What's up guys? I'm being transferred. I'm not gonna tell you where yet though because that's the bait to actually open the email. I've got loooots to report this week so I'm just gonna jump right into it.
I've bragged a lot about Gjirokaster in the past and it's for good reason. To prove it is all I say it is, President Burdon actually came down to visit with his family when they flew in to see him. Because he came down here, we got to all have dinner together and the AP's stayed over at our place. Super fun actually because our AP's are some of the dopest missionaries out there. Anyways, after talking to them and spending the evening with them back in the house, we discovered that we were having a relatively significant transfer happening this coming week and that transfer calls were on Thursday. This is when I began to get scared.
FLASH FORWARD to Thursday. It was THANKSGIVING! Flipping love Thanksgiving. It is arguably in my top 3 holidays. We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to meet up with our district in Vlore (might be the last time I'm there for a while :(((...) and have a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone prepared different dishes and we got to sit and just eat after having a great district council, discussing what we're grateful for, listening to good music, etc. It was already pretty much one of the best moments of my mission so far, and then after we finished stuffing ourselves we decided to play around the world ping-pong. That took things to a whole new level. Ping-pong might be the Celestial sport not even gonna lie. Super fun evening there and a very good bonding experience with the district but little did I know that it was my last time with all of them together.
At around 8 or so we left for Fier with the Elders on our way back to their apartment to stay the night. I was actually on the phone with my family (since it was a holiday) when I got a notification that I had just missed a call from a certain someone. I was filled with the adrenaline and dread known only to those who have ever served a mission and received a transfer call. After calling President Burdon back, I discovered that I indeed am leaving Gjirokaster and will be transferred to the city of Elbasan to serve as a Zone Leader! Quite the unexpected call. I'm a little bummed to not finish training my guy Elder Cannon but that's alright. An Elder from my MTC group is actually coming down to finish his training and he's a boss so all will definitely go well there. I've also been asked to stay in relatively close contact with them as ZL too just to help them get started off well in the best area known to mankind so I'm still almost gonna be serving here. It's nice to be serving as ZL of the same zone though because it actually gives me the opportunity to come back to Gjirokaster for exchanges. It's a very hard corner of the mission to reach and I'm lucky enough to be serving in one of the few areas where it is possible to get down there. Blessed.
Since Thursday, we have been pounding the work here trying to get things in good shape for Elder Snider. I've been calling through a bunch of old contacts, the last week and I believe there is definitely some promise there. Elder Snider will have to be the one to follow up on those unfortunately because first thing tomorrow I'm on my way to Elbasan. We had some good stuff go on this weekend though including having 3 people come to family home evening (a big deal I'm not even joking) and then having a church attendance of 7! (an even BIGGER deal!) It was the ideal weekend to end my service down here.
It has been a lot harder than I expected saying goodbye to all of the people down here. We have a very small teaching pool (and I mean VERY small) so it's hard to stay busy, but what ends up happening as a result is that you get really close with the people you do meet with. I have grown really close to a select few people here in the 4 months I've served here in Gjirokaster and that makes it tough (especially since it's such a remote place on the mission and there's a chance that even with exchanges I won't see them again). On top of all that, this place is absolutely beautiful. The castle on top of the city with the old fortified stone houses lining the mountain is a sight that still takes my breath away. I have found that at difficult times, all I have to do is look out the window of our apartment or walk through this small city and it's pretty easy to find deep gratitude regardless of what's going on in the work. I am really gonna miss these mountains that surround the city and the amazing workouts I've been getting walking up this mountain every other day. I've made some amazing memories here.
Even with all that being said, I really am very excited to serve in Elbasan. I've only heard good things and there are a lot of benefits that Gjirokaster just doesn't have. First off, THERES A CHAPEL. That's a big one. Second, we have sisters in our area which is sure to spice things up haha we love them. Third, there's actually a good branch there with really awesome and good active members that I'll get to interact with. Fourth, I'll be able to learn Albanian again from more experienced missionaries than myself because I've literally just been learning the last transfer on my own talking to people (which lowkey worked surprisingly well but I still need help). Fifth, it's way closer to a lot of areas so I'll be able to meet up with people on P-Day much more often which is dope. There are definitely more benefits as well but these are the main ones for me. :))
Speaking of P-Day, Elder Cannon and I are just chilling here in Gjirokaster again. As I type this, it is dumping so much rain that we can't see out our window and all you can hear is the rain hitting the cement roof above us. Craziest part is that 10 minutes ago we thought it was gonna clear up for a bit because the sun came out... Sad stuff. Anyways, we are going to explore this beautiful city one last time in this pouring rain and probably just enjoy some father and son time together before I leave the kid forever. By the time I send this email out I'll probably have some good pictures for you all in the album.
I love you guys! I'll let you know how Elbasan is!
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