Thu 8/10/06 2:15 AM

Dear Family,
This is a report that I had received from one of my Assistants regarding the historic baptism that took place there last saturday. As far as I know it is a first for Kosovo. I am trying to get a couple there so a branch could be created next year. The opportunity for success is great in this area. The people are very open and the gospel could spread very rapidly. The two assistants were ready to be perminently transfered there for the rest of their mission. Well that is not going to happen, but they were so full of excitement. I have to go. Will write more later. Life is getting busier as time goes by. The more we do the more there is to do. Love all of you.
Dad

Kosovo Report

What an amazing opportunity we had to go to Kosovo last weekend and experience the love of the people there. We were well accepted everywhere we went. We had contact with a lot investigators and potential investigators. We were also able to conduct a baptism and attend a great sacrament meeting there.
When we arrived in Pristina, the capital, we headed to Young Choi’s house where members and investigators were awaiting our arrival. At that point we interviewed Yllka Krasniqi (the baptismal candidate) and had a short baptismal program. There were 12 people in attendance at the baptism. We then traveled to a lake about 30 minutes away, where the baptism was performed. Burim Vraniqi performed the ordinance with Elder Gish and Elder Sumko as witnesses. It was very special, and the people seemed to understand the importance of the ordinance. Afterward, we returned to the house together and ate dinner while getting acquainted with the people there.
The next morning we set off to Gjakova for sacrament meeting at the home of Liz Shropshire. There were 18 people in attendance at the meeting – two missionaries, four foreign members, three native members and nine native investigators. Most of them had attended church before, but Liz helped the others to feel comfortable and understand what was going on. Yllka was then confirmed by Elder Sumko.
Most of the investigators are young and many of the parents are afraid that they are losing their children to the church, so we tried to dispel any fears and resolve concerns. Some of the parents came to the meetings, but not all of them were able to attend. We were happy to discover that almost all the men speak Serbian, which is almost the same as Croatian, so we were able to communicate directly with them. The father of Bojica, an investigator, came later to talk to us. He was very happy to meet us and we discussed lightly his feelings about God. After our talk he seemed to trust us and even offered to let us stay at his house if we ever come back.
Afterward, we had the opportunity to visit the Kuci family. Their daughter, Lisa, who we did not have a chance to meet, has wanted to be baptized for years but hasn’t been able to because of problems with her in-laws. We were surprised to see how welcome we were in their home and how intently they listened as we taught about the importance of families in God’s plan and how family prayer can strengthen our relationships. They loved us and want us to come back. We also visited Yllka’s sister, Dardana, who has been a member for several years. She works on Sundays now to support her family but still seems to have a testimony of the gospel and a desire to attend meetings.
Monday morning we visited the last refugee camp in Kosovo. It was a humbling experience to see the poverty that some of these people live in. We then visited Donika’s family. Donika was nearly baptized on Saturday as well, but, because of pressure from her extended family, she decided to wait. Her family seems to be supportive of her and even participates with her in reading the Book of Mormon and prayer. She will hopefully be baptized soon; she just wants to be better prepared. We were also able to meet with an inactive member named Bekim Lumi, who was baptized in Germany several years ago. He still has a testimony, but due to lack of support and contact with the church, he is struggling to live worthily. He is a well-known film director in Kosovo and could be a huge help to the church there in the future.
Overall, the visit to Kosovo was a success. It gave the members hope that things are really starting to happen and that the church could soon be established there. We saw many positive things and were very impressed with the member’s dedication to the gospel and their desire to share it. Currently, Burim and Liz are leading most of the missionary work there with the help of the Sweeneys. We think that Burim is doing most of the teaching, but since he has only been a member a few months, we aren’t sure about his teaching skills. We saw that our presence there also brought many more people to the meetings and many family members wanted to meet with us. They are a friendly and helpful people who are humble and willing to listen. They would not turn us away without hearing what we have to say. They have a saying: “The home is for God and guests.” We found this to be true. The family also plays a big role in Kosovo culture, and most of the people in attendance had another family member there as well. Because of this fact, we believe that the gospel would spread quickly through member work. Also, the current attitude of all the people there is very pro-American. We never felt that we were in any kind of danger, but we were only there for a few days and weren’t out on the streets very much.
After our experience, we felt strongly that if full-time missionaries were to be placed in Kosovo, they wouldn’t have a shortage of people to teach. Not all the people who normally attend church were able to come while we were there, but there were still nine investigators in church, which is more than some entire zones have in this mission. From what we saw and heard, there are at least four investigators who could be baptized very soon (Ali, Donika, Lisa, and Lum). If full-time missionaries were there, many others could be prepared for baptism very quickly.


People We Met

Rick + Wendy Sweeney – A retired police officer who worked for the UN in Kosovo

Liz Shropshire – A returned missionary from California. She runs a small music school for children.

Choi – Works for UN. Soon moving to Iraq.

Burim Vraniqi– Baptized summer of 06 in Slovenia. Very strong and very active.

Yllka Krasniqi – Just baptized. Needs to keep learning.

Dardana Krasniqi – Works Sundays. Still has a testimony.

Bekim Lumi– Baptized in Germany. Inactive. Struggles with worthiness. Well known in Kosovo.

Erza Vejsa – Baptized in March 06 in America. She is studying in Iowa. Very strong. She dedicated a lot of time to translate for us.

Zona + Dad Vejsa – semi-interested. Need lessons. Willing to attend meetings.

Ali Shehu – Waiting until he is 18 to be baptized.

Florija + Valorija + Son Hidal – Family of Lum, a serious investigator. All willing to attend meetings. Seemed to accept what was going on and what was taught.

Donika – Ready to be baptized

Donika’s family – supportive. Meragona attends meetings with Donika, but they live far away. Father had a stroke.

Bojica and sister – Both studying in America. Read from the Book of Mormon. Father really liked us.

Ismael and wife – Love us. Said they would attend church. Love family stuff. We taught about family prayer.


List of people

At church or baptism:
Elders Sumko + Gish
Rick + Wendy Sweeny
Liz
Choi
Burim
Ali
Erza + Zona + Dad
Florija + Valorija + Son
Donika + Mergana
Yllka
Bojica and sister, both studying in America

Others:
Dardana
Donika's family
Albanian sisters' dad
Izmael and wife
Bekim