My wish came true and then it punched me in the face.

Hello one and all... I'll try to keep this short as I know you all bore easily at your long lost missionary and his stories and life...... :O 

        It was a slow week again but filled with a lot of good. Gjergj was in town a lot this week so we got to see him three times. We had a lesson and then his interview on Friday. HE PASSED! He is awesome. He is getting baptized this weekend. Make that 3 transfers in a row that i'll end on a baptism. I was thinking the other day that from my first to second baptism I went ten months and then after that i've ended every transfer with a baptism. Hopefully I can end my last one with one as well. Unfortunately Gjergj went back to his fshat after the interview so he's going to be there until the baptism BUUUUUT President gave us the advice to go visit him in his fshat so he'll be ready for baptism so today we drove out there and to Burrel and got to meet his family and see his town and explained to them why we are here. It was really good and his family is super cool. It's a couple hour drive and the road was super fun to drive. MOuntain road with a lot of curves. So you know me I drove really slow and cautious. ( mother don't you roll your eyes at me!) It was one of the most beautiful drives i've been on and we all know how many i've been on... On the way back we stopped at a bridge and had to cross it. Super sketchy but we did it and plus the fshatar we met right before ran across it so.... But it was a really good trip and we are going to go back on Friday right before his baptism so he is ready. He's trying to get work in Tirana so he can be here for church. He has a lot to learn but who doesn't when they are baptized. He is a great kid. So be looking forward to that on Saturday along with my last transfer call ever.... DUN DUN DUN. *Darth vadar walks in the room and does a spit take* 

     Speaking of which. Molly plug your ears and close your eyes. I had to give my dying testimony this week. I don't know if I've ever told you but it's a thing in our mission that before missionaries die they give a final testimony at the big mission conference. We had my last mission conference today BUT since i'm extending the aps weren't going to let me give my testimony and i've been giving them crap for the last couple weeks so I sat there and watched my group get up and bear their testimonies one by one and it caused a lot of reflection and thought... and then after the break we came together and one of them walked over and said you want to give you testimony..... So my chance came and in that moment the reflection deepened and I had to decide what I was going to say. He also told me I had 3 minutes. LUckily I figured out what I was going to say a year ago so I went up and testified about it's not about what you say but you are that will be remembered because no one remembers these testimonies but you remember names and what kind of missionaries they are and talked a little about how the Atonement has changed me and how much i've changed. So..,.. I gave my dying testimony. Didn't expect to but it happened and it blew my mind a little bit. I had to walk up with my walker and adjust my hearing aid but I got through it... I got some really good compliments from missionaries after that made me feel good about it. We all know how much I love inspiring people... #Elderszabosoapbox!!!! 

     Other than that I had weekly planning with Pres this week... It lasted 3 hours and could have gone another three... LEarned a lot and felt like i've been planning terribly and with not enough effort my whole mission. Good thing we have the atonment. 

     Going to end the transfer strong and get us a baptism. Other than that... 

Have a great week! Elder Szabo 

Come on!

Ok family. If you expect me to keep writing you letters you have to at least try to write me! *he says looking awkwardly at his parents*  In your defense I didn't really write last week but I was trying to sign up for classes which I ended up having to do today. It took me about 10 seconds after I got two pieces of info. I had already preplanned my classes so just had to click a couple buttons... I'm going to have to move them around because the way I set them up would be pretty intense and i'd be in class for about 8 hours so might have to change that... Kind of hit me last week that real life is coming and i'm becoming all growned up. Turning 20 means I know everything and my future is perfectly planned out so no worries! :) Wait that's not it at all. I have gone through about 3 career changes over the last 2 months. I'm boxing with life and i'm rocky balboa... 

Ok onto the week.... Met with Gjergj once. Kaq. 

Have a great week!!! 

But really that was about our week. Gjergj is in testing season so he only comes for test right now and he only had one this past week so we had one lesson and he wasn't able to come to church because of financial things. Even though he couldn't make it to church we are confident he's going to be baptized on the date he decided on. July 2 and 3. If he makes it this will be the 3 transfer in a row that I end the last week with a baptism... I counted the other day and realized that from my first baptism to my second there was a 10 month period... and then the last couple months i've had one the last week of the transfer. Luckily we are going to beable to meet with Gjergj three times this week and he's going to have his interview on Friday. So keep him in your prayers. He is super awesome he just needs to come to church and be incorporated intot he ward better. Luckily we're going over to the bishops with him for FHE tonight so that is going to be awesome! It should be a good week. Other than Gjergj we have no one. Lots of street contacting but we have become super chill with each other so we make it fun and joke around a lot. We've stayed up a couple nights talking and last night we stayed up playing cards pretty late.  Oh how things turn around after a couple months and you get comfortable with someone. 

     I learned a very valuable lesson this week. H O N E S T Y. I won't go into the whole thing but just some little things with how missionaries feel about members and they don't tell them but complain when we are with missionaries and then they told me about it and it just made me realize that we need to be more honest with people. A member read something on a blog of a missionary and he denied writing it and just some minor things like that but it made me think of my blog and what i've written and if everything I wrote i'd be ok with everyone reading it.... Hit me really hard I just need to be honest with people. We are need to be honest with everyone. Even if it might cause some problems or contention or confrontation it is the only way to effectively get over problems and it's the Lords way. You didn't see Jesus watch Peter do soemthing and then lean over to John and say Wow... Did you see the way he couldnt' heal that guy because of his lack of faith. No he straight up told him. Of course he had perfect love which we love but we can handle it with the spirit and it will all go over well. This isn't a pointing fingers rant it's a I need to take the beam out of my own eye. It was a big eye opener this week for me. It's amazing how much you can learn in two years especially the last couple months. God has been pouring lesson after lesson on me since I got here. Such a blessing being tutored and guided by my Heavenly Father. He hears my prayers and he hears yours. Council with him and council with others in honesty. It'll change your life and open your mind. Give it a try. 

      Other fun thing this week. After running around second hour to help a member get a video for her lesson for second hour i walked into preisthood and realized we didn't have a teacher so... What do I do go grab the books and start preparing to give the lesson.... So i get the howard w hunter books hand them out and ask what lesson it is... 16 I think someone says so I flip open and what does it say.... Marriage. The missionaries including the senior couple elder had some good jokes and then I proceeded to give an hour lesson on marriage. I don't bring this up to brag I can drop an hour lesson without notice or the fact that marriage is getting close for me i'm reminded enough by the other missionaries. but the point is I want you to ask yourself if you walked in to sunday school, sacrament meeting or any gospel class and they said there is no teacher would you be able to give a lesson? I'm no saying it has to be the most amazing sermon ever given since the one on the mount but just take an honest look at your discipleship and ask yourself if your gospel study and your prayers and your church attendance is being used effectively so you can be used as a tool in God's kingdom. Are you working everyday to build his kingdom and are you working on yourself and your life so that he can use you when he needs you. Physically and spiritually are you in a position to be called to service. What's holding you back? what do you need to improve? Think about it make some goals and improve your discipleship. Don't take a back seat approach to YOUR discipleship. Kick your driver out and start leading your path. Follow Christ with dilligence an be ready when called upon. GO FORWARD. Moral of the story... Are you prepared for whatever comes up in life. If not do something today so you'll be prepared tomorrow. Be progressing not digressing. Do something and act don't be acted upon. Get off your chair and do some push ups put the remote down and read some scriptures. Be useable in the hands our God. 

You kids have a great week. Love Elder Szabo 

School

I don't have any time because I'm been trying to figure out my school thing and don't have information I had no idea I needed. OH the joys of being on a mission and trying to be a real person. Probably going to have to change some insurance stuff... 

This week. Had an exchange with Elder Befus. Went to high school with him. Had service on Saturday in durres with the youth and the sisters had a baptism. Sunday our investigator came to church and we had a barbeque with the bishop. Went to see a castle today. 

Have a great week.

my birthday

 my district

Nature. Caves. Walking.

  On the week not too much to report. We had zone training and we had an exchange with the zone leaders. My first zone training that I didn't have to give in 7 months... It was nice but really weird.  The exchange... All we did was street contact. I hate exchanges. But I talked to this girl in the morning and we had a super good talk. She spoke English and her parents are jdub and she decided a couple years ago that she didn't want to be anymore but hasn't told her parents. She was just interested about what we believe. Some sincere desire it was nice to talk to someone who just wanted to learn. 

    We actually got an investigator this week. We met a kid named Gjergj street contacting and had two lessons with him and have another one planned for tonight. We pushed super hard for a baptism date with him but he wanted to read the book first but he was totally ready for it. Just a shyer kid but super awesome. A student here and his family lives in a village but he understands and it's looking like he'll be my end of transfer baptism! Other than him we have absolutely nothing so we're still finding a lot. 

    We had a special multi stake broadcast for all of Europe. IT was super good. We had 2 and fourth ward together. The broadcast was good but atmosphere was not. The sound was in and out and people were on their phones and kids and noise and talking. It was frustrating but super good. 

    Today we went out to a fshat and on a nature walk up to a cave and then got back and they told us the close bus just left so we went back on the other trail to the river bed and we got a little lost and ended up walking down the river bed because we went off the path and then we had to walk back to the main road to catch a bus... It was a lot of walking but it was really good to out and hiking and outdoors. Exactly what I needed after a long slow week. 

     I love you all. Have a great week.