February 16, 2015

Hey Everybody!

So there isn't much to talk about this week, because it was pretty slow. However we worked super hard, but a lot of plans/lessons/meetings fell through and a lot of people cancelled on us! It was a rough week I guess you could say. The other missionaries in my district saw some miracles though, and that was amazing to see!! I'm super happy for them and I can see the Lord's hands in our work here!

Wow, I guess I really don't have much to talk about, at least not any specific experiences this week. But I guess I can tell you a little bit about the funny or peculiar things that we do! and also things that we do regularly every week.

- So we probably eat sufflaqes close to every day, maybe every other day haha, but know that we eat A LOT of sufflaqes!

- We also eat a lot of snickers and these little cookies called Biscolatas, I'll get a picture of them for next week! They are so good! I don't really know how to describe them, sorry haha.

- We try to get a nap in during our lunch ours as much as we can, but because somehow our days always are jam packed with unexpected things, we usually get like 5-20 minutes, and I usually can't fall asleep so hahah oh well.

- We have Family Home Evening every week at our Bishops house, which is always fun. We always drink Fanta Exotic haha. 

 
- For P-day's (Kind of like our break day, til 6:00 pm on Mondays) We email families and friends, and often times will go to a bouldering gym, and/or get sufflaqes.

- A cool thing about Albania, is when you are friends with someone (for guys) when you say hello, you touch temples. I thought it was super weird hahah but now it's kinda cool.

Well I love you guys! I know the Church is true. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer, and through Him, it is made possible for us to return to live with our Heavenly Father! He loves us more than we can begin to understand! He's always ready to help you, so just get on your knees and ask Him! :)

Have an awesome week!

Elder Sajmëns

P-day Picnic

February 9, 2015

Hey Everyone!

So I really don't have any specific experiences this week, I'm pretty sure! It was a good week, definitely a learning week! hahah. It was kind of tough! It's pretty hard finding people that want to talk to us, this time of year. We are trying to do our best, and I think soon we will find someone who is ready for the message that we are carrying!

A big question in a lot of peoples lives are "Does God love me?" or "Does He even know who I am?" Well I can testify to you who read this that He does! I looked back on my life this week and realized how very blessed I have been! We as people make a lot of mistakes, and I am no exception. And I don't know why Heavenly Father blessed me so much throughout my life, but I can see His hands throughout! Being here in Albania, has also made me realize how easy I have had it throughout my life and even though I keep messing up and making mistakes, even small day to day ones, He is Always there to help me and lift me up! Take yesterday for example! We couldn't set up any lessons, and so we contacted in the cold windy rain, and a member walked by and saw that we were cold. She returned home and got me a sweater and a scarf. It was an incredible act of kindness and it made me stop and think, wow God must love me, because I don't deserve this, and yet He gave it to me.

So if any of you are having a rough time, or are wondering if God loves you, say a pray. I promise you with all my heart that He does. He loves us so much that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. He watched His only begotten Son, suffer more pain than we can even begin to imagine and so publicly and mercilessly be murdered. He did that so that He could have us back. God and Jesus Christ are very real and the love us, more than we could even hope to comprehend.

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

Love,

Elder Simons

February 2, 2015

Hey Everyone!

So I kinda procrastinated this til the end! My bad haha but I still have a few minutes to write so it's all good! Well the biggest news this week is........That Martin got baptized and I'm so stoked for him! Here is a picture of me, elder Waters, and Martin! He is such a baller and has really accepted and embraced the Gospel of Jesus Christ! He was already a big believer in Christ, and now he has partaken of the saving ordinance of Baptism and Confirmation and he was telling me how happy he felt! He is awesome and has a lot of faith in Jesus Christ and in the lessons of the Church. He has already expressed desire to help us in lessons and to one day go on a mission of his own. I really appreciate the opportunity that the Lord gave to me to teach Martin and to help him find the right path! I can really see the change in his life and it builds my testimony that this really is the true church and that the Lord prepares those that are ready to hear the message of the restoration!

So that was my cool story of the week! We had a pretty good as well. One sad story is that Motra Vermunt (from our MTC group) had to go home last week because she was sick, hopefully she can get all better and get back here cause she was an awesome missionary and we will miss her while she's gone! Also Elder Myers (old companion/MTC group) went home cause of a sickness! Hopefully he gets back as well!

We saw a couple interesting things this week. We saw a super crazy dude throw a rock at some teenage boys and then chase them, yelling a curse word in Albanian haha, that was kinda funny, pretty intense though I didn't really wanna stick around and see what was gonna happen, fortunately we had a lesson soon, so we went and waited for them.

Guys, I love being a missionary so much! Now that I have less than a year left, I'm starting to realize how much I really do love it! It is the place for me, and I'm glad I have a bunch of time left!! This is the work of our Father in Heaven and His Son Jesus Christ. We cannot find any greater joy than assisting in it and helping others come unto Christ! So next time you see the missionaries, ask what you can do to help them, or ask them to share a message with you!

Loves! and I miss you.

Elder Sajmëns

P-day Fun!