on family history the past few days! and I have felt a much stronger desire to get into family history! It can play a huge role in introducing the church to people and planting those seeds, or even harvesting and giving people the opportunity to learn from the missionaries about all that Christ and our Heavenly Father has done for them and wants for them! So I would encourage you all to start looking into your family history and start learning about your ancestors! myfamilysearch.org.

So I told you all that I started reading Our Heritage in the MTC, well I stopped for a while cause I had other things to study, and I didn't realize how much I could learn from it! It is amazing, I finished it last week and I feel the Spirit so strong when I read that book!! And I feel a much deeper appreciation for all the Latter-Day Saints before me! and all that they did for the Kingdom of God! The church has an incredible history in these latter days.

I am so happy to be here at this time serving the Lord! It is the place that I am supposed to be! and I feel so honored and wonderful to be serving, and to wear the name badge that I wear! This really is God's work and I love serving everyday!

A quote that I found in an awesome little quote book I got from my parents for Christmas, this week that I really like was by Galileo and it says "You cannot teach a man anything, you can only help them find it within himself" As missionaries we don't convert people to the gospel, and we teach about the gospel and the restoration and about God's plan for us, but the Spirit converts and they learn about the truthfulness of the things we teach, by the Spirit and for themselves. We as members don't know everything. This earthly life is to learn and grow, but we do have the truth, and we need to help others find it for and within themselves. That's our jobs as missionaries, and as President McKay said "every member a missionary!"

I love you all and I hope that you have an awesome week!

Elder Sajmëns

P-day Capture the Flag

April 21, 2014

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all had an awesome week, an awesome Easter and an awesome Pesach! I had a good Easter Sunday and had to give a talk... haha in Albanian...it went well, is what I would say if I wanted to lie! Oh and don't lie (2 Nephi 9:34 something I learned in the MTC haha).  No it wasn't a complete train wreck but it was pretty rough! hahah. But It's over now and there is only room to improve for next time! Fier is awesome! It is a beautiful place! And the people are still warm and friendly! The weather was supposed to be warming up, but the past few days, except today have been really cold! haha and by that I mean sweater weather, nothing like Rexburg or real cold places, më vjen shumë keq for those of you in cold places haha. But it has been good! Only downside to the cold is it makes street contacting less successful!

We have been doing a lot of finding people! We don't have many investigators right now, because we're whitewashing, but the investigators we do have are progressing! which is awesome! We have several on baptismal dates and hopefully they'll be ready in time! But we can always move the date if they're not! We have talked to, what I think are very potential investigators and I'm hoping that the work will start to pile on, a sentence I never thought I'd say before my mission! hahah But I've never quite done a work like this!

My district is awesome! I love them so much! Each missionary (there are 6 of us) is so cool and offers something different to the table for me to learn from! I feel so privileged to be working with them! It'd be pretty ridiculous if I came out of this transfer the way I came in because there are so many growing and learning opportunities! My trainer, Elder Ostërgard is so funny! and such a hard working missionary! He's definitely the trainer I needed and Heavenly Father knew that haha.

The language is so hard! haha But I haven't been getting discouraged though, which is good, and something I really learned how to do from my MTC teachers! Who are awesome!! But my comprehension really has gotten a lot better, and so has my speaking, but it's still harder for me to speak than it is to comprehend. Some people speak super fast though! and it's hard to understand hahah! But it's improving as I knew it would :)

I guess that's it for this week. I hope you all have an awesome week! And that you will be able to recognize the blessings in your life. Everything that is good in this life, comes from God, our Heavenly Father, remember that.

Much Love,

Elder Sajmëns

The view from our Apartment

Apartment

Week 2 in Fier (and a little rushed for time)

Hey!

I'm really rushed on time for today, especially with the emailing haha. However I'm doing good and I'm still loving it here! My district is awesome, and they are all such good missionaries, and I am learning from them all in different ways. They are such good examples to have! The branch is doing well! And I love them so much! Our investigators kept most of their commitments this week! YAY! some of them are really showing progression!!! and I'm so excited for them!! I do have to go though, but I'm doing well and hopefully I'm doing well for the people of Fier! The church is true!

Til Next week! sorry! I'll try to be more time sensitive next week, even though I said that last week!!

Elder Sajmëns

First Email from Albania!!

Hey Everyone!

So Albania...I took one step out of the airport, and fell in love with this country!  Having grown up all over, it kind of felt like I was home in a weird way! I absolutely love it here!  We spent the first night in Tirana at a hotel with an awesome view haha, but Tirana is so awesome!  The Mission President and his wife are awesome! I love them! They welcomed us so well! With some missionary work and a wonderful first meal! The food here is amazing, but I won't spend too much time talking about that haha.  I got to do a member lesson and street contacting my first day hahah which was kind of a lot to take on all at once, after the 20+ hours of travelling hahah! But it was good :)  The next day we got our assignments and met our companion/trainers!  My assignment was to a city called Fier and my companion/trainer's name is Elder Ostërgard. He is an awesome trainer.  He is a great missionary, he's really good with the language and he is just really good at teaching me all the stuff I need to know and do.  Fier is so awesome!  I love it here! The people here are so awesome and willing to stop and talk!  There is a lot of work to do here and I feel blessed and honored that I am the one to do it for this transfer and probably the one after, that's my guess anyways.  The branch here is awesome and they were very welcoming! I really want my Albanian to get better right now cause I wanna be able to talk to them more!! hahah the language is coming slowly, but it's so dang hard!  But it'll come, I have faith!

So we are whitewashing the area, which for those of you who don't know what that means (I didn't), it means that both elders in a companionship are new to the area! We are also opening a new house, so there wasn't an area book or really any work for us to do from former missionaries, but the other companionship of elders in Fier graciously gave us some work to do and some investigators to meet with.  We have been trying to meet with all of them, but a lot of them are busy and it's hard to get meetings with them, but we have met with a couple and they are so awesome!! I love them so much! Florjan is one that we have met with.  He shows genuine interest and as of our lesson the other day, he has a baptismal date and he came to half of general conference on Sunday, which was awesome!! I really hope that he keeps progressing, I'll keep you posted on the work that we are a part of here in Fier! 

So I'm kind of running out of time, which is ridiculous but I'll do better next week at giving myself more time haha, cause we gotta go get ready for the rest of the day, which is missionary work!!

The Lord really is hastening His work all over the world and right here in the Adriatic South Mission!!!  Thank you to my teachers who helped me so much in preparing to come to Albania!

Remember, if you're a member; get involved in the missionary work around you!

Have an awesome week and I love you all!

Elder Sajmëns

The flight from Chicago to Vienna

Right outside of the airport in Tirana

The view from the hotel room on our first night

Tirana

Tirana

A selfie in front of the Mother Albania Monument

My MTC district

Souvlaki

This is my Fier district having lunch at a member family's house the Gjika's! 

They are awesome!!

Arrival in Albania!

"Elder Simons arrived safe and sound in Tirana, Albania on Wednesday (April 2nd).  He  will be serving in Fier, Albania, a part of the Adriatic South Mission. His companion will be Elder Ostergaard."