Elder Clawson Is In Albania!!

Tues. Sept. 3, 2013 Elder Clawson, 13 of his fellow missionaries heading to Albania, and 30 more missionaries headed to Italy, all boarded a plane heading to Europe.  Jed was able to call home when they had a layover in Washington DC.  It was so great to talk to him!!!  He sounded excited, and nervous and just so good:)  We were able to ask all sorts of questions, and hear more about what he had learned about Albania.  He even bore his testimony to us in Albanian.  I was so proud of him.  After talking to Jed the missionaries headed out on their next flight.  All in all they arrived in Tirana Albania at 11:45 am local time.  The schedule after arriving went something like this.

-arrive in Albania
-drop off luggage at the mission home
-take to the streets of Tirana to do a little proselyting
-personal interviews with the mission president
-dinner
-bed

Thurs. morning they were going to wake up and head to the police station.  Jed didn't need any visas or special travel papers to enter Albania.  They just have to get permission from the police to be in the country.  James said this is how it was in Taiwan as well when he was a missionary.  Then after getting all the necessary paperwork done Jed would be assigned his new companion and head to his new home for the next 12 weeks.

We have yet to hear from Jed, but we did receive an official email from Jed's mission president letting us know he arrived safely, where he would be serving, and who his new companion would be:


September  5, 2013
Dear Brother and Sister Clawson,

Your son, Elder Jedediah Clawson, arrived safe and sound at the Mission Home last evening.  He will be serving in the Durrës Branch.  This will be in the District of Tirana.  His companion will be Elder F.

Sister Ford and I are so pleased to have Elder Clawson as one of our missionaries and look forward to getting to know him well. We know that he will be able to contribute much to the missionary effort of teaching the people of Albania about Jesus Christ.

Missionaries absolutely love to receive mail and can be contacted either by email or by sending letters through the post office to:

Elder Jedediah Clawson 
Albania Tirana Mission
PO Box 2984
Rruga Qemal Stafa, Vila 1
Perballe Postas Nr. 22
Tirana, Albania

President Albania, Tirana Mission


Doesn't Jed look great!!  He's a small kid, and he sure looks young, but his new companion looks like a super missionary:)  I'm sure he will train Jed well.  Jed will be serving in Durres which is about 15 miles West of Tirana.  It is the second largest city in Albania with about 250,000 people, and right on the Adriatic Sea.  It looks like a beautiful place!  One former missionary told us that Durres is a great place.  It has one of the largest and strongest branches of the church there.  A beautiful church building, and just a great place to serve.  Click here for a little more info on Durres.  It looks like a great place to start out:)

So Jed now has a new address.  All physical mail goes through the mission home in Tirana.  No matter what city Jed will be serving in his mailing address will be the same.

Elder Jedediah Clawson 

Albania Tirana Mission

PO Box 2984

Rruga Qemal Stafa, Vila 1

Perballe Postas Nr. 22

Tirana, Albania

You can still email Elder Clawson anytime!  Just click the cute little orange envelope on the side bar to the right, or here is the actual address:

jedediah.clawson@myldsmail.net

I do have to tell how much I love Jed's mission president's wife.  Weds. morning here in Utah I took a chance and sent a friend request on Facebook to her.  About an hour later I received the cutest little message, and at the end Sister Ford said, "Don't worry about your son.  I love him already:)"  What a kind woman.  So we are looking forward to getting Jed's first email from the mission field this coming week and hearing about all the great people of Albania!