ELDER 2.0

People of my Past Life. 

    There isn't much to write about the day to day stuff. Class is class and the language comes but it comes slowly. Pak nga pak. Little by little. I make a ton of flash cards and feel like I'm banging my head against the wall because I don't remember most of it but it comes. I did not think it would be this hard to learn. Have you ever thought about how many words there are!?! I have to learn all of those words in another language. I can bear my testimony and explain the Book of Mormon with the pictures in the front pretty good. I hope you enjoyed that picture of me hosting. Hosting is a blast! It was really good to get out of the routine and go do something and it is crazy that that was me three weeks ago. Next week will be my month mark!! I know you all miss me like crazy and are counting the days until I come home but it's flown by. I don't know how it feels like I've been here my whole life and just got here yesterday all at the same time. It's a basically a blur from P-day to P-day. All is well and I miss you all. Thank you for all the letters. They remind me I have a home and family outside of wherever this place is. Albania feels like a mystical land that doesn't exist that we just talk about and they speak this crazy language. I can't wait to step off that plane in Tirana. The field is going to hard but so AMAZING. No matter how hard it gets just remind me at least i'm not in the mtc and I will get back on track. This place is great buuuut it's the mtc. 

    Another thing I need to mention is we have been counseled to only write family on P-day so my letters will be far and in between while I'm here so if you don't get a letter back for a little or until I'm in the field know I love you with all my heart it's just hard to fit all the writing in in one day when I only have a couple hours to write. 

    Three things that keep me going while i'm here are Service, Horse shoes, and devotionals. Elder Szabo did you just say Horseshoes??? Isn't that a game my great grandma played and is a thing of the past??? Nope! There are two Finns who along with Elder Fowles are my favorite people here. We have a very heated rivalry going. We play twice a week. It is the most magical thing I have ever experienced. Some how it relaxes me relieves stress and is competitive all at the same time. Today we lost by three which was a close game but we all love it. I know you're still wondering why in the world would we play horse shoes. It is the best thing in the world and I will always love it. We even asked the gym person if anyone else uses them and we are the only ones and we are pretty serious about it. 

    The Finns leave in two weeks which is crazy because Elder Folwes and me are going to lose our team mates but it just seems weird that in a flash we'll be the old ones here and leaving the young Finns and Estonians behind and be replaced. They have consecration week this week which is where they can only speak their language so it's a little tough sometimes but you figure most of it out. They were supposed to leave next week but got extended because their mission president will be out of the city for some training so we will have old and new Finns here at the same time and our zone is going to be huge! We will probably have to move sacrament meeting to a bigger room. By the way we refer to everyone by the place they are going so if it seems a little confusing why we have such an ethic group that is why. Finns, Hungarians, Estonians, and Albanians are in our zone. 

       At the temple today we were going to do a session and my companion got a really bad nose bleed. He's been a little sick with a runny nose and his nose has been super dry so he's gotten some really bad ones. I got to use a tiny bit of my emt knowledge to treat a nose bleed! but we didn't have an ice pack so all I could tell him to do was stick a piece of toilet paper against the top of his inside lip but hey at least I got to use that right! Made the day a little more interesting and we were joking that we would actually have something to write home about this week. While we were waiting he said something that I hadn't heard in a long time but that everyone should remember. Those people you are doing names for have been waiting hundreds of years. You can wait a couple hours to do some names. The temple is amazing and everyone should be getting there as often as they can. It is such a blessing to be able to go every week.

       I have so much to say but such little time. I love all of you so much. If you're not reading your scriptures everyday and praying then you're doing it wrong and you're missing out on something great. Those two little things alone can change your life and give you guidance in this life. Elder Szabo... Your favorite missionary in two months.