Hello Hello!! :)
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| 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
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