I Felt Like A Primary Teacher

This is the some of the missionaries in Jed's district, but the young man to Jed's right (in the middle) is leaving on a mission this week.  

Dearest Family!!!

Well this has been another happy week full of stuff. We've been super busy with more exchanges, So last Monday we went over to the Gostorani family and had FHE with them which was super awesome. I made Helen's Brownies (Here's the link to the recipe!) for them and they all thought I was the hottest chef in town! Just kidding, but they did like the brownies. 

Tuesday was kinda just busy with stuff. We had district meeting and tons of other stuff going on and we were all just very occupied with busy work and errands. We had a lesson with our investigator named Florenc and we taught the Plan of Salvation which went pretty well. He had lots of questions about it which was good. He is super into psychology and stuff and he has some weird ideas about life so I don't know if that's a psychology thing or what but he is very interesting.

The next day we went and did service at a member's home. We dug a big hole for him and such and made a canal for water run off because he was having some water issues in his house from all the rain that had been coming in. It was super fun and then afterwards his mom made us lunch and fed us. AND SHE POISONED ME!! Right in the middle of lunch I got hit with a huge stomachache and had to go home. I just got in bed and fell asleep while Elder Braden talked with our Landlord about our house. We've been having some troubles with our power and our heaters ever since I got here so we have been trying to work it out with him but nothing has been getting done so I guess we're just leaving the house this week. The conversation kinda turned into an argument with him and Elder Braden and I just watched the whole thing from my bed. In the end the landlord said that he was offended and that he would never speak with Elder Braden again and that he would only speak with me. I just looked at him from my bed and smiled as nicely as I could.

Thursday we had an all day exchange with the other Elders in our ward. We met with some of their investigators and just went finding in their area. It was a good day for finding because the weather has been super great lately and we were very excited to be out finding in the sunshine. Nothing else crazy really happened.

Friday we were on another all day exchange with the Elders in 4th ward. We went finding a lot and I spent the day with Elder Simons. We did tons of finding and got lots of numbers from people that looked promising so we are hoping that something good comes out of all that.

The next day we had a district comp study which was fun. We just all meet together and talk about what we've studied and see if we can help answer everyone's questions. It is an awesome learning experience. After that we had a mission correlation meeting. That went great and then later on in the day we were having a surprise party for Trazhgim because he is leaving for his mission in a couple days. Elder Braden and I made Cinnamon Roll and Apple Pie Byreke which was to die for. Everyone loved it. Later on we had a lesson with a less active family and I played games with their daughter and taught the Restoration as a review for everyone. When we were walking back from that lesson I saw a bunch of boys walking towards us and the one closest to us looked familiar. I grabbed his arm and he saw me and said "CLAWSON!!" It was Fatjon! You all probably don't remember him but about a year ago with Elder Eliason we were teaching those two golden boys that were looking for work and they found jobs and we couldn't meet with them again! We hugged and saw how each other was doing and then I gave him my number and he's gonna call us this coming week hopefully. It was awesome!

Not sure what this is from, but it looks like fun!

 Sunday came along and so did a new investigator that we found. I sat by him during church and he was being very naughty. He was making tons of noise and just being a distraction. And then the sacrament came around and he started laughing. So Elder Penrod and I escorted him out of the church and told him to come back when he was ready to be respectful. I felt like a Primary Teacher. After church we had lunch and Mission Prep Class. We had a lesson with another family which went well. We are working on their dad to get baptized. It'll happen. 

P-day soccer.

Sheep of Albania.

Dinner with a very nice family!

But the highlight of my week was last night at 7 o'clock. So I've been talking to the owner of the Rock Climbing Gym here and he is part of another Christian organization, kinda like a missionary but more laid back and just focusing on having people create their own relationship with God. So twice a month he meets with a bunch of other people at their home and they have a thing that they call "Wine and a Spiritual Thought". AND HE INVITED US LAST NIGHT!! The owner's name is Dan and we met up with him last night and went to his friends house. It was Elder Braden and I, Dan, Dave and Lynn from England that have been living in Albania for a long time, Toni and Ida who are Albanian and married, and then Ermal who is Dave's psychiatrist. Lynn had made us all dinner which was AWESOME!! Curry, some kind of chicken, and coconut rice with nan! It was heaven. As we ate and they drank their wine, we drank sparkling water, and we talked about faith in Jesus Christ. It was a great time. I felt the Spirit so much last night. Elder Braden didn't talk a whole lot but I was just a chatty kathy talking about things that have helped us on our missions and asking questions and all kinds of stuff. Then Dan asked a question about the Book of Mormon which opened up the opportunity that I was waiting for. I talked a bit about the Restoration and Joseph Smith.  We left super happy and they told us that we were invited over whenever we wanted to come! I loved it. I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He is our Savior.

Today I went to Laç with the Sisters and a newly baptized member. Her name is Ona and she invited us over to her home. We went there and had a good time at her farm and ate tons of food! Like too much food. It was nuts. That took up the whole day so yeah!

I love you all! Have a good week and be safe!

Love, Jed

Dearest Mother, 

Well now my card says that I have a money limit and that I exceed it. So I don't know what is up with it. Thank you for emailing me about everyone's doings. Tell everyone that I said hi and that I love them. I love you!!

Love, Jedediah

Greatest Day Of My Mission

Feb. 16, 2015 email

Street contacting at night in Tirana, Albania.  This kid LOVES the food in his mission!

MY AMERICAN FAMILIA!!! (that's family in spanish you uncultured heathens)

Well this week was loaded with stuff. I had lots of fun and I ate lots of chicken and drank lots of milk.

So Monday night we went to a family's house to teach them some Temple Prep and ask them for any questions that they had before they left. We kinda just explained sealings and why we need them and then we read a bit from D&C 131 and talked about why it is important to be sealed and married for eternity. Because it is important. After that we went to a less active family's house and we taught them about Mormon chapter 9 and said that God never changes and neither do his commandments, so they need to come to church. They kinda think it's cool to take a week off and a week on for church and I was just like "Ha well I'm pretty sure the Celestial Kingdom is gonna be a lot like church everyday so you better come and learn to like it."

The next day was awesome! We had a lesson with a recent convert named S. that was baptized in November of last year and we haven't been able to meet with him lately because he has been super busy getting his kids to courses, with work, and with a whole lot of life stuff. So we basically just got to know him a little bit so that he would feel comfortable working with us now. He is a super smart guy! He was talking about political science and stuff and I was just like "Holy Goodness brother! I only know Gospel words!" Just kidding I speak fine. He also asked me if I was cold because I had my big jacket on, and it had been a little brisk outside that morning so I had to be honest and I said "Yeah, a little bit." And he looked at me right in the face and he said "If you were a man, you would never say that you are cold. Especially in the presence of a woman." I was a little surprised he mentioned that second part because there weren't any females around us at that time so I guess he was confused about the gender of my companion Elder Braden. But yeah I guess I'm not a man yet because I am still cold every now and then.

After that lesson we had a meeting with a new investigator named Florence. We taught him the Restoration of the Gospel and invited him to be baptized! The Spirit was super strong in his lesson and he was paying super good attention to what was being said. And he has accepted a date to be baptized. That made our day! After that we had a lesson with Trazhgim in connection with temples since he's getting ready to leave on his mission next week. It was a great lesson and he is going to be a sweet missionary. During that lesson Elder Penrod and I saw that there were some cake bites in the fridge so we decided to eat them. That was a mistake. The sisters had been saving them for one of their investigators birthday parties. Yeah we got in trouble for that. Later on in the day we had a lesson with Kristi but he brought a friend named John with him. So we tried teaching John a bit about the Restoration but he just wanted to practice English with us. He said the 'F' word a ton. At first we told him not to say that because we were in a church but then he just kinda said whatever to that rule and kept going. But after that lesson we were able to talk a bit with Kristi and he is doing great still. We then had English Course which was good and right after that we had a big Ward Council meeting where the bishop looked at the missionaries and told us how great we were working and then he verbally massacred the leaders of the other organizations of the church. Kinda sad to watch but I'm just glad that his wrath was not directed at me or else some tears might have been shed from my end of the story.

Do you think he really needs all those sticky notes?

That night I had an exchange with Elder Penrod in his area and met with some new investigators. They were a little skeptical of the message of Joseph Smith but they agreed to come and meet with us another day so that was good. I really enjoy teaching lessons and seeing how different people think about God and how a relationship with God should be. A lot of people think that we are kinda just God's pets and that it's not right for us to expect good things to come from him. I love the way our church looks at our relationship with God, a child and father. In Kosovo it was a little rough seeing all these people that were believing that we are simply God's little creations that he looks down upon. That's the relationship between Thomas Eddison and the Lightbulb. When we remember that we are God's Children it gives us such a feeling of belonging and purpose that can't come from anything this world has to offer.

One funny thing that happened on the exchange was that we listened to a J. Golden Kimball talk during lunch. He was going on his mission to the Southern States and while he was on the rain he overheard these guys talking to each other. They were asking each other where they were going and the first one said "I'm going west to escape the Mormons," and the other one said "I'm going north to escape the Mormons!" and the third one said "I'm going East to escape the Mormons." and Brother Kimball almost got up and said "Well then go to hell cause there ain't no Mormons there!!" I just thought that was funny.

The next day we went street contacting with the missionaries in 4th Ward. They may have needed a little push so we kinda went out there to help them out. We all had a good time and we talked with TONS of people. We used "Because of Him" as our contacting topic and it got lots of people to stop and talk with us. Afterwards we ate lunch and then went to a baptism for our sisters in 3rd Ward. Elder Braden got to baptize her and it was a great meeting. After that I went on an exchange with Elder Verushi in 2nd ward.

Friday, this was one of the greatest days' of my mission I think. We woke up that morning and after all of our studies and stuff we went to show the sisters where a member lived. The member lived pretty far out kinda on the outskirts of Tirana. Once we dropped off the sisters we decided that we would go tracting in some buildings there. We tracted the entire building and set up some return appointments and I was thinking "Nice, this is good, I think this why we were prompted to stay out in this part of town." We ended up finishing the building with some numbers and return dates and someone had given us two oranges. We wanted to go tract another building right after but we both remembered something that President Ford had told us. That we needed to take 10 minute break for every hour of work. So we decided that we would sit down for a bit and eat our oranges. As we were eating, I had set the Book of Mormon on my lap, a man starting walking behind the curb that we were sitting on. I didn't really mind him but then I heard him ask "What book is this?" I explained to him that it was a Holy Book and that it worked with the Bible and testified that Christ is the Savior of the World. He said he hadn't heard of the Book of Mormon, The Bible, or Jesus Christ. So naturally I was just like "Okay, this brother is messing with me." But he then said that if we wanted to share a message we could come walk with him to his house. He lived close and we followed him and had some small talk. We got into his home and I looked to my left and saw a library with two bibles, a Book of Mormon triple combination, and a couple other Books of Mormon. I looked at him and said "Hey I think you know a lot about this church and what this book is." He smiled and then Elder Verushi told me to look at the walls around us. My eyes quickly scanned the walls that were thoroughly organized with pictures of a young man wearing missionary attire in America or England. But this man was obviously living alone and I had never seen him in church or this young man that was in these pictures. We talked for a while and finally a lot of questions were answered. This brother had not set foot in church for 10 years. His son had been killed on his mission at that time and he didn't want to have anything to do with the church anymore. Words cannot explain the emotions that overwhelmed Elder Verushi and I. This man explained that he had no idea why God would let one of his servants die in service to him.  H

e explained feelings of sorrow that had been held in his heart for years, and he expressed a sense of loneliness and a feeling of being forgotten. He told us that he had recently been praying for God to end his time here on earth so that he could see his son again. Elder Verushi and I were at a complete loss of words. Confused and lost in a haze of tears, we were both able to bear testimony of the Plan of Salvation and tell this man that he would without a doubt be with his son for eternity. We spent a good amount of time there and set up a time for when we could come back. We left the home with broken hearts and strengthened testimonies. If we had not been prompted to stay in those raggedy outskirts of Tirana, to spend our time tracting, and to take a break at those moments, we would not have been able to encounter this man on his way home from buying some groceries. I know that the Spirit guides and directs those that are willing to hear it's small soft voice. I know that if we remain worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost, we will always know what to do in moments of confusion and trial.

P-day in Kruje with his district.  

That night we had a few more lessons with members and investigators but nothing will compare to that experience that we'd had earlier that day. We were sent to this man, as an answer to his prayers, so that we could remind him of the knowledge that he had locked withing his heart. I'm grateful for the opportunity that I have to serve as a missionary in this wonderfully prepared part of the world. I love being here and I love this people!

Enjoy the week and be safe!

Love, Jed

Dearest Mother, 

Sorry I didn't write about what I did today. I went to Kruje with my district and we had a great time. How is everything going at home? I don't really have anything to tell you for your talk. I hope it goes well though. Tell Emma way to go on those two guys by the way. I don't know who they were but I'm sure they were awesome. I love you Mom! I really don't care what you guys do concerning getting me. If you want to, I'm definitely okay with that but if you don't then that's okay to. Be safe this week! Love you all!

Love, Jedediah Jim

Happiest Elder In The World

Feb. 9, 2015 email

Elder Clawson with a firework of a cute little girl!!  The sister's are teaching her, and I think all the missionaries love her:)

My dearest Mother and Family!

This week has been full of meetings, trainings, exchanges, near death experiences, rain, flirtatious Albanian woman, and fanatic finding.

So usually at the beginning of every month we have a big zone training with all of the missionaries but President told us that we didn't have to do it seeing as we had a huge zone conference the week before. So Elder Braden and I decided instead to have a meeting with each individual district in their own district meetings so we could address their own needs and weaknesses. So every morning this week, we were out and about giving trainings, talking with the missionaries, and doing all kinds of crazy busy work.

One awesome thing that did happen this week was on Tuesday. We were able to meet with our investigator Kristi and we taught him the Plan of Salvation with a member named T. We had a super great lesson and talked about what we need to do in this life to gain a position in the Celestial Kingdom, and that was when we hit him with a baptismal date. He accepted to be baptized! We are super excited for him and we knew that God would bless us for the work that we'd been doing lately. We also had English Course that night and one of the younger members in the ward was there and she needed someone to escort her home because it was dark outside and she's 10 years old. The sisters usually walk her home but they asked us for a favor because they had a lesson to get to. So we got stuck with escorting a 10 year old girl to her home. We got to her house and greeted her grandparents and then left and then this Albanian lady heard Elder Braden and I talking in English and she asked us where we were from. We started a conversation and she asked what we were doing in that part of town. I told her that we had just escorted one of our members home and she was like "Oh can you do that for me?". I looked at Elder Braden then looked at her and said "No." We did ask her if she wanted to learn more about our church though and she ended up giving us her number which we then gave to the sisters. Flirty woman are dumb.

The week went along with lessons with members and such and I also went on an exchange with Elder Asler from 1st Ward. He came and worked with me in my area and we had a good time. A member asked us for a blessing and so we went to the church to meet her and the sisters were there with one of their investigators. Her name is D. and she is 9 years old and probably one of the most adorable things that I have ever seen. And she is super sassy. But she was very stressed out about a math test that she was gonna be taking soon so she asked me if I could give her a blessing. I gladly did and then Elder Asler gave a blessing for the member that was in need as well.

The next day I had to go on another exchange with the elders in 4th Ward. I went into their area with Elder Waters. He's from New Zealand. Good kid and we had a great time together. We talked all night long while in bed, and just were making all kinds of jokes with each other all day. We had a lesson with one of their investigators. He is Catholic and says that it is against his religion to pray with people of other religions. So we basically just asked him at the beginning if he had any questions and he asked a really good one about baptisms for the dead. He had read on the internet that we did that and so he asked why we did that. My first impression was to say that it was what the true church of God does, but instead we just explained about Paradise and Spirit Prison and expounded on that a bit with him. After a bit the conversation went to the subject of Joseph Smith and we started to talk about prophets. He believed that all Gifts of the Spirit and all prophets stopped after Christ's Resurrection. We weren't really getting anywhere with him and so we decided to end the lesson and we gave him a reading assignment. Mormon 9:7-10 and then we told him that we would talk about what he had read the next time we met.

Elder Clawson with one of his favorite members!  This is the lady that hugged and kissed Elder Clawson's guts out!

These two have grown up a ton since Jed last saw them, but they are doing fantastic!!!  Future missionaries:)

After that lesson we got to see a baptism! Sister Favero and Sister Mehmeti had taught this awesome lady named Manushaqe. And they invited lots of the members from 2nd Ward and the sisters in 1st ward invited lots of their members too. And guess who came?! All of my recent converts! Sam and Evi came and so did Eli! I was the happiest elder in the world! I sat and talked with Eli about her life and she was just so pleased to see me. She was hugging me and kissing my cheeks like there was no tomorrow. After the baptism Evi and Sam came up to me and we had a great chat. They have grown up a ton since I last saw them! It was crazy! They are turning into men. After that we had a lesson with a member and his unbaptized family. We watched the Restoration film and had a great time. Elder Smith, one of the senior elders, came along with us while his wife was at home and I got to translate for him. Great lesson.

Yesterday came and unfortunately we didn't have any investigators in church. So we just dealt with it and talked with members all day. Later on we had a mission prep class with one of the returned missionaries and with two of the youth that are starting their papers really soon.

Well family I love being on my mission. It is the most rewarding thing that I have ever done! I love speaking Albanian and I love preaching the gospel! I am so blessed to be a missionary in this part of the world. I love it when one of God's children accepts His invitation to come closer to him by means of baptism and when you can see the desire to change come out from the depths of their souls. God loves us and knows us! Never doubt that knowledge!

I love you all! Have a good week.

Love, Jedediah

Dearest Mother, 

Well so far my card still hasn't worked but I'll keep trying. keeping me posted on everything. So there's not a lot of flooding in Tirana but in the South there has been quite a bit I guess. I don't know a ton but that's what I've heard. Also, Hunter, one of my friends, met one of Dad's companions in Washington this last week. Well I hope the slurpy snow freezes over and becomes love powder real soon. I love you Mom!

Love, Jed

He's My Investigator!

Feb. 2, 2015 email

Hello American Family! 

I got this picture from Ersi (one the left).  He's a member that helps the missionaries a ton!!  And Elder Clawson thinks he's awesome!!

Well it sounds like you all had a killer time up in Sun Valley without the best skiier in the whole family! Just kidding it sounds like everyone has surpassed my abilities now. And did I see a picture of Jake using Jimmy's old Mantras? 

This week was a better week. Still not the most fantastic week full of butterflies and sunshine,but it was still super good. And it actually is just raining all the time now. Elder Braden doesn't wear a coat in the rain or use an umbrella and all the Albanians just get super mad at him and tell that he needs to love himself and wear a coat or else he'll get sick. I always just sit there and watch them yell at him because I don't know how to defend him. 

So on Monday we had to go translate for the Orton couple because they are doing some big project up in Shkoder. After that we went and helped our Landlord do some moving out of his house. The next day was spent doing a flip ton of finding! We met with our English Course and taught them about the Plan of Salvation. That was pretty good and then we had a couple lessons not work out. We tried visiting this one member family but we got to the door and a voice on the other end said "Who is it?" and I just said "It's the missionaries." And then the voice came back and said "Sorry my mom's out of the house and I'm locked in." So... we kinda just said "ah, okay then. We'll come back later." Then we went finding for a bit. 

Wednesday I had to get food for the zone conference that we would be having the following day. So I call this lady and ask her for these huge platters of food, and she was either deaf or didn't speak Albanian because she was not picking up anything I was saying. And I think I have a hold on this language. Eventually the food was ordered. A little bit later in the day we had a lesson with a guy that we had met in the road. He was awesome. He comes from the north part of Albania from a town called Mirëdita which means "Good day". And he speaks like a Kosovar. So we had a good time speaking our mother tongue. We had a member in our lesson to help us out and she did great. The lesson was fantastic and he loved it. Hopefully we'll be able to meet with him a bit this coming week because he had to leave for his hometown for the weekend so we didn't have the chance to see him again. Then we had our English course and dealt with some flirtatious girls and bad mouthed young man. The joys that come with English Course. 

The next day we had a massive combined zone conference. It was everyone except the North Zone so I didn't get to see the Macedonian missionaries which made me kinda sad. I miss those people. We had an awesome training from President Weidmann on extending committments and then we heard the testimonies of the departing missionaries. It was kinda rough because there are 7 sisters leaving, AND I WATCHED THEM COME IN COUNTRY! It was weird to see Motra White, Favero, and Boettinger saying goodbyes because I've served a lot around them and it was sad! Afterwards we got to watch Meet the Mormons. Pretty good movie. Everyone enjoyed it and it was cool to see how this film is helping the world understand that we aren't weird people. It was also way cool to see that Costa Rica lady beating up people in her section. Also that one part in Nepal made me think about "Where the Trail Ends" when they go ride in the Himalayas and through all those little villages. Good movie. 

After that we went to the church and showed the members and English Course people the Joseph Smith Movie. The long one. It was super good and there were tons of people just bawling their eyes out at the end. And yes... I was included. My mission has turned me into an emotional little girl. I always cry when we watch Ephraim's Rescue when the nice pioneer girl dies. I HATE SEEING LOVE DIE!! Then to make me feel like a missionary again, we went finding. 

The next day we spent a lot of the day doing zone number work and weekly planning. Friday's are rough because we stay in the house for a long period of time and it's just hard to get going afterwards. So we try to break it up a bit. Later that night though we were able to meet with a part member family and we talked about the Book of Mormon and read the Introduction with everyone. We asked all of the members of the family to share something that they had learned from reading the Book of Mormon, including the non-member father. They all shared amazing insights and thoughts and then Elder Braden and I bore our testimonies of the truthfulness that it holds. It was a great lesson. 

The next day we woke up and had to go help a member take some pictures of his house for the government or else he was going to be arrested. No big deal. Then we went finding and afterwards had lunch with a members mom named Luma. She is wonderful. She made some super good food too. I just love the old ladies in Albania! They didn't really have them in Kosovo, but here they just love you unconditionally and will feed you, hug you, offer you their daughters for marriage, and always smile at you in the road. After lunch we got to go to another baptism for a young man named Martin in 4th Ward. He is awesome and super good with the Gospel. We already all love him. We then walked all the way home and went to play futboll with members and investigators. Good night. Except I kicked Motra Fuller right in the face. But she took it like a champ. 

~right now as i'm typing, the song "Shining Happy People" just came on and I'm singing it out loud~

Yesterday we invited a guy named Elton to church, we had talked with him on the road about a week ago and he came! I sat by him and talked with him during sacrament meeting while Elder Braden helped translate for the Embassy family in the ward. There were some great testimonies given and Elton was really feeling the Spirit. He was crying and saying that he hasn't felt like this for a long time. A little bit later Ersi tapped on my shoulder, (Ersi moved to Tirana by the way) and he asked me why I wouldn't bear my testimony and I told him that I didn't have anything different to say from what I had said the previous  month. But then I started thinking about something I read in the Ensign the other day. I actually just sent an email to Kirsten talking about it, but it's about a teacher that got a potato from one of her students and she asked "Why did you give me a tater?" and the student said "Because I didn't have an apple." And it was basically saying that even though we may not have a big, beautiful thing to give (Apple), we always have something we can give (potato). So I am now trying to apply that lesson in my everyday actions now. So I got up and bore my testimony, sat back down next to Elton and he looked at me and said in super broken english, "When you say that stuff, I felt a thing in my heart." 

After sacrament we went to the investigators class and the lesson was on fasting. There were a few recent converts and members and then two investigators. The teacher asked why fasting is important and one of the members said that it's so we can be healthy. It was a good answer because yes, our bodies benefit a bit from taking a break from food and kinda cleaning the system. But then Elton said, "No we fast so that we can come closer to God and help our spiritual state." I looked over at Motra Coleman and mouthed "He's my investigator." 

Church ended, we set up a return appointment with Elton, and we ate lunch and spent the rest of our day teaching members for Temple Prep and making visits. 

I love being a missionary. I love the Albanian people and I love doing this work. Sometimes it massacres me and leaves me in pieces but it's so worth it. Elder Penrod says that it's during hard times when we are putting blessings in the bank and every now and then we cash out. I know that this Church is true and I know that God loves each and every one of his children. He is the Captain at the Helm of this work and He leads and guides us in every step if we are willing to be humble and listen to His promptings. 

I love you all! Have a good week! 

Love, Jed

Dearest Mother, 

So did Jane do good skiing? It sounds like you all had the best time ever. I love pics that dad sent me too. Good luck this week with the preschool children. I hope they don't destroy our home. Mom, I love you so much! I hope you enjoy the week and have fun with Sweetheart. 

Love, Jedi 

Happy And Rainy Week

Jan. 26, 2015 email 

Hello everyone!!

Well this week was a good one. Not too much went on but it was still a happy and super rainy week. 

So last Monday I kinda just finished the whole day with lots of street contacting. We stopped a few people and we were able to talk with a few but no one wants to learn about God! Oh well. 

The next day we had District Meeting and then we had two lessons planned with some numbers that we had gotten from the road. Unfortunately they both didn't show up so either they were busy or they didn't really want to learn. Hopefully the first. Then we had our English Course. That's the one thing that we can totally count on happening every week. Our class is pretty good but only the girls want to learn more about the church so then we have to hand them off to the sisters. The sisters are doing super good though! Afterwards I went on an exchange with Elder Penrod which was pretty good. 

We started out the next day with lots of finding and we had tons of success! It was fantastic. We contacted by that big Pyramid in Tirana and tons of people stopped and talked to us. Probably because it was a nice warm day outside. But then after that we went and had a lesson with a young man named Hermes who is less active. He is a really good kid and wants to do the right thing but is just a little lazy on Sundays.(Who isn't!) We taught him about the Priesthood and the importance of it so that we can bless the lives of others by exercising it worthily. After that we just kept on street contacting and it went well. Then I had to meet up with Elder Braden again and go exchange with the elders in 4th ward. I went with Elder Simons that night and we worked in 3rd Ward the next day. 

We went finding again at the Pyramid and it was fantastic again! Lots of people stopped and talked to us and we got plenty of people's numbers. The sisters also gave us a referral that day for a guy named Kelton that works at a restaurant that they eat at quite often. So we had a lesson with him that night and taught him a bunch about the Book of Mormon and also some English. We have really high hopes for him. He seems like a good kid. After that we had our English Course and that was good too. We also had a lesson with a less active named Elton and he is awesome. We talked about the Priesthood with him and how he can use it to bless his family. That was a super good lesson. 

We exchanged back with the others that night and then started off to 3rd Ward. We did our weekly planning that morning and then had a meeting with Ersi and one of his friends that's an investigator. He then fed us which was super nice of him and then we left to go meet the D. family. They are awesome! It's a mom and her two sons that are baptized and then her husband isn't. So we are trying super hard to try and get him to be baptized. The two sons have both served missions and are both married in the temple. One of them lives in Seattle and is married to one of the Albanian teachers that used to work in the MTC. So we had a lesson with the Mom and the Dad and it was great. We talked a lot about our families and what not and they loved it. Afterwards we invited the father to start reading the Book of Mormon and to pray about it. He said he would so we'll see where he is when we go back. 

Saturday we had a baptism! The sisters baptized this adorable girl named Florinda. She's 10 years old and super energetic. Once again, no one knows how to fill up the Tirana font so I had to do it. Back to my old Tirana duties. So therefore we spent tons of time filling up the font and then we had a great time watching the baptism. Afterwards we went and did some street contacting, had some lessons not show up, and then we did more street contacting. 

Sunday was a good day. I woke up super sick and basically felt like death all day. I made it through church, and then through lunch and I then I took a killer nap. We woke up and had a meeting with Trazhgim, who is preparing for his mission. He needed some help with some visa stuff so we helped him out with that and then we went and met with a guy named Genc Cuci. He is on the High Council and we decided to pay him a visit. He is super awesome and super smart. We learned a lot from him. After that we just got the numbers from the zone and then I went to bed. 

Today I got a hair cut and went bowling. It was pretty fun even though I didn't win. Ah well. 

Well I'm sorry it's not super fantastic this week but my spirits are getting a little down with the lack of work and all of this rain so hopefully something will change soon. We're trying super hard. 

I hope you all have a killer time in Sun Valley this week! Tell Grandma and Grandpa that I said hey. I love you guys so much! 

Love, Jed

Dearest Mother, 

First things first, I don't think you've fixed my debit card yet. So Kelbie got married?!!? To who? Well I hope everything is going well. Thanks for all the little stories that you put in the email. They always make me laugh a bit. I love you! Have a good week! 

Love, Jedi