The Spirit Was There To Touch Our Hearts

Staue of John Lennon

Well family,

I am here in Durrës with Elder Watson. WATSON!! Yes Emma I say that.

So let us start from the beginning of my week. Monday after I emailed and went to Vlorë and all that crazy jazz, I went home and changed in to my missionary attire and I called Juxhin and told him that I would be leaving Lushnjë. He was very sad so we set up one last lesson with him and Batjar. We shared a little scripture with them and then took some pictures and hugged out our goodbyes. Sad times. After that we went to this little suflaqe joint that we ate at (I swear we sustained that man's living) and told him that we would be leaving the following morning to continue our glorious work in Durrës. He seemed pretty sad. One, probably because he liked us and two, probably because he's gonna go outta business without me constantly eating at his place every night when I was starving after hours and hours of contacting. We went home and packed which actually took forever. I hate to say it but I stayed up till like 12 o'clock at night getting all of my crap all set up and ready for the morning.

Jed's favorite Elder Tanner came for a visit this week!

The following morning I went to the fergon spot (bus stop)and said my goodbyes to Elder Palmer and Elder Bilodeau. That was sad. My son (Elder Watson) doesn't have two "uncles" living with him anymore which is kinda disheartening. We hooked up with a fergon that was headed to Tirana and then they just dropped us off at the side of the road and luckily I was able to hail a nice taxi guy. He took us to the youth center where we waited for the other Durrës Elders to come and pick us up. That whole day was kinda just showing Elder Watson around the city and letting him know that this was the promised land. We met with Elder Acheson and he gave us a few members to work with. I'm working with a lot of the people that I was with when I was first in Durres with Elder Foster. 

This is the taxi that is carrying Jed and Elder Watson and ALL their luggage!

So it was like 8 o'clock and we had nothing planned so I decided to start with a recent convert lesson and I stated that we should go to the Pjetri family's home and give them a visit. Unfortunately their phone did not work so I decided to just pull a surprise visit. We walked out to their house and I knocked on the door. Marjeta opened it up and she was kinda shocked at first because she didn't recognize who the new people at the door where, but then she saw me and freaked out! They were so happy that I was back. Their mom immediately invited us to come into the house and come eat dinner with them. We told her that we didn't have a whole lot of time but we went in anyways. The dad was there and so was their uncle. He was a cool guy and he had lots of questions about who we were, why I was so young without my parents,(Um....I wonder that same thing EVERY DAY!) how I had learned Albanian, and why I came here from America. 

Last lesson in Lushnje, Albania.

We ate dinner and talked for a while and they asked lots of questions about Elder Watson and they asked how it had been in Tirana and in Lushnjë.  One of the problems that has come up with all of the people that I'd worked with before when I was here with Elder Foster is that they were baptized and then they became inactive! I hope we can change that so we've been trying to get in contact with these people.

Jed's new home in Durres.  

A lot of finding happened this week. And I mean A LOT of finding. We stood outside street contacting for about 5 hours every day this week. Kinda rough. Especially considering the fact that nothing came of it. We got two numbers this week which we hope are good. One is kinda skeptical but the other was good but he lives in a village on the outside of Durrës so that hinders some things. 

The market.  That looks AWESOME!

Yesterday I went to church and greeted all of the members that I had once known! They were happy to see me and it was a nice little reunion. Church was good and the Spirit was there to touch our hearts. After that we had ward council meeting, my first one in Albania, and we reported on how our work has been going this last week. We went home after that and Elder Watson and I got to make lunch for all of the other missionaries in Durres. We made fried chicken and SUPER GARLICKY mashed potatoes. It was flipping good ya'll. Everyone enjoyed it and then we all just sat on my couches and laughed and talked for a bit.

Crepes made by Jed.  I'm so proud!

Fried chicken and mashed potatoes.  Way to go Elder Clawson!

 Today I went to Divjakë which was pretty cool. It's just this cool beach down south. We went and played capture the flag with all of the south zone. We had a lot of fun goofing around with all of the guys from my group. I really enjoy the Elder's from my group. They are a good bunch of missionaries and we are all so different but we all seem to have a lot of fun together. We came home from the beach and I fell asleep on the fergon ride back.

The entire South Zone. 

Awesome fun Motra's (Sister Missionaries!)

 

Well back to you guys... HOLY FREAKING GUACAMOLE WITH TACO SAUCE FROM TACO TIME!! Sam and Hollie's ne whouse looks flipping nice! I was blown away. Like literally the computer fan in my cubicle thing turned on full blast to stop the monitor from overheating with pure awesome huge-ness. That basketball court looks pretty amazing. Tell Fred, The man who provokes bees, that I think he looks mighty fine in a bee suit. Tell Rachel hey too. And before they leave, you must tell Brooke and Kelsie that I wish them the best of luck on their missions. They will absolutely love it. Dad sent me a poem that basically explains my life here that would be good to share with them. 

Tell Jake he is not bigger than me. I am now 5"8 ish and 142 lbs. Who's a big guy? I AM. So you can tell Jake that I can still beat him down anyday. Whether in hand to hand combat, bow hunting, computer hacking, or in "WHO HAS THE REDDEST HAIR CONTEST", I will always be the bigger man and win. And tell him to get better too. Being sick is dumb.

Enjoy the snow because I haven't seen any in a long time...

Loves, Sprinkles, Lovecups (yes those), and everything else that makes ya snicker and giggle like little school girls.

Love, Jedediah, The Boy That Has Three Nose Holes

Dearest Mom,

Thanks for sending the email. I'm actually pretty excited to see how the garden is going to turn out. Some people here have really nice gardens. I'll take some pics one day and send them to ya. You'd be very proud of me for the cooking that I did this week. I made crepes, navajo taco bread stuff, and that fried chicken and taters. They were all very yummy. Well I love you lots. Have a good week!!

Love, the Eldest