Just another crazy day in Lushje!! August 26, 2013

Hey Family! 

Another crazy week has come and gone in the life of Motra Hawkins and her rad companion Motra Wait. To sum things up simply, she is still pretty sick so yet again we have been cooped up in our apartment like a bunch of chickens!! It has been hard but I am happy and we have had some awesome conversations. As you probably know now from the pictures, we were able to go to our investigators home (Rista and Pirro Cauli) and milk their cows after our lesson with them. They are truly the nicest Albanians I have ever met and I don't know how I will be able to say goodbye to them. Also they joked that once I get home they are coming to America to me you (mostly Mom and Dad) and to see our farm. It is so nice, but also slightly difficult, to talk about farm stuff to someone who understands the farm life and culture. Our teaching has been going great with them and the two of them are going to be baptized this weekend!! I am so excited!!  

Some other fun things are that the interviews for temple recommends happened this week and the five people we have been teaching will be going in October!! There is this couple that is going to be sealed- the mom has been a member for ten years and the father for just over one. Just about a year ago their son passed away, and a while after his death he came to his father in a dream and told him he needed to become a member so that they could go to temple, have his work done, and be sealed together as a family. Last night I had the blessed opportunity of reserving the work for them via internet. I have always loved family history but to see the look on their faces and hear the pain in their voices over the loss of their only son, it brings me joy beyond description to be able to tell them that they can now be sealed. This is the kind of missionary work I love the most- the eternal kind!! The feeling I had last night as I submitted the information was beyond amazing- I know that he is so grateful!!  

Other good news is that all of the youth from Lushnje left for EFY today so that will be really good for them. Also, Majlinda- a member who just received her temple recommend- called us the other day and told us her husband will stop smoking because he wants to get baptized and eventually go to the temple with his family. It was an incredible surprise!! I can hardly wait to see what miracles will happen this week. Oh yeah and we found out that we are getting an expansion to our current meeting center because so many members are coming now. Just a year ago there were only five members attending. When we came there were about 25 and now we have an average of over fifty and more are getting baptized every week (almost..). It's awesome!! 

Welp that is all for this week. I'll let you know next week where I will be headed and what I will be doing. Love you all! 

Motra Hawkins 

P.S. Oh and we finally bought a microwave- it was an exciting day for us!!

Kati getting ready to milk the Albanian cow

Kati milking Milka, the Albanian cow

Another Week Comes and Goes -- August 12, 2013

Hey Family!! 

Sadly, this week was not the best- if not our worst in regards to the work. Like I may have mentioned last week, my companion is very sick and quite downhearted with her silly stomach. She is always laying in her bad nauseated and runs to the bathroom quite often. Many days this past week were spent inside the apartment, with her sleeping (or at least trying to sleep) and with me outside reading from the Gospel library and watching church related things. To sum up my week I watched the Work of Salvation broadcast twice, all of the past conference talks twice, watched all of the Mormon messages I have downloaded, listened to about five CES firesides, watched the Restoration video, and a couple other church productions. I also read a lot in the Book of Mormon, Jesus the Christ, started and finished Our Heritage and Our Search for Happiness. Basically I have done a lot of sitting, pondering, and knowledge gaining. It has been a nice physical break but I want to get out and teach!!! You know that saying, "You never know what you truly love until is gone." definitely applies this week. I can hardly believe how itchy I am to get  back out and teach our investigators, help members learn about the temple and do something other than sitting on a couch. I am hoping and praying that the medicine Motra Wait received today will make things a bit better because it is really hard for me to see her so upset over something she cannot really control. I think the biggest thing that I learned this week is that I truly do love teaching and that was manifest by the lack of it throughout the week. It's hard for me, but I know that it is so much harder for Motra Wait. Even though we were not with our investigators much this week we will still be having two baptisms this next week which we are really excited for and then a three more the week after that. Even though this past week was not the best, in the big scheme of things, the work is progressing and expanding faster than I ever thought it could or would. Haha I even had an investigator ask us if it was okay for him to talk to his friends about the gospel and invite them to come to church with him. I told her to talk to as many as he wanted and that the Elders could meet with the ones that we cannot. And then he asked if we could build a church out in his village..obviously he doesn't understand the need for Priesthood leaders (though he will be a great one here in a couple of weeks!!) Hopefully we are able to get some new investigators through that and help them begin to make sacred covenants. 

Well, other than that our week was pretty pale. Nothing crazy happened here. I hope you are all having a nice end to your summer and a special shout out to Casey and Collin ---> Happy Birthday bros!! And like the Albanians say, "Edhe nje qind!" which basically means may you live another 100 years. 

Well, that's all I have for this week. Pafshim! 

Love, 

Motra Hawkins

Haircut Gone Bad... August 12, 2013

oh yeah so I made the mistake of getting a haircut this week and coloring my hair. Pretty much I hate it. Any suggestions on what I can do to take the curls??