Hey Family!
So today I wanted to start by telling you about how we met our investigator Halide Volca. She is a single 30 year old Muslim Biology professor. We in fact did not find her but she actually found us. Here is the story.
The weeks leading up to our first meeting in the street, we had been planning on offering church tours to people passing in the street but didn't have a chance until that specific day. As she was walking by, we smiled and said hello and she stopped when she saw the church sign with the name of Christ. She explained to us that she is Muslim but that she has purchased a Bible and been studying it for a couple years and wanted some help to understand different books and verses. She didn't have time to come inside the church then so later in the week we went to her home and taught her of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith and then invited her to come again to the church and take a look around.
As we walked around the church and showed her the different portraits on the wall, she marveled as she had been reading of these stories for years and knew exactly what all of them were. She had so many questions about our church and how it compares to Christ's church and was thrilled to learn that they are the same. She easily accepted that our church could be led by a modern prophet and that Christ is at the head of our church. She understands the doctrine, the need for baptism and loves Christ. Even though her family is against her joining the Church, she has a strong testimony and will be a great member once she is able to overcome her fears and enter the waters of baptism. She has been sick this past week so we have not been able to meet with her but we hope to meet as soon as she has time. Consequently we may have to push her date back but she will be ready soon!
This past week was hard because we had a difficult time meeting with all of our previously found investigators, but we had a great week of finding and the Lord blessed us with a great family to teach! We are so excited!
Another crazy thing that happened this week took place on Monday. We were at the church waiting for our investigator when a man in a suit and a blonde haired woman walked in. It came to me as such a surprise when the man started speaking to me in broken English and introduced himself as Cosimo, an Italian member who is here with the military. He then introduced me to his English teacher, Kate, and told us that he has been teaching her all about the church since they met and that she is excited to learn more. We met with her again and she even came to church yesterday and wants Cosimo to baptize her children! It's fantastic! Now we just need to convince her that she needs to be baptized first. :) My favorite part of that day was when Cosimo leaned over to me and said, "Sister....Golden Contact!" When she asked what he said we all just laughed. :)
Another crazy thing that happened this past week took place on Friday. We had just finished lunch when our investigator called us and told us to hurry and meet her. Once we found her, she was a mess in tears and told us that because she had put up a picture of Christ on her wall, her landlord told her she had an hour to pack up her belongings and get our or they were going to through her things away, just an hour before she had to be to work. We helped her throw everything into bags and calm her down. The entire time I was thinking how crazy the entire situation was. The only good thing about the whole problem was the comment Ermira made at the end when she said, "What did He ever do wrong to them? Even though they all hate Him. And what is He going to do? He is going to forgive them." I was taught so much.
The last experience that I want to mention also came as a surprise. We were out trackting and the Elders gave us a call and told us our investigator was waiting for us at the church. Her name is Bleta and she is a political leader and is running for leadership in the government. She came to the church to ask us if we could say a prayer for the country of Kosovo. For the better part of twenty minutes she explained the problems to me and my companion and largely expanded my political vocabulary. Then she turned to me and asked me to say a prayer. I was a little scared but I turned to the Lord and simply asked to bless the people and leaders here. The Spirit in the room was strong and I prayed for things I would have never thought to say. The experience was truly remarkable and I hope that the people here will be blessed.
Well that is all for this week. Don't count down the days and I'll see you all that much sooner!
Love,
Motra Hawkins
