Mar 14, 2016

Okay I now can tell you about Pristina. Last week I could tell you that I was here, but now I can tell you what it is like. A little side note, 3 month transfers are a thing, actually they are soon - on the 29 of March. So my companion will probably be leaving, but I wouldn't be mad if she stayed here with me, its just that she has been here 6 months. So moral of the story President is allowing me to see the whole mission, and serve with all the sisters, I'm so lucky.

Okay a couple of answers to you questions. Durres doesn't have sisters anymore. And it is kinda the second time I have done that to an area. (being the last sister in an area) So i am in a different zone so we aren't stls(sister training leaders), and to be honest i don't know who is in my old zone.  

I don't know why we need my diploma, but I do know I have to get a visitor card if I stay longer then 3 months so it might be a requirement for that and an elder said don't be surprised if they ask for a police record. I couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

Pristina! Kosovo is different then Albania. Where do I start...Gheg. This is the dialect they speak here. I think I am going to like it. It was and still is an adjustment, but it still is Albanian they just use different words and then they throw a lot of the grammar principles out the window. So less grammar I think that's for me! I can't really explain it but you just feel tougher when you speak Gheg. It's funny because Albanians say that Kosovar sound malok (hillbilly) but they actually aren't. The city is big like Tirana but nicer and cleaner. In general they are more educated. Which is good but they are a little more caught up in the ideas of men and a little less likely to rely simply on faith.

Here in Pristina we have four elders. We are all serving in this city but we have a small little branch. I was thinking about how here and in Durres the young woman usually struggle, and it reminds me how important it is, and how grateful I am that I had young women leaders! (tell them hi for me!) Our friends here in Kosovo (we don't use the word investigators, because they should be our friends) are great, are you ready to pray for them? Fatime she promised us that she smoked her last cigarette yesterday, so she is in need of the Lord's strength right now. She also needs help getting to church. Besiana; she is so smart, but she needs more faith and to act upon it. She is waiting for an answer that it is true, yet she is loving everything she is learning.

Motra Cheshire is super awesome, we do insanity for an hour every morning it is so good! She is from Layton Utah. She also said that we had the most lessons that she has had here in Pristina. So I think the Lord is blessing us for our efforts! I would also like you to know that he is also protecting us... or just me. Okay a not very long story shortened- We were tracking and I saw an apartment with shoes outside (that meant they're home because they always take their shoes off before going in the house.) So I got really excited, there were people to talk to and I got caught up in my excitement and I slipped and fell down 10 stairs. I literally bellyflopped. I stood up, my companion picked up my dropped "pass along cards" and then we laughed.. till we cried. I was perfectly fine I have been hurt more from falling from hurdles. D&C 84;88 my angles around you to bear you up.

Okay one more cool thing about Pristina, there is an army base here called Bonsteel, so there are american soldiers there and we get to do lessons with them because they are part of our branch, they come to church and stuff, and actually one of the old soldiers found a worker there for us to teach. I tell more about that later!

I heard a talk this week called the Mortal Christ. Listen to it! We must come to know Christ! I hope this time in Pristina I can come closer to Him!

Love,
Motra Henderson