Dobar Dan !

hi parents!

 i made it to croatia!

and i am safe and sound and with the president and his wife and my new companion, sister whitaker, and tonight i will be staying here and tomorrow i will go to my new area, varaždin, and start to be a real life missionary!

exciting!
it was nice talking with you yesterday, and i hope you have a good week and a good time!

love you tons!

sister laws

Apr. 20, 2010

How is everyone doing?
Congratulations to Jesse and Justin and thank you mother for sending me pictures of dear Jude! He is spectacularly precious! I was pretty excited when I got a dearelder from Dad telling me about Jude Michael, because I had had "Dear Jude" by the Beatles stuck in my head for a few days, because I was reading in the book of Jude in the Bible. Strange book, by the way. And I've since had the song stuck in my head again whenever I think of Baby Jude. I'm so excited for Jesse and Justin and I can't wait to watch Jude grow up (from pictures for now and soon in person!) So excited!
So I'm here in the MTC. I heard on Friday about the volcano and how the airports would be closed for a few days and I learned on Sunday night that my flight was cancelled. So I didn't have to wake up and go to the airport to find out that I wasn't going or anything.
Yesterday afternoon I went to the travel office and they gave me new plans for next Monday, same flight, same times, same places, etc. So I'll be here until then.
Luckily, because I was here still, I was able to get a package from Amelia and a dearelder from Mom! Yay! Thank you! I appreciated the update on Jesse and her fam from Mom and the fun and food and pictures from Amelia. Tylie is so grown! Love her!
And I did get the package from Kelsey last week, thanks a ton, that's a really fun scarf! And it was a fun surprise.
Sounds like everyone is doing really well. My week was good, I spent Saturday saying goodbye to my teachers, who I will see tomorrow, and I spent Sunday saying goodbye to my district, who I spent lots of time with yesterday. And today my district left this morning to go to the airport to see if they were going to be able to fly out. I think they will, but I haven't heard for sure because it takes about an hour and a half to get there, and then they were going to wait a few hours, and THEN if they came back or left it would be another hour and half until they got back here. So by tonight I'll know for sure if they're in the Czech Repupblic or if they're back here. My prediction is that they're on an airplane on their way right now. Mostly because it would be so strange to see them after the second round of goodbyes.
Sister Mart - who was one of my very first companions and is going to serve in the Czech Republic, from Mongolia - is here with me, one because her visa isn't in yet, and two because she had surgery last Friday on her ear, so the doctors are delaying her a few weeks. She had a hole in her eardrum, so they patched it up with some cartilage. She could drink water through her ear when she went swimming, lol. In a few months she'll have her full hearing back.
I'm also still with Sister Rogers, my new comp, because she doesn't leave for a few weeks. And we get a new Czech district coming in on Wednesday, with one sister missioanry. So that will be fun.
I can't wait to get to Croatia, but I'm sure I'm still here for a reason. I don't know exactly why, but I'm sure Bog has a plan for everything. Oh, and "Bog" means "God," but whenever I think of "God" I write and/or say "Bog" because it's engrained. At least I have that word down! I'm excited for this week to be able to speak a lot of Croatian and get some better fluidity in my speech. I know the grammar principles mostly, but my speech is pretty slow still. So that's what I'll be working on this week. And vocabulary. I have tons of vocab to memorize because I made my teachers give me long lists to work on during the plane ride, and now I have them to work on, and hopefully more. I'm hoping to really learn a ton of words this week. It's exciting that at least I have a plan for this week, and I won't be sitting in my classroom alone, wondering what to do. Two of my teachers live here, so they'll be able to come in the rest of the week. All very good.
Of course, when I first heard that I wasn't going I can't say that I was this patient or optimistic, but yesterday I listened to the President Uchtdorf talk from General Conference Priesthood Session, all about patience and how being patient isn't just sitting and waiting, it's being actively engaged in good deeds. It was a very helpful talk for me and motivated me to make good use of this week.
Znam da moz(h)emo imati strpljiv i da Bog c(h)e nas blagosloviti kad mi smo pravedni. Volim vas i sretna sam da ste dobri. Nadam se da slus(h)am od vas ovaj tjedin!

Love, Sestra Laws

Apr. 13, 2010

Kako ste??
Ja sam dobro!
I was so happy to hear so much from everybody - 3 e-mails from Michael because he usually writes tomorrow, so I got this weeks and last weeks! and I heard from Amelia, too, which was the first time in a tisuc(h)e! I'm kidding you! Oh, and that means century...
All my precious nieces and nephew (soon to be nephews) sound wonderful. I realized today that Austin will be 10 years old when I get back. 10 years old!!! I couldn't believe it.
And I love hearing about your weather, how nice it is and being outside in the sun and loving it, because somehow the weather here has not found time to cooperate. It was snowing this morning when we walked to the temple. Like, really snowing. I believe I was told when I was dropped off that at least Provo weather would be better than Idaho Falls weather, and that has not happened.
LUCKILY, ili sretno, I am LEAVING IN LESS THAN A WEEK!!! I can't believe it! I'm so excited and excited and excited! And uzbud(j)en. Which means excited. I got my travel plans on Thursday. I am flying from Salt Lake City at 8:04 Monday morning, to Chicago, to Frankfurt Germany! Where I have a 6-hour layover. and then straight into Zagreb Croatia! Not even going to Slovenia, just hitting the pavement. I'll get there at approx 1:50 in the afternoon on the 20th. I am flying Lufthansa airlines the whole way.
Thanks for the duffel bag, it's awesome! And I'm pretty sure I'm gonna need it.
I got the package and the skirt and everything is going to work out wonderfully, thank you mother!
This morning we went to the temple for the last time, that was pretty sad, but really good. I really love the temple.
I've seen an elder here that I think is from Idaho Falls, but I can't remember his name and haven't talked to him at all. Is there anyone that we know reporting soon? From Santa Clara, I mean. Or wherever, I guess.
Anyway, I've been getting into scripture study a lot lately and I really really like D&C 34:5-6 and my new favorite scripture is Alma 26:22, I have read it a ton and get something new from it every time. It's awesome.
Can't think of anything else to write,
love you!
Sister Laws

Apr. 06, 2010

Hi family!
This week was ODLIC(H)NO!   aka AWESOME.

We had awful freezing cold weather and long hours in the classroom.

I forgot to get my hep b shots on Friday, so they are rescheduled for this Thursday, and I had a less-than wonderful time teaching the first lesson for the second time. No, actuallly that wasn't too bad. I lost my proactiv, and will be teaching the second lesson in Croatian this week, but my brain seems to be missing. Lol, all of that happened, but really the week was great.

Conference was wonderful, it was strange not being at home in pajamas eating too much candy. We all went into the gym, in missionary attire, where we have all our devotionals and firesides, and sat watching conference on big screens. It was a great great conference. It was all about families and protecting the families and being responsible for children, helping them learn and grow, and being a good example to them, and families families families. C(h)itaj ga! Read it! when it comes out in the Ensign. I'm putting the "h" in paranthesees because there's an accent about the c which makes it a "ch" sound.

We got all of Saturday and Sunday off, no meetings, well a fireside Sunday night, but otherwise no meetings, no classtime, no assignments except to practice when you could. My companion and me took a few naps and it was good, but by Sunday night I was ready to get back to work and sick of sitting around.

Oh, just remembered: Mom, my skirts are the same length front and back.
What else? Nothing much, I guess, I do the same things every day.
But I am leaving the MTC in two weeks. That's bizarre-o! I'm excited and nervous, of course, but mostly excited because I'll finally get to hear and talk in Croatian a ton more. That's been the only hard part about being here without anybody else going to my mission, not being able to speak. I feel like my vocabulary is sorely lacking in words other than gospel/lesson words. So I'm a bit nervous, too.

I am so happy and love that Olivia said that I couldn't come visit because I was on a mission, instead of asking where I was. She's so cute! And Jolie is looking a little more grown up from those pictures you sent, Kelsey. They are adorable.
We wanted to decorate eggs for Easter, and talked about taking markers with us and getting hard-boiled eggs, but on Sundays they only serve cereal for breakfast, and we forgot to take markers anyway. But it could have been a good idea.
And I got the package from Mom, thank you! The Easter treats were good and it's fun to get mail.

Since last e-mailing you Sister Bullington and Sister Rogers have talked to their family. I had no idea that missionaries called home so much. Soon enough I will be calling from the airport and then calling on Mother's Day. It's weird to have holidays here in the field, because I'm just not thinking about them.

I'm glad Mom and Dad got to visit St. George and on the way other family. I want St. George weather and I just hope Croatia has already warmed up.
I think that's very creepy that Jesse looks like she has an alien in her belly. And I'm surprised the thing hasn't come out yet. I've decided that since we don't know Baby's name, I'm calling him "Jawbone." I don't remember how I came up with that, but I think it's funny. Tell Jawbone "hi" for me.

Sister Rogers is a good new companion, it's fun to talk and hear about St. George again.

Tako... ne mislim da bih trebala rec(h)i. Nema veze.
Hope you have predivno weeks and that everyone is happy and healthy!

Volim vas!
Sestra Laws.

Z(h)elim da bih mogla misliti.