Sunday in Elbasan

We had a wonderful day in Elbasan this Sunday...Liz and I were the featured speakers, but it was really Liz that everyone came to hear (we had attendance of 70, which is the highest this year!). Liz did a talk on the inspiring music of Christmas, and passed out short Christmas song sheets that she had made (and had stitched together using her sewing machine...couldn't find a long reach stapler!!). So she'd talk a little about the song, and then we'd sing a few verses. There aren't many Christmas carols translated into Albanian, and even those can be very difficult to sing (something about "prosody"). Then for the finale, she talked about Silent Night (the carol that all the members know well), and then she led the congregation in singing it, and she sang the first verse in English, and accompanied herself on guitar. It was wonderful. After Sacrament meeting, many members came up and said that it was something they'd never forget. And one young woman came up to me and said in English--"You have a beautiful woman!" (I said, "I know".)

After Sacrament, the primary was practicing a song for their branch Christmas program...you'll see about 20 kids in this picture, but only 3 of them are members. The rest are neighborhood kids, and they've been attending primary for many months, ever since the building opened. They can sometimes be a handful, but they love the primary!! -Marty

Brrrrr!

After a month of drenching rains and terrible flooding in the north around Shkodra, the weather has turned freezing cold and we've had snow twice this week. Not enough to stay on the ground for long, but as I write at 9:30AM, the snowflakes are large and coming down steadily. We may get enough to build a snowman today! Well, someone else can build the snowman and I'll watch from my window.
Down the street there are some rooftop squatters, who surround their small room with plastic. It's a difficult life for many Albanians. Unemployment is very high and salaries, for those fortunate enough to work, are very low. Apartment leases are beyond the reach of many.

Across the street from the mission home, our friend Hassan stands from 7AM to 9PM in his small, unheated shop, dressed in only a parka with a hood, but no gloves. Perhaps they impede his work. I took him some of my disposable hand warmers this morning and he was happy to get them! He gets a few hours of break at lunch when someone else comes to run the shop.

10 in White

This is only one of several baptisms we've had recently, but it was especially notable because it was a mother and her four children.--the Lami family in the 4th Branch. The missionaries who had taught the family and were asked to help with the baptisms were Elders Johnson, Seevers, Frederickson, Miller, and Moyes.

In other news: Albania has had a long month of heavy rains, with only a few dry days. The hydropower dams became overloaded and water had to be released, causing the already full rivers to overflow. Low-lying agricultural areas and villages are flooded, and parts of many cities are also covered with water. When a quarter of the northern city of Shkodra became covered in water, we decided to evacuate the four elders to Tirana. They were able to take a furgon (private van) to Tirana, which took a long and bumpy alternate route that was still navigable. The national highway is flooded. The weather report shows four days of sunshine before the rains begin again.

Festive Feast!

The missionaries all came together on Thursday for our first zone conference in three months, and to have a Thanksgiving feast and movie--something that has been our tradition since we arrived in 2008. They all look forward to the day, and wonder what movie will be shown. Previous years we have watched "Remember the Titans" and "UP!". This year's selection was "Toy Story 3" which was released on DVD just a week or two before Thanksgiving.

We were not able to get frozen turkeys from the U.S. Embassy this year as we currently do not have a member of the church stationed there, and I was not about to purchase live turkeys at the outdoor markets--although I know a few missionaries who would have been willing to handle the slaughtering duties. Marty and I had lunch at the Stephen's Center Cafe two weeks ago and noticed they were advertising a turkey dinner on Thanksgiving day. We asked the manager where he was getting the turkeys, and he said they had been ordered from Conad, the Italian supermarket. We called the number he gave us, and the meat buyer said there were three turkeys left. We reserved two of them--33 lb. each from Italy. Too big for my oven, the turkeys had to be cut in parts by the butcher.

My sister Virginia generously sent me the other fixin's I needed from the states, so we were able to cook and bake up a wonderful, traditional Thanksgiving Feast for 50 people. The Wilsons, Humanitarian Aide Missionaries who live upstairs from us, helped out considerably, as did the Prestons and Smiths, our other couples.

I have only one oven, so we had to utilize the two ovens in the apts. upstairs. Even so, we didn't have enough space to keep everything warm at once, so I baked up the stuffing/dressing and placed the hot pans surrounded by a towel in a large cooler. It kept the dishes really hot! Having all the ovens going at once overloaded the electrical system upstairs, and those two ovens and stoves went out for the last 45 minutes. Fortunately, the mashed potatoes were done and warming in a large electric roaster in the basement, and Sister Wilson was able to use the small basement oven to toast the marshmallows on the sweet potato casserole.

The office elders and Assistants set up the tables and chairs, the Tirana sister missionaries decorated the room and tables, and all the missionaries supplied the desserts. As part of the decorations, the sisters made a really cute turkey pinata. The desserts were excellent this year. One companionship went to a member's home and made four pies!

After dinner we watched the movie which had been purchased from iTunes and downloaded to my computer. We showed it using a multi-media projector. We had recently purchased some nice speakers for my computer, and they sounded great!

I was too busy to take photos, but if I am able to get some from a missionary, I'll post them. It was a grand event! Unfortunately, our mission photo (above) came out blurry.

Despite being very occupied with food preparation, I found time to spend several hours on three days last week at the new Hygeia Hospital where I saw an orthopedic surgeon and had an MRI on my left foot which is still inflamed and painful for walking, even though the injury was two months ago. The MRI machine quit halfway through the test on Monday so I had to come back Tuesday to finish it. Then I went back Wednesday to get the results. Marty was a sweetie and drove me there and waited during the very long tests. The MRI showed that there were no fractures, only lots of inflammation, but the CD digital files have been sent to a doctor in Salt Lake for final diagnosis. The doctor I saw in Tirana said that I must go on crutches and stay off the foot for at least two weeks. Because of pain and swelling, the only shoes that fit me are a pair of men's athletic shoes we purchased. Very stylish with my skirts!

After the MRI quit on Monday afternoon, we decided to go out to the CityPark Mall to purchase some groceries at the Mercator Store. It had been raining heavily, and when we came out of the mall, we found a completely flooded parking lot. Security men were directing people to move their cars to dry ground on the other side of the mall. Marty took off his shoes and socks, rolled up his pants, and waded out into the foot-high water to rescue the car. Because it was the river that overflowed into the lot, and because Albania doesn't have sewage treatment yet, he was not really excited about the wading, but he got the car, picked me and the groceries up from the sidewalk, and we went on our way. Ten minutes later, we arrived at a traffic jam on the overpass that leads into town. This is a common experience so we didn't think too much of it, until fifteen or twenty minutes later when traffic hadn't budged. Marty said to me, "Well, honey, there's nobody else I'd rather be stuck with!" Was that a compliment? Three hours later (it should have been a 20 minute drive), we finally arrived at home. Marty didn't waste any time hopping into the shower. The next day we read that this had been the worst traffic jam ever in Tirana. All the city streets had been horribly flooded and congested, and officials attributed it to the extreme weather and multiple road construction projects. The city is rebuilding the center plaza and has permanently closed off some of the big circle road around it. This has made a mess of traffic--even in good weather. We wonder about the wisdom of this project. It will be a grand plaza, but will also be a grand traffic mess.

Motra Hanci

The Church News published an article about Sister Topalli Hanci (pronounced Hantsee), written by one of our former missionaries, Brooke Larson who returned home in April. After hearing of Sister Hanci's conversion and faithfulness, we knew it would make a good feature article for the Church News, and knowing Sister Larson's writing abilities, Marty asked if she would interview Sister Hanci and write up an article for submission. It was finally published this week. Click on the underlined words to find the link.

Dresden, Germany

The morning view from our hotel!

We were in Dresden Germany from Oct. 18-23 for our final annual Mission President's Seminar and had an inspiring four days of instruction and fellowship with other mission presidents and wives. Elder Kevin Pearson, from the 1st Quorum of Seventy, was there to instruct us for one entire day. He spoke extensively of the Doctrine of Christ (from 2 Nephi 31) and other topics to help us teach our missionaries. Throughout the week, Elder Kopishke, our Area President, spoke about the church in East Germany when it was behind the "iron curtain." He told wonderful stories of President Monson's visits there and the blessings that were pronounced when as an apostle, he dedicated the land. On Thursday afternoon we took a bus ride out to the hill where the dedication took place and we gathered in close together under umbrellas and read the dedicatory prayer. Elder Manfred Schütze, the Area Seventy for Germany, told us many stories about the saints during that time as he served as a Stake President in East Germany for many years. He said it was difficult for the members who were living in very difficult conditions, to believe that the blessings promised in that prayer would ever come to pass. But all of the promised blessings have been fulfilled, and the Freiberg Temple was built even before the Berlin Wall and communism fell!

There was a joke among the saints at that time that if a woman left her purse on a church bench, it would still be there the next week. But if a person left his scriptures, they would be gone. Scriptures were next to impossible to obtain, and an older person might even be asked that if they died, they would get his or her scriptures.

Dresden was bombed at the end of World War II, and the old town is being reconstructed. The famous Lutheran Frauenkirche is beautifully rebuilt. The black stones in the walls are some of the original stones that were blackened by the fire bombing.

The Dresden Frauenkirche, (Church of Our Lady)

and the statue of Martin Luther that survived the 1945 bombing.

The Class of 2008, Europe Area

Top to bottom and l to r: Sally and Larry Anderson, Sweden Stockholm Mission;

David and Susan Brown, Finland Helsinki; Liz and Marty Neil, Albania Tirana;

David and Dana Hill, Slovenia/Croatia; Lisa & Kevin Ninow (partially hidden), Germany Frankfurt; (in front of the Ninows) David and Kathleen Bullock, England Manchester;

Front l to r: Don & Cynthia Staheli, France Paris; Linda & Robert Condie, Alpine German-Speaking;

Laurie and James Lundberg, Romania Bucharest.

Missing, because they had to leave earlier, were Michel and Danielle Carter, France Toulouse; and Joselito and Mafalda Neves, Cape Verde Praia Mission.

We arrived the evening before the Tuesday 3 PM start of the conference, so were able to walk around the Old Town and eat at McDonald's, which was quite a treat for us. Two Filet o' Fish Meals! Never thought I'd be happy to see a McDonald's! Our plane left the morning after everyone else's flights, so we had all of Friday afternoon to walk around and shop. I found Yankee Candles in a Body Shop, we had Starbuck's Hot Chocolate and a doughnut, purchased two suit jackets for me, and picked up a Dresden Christmas ornament.

Our new Chevrolet Captiva--a compact SUV. We are grateful to have a sturdier car for Albania's rough roads.

Oct. Transfers

We hate losing missionaries, but our consolation is that the very same day, new missionaries arrive from the Provo MTC. Fun for both groups is that they meet up in the Vienna Airport during the change of planes.

Departing Missionaries

Elder Geoffrey Foulk, New Jersey; Sister Evette Bentley, Utah; and Elder Troy Shields; California

Arriving Missionaries

Back row l to r: Elders Bradley Holmes, Randolf, UT; Paul Eckel, Perrysburg, OH; Ian Anderson, Riverton, UT; Tyler Owens. Harwood, TX.

Front: Myself, Sister Marsida Korita, Tirana, Albania; Sister Sarah Leit, Copenhagen, Denmark; Marty.

Wednesday, Oct. 13, Marty set apart Sister Elona Sulollari (center) as a full-time missionary. She has been called to the Salt Lake Temple Square Mission, and was scheduled to arrive at the Provo MTC in September. She was delayed awaiting Visa approval, and finally has it, but now has to wait until Nov. to go to Provo. Not wanting to wait any longer, she volunteered to enter full-time missionary work in Tirana. Here she is with Sisters Halabuk and Hiland, with whom she will serve for a month. Elona's home town is Pogradec.

Oh my aching foot!

To have a sore foot here is a nightmare! We are surrounded by tile, concrete, marble ,and granite floors, rocky roads without sidewalks, and other hazards to feet, knees, and hips. No wall-to-wall carpet here.

Actually, the hazard that attacked me was not any of those, but a metal file cabinet in the office near the copy machine. The bottom drawer was stuck in the open position for about five inches. I noticed it one day and thought it might be dangerous, and asked an office elder to take care of it. That was my first mistake. I should have investigated it and fixed it myself. A few weeks later, I was in the office with Marty, and he called me over to the copy machine to help him, and I jammed my left foot really hard under the corner of the file cabinet. I didn't utter a single @*&#!!! Thought one, though.

It broke the skin slightly, and caused a big bruise, but I could still wear my shoes and Marty and I continued with our walks around town and at the park. Second mistake! The skin healed, but the pain has worsened, and the inflammation has increased to where I can't put on my normal shoes. I can only wear a pair of Merrill flip-flops I have--and the weather is getting colder.

We went to an Albanian orthopedist today and, after looking at my X-rays and manipulating various places of my foot, he decided I may have Morton's Neuroma, which is an inflammation of the nerve between the toes and often has to be corrected with surgery. An MRI would confirm that diagnosis. Doctor Dahl, our missionary doctor in Germany, thinks it is more likely to be bruising and inflamation caused by the trauma of being attacked by the file cabinet and not taking care of it properly at first. I hope that's all it is. In the meantime he wants me to take anti-inflammatory pills (Celebrex) and do hot soaks several times a day to increase circulation to the area and also stay off the foot as much as possible. That should be a challenge. Next week we have our BIG TRANSFER--old missionaries leave and new ones arrive. Guess we'll be eating out with them next week. On the 18th, we are going to Dresden, Germany for our last Mission Presidents' Seminar. Hope the foot is well by then!

Dr. Dahl was a missionary in Italy when Marty was there, and it will be nice for them to meet when we go to Dresden.

Wonderful Weekend!

This weekend was a record weekend for baptisms. We held four services for seven persons in Tirana, and the really terrific thing is that there were two families baptized! We have 25 baptismal dates through the 9th of October. Of course, it's not really about the numbers, but about the happiness and joy of those new members who have taken upon themselves the gospel of Jesus Christ and His church. We rejoice with them! Urime to Elona, Sonja, Erodita, Bona, Xhesi, Sara, and Maksim. Maksim's wife will be taking the lessons now.

Little Sara bore her testimony in Albanian--no easy task for her, since she was born in the United States where her family spent ten years before returning to Albania. Now she's having to learn the language of her mother and father. I was astonished when I heard her speaking English with the sisters.

Last week we took the office missionaries and the assistants to the Rogner Hotel for a nice lunch, to thank them for their outstanding service. L.to R.: Elder Smith (Office), Elder Foulk (Asst.), Elder Klein (Office), me and the Prez, and Elder Swenson (Asst.) Elder Klein has served six months in the office and will be leaving us the first week in Oct. when we have transfers, and Elder Foulk is returning home after serving his two-year mission. The Rogner is, perhaps, the nicest place to dine in Tirana. Definitely the nicest hotel! The missionaries don't like to think that they'll have to spend six months of their missions in the office, but they do find that it has it perks, not the least of which are my cookies/cinnamon rolls and occasional meals, and the same from the Wilson's who live upstairs and do their part to keep the office elders happy. The office elders also have a car to drive, something no other missionaries in our mission currently have, as the four couples have the four cars other than our office van.

SEVENTH flat tire! Monday, September 6, we were headed away from the mission home to Durrës to spend FHE at the YSA Conference. The traffic was very bad, and we were stopped less than three blocks from home. When we started moving again, we heard a terrible noise and Marty pulled over to investigate. He found the left rear tire completely flat. We looked up to see a man motioning for us to pull slightly forward into his shop area. We had discovered the flat right in front of a Gomisteri--a tire shop! The tire was shredded and unfixable, so he sold us a reconditioned tire, installed it, filled the other tires with air, and we were back on our way in 20 minutes. We were so grateful that we were not out on the main highway when it happened! As my sister Charlotte said, there were "angels on board!"

The good news is that we've been approved (after Marty's very fine appeal) for an SUV, a Chevy Captiva, which we hope will be a sturdier vehicle for the tough roads in Albania. Once you're off the main roads in Tirana or other cities, the roads are unpaved and rough. The extra road clearance of the Captiva will be good, and we hope we'll have fewer flats, too.

August Zone Conferences

Inside Zone

Outside Zone

Thursday and Friday were our "Inside" and "Outside" Zone Conferences--"Inside" meaning all of Tirana and "Outside" being Durrës, Fier/Lushjnë, Elbasan, Shkodër, and Vlorë. It evenly divides up the missionaries--20 each zone, not including couples.

The focus this conference was the new training that has been sent from the Missionary Department, which emphasizes increasing each missionary's ability to teach the doctrine of Jesus Christ more effectively.

In addition to the introduction of the training which will go on through next Spring, Marty spoke about what it means to have an organizational culture. He asked the missionaries, by district, to share the positive aspects of our mission culture, and come up with three ways we can improve it. These are the goals we decided upon:

1. Raise our language ability--more daily SYL (Speak Your Language 4-7 PM if you're here less than three months, and 4-9PM for all others.)

2. Have a shared vision for the future of the Church in Albania--that the Church is still very young here, but will grow large and have stakes and possibly a temple in the years to come. Do not get discouraged, and "be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great." (D&C 64:32)

3. Be always finding when you're out of the apartment.

4. Speak positively about one another and halt the gossip.

I gave a thirty minute presentation on the power of positive thinking, as we're trying to help the missionaries stay positive and confident as they live in difficult circumstances and face rejection in their teaching. Elder Taylor, who is our Area Psychologist, sends the mission presidents a monthly "Mental Health Memo" with excellent ideas about how to identify negative thoughts and change them, and I used some of his notes.

I cooked lunch for the inside zone: sloppy Joes, potato salad, and chocolate cake and ice cream. The outside zone leaders made salsa with tortilla chips for the snack, and ordered roasted chicken and potatoes for the meal.

Though we crash after several days of preparation and two day's execution, we love zone conferences. It is always wonderful to come together as a large group of missionaries, sing and learn together, hear success stories, and bear testimony. Under the new directions from Salt Lake, we will be having four conferences per year instead of eight.

Wish I'd Taken Pictures

This week is our boys's and girls' camps--two days, two nights each. This afternoon I went to the camp with a few others to give some short presentations on various topics--mine was on setting priorities. The camp is a half-hour outside of Tirana in an area that was a World War II battleground (with the Germans) and has several memorials to fallen soldiers and other communist-era monuments. There is no running water, no toilet facilities, no shelters. The 30 boys and their young leaders, along with six of our elders, set up a few tents, a large, outdoor gas stove, and "Viola!" camp! Oh, and they had to get some pesticide and spray the ground for biting, chigger-like bugs. They brought in large bottles of water. It was kind of strange thinking that we were treading where so many had fallen in bloody battle.

I think it should have been preserved as hallowed ground.

There is a bar/restaurant nearby, and supposedly the owner had agreed to let the camp use his bathrooms, but the boys were just going anywhere in the fields they could find a private spot. I don't know what the girls will do. I hear there are 70 girls coming.

The young man making dinner (rice and sausages) severely burned the rice because he had only a small plastic spoon to stir it with. Apparently it was totally ruined. So the boys were kind of hungry today. They did have apples and some melons, and we brought up eggs and other breakfast foods for tomorrow morning. The bar/restaurant is supplying a sit-down dinner for the boys tonight--probably fasule--beans and rice. Today we were with the woman planning the food for girls' camp, and she seemed to know what she was doing and had made long lists of groceries, which the assistants helped her obtain. I think the girls will eat much better. Fires are not allowed as it's been dry in Albania lately, and so there could be no roasting of hot dogs or potato baking in coals. I think the missionaries found some marshmallows at the German store in Tirana, and they were going to roast them over the gas stove tonight.

I saw a few frisbees, and a couple of soccer balls, and someone had strung a volleyball net between two trees, so the boys did have some activities, and the four workshops went well this afternoon. This morning the boys took a small hike where Marty was supposed to give a "sermon on the mount," but he became very ill with fever/chills/cough and couldn't go, so two (Albanian) recently returned missionaries talked about what it was like to be a missionary.

Oddly, the leaders forgot to tell the boys what to bring, so no one brought bedding. The mission has some tents for camps, but some boys had to sleep under tarps hung over ropes, and there was a drop in temperature last night, so they were all very cold.

Amazingly, the boys were all in great spirits and seemed to be enjoying the camp.

This is the first year the Albanian members have planned boys camp all themselves. In the past the elders have totally planned and prepared for the camp, but Marty thought it would be good for the members to learn to lead it. The girls' camp has been planned by members for the last two years, with only a bit of support from the mission.

Little by little. Avash, avash, as we say here. Don't I love camp. ; ) Glad I could come home after my presentation!

The boys said were amazed by the stars, as most have never seen the night without city lights obscuring the natural light of the heavens.

Always Something New

There is always something interesting or new going on in the mission, and it definitely keeps us hopping. This last week was no exception.

On Tuesday, Ian and Sue Preston from Eden, Utah (Ogden area), arrived to serve with Seminaries and Institutes (CES) in Albania. The Prestons are originally from New Zealand and still have their wonderful accents. Marty has asked them to serve in Elbasan, where there has not been a couple for a few years. That was a change from what they had been told by the CES people in Salt Lake, but after being in Elbasan for an afternoon, they came to feel that this was the place for them. They will strengthen the branch, and especially the Seminary program there and start up Institute classes as well. They are enthusiastic and friendly, and before even putting the key in their new apartment had invited three young women in their neighborhood to a Family Home Evening the following Monday!

We learned last week that Elder Taylor Allen, one of Marty's Assistants who had gone home three months ago for medical evaluation after suffering from severe headaches, was doing better had been cleared to return to Albania! We feel really blessed, because missionaries who go home on medical release usually are reassigned somewhere in the United States. We picked him up Thursday and he's right back into the work!

Two weeks ago we received a large packet from the Missionary Department detailing some new training for the missionaries, with a focus on improved teaching. It's an eight-lesson course with an accompanying DVD showing actual missionaries from the San Diego mission applying the principles in the lessons. The instructions were for Marty to begin the training of mission leaders in July. As it was already the middle of July, that gave Marty one week to plan eight lessons. He gave the training all day Thursday and Friday, 9AM to 6PM, with a one-hour break for lunch each day. I sat in on some of the lessons, and Marty did a wonderful job. We think these are inspired lessons and should really help the missionaries. They were very receptive to the training, and two missionaries who tried it out during tracting on Friday night reported back to Marty that they were very excited about what they had learned. They found a woman willing to come back to the church for a short "zero" lesson. In that lesson they tried listening to the spirit in asking questions, and being directed in the way the lesson should go by the investigator's answers, and they were pleasantly surprised at the results.

The training packet also had a new calendar based on the month, rather than the six-week transfer schedule we've been using. Zone Conferences are to be once every three months, instead of every six or seven weeks, and interviews will also be every three months. The training is to be repeated every two months, until the missionaries are very well-versed in the methods. By May 2011, the incoming missionaries will have been trained while at the MTC. We're not sure if the Zone Conference schedule will revert back to be more frequent. The missionaries really look forward to Zone Conferences and will miss being together as often.

I provided lunch on Friday: Teriyaki Chicken/Rice/Veggie bowls with cut melons as a salad. The best compliment I received was (obviously from a Utahn) "This was better than Rhumbi's!"

Interviews begin this week. Marty is one of the few mission presidents who gives interviews by traveling to each district. Since we have only 40 missionaries, he can really spend some time with each one. Mission Presidents with 150 or more missionaries give very short interviews after zone conferences when the elders and sisters are all in one place.

The Church in Albania 1992-1999

I recently read (online) "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Enters Albania, 1992-1999," a 2008 master's degree thesis by Nathan Pali, whose grandfather was an Albanian immigrant to the U.S. and later joined the Church. The paper helped me appreciate the difficulties of the early missionary couples, the first members in the country, and the first young missionaries who were sent from the Austrian Mission and had to learn a new language. It also includes fascinating details of the two, harrowing missionary evacuations in '97 and '98. The first evacuation was by helicopter from the embassy compound to the aircraft carrier USS Nassau. I loved this excerpt in the thesis, from an article in The Boston Herald about that evacuation of U.S. citizens:

There are some things that you can always count on, even in the midst of anarchy and chaos in Albania. Like the neatness of Mormon missionaries. U.S. Navy Commander Gary Burchill, supply officer aboard the USS Nassau, helped take care of Albanian evacuees. He describes the people that came on the boat. "The first group included 60 or 70 Peace Corps workers. They were haggard and dirty, carrying backpacks. Then there were about five families with children, who were very distressed and tired. Then they brought in 30 to 40 freshly minted Mormon missionaries. It was the damndest thing. They were as brightly dressed and chipper as you would expect in your own neighborhood. They were wearing white shirts, ties, and pressed suits, like they were walking through downtown Arlington."

Busiest Week of our Mission!

On July 1st we passed our two-year mark! We've been praying for the new mission presidents, since we remember the fear and trepidation of coming to a new country and not having a clue about what we were going to be doing. We still wonder if we're clueless, but hope the missionaries don't notice.

This last week, July 4-11, and the two weeks prior, were some of the busiest weeks of our mission. We were preparing for our "big transfer," Tues. and Wed., July 6-7, when we said goodbye to "dying" missionaries and welcomed in new ones from the MTC. Leaving are (L to R) Elder Joshua McGlothin, Elder Evan Monson, Sister Brooke Larson, and Elder Tim Rispoli. All but Elder Rispoli left at 5 a.m. on Wednesday. Elder Rispoli went home to Australia, so left on a flight later in the day.

The beautiful new missionaries (L to R): Sister Rachel Halabuk, Elder Trevor Miller, Elder James Norris, Elder Zach Platt, Elder Tyson Knowles, and Sister and Elder Wilson, our Humanitarian Aid Couple, who arrived in May, and joined us on this trip to the monument.

Thursday, after breakfast, the trip to the monument, and mission-specific training, Marty announced the trainers for each new missionary and we quickly left for the airport to pick up Elder Causse, the first counselor in our Area Presidency, and a member of the First Quorum of Seventy, who came to do a mission tour, mission conference, and District Conference. Friday we held a conference for the entire mission, and I cooked lunch for all 50--Mexican rice/black bean/chicken bowls with cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips. I made 100 large peanut butter cookies, and served them with Rudi's ice cream for dessert. This is what I meant about being very busy in the weeks prior to this one. I cooked and froze chicken and beans, thawing them and putting the ingredients together in big pots the night before. Sister Ahlborn cooked all the rice ahead, froze it in zip-loc bags, and reheated it in the microwave an hour before the lunch. We kept the rice hot in their bags in an ice chest. Worked great--a great tip for long-grain rice that has to be made ahead of the meal because you lack stovetop space and pots. Our wonderful couples helped me so it all went smoothly.

Elder Causse had some wonderful instruction for the missionaries and for us. The most valuable thing he told us is that while missionary skills are important, even more important is the culture of the mission, and we should do everything we can to foster a positive culture, and a "culture of success." We do have quite a bit of success, and Marty calls and praises the missionaries once a week for the progress they've made, but the missionaries get discouraged because they see new members lapsing into inactivity, and have difficulty establishing the culture of the church as we know it in the States. He reminded us that Albania is in the early stages of establishing the Church, and we should not expect instant change. He reminded us to keep things simple and to encourage the members to do the work, instead of the missionaries, so they can learn to lead.

Just today, Marty received a packet of new instructions from the Missionary Dept., regarding a new focus on teaching skills, which will involve extensive training of our mission leaders, who will then teach the missionaries. There will be a new mission schedule--no longer based on the six-week transfers--but a monthly calendar. Zone Conferences will be four times a year, as well as missionary interviews. Missionaries in the MTC will receive the new training, starting with the group that arrives in the field May 2011. By then, all the missionaries in the field will have been trained with the new materials. We're excited to be part of the changes!

Our new District Presidency are L. to R: Besmir Desnica, 2nd Counselor; Sparti Kashari, President; (Elder Causse); and Agim Grimci, 1st Counselor.

Saturday and Sunday were filled with back-to-back District Conference meetings. Somewhere during the week, Elder Causse and Marty found time to interview men for a new District Presidency, as Tony Baird and his family are leaving Albania to return to the states for a year to prepare for Tony's new diplomatic post in Azerbeijan. Tony was District President for only nine months, but has managed to fit in an amazing amount of valuable training for our Branch Presidents and other leaders. We will miss the Bairds!

Whew! We collapsed when we returned home from the airport to drop off Elder Causse, and we're still recovering. Since the old and new missionaries stay at the mission home, and Elder Causse also, I was fixing a lot of meals, and we were constantly moving from meeting to meeting, and giving talks also. I also organized a few musical numbers for the meetings. We never quite recovered from our 2:30 a.m. alarm on Wednesday to get the departing missionaries to the airport, and by the end of the week, we were both running on fumes. Now we're out of gas! Elder Causse told us that they usually don't schedule mission tours the same week as transfers, but somehow his tour was scheduled anyway.

We've had some wonderful baptisms this year. Pictured here are Sparti Kashari and Jeta Bejko. The two have worked together for years on our translation committee. Jeta knows so much about the Church from translating lesson materials, but when she finally tried the experiment--to be taught short lessons three times a week by two fine missionaries, and to pray to know if what she learned and studied was true--only then did she receive a witness of the truthfulness of the Church and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And now she's sharing it with her relatives.

Elders Swenson and Monson are teaching Donika, a young Albanian woman in Kosovo, via Skype, as there are no missionaries in Kosovo. She's been attending Sacrament Meetings with a group of LDS members in Pristina at the home of Rich and Wendy Sweeny, and would like to be baptized. Wish we could attend the baptism! Now that Elder Monson has gone home, Elder Foulk, our new Assistant, will continue teaching Donika.

The sign on this car reads "Kujdes! Shoferë e re!" (Warning! New Driver!) The "e re" means it is a woman, as "i ri" would be the masculine way to write it. So basically, this sign says "Warning! New Woman Driver!"

And finally, we were jolted out of bed at 12:15 a.m. early Saturday by a 4.8 magnitude earthquake, centered 15 miles SE of Tirana. It gave a couple of good jerks, and then shook for a few seconds. Those few seconds always seem like an eternity when you're wondering if this is a "big one!" Elder Causse slept through it!

June 10-11 Zone Conferences

We held our June Zone Conferences on the 10th and 11th, and as always were a highlight of our six-week routine. The missionaries love getting together to receive training and see old companions and MTC class members. I made taco salad for both zones, which turned out to be a bigger effort than I imagined it would be.

I had to haul a good portion of my kitchen equipment, as well as three ice chests of food, to Durrës for the "outside" conference. Pizza next time!

Tirana, or "Inside" Zone, is comprised of missionaries from the four districts in Tirana. The Ahlborns (YSA-Outreach) and the Wilsons (Humanitarian) are with the Tirana group. It's a mission tradition that the "dying" elders who leave for home July 7, sit or stand on the front row. Above are( l. to r.) Elders Monson and Rispoli, who are assuming a xhaxhi pose. ("Xhaxhi" means "uncle" or "older man".)

The "Outside" zone is comprised of the missionaries from the districts of Vlorë, Elbasan, Fier, Durrës, and Shkodër. Outgoing missionaries are (l. to r.) Elder Monson, Sister Larson, and Elder McGlothin.

Elder and Sister Smith arrived on May 28, after spending several days at the Provo MTC. They're going to help us prepare to set up a Young Single Adult Center in Vlorë and Elder Smith will be the Branch President. Because of Memorial Day, their registration at the U.S. Embassy was delayed, but they we were finally able to take them to Vlorë on the evening of June 1. As it was late when we arrived, Marty and I spent the night at the New York Hotel and returned to Tirana the next day.

June Newsletter Article

Becoming as He Is

Brother Arben Vogli (Tirana 3^rd branch) is a master of sculpting (wood, alabaster, marble), and early in our mission, he presented us with a beautiful marble bust of the Savior. It will always remind us not only of Velai Vogli’s generosity and skill, but also of how our experience in mortality gives us the possibility of shaping our character, our soul into becoming ever more Christ-like. Michelangelo said that he saw in his imagination that the figure he was sculpting was actually being held “captive” inside the marble, and that his job was to free the captive--to slowly chip away at the useless marble binding his figure inside it. So it is with us. Our spirit, with God-like potential, is held “captive” in our mortal body, subject to all the temptations and passions of the flesh. As we “starve the wolf”, and “feed the Shepherd dog,” we chip away the unworthy desires, and strengthen our righteous desires to serve God, and in so doing, we become more and more like the Savior.

I spent a little time with Vellai Vogli at his workshop one day and watched him work. I learned that the sculptor needs to soften the marble as he works---Vellai Vogli would spray the marble with a fine mist of water before taking his hammer and chisel to slowly cut away at the marble that didn’t belong. In matters of the soul and the Spirit, we also must be softened. Our hearts must be softened and be open to the influence of the Holy Ghost. (Alma 24:8 “I thank my great God that he has given us a portion of his Spirit to soften our hearts....”) Unless we are softened in this way, we can never reach our divine potential.

Heavenly Father sees in us far more than others see, or, for that matter, than what we ourselves see. He sees in us (this “chunk of marble”) His child, inheritor of great possibilities and the offspring of deity. But to get to the point where “we have the Savior’s image engraven on our countenance”, and we are like Him, there is much material that must be chipped away, to free the captive held inside. We hope your “40 day fast” is blessing each of you with an increased measure of the Spirit, softened hearts open to the loving tutoring of this wonderful missionary experience, and the greater joy that comes living closer to Him.

Much love!

President & Sister Neil

At our last zone conference where we introduced the fast, Marty spoke metaphorically of having within us a "good" shepherd dog, and a "bad" wolf, and said that if we feed the good within us, and starve the bad (as in our "40-Day Fast"), we will better overcome the temptations that come to us. The picture (below) is of an Anatolian Shepherd Dog, used in Turkey and other Balkan nations like Albania, to protect flocks of sheep should a grey wolf attack.

Visit from Greg and John!

We had wonderful visits this last week from our two sons and their wives: Greg and Judy; and John, Hayley, and Grace. John's trip was originally planned for last month, but the Icelandic volcano ash caused a last-minute change of plans. Fortunately, the ash plume cooperated this time, and all arrived safely.

As you read through the blog, you may click on any picture to view it full size, and click on any underlined word if you wish to explore more about that topic.

John and Hayley brought two-year-old Grace with them and we had a great week with her. She walked miles this week because she's TWO and doesn't want to be carried.

We visited the lovely, ancient city and castle of Berat and spent several hours there. The city is thought to have been founded in 600 B.C. At one time there were 46 churches inside the castle walls and the museum workers showed us through the Museum Onufri, even though we arrived at closing time. This museum is in the Church of the Virgin Mary and showcases several ancient icons and ornately carved wooden walls and altars. This is the view of the old town from the castle, but the castle town looks like this also. It's called the town of a thousand windows and people still live in houses within the old fortress.

John, Hayley, Grace, and the view from the Berat castle walls. Their residence is Logan, Utah.

John works in mortgages at Wasatch Mortgage, and Hayley is a designer and stay-at-home mom.

Greg and Judy arrived on Friday, May 14, and John and Hayley came the next day. Sadly, none of the luggage arrived with either couple. Greg and Judy had to wait until Sunday evening to get theirs, but John and Hayley's luggage came the day after they arrived. Greg and Judy left Thursday the 20th, and John, Hayley, and Grace left this morning (the 23rd).

We have a quiet and empty apt. again. It was pretty tough to say goodbye!

We enjoyed the break from the mission routine, and we also enjoyed the vacation from skirts (me) and white shirts (Marty) for a few days. Marty has worn a colored shirt on only four or five days since we started our mission two years ago. I work around the apartment in jeans, but dress up to be with the missionaries or to go out.

May is a wonderful time of year for wildflowers in Albania. These red poppies were blooming everywhere--even in crevices on the castle walls. Greg took the photos in Berat.

We took John and Hayley to the Big Treg, a flea-market kind of place with hundreds of small shops. Hayley is purchasing a package of little girl hair clips. We found a Rrobaqepësi shop (dressmaking, tailor), that had an amazing array of trims, beads, threads, and notions. There are hundreds of tailoring shops in Tirana, and it's fairly inexpensive to have clothing made and mended.

During the visit, we also traveled to Krujë; Durrës to see the Amphitheater and to go to one of our favorite ice cream parlors

by the Adriatic Sea; and Apollonia, with a side trip to Fier just to have Pica Roma (Pizza Roma) for lunch. I posted some pictures of Apollonia in my Dec. 27 post when we visited with the Shupes.

Greg is working for Novatek Inc. in Provo, working on the New Vista project, and Judy works as a designer for an architectural firm in Salt Lake, where they live.

Another flat tire! This is our sixth in two years. This time we had run over a large screw. Marty had the tire fixed for only $2.00 from the repair shop down the street. Happily, this breakdown was right outside my favorite Italian fabric shop, and I purchased two lovely pieces of fabric while I was waiting for the men to change the tire.

April Showers us with Blessings!

We had our two zone conferences at the end of April, and the subject was "Becoming Exceptional Missionaries." They were two of the most spiritual zone conferences we have experienced. The missionaries were brimming over with success stories in finding and teaching, and the testimony meetings were non-stop wonderful. I gave two presentations--one about some practical pointers that I've been thinking would help the missionaries (do they ever listen?), and one on becoming self-directed and disciplined. Marty gave some tips that he found from an article by Wendy Ulrich on what it means to be an adult ("That They May Grow Up in Thee, Feb 2010 Ensign), and also spoke about this world as our proving ground. We hold one zone conference in Tirana, and one in Durrës for missionaries in all the outer cities. It's always a treat to be with the missionaries in large groups. As I had the flu for a week with a lingering bronchial cough, I baked only cinnamon rolls as a snack for both zone conferences, and cookies and chocolate sauce to go with Rudi's ice cream for dessert. They'll live, but I heard from several elders that they really missed my cooking.

We are thrilled to welcome Ruth and Robert Wilson as our new Humanitarian Aid couple. They replace the Snow's who left last week. (As I was ill, Marty took the Snow's to the airport and forgot to get a picture.) For a month, the Wilson's will be in Vlorë, until another couple, the Smith's arrive, and then the Wilsons will join us here in Tirana and live in the apt. above us in our mission building. We're also excited that two other missionary couples will be coming in the next few months. I refuse to call them "senior" couples, as they are as energetic and enthusiastic for the work as the young missionaries!

Also in April, we sent Elder Taylor Allen home with a medical release, to seek treatment for severe headaches. We hope he returns to good health soon, and possibly come back to us, or be re-assigned.

April

One of our very fine missionaries and Zone Leader, Elder Gregory Scadden, went home for medical care. If these two look like they just got out of bed, it's because it's 3:30 a.m. at the airport. Note to self: Check background before taking photo.

We said goodbye to four outstanding elders on April 6: Elders Thackery, Layton, Flack, and Vail. Elder Flack's parents came to pick him up, and arrived at the airport shortly after the other elders left, and we were able to witness the wonderful reunion.

Our new missionaries, who arrived on the same day, are Elder Warburton, Elder Johnson, and Elder Weaver. Elder Asquith (below), was delayed two days to overcome an illness, and we're glad he's better and was able to come!

The road to the little Kamez building where we hold church, can be barely navigable in the rainy season. We have recently moved the Kamez elders into Tirana, because we wanted the few members attending the Kamez Branch to meet with a larger group of saints. We are still going to rent the rooms here, so the missionaries will have a place to teach.

Marty and I, and some branch members and friends, crowded into Alma's living room when we went to her home so Marty could set her apart as a missionary, prior to her leaving for the MTC and the Salt Lake Temple Square Mission. We arrived at the airport very early the next morning, and learned that her tickets took her from Tirana to Munich, and then to Frankfurt, which would require her to have a Schengen Visa. We all came back home and the Missionary Travel Office found her new tickets for the very next morning, which took her to Vienna and then on to the states, so she did not need a special Visa. Phew! Two very early morning trips to the airport. She's going to be a wonderful missionary.

Alma Osmëni, with the Albanian Flag

Our first grandchild, John Peter Schaumann (Jack), was baptized by his father Peter on April 10, 2010. We were sorry we had to miss it, but his aunt Erin along with cousin Maren, and Uncle Greg and Aunt Judy were able to be there. The next day, his new baby brother Luke Sager Schaumann, was blessed, also by Peter.

Marty is checking out some possible post-mission transportation. Hey, this one has a passenger seat. Nah, I don't think so...