Elder Guymon's Awesome Adriatic Adventures: Week 15

May 11, 2015

Ok so this week! Not sure I have a ton of stuff to say but we will see, anyway we have this new investigator named Kurt Koci and he is a poet like he has a published book! I'll take a picture of it for next week because he gave us a free copy! He is a little strange but wants to be baptized so whatevs we take them all! I'm not sure I want to teach another poet though because he really says some weird things sometimes like seriously! He was talking about how he has taken a breath from another planet before and that's how he knows about Christ...idk??

We also had our first dinner with members which was cool! It was with the Osmani's. I actually taught Denada Osmani over skype in the MTC - she served her mission in England and currently has a brother serving in Australia! They are an awesome family! It was really good but about half way through dinner, the language portion of my brain was just done flexing and I just couldn't do it - like every talking over the dinner table - that is hard! It's always hard for me to be in a good mood when I lose the language but it's all good I know it's just going to keep happening.

The members are so nice to me though it's crazy! Really though members and other missionaries are really keeping me going because they are all so nice to me!

Something that I have been really working on is always having a happy countenance and it's been awesome people have actually asked me why I'm so happy all the time or tell me that they like talking to me because I'm always smiling! Sometimes it's hard but then I think "with a smile on face" (a family motto) and keep it up! It also makes you think you are happier even if you aren't which is a bonus!

So I realized that sometimes my letters have a lot of complaining and I don't sound like I'm super happy and I apologize for that, here and my journal are the only two places that I can vent about stuff that frustrates me here so I'm going to keep doing it , but I hope you know that I'm not perma -depressed. :) Honestly it is really hard for me right now because I'm just really struggling with my companion but I still find ways to have fun and enjoy my time here! One thing that is really hard especially while I'm trying to stay positive about everything is that my companion is literally always annoyed - like always. It's hard because being around him all the time is super depressing and he doesn't really talk that nicely like straight up I have yet to get a compliment from him. For example, this week for companionship inventory his thing that he said I could improve on is speaking faster in Albanian!! I seriously almost just left the room when he said that -like are you kidding me man everyone else here I'm freaking blowing away but I have to work on speaking faster for you!? That doesn't just happen I'm doing my best!!!!! Idk that really frustrated me, and I think Algida (a member we work with a lot) sees that he is hard because she is always mega nice to me and always asking Verushi if he is nice to me and stuff. So yeah to be honest that is really hard for me because he is so impatient but I promise it's not like I'm never happy. There are some really great parts about being here!

We had zone conference this week and every missionary in Albania came and it was awesome!!! I got to see almost all my homies from the MTC!! My companions weren't like my best friends in the MTC but man I loved seeing them, that was awesome! I found out we are having some pretty different experiences. Elder Crandall up in Shkoder has a really hard area, pretty much all they do is tract and street contact which is way different from me where we pretty much only have lessons! Definitely grateful because I have now taught every lesson and he still hasn't taught past the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Like thats crazy!

Also, I don't know what the deal is but everyone out here in the mission field loves to give hugs! Like maybe it's because we can't give our family hugs but everyone hugs each other, it was the same in the MTC and really I'm not a big huggy guy! Like I'm so uncomfortable hugging the president and stuff!! It was a great zone conference though and I learned a ton!

I also got a haircut last P day and guess how much it was? $4!!! Like that is unbelievable! It was definitely time because it is sooooo hot here - I am honestly going to die in August because I'm just sweating bricks walking outside here! We got new pass along cards at zone conference and they are so cool! I'll send pictures of all of them next week! The new ones are one the BoM and another is a picture of Abraham, Mormon, Joseph Smith and Monson all on one card to talk about prophets! Super cool!

One thing awesome this week was we were chilling on a bus and suddenly someones phone went off and their ringtone was the futurama theme song!! Also this kid that always comes to church with his mom (he is 15 and not a member) plays league of legends! I was sitting next to him and he was on his phone looking up stats and I was like no way!!! So we had a good long chat about that and he's going to keep me updated on champs and the LCS which is awesome! He couldn't believe that I was only 4 years older than him because I'm like way taller than him!

Also, this week on Saturday we did an exchange and I was with Elder Greener finally! It was truly like the best day I have had on my mission! I really get along with the guy and he is really honest just doing his best which I love! We had a lot of fun together and I got into my first door tracting with him finally!!

We played soccer that day and man I thought I was going to die of heat stroke so we may be moving the time for a cooler hour!

We taught Faton together and it was such a good lesson! He had also refereed to how he feels as good "energy" and we pretty much changed our whole lesson plan and devoted it to the holy ghost and how we receive answers. At the beginning of the lesson he said he wasn't sure he had received an answer yet and at the end he said I know that the Book of Mormon was true and it was awesome!!

I also watched Ephraims rescue for the first time! That was a pretty cool movie! Kinda sad! And definitely some parts that were a skosh hard to explain to investigators.

Finally as you all know we got to skype with our families on Sunday! Man I was avoiding thinking about it all week and suddenly it was there! Unfortunately, it kinda caught me on a rough day - I was a little under the weather and had a gnarly headache all day which just got augmented by not understanding anything at church still! But it was so awesome to talk to them though and Grace was so cute!! I really wasn't feeling toooo homesick until the very end and when she sang and we said goodbye - man I lost it like that was rough. The rest of the day I was exhausted...that really took it out of me holy cow! I definitely love my family and they are easily the thing I miss most out here!

I have 2 scriptures this week that were really awesome for me, the first is D&C 122 and it's pretty short it's when Joseph Smith is in Carthage Jail and man that scripture has some power, especially when you think about everything in context and then verse 7 just pounds you! The Lord is just throwing down - it's awesome! I also love Exodus 33:11 and it's when Moses is talking to the Lord and rather than saying it was talking to a man it uses the word friend and I just felt a spiritual witness that the word friend is used there for a reason... like when we talk to Christ it's going to not just be like talking to a man but like talking to an old friend because that's what He is for us! Pretty awesome!

Anyway I love you all and hope you have a great week!!

Shihemi! Elder Guymon