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!!