Dear Mom,
So I have a few things to write you about since I haven't emailed in two weeks. One night about two weeks ago, I woke up at 1:00 am feeling horrible and went out to the living room trying to find comfortable positions to be in without waking up Sister Hassell. I had been taking aspirin during the day, and I read the bottle that said if too many were taken and you were nauseous and threw up that it could be an early sign of a "rare but serious condition". Shortly thereafter I went into the bathroom and did just that. I was pretty sure I hadn't exceeded the limit, but I was feeling so horrible and was worried by this point so I went out into the hallway outside of my apartment and called the mission office in Albania. None of the numbers went through. Fantastic. I felt guilty but decided to wake up Sister Schofield to see if she knew something about getting in touch with Albania that I didn't. She didn't but I had her call the elders for me to come and give me a blessing. Elder Prince and Elder Rigby only live like a ten-minute walk away. It was 3am by this time. The elders aren't allowed in our apartment so whenever they come to give us a blessing we sit in a chair in the doorway and they can put their hands on our head while they still stand in the hallway. As soon as Elder Rigby did the anointing I felt something in my abdomen that turned into warmth and I didn't feel nauseous at all from that point on. It was pretty amazing. When the blessing was over Sister Schofield told me my face wasn't stark white anymore. I still felt bad, but it was pain that I was able to sleep through. The only one in our apartment I hadn't woken up was Sister Barch. Oops.
One day while contacting in Center Mall (градски трговски центар) me and Sister Hassell were dismayed to find that the clean, soap-and-toilet-paper-having bathrooms that we knew of were closed, so we went down to the bottom floor where there's an open cafe always filled with smoke and found bathrooms there. She got sidetracked talking to someone, so by the time she came in I was washing my hands. "It's Turkish toilets, so good luck," I told her. Turkish toilets means essentially a hole in the ground. I waited for her by the smoky cafe. She finally came out laughing and said, "I was calling for you, where were you? My door locked and wouldn't open, so eventually this guy came in and yelled something and I realized he wanted me to stand back. He kicked the door down and it's broken now. Like, the frame is still there and the inside part is just hanging there." She was too embarrassed to go back and have me look but we did on another day. It was a funny view. I don't even know if the lack of a door will deter people from using that toilet because I have seen people going with the door wide open before. Only in Macedonia. And that concludes my update on toilet-related news for now.
Me and her have been having so many lessons. One night we came back and realized we had each had about four drinks that day while in cafe lessons. We were kind of complaining about having to take in so many extra calories, since we usually order either salep or hot chocolate, but then realized it was such a blessing to have problems due to having lots of lessons.
We had zone conference in Gjakova instead of Prishtina because there were riots going on there. President Weidmann had his daughter, who is just recently returned from her mission at Temple Square, talk to us. It was pretty cool. Then at the end we were able to watch Meet the Mormons! I was so excited! That's the first "real" movie I've seen in over a year! I found it's a lot easier to entertain myself and get me to laugh than it used to be, I guess due to my lack of outside influence. I really liked the movie, especially the last story. It was also an unexpected surprise to see Annapolis, Maryland in part of the movie!!!!! At zone conference we ran into Elder Lesi again, an Albanian who will be serving in Macedonia when his visa clears. He seems like a really, really good guy. He's only been learning English for a few months now but his progress is impressive and he even makes understandable jokes in English. During conference he raised his hand and said, "I no testimony, Spirit testimony." True words.
Also while in the church building in Gjakova I found a cabinet filled with Albanian and Turkish pamphlets and put a bunch in my bag. I realized later I probably should have asked first.
We had arguably the best lesson of my entire mission one night last week while on the third floor of a cafe with two Muslim guys. It was our second lesson with them and one of them definitely felt the Spirit. I don't really want to write it here but I'll tell you about it when I get home. Funny, too, because afterwards I asked Sister Hassell what she thought about how it went and she said it was, "not terrible."
"What?? Seriously?? That was the most phenomenal lesson ever." Just know that it was a miracle lesson. The soonest they could meet again was almost a week later and they were always on my mind during the time in between. The one guy was completely different this time and it was the most bitter disappointment I have ever felt on my mission. At the end of our previous meeting, a third Muslim friend had showed up and I assume he told them something about us to turn them off after we left because now he was no longer open to reading the Book of Mormon. This time the other guy's little brother was there and he showed us a video of an American guy talking about why he changed from Christianity to Islam. When we were walking back Sister Hassell stopped in a little shop to get some sort of pastry and I watched her through the glass.
"You look so sad," she mouthed to me sympathetically. I guess for now we aren't going to try to get back in touch with them. The one guy seemed so happy in his religion, so I guess that makes me happy too. "The name of my God is Allah," he had told me firmly. I respect anyone as devout as he is. I don't know why, but all devout Muslim men all have the same look that he has. Short hair with a short beard, overall kempt and cleaner than normal, which probably has to do with washing themselves before they enter the mosque, five times a day. They have an air of propriety, walking straight-shouldered and tending to be a little serious, and dress nice. They are kind. They despise Satan. They are firm in their beliefs. I really do have a lot of respect for Muslim people.
Something good that came of the lessons was more insight into Muslims beliefs and the problems they have with Christianity. Most obviously, they have trouble accepting Jesus Christ as their Savior and as the Son of God, which is a problem. "I love Jesus, I just don't believe He was the Son of God," the little brother had said to me. Now we better know how to teach them and have a better understanding into the root of their religion. They are still both always on my mind. I told Sister Hassell that even though I was sad we wouldn't be teaching them soon again, I could feel partial relief by continuing to pray for them by name every day. (I do know their names, I just haven't written them here.)
Zdravka is still on baptismal date and is doing fantastic.
We had a lesson with Blagoy once in a bakery where we showed him all of the pictures in the gospel art book about Christ. We were, for the majority of the lesson, the only ones there, so the worker there was listening to a lot of what we were saying. At the end when we paid I invited him to church, but I haven't seen him there since. I should go back and invite him again. We had another lesson with Blagoy and had Metia come since it was at his house and we need a third girl to be able to teach a guy in their home. I think it was a really good experience for both of them. We talked about the Atonement. I just love hearing Metia talk to us about "нашата црква", our church.
Last Sunday one of the street guitarist/singers that Sister Hassell has made friends with came to church. We had a lesson with him afterwards. I promised him that as he read from the Book of Mormon, he would find happiness and be better able to see the blessings from God in his life. We ran into him in the mall a few days later and he had a big smile on his face. We sat down with him to talk and one of the things he said was, "My grandma always said, 'Every bad thing brings something good,'" it was kind of funny seeing the huge change in attitude. Sister Hassell commented on his good mood and he said he had been so for that day and the day before, and the day before. So right about the time he would have started reading. I think that was the first time I had been able to see for myself blessings that I promised someone, something I'd been praying about.
"We are not accustomed to speaking of women having the authority of the priesthood in their Church callings, but what other authority can it be? When a woman—young or old—is set apart to preach the gospel as a full-time missionary, she is given priesthood authority to perform a priesthood function. The same is true when a woman is set apart to function as an officer or teacher in a Church organization under the direction of one who holds the keys of the priesthood. Whoever functions in an office or calling received from one who holds priesthood keys exercises priesthood authority in performing her or his assigned duties.
Whoever exercises priesthood authority should forget about their rights and concentrate on their responsibilities. That is a principle needed in society at large. The famous Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn is quoted as saying, 'It is time … to defend not so much human rights as human obligations.' Latter-day Saints surely recognize that qualifying for exaltation is not a matter of asserting rights but a matter of fulfilling responsibilities." -Dallin H. Oaks, The Keys and Authority of the Priesthood.
Sister Hassell had the idea to edit the video Because of Him so that it's available in Macedonian as well and we can put it on a flashdrive and show it to people. We've spent so much time editing the video trying to make it perfect. It's so much fun. Unknown to her at the time was that Macedonia was getting a bunch of Because of Him pass-along cards, so now they can be used in conjunction and at just the right time. We're almost done with the video and the cards should be ready within a week or so.
A long, long time ago when I was still companions with Sister Schofield, we had a lesson with a salesman named Marian. A few nights ago we were finally able to have a second lesson with him. He told us that as a second job he does stand-up comedy. He asked us, "Are you ok with jokes about God?" We both said that most of them were ok, as long as they were respectful. He went on, "Don't ever tell a joke about God to a Muslim person, oh noooo, they get so mad. They don't like it." Good to know, I thought, since Muslims were on my mind so much.
"I think God has a sense of humor," said Sister Hassell.
"I think God has a sense of humor, too. That's why He created Macedonia," he said. He wasn't super interested in the church, but we ran into him a day or two later while we were eating at a сларкарница by the smoky cafe. He joined us and he told us some stuff about Macedonia and the culture here. He's a really nice guy. I hope we see him again soon. I'm grateful for Sister Hassell's example when she said, "Now we have to think and pray about why the Lord wanted us to see Marian again." While on the bus I asked her if she had heard this story (she hadn't) that you first told me and that is also in the movie Pursuit of Happyness: A man is drowning in the ocean and he prays and asks God to save him. A boat comes and throws him a life raft. He says to them, "No thank you, God will save me." Again he prays and asks God to save him. Another boat comes and offers help. He tells them that he is waiting for God to save him. He prays again and says, "God, please don't let me die. Save me." A boat comes and he refuses their help because he has prayed for God's. He dies. He gets to heaven and asks God, "Why didn't you save me?" God says to him, "I sent you three ships." In response to that, Sister Hassell said, "How many times does God have to knock on our doors?"
This morning I was reading in First Nephi and thinking about these verses, "...Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw? And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things. And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul." By the love of God, does it mean our love for God, His love for us, or the love we should have for others? I think it means all of those things. Maybe that's why the most important commandment is to love God (Mark 12:30). Because it brings happiness. That's what this gospel brings is happiness. What else does it bring other than feelings of peace, or the knowledge to help us change things so that we can have peace? These are the things I most often testify to people of on the street or in a first lesson. It is so simple. The only thing we have to do is believe. Only a lack of believing will keep us from feeling this. God is there, and he is so ready to bless us if we will do no more than follow Him.
As I pray, Heavenly Father blesses me to help me learn Macedonian. As I pray and as I speak of my Savior Jesus Christ to people, I come to know more and more that He really is my Savior, that He took my sins and afflictions upon Himself for no reason other than He loves me. He has done the same for you too. God is our Father who sacrificed His Son because He loves us, His children, and He wants us to become more than what we could ever be by ourselves. He has helped me to do so. In His sacred name, Jesus Christ, amen.
Love,
Sister Riddle
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