Another Week -- June 3, 2013

I don't have much more time this week so here is a copy of what I sent to my mission president. Sorry I don't have time to write more or make it any more personal.

What a wonderful week it has been this past week! Like every other week though, the time seems to pass so quickly here at the end of the transfer with my companion preparing to leave. It has been a bit of a struggle for me to stay focused, but I am trying my hardest to continue to work hard and do my best. One of the greatest lessons I learned this week is the power of a simple testimony. Yesterday in sacrament meeting, one of our recent investigators Adelsona got up and bore her testimony. She has been so wonderful in accepting and keeping all of our commitments and she surprised us yesterday by doing even more than we had asked. As a family we taught them about fasting and tithing and that wasn't a problem, but we never expected her to get up and bear testimony in front of all of the branch. She stood up and bore a simple but powerful testimony about the Book of Mormon and the prophet Joseph Smith. It was limited but again powerful, such that it brought her mother to tears. The mother keeps saying that she only wants to girls to learn for themselves so that they can better their lives but I hope that she will begin to realize that the Gospel is for everyone. I hope that we can help her understand that the opportunity to repent and learn about the Gospel is something that everyone has the chance to do no matter what age you are. Change is something that I think a lot of Albanians have a hard time accepting- if you look at their culture the evidence is everywhere. The older generation still wears the same style of clothes from centuries ago- the death and family traditions that seem crazy to us are still the norm and the belief that it is impossible to change religion. We meet so many people that tell us they cannot get baptized because their parents were Muslim, they are Muslim and can never change. It has been a challenge for us to figure out how to help them understand that through the Gospel and Atonement, we are able to change and always for the better. Like I wrote last week, this is why I believe the Savior tells us that we must been like a child- like Adelsona- and be willing to do anything and everything we can to follow the Savior's example. It has been hard but I am doing my best to keep a positive attitude. If you have any advise about what I can tell people in regards to changing religion, that would be wonderful.