Trip to Pick up Ryan - Church in Tirana and Dinner in Durrës
Church at the Tirana
We woke up, got showered and dressed for church, packed up and then Ryan gave Chris a blessing… he’s been feeling a little sick the last day or so.
We parked in a gravel area down the street and walked to the church — second floor of a white building — and it was so great to see Ryan interact with all the ward members… about 30 members were in attendance. You could tell that they were so excited to see him and to shake hands with us. Several people greeted him with hugs - like the Bishop and Perparim. Immediately they put Ryan to work as the pianist. We sang in Albanian - even Christ, partook of the Sacrament and listened to the many testimonies of missionaries and ward members. Ryan sat by us and translated everything. Several members mentioned how grateful they were for the missionaries - both old and new- and ones who bring their parents back. They love us and they love God. They would often look over at us as they spoke and before Ryan could even translate I knew they were saying something about Ryan or us. The row of old ladies ahead of us, turned to smile at each mention.
It was so great to hear their testimonies of faith. Another women spoke to us saying “I hope you enjoy it here, this beautiful country and your wonderful boy. The Bishop spoke to us too and relayed how excited he was to see Elder Johnson, here with ‘his brother and sister’ Haha. But he expressed his gratitude for Elder Johnson. “Most missionaries come and go but Elder Johnson has always been here.” and then gesturing to us he continued, “How great for them to come and partake of the Sacrament here in Albania.”
The cute old ladies couldn’t stop looking back and smiling and I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed by the Spirit and grateful for the great service and love felt from and for my boy. What a gift to us to feel of their love for him. I wished we could have videoed the whole thing… the little ladies who’s feet couldn’t even touch the floor, the new missionary’s testimony straight from the MTC, Perparim, Ryan playing the piano and the Bishop beaming from the front as he spoke of all his wonderful ward members.
After the meeting the row of cute older ladies came right up to us to shake our hands and with our hands locked in a gentle grip, tell us the Elder Johnson is such a ‘great boy”. They said it in English. I was crying through all of it. Then the Bishop spoke to us in English a little of how grateful he was for Elder Johnson and that he thought of him as a little brother. Such a happy positive man full of energy and love. I asked him if I could take a picture and he said “Yes, because I am coming to his wedding.” Then he wanted a picture with us.
I told Perparim (translated through Ryan) that we knew him from photos that Ryan had sent and he said in Albanian, “Elder Johnson and I will always be good friends. It melted my heart. Perparim was one of Ryan’s first baptisms and they had remained close.
We shook hands with almost everyone in the ward and stayed as the second ward filed in. What a memorable day.
Pictured above: Ryan with ward members and Elder Miller in the middle. Funny story - Marilee Christofferson was with her mom and they were talking about Marilee’s cousin’s son: Elder Miller serving his mission in Albania. ‘Oh’, Marilee thought. ‘That’s where Ryan is.’ She asked her mom if she had any pictures of Elder Miller and her mom found one from a random missionary email. The picture was of Elder Miller with RYAN. They were on an exchange together in one of their areas. How crazy is that! Small world.
Durrës Ward
We picked up our laundry and then headed to Durrës just in time for the Durrës Ward to be getting out. We met some more people who thought we were too young to be Ryan’s parents and told us what a good boy and great missionary he was. Again so great to hear Ryan speaking Albanian to those he had served and loved.
Dinner with Brother and Sister Muça
We gave Motra Muça (Sister Muça) a ride home and followed her up 4 flights of stairs to the small two bedroom apartment that she’s lived in for the last 35 years. When she heard from Ryan that we were coming to visit Albanian she was adamant that we come for dinner. Translated through Ryan she told us that she woke up at 6:00am to start cooking our meal.
Amazingly, Motra Muça remembered Ryan and our family from when she came to visit her daughter and our friend Sonila Wood in our Heidelberg Germany ward. She said she remembered “the Bishop and his family of little kids all down the row.” What a small world that Ryan would be called to serve in her ward in Durrës.
We visited as she finished cooking (she wouldn’t let us help) and then we ate our SEVEN course meal.
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup and Homemade Bread (this by itself would have been a fabulous meal)
Tomato and Greek Cheese Salad
Roasted Potatoes and Chicken (my favorite)
Rice Pilaf (also my favorite)
Traditional Albanian Belek — which we convinced her to pack up for us to eat later since we were getting full
Banana Cake and Ice Cream
Watermelon — Ryan says that watermelon is often served after dinner in the summer. Sometimes as dessert and sometimes before dessert.
Everything was SO GOOD. What a treat for us to have a home cooked Albanian meal.
Motra Muça LOVES Ryan. So cute to see that. She says ‘This is his second home’. He needs to come back and visit. It was so wonderful to be with them for dinner. Remarkable, humble and loving people.
Walking around Durrës
It was fun to see where Ryan’s apartment was (right) when he served here in Durrës, and the barber shop he frequented on the bottom floor. I can’t believe how close they were to the Adriatic Sea. Just a minute walk to the water and boardwalk. Beautiful.