the one about trials

So, this week has been kind of tiring. On Thursday, we went out to Rajmond's (rye-moaned's) little village and talked to a friend of his while Rajmond went to get some gas for his car. He was totally out, so he took a big jug to put the gas in. About 45 minutes later, he came back with pretty bad news. The gas was bad, and he was driving when the engine caught fire. Man, this guy has very little to begin with, and the car he was planning on selling goes up in smoke and he has to leave it on the side of the road. He said he might try to sell it for scrap metal, if thieves haven't stolen it before then. I'm totally amazed by this guy's faith. He's already been shunned by his family because of converting to Christianity, so he has no help from them, and yet he continues on. Even after his car is kaput, he still comes to church. That's about an hour and a half walk, one way. My theory is that either things will start improving, or he'll die soon and just go straight to heaven. His example really shows me that I have no room to complain about my life.

Klidi (clee-dee) is getting baptized this Sunday, so that's great! I'm really happy for him, and I think he'll be a great new addition to the branch.

I just recently got back from an unexpected district trip to Krujë (crewy), and even though I've been there before, I had a mildly good time. We went into the museum and saw tons of stuff about Albania's national hero, George Kastrioti Skanderbeg (that's the angli-... anglisize-... English-fied version of his name. I don't feel like doing pronunciation tips for his real name). It's a pretty cool story, look him up on wikipedia if you have a minute. I snapped this picture in the museum:

Yeah, that's a goat's head on his helmet. Maybe it nibbled on his favorite boots or something.

I hope everyone is doing well and appreciating what they have, whether it be family, good friends, food, or just the fact they're alive.

Elder Weaver