60th pday email from Albania!

Dear Precious Gems,

This week has been a week of blessings belong belief. I can't fully even express my appreciation for all that the Lord gives us every day to each of us individually. I testify that the Lord is full of miracles and that every day as we follow in his example, we begin to see as he sees and that is when the work begins to take on a deeper meaning not just to the people we teach but to  us as well and how we fit in the work and what role do we have to play.

This last week we had received two amazing investigators. THEY ARE AMAZING!!! We actually had two other new people set up for that day but they didn't work and these two girls showed up to the church before English course wanting to take the lessons because they saw what we practiced what we teach and they feel something good about the church. 

We got to meet with N this week a ton and talk about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She asked how baptism worked and we looked at each other, sister D and me, and said "There is one that we actually having tonight if you would like to see it." She was so stoked! And the best part was SHE CAME! Along with two other investigators to A's Baptism that evening.

I testify that the Lord loves his children. He gave his only begotten Son. This Thanksgiving the spirit was so fulfilling and exactly what I was needing. The testimonies that were shared from the missionaries going home in the next few weeks taught me some amazing principles that I will keep with me for the rest of my life:

"Our smile changes and radiates by the end of our missions as we are becoming more like him. The light of Christ is shinning forth." Elder Andersen

"The greatest miracle that has occurred was the atonement." Sister Davis

"He honestly Cares so much about us!" Elder Schramm

"Behind every principle is a promise." Elder Outsen

"Trials and Hardships are necessary for us... throughout the rest of our lives we are meant to serve God and do his work." Elder Simons

"Anytime that you are having a hard or a bad day, just think of all those that would die to be in your spot, but can't due to illness... He takes a broken vessel and works miracles through you in his work... When there are people that you do not like, see them through God's eyes..." Elder Temple

The Lord's work is coming more and more in full force. You've got to see this new video, A SAVIOR IS BORN (https://www.mormon.org/christmas).

The spirit testifies of our Lord and Savior that He is the only begotten Son and that He loves us with all of His heart!!

Thank you for all you do!!

Motra Bezas

Some pictures from her beloved Albania 

(not sure why the one won't turn right-side-up!)

59th pday email from Albania

Dear Precious Gems Of God,

This week I can honestly testify that The Lord was with us this week in the vineyard. We worked honestly super hard and I don't even feel tired. Because the joy and the love I feel for this Gospel and the passion I have for this work, has filled my soul and has given me the energy to keep going every day. 

I know that the Lord loves his Children and they are all VERY precious to him. And I am honestly so grateful that I have been a first hand witness of it in all the all that we do and the people we come in contact with. 

The work is going forth and the work we do everyday is preparing for Christ's return. That is why it is SO important that  we strive to do all that we can to be EXACTLY obedient to all that God has asked us to do. So that way we can be worthy of the Spirit as we go throughout everyday.

I never want to live my life without his guidance in my life. I know that my Father in heaven and I made a plan for my life, as he did with all of us, as to what we were needing to accomplish to help to create the big picture he has created for us.

This Gospel is so DELICIOUS to me and I can't imagine my life without it. I know that I want my whole life to be a Christ Centered one. The joy I feel here is like how it says in Doctrine and Covenants 18: 10,15-16:

 10 Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;

15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

 16 And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!

I know the Joy that is expressed in these passage. And as I have been here on my mission and as of recently while I have been in this area, that is the biggest message I have received, that this Gospel is not meant for just us to have and receive the blessings of. In fact, it is meant to be shared. That is one reason why we receive blessings in abundance, so we can share and share it will great excitement to others that The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the thing that will bring us the greatest happiness that we can receive. Not to mention the fulfillment that we matter.

That was a lesson I also learned this week as we met with one of our investigators again. That if we try to fill our life with people and things, they will not bring us happiness if they are of the world. But it is only through our Savior, that true happiness can begin to fill our lives and eventually be enveloped in the Love he has for us and has given everything possible for us. BECAUSE HE LOVES US.

 13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. *John 15:13

I know the Savior is ultimate example for everything. And so when we strive to become better, that is when we look to him and study about his life and what he taught through his actions and not his words. That is why we have chapter 6 in Preach My Gospel for Christlike Attributes. So can become like him. Because as we become like him, We are becoming like our Father In Heaven. And that is the ultimate goal why we are here. To become like our Father, who has given all to us to make us to have eternal happiness.

I know this Gospel is True. That Jesus the Christ. The Son of the Living God. And I pledge to Live my life to him. I love him with all my heart and the Love I have for him I know will grow stronger as I continue to do all that he asks of me. I know that the Savior suffered pains and afflictions of every kind so He could understand all that we go through every day. So when we face hardship, we then have a source to go to every single time to lift us from our sorrows and raise us to exaltation.

I know that He lives and because he lives, we too can live again with our Father in Heaven. WITH GREAT JOY!

I love you all and am so grateful for all that you do every day. Keep up the good work and remember He is always there. All you have to do is just go unto him and he will take care of the rest.

Love, Motra Bezas

Pictures from her beloved Albania!

58th pday email from Albania!

Dear Precious Souls,

I can't fully express it of how rewarding it is when working for the Lord when you give it all to him. I literally saw so many miracles this week from the new people we found to the lessons we taught. THE SPIRIT WAS SO PRESENT IN OUR LESSONS! I know this was with out a doubt a week planned out by the Lord. These are such precious souls. I see how the Lord has put such great trust in his missionaries here in Tirane as I have come back here from a year ago.

The work is going forth and I feel that the presence of the Lord with us as we walk the streets here. I know that the Lord is fully aware of what is going on in each of his children's lives. We saw it time and time again as we met with these great investigators that are TRULY exercising their faith every day in their Savior, as well as fabulous members of the church.

I know that the Lord has blessed me in so many ways. One of the biggest blessings that I have received as I had arrived in this new area and throughout the week is my new companion, Sister D. She is someone that has taught me so much about how I can gain a deeper relationship with my Father in Heaven and how this is completely the Lord's work and not ours and we do all we can to sacrifice for the Lord's work as well as by giving it all to him. 

Something that has been such a great lesson from her this week was that to really teach people we have to really think outside the box and you don't take rejection the first time as your finally answer. You keep pushing until you reach the point where the Lord knows they can be stretched. I know and can testify that it is the same for us. We are being stretched every  single day of our lives. 

There are times where we seriously think we cannot even go any further, but we then are able to see afterward how much we have accomplished. That is when we begin to see the Lord knows us and knows exactly what he is doing and what is best for us. I know that looking throughout my mission I have seen so much stretching and growing and it testified that he loves me so much and he loves all of his children and knows them individually by name.

One woman this week was an example of someone that the Lord sent our way. She is a less active that was baptized about 5 years ago and then stop coming. We got a text from a YSA member in another ward that she talked with her and said that she wanted to meet with missionaries again and wanted to come back to church. We took the initiative right away and called her.

We met with her the next day. Oh my goodness! The Lord truly has taught me while we met with her not just that day but every single day we met with her this week. I never seen such anguish and tears and sorrow that has come from a person and feeling like they are at the end of their rope, until this girl. I know that Sister D and I were meant to teach her and bring her unto Christ. And as we met with her, her countenance changed every day and the light of Christ has filled her soul. Not saying she is back to normal, but having daily contact with her, the change is happening and she is becoming stronger (physically and spiritually). Her light flame is being rekindled.

With her, there is so much to her story, but what I can say in a brief testimony is that, she is of such great importance to her Father in Heaven and has roles to play in building up his church and the kingdom of God. I know this due to the hardships and trials that Satan throws into her path every day. 

Even when meeting with us, she is still being bombarded by Satan and his darkness trying to envelope her. But I know that as she continues to read and pray and go to church like she did this past week, She WILL be protected. And she WILL soar above the clouds of her sorrows that she has been facing. And one day she will look back and truly see how far she has stretched and overcame and how the Lord was with her the whole way.

I know that this gospel is one of strength. With Christ, we literally can do anything and everything. It when we rely on Christ, his light remains with us and his spirit throughout everyday. So when the trails come, we can keep moving forward and accomplish all that our father in heaven has in store for us to do.

I know that He lives!!

Motra Bezas

57th pday email from Albania!

Dear Precious Gems,

I testify that this life is a life of pure joy and where we can truly see the hand of the Lord in every aspect of our lives. I can testify that I have seen him truly in our lives this week in so many ways. 

This week in Zone Training I learned about what does it truly mean to be a true follower of Jesus Christ. it is when we strive to become like him every day through our actions. It is also when we document in detail how our lessons and our days in his work in our area books, daily planners, and journals. As we do so, we are entitled to to more revelation.

Something that I learned as well from our Sister Training Leaders is that we should be rejoicing always in the work with a smile on our faces. It is the first message that we send to others that we are true followers of Christ. And it gives people a seed planter to asking us why we are so happy. It then leads us to explaining the great message we have for  them and how they can come closer to their father in heaven.

It really went hand and hand with our meeting we had in district meeting  from our training from Elder Rasband about how we need to make sure that as we teach we want to make sure  that all those that we teach have clear understanding  of the great importance of our message.

An amazing experience we had this week was when we went tracking in our apartment complex. I testify that as we went floor by floor that the spirit was working through us as we talked with each person. As we went we were accepted into a home of a beautiful family. We went on to explain who we were and what our purpose was. As we talked with them about their background they said that they would be willing to for us to come back another day to teach them a lesson.

We as we then went on there was another woman that answered and at first was going to just say that she wasn't interested but as we began to simply talk with her and following the spirit and sharing the pure life of Christ with her that she finally told us to come over another day.

We went over the next day and as soon as we came inside, we began to get to know her really quickly. She was amazing! This woman was just filled with the light of Christ. And the spirit. WOW! I testified to her that the Lord guided us to her home because she mattered greatly to him. The love that was there for her, couldn't be denied. I know that he is constantly thinking of her. As we continued to talk with her I felt prompted that we should sing to her I am a Child God. As we sang it, the spirit just poured into the room.

The next day we came by we showed her the video "Because He Lives". One of the coolest part about the whole thing is that she came over and sat in between us and held the little dvd player in her hands. I felt that there was something that the Lord needed to reach out to her at this time and there was something in the video specifically that touched her and made an impact on her as she watched the video.

As we continued teach her afterward, the spirit was there. Near the end she invited us to meet her daughter the next day. She then went on to explain that all that we were teaching was really good. But for her, she felt that it was not really needed in her life. Even though she told us that she didn't really want to continue to learn, I felt the spirit that we were guided to her door and to meet her with these only two days because this was the big seed planted in her life.

I know that God lives and that he is fully aware of us.

The biggest miracle this week is seeing one of our whole families come to church. Sister R and I saw at first only two of them in the distance, but then all the children ran up behind them and then the rest of the women. It was the best gift that the Lord had given us this week.

Remember that the lord is aware of you all!

Me dashurin,

Motra Bezas

More pictures of her beloved Albania!

56th pday email from Albania!

Dear Precious Gems,

I just want to testify that I know that with all things come in God's timing. And with his timing, we can see true miracles brought to pass in our modern day.

A great miracle that happen this week was last Monday while we were at the store. It was one of God's hidden miracles as we were shopping for shampoo. (I can testify that God works in mysterious ways). But as we were trying to choose, a lady came up to us and ask if we spoke Albanian. We said yes and began to talk about something completely random but then we brought in the Gospel and explained why we were here. We then asked if she was interested and got her number and planed to meet with her the next day.

Our first lesson was really good, but the next day is where the miracle came into play. We made an appointment to go out to their village and teach her whole family. OH. MY. GOODNESS. This family is amazing. It just blows my mind how there are families like this family all over the place here that are just ready to hear the precious message that we have to share. I know that this family his very favored of the Lord. As we taught their daughter that is 16, she was just literally feeding off of every word that we taught. She was feasting on the words of God. It really was such a witness of how the Words of the Lord are so priceless that we can NEVER take them for granted. We need them every single day of our lives.

This week the family I spoke about last week, has a relative that lives in their neighborhood that her daughter that is 2 years old wanted a priesthood blessing. We then brought the elders over to give the little girl a blessing. The spirit that was there was amazing. Something that really touched me was in the blessing about how the Lord would heal her to accomplish the plan that he had in store for her in his time. The next day, they informed us that the little girl for the first time in 3 days was able to eat and walk and dance and laugh. Her mom is now interested in taking the lessons. I know that the Lord lets things happen to open the door to bringing in his gospel into people's lives.

Cool referral story. Planned to teach an awesome active member and asking at the end more about missionary work and knowing if she knew any one that is ready to learn more about the gospel. It was in the middle of the lesson she ended up bring up her sister and that she lived in Durres and wanted us to help her sister's number to the missionaries there . It was such a miracle in itself of how the spirit guided us to teach her about missionary work. Found out a week later that she is now on a baptismal date and went to church this weekend.

Went to visit a less active lady who had lost her dear sister the past couple of months and has become real saddened in her life and needed her Savior's love, as we visited her she was really grouchy at first but as we gave her lots of love and testified to her, she softened and the spirit began to really fill her home. We then felt prompted to ask if she wanted a blessing of comfort. She really wanted that and set for another day to come with priesthood holders. I know that the spirit of the Lord and the Love of God can truly soften hearts. I have seen it time and time again. As we share the Love of God in people's lives, there is a light that comes to their eyes and the spirit is more that person's life. There is a change that is happening inside of them.

This week we had an amazing lesson with a recent convert about the Plan of Salvation with her non-member mother sitting in on the lesson that was a witness to me through the spirit that the Plan of Salvation is a plan of pure joy and happiness and is a witness of the Love that the Lord has for us and how much is constantly thinking about us and is concerned for us. He sent his son, Jesus Christ, so that way we could return to live with him again. It was amazing to have her mother sitting in the lesson. I knew there was something that the Lord wanted to teach her as she sat in and listened.

So this Sunday in second hour a recent convert of the elders' was teaching his first lesson as his new calling for the Gospel Principles Class. Oh man! He is such a powerful teacher. He taught having faith in Jesus Christ and had all these principles he taught as he drew a diagram on the board. He is part of a royal generation that the Lord preserved for this time to have great callings in his church here in Albania. Something that I learned as he taught was with the whole analogy of faith is like a seed, that with time if we are diligent we will have a tree that will bring forth fruit. Well, the spirit really had a thought hit me that I heard before a ton but it finally sunk in.

"We can ONLY taste of the the fruit of our labors until once our tree has taken full root in the earth (the foundation of Jesus Christ and His Gospel)".

Sometimes it is years later or only moments later we see the seeds we plant. I know this is true for missionary work. It really was a big message for me from this mission conference we had this last week. I wish I had time to go into what I learned but I will simply testify and say that the spirit is the great gift that the Lord can give us. That as we strive everyday to follow the Will of Lord and are worth of His spirit we then can be guided through revelation. We had Elder Johnson from the 70 come visit us and something that truly STRUCK me was:

THE SPIRIT GIVES LONG LASTING PEACE!

I know that This Gospel brings ever lasting peace and that Through Our Savior, we can become like our father in heaven by reaching our true potential that he knows we can become. 

I know this Gospel is true and only thing we truly need to live a Eternal Happy Life.

Love you all and remember you MATTER!

Motra Bezas

Some pictures from her beloved Albania!

 The entire mission!