April 21, 2014

Hey mom,

 

Benjamin got baptized! There are now ten members in Macedonia. And now we're back to having zero investigators....

Yesterday was pretty interesting, let me tell you about that. For Easter after church and everything we ate at the Andersons, who by the way leave on Wednesday since their mission will be over. They've been here since before there were proselyting missionaries. The Nelsons arrived about two weeks ago and will replace them. When we got home our neighbor came over with a huge basket of painted eggs and told us to take one. It was so nice! Then later when we were out contacting we talked to an old lady sitting on a bench and she pulled two similar eggs out of her purse and gave them to us. It was very nice, but we were both afraid to eat them so we threw them off the bridge into the river. I said I would rather throw mine at one of the couples making out along the riverbank, but we agreed that we didn't want to get sent home for egging.

A few weeks ago we took Benjamin to the branch Family Home Evening which is held at the Andersons every Wednesday night. Long story short, it was really, really awkward and we decided to never take an investigator there again. Then the other day in a lesson he asked us, "Why haven't you taken me to FHE again?" We were shocked that he had actually liked it. Enough to go back.

We had a really great lesson with him just before his baptism. We were talking about happiness. As missionaries one of our duties is to help investigators realize when they feel the Spirit. I asked him how he felt when he met with us, came to church, etc. 

"Good," he responded. 

I asked him to elaborate. "Normal good or really good?"

"Really good."

"Like, happy?"

"No, something else."

"Have you ever felt this way before?"

He shook his head. "No."

The rest of the lesson I tried not to cry and told him that what he was feeling was the Holy Ghost. Me and Sister Schofield shared some scriptures with him about it. Great lesson.

Elder Krajnc has been really sick for the past two weeks and has had to stay inside. The other elders all take shifts staying with him. Hopefully he gets well soon.

When we contact, I think a lot of people are turned off by the fact that we meet at a hotel. They think I'm a human-trafficker or something. One of our goals is to get a building by the end of the year, and I anxiously await that. It's nice when we're at Center because if people don't know where it is, it's within their sight if I just point. 

I was talking to Benjamin one day about our situation with the language and how frustrated I was with it. Then a few days later he asked if he could take my notebook home and make corrections in it. So nice! So glad we found him. 

The Sisters serving in Kosovo are coming down on Wednesday to do exchanges with us here. They'll just be here for a day.

I think I am out of news and good stories. 

Love,

Sister Riddle

Luke 24: 36-48

April 14, 2014

Hey Mom,

So on Tuesday we had Zone Training in Kosovo again and got some VERY exciting news about Macedonia!!! President Ford has applied for two more elders and two more sisters, to bring the total of missionaries serving here to ten. He also wants to open another city here, maybe Bitola?? These two goals he said will definitely be accomplished by the end of the year.

One night this week we had a lesson with Benjamin, and for the first time I successfully made a joke in Macedonian and made him laugh. Progress!

We taught him that night about the law of chastity, which was the first time I'd ever taught that in-field. I had one of those "my life is weird" moments. Taking a hike along some cobblestone streets in a long skirt to sit outside at a cafe, drinking fruit tea and trying to talk about sexual purity in Macedonian. 

Did I tell you I now drink, and enjoy, tea? Yep, I guess I'm a real Eastern European now. (ha) People always offer it when you go to their house and sometimes it tastes awesome! I guess I just never knew you have to let it sit for a while before you drink it... 

We ran into the Jehovah's Witnesses again when we were out one day. They keep trying to convert us. It's like a scene from Arrested Development or some other dry comedy show. I told Sister Schofield that next time we have to try and convert them because they aren't allowed to be the best missionaries in Skopje.

Yesterday was election day here so we all had to stay in our apartments for the night in case of protesting or something. There have been a few riots since we've been here, but none that I've personally seen. We watched "17 Miracles", which was a pretty good movie. 

I'm hoping it was because of elections that none of the investigators who I called the night before and said they would come actually came. On the up-side, phone conversations have gotten a LOT better since when I first got here. Benjamin and Natasha came, which was good enough for me.

Everything is in bloom here. Flowers everywhere, normally the colors of the flag, and everything else is green. Riding the double decker yesterday branches kept hitting the windows where we were sitting. I really love Macedonian people. They're not super friendly but are so nice once you talk to them. 

Branch President Swineford's son, who is eight, is getting baptized later today. And Benjamin's baptism is this Saturday. So we have at least three baptisms this month since Vladimir from Bitola is getting baptized soon as well. That means the church has to book the pool a whole lot, plus pay for refreshments from the hotel, which is a lot of money. White harvest problems.

Well, I don't really know what else to tell you about so I guess I'll just close with a testimony. I know that I'm out here doing the work of the Lord. I know that God loves all of us, and just because I didn't know this place existed until a few months ago doesn't mean God hasn't been with the people here their entire lives. God is our Heavenly Father and knows us all personally. He wants us all to feel loved. He is so patient and forgiving. I am so grateful for the power of the Atonement because I will never be a perfect missionary. I know that when we put our trust in God and exercise faith in Jesus Christ in prayer, He will help us to overcome anything. I know now that true happiness can be attained only through obedience to God's law. God wants so much for us to be happy. That is our purpose in life. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love,

Sister Riddle

Doctrine and Covenants 64: 22, "...I, the Lord, will not hold any guilty that shall go with an open heart up to the land of Zion; for I, the Lord, require the hearts of the children of men."

April 7

April 7, 2014

So, as of April 1st they officially put sisters back in Kosovo. They just pulled two who had been serving in Albania. April 1st here is not only April Fool's Day but is also combined with Halloween. Everyone was wearing costumes and when we went to Center that night to contact there was a HUGE party going on. Fireworks, lights, the fountains were going for the first time since I've been here, really loud music. Two Italian-speaking guys came up to Sister Schofield and we gave them a church invite. There's a funny story that goes along with it for next time, when I have more time to write.

One night me and Sister Schofield went over to Kate's for a lesson and she had what looked like a jar of olives on her table. She poured us each a cup of it. Turned out to be cherries. She set out a little dish for us to spit the pits onto. When she went into another room, Sister Schofield said to me, "I can't eat these," and I let her transfer them into my cup and ate them two at a time so Kate wouldn't notice by the time she came back. If that's not Christlike service, I don't know what is. Kate also drank the juice but me and my companion played the ignorant foreigner card and pretended not to realize that we were supposed to do that too.

On Saturday everyone was invited over to the Swinefords to watch the first session of General Conference live. (6pm for us) It was really cool! I don't think I've ever been that excited for it before. I also really appreciated, for the first time, how slowly and clearly they talk, because I was worried about people like Kate not being able to understand English that well. 

We decided to talk to a shoelace salesman who was set up very close to our apartment one day. We gave him a Book of Mormon and got his number. The next time he saw us he said, "This book is beautiful," and asked if we could give him another one so he could give it to his friend. Considering the normal response we get, I was really touched. On Sunday I was so excited to see him in Church! I sat next to him and asked him how far he'd read. Only about fifty pages, but that made me like him even more. (A little while ago we had been meeting with a man, Dragi, who showed up drunk to every lesson. He'd read the Book of Mormon in about a day and said it was "just like the Bible. I want something concrete." I told him we didn't have anything concrete and we ended up having to drop him.) This shoelace salesman's name is Abraham. He pulled out his phone and recorded when we sang the opening hymn. When sacrament was passed, before it came around to us he asked me, "Am I allowed to take that?" Then he took a piece of bread and held it in his hand for a minute, I think saying a prayer of his own, before he ate it. When the water was passed, he looked very worried and asked me, "Is that alcohol?" He relaxed when I told him it was water. You're perfect, I thought. "Is this sacrament?" was another thing he asked (the actual words he used were Holy Supper). He told me he'd been feeling really sick the day before, but he wanted to come to church so bad. He asked me if church would be at the same time next week, and if he could have a cd of the songs. He was interested to know how the timeline of the Book of Mormon lined up with the Bible. I had Elder Krajnc answer that question. Brother Davis (who is from Texas and found the elders in the park one day) was using me as a translator with Abraham at the end of church. Abraham told him he'd been Muslim before but converted to Christianity. People have been having me act as a translator a lot. It's interesting since my language isn't that great. At one point I thought Abraham said he had a 12-year-old wife, but it turned out he said that his wife passed away 12 years ago. Abraham again told me how beautiful the Book of Mormon was. 

We got a phone call right after church from someone named Adam who was in Skopje I think on business, who had met with the elders once before. He was with his girlfriend Anita and said he could only meet if we had time right that second, so we hurried to center and talked to them about the Restoration, prayer and the Holy Spirit in a cafe there. We couldn't get anything to drink since it was Sunday. He explained to his girlfriend in English as we sat down, "They are angels from God." He speaks it pretty well and his girlfriend understands it, so we did the lesson in both languages. He told us that he could feel Jesus in his heart, that he always prayed every night before he went to bed, and he told us some experiences in his life when he'd felt the hand of God, like when he was going 220 km/hr in his car as a young kid, crashed, and lived. He said that sometimes when he prayed, he felt the words come to his mind which he should say. It's people like this that remind me why I'm on a mission.

We were again invited to watch the morning session (morning for you,anyway) of General Conference on Sunday and took a taxi once we realized the buses weren't running. Our driver, Dimitri, asked us what our church believed in. I told him that we believed in God and Jesus Christ and that God was our Father. I said we believed that the teachings of Jesus Christ had been restored again to the earth. "I'm interested in that!" he said. I gave him a church invite and wrote down his number, and when it was time to pay fare, 167 denar, he only took a hundred and waved the rest away. "You're a good Sister. It's on me." 

Our investigator Benjamin was even at this session of general conference, which surprised me since he doesn't speak English. I felt kind of bad for Elders Krajnc and Barber who had to translate for the entire two hours. Benjamin is Muslim and speaks Albanian at home, and just after I committed him to reading the Book of Mormon, his dad found it, was mad at got rid of it. 

Talk about having a million heart-warming moments this week. I think yesterday, when we met with those three men, was the best day of my mission so far.

I love you.

Sister Riddle

3 Nephi 18:1-25

March 31, 2014

March 31, 2014

 

So, today for P day we hiked up to the cross that's on top of this mountain in Skopje (the one I said is lit up at night just like the Y). We went with Ana and it took about an hour. We ran into an American couple hiking at the same time as us and took a picture from the top. There was also a playground and ice cream for sale up there, so since we're a bunch of five year olds we played together on the seesaw and swing sets.

Yesterday at Church the Fords and a bunch of other important people came down for the creation of the branch here!!! The branch in Skopje. Awesome. They made Brother Swineford (an American living here with his family) the President, Elmaz is the first counselor, and the elders' recent convert Ratko is the Mission Leader. We're starting to get all organized and whatnot.

It was a good meeting and Kate got up to bear her testimony for part of it. She did it in Macedonian and English. I love her.

After church we met up with Ana, Gordana and her little niece Eva to walk around the park and give them a lesson. I really like Eva because she's a good talker. It doesn't matter that I can only ask very simple questions, she just goes off and energetically answers. As we walked through the park, I asked her the words for stuff like "cotton candy" (Шикерна Вола) and "leash" (Поводник). Probably not the most useful of words, but I'm going to have to learn it all eventually. 

Sister Schofield's crusher/investigator Benjamin is really great for me to talk to, too since he doesn't speak English. We gave our first lesson by ourselves to him. Normally Sister Schofield does most of the talking in lessons so this time I did it almost all of it, for a nice change. I'm still frustrated as usual that my Macedonian speaking opportunities are so few and far between. I've all but given up on language study since we showed a grammar exercise to Kate, copied from our textbook, and she laughed and told us it was wrong. I've noticed that the English-Macedonian dictionaries some of the other missionaries have are unreliable as well. It will kill me if I have to waste more time learning more of the wrong language, or learning how to speak the language incorrectly. We wrote President Ford a few weeks ago begging to let us take classes, and he said he's waiting on approval. 

We went to visit Ratko with the elders and he told us he said to one of his friends, "A few weeks ago I was baptized into this church, and now I'm already a priest! Let me baptize you!" At least he's upfront about his purpose. Maybe that's why he was made mission leader.

My friend Haley from back home wrote me something a while back about it being ironic that Sister Riddle was in Albania. I feel like it's quote-worthy: "Did you find lord voldemort yet? Don't let a strange man use the back of your head." 

Whenever the beggars come up to us and ask us for money and we tell them no, it is the most ironic thing in the world when they say, "God is watching." It's a rule in the missionary handbook that we can't give money to beggars. 

And how's this for irony: a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses knocked on our door. Two women. Just picture our doorway at that moment. I thought it was hilarious. Now I know why people always mistake us for them. We work in pairs and dress alike. They left us a pamphlet about resurrection, and Sister Schofield was like, "Wait, what? I thought tracting was illegal here." Turns out they just don't care about the law.

One day we bought candied apples from someone selling them on the street for just forty cents a piece. They were pretty good. 

 

Well, we were kind of crunched for time today, but I hope I've written a satisfactory-enough email.

Love,

Sister Riddle

Alma 17:11-16, "And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good be examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls.
And it came to pass that the hearts of the sons of Mosiah, and also those who were with them, took courage to go forth unto the Lamanites to declare unto them the word of God.
And it came to pass when they had arrived in the borders of the land of the Lamanites, that they separated themselves and departed one from another, trusting in the Lord that they should meet again at the close of their harvest; for they supposed that great was the work which they had undertaken.
And assuredly it was great, for they had undertaken to preach the word of God to a wild and a hardened and a ferocious people; a people who delighted in murdering the Nephites, and robbing and plundering them; and their hearts were set upon riches, or upon gold and silver, and precious stones; yet they sought to obtain these things by murdering and plundering, that they might not labor for them with their own hands.
Thus they were a very indolent people, many of whom did worship idols, and the curse of God had fallen upon them because of the traditions of their fathers; notwithstanding the promises of the Lord were extended unto them on the conditions of repentance.
Therefore, this was the cause for which the sons of Mosiah had undertaken the work, that perhaps they might bring them unto repentance; that perhaps they might bring them to know of the plan of redemption."