Elder Parker Stewart in the Adriatic South: A New Testament Miracle

Happy Fathers Day!! I hope it went well! Also Happy Birthday Hannah! I
can't believe you are a teenager!

This week during District Meeting there was a knock at the door, A
lady yelled in, and Elder Bangerter and I ran out and talked with her.
We got it all sorted out, and ran back in. After a few minutes the
same thing happened. This time it was a man. Elder Bangerter and I
again ran out to take care of it. We were a little confused because
usually we don't have disruptions in District Meeting. The man Fatos
was holding a red book, and he told us that he wanted to give it to
us. It was a New Testament. We weren't exactly sure what was
happening, but we said thank you. He then said there are a few more,
but you will need to come with me and talk with my friend. He said we
would only be 5 minutes. We knew that we should be in District
Meeting, but we just felt like we should go so we left. About a block
away is an office building. We were taken to a spacious office with
big chairs. The man at the desk greeted us, and told us to take a
seat. He quite obviously had a lot of authority. He had a big desk
with a big computer. We talked for a second, and introduced ourselves.
He informed us that he had another office facility a little ways away,
and that they were cleaning it out. He told us that in his possesion
were 1000 New Testaments all freshly printed. He said that they were
going to throw them all away, but he didn't want that. He asked.."Do
tyou want them?" We were quite astonished. Bibles and books can be
quite expensive here so most people don't have them. Members ask us on
a regular basis if we can find them a Bible. We were very excited. We
thanked the man! He said that he would have the man move them all
over. He informed us that there would be no charge. He just wanted us
to pay Fatos (the man that got us) 10$ to thank him, and for the work
that he would do moving them. We happily agreed! We thanked the big
man at the desk again! I don't know if it seems like a miracle to you,
but it was a huge miracle for us. We ran back to District Meeting, and
informed the others. They were all so excited about it. As soon as
District Meeting ended we ran over and helped Fatos move all of the
Bibles. We stashed them all in the church building. The Stake is
currently deciding how to spread them all out.

We met some new people this week. One of them is a famous Albanian
Composer who has two baptised children in the states. He is amazing at
the piano, and so he played a little bit for us. They have pictures
all over their house of their kids temple weddings so we hope they can
progress. They didn't seem to have a ton of desire to learn, but we
will keep trying!

We have met twice with a man that Elder Braden and I contacted on our
exchange last week. He is a father of 1, and he is a great guy. He
came to church two weeks ago, and he loved it. One of our lessons this
week was in the house of a member! It was super good to introduce him
to the members. The other lesson was in his home with all of his
family around. The lesson with the member was cut short because they
had to run out and vote before the polls closed, but for the most part
it was a very spiritual experience.

There was an election this week. They were voting for the government
repesentative of each city. I am not completely sure how it works, and
I haven't heard who won yet, but it was an exciting day yesterday.
Everyone was running to the polls. It appeared to me that people were
taking it very seriously. It was hard to meet with many people
yesterday as a result, but I was very impressed by how many people
were using their ability to vote! I hope the best candidates won, and
that Albania can continue to progress.

I had an exchange with Elder Roemer this week. I have loved serving
with people from my MTC group. I have had the chance to go on
exchanges while here in Tirana, and up in Kosovo, and it is so much
fun. Every exchange we get a ton done as well! Elder Roemer and I
taught quite a few lessons. We met some really promising families. He
is a very hard working Elder! We had quite a bit of tracting time so
it was fun to talk with him. He had heard about my extension, and then
Elder Braden from our group extended, and he told me that he had also
extended. I am in very good company! The new date is Nov 17. I miss
you all a ton, but I feel like it will be a very good thing for us,
and for the Albanian people.

This upcoming week we will have a mission conference, and then on the
weekend transfer calls will be made. President Weidmann will call
everyone, and a couple minutes later we will call them all with their
travel plans. We are still working hard to get mission conference
ready, and to be ready for the transfer. It is an exciting time.

I am so excited for Matt! He is going to love his mission!I am so
excited to hear all about it. The pictures of his farewell looked
good. He has a lot of family and friend support. I know that I have
really appreciated all of the support. It is very hard for me to
express it because of the limited communication that we have, but I
really appreciate it all whether it be prayers or cards or packages.
It all helps. I apologize for the lack of things being sent back!I
promise you that I think and pray for you all.

Good luck with finals this week! Have a great time with Matt! He is
going to be great! I am super excited. People around here might be
tired of me talking about how excited I am for him haha, but I am
proud of him!

Take care of Buddy! Take him on lots of walks!

Love Elder Stewart