Dear Family,
I'M STAYING IN ZADAR!! WOOHOO!! And I'll be staying with my same companion, Sister Dillender (this will be my third transfer with her) Yay! There was a while where I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay in Zadar another transfer, (I've already been here 8 months) but right before we got the calls I was FOR SURE wanting to stay and I'm so glad that I am! Yay! So by the end of this transfer I will have served ten months of my mission here. That's a pretty long time. And so it will probably, very most likely, be my last transfer here. So I better enjoy it! And I will. Other news, we're getting a greenie in the city and also two other elders, so we'll have four elders in Zadar again. Which means a bigger district. Oh! And it means that there are better piano players now! Two of the elders coming know how to play the piano so I won't have to in sacrament meeting anymore! (probably) That's pretty exciting to me, not because I haven't enjoyed it or I don't get along alright, but because then I don't have to worry about practicing and picking hymns, and wondering "did we just sing this hymn last week??" (There are 68 hymns in our hymnbook, but that includes Christmas, sacrament, and some really weird ones that we never hear in English but that were translated into Croatian, so there's only so much to work with!) It's been fun, but I'm happy to pass on the torch.
In other news...I felt like this week was very very Croatian! That was fun. Mostly because of what we were eating. We serve at a kitchen for old people, as I've already said, and we ate there twice this week, one time was sarma (really good) another time spaghetti. Sarma is like stuffed peppers, but instead of pepper it's sour cabbage leaves. My companion calls them little brains. And then we ate at a member's house (impromptu, they live pretty close to us and saw us walking home and invited us in.) The mom pulled a pig leg out of the fridge and cut slices off of it right in front of us! and threw them in a pan on the stove, it tasted like bacon! Which is a little bit funny because they don't really do bacon here, so that was the first time that I've had something that tasted like bacon. We ate it with bread. And she had us try a homemade jam that her parents made, from blackberries and plums. That was really good. And then also we tried some homemade tea from apples. Which, I don't really like tea. But for tea it was good.
We ate at another member's house this week, the "first course" was garbonzo beans, and she said it was a traditional Croatian dish, I don't know what she did to the beans because it was really just beans, which was good. The elders ate theirs really fast though, so I felt like I had to eat mine fast, so I ended up eating it really fast. haha. then sarma, her recipe for it is really good. I hope I can maybe get it from her or something BUT we've heard that America doesn't have sour cabbage leaves. Just sauerkraut, so I don't know what I would be able to do with that. And with the sarma came these meat thingies. With a lot of fat. That me and Sister Dillender don't like. So one of the Elders ate them for us. And also this time, there were some things that we're pretty sure was pig skin. GROSS! the same elder ate those for us, too. phew! and we polished off the meal with palačinke, which is crepes, with chocolate inside. By that time I was so full that I could barely eat anything. All of us were. That member takes really good care of us :D Oh! And on Monday she also brought štrukle to family home evening, which is another classic Croatian thing. She boiled them. I thought it would be disgusting, because it's like a pastry thing and she boiled them! But they were really good. They had cheese inside.
And then on Saturday we went to one of our english students houses and she fed us some very Croatian things, too! A dessert thing, that was made out of poppies. Which was a new word for us. Mak, in Croatian. If I remember right, haha. It was kinda bland and dry, but alright. Not gross like I thought it looked like. And then we had some yummy cheese/egg/sauce circle thingies. It's hard to describe, because the outer thing is something that I'm pretty sure we don't have in America. But I guess a really thin type of.. pastry, maybe. But thin, so it gets crunchy in the oven. And she spread cheese, egg, and sour cream on them, rolled them up, cut them into pieces, turned them on their sides, threw them on a cookie sheet and baked them! Really good. And she gave us fresh lemonade and homemade pudding, and actually she said that everything was homemade. Unfortunately we didn't know she was feeding us lunch, so we had already eaten lunch! So our stomachs didn't have a lot of space. That was too bad. Oh, and she also gave us tea. It tasted more herbal, kind of like noni tea a teensy tiny bit.
My descriptions are not so good. And THEN we had an activity Saturday night! So now that I'm writing it all out we really DID have a Croatian week! I didn't eat a lot at the activity, because my stomach was tired of eating so much! But I tried a few things. And from all the Croatian things I tried this week I like a lot of them. So I will try to get recipes and share when I get home! That will be really fun!
That was basically all the exciting things this week! Food food food. I played a lot of ping pong, after family home evening, during the activity. That was fun. One little boy that I played with (his dad's a member, but he's not)(but he practically is a member) he's eleven years old, and if we had been keeping score he probably would have beat me. He was really good.
Otherwise this week was pretty slow. It's funny, because we were actually pretty busy. But I think waiting for the end of the transfer really dragged out the week. BUT I officially only have 6 months left (sometime this week) so that actually means that time is going by really fast. This is kinda funny, but sometimes when I construct complicated English sentences, I think about how I don't have any idea how that would be in Croatian (like, I know, but I would have to simplify it first and then say it and then lalala) and I'm always amazed that I know English so well. And I especially think, I'm really glad I know English as a first language instead of some other language. It's just amazing that we can know any language so well. And I think about all the people we know learning English and how they'll probably never be able to say some of the things we do, because it's just really hard to learn a language! (Don't worry, Croatian is still going well.) It's just interesting to think about. And now I'll probably get letters from you all saying that my english is actually really bad right now. Whenever I write on Mondays English still comes really naturally and I probably won't even lose it at all, but I know that I probably say some things kinda strange. Maybe not.
That's all I have from my end! Oh just kidding. I just remembered. I read Ezra this week, from the old testament, and it was SO good! It's all about the Jews returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple, and how happy they are to have a temple again, and how they sacrifice for it, and it reminded me a lot of the stories we hear from church history about the early-day temples, and it's been really fun. The temple rocks socks! And I hope comparing the temple with socks isn't sacrilegious in any way.
So! Congratulations to Alyssa (Amelia's friend)! haven't they been trying to have a baby a really long time? How come I haven't heard about this sooner? That's really great! And I'm glad to hear that grandma is home again and feeling better! I hope visiting the parents has been fun for Jesse! And that everything works out for Amelia and Brent moving somewhere?? well, it will for sure work out, but I hope it works out PERFECTLY. And everything with the baby, too. I read mom's e-mail, and she was like, Amelia's due date is March 23rd, and I thought, yeah, I knew it was the end of March, and that's cool that mom is already planning on visiting... and then I read Amelia's email and she said that that is IN 3 WEEKS!!! And I realized that TOMORROW is MARCH and that time is blowing by! I can't believe that Amelia is already going to have another baby in 3 weeks! I feel like that was something that I kept looking at as really far away. That's really crazy.
OK! It was great to hear from everybody this week and I enjoy keeping up on your lives! Love you tons!
Sister Laws
oh yeah!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!
I knew I would forget, just because I "remembered" before! I hope it's great. It's still a week away almost, but this is the last chance I have to send birthday wishes! HAVE A GREAT DAY!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
February 21, 2011
Dear Family,
As some of you mentioned I hit my one-year-on-a-mission mark! I meant to mention it last week and I forgot. It's pretty crazy. It doesn't seem like a year. In honor of this, however, I did not get to burn any ties (the Elders wouldn't give any of theirs up) and I didn't eat any candy or cake or even do anything special. But I did read "a year ago today" in my journal, meaning I read the journal entry from my first day in the MTC. It said::: "SOO much stuff has happened. I don't have any time to write about it. Goodnight." hahaha, so that was funny. Of course, I did write some stuff the next day for that day. Which I also read, so that was fun. I've actually been reading every day in my journal for "a year ago today" (when I remember) and I'm adding in things that I didn't write down and still remember. Which has been good. Even though I don't have a lot of time (or energy or desire) to write in my journal all the time. Which is what is required if I wanted to write down everything that I did. BUT! I can tell you all what I did on the 17th.
6:00 alarm went off
6:10 got out of bed and got ready
6:15-6:45 played frisbee, and came home and got ready
8:00-11:00 personal, companionship and language study
11:00 went contacting -- we actually talked to quite a few cool people that morning. A lady who heard our accent and tried speaking to us in German for 5 minutes (Sister Dillender knows a little bit of German) and then Sister Dillender asked the lady's grandson "do you speak Croatian?" and the lady was like, "you speak Croatian!?!?" We didn't think our accent was that bad or anything. We think the lady was just really confused. Another lady we were walking with/talking to, and SHE asked US "Do you have a pamphlet or something I can read?" And we said, Oh yes. Do not worry. That is our sole purpose here. Just kidding, we didn't say that. But we said yes, of course. And then a younger guy with his daughter, she was probably younger than one and she had the cutest confused look on her face every time she looked at us or we looked at her. And then this one lady was really nice and she said she loves seeing us out, and how we're dressed nice and talking to people in a foreign language. That was really nice.
1:00-2:00 had lunch
2:00 weekly planning, we just plan for the next week, talk about investigators, talk about where we'll tract or where we'll go, what we'll teach, language classes, etc.
5:00 dinner
6:00 lesson at the church with two investigators (sisters)(our young women)(the ones that are investigators still just because they can't get baptized) and a new member (she was visiting from Rijeka, another city). We taught the Plan of Salvation.
7:00 institute
9:00 home
10:30 in bed
So it was a pretty generic day! Nothing that exciting. And I didn't even think about taking any pictures for it :( BUT I have been a missionary now for a year. So that's kinda cool.
Some of the highlights from this week: Ivana (the member who was visiting from Rijeka and just got baptized last week) was really great and we had a couple of new-member lessons with her this week. It was really cool to hear about how she quit smoking (she just prayed every time she got the urge to smoke) and how she met the missionaries and her whole story. She is really great, she's already talking about wanting to go on a mission and she said she was reading the Book of Mormon on the bus so that people would see it and ask her about it. It was really fun to see some new-member energy! She was really cute (20-years-old).
We got a REFERRAL from the INTERNET/WEB-SITE. That never happens here, someone asking US to bring THEM a Book of Mormon? No way! She was a younger girl, probably 20s, but she wasn't interested in learning the lessons or anything. But she has a Book of Mormon, and that works miracles, so it's still really cool.
It rained all day on Wednesday, and it was also pretty windy, so we couldn't even carry umbrellas, and I forgot to wear my rain coat (I was wearing my other coat) so it was a good thing it wasn't really hard rain, because I got kinda wet without it coming down really hard.
We went over to one of the old people's house that we carry lunches to, a nice couple (90 and 92 years-old or something close to that) and they gave us tea (pomegranate or something like that) and cookies with it and THEN we were admiring a picture on their wall, the husband was a sailor and went all over the world and brought it back from Korea, and he went and brought out two more paintings also from Korea with a similar look to them, and he GAVE them to us! It was so nice and awesome. And they are both really pretty and cool. It made my day. And they told us about where they're from and their family and stuff, and they asked us what year we were born in and they both laughed when we said we were born in the 80s. They thought it was the funniest thing ever.
Yesterday Sister Dillender gave a talk in church, it was really good, on the sacrament. The first thing she did was point to the sacrament table, and we all looked, and then she explained that first we look at her face, then her arm, then the table. And it's the same with the sacrament, because it points us towards the atonement of Jesus Christ -- I thought that was really cool. And SO TRUE! Yay for the atonement! Oh and one of our English students came to church, too, that was really cool. She's not an investigator technically, but hopefully she felt the spirit and BECOMES an investigator! Yay!
So THAT was my week! It was a really good week and it felt very missionary-like. It was great. This next week is the last week in the transfer, so on Monday I'll be able to tell you all if I'm staying in Zadar or moving to Zagreb this transfer. I can't decide which one I'd prefer, I've been here for 8 months!! That's like, a whole school year. It would be really weird to be in a new place, but it's gotta happen sometime! I can't expect to be in Zadar the rest of my mission (that would be 14 months total by the end of it :)) So we'll see. God knows best.
No exciting plans or anything for this upcoming week, so I don't have anything more to write! LOVE YOU ALL!
Sister Laws
As some of you mentioned I hit my one-year-on-a-mission mark! I meant to mention it last week and I forgot. It's pretty crazy. It doesn't seem like a year. In honor of this, however, I did not get to burn any ties (the Elders wouldn't give any of theirs up) and I didn't eat any candy or cake or even do anything special. But I did read "a year ago today" in my journal, meaning I read the journal entry from my first day in the MTC. It said::: "SOO much stuff has happened. I don't have any time to write about it. Goodnight." hahaha, so that was funny. Of course, I did write some stuff the next day for that day. Which I also read, so that was fun. I've actually been reading every day in my journal for "a year ago today" (when I remember) and I'm adding in things that I didn't write down and still remember. Which has been good. Even though I don't have a lot of time (or energy or desire) to write in my journal all the time. Which is what is required if I wanted to write down everything that I did. BUT! I can tell you all what I did on the 17th.
6:00 alarm went off
6:10 got out of bed and got ready
6:15-6:45 played frisbee, and came home and got ready
8:00-11:00 personal, companionship and language study
11:00 went contacting -- we actually talked to quite a few cool people that morning. A lady who heard our accent and tried speaking to us in German for 5 minutes (Sister Dillender knows a little bit of German) and then Sister Dillender asked the lady's grandson "do you speak Croatian?" and the lady was like, "you speak Croatian!?!?" We didn't think our accent was that bad or anything. We think the lady was just really confused. Another lady we were walking with/talking to, and SHE asked US "Do you have a pamphlet or something I can read?" And we said, Oh yes. Do not worry. That is our sole purpose here. Just kidding, we didn't say that. But we said yes, of course. And then a younger guy with his daughter, she was probably younger than one and she had the cutest confused look on her face every time she looked at us or we looked at her. And then this one lady was really nice and she said she loves seeing us out, and how we're dressed nice and talking to people in a foreign language. That was really nice.
1:00-2:00 had lunch
2:00 weekly planning, we just plan for the next week, talk about investigators, talk about where we'll tract or where we'll go, what we'll teach, language classes, etc.
5:00 dinner
6:00 lesson at the church with two investigators (sisters)(our young women)(the ones that are investigators still just because they can't get baptized) and a new member (she was visiting from Rijeka, another city). We taught the Plan of Salvation.
7:00 institute
9:00 home
10:30 in bed
So it was a pretty generic day! Nothing that exciting. And I didn't even think about taking any pictures for it :( BUT I have been a missionary now for a year. So that's kinda cool.
Some of the highlights from this week: Ivana (the member who was visiting from Rijeka and just got baptized last week) was really great and we had a couple of new-member lessons with her this week. It was really cool to hear about how she quit smoking (she just prayed every time she got the urge to smoke) and how she met the missionaries and her whole story. She is really great, she's already talking about wanting to go on a mission and she said she was reading the Book of Mormon on the bus so that people would see it and ask her about it. It was really fun to see some new-member energy! She was really cute (20-years-old).
We got a REFERRAL from the INTERNET/WEB-SITE. That never happens here, someone asking US to bring THEM a Book of Mormon? No way! She was a younger girl, probably 20s, but she wasn't interested in learning the lessons or anything. But she has a Book of Mormon, and that works miracles, so it's still really cool.
It rained all day on Wednesday, and it was also pretty windy, so we couldn't even carry umbrellas, and I forgot to wear my rain coat (I was wearing my other coat) so it was a good thing it wasn't really hard rain, because I got kinda wet without it coming down really hard.
We went over to one of the old people's house that we carry lunches to, a nice couple (90 and 92 years-old or something close to that) and they gave us tea (pomegranate or something like that) and cookies with it and THEN we were admiring a picture on their wall, the husband was a sailor and went all over the world and brought it back from Korea, and he went and brought out two more paintings also from Korea with a similar look to them, and he GAVE them to us! It was so nice and awesome. And they are both really pretty and cool. It made my day. And they told us about where they're from and their family and stuff, and they asked us what year we were born in and they both laughed when we said we were born in the 80s. They thought it was the funniest thing ever.
Yesterday Sister Dillender gave a talk in church, it was really good, on the sacrament. The first thing she did was point to the sacrament table, and we all looked, and then she explained that first we look at her face, then her arm, then the table. And it's the same with the sacrament, because it points us towards the atonement of Jesus Christ -- I thought that was really cool. And SO TRUE! Yay for the atonement! Oh and one of our English students came to church, too, that was really cool. She's not an investigator technically, but hopefully she felt the spirit and BECOMES an investigator! Yay!
So THAT was my week! It was a really good week and it felt very missionary-like. It was great. This next week is the last week in the transfer, so on Monday I'll be able to tell you all if I'm staying in Zadar or moving to Zagreb this transfer. I can't decide which one I'd prefer, I've been here for 8 months!! That's like, a whole school year. It would be really weird to be in a new place, but it's gotta happen sometime! I can't expect to be in Zadar the rest of my mission (that would be 14 months total by the end of it :)) So we'll see. God knows best.
No exciting plans or anything for this upcoming week, so I don't have anything more to write! LOVE YOU ALL!
Sister Laws
Monday, February 14, 2011
February 14, 2007
HELLO FAMILY!
This week has been so long and so jam-packed full of stuff, and so AWESOME. I'm not sure where to start.
I'm sorry to hear that Grandma may or may not choose to live longer. That's kind of a weird concept, but I've been spending more time around old people (because we take lunches to them twice a week) and so I have a little more insight into the whole idea of old people, and so, basically... that's too bad. I can't remember what I was going to say here. I'd like to be able to send her something, so I wouldn't mind having an address or something to work with, for that. I think I'll just e-mail something to Mom and she can pass it on. I was going to ask last week, but I forgot that all of you can hear from each other whenever you want, so I thought "Kelsey asked already, so I'm sure it will be in Mom's e-mail next week to everybody." But of course, you can pass that along the very next day! That's kinda funny. Um, I may have a home address, though, now that I'm thinking about it a little more. So we'll see. I'd guess that if I sent something there it would get to her. Oh, and Mom, I told President Hill in my e-mail this week about it, so you don't need to worry about contacting him.
It seems like some of you are in a period of transition (waiting for bosses to make up their minds, or waiting for schools to make up their minds, waiting for babies to be born etc) so I hope everything works out. I would say that I'm praying for that, but I have the worst memory when it comes to praying for things. I cannot make promises, but I will try to remember you all in my prayers. And I know that God will lead us in the right paths! He's pretty good that way.
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! I keep forgetting to say so, because I was never a big one for the holiday at home and here it's not a big deal at all. They have bears and hearts and things in grocery stores, but it's nothing like the mass hysteria of red and pink and proposals and diamonds that goes on in America. And yes, Valentine was a Catholic something, Saint or whatever, but the Croats haven't picked up on that holiday especially. No traditions or anything. Maybe we'll see a few more people going to mass than usual, but other than that nothing.
It was great to hear from you all! I actually did hear from every single one of you this week, a couple of you more than once. I love hearing stories and quirks about your kids, and I like hearing even the smallest tidbits about your lives (that means you, Michael, I even enjoying hearing that nothing happened in your week) and I love to just hear how you're doing. I love my family, and that is something great in and of itself. I won't get sentimental, though.
Lets see... how long can I drag this e-mail on without saying anything about what you're probably all wondering about?? Ok, I give in. This is how my last week went!!
Lets start at Tuesday! We woke up early early to catch a bus to Zagreb, where the zone leaders picked us up and drove us to Slovenia. Luckily I did not forget my passport, or it would all have been for nothing. One other elder was supposed to come with us and he DID forget his passport, and the only thing he could do was turn around and get on a bus back to his city. That would suck. We were invited just for a change-up, they invite other missionaries occasionally to these meetings to get different insight. And I would say, especially sisters, since we seem to have a different perspective on everything! Just kidding. It was a really good meeting. Sister Hill cooked for us, really yummy "Thai" food, (rice and stuff) and it was really good weather. It was fun to meet a couple of Slovene elders that otherwise we would never have met. Afterwards President Hill showed us a movie called the Quest, which was really corny and fun. So we didn't get back to Zagreb until about nine at night. We slept at the sisters' apartment of course. It's fun to see them. ((I've been to a new country now!!! Yay!))
Wednesday, we had a good exchange. It was fun to work with Sister Nelson, my old companion and I enjoyed missionary work in Zagreb! I was a little surprised, because I didn't expect to like for example, contacting on trams. But I did!! I really liked it. It's such an easy way to start a conversation with somebody you don't know. It's so natural when you're sitting next to them on a tram to start talking to them about something and it invariably leads to "what are you doing here, you have quite a weird accent!" just kidding, they didn't say that. It helped me to be able to look forward to going to Zagreb (because I will probably serve there before the end of my mission), already knowing that I like it. Also, at the end of the day we caught a little bus to our tram stop and a police officer checked us for tickets! And everyone had one except for me, because I didn't know better and Sis Nelson forgot to buy me one (because they have bus passes so they don't have to buy tickets), and actually Sister Dillender's ticket had expired! So he pulled us off and was talking to us and said he had to fine us 200 kuna! each! And then he let us off with a warning!!! It was a miracle. Sister Dillender said she has never seen the police officers let anyone get off without being ticketed. That was our miracle this week.
Thursday, zone conference was great, in Zagreb of course still. It was good to see everyone. We had that meeting and then afterwards there was a baptism! Two 9-year-old boys, their Mom is a recent convert, and so they got baptized and all the missionaries got to go to it. Actually on Wednesday Sister Nelson and I taught them a little lesson, so that was fun because then I actually knew who they were when I watched the baptism. They were really cute and the talks were SO GOOD! Two ladies gave talks for the program, one of them used a bucket of water and towels, she started with a blue towel and said that as we sin we have a dark burden that we sometimes don't know is there, and then we are baptized and we leave behind the burden in the waters of baptism, and then she pulled out a white towel, and talked about how then we're clean and white and stuff, and the two boys both like, jumped when she pulled out the white towel and after her talk they jumped up to look in the bucket, but she covered it -- it was a really good talk and I think the boys really understood the concept behind it. The second talk was on the Holy Ghost and the lady used radios to talk about being in-tune to the Spirit, the best part of that one was, that she said there are things that we all hear through prophets and church leaders, but when God wants to talk to us personally we have headphones! I thought that was really clever. It was the first baptism that I've seen on my mission so far, and it was really nice. We went home on the bus that night and it was so nice to be in Zadar again! And on my own bed!
Friday was good, Saturday was good. Sunday was nice, we actually got let in tracting by a really cute little family (couple and 2-year-old son) so that was a good start off to this week! Today we don't have any special plans or anything.
I am reading in the Book of Mormon at the end of 2 Nephi. Those are some GREAT chapters! I really liked in 2 Nephi 26:13, 24-28, 33 how often it says that God doesn't deny anyone who comes unto Him, and that He does everything that's the best for his children, they were really great verses. And then I read 2 Nephi 28, which talks about these last days (those prophecies are absolutely being fulfilled today! it's amazing to read things and be able to say, I definitely know people who are this way) and says "woe unto him who says he has enough of God's words and needs no more" a couple times and how we receive things line upon line, precept upon precept. It is really REALLY good! I recommend reading it. And I've read some ensigns, I stole one from the Sisters in Zagreb that's more recent, and we didn't have it here in Zadar, and that's fun to read. I can't remember what month it was or anything. So GOOD STUFF!
OK! That is it! I will send a few pictures, and I LOVE YOU!
Sister Laws
The first one is my first moments in Slovenia! We were inbetween check-in thingy places. I don't know how to describe it, because I'm really hungry right now. The second one is the mission home, my mission president (he's talking to the Croatian zone leaders) it's the best picture of the mission home, I didn't take enough while I was there! One fun thing was we got to raid the supplies closet, and I snagged a Croatian Our Heritage while I was there, which I will treasure for the rest of my life :) We didn't get one before or anything. And the last one is of the flower mom sent! it finally bloomed! (While we were gone, of course) Just so you all know and remember, Mom sent me this flower at the beginning of December. It's the middle of February! It didn't really start to grow until maybe the beginning of January, I put it in the sun (even though the box says to avoid direct sunlight) and it sprung up! It's funny how it needed just one thing and then it was ok. And it's funny that through all of that we didn't kill it :)
Love you again! Have a great week!
Sister Laws
This week has been so long and so jam-packed full of stuff, and so AWESOME. I'm not sure where to start.
I'm sorry to hear that Grandma may or may not choose to live longer. That's kind of a weird concept, but I've been spending more time around old people (because we take lunches to them twice a week) and so I have a little more insight into the whole idea of old people, and so, basically... that's too bad. I can't remember what I was going to say here. I'd like to be able to send her something, so I wouldn't mind having an address or something to work with, for that. I think I'll just e-mail something to Mom and she can pass it on. I was going to ask last week, but I forgot that all of you can hear from each other whenever you want, so I thought "Kelsey asked already, so I'm sure it will be in Mom's e-mail next week to everybody." But of course, you can pass that along the very next day! That's kinda funny. Um, I may have a home address, though, now that I'm thinking about it a little more. So we'll see. I'd guess that if I sent something there it would get to her. Oh, and Mom, I told President Hill in my e-mail this week about it, so you don't need to worry about contacting him.
It seems like some of you are in a period of transition (waiting for bosses to make up their minds, or waiting for schools to make up their minds, waiting for babies to be born etc) so I hope everything works out. I would say that I'm praying for that, but I have the worst memory when it comes to praying for things. I cannot make promises, but I will try to remember you all in my prayers. And I know that God will lead us in the right paths! He's pretty good that way.
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! I keep forgetting to say so, because I was never a big one for the holiday at home and here it's not a big deal at all. They have bears and hearts and things in grocery stores, but it's nothing like the mass hysteria of red and pink and proposals and diamonds that goes on in America. And yes, Valentine was a Catholic something, Saint or whatever, but the Croats haven't picked up on that holiday especially. No traditions or anything. Maybe we'll see a few more people going to mass than usual, but other than that nothing.
It was great to hear from you all! I actually did hear from every single one of you this week, a couple of you more than once. I love hearing stories and quirks about your kids, and I like hearing even the smallest tidbits about your lives (that means you, Michael, I even enjoying hearing that nothing happened in your week) and I love to just hear how you're doing. I love my family, and that is something great in and of itself. I won't get sentimental, though.
Lets see... how long can I drag this e-mail on without saying anything about what you're probably all wondering about?? Ok, I give in. This is how my last week went!!
Lets start at Tuesday! We woke up early early to catch a bus to Zagreb, where the zone leaders picked us up and drove us to Slovenia. Luckily I did not forget my passport, or it would all have been for nothing. One other elder was supposed to come with us and he DID forget his passport, and the only thing he could do was turn around and get on a bus back to his city. That would suck. We were invited just for a change-up, they invite other missionaries occasionally to these meetings to get different insight. And I would say, especially sisters, since we seem to have a different perspective on everything! Just kidding. It was a really good meeting. Sister Hill cooked for us, really yummy "Thai" food, (rice and stuff) and it was really good weather. It was fun to meet a couple of Slovene elders that otherwise we would never have met. Afterwards President Hill showed us a movie called the Quest, which was really corny and fun. So we didn't get back to Zagreb until about nine at night. We slept at the sisters' apartment of course. It's fun to see them. ((I've been to a new country now!!! Yay!))
Wednesday, we had a good exchange. It was fun to work with Sister Nelson, my old companion and I enjoyed missionary work in Zagreb! I was a little surprised, because I didn't expect to like for example, contacting on trams. But I did!! I really liked it. It's such an easy way to start a conversation with somebody you don't know. It's so natural when you're sitting next to them on a tram to start talking to them about something and it invariably leads to "what are you doing here, you have quite a weird accent!" just kidding, they didn't say that. It helped me to be able to look forward to going to Zagreb (because I will probably serve there before the end of my mission), already knowing that I like it. Also, at the end of the day we caught a little bus to our tram stop and a police officer checked us for tickets! And everyone had one except for me, because I didn't know better and Sis Nelson forgot to buy me one (because they have bus passes so they don't have to buy tickets), and actually Sister Dillender's ticket had expired! So he pulled us off and was talking to us and said he had to fine us 200 kuna! each! And then he let us off with a warning!!! It was a miracle. Sister Dillender said she has never seen the police officers let anyone get off without being ticketed. That was our miracle this week.
Thursday, zone conference was great, in Zagreb of course still. It was good to see everyone. We had that meeting and then afterwards there was a baptism! Two 9-year-old boys, their Mom is a recent convert, and so they got baptized and all the missionaries got to go to it. Actually on Wednesday Sister Nelson and I taught them a little lesson, so that was fun because then I actually knew who they were when I watched the baptism. They were really cute and the talks were SO GOOD! Two ladies gave talks for the program, one of them used a bucket of water and towels, she started with a blue towel and said that as we sin we have a dark burden that we sometimes don't know is there, and then we are baptized and we leave behind the burden in the waters of baptism, and then she pulled out a white towel, and talked about how then we're clean and white and stuff, and the two boys both like, jumped when she pulled out the white towel and after her talk they jumped up to look in the bucket, but she covered it -- it was a really good talk and I think the boys really understood the concept behind it. The second talk was on the Holy Ghost and the lady used radios to talk about being in-tune to the Spirit, the best part of that one was, that she said there are things that we all hear through prophets and church leaders, but when God wants to talk to us personally we have headphones! I thought that was really clever. It was the first baptism that I've seen on my mission so far, and it was really nice. We went home on the bus that night and it was so nice to be in Zadar again! And on my own bed!
Friday was good, Saturday was good. Sunday was nice, we actually got let in tracting by a really cute little family (couple and 2-year-old son) so that was a good start off to this week! Today we don't have any special plans or anything.
I am reading in the Book of Mormon at the end of 2 Nephi. Those are some GREAT chapters! I really liked in 2 Nephi 26:13, 24-28, 33 how often it says that God doesn't deny anyone who comes unto Him, and that He does everything that's the best for his children, they were really great verses. And then I read 2 Nephi 28, which talks about these last days (those prophecies are absolutely being fulfilled today! it's amazing to read things and be able to say, I definitely know people who are this way) and says "woe unto him who says he has enough of God's words and needs no more" a couple times and how we receive things line upon line, precept upon precept. It is really REALLY good! I recommend reading it. And I've read some ensigns, I stole one from the Sisters in Zagreb that's more recent, and we didn't have it here in Zadar, and that's fun to read. I can't remember what month it was or anything. So GOOD STUFF!
OK! That is it! I will send a few pictures, and I LOVE YOU!
Sister Laws
The first one is my first moments in Slovenia! We were inbetween check-in thingy places. I don't know how to describe it, because I'm really hungry right now. The second one is the mission home, my mission president (he's talking to the Croatian zone leaders) it's the best picture of the mission home, I didn't take enough while I was there! One fun thing was we got to raid the supplies closet, and I snagged a Croatian Our Heritage while I was there, which I will treasure for the rest of my life :) We didn't get one before or anything. And the last one is of the flower mom sent! it finally bloomed! (While we were gone, of course) Just so you all know and remember, Mom sent me this flower at the beginning of December. It's the middle of February! It didn't really start to grow until maybe the beginning of January, I put it in the sun (even though the box says to avoid direct sunlight) and it sprung up! It's funny how it needed just one thing and then it was ok. And it's funny that through all of that we didn't kill it :)
Love you again! Have a great week!
Sister Laws
Monday, February 7, 2011
February 07, 2011
Hi family!
It was great to hear from you all, as always!
Last MOnday was GREAT! We went to Sibenik, like I said we would, and it was REALLY beautiful that day. And we had more time then the last time I was there, so we got to see all 3 castles and it was really fun. I took lots of pictures, so I'll send a couple. We saw a horse there, too! It just appeared. I think it's the first horse I've seen in Croatia. Maybe the second. I don't know. It was a very fat horse. And there was a little park with a teeter-totter. That was really fun. It's been a long time since I've teetered or tottered, and I recommend it.
Tuesday President Hill and Sister Hill came down to Zadar for a day of interviews! They talked to a lot of the members and all the missionaries, and Sister Hill came out with me and Sister Dillender contacting. It was really fun, because she's been learning Croatian and so she could start us off with a "hi we're missionaries here" and then we would jump in with something. And she knows Russian, so her Croatian really isn't bad at all, it's mostly trying to understand people. And that's the problem we all face at the beginning of our missions! So it's no wonder. Anyway, it was great to have them in town, as always.
Wednesday, Not a lot interesting things happened. We were talking to one man who was saying "Buddha came 700 years before Christ, and then Christ came, and then Mohammad came 600 years AD, so..." and he was walking away like he had made a fantastic point, and we were like, "what's your point??" It's interesting how many people we meet who don't know anything about other religions, it's almost like, because Catholicism doesn't play a big part in their life even when they're Catholic, that they have no interest in any religious things at all. But that's probably a generalization. Most people we meet lately seem to be saying, "it's all the same" like, "it doesn't matter if you're Islamic or Christian, if you believe in God" Or they say "they just have a different name for the same person, to them it's Allah, and to us it's God." It's SO interesting to see the ways that Satan works among people! It's not the same! It's completely different! It's totally a fulfillment of the prophecy in 2 Nephi (? or Jacob??) that says "and some Satan will lull away into a carnal security, and they'll say All is Well in Zion" -- Oh well, that was a very interesting rant right there.
Thursday, the most exciting thing was that we played ping pong at institute. Institute here isn't like at home, it's just for all the members of the branch, there's no age limit or anything. Anyway, we pulled out the ping pong table afterwards and played a little bit. It's fun to play ping pong!
Friday, nothing very interesting.
Saturday, was SUCH GOOD WEATHER! Well, actually almost the whole week has been good weather, always sunny, and mostly not too cold. This morning there was a ton of fog, but it's mostly cleared up by now. And so on Saturday we ate lunch out on our balcony in the sun! It was really nice. And we asked a member about it yesterday, and she said that all of February will probably be like this. I'm pretty excited for that. I don't know why so many people complain about the weather here, when it's so beautiful in February!! We also payed rent on Saturday. That's always a little stressful because our landlord has a hard accent to understand. But we did it! Yay! Another month payed for. Oh, and our landlords are really great, we were having some sort of plumbing problem starting last Sunday or Saturday, whenever we showered the bathroom floor got flooded, and we told them about it on Wednesday and they came right down and fixed it, and then on Thursday for some reason we didn't have any hot water! And they came on Friday and fixed it. It's really nice that they're so prompt with these little problems and it's nice to have them just upstairs to tell them about it.
Sunday, we had good church meetings of course, and afterwards we thought, it's really nice weather, a Sunday, maybe there will be some people on a Sunday afternoon walk by the sea, so we went all the way there and there was a HORDE of people! Every single person who lives in Zadar Croatia was there talking a walk on a four-foot-across path! It was so crazy! I was like, I thought there might be a FEW people, not ALL people! We had to leave because it wasn't very conducive to contacting. And a ton of people were staring at us and a few called us jehovah's witnesses (they don't have the best reputation here) so we left pretty fast.
So that was my WHOLE week! You guys asked a few questions. Yes, I got my birthday package when President and Sister Hill came down. THANK YOU! Thanks Michael for the t-shirt, it's really funny and random. (there's a picture of two guys playing tetherball off the horn of a unicorn) And thanks for the cake and fun! I am SO looking forward to the cake, that's my favorite kind! (confetti cake) We haven't made it yet. And at the same time I got a package from Rebekah Sappington! That was really nice of her, she also sent a cake mix (chocolate with confetti frosting, YUM) and some goldfish! I forgot how much I like goldfish they were really tasty. I ate them pretty fast, they're very addicting. So that was fun.
As for my trip, we leave tomorrow morning, our bus is at 6, and it's going to be great! I just have to remember to take my passport. It's easy to forget it, because I keep thinking we're still in our mission so I don't need it, but we're actually going to be crossing over into European Union territory! (Slovenia) so I hope I remember. That would be pretty bad. We'll get to Ljubljana at about 11 or something. And then we'll head back to Zagreb after the meeting and get in at about 7 o'clock. So it should be great.
How is missionary work? good. Nothing exciting. No baptisms coming up here in Zadar. It's more of a marathon here, not really like a hundred mile dash or anything, so we've developed a lot of patience. Just kidding, about the patience thing. I doubt I have any more patience then I started off with. But we pray and fast and work and the days past by. REALLY FAST.
That totally reminded me, on Thursday when we were planning for this next week, I saw that Sunday was the 6th. And I thought, "oh no!!! I forgot to tell Mom happy birthday last Monday, I'll have to remember to tell her on Monday, and get her a good card, and send it right on Monday so it's not really really late and lalala" And I told Sister Dillender, It's my mom's birthday on Sunday and I forgot to tell her happy birthday. And then on Sunday I was talking to one of the Elders, because I was giving him our weekly numbers, and I was like, It's my mom's birthday today! just as a side note. And then I was like, "veljača... that means february! It's still FEBRUARY!" So I was completely convinced for three days that it was Mom's birthday! We must be in a heavy-duty time vortex or something, because I can't believe I thought that it was March! Time is a funny thing. So Mom, happy Birthday in a month from yesterday. I will probably forget to tell you again.
We don't really have any plans for today, so... Have a great week!
Love you all TONS!
Sister Laws
I almost forgot to send these!!
The first three are from Sibenik -- me with the horse, with a pretty view, the last view has Sister Dillender in the corner
And then one from our lunch on the balcony!
Love you!
It was great to hear from you all, as always!
Last MOnday was GREAT! We went to Sibenik, like I said we would, and it was REALLY beautiful that day. And we had more time then the last time I was there, so we got to see all 3 castles and it was really fun. I took lots of pictures, so I'll send a couple. We saw a horse there, too! It just appeared. I think it's the first horse I've seen in Croatia. Maybe the second. I don't know. It was a very fat horse. And there was a little park with a teeter-totter. That was really fun. It's been a long time since I've teetered or tottered, and I recommend it.
Tuesday President Hill and Sister Hill came down to Zadar for a day of interviews! They talked to a lot of the members and all the missionaries, and Sister Hill came out with me and Sister Dillender contacting. It was really fun, because she's been learning Croatian and so she could start us off with a "hi we're missionaries here" and then we would jump in with something. And she knows Russian, so her Croatian really isn't bad at all, it's mostly trying to understand people. And that's the problem we all face at the beginning of our missions! So it's no wonder. Anyway, it was great to have them in town, as always.
Wednesday, Not a lot interesting things happened. We were talking to one man who was saying "Buddha came 700 years before Christ, and then Christ came, and then Mohammad came 600 years AD, so..." and he was walking away like he had made a fantastic point, and we were like, "what's your point??" It's interesting how many people we meet who don't know anything about other religions, it's almost like, because Catholicism doesn't play a big part in their life even when they're Catholic, that they have no interest in any religious things at all. But that's probably a generalization. Most people we meet lately seem to be saying, "it's all the same" like, "it doesn't matter if you're Islamic or Christian, if you believe in God" Or they say "they just have a different name for the same person, to them it's Allah, and to us it's God." It's SO interesting to see the ways that Satan works among people! It's not the same! It's completely different! It's totally a fulfillment of the prophecy in 2 Nephi (? or Jacob??) that says "and some Satan will lull away into a carnal security, and they'll say All is Well in Zion" -- Oh well, that was a very interesting rant right there.
Thursday, the most exciting thing was that we played ping pong at institute. Institute here isn't like at home, it's just for all the members of the branch, there's no age limit or anything. Anyway, we pulled out the ping pong table afterwards and played a little bit. It's fun to play ping pong!
Friday, nothing very interesting.
Saturday, was SUCH GOOD WEATHER! Well, actually almost the whole week has been good weather, always sunny, and mostly not too cold. This morning there was a ton of fog, but it's mostly cleared up by now. And so on Saturday we ate lunch out on our balcony in the sun! It was really nice. And we asked a member about it yesterday, and she said that all of February will probably be like this. I'm pretty excited for that. I don't know why so many people complain about the weather here, when it's so beautiful in February!! We also payed rent on Saturday. That's always a little stressful because our landlord has a hard accent to understand. But we did it! Yay! Another month payed for. Oh, and our landlords are really great, we were having some sort of plumbing problem starting last Sunday or Saturday, whenever we showered the bathroom floor got flooded, and we told them about it on Wednesday and they came right down and fixed it, and then on Thursday for some reason we didn't have any hot water! And they came on Friday and fixed it. It's really nice that they're so prompt with these little problems and it's nice to have them just upstairs to tell them about it.
Sunday, we had good church meetings of course, and afterwards we thought, it's really nice weather, a Sunday, maybe there will be some people on a Sunday afternoon walk by the sea, so we went all the way there and there was a HORDE of people! Every single person who lives in Zadar Croatia was there talking a walk on a four-foot-across path! It was so crazy! I was like, I thought there might be a FEW people, not ALL people! We had to leave because it wasn't very conducive to contacting. And a ton of people were staring at us and a few called us jehovah's witnesses (they don't have the best reputation here) so we left pretty fast.
So that was my WHOLE week! You guys asked a few questions. Yes, I got my birthday package when President and Sister Hill came down. THANK YOU! Thanks Michael for the t-shirt, it's really funny and random. (there's a picture of two guys playing tetherball off the horn of a unicorn) And thanks for the cake and fun! I am SO looking forward to the cake, that's my favorite kind! (confetti cake) We haven't made it yet. And at the same time I got a package from Rebekah Sappington! That was really nice of her, she also sent a cake mix (chocolate with confetti frosting, YUM) and some goldfish! I forgot how much I like goldfish they were really tasty. I ate them pretty fast, they're very addicting. So that was fun.
As for my trip, we leave tomorrow morning, our bus is at 6, and it's going to be great! I just have to remember to take my passport. It's easy to forget it, because I keep thinking we're still in our mission so I don't need it, but we're actually going to be crossing over into European Union territory! (Slovenia) so I hope I remember. That would be pretty bad. We'll get to Ljubljana at about 11 or something. And then we'll head back to Zagreb after the meeting and get in at about 7 o'clock. So it should be great.
How is missionary work? good. Nothing exciting. No baptisms coming up here in Zadar. It's more of a marathon here, not really like a hundred mile dash or anything, so we've developed a lot of patience. Just kidding, about the patience thing. I doubt I have any more patience then I started off with. But we pray and fast and work and the days past by. REALLY FAST.
That totally reminded me, on Thursday when we were planning for this next week, I saw that Sunday was the 6th. And I thought, "oh no!!! I forgot to tell Mom happy birthday last Monday, I'll have to remember to tell her on Monday, and get her a good card, and send it right on Monday so it's not really really late and lalala" And I told Sister Dillender, It's my mom's birthday on Sunday and I forgot to tell her happy birthday. And then on Sunday I was talking to one of the Elders, because I was giving him our weekly numbers, and I was like, It's my mom's birthday today! just as a side note. And then I was like, "veljača... that means february! It's still FEBRUARY!" So I was completely convinced for three days that it was Mom's birthday! We must be in a heavy-duty time vortex or something, because I can't believe I thought that it was March! Time is a funny thing. So Mom, happy Birthday in a month from yesterday. I will probably forget to tell you again.
We don't really have any plans for today, so... Have a great week!
Love you all TONS!
Sister Laws
I almost forgot to send these!!
The first three are from Sibenik -- me with the horse, with a pretty view, the last view has Sister Dillender in the corner
And then one from our lunch on the balcony!
Love you!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
January 31, 2011
FAMILY!
I had a good week and a great Croatian birthday! The best part was, I will admit, the presents. I haven't gotten my package yet, I probably will tomorrow, but my companion spoiled me, and my district got me something, and they made a delicious birthday cake, and Elder Brown made his famous banana bread -- so what did I get?? I got a picture book that I keep looking at whenever we go to this one bookstore, it's got really cute pictures in it, and it's part of a series, so cute. And Sister Dillender got me a Croatian cook book! That just happened to come with a Croatian CD with Croatian music on it, and while a TON of the recipes look disgusting and have gross fish in it, I am looking forward to trying it out! You can always replace chicken for the fish, right? It's so fun to have things FROM Croatia ABOUT Croatia WITH Croatian inside! yay! And I got a few other things, too. President Hill called me to wish me a happy birthday and he said that he was considering calling Michael, too, because I complained to him that I hadn't gotten a birthday letter from my TWIN, but none of you said anything about him calling, so I'm guessing he didn't. Which is good. Don't worry, Michael e-mailed last MONDAY, so I read it today. Thank you, Michael, for writing. And thanks for spoiling what was in my birthday package, lol, just kidding. But I know I got a t-shirt now. So thanks! Like I said, I'll probably get it tomorrow. President Hill is coming down to have a baptismal interview with one of the Elders' investigators (that's exciting!) and so he'll bring our mail.
AND this is the most exciting news I've had in a while!!! President Hill said that me and Sister Dillender are going up to SLOVENIA for a meeting there! We got specially invited! TO SLOVENIA!!! Yay! It will be the first time I've been there, and I thought I wasn't going to go until I was going home at the end of the mission. I'm so excited! So that isn't this week, or tomorrow, but the next Tuesday that we'll be doing that. :D And then we're having a sisters exchange in Zagreb the next day, and then we'll be having zone conference the next day, so we will hardly be in Zadar at all next week. It should be a TON of fun.
What else has happened this week? One of our investigators came to an activity! That's exciting, she has been off-and-on meeting with missionaries for a couple years, and hasn't ever come to church or anything, but she came to our activity! I hope she enjoyed it. the Church is kinda far from her, we met her half-way and walked with her, and then a member gave her a ride home, so with all that I hope that she comes to something else, too.
I polished/shined my brown shoes this week. They look a ton better. When I was done I was like, Oh, that's why you're supposed to do this more often, because it looks so nice. But they got scuffed up again the next day, and I thought, it's really stupid to have shoes that you have to polish all the time so that they look nice. But I think I'll make it a more regular habit anyway. The shining stuff was just in the apartment, so I didn't even have to buy anything to do it, so I may as well.
English classes are going good, our students are really nice. There's one lady who says every class period "you speak Croatian so well for only learning it for a year" and we are always grateful for the compliment, because it's so easy to get slack in the language. Sometimes I think, I can't believe all the stuff that I don't know! I have no idea how to say anything! And other times I feel like, I'm getting by just fine with understanding and with the things I do know, that it's going good for how long I've been out. Anyways, English is good.
Other than that the week was pretty low-key. We're going to Sibenik today, I went there once when Sister Nelson was here, but Sister Dillender wants to see it, it should be fun. So I'll probably send pictures next week!
Love you!
Sister Laws
Oh yeah, yay that Djokovic finally won another major! I bet Serbia is celebrating that right now! At least the ones who watch tennis. He's from my mission! That's so cool!
I hope Grandma is doing better and that everything goes alright with the hospital and nursing home.
I can't believe that January is over and that Mom is already planning on going to Amelia's for her baby! I don't think it's been that long since Amelia told us she was prego again! What?? How can time be moving like this??
It's good to hear how Michael is doing, and I'm excited that Jesse is going back to school! And that Crystalle is prego, congratulations from me!
Love you guys!
SO I almost forgot to tell you all the MOST FUN thing about my birthday. I mentioned to my district leader on Sunday before my birthday, that a Harry Potter themed party would be fun, and so my district pulled together a Harry Potter district meeting! As a surprise! Yay! I got to be Harry Potter, and we had Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Dumbledore. So funny, we had sticks for wands and little things for costumes. You can see in the pictures that I had paper Harry Potter glasses.
The picture of the food -- we went to a restaurant for lunch, it was really good food. And then the picture book is the one I got for my b-day, It's called "New Friend". Aren't the pigs so cute??
The weather was also really good on my birthday, just so you know. And the picture of the cake was my birthday cake. You can tell from the pictures that we had to use the banana bread for the candles, because the cake wasn't done being baked yet. It was a chocolate cake with caramel and chocolate candy bar on top, with whipped cream for the frosting. YUM!
LOVE YOU
I had a good week and a great Croatian birthday! The best part was, I will admit, the presents. I haven't gotten my package yet, I probably will tomorrow, but my companion spoiled me, and my district got me something, and they made a delicious birthday cake, and Elder Brown made his famous banana bread -- so what did I get?? I got a picture book that I keep looking at whenever we go to this one bookstore, it's got really cute pictures in it, and it's part of a series, so cute. And Sister Dillender got me a Croatian cook book! That just happened to come with a Croatian CD with Croatian music on it, and while a TON of the recipes look disgusting and have gross fish in it, I am looking forward to trying it out! You can always replace chicken for the fish, right? It's so fun to have things FROM Croatia ABOUT Croatia WITH Croatian inside! yay! And I got a few other things, too. President Hill called me to wish me a happy birthday and he said that he was considering calling Michael, too, because I complained to him that I hadn't gotten a birthday letter from my TWIN, but none of you said anything about him calling, so I'm guessing he didn't. Which is good. Don't worry, Michael e-mailed last MONDAY, so I read it today. Thank you, Michael, for writing. And thanks for spoiling what was in my birthday package, lol, just kidding. But I know I got a t-shirt now. So thanks! Like I said, I'll probably get it tomorrow. President Hill is coming down to have a baptismal interview with one of the Elders' investigators (that's exciting!) and so he'll bring our mail.
AND this is the most exciting news I've had in a while!!! President Hill said that me and Sister Dillender are going up to SLOVENIA for a meeting there! We got specially invited! TO SLOVENIA!!! Yay! It will be the first time I've been there, and I thought I wasn't going to go until I was going home at the end of the mission. I'm so excited! So that isn't this week, or tomorrow, but the next Tuesday that we'll be doing that. :D And then we're having a sisters exchange in Zagreb the next day, and then we'll be having zone conference the next day, so we will hardly be in Zadar at all next week. It should be a TON of fun.
What else has happened this week? One of our investigators came to an activity! That's exciting, she has been off-and-on meeting with missionaries for a couple years, and hasn't ever come to church or anything, but she came to our activity! I hope she enjoyed it. the Church is kinda far from her, we met her half-way and walked with her, and then a member gave her a ride home, so with all that I hope that she comes to something else, too.
I polished/shined my brown shoes this week. They look a ton better. When I was done I was like, Oh, that's why you're supposed to do this more often, because it looks so nice. But they got scuffed up again the next day, and I thought, it's really stupid to have shoes that you have to polish all the time so that they look nice. But I think I'll make it a more regular habit anyway. The shining stuff was just in the apartment, so I didn't even have to buy anything to do it, so I may as well.
English classes are going good, our students are really nice. There's one lady who says every class period "you speak Croatian so well for only learning it for a year" and we are always grateful for the compliment, because it's so easy to get slack in the language. Sometimes I think, I can't believe all the stuff that I don't know! I have no idea how to say anything! And other times I feel like, I'm getting by just fine with understanding and with the things I do know, that it's going good for how long I've been out. Anyways, English is good.
Other than that the week was pretty low-key. We're going to Sibenik today, I went there once when Sister Nelson was here, but Sister Dillender wants to see it, it should be fun. So I'll probably send pictures next week!
Love you!
Sister Laws
Oh yeah, yay that Djokovic finally won another major! I bet Serbia is celebrating that right now! At least the ones who watch tennis. He's from my mission! That's so cool!
I hope Grandma is doing better and that everything goes alright with the hospital and nursing home.
I can't believe that January is over and that Mom is already planning on going to Amelia's for her baby! I don't think it's been that long since Amelia told us she was prego again! What?? How can time be moving like this??
It's good to hear how Michael is doing, and I'm excited that Jesse is going back to school! And that Crystalle is prego, congratulations from me!
Love you guys!
SO I almost forgot to tell you all the MOST FUN thing about my birthday. I mentioned to my district leader on Sunday before my birthday, that a Harry Potter themed party would be fun, and so my district pulled together a Harry Potter district meeting! As a surprise! Yay! I got to be Harry Potter, and we had Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Dumbledore. So funny, we had sticks for wands and little things for costumes. You can see in the pictures that I had paper Harry Potter glasses.
The picture of the food -- we went to a restaurant for lunch, it was really good food. And then the picture book is the one I got for my b-day, It's called "New Friend". Aren't the pigs so cute??
The weather was also really good on my birthday, just so you know. And the picture of the cake was my birthday cake. You can tell from the pictures that we had to use the banana bread for the candles, because the cake wasn't done being baked yet. It was a chocolate cake with caramel and chocolate candy bar on top, with whipped cream for the frosting. YUM!
LOVE YOU
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)