Last P-Day in the MTC!

March 26, 2015

As the subject suggests this is our last P-Day here in the MTC and honestly it feels like time has flown by! It's been another pretty awesome week here although I have gotten sick again which is insane since I never get sick but it's all good, if being sick is the price I have to pay then I will gladly take it! Last Thursday we had another awesome TRC lesson. TRC IS THE BEST! For real though! One of the guys we had it with was really cool and it was his first time coming for a while and we were talking for a bit after our lesson and he got serious and was like "there isn't a person here who wouldn't trade spots with you in a second if they could so you better make your time worth it." It was like a wow moment like I really do need to value my time out here! Then Friday we got our flight plans! Basically everyone has been waiting for this moment, we all went running to the mail room and pulled out our plans to see where we would be going! We are flying from Salt Lake to Chicago then Chicago to Vienna then Vienna to Tirana! It is a total of 22 hours of travel time so pray for me that I don't go insane! We also got our new name tags which are wayyyy cool! I'll send a picture after this but mine is honestly one of the coolest (not to brag, we don't do that in the MTC) Also like 3 times this week there have been protesters outside of the MTC and its been kinda funny! They are like yelling and shouting at us carrying American flags and crap but everyone just kinda gets a kick out of it! One of the branch presidents here at the MTC told us we should go give them cookies or something for all the hard work they are doing! It has been absolutely gorgeous here so we have been studying outside in the grass whenever possible and it has been soo nice! One thing that we have been running into more and more is the two different dialects spoken in Albania! They are pretty stinking different! Basically the north speaks gheg and the south speaks tosk. Tosk is the language that is written on official documents but neither is considered better than the other, they are just different! So it'll be interesting to see where I spend most of my time and which dialect I end up speaking in! On Saturday after set up we got up on the roof of our classroom building and took some pictures and it was awesome! On Sunday we had an awesome devotional and one of the things that really stuck out to me was he said when he was a missionary his trainer challenged him that when he got on the plane to go back home and to ask Heavenly Father if he fulfilled his mission and he challenged us to do that as well and to serve our missions so that when we ask we will hear through the spirit "Well done my good and faithful servant" That really made me want to make the most of my time out on my mission! I also watched a really awesome Mormon Message which can be found here: http://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/series/mormon-messages/you-never-know I really loved the message that it doesn't matter so much what we have planned for ourselves to do in a day but what the lord has planned for us! I want to be the kind of missionary that does what the lord wants not just what I have planned. One thing that I have realized is really important these last few days is setting goals. One of the members of my branch presidency always says success is the achievement of righteous goals! We have been talking a lot about setting goals and I have some time set aside today to not only look at some goals for my mission but for the rest of my life! It's so helpful to have a vision you are looking forward to even if you aren't totally sure. I never really appreciated them like that before! Another follow on my challenge last week to have a Book of Mormon with you whenever possible is this week I set aside some time and prayed to know what to write in the front with my testimony so I could bless someones life and I totally felt the spirit! I wrote everything I felt and then looked back and some things I would have never written without being prompted to do so! How awesome is it that the lord knows how to bless his children! All we have to do is let him guide us! This week we were challenged to make those back home apart of our mission! Even if it's in some small way like if you don't stay super consistent in reading the Book of Mormon I'm out here serving full time for 2 years you can read a couple pages a night! I know it will immensely bless your lives if you think of some way to in some small way be out here on a mission with me! Something really special that happened today was our last temple session. We went as a whole zone had breakfast beforehand in the temple and then went and did a session together and it was the strongest that I have felt the spirit in the temple ever. While we were in the Celestial room I realized this is the last time I would be here for 2 years and I just said a prayer and felt so peaceful. I didn't think I would miss the temple that much but now I know I will! This week I got mail from Kyra, Courtney, Grandma and Grandpa Guymon, Trevor, Austin, Cameron, Chandler, Aanika, Sarah, and Mallory! I love you all! Next letter home is going to be from Albania!!!

I love you and I'll talk to you from the airport!

Blessings!

çkemi?!

This has been such an awesome week! Everything is really starting to fly by though and someone wrote on the board that said 13 days till we are in Albania and that was kinda freaky but I'm sure it will be awesome! So starting at last P Day, TRC continues to be one of my favorite times here in the MTC we were supposed to give a 40 min lesson but we could have gone for like ever! We basically just led a discussion about faith with 3 RM's so it was really cool to hear their perspective and all that stuff! 

Then Friday was Friday the 13th and honestly a crazy Friday the 13th thing happened that we were all just laughing about it... So there is this grate that covers like a 20 ft drop down to some gravel rocks around some stairs next to the mail room and one of the elders in my zone tried to throw his apple core into the trash can and his ring came off with it, bounced off the trashcan and into the grate! Everyone was like freaking out and pretty much our entire zone was there! So we are all looking down at it and one Elder leans down too far and his comb drops out of his shirt pocket and lands balanced and the grate and he was like *whew* and reached down and grabbed it but then his ID card which you swipe to get into anywhere fell out of his pocket and went through the grate! LIKE WHAT!!!! At this point everyone is essentially in tears at how hard we are laughing because its just like how is this possible! So then this kid pulls out his keys and is like alright everyone throw something in we all need to be invested at this point! And so I grab my ID card which is attached to my keyring with my key and consecrated oil and pull it out and am like "YA!" but I forgot the hole in my ID card is broken so the keyring slid out flew into the air and then landed in the grate! It was insane! I honestly don't think I have laughed that hard at any point in my life! It was just so crazy how it all happened! Later we just got a security guard to go down with a ladder and grab them for us, we were thinking about using fishing line and duct tape though for a little! 

Also I saw Celeste here at the MTC so that was funny, I guess she just started working here! Then Saturday was PI day actually the ultimate PI day since it was 3.14 15, that's right everyone be excited! 

Then Sunday was awesome...I finished the BoM and prayed and just asked for a strengthened testimony in the BoM that I can truly testify to people of it and as soon as a said that it was like WHOOSH just hit me, holy cow, talk about ask and you will receive! I know that the BoM is true and that is the most correct book here on earth! If you haven't read and prayed about it, I challenge you to because if you do you will not be able to deny the feelings you have! Sunday was also kinda a sad day though because McBride Nover (Sister McBride) had to go home because of her shoulder so ya she's back in Meridian now, I hope that everything works out for her, she was really stressed here. On my temple walk I saw Kenedee which was pretty cool we got to talk for a bit and it was nice to see a friend! Sunday night was awesome though, so I don't know if I have told you yet but we have a bunch of Brazilians on our floor and they are so fun! They honestly do crazy things all the time. Sunday was their last night here so I stayed up with them for a bit and it was just a great night talking to them! I also got some awesome stuff passed down from them, like 2 ties! 

Then Monday I finally figured that stinking puzzle out! Holy cow there are only 3 steps to get it but that took me a while!  :) 

Then Tuesday was really an awesome day! In the morning we built a fort out of all the furniture in our sitting area and we had like a mini nerf war and it was so fun! Then that night was like the most awesome devotional ever. It was Don R. Clark of the Seventy and he basically gave 10 key things for our mission, and just life! His 1st point was love and he said happiness comes when you learn to care more about others than yourself. Another point was Faith in Jesus Christ which leads to action and he stressed that diligence is much more important than intelligence which is exactly the opposite of my high school experience so that will be a change for me! Then he talked about knowing who you really are and he told a story about a missionary who didn't have a big testimony in the priesthood and then he was called on to give a blessing to a girl who was really sick and he was prompted to heal her twice and so he did and she just got straight up! Like wow! His final point was to enjoy the journey, that no one could make you unhappy it was a choice. He also said always happy but never content. Like we should always be striving to get better! Another one of his points that I'd like to challenge you to was to always have a BoM with you. I don't think that it needs to be ALWAYS but like in your car glovebox or at work or something just have it there and I know that if you are prepared to share it with someone the Lord will give you the opportunity to! Do you think he is just going to let it sit around and gather dust? No way! He also said that we are a missionary now and he challenged us that we need to have placed a BoM before we get into the field so you better believe I'll be looking to do that! Another thing that he challenged us to do that I really appreciated was to keep a revelation journal on you always and to write down spiritual experiences! 

Yesterday I really found out how well I'm doing compared to the rest of the class because we did a group activity where it was like a branch council meeting where we talk about our investigators in Albanian! We haven't really done a set group language thing like that until then but to be honest I'm doing awesome! Like I felt a little bad for some people because I didn't know but I'm just so grateful that I was given the gift of tongues because I know I'm not all that good but I am doing very well for where I am at! Then last night we got into the pillow room! (Pictures inc.) It was so awesome! It is basically what every missionary hopes to do while they are here! 

Sorry this was a long letter! Just a really good week! Also I get flight plans tomorrow!!! YAAAAAAAAAA. Also my nickname is Elder Thuggie which is awesome! I love you all! Don't be losers and not follow through on some easy challenges I threw down! 

Jap koken time per ju!!

Adam's Zone is comprised of Albanian, Hungarian, Baltic Mission Estonian speaking and Finland.

Fort they made in their sitting area for nerf wars. :)

Apparently he accomplished what every missionary aspires to do in the MTC...break into the pillow room! :)
(those big bags in the back are full of pillows)

St. Patty's Day!  That tie is called stain-glass floral. :)

Pra...

March 12, 2015

Pretty awesome week! So Ariza made it through her surgery and is doing awesome! She is back in class and everything, it is such a blessing! Also the Finns have been settling into the schedule and they are becoming more comfortable here and fun to talk to so that's awesome! It definitely makes it easier to be here when you are thinking about other people which makes me even more excited for the field because that's what I will be doing!

 On Thursday we taught TRC and it went really well and I felt the spirit in Albanian! It was way cool like I understood what the guy we were teaching was talking about well enough to get a central message out of it and the spirit was definitely there. Then Friday we were talking about our investigator that has a baptismal date and we were thinking about moving it forward and our teacher heard us and came and started asking us with questions and ended up talking to just our companionship for like an hour and a half in English and I honestly walked out of that lesson feeling like my mission was changed because of what she said. Basically she starting looking at our investigator record and asked if he truly had a testimony of those things and we were kinda just like umm idk and she talked to us about how even for English speaking missionaries this happens where they get too focused on getting through the lessons just to check them off and not focusing on what that investigator needs to experience lasting conversion. Apparently when she was there the activity rate in Albania was 40% because of this. She said that our testimonies are like a forest of trees sharing the same roots, some of our trees are redwoods and some of them are saplings (meaning specific gospel doctrines we have a stronger testimony in some than others). But that our investigators need to have at least a sapling for every doctrine or lesson that we teach. She talked about how one of the big problems is asking the wrong questions, we can't ask things like "do you understand?" or "do you have any questions?" because if they are completely not getting it they don't know if they don't understand or if they have questions and she gave us the example of how in class she will be talking in Albanian and she asks if we understand and we say yes even though sometimes we really don't. Honestly I know I'm butchering the message but I hope I'm getting some of what I learned across and I know it mostly applies just to missionary work but for real if that had been a devotional it was the best one I heard since I have been here like the message just really hit deep for me. The next day we went into the lesson with our investigator and it went amazing and I think a lot of what helped was that message! This last Sunday was the first where I had to start writing my talk in Albanian and it actually was much easier than I thought it would be especially because it only has to be 3 min! On Monday we got to go to the Police Station as a district because they just changed some things for the visas to Albania or something so they had to do background checks for us and it was kinda fun but kinda sad because we drove past B9 and all these different places I love. I did get sick this week with a head cold and still kinda have it which kinda stinks but its alright! Honestly I am so incredibly blessed to be with the Elders that I am with! They are all so cool and we are all friends and it just makes for an awesome time! On Tuesday we got to hear from Elder Cook of the 12! It was awesome, like you could just feel his spirit! I don't think that his whole talk was really meant for me but there were a couple things where I was like wohhhh just really felt the spirit. When he closed he was starting his testimony and I got hit with one of those listen ups the spirit has been giving me here and during his testimony he said, "because of experiences too sacred to share I know that Christ leads this church, I know his voice and I know that he lives." WOH it was like dang the church is true! Honestly he just slipped in that he knew the Saviors voice and the spirit totally testified of it to me! It was awesome! On Wednesday I hosted this elder and his older brother gets out of the car and has long hair and hipster classes and just looks like a pretty awesome guy and he asked where I was serving so I said Albania and he was like no way! I went to Hungary! All my best friends in the MTC were Albanians I still talk to those guys! And I was like hey me too! So that was kinda cool that he still stayed in contact with his friends from his zone in the MTC! Also I saw Sister Daly this week so that was pretty funny! Kyra sent me a letter this week and it was wayyy awesome like seriously made my week! She included a bunch of really powerful quotes in it and honestly it was just awesome! I also got some really awesome packages from Grandma and Grandpa Moss and the Fragas which was really nice!! In Grandma and Grandpas package they had some really awesome quotes in theirs that I loved too!  I got emails from Kyra, Grant, Cameron, Trevor, Austin, Brittany Hallam, Emma, Taryn, and Mallory!

 Also, I am sorry for my awesome friends who are turning into popsicles in all their missions while we are having record warm temperatures here in Utah -  but honestly they are the biggest comfort for me out here, whenever I'm missing home or feeling down I just think about Cameron, Trevor, and Austin and how they are all out doing the same thing and they are just huge boosts for me!  I am so lucky to have them! 

I love you all and am so grateful for all the mail you send me it is such a moral boost I appreciate you all taking the time to do it! 

New Finns

March 5, 2015

 So we hit our half way point last Friday (here at the MTC)! It's really starting to feel like time is flying here.. and I am not sure I know enough Albanian to do this but I know the Lord will provide. Then Sunday was really awesome because it was testimony meeting and all the Finns were leaving on Monday and so a lot of them got up and bore their testimony to us, it was really sad but a really powerful meeting! Seeing them off was really sad the next morning but we're excited we will be getting new Finns and we can be examples and a help to them like the old Finns were for us! I got your package on Monday and honestly it made my week! That calendar is so stinking awesome thank you so much! Also one of the Brazilians next to us knew what a thuggie was! He had one too and he was like man now I want my parents to send me mine! That puzzle you sent me may actually take my whole mission to figure out! I also got a letter from Grandma and Grandpa Guymon that was really awesome! Then on Tuesday I got the package of donuts you sent me which was awesome but even more awesome was the note attached! Thank you so much for sharing that it means a lot to me that Grace still thinks about me! Tuesday was kinda a crazy day though because Motra Ariza was getting surgery on Wednesday and she was on hydrocodone all day and she was out of her mind! Last night before we went to bed she had me give her a blessing and oh boy, words can not describe what it's like to give a blessing like that. The last blessing I gave her I really felt the spirit but this time WOW. I think a lot of what changed is I knew that whatever I blessed her with in my blessing Heavenly Father would honor. I opened the prayer and suddenly I had all these promptings in my head of exactly what I needed to say. I could feel the spirit down to my toes! I honestly got out of the room and was like man what would it be like to have that with you all the time! I really want to strive to have that kind of spiritual power.  Let me tell you that the words that I spoke were not my own and that when she went in to her surgery I wasn't even worried because Heavenly Father told me she would be alright. It sounds like everything went well from the surgery and she will be getting back today so I am really hoping to see her! Another awesome thing that happened Tuesday was we had a great devotional by the same guy who spoke to Trevor! Elder Evans! The part where the spirit really told me that this was for me was actually his wife though! She told a story about how she only knew how to say good morning in Japanese (they were mission presidents) but every week the elders would ask her if she had found anyone they could teach that week but she always said she didn't even speak the language. One day she realized she just needed to get out there so she began to go on morning walks and just say good morning to everyone see she saw and she ended up talking to someone who spoke English, hooked them up with the missionaries, and they ended up getting baptized! What I really got out of that is that I really am not going to speak the language well, and I am not that great at meeting new people but I need to work on just saying hi to everyone and not being nervous to talk to people about the gospel. I have already started working on it here in the MTC! Wednesday was a pretty awesome day! We went to go skype and were set up to teach an Albanian member and we called her and she said hi and then waved over these two guys she said were her friends and she said one of them was investigating the church right now! Oh man our teacher was watching us at that moment and his eyes got huge and he was like oh man that's your first investigator so naturally we were freaking out! It was really frustrating because we can actually understand the language pretty well now but the sound was so bad on the call we basically had no idea what they were saying the whole time. We got a message across and then at the end they started laughing and pulled out their name tags and it turns out they are missionaries oh man that was a dirty trick!!! Our teacher couldn't even understand them either so it was good to know it wasn't just us! Then we got to go host new kids which is when we go out to the curb and do what Jake Hart did for me! It was actually really fun there are so many different families out there it's funny to see how they all deal with their goodbyes. Luckily I didn't have to host any sisters because they pretty much all just start bawling and I'm going to be honest I would have no idea what to do. Then that night we got to go and meet the new Finns! There are 2, count them 2, Australians! What are the odds,  this means that every Sister in the radius of their voice swoons! :) There is also a guy I recognize from BYU but I don't really remember how exactly. I am really excited to help them get comfortable here and become friends with them! Anyway I love you all so much and I love the mail I get from you! The church is true and no one will ever be able to convince me otherwise! This week I got 2 packages from my parents, a letter from Grandma and Grandpa Guymon, and email from Kyra, Kristina, Grandpa Guymon, Berdo, Emma, Grayland, Taryn, Cameron, Trevor, and Austin! 

Adam ran into Riley Billings at the temple.

Only 700 more days to go!

February 26, 2015

That title is the biggest joke I've ever seen but really though I finished my first month here at the MTC and it seems like the time has just flown by! I can't believe that Courtney is going to get here like a couple days before I leave! Tenny just got here a bit ago so that's way cool to see him! This week was a bit of a rollercoaster to be honest! The Finns who are basically like older brothers for me are all packed up because they are leaving on Monday and it's been really sad to see and to make matters worse I started thinking about when I leave and how I want to call home and I thought about talking to Grace and to be honest that's the first time I have cried at night since I have been here. Seriously talking about her kills me it's awful. 

I finished the Rubiks cube which was awesome! So Sister Ariza has been having a really rough go of it. I guess she has something wrong with her gall bladder and she finds out tomorrow whether she has to go home for surgery or can stay here. I really hope she can stay because I love her! Our Branch President can really rub me wrong sometimes but I also know that he is guided by the spirit and that if I listen to him I can grow. He got up on Sunday and decided not to give his talk and just asked us to have faith and fast that Motra Ariza, McBride Nover (Sister McBride, in Hungarian the tags are backwards), and the Finns who are getting anxiety (a couple of them are really freaking out about leaving). It was a super spiritual meeting so our whole zone fasted the next day that the Lord will bless them and I know He will but I know a lot of it depends on his timing. 

There's a group of Elders going to Brazil that are really cool but one of them has been talking to me about how he really struggles with the language and stuff and the other night he just started having a really bad anxiety attack.   He is doing way better now which was great but man I just continue to thank Heavenly Father for a strong and healthy emotional and mental system that can handle stresses because it's a way bigger problem than I thought it would be here. I am also grateful for companions that I can get along with most of the time. One of the Estonians right next door to me who is really cool has had a really hard time with his companions. He is one of my better friends here but one of his companions has had a hard time with emotional issues and is just hard to be around him a lot of the time and the other just doesn't talk nor does he seem like he really wants to be here! He ended up staying in our room one night for a while and just venting with us which was good for him. 

I am also no longer district leader (they switch at half) which has honestly been a little hard for me so far. I don't know I just feel like I have already built this relationship with everyone in my district where they can come to me and I can help them. I know it's an exercise of humility for me but I'll tell you what it really is going to be a little rough go of it for a bit. 

 We did another skype session yesterday with an Albanian and I really liked her she was mid 20's and had gone on a mission to Italy but she spoke pretty slowly for us and I could understand almost everything she said! She was working at a little kiosk thing while we were skyping so she would randomly get up and go talk to customers! and the branch president showed up for a bit! (she is his daughter). Afterwards our teacher talked to her and she said she felt like we had a lot of unity in our companionship which is good! On Tuesday we had the best devotional since I have been here! It was  way awesome, It was Bishop Cousse a presiding bishop and he just talked about how missionaries are super heroes and he told a couple stories about families being converted to the church and how they will always remember that missionaries name. That was just a big testament to me that I could be that missionary for someone who in 40 years is like my family was converted by an Elder Guymon and he changed our lives! How awesome would that be! The generations of converts would just go on! I have had a few times this week where I have just really felt that burning in my chest of the spirit testifying to me that what I am hearing is true and I need to listen and it's the most awesome feeling! I love that we are able to have the gift of the holy ghost with us to always testify that what we are doing is right! 

My favorite scriptures right now are in Alma 26:28-30 & 35-37...

28 And now behold, we have come, and been forth amongst them; and we have been patient in our sufferings, and we have suffered every privation; yea, we have traveled from house to house, relying upon the mercies of the world—not upon the mercies of the world alone but upon the mercies of God.

 29 And we have entered into their houses and taught them, and we have taught them in their streets; yea, and we have taught them upon their hills; and we have also entered into their temples and their synagogues and taught them; and we have been cast out, and mocked, and spit upon, and smote upon our cheeks; and we have been stoned, and taken and bound with strong cords, and cast into prison; and through the power and wisdom of God we have been delivered again.

 30 And we have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this, that perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul; and we supposed that our joy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving some.

35 Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name.

 36 Now if this is boasting, even so will I boast; for this is my life and my light, my joy and my salvation, and my redemption from everlasting wo. Yea, blessed is the name of my God, who has been mindful of this people, who are a branch of the tree of Israel, and has been lost from its body in a strange land; yea, I say, blessed be the name of my God, who has been mindful of us, wanderers in a strange land.

 37 Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen.

One of my favorite things my mission president says mostly pertaining to girlfriends but I think it applies to everything is "Do you think God is going to withhold blessings from you for going on a mission? NO!" and I had never really thought about it like that. He isn't ever going to make our options worse for going on a mission which is really comforting! 

I've really missed you all and love you so much! I get a little homesick a couple times per week and I really miss Grace but I'm good!  One thing is do you think you could send me a little picture of Grace once a week, they don't even have to be current and if it's not easy don't worry about it but I'd love to see her! It sucks though every time I think of her I get choked up! 

I got a package from the Fraga's! Did you tell them what to put in it because it had like my favorite stuff!!! I don't have their email address so will thank them for me! 

Kyra Toyama writes me every week which is really cool, Emma Williams has started writing me, Austin, Cameron , Trevor, and I have a group message that we write in. This week in specific I heard from: Sarah Blake, Grayland Martin, Michael Hopper, Courtney Dittman, Taylor Thomas, and Britney Perez!

Thank you for all the love and the stuff you send! It means a ton honestly I really love you mom you are the best! I miss you tons!

Week 3 in the MTC!

Pershendetje!‏

 So I apologize but I don't think I have a ton to write about this week. It was just pretty standard! First of all thank you so much for my Valentine's Day package! Seriously everyone was so jealous of me it was hilarious! Honestly though its awesome just to have little toys like that to help me unwind at the end of the day! One crazy thing that happened is Cameron officially left to Norway which was a lot more of a bummer than I thought it would be! Like I didn't get to see him all that much but it was still really awesome just to know he was here and we would run into each other every once in a while. 

One thing that was really helpful to me was on Friday after talking to my zone leaders I decided to hold a district inventory so essentially everyone in our district got together one night and we just talked about things that other people do that bug us but in a constructive way and it realllllllllly helped and everyone felt pretty good about it. My companion talked about some of his feelings towards the Sister who has been frustrating us and I think that she will make an effort to fix it. 

Also, Sunday night we had a great devotional and the guy speaking felt prompted to spend a lot of time talking about staying with your companion and it really starting to make an impression on me because my branch president has been talking about the same thing so I really feel like Heavenly Father is trying to tell me that something bad is going to happen if I don't stay with my companion which is kinda scary but it's not like I'm planning on breaking that rule. The speaker was just really cool though and it kind of felt like just a big moral boost and he threw down some pretty awesome quotes. One of them was "when you think you can't do it anymore, believe the thoughts that say you can"! 

I also found out the MTC is a little over 41% Sister missionaries! like holy cowwww! Last Thursday we did TRC which is where we go and essentially give a family home evening feeling lesson to some RM's from Albania! It was a seriously humbling experience but at the same time it gave me hope. They were super cool and would help us with words if we couldn't remember them or know them. Then this current week on Wednesday we got to skype with an actual Albanian and teach her a lesson. WHEW... that was soo freaky. The sister has been a member for 2 years and so we talked to her a little bit and then shared the message of the restoration. Honestly I don't think I understood half of what she said. But she was patient and really tried to help us understand! 

One thing that I have really gained an appreciation for since I have been here is my patriarchal blessing. I read it every night and it honestly has so much in there for me every time I read it I feel Heavenly Father just saying he is looking out for me and it is so cool! I have really been praying to receive and be able to listen to spiritual promptings on how to help the other missionaries in my zone and its been really cool being able to feel Him helping me out in almost everything I do! 

I am for sure glad that I am staying here as long as I am. I just hope its long enough honestly, the Fins are leaving in 2 weeks and they are really starting to feel some pressure and are getting nervous! Not going to like good looking sisters really are a struggle sometimes, there is a sister in my district that is so awesome and pretty dang cute and its so hard not to just openly flirt with her. Its also extra hard because everyone in my zone and my companions are really cool and sometimes we will see a girl and like all share the same thought and sometimes have to pull it back together. I'd say im definitely learning some patience and definitely learning how the Lord loves his children. I think one of my favorite parts about being here at the MTC so far is really getting into prayer. Like there are times where I am praying and I just know He is listening and it is just really cool to know He can bless me if I ask. 

I definitely do enjoy learning Albanian although I wish they went at a quicker pace to be honest, they have really slowed up. The only thing frustrating to me is when I'm in the middle of a lesson and really getting a point across and then get stuck at a word I just dont know. it sucks! One thing I struggle with is humbling myself and leaving room for the Spirit to do the teaching. I just want to get all my message out so that they understand and I need to learn to step back a bit and leave time for the true teacher to do His job. 

So I made an official calendar for my stay here at the MTC so here is the DL, today is my 23rd day here and I have 63 total days (we leave March 31st). I am going to have 8 PDays while I am here and this is my third which makes it sound way shorter than it feels sometimes, but weeks really do go by pretty quickly now. Jason visited me yesterday and we talked for a while he showed me all those pictures of Gracie at her birthday you posted on Facebook and I'll be honest I almost started crying. I just really miss her a whole lot which sucks but it will be awesome to see how much she has grown when I skype on Mothers day! Another cool thing is Caroline Bushman from BYU is now here! I took some pictures with her which I'll post later but I see her everywhere and she has so much positive energy it's just awesome to be able to talk to her every once in a while! I definitely have been blessed with my companionship because we are all still getting along great! Like these guys aren't my best friends or anything but we like each other which is much better than some other companionships we see. I'll finish by giving a little testimony in Albanian,

Une di qe Jezu Krishitit na eshte shpitimtare edhe ai eshte biri i parendise. Une besoj qe Jozef Smithi ka rivendosuar e ungillin edhe kyo kishe eshte e vertete. Une di qe Perendine udeqin sepse ai na deshmon. Ne emrin e Jezu Krishtit amen.

I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that he is the Son of God. I believe that Joseph Smith restored the gospel and that this is the true church, I know that God gave us comandments because He loves us. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

2nd Pday!

Weekly email numerat dy

    Well I'll tell you what this week was wayyyyyyy better than last week but at the same time I don't have as much to tell. I'll start with my rollercoaster of a thursday last P day. So it was going great and all and I got to read some emails but when I got back to my room and one of the Finns (they are basically our older brothers) came and told us that he was going home today. It was super sad because he has like miner OCD and had been struggling with anxiety and I guess he went to the councilor and they said if he went to field it would get worse. So we had to go see him off then a companionship in the Hungarian district was having some problems and the zone leaders had to authorize a temporary exchange and he slept in their room because he basically broke down. Pretty much everyone in the zone was sort of freaked out but luckily everything turned out alright! We also played ping pong because someone brought a net that attaches to tables and that was way fun. We finished teaching our "investigator" Anila and she came and talked to us in English about her experience and how she thought we did and she gave me a personal shout out and complimented me and said it felt like I was really interested so that's awesome! Weeks are definitely passing by quicker now which is awesome like its already week 3 by the MTC count so I'll be outa here in no time! Also this week our teacher told us when we got to Albania we would get new name tags with our names spelled phonetically with the Albanian alphabet so my new name with be Gajmen (with two dots over the e). Which is confusing but awesome. Also I heard a really good quote that made me even more excited to learn Albanian, "The language you were called to serve in is the language that you can best testify of the gospel in." or something to that effect. When I heard that I really felt the spirit so I know that that is true which gives me a lot of hope when I feel like its too much. Something kinda sad that happened was all the English speakers that came in to the MTC with us are now gone! But since then Jordan Lee has come in and Andrew Barton! So week one with the district felt great and all but now that we are over the whole "we don't know each other thing" some personalities are really coming out and the district isn't getting along quite as well as they used to. For me especially there is one sister that I am really struggling with and she actually made my companion full force punch a wall a couple days ago because he was so mad. Luckily he didn't break his hand on the brick wall but I think that I might need to talk with her. On the other hand we really get along with another companionship of sisters in my district and that is definitely a blessing. I actually did an illegal race, an 800 meter, the other day during gym because one of the sisters runs track for ISU and I definitely lost to her... I train every day now and am determined to beat her by the end of our stay here! You will have to thank Grandma and Grandpa Guymon for sending me a valentines because I don't have their emails! Also thank you for the package of apples (Jason)! Everyone was super weirded out but it really is awesome to have those! Also dad I don't know if you heard about this guy but he is here at the MTC right now and he is 6'7" 410lbs from Tonga. Like honestly this dude is huggggeeeeeeee and he's not fat like he is athletic! Apparently the coaches saw him playing basketball in Tonga and he played rugby there and he got offered a full ride to BYU even though he's never played football! I guess he's their biggest recruit ever or something! We only have 70lbs on him as a combined tripanionship!! I learned a new scripture that explains why everyone gets married so quickly at BYU and everyone in my zone says it all the time! If you are interested its 1 Cor 7:9. :)

The language is coming along pretty  well. I can pretty solidly say prayers and bear my testimony or do introductions. In our branch we have to write a talk every week and the branch president just randomly chooses people to give their talks after sacrament! Starting after week 4 you have to give your talk in your mission language!! It is good practice though for sure. 

I know one thing that is both a pro and con of being a District Leader is the branch presidency meetings where all the district leaders and branch president come and all talk about all the districts "dirty laundry". It's nice because we get to help people and I get to know who needs help but at the same time sometimes ignorance is bliss!

Also my companions wanted me to thank you for the food you have been sending! haha

 Again thank you for all the emails and prayers they are really big pick me ups and it means a lot to me!