My Mission Is Not Over...... Her Final week!

Motra Zollinger

Hello Hello!! :) 

Well........this is it. My last email that I will write as a missionary. It is sorta bittersweet. Bittersweet. that is the best word ever, and it doesn't translate in Albanian...so i try to translate it in my facial expressions...but it doesn't work. haha. 

This past week really was such an incredible week! It went by so quickly, i don't even know if it really happened. It went by so quickly. But it was so good! I am going to do my best to remember everything that has happened this past week; but my ability to focus has dropped dramatically today, haha. so, ki durim. :) 

A member in the fourth ward, made me a dress. She is so good at it too! I just bought the fabric last monday and took it to her house on Tuesday and she measured me and then I told her that I wanted pockets in the dress and that she can do anything that she wants as long as there are pockets. She did such a great job! I wore it to church yesterday, and i really really like it. So yeah, she is amazing. :) 

Wednesday was sister's conference. My last sister's conference ever. Sister White and I were in the middle of our training when Missy Russell walked in the room. I knew she was flying in on Wednesday, but i didn't think she would come to sister's conference. I saw her and I stopped listening to my companion for a couple seconds and just stared and her and started to smile so big! It took all of my self control to not yell her name and to run to her and jump in her arms. But I remained calm, and we finished our training. Then we had a break for snacks and then I ran to her. ah! It was so fun to see her! Sister's conference really went so well. It was such an amazing evening. It was super bittersweet though, giving my last testimony infront of my wonderful sisters. That was hard, but it was such a spiritual day. haha, during the break I saw these treats that i thought were chocolate covered something but I wasn't sure... so I asked President Weidmann who was opening up the container what they were, he just looked at me and said "they are olives" and just smiled. Then sister Weidmann just laughed and said "no! They are chocolate covered almonds." haha. i totally believed him though and i was super confused. 

We also went to the Osmeni family on Wednesday night, to say goodbye to them. They were so sweet and made such delicious fish food for us to eat. It was so much fun to be able to spend the evening with them and to share stories and to just have a great time. I think sarcasm in Albanian is probably one of the most hilarious things in the entire world.  Because it is that much more enjoyable when it is in albanian. 

Thursday morning we went to visit another member, who I taught my first lesson to on my mission. It was super cool to be able to visit them all again. It was even cooler because about 20 minutes in the lesson, Missy surprise visited that family. So it was a complete reunion. The little girl was so happy! It was so awesome and such a neat day! :) 

I have decided that making maps is super hard. especially on sticky notes. haha. For my last weekly planning I drew a ton of maps for our members that we visit, incase we had a white-wash at transfers. Maps are super hard to make, especially in Albania where addresses really don't work. haha, after every map I made I had to give it to Sister White and ask her if she could make it to the house or if she would get lost. That was super entertaining. 

Friday we played basketball with our investigators. It was a lot of fun. Sister White and I always end up being against each other in sports that we play. haha. We would guard each other the entire game, and one time I saw her coming and so i decided to hip check her. But she sorta had the same idea, and so it was a weird collision and then we were just laughing so hard that we couldn't play for a couple minutes. I also learned that I cannot do granny shots under pressure. nope, not all. 

Futbol on Saturday was a lot of fun! It was the funnest that it has ever been! I don't know why, maybe because it was considerably good weather and I wasn't sweating quite like a pig trying to pass a peach pit. So that was a small victory. It was a lot of fun though. I think it is so fun playing with little kids because then you think that you are a little kid with as much energy as they have...until you wake up the next morning being sore. but it is totally worth it. 

I visited my Albanian grandma for the last time on Saturday. She is the snazziest and sweetest nena ever. She was talking about how she loves reading the scriptures, but then she told us that "i don't read as much as I do now as I did when I did before." i told her that that is totally understandable because you are getting older and can't see as well or something like that; but she just starts to smile and laugh and then she says "no! I don't read as much because I have so many games on my ipad that i have to play." we could not stop laughing for so long. As we were leaving her house, I teased her telling her not to forget to read her scriptures. She smiled and said "oh yes, I will. After I finish playing. I will be playing from 3-6 pm" oh my heavens. what a lady. I love her! 

My last sunday went really well! So many people came to church and it was so good to see so many people at church! It was such a blast! Both of our investigators came to church and they loved it! After church we went to a member's house and ate such delicious byrek and tav kosi. It is so good. I am totally making byrek all the time when I get home. Later that night we also visited another family and they made us Albanian empanadas. It was delicious. :) 

I honestly don't know how to even begin to describe how I feel right now; and how the last 18 months of my life have been. I feel like I started my mission yesterday. That it was yesterday that I said bye to my family as I walked into the MTC to begin my training. Then it was last night that I landed in such a foreign land but however foreign to my mind it was ever so familiar to my heart.  I have absolutely loved my mission. With all my heart. It has been the most humbling experience of my entire life. Being reminded every single day of all of the weaknesses that I have, of so many things that are hard for me to do; and yet, God still loves me.  God doesn't love us because of our perfections, because they lack. But rather, God loves us because of our weaknesses, because we continue to work, we continue to try. It is through our weaknesses that God can see the affect of His Son's Atonement, as our weak things become strong. I am so grateful for my Savoir Jesus Christ and for His Atonement. I feel as though my knowledge has grown so much of the Atonement, and at the same time I have realized how little I know of the Atonement...but from what I do understand, I am filled with a never-ending gratitude for my brother and for what He did for me. I know that Christ lives. I know that He did so much for us because of His love for us and for His Father. I have been so blessed to have been able to teach people about Christ. To teach people of the happiness and the joy that comes from coming closer to Jesus Christ. I am going to miss this. Every day for the past week, as I wake up in the morning I feel this pang in my heart of knowing that it is coming to an end so soon. I am going to miss putting on this wonderful name tag every day. I am going to miss this wonderful place and these amazing people. But, I am so grateful that God has seen fit to send me to my promised land and to put so many amazing people in my life. I am blessed more than I deserve, but I am so grateful for God's mercy and for His love that He has blessed me so much. I know that my mission is not over. Yes, my mission as a full-time missionary is coming to an end; but my mission as a disciple of Jesus Christ is never going to end. It is only the beginning. I know this church is true. I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon and for the power that we can feel as we read that amazing and holy book. I am so grateful that the priesthood is restored. The Priesthood is Restored! That is why we are different, and that is why we are the true church. Without the priesthood being restored, we are just another church. But because the priesthood is restored, it needs to be told to all the world! God lives and Jesus is His Son. It is only through Christ that we are able to live such a wonderful life! Words will never express how I feel about this Gospel, and about my Savoir and Redeemer. But I want you to know, that I say with all of my heart and energy and love that I know. I know that what I have taught people for the last 18 months is true. I know it is true. 

I love you all so much! Have a wonderful week! Smile lots serve lots and treasure trials! I will see you this weekend. :) 

Love,

Motra Zollinger

A Mission Is Seeking ....... Weeks 72 & 73

Hello Hello!! :) 

A water way in Berat, Albania

I hope everyone had a wonderful week this past week!! It was yet another eventful week for me! Actually the past two weeks have been super eventful and I have lots of highlights. Sorry for not sending out an email last week, we went to Berat. It was a beautiful, but long day and we only had about 40ish minutes for email; hence  the reason why it will be so long this time. :) 

Prego palace. Unlike what happened in Prishtina, it was on purpose that we went to the prego palace. The sisters in Lushnje called us to tell us that their recent convert was at the prego palace waiting to give birth to her child and that she would love visits. So we went! A lot. haha. We gave her a call to see when we could come visit her, and she wanted a blessing from the Elders and so they came with us. When I saw the member I couldn't keep my mouth from dropping open. She was for sure pregnant, i mean SUPER PREGNANT. She looked like she was going to have quadruplets but alas, it was only one. Our investigator came with us as well and kept touching her stomach...i sat inbetween our investigator at the pregnant member; so it was a little uncomfortable when she kept touching her stomach. haha, but it was a lot of fun! We got to talk to her roommates and their spouses that were there. The elders gave her a blessing and then we left. After we had left she was talking to one of her new friends and she too wanted a blessing. So we came back the next day to visit her and the elders gave her a blessing as well. It was a real neat experience to be there! Both of them have had their babies and are doing well! 

Motra Z and Sister Hysa

Every sunday for the past two transfers we have been have choir practice. It has been really good, tiring, long, and a lot of work. Everyone who has gone to church in Albania or heard Albanians sing they would think that an albanian choir was the biggest oxymoron ever. Well, it isn't anymore. hehe. It actually went super super well! We had a concert last saturday to kick-off our stake conference weekend. The concert was an hour and a half. It had narration throughout, meaning before the songs that we sang. It went so well! :) A lot of people showed up as well!! There is a famous opera singer in Durres that is a member of our church, and he sang! Sister Davis was her pianist and it was the most beautiful song ever!! It is the song that Dallyn Bayles sings called "I have seen Him". Oh my heavens i had so many goosebumps throughout it. I could have wept it was so good. Then the day after we had Stake Conference at the Congress place in Tirana! It was so so good!! It was so much fun to see all of the members in Albania get together! People from Kosovo even came down, which meant that I got to say goodbye to some of the people that I came to love so much up there. It was a big tender mercy that they were able to come down! I also got to see Sister Hysa. I love my albanian sister so much! The conference went so well. President Mema's talk about keeping the sabbath day holy was absolutely amazing and so incredible. Gosh, it was so good. Everything about it was amazing. 

So we have marshmallows in our apartment and sister white wanted to roast her marshmallows. So we made a fire in a bowl so that we could roast the marshmallows. It was a lot of fun! :) but don't worry mom, we were safe and no smoke detector went off or anything. 

Berat, Albania

We have district lunches on Sundays and we started playing Mafia during lunch. It is like murder in the dark but we just sit in the chairs instead of walk around in the dark. It is a fun game but a super confusing game and I still don't know if I know how to do it correctly, so i keep getting confused super easily. haha. it is fun though, because i always sit by sister white. and I will just tickle her side or something so that everyone thinks her making the noise is because she is guilty, and then she tries to blame it on me. ha. c'are thua. :) hehe. 

Berat, Albania

Sister Cheshire had her birthday this week!! She is a good old' spanking 20 years old now! So we went to the Stevens Center and got super yummy milkshakes and super yummy food! It was quite delicious. They even had Dr. Pepper there too. So I had one. I asked the waiter if they had lime and coconut syrup to make a dirty dr. pepper...but they didn't.. 

Berat Castle

Instead of playing chess sister White and I have started to play slug bug. It is more entertaining. I am totally winning! haha. but now she is totally cheating. By doing "bruiser cruiser". I'm pretty sure that's not even a thing, and besides cruisers don't even exist here. She sees a fiat and hits me saying that it is close enough to a cruiser. ha. false. 

We went and did service at a less-active's house. She had us clean her house for her. It was a lot of fun! She was really sweet too, and made us stuffed peppers and byrek. It was super super good and a lot of fun! The food was stinkin' good. :) 

Berat, Albania

We went the the Lakaj's house and they taught us how to make byrek. It is super super simple! I am totally going to be making that when I get back home because it is so good and oh my heavens. I am totally going to be doing that all the time when I get home. :) it make take quite some time of practice first...but avash avash. 

We started institute back up this past week. It was the last time for the senoir couple Smith. But the first time in country for the Abrahamsons. It was so much fun! A lot of people came to say goodbye to the Smiths. It was super good. It was super cute too, because we got to hear stories from the Abrahamsons. One member asked how they met, and then all the girls in the room were just smiling and paying so much attention. haha. Sister White and I were laughing so hard. haha. 

Byrek making

final product of Byrek

Elders enjoying dancing?

Dancing that Motra Z watched

So. Dances. I absolutely hate dancing and I hate dances. But we did a ward dance this past weekend, and it went really really well! I was having so much fun watching everyone dance and have so much fun! I got a lot of good photos of it. haha, i just feel so uncomfortable (and trust me I probably look terrible too) with dancing. so i watched through most of it. until my companion and the elders and some members ganged up on me and told me that I had to dance, and then the Bishop ganged up on me too and POW! all the sudden i was out there dancing. haha. It was probably pitiful dancing but it was a lot of fun! One of the missionaries got a video of me trying to do a traditional dance, haha. that happened. haha. It really was a super good success! A good amount of members came and they all brought someone with them. It went so well! 

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Yesterday there were 91 people in church! That is more than it has been in a really long time! It was because the Smith's gave their farewell talks. Their talks were so good and it was amazing. I also gave my last talk/testimony... it was rather intimidating having so many people there too. but I didn't have to act out any words in this talk.. hehe.  But it went really well. I love this ward so much! They are all so amazing! 

Today for p-day we went to City park and we rode the mechanical bull. That is an evil little machine. haha. It was a lot of fun! People were walking by and just laughing at all of us. It sure is a stinkin' big thigh work out in less than a minute. Holy cow. haha. The only war wound that I have from a fake bull is a partially torn off big toe nail. But what doesn't kill ya makes you stronger. and in my defense that stinkin' bull is a lot harder to get on than it looks. I spent more time falling off the bull and then trying to get on it than I was actually on that stupid bull. which was quite embarrassing, haha, but totally worth it. haha. 

Wow. Missions fly by. My favorite thing about my last transfer is how much reflecting I have done. How I have been able to really get a feel of who I am now when I compare to who I was when I first got in the MTC and first got in country. Missions are amazing, and even that is an understatement. I have wondered over and over again what is it exactly about missions that make a mission a mission. Granted there are so many answers and reasons for this, but I think one answer can be found in Ether chapter 12 verse 41. Whether Ether is encouraging us to "to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them, may be and abide in you forever. Amen." As missionaries we are set apart as representatives of our Savoir and Redeemer Jesus Christ. We cannot represent someone who we don't know. A mission is a mission of seeking. All my mission I have sought after Christ. I have studied harder, deeper, and longer of Christ than any time before in my life.  Because I spiritually cannot represent Him if I do know know how He reacts, how He loves, and how He teaches; and it wouldn't be fair to the recent converts, investigators, members, and missionaries if I don't represent Him to the degree that He deserves it. I think that is one of the reasons for why mission has been so amazing. Because I have sought Christ ever single day. Before my mission I thought for someone to see Christ, that it would need to be physically, like of the sacred experiences we have heard that happen.  But I have learned that I over thought it. I'm not saying that that doesn't happen, because it does. But I have also realized how easy and often we see Christ. Because it is through others that we see our Savoir. It is through members here in Albania that I have seen the love of Christ. It is through my Mission President and his wife that I have seen the devotion and love that Christ had. It is through some of the missionaries that I have served with that i have seen the loyalty of the Lord. I have seen Christ inside of so many people here. When someone has completely changed their life around and embraced the Gospel of Jesus Christ; we are not seeing their past or their sins or mistakes. We aren't even necessarily seeing their future. When we see them, what we are really seeing is the Atonement and Grace of Jesus Christ. and that sight never gets old. It lasts for forever, it is unconditional, and it is life changing. When we seek Christ that is how we stop to only exist and we begin to live. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savoir and my Redeemer. The key to heaven was hung on a nail. Christ is the key. He is the key to eternity, to peace, to life, to everything and anything good. It literally is Christ or nothing. Let us all use the gift that God has given us. I know that Christ lives and that He loves us! 

Have an amazing week! Smile lots serve lots and treasure trials. 

Love, 

Motra Zollinger 

When We Lose Ourselves, That is When We Are Found..... week 71.. Three weeks left

Hello Hello!! :) 

Motra Z's Toms worked... 

Wow. What a week. (That is to be read the same way that the robber says "wow. what a hole" in Home Alone 2). This past week was a super good week and a super busy one. Those are the best kind of weeks. The days are always super packed and long and then snap! the week is gone. 

On Tuesday the Gjakova sisters came down to stay at our apartment for MLC that we were having on Wednesday. So we had a cool sleep-over. But I was the pooper of parties and went to bed early because of the lack of sleep that I had the night before. It was really fun to be able to be with Sisters Kelli and Piters! on Tuesday I also got to see my Macedonian brothers. It was also the last time that I would be seeing my twin-macedonian brothers on my mission. It was fun to talk and quickly catch-up with them, until one of them did a "dying" joke, so i punched him in the arm. #punk. haha, but it was fun! I started to choke up a little saying bye, i love my macedonian brothers! 

MLC went super super well. It was my first one, and so i didn't know what to expect. The Assistants to the President did a super good training on living the Higher Law and the Lower Law. It is so amazing how much we learn through the power of the spirit. Because you can never deny what the spirit is telling our hearts, it was so good! On Thursday we had Zone Training. Sister White and I did a training on Charity and how that helps us fulfil the Higher Law. I was super nervous at the beginning for the training, but the spirit totally led and taught that training. It was so amazing. All the comments and stories that were shared were absolutely amazing and so inspiring! Gosh- i just love being a missionary!! 

So, I went on an exchange on thursday-friday with Sister Bennett. First off, her and her family understand our disneyland craziness! Because they are the same way! Finally someone who understood me! haha, that was a lot of fun to talk about disneyland with eachother and everything! The exchange went really really welll. I had probably one of the weirdest lessons though. It was with one of their less actives, and for some reason she wasn't really a fan of me. I didn't do anything to her, haha, but it happens. We talked about Christ and the Atonement, and anytime sister Bennet said anything she was super happy with her and te lumted her goja. But, then after I would ask a question, she woudl start to talk really loud and then would yell a little and say something about the Albanian Dynasty and the Kuq i Zi. It was really confusing... and by far the most interesting and weird lesson that i have had. I wasn't offended or anything, it was just really weird. Sister Bennett and I just laughed about it as we were walking home. 

Poor Sister White slipped

We did group service this past week. We decided to clean around the lana. The Lana is the flowing river of diseases. It is so gross. I would not touch or pick up any of the garbage. So I held a garbage bag so that others could put their trust in the bag that I held. It worked. We only came across a few dead animals. so i think it was a success, and none of us got sick from it either. #smallvictories

Our Mission President is the coolest mission president ever! Yesterday he bore his testimony in ALBANIAN.  no translator needed. It was so cool! All of the members were smiling so big because President Weidmann was learning their language; it was so cool. Because it showed how much he loves and cares about the people here. It was awesome! 

 

Today for p-day we went to Pellumbas. It is a cave place between Tirana and Elbasan. It was so stinkin' gorgeous! It was a stinkin' good work out/hike walking up to the cave. Holy cow. I am already feeling it in my legs. haha. We went exploring in the caves. Which was so much fun! :) It was quite spooky too, because you could just hear the bats above us...that was creepy. The cave was super super slippery too. My companion slipped atleast 10 times. Others were slipping, but not as much as she did. We were all laughing. hehe. I am telling ya, TOMS are the best shoes ever. I didn't really think super well this morning when I was getting ready, and didn't think it'd be that big of a hike, so I wore toms. They were awesome! I didn't fall once, where my companion in her good tennis shoes fell a lot. So, pretty much everyone should own a pair of TOMS. The cave was super cool! I only thought that we were lost for a little while, because it was pitch black in there and we were all just roaming around together, but none of us got lost! :) I feel like I walked past mars though. Because the bus that took us to the topish wasn't going to come back til way later. So we decided to walk to the main road which was 40 minutes away. Best work out ever. That line in The Best Two Years, I think it really applies now, "mon aktavorn eshte mui kavorden" hehe. 

Like I mentioned earlier, about Zone Training. I learned so much as we all had the big discussion on Charity. Missions are absolutely amazing. I think I realized even more on Thursday why missions are so amazing. It is because of Charity. Christ is Charity. We as missionaries, it is our duty to represent the Lord to our companions, to the members, missionaries, and our investigators. It would be impossible to do that without us having charity and constantly trying to have more charity.  Charity is a really long process, and a process that I have only just begun; but I can already see the amazing blessings of it. I think the most amazing thing about Charity is the change that happens within us. Just like the scripture that says (this is paraphrased) that he who shall lose his life for God's sake shall find it. That is exactly what happens with charity. It is when we reach outward and help others that we are able to find ourselves. It is through helping others, that we realize that we are loved because of our weakness and our determination to use Christ's atonement to make them become strong. That is what I have realized on my mission: that every single person that I have met on my mission has been because of divine inspiration. God knows who I need to meet. I am not perfect, at all. I have so many problems and weaknesses that I am working on. But, that is how God works. God works with broken people. All of His servants are broken in one way or another. But the areas where we are broken, they are future strengths.  Countless times on my mission, I have worked with someone who had some of the same problems or weaknesses with me. And thinking of one example in general, it wasn't until I met this person up in Prishtina and I helped her overcome one of her weaknesses that I was able to start to over come that same weakness in myself. It wasn't until with my own brokeness tried to help fix someone else with the same breaking that my breaking was able to start to glue together with charity. I think that is why missions are such miracles. We are broken teenagers trying our hardest to help other broken children of God fix their breaks and their bumps; and it isn't until we do that we start to be healed from within. But the glorious thing about this, is that we don't have to be missionaries to have the power of Charity heal us. We can do it now, and we need to start to do it now so that we can help all of those around us. We need to have a desire to have charity, because that is an ingredient to happiness. Charity is the first step to conversion and how amazing it is to feel that change take place within us. I testify of the power of Charity and that it is only because of the love and grace of our Savoir Jesus Christ that our brokeness is able to be healed as we help those around us. It is miraculous. 

I love you all!! Have a wonderful week! Smile lots serve lots and treasure trials! :) 

Love,

Motra Zollinger