Two hands won't cut it this week!

We had 16 people in church! 2 of them were President and his wife but still. It was weird having that many people. I will never take a ward for granted again I can tell you that much. The missionaries have to do everything. We usually bless and pass the sacrament lead and the play the music and give the talks. So when you get that call that asks to give a talk in church or when you get that calling that you're not too excited about REMEMBER REMEMBER that it is a blessing and an opportunity you have not a burden. I have to give a talk every other week and it's in this crazy language called Albanian so count your many blessings. You don't know what you have until it's gone and it's all gone! Just motivates me to work harder. We don't need baptisms we need members here! People who will stay and build this place up. So next time you get a call for a talk you rejoice and say It would be my honor to teach about his gospel and to testify of it's beauty. 

     This week wasn't much different than the past weeks but some stuff did happen. I had an exchange because every transfer your district leader goes on an exchange with an elder we did that. Not too much happened. We had a lesson with a guy named Erlind (airleend). He's Muslim but believes that you should continually be learning so he wanted to learn about us and what makes up different. The other elder kept giving me opportunities to speak but every time I would I'd get a couple sentences in and he'd have a question so the other elder would answer and then they got into some other stuff that I did not have the vocab for so I didn't really say much and he wasn't really interested after but it was a good discussion. I'm still kind of a baby with the language but it gets better everyday and can see a huge difference already. After Three months I should be golden. I honestly feel great right now this area sucks but it's the normal now and I feel like the language is the only thing holding me back. 

   We had interviews this week! Let me tell you President Weidmann can light a fire in you. He started off by telling me i'm a successful missionary because it's about my commitment to find teach and baptize not the numbers. He knows how to be blunt... He was like Do you believe God knows you personally? Do you think he knows what's best for you? Then is it a coincidence you're in Shkoder? Yes yes yes!!! You just want to apologize for doubting. He then told me that what I'm learning here isn't just for my mission but for after my mission so that was really cool to hear because it was cool to think these hardships will prepare me things after the mission. Then he dropped some revelation and was like you were standing in the preexistence with Aaron and Ammon and they said we're going down to the Lamanites and I said I want to come! but I have to go in the fullness of times so you guys go to the Lamanites and I'll go to Shkoder but it'll be just as hard... but that they had the same God that we do today and you can have the same success with that God. So I should study what they did and do that and I will have success. President knows how to drop the hammer on you. He's so led by the spirit and is such an amazing man. It was exactly what we needed right now because we were doubting whether we are bad missionaries or just need to be patient and he answered that for both Elder Roemer and I. and he told me that I should just find joy in testifying everyday and I've really been focusing on that. I don't care what success i have but it's just an opportunity to go out everyday and testify all day of this gospel. So you could say after that interview i'm just ready to go to work and find joy in testifying and being happy with that. I feel like this area is a great area to start off with because anything I get after this will be cake and I will never take any success for granted. 

    The other thing for this week is that we met with our 1 progressing investigator Marku. I had only met with him once before and I didn't think it would  go anywhere but he called us yesterday and told us we could come to his house but it turned into quite a story. We didn't know exactly where we were going because he lives in a Fshat (little village around the city) so we drove for about 15 minutes and then called him and turned out we had gone the opposite way so we drove back to the city and it had gotten dark so we went the right way and got to the Fshat and called him and he said we were in the right place but we turned down this little road which was the wrong way so we turned around but a truck with a bunch of corn husks in it was driving the opposite way and you can't get around each other on this road so he stopped and just dumped the load and these people started moving it off the road. We tried to help but the lady told us that we couldn't help... Albanians! So we just had to sit there and wait for them to clear it. but we did help because our car lights were on them so they could see. It gets dark at about 6 here it's super weird and terrible. So they finally clear the road and we can get by then we drive by and find his house. It was quite the process but we got there! We talk for a little then start the lesson and 2 minutes in someone outside yells that we need to move our car... So we run out back it up and park it in another spot then go back and start the lesson again. Finally. It was quite the adventure just getting there. It was a great lesson! He's a great guy and really funny. He's about 30 and he just kept telling us that he was going to find us Albanian wives and we would just say after our missions you can. But it was my first plan of salvation lesson... Only took a month. We didn't get through all of it because he would kind of get off topic and talk about things a lot but it was fine because we came taught and testified. We almost got him on a baptismal date! We said he wants to he just doesn't know when he'll be ready. He said Christmas but we know he can be ready before that so he said he'll pray about it and let us know. It was a super good lesson he agreed with all of it and reads the book of Mormon but I just couldn't get a read on him whether he was knowing it was true or not but he's a super great guy and I hope he progresses. He told us at the end of the lesson that we were angels sent from the Lord and thanked us. So it went really well. He's Catholic so he knew about Adam and Eve and that stuff but we taught he preexistence and why we're here. After the lesson we had to go straight home even though it was only 8 because Albania is weird and everyone goes in super early so our mission president while he was here said we should try going to bed at 9 30 and wake up at 5 30. So we are trying that for a week and seeing how it goes. It is super weird being in at 8.. You feel like you're breaking the rules but we'll see how it goes. I don't know if I've told you about Albania being weird but We take our lunch and dinner and study hours at lunch time because everyone goes inside at lunch so we're useless. I don't love it because we don't eat dinner and we haven't had anything to eat at night so I've been going off two meals and a snack but it's what we have to do. I felt super useless at the beginning because we're inside for 3 hours but it's what we have to do and it gets even worse in the summer. No one goes outside at lunch time from about 1-5 it's pretty dead and in the summer it's literally dead. It hasn't gotten too cold here it was actually warm here today so I don't know what's going on with this winter but i'm sure it'll get colder soon. That humid cold keeps your hands and feet cold all the time though it's lovely! but it's not Minnesota and it hasn't been cold at all so i'm not complaining!!! I love you all! Keep me in your prayers and Keep reading the book of Mormon... :)  You're favorite missionary in less than a month... Elder Szabo