Close to the Sea...

Hello! 

This week has gone very well. My favourite part of the week was the
ward party that we had at the church on Saturday night. It was a show
put on by the youth. They had practiced a lot for it in the weeks
leading up to it. It was the "Don't sleep through the Restoration"
talk brought to life with a whole lot of other entertainment
throughout. There was acting, singing, dancing, scripture quoting, and
a fashion show. It was incredibly entertaining, and it was so good to
see the whole ward come together. The whole thing started with the
youth singing as a gospel choir "Halleluia."  They had a violin and
piano as well. Quite impressive. They acted out the story of the
sleeping man. They had a couple other of quick acting clips that
applied more to implementing the talk in everyday life. They had a
seminary fashion show. At first they walked across the stage one at a
time yawning and doing the groggy early morning seminary student, and
then they walked across again rejuvenated and with the scriptures in
hand. It was so funny, made even more funny if you knew the youth.
They also danced to the 2014 World cup song. It was all choreographed.
There were quite a few scriptures quoted.. and they weren't just
quoted they were very well presented. Nana would have been impressed.
It was a great show and our investigators loved it. I was wishing more
of them would have come because of how well done it was.

This week we have really tried to work more with the Bishop. He has
been a tough man to understand. He keeps to himself a lot, and as a
result there hasn't been a lot of clear communication, so we decided
to set up a visit to his house. His son E is 9, and we get along
very well with him. He also has a teenage daughter, and a teenage
niece and nephew that are with them at their house. We had a really
great visit. They really opened up when we were with them in their
home. We had a really great conversation, and they fed us fruit salad.
They told us their conversion story. It was quite fascinating. He was
a prepared investigator. He met missionaries, and was baptized a month
later because he was loving learning, and keeping commitments, and he
and his wife both got an answer to their prayers almost immediately.
It is quite the story. They have been members for 9 years now. They
joke that E got baptized twice!

We had a surprise around the mission last night. President Weidmann
moved a ton of people around. The mini or half transfer wasn't
supposed to be for a couple of weeks so it came as quite a shock.
Elder Austin will now be serving with Elder Ashler in Durrës. So I
will see him again! Elder Linderman from Durrës is the new AP. Elder
Clawson is the new north zone leader. That is about all you would
know.

Elder Rasband and I are getting good at cooking. We made stuffed
peppers and chicken for dinner last night. They were a hit! We have
leftovers too, so that is always good. Elder Rasband is really into
trying new cooking adventures. I have to admit that often I would
rather just cook something really fast and easy a lot of the time, but
it is worth eating the good food we are making when we finish cooking
it!

Right now we are redeveloping our investigator pool. There is a lot of
sifting that goes on out here. A is going the distance. One of
these days he will get baptized. He is a great part of the ward!

It has been really fun working with Elder Rasband! We are having a
good time out here! There is a saying in Albania. Close to the sea,
close to the King. It basically means that it is awesome being by the
sea! It is beautiful out here!

Take Buddy on Walks now that you are home!

Love Elder Stewart

This week Elder Stewart and Elder Rasband got stuck in an elevator for a few hours. This is a picture of the elevator door open, looking at the cement wall.

This is a picture of the computer screen during the show at the ward party. Dave Stewart was singing!!

The harbour.

Close to the sea, close to the King. He looks so happy!