Lovin It! --- Feb. 25th

 

It has been a great week here in Kosovo. Today was really fun too.

 

This morning we all headed to a little village in southern Kosovo called Babaj Bokes. It means father of the mountains. This is a little village that one of our members is from and it was beautiful! She, Vlore,  took us around her village and told us all about it. We went to the little school were she went to school and all the kids were in their classes. Just like in their homes all the kids take off their shoes when they get to school and wear slippers at school to keep the floors cleaner. Kinda fun. What do you think? Wouldn't you want to have special slippers that you change into every time you got to school? ha. They came out and Vlore knew lots of them so we took some pics with them. It was POURING rain here today, and so beautiful but very wet. Even though it was pouring rain we walked all over her village and she told us all about it. It really was so beautiful. We hiked up the road a little ways until we got to a little graveyard on the top of the hill. We had lunch here. Picnic in a graveyard this was a first for me. ha. They have lots of very different religious ideas here, that are very different. In this graveyard they had a house with a grave of a great man from the village inside. It's a sect of the muslim religion I think that go there and pray to this grave and do lots of little rituals to be blessed. Quite interesting. I watched a few ladies do all the different things inside when we were there. All over Kosovo there are memorials, and graveyards of people that have died. We saw lots of those today. This village is one that had a lot of bombing in the war and is one of the places the Serbians camped at. She told us all about where the Serbians camped and where things happened it was really interesting, and she loved being in her village again and showing us around. So many crazy storied from the members that remember the war very clearly. I don't even have a clue what it would be like to experience what they did here. Vlore has lived in government supported "camps" from the war ever since only like 1 year ago. Quite the life. We also saw  lots of pretty old bridges, build from the Turks, Vlore says. Pretty cool. 

 

So many people here are amazing. I'm so lucky to get to teach them about how I know they can be happy. How I know they are literal children of God, and not just God's creations. How we can communicate with Him through prayer, using our own words in our own languages. Promise people that God really will answer their prayers! See the members gain faith in keeping the commandments and gain testimonies in the power of paying tithing and fast offerings. How we can find hope in this life, by accepting and living this gospel and putting away the traditions of our fathers. How we can find SO MUCH strength and comfort through our Savior, Jesus Christ. Who, YES!, is the literal Son of God! and not just another prophet that lived on the earth. What comfort and peace we find through this powerful knowledge. I realize more and more how lucky I am to know and have grown up knowing the truth! It's the best. 

Love you all! Have a great week! 

Kalofshit Mirë!

Motra Kristi Hoover