Zac's Amazing Trip to Turkey and Albania!

Zac had an incredible opportunity come his way when he was assigned to a work conference in Istanbul Turkey during the later part of Fall.  Turkey in and of itself was an incredible destination, but it also put him quite close to the mission field of Albania, where he served as an LDS missionary in June 1998- August 2000.  He has never had a chance to go back, so he decided that it was a good time to make a small detour on his way home from Turkey.

Before he left, he dusted off a few mission pictures to remind himself about the country and the people.

Here is a little collage of Zac on his mission and Zac now with Tanner who is currently serving a mission on the right:

Zac was serving his mission when the Book of Mormon was finally translated into Albanian.  It was a happy day for all of these missionaries when they could finally give everyone the book they had been telling them about!

Zac was really hoping that he could find this family that he had taught and baptized all those years ago.  When he arrived in Albania, he found his old apartment and stomping grounds.  He began the hunt for this family asking if anyone knew of them.  He said many people seemed skeptical talking to a big American asking about a family and even if they did know them, he was pretty sure they weren't going to give him information.  He was starting to feel that he may not find them...

But when he arrived at church on Sunday, he was greeted by the daughter of this family whom he had baptized, but was now grown.  She recognized him instantly!  Not only had she stayed faithful in the gospel, but her husband is now bishop of their branch.  And on top of that her amazing mother, whom Zac had been looking for happened to be visiting at church that day as her granddaughter had just been baptized and Zac was able to be reunited with this family!

Zac also got to meet up with another special convert at the church that he had a very special fondness for, Genc Chuchi

Albania had certainly changed over the past almost 25 years.  The ocean views are still stunning along the Mediterranean.

But the cities have cleaned up and grown over the years.  Zac couldn't believe all of the progress!

Upon visiting Genc's apartment, he found that Genc still had a picture of Jesus Christ that Zac had left him almost 25 years ago, hung up on his wall.  It is so sun-faded, that a kind older couple of missionaries bought him a beautiful new picture.  Regardless, he still keeps the one that his missionaries gave him all those years ago!

One of the biggest surprises was a big beautiful chapel that was built for the members of the church to meet.  When Zac was in Albania, they met in his living room or wherever they could find a room to congregate.

Zac had fun finding the missionaries and taking them to lunch, something I'm sure he would have loved when he was a missionary.  They were able to swap stories and look through the area book for members he might have known.

This is a recreation of the last picture Zac took on his mission with his foot leaving Albanian soil.

His trip to Turkey was also adventurous!  He was able to visit the famous Basilica Cistern in Istanbul.  The amount of stonework and care that was taken to create this cistern is mind-blowing.

The city of Istanbul is considered the Gateway to the East as it connects two continents Asia and Europe.  Previously known as Constantinople it has been an important city and trading destination for centuries!

One of the biggest tourist attractions in Istanbul is the Hagia Sophia, which is a beautiful mosque that was built almost 1500 years ago!

The sites and food were reminiscent of Zac's mission in Albania.

There were at least 50-100 more pictures that Zac took on the trip, but unfortunately, I am limited by the number of photos I can put in the family book every year.  But I know that this is definitely a trip that Zac will cherish in his memories and heart for the rest of his life!