Dear family,

The hymn book here is pretty small.  There are very few hymns, so in district meetings everyone gets upset if you choose to sing a hymn in English that is also in Albanian.  Especially if it is Count Your Many Blessings because that is a favorite here in Albania.  I personally don't care.  One time, I even brought up Count your Many Blessings every week in district meeting down in Vlorë until we finally sang it.  It was pretty funny.  The hymnbooks are little spiral books that are a centimeter or less thick.  There are at least hymns for everything like Easter, Christmas, sacrament meeting, etc.

Hey Emily, I did get to baptize somebody about 4 months ago.  It was really cool.  His name was Rinald.  I've learned a ton about Albania.  It's a pretty cool place.  It's like an adventure!  We also meet crazy people occasionally.  Oh yeah, here's a word in Albanian you could use.  It's çyça (pronounced chyoo-chuh).  Girls usually say that, and it means "Oh my goodness!" kind of.  Have a good week.

Last Friday, we were street contacting, and these 3 boys came and started talking to me.  They were interested in coming to church, and said they had spoken with several missionaries in the past.  So I told them when and where it was, and they ended up coming.  We had 4 or 5 people who we had invited to church this last Sunday, and I was a little bummed when I didn't see any of them in the congregation.  The 2 boys that came had just come a bit late, but they were able to attend 2nd and 3rd hours.  I was a little worried at first in 2nd hour because it was their first time, and the topic was the law of chastity.  I think it went well though.  They participated, had questions, and I think they enjoyed it.  I gave them a Book of Mormon, explained it a bit, and they said they would come back next Sunday.  They have work and school going on throughout the week, so they unfortunately cannot meet with us during the week.  They said they'd call if they ever have time though.

On Saturday, I tried calling a former investigator of mine named Artur to see if we could meet.  He said he wasn't in Durrës, but would give us a ring when he was back in Durrës.  So, we went street contacting, and around 12:40, he gave us a call and said he was at the place we typically meet people.  So that was cool.  He said he would be able to come to church in March as well, so that's awesome.  Also, in English course on Friday, the guy who usually tells other people to say the prayers was the only guy who came, and he said the opening prayer.  He also told us he'd read parts of the Book of Mormon.  The member we have helping us out also has invited him to church many times, and I think this guy in our course could possibly progress towards baptism.  I think we've got some promising people here in Durrës.  Also, this member had brought 2 of her friends to church last Sunday, and my companion and one of the zone leaders went to talk to them.  So I think some upcoming baptisms in Durrës are very possible.

I've really come to enjoy Durrës.  I think I might like it more than Vlorë now, although I don't know if it's just because it's been such a long time since I've been in Vlorë.  Either way, I've enjoyed both places.  Also, I've realized on my mission how great fasting is.  Ever since I read the part in Jesus the Christ where Christ told his disciples that some evil spirits can only be cast out by prayer and fasting, I've started testing it out more.  And by more, I mean just as often, but just having more of a good reason for fasting.  It's pretty cool.  Anyways, have a good week.

Love,
Elder Wallentine