Memorable Moments

Any Albanian followers? What is wrong with this picture? I couldn't help myself but snap this and laugh. If you want some more of pictures like this go to Cudira Shqiptare on Facebook and Enjoy!

I took the pleasure of sharing a little bit of Albania with you in this post and the next ones to follow. Each one of these photos has left an impact on me and may not seem so incredible to anyone, but I still wanted to include them because of what they mean to me.

First off, the road that leads to the chapel in Keneta, (Durres). When I first moved to this area, this was an open black water canal that absolutely wreaked of dead animals, garbage, sewer, and old discarded food. The creatures out here were always of the unusual and semi-mutant type. Mosquitoes as big as small hummingbirds and these swamp rats that were the size of a skunk. I remember walking in the dark and having one run across my feet, I wanted to die. This is also the area that, as God desired, we had the most work and were there every day of the week which is about a 45 min walk from were we lived. I would come home with mud up to my knees and soon found out that those European bidets worked wonders for scrubbing the mud off my boots... every night.

While I was there, so happens that the Albania government decided to purchase some land and wanted to build a major cut off to the city covering and paving the canal. This of course meant that it had to be dug up, pumped out, and eventually have an actual road be constructed. I saw this begin while I was still a missionary and as I walked out there for the first time after almost 3 years, I was shocked to see this beautiful road with a direct shot to the church. I love the conveniently inspired location.

I was absolutely surprised to see this guy still alive. He lives along the roadway, still searching for food. The magical road to the Osmanallaraj Family (Lefterie and Nesibe). The first time I went to their house, it was magical and felt like home in a way, like I had been there 1,000 times before. There are more houses, and the existing ones have grown, but it still felt the same.

This is a classic Albanian snapshot. An older man coming into town to try and sell some fresh produce, talking to his friend that just left the butcher with a fresh cut of veal. Albanian roads. There is something to be said for Albanian roads and I make this connection and realization from a rather sincere place in my heart. I didn't fully make the connection until I sat listening with my dear friends in Durres while we listened to the General Conference Broadcast over the internet. It was Elder Uchtdorf's talk on "Of Things That Matter Most" when he talked about slowing down and doing things right to not get overwhelmed. I thought a lot about how I try to always get over something quickly, especially when it will be for the improvement of who I am and the quality of my life. I want the fix now and I want it to be perfect. I know how to get there, but I like to skip important steps or cut corners to get there faster, and how easy it is to make it look like I got everything under control. I quickly paint over the rust, because if I don't see it and if other's don't see it than it must not be there. Over time, like always, the true colors of pain, anger, frustration, weakness, and disconnect from my Heavenly Father begin to show and I panic reaching for the coverup one more time.

This past year, more than any other time in my life, I am really trying to make the effort to get to the body of things, and relay a solid and balanced base or foundation so that I can build up from there. I can feel it happening, and even though I know it can't, and won't happen over night, it will eventually happen. With faith and the help of the Lord of course. So, as I walked around my beautiful Albania on there broken up roads, I was reminded of this very principle. The streets are so quickly done, that no foundation is ever fully constructed, if any at all. As a result, these roads only last for so long and then they crumble to pieces and the thought of beginning from the bottom up seems overwhelming and slightly impossible. So the roads that were once clean and inviting, slowly degrade overtime and become completely neglected. If only they put in the time and effort to do it right the first time. If I only put the time and effort to do it right the first time.
This last photo may be hard to see, but directly under the sun is a boy sitting contently and playing with some small game. No TV, no internet, no gameboy or cell phone. It just reminded me of Christmas morning on my mission when I passed these two small boys that had made kites out of a plastic bag and string. They were ecstatic. I thought of all the kids in America that were most likely pouting because they didn't get what they wanted, or they liked what their brother or sister got better. I love the simplicity and the gratitude of these people. Amazes me and humbles me over and over again.