26 travnja 2011

Dear family,
HAPPY EASTER!
I forgot to say so last week, I think, because I wasn't thinking so far ahead to Sunday.

And HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD and JESSE AND JUSTIN! I also wasn't thinking all the way to Thursday, haha.

Well, my week was good. As you can see, I'm writing on Tuesday. That would be because everything was closed yesterday for the Easter weekend/holiday. So our president was nice enough to let us write today. And really, I don't know if he would be able to stop us. lol.

So yesterday, Monday, was a little bit like my last pday in Zadar. Well, we get transfer calls this week, so I don't know for sure, but it seems highly likely that I will be leaving Zadar for Zagreb, since I've been here 10 months. What a long time! I'm not sick of Zadar yet, but one more transfer would probably do me in. I'm looking forward to getting to know a new place. That means that next pday will be my real last pday in Zadar, since we'll probably go to Zagreb the following Wednesday (the first week of May). I hope that makes sense. But, yesterday felt like my last pday. We ate lunch on the balcony (turkey burgers and hot dogs), meandered to the old city (in hopes that the internet place would actually be open, it wasn't) and went to the archeological museum. It is usually closed on Mondays, so on the one holiday it's open. I don't get it, but it was fun. Cheap, and the first floor had the best stuff, so it was fun. I would say I'll send pictures, but I can't make any promises. Then we got ice-cream, of course, and I took a million pictures.

Sunday, Easter, we had a really great Easter program at church. Elder Wood, our branch president, asked one of the members to give a talk on "everything between the crucifixion and the resurrection" and unfortunately, with the language barrier and everything, she took that to mean give a talk on the spirit world! LOL. But the musical numbers and testimonies coupled with it made a really nice sacrament meeting. Both the elders serving here right now are very musical, and they did a good job. After church we had a barbecue in the elders' landlord's backyard for our Easter dinner :( Would have been better with family, but it was still good/fun. With not a lot to do (people would rather be with their families than with missionaries on Easter, why would that be?) We went a Catholic mass! My first time going. It was HIGHLY fascinating. My favorite part was towards the beginning, a man was at the pulpit, he read some verses, and then he started singing. He had a nice voice. And then at certain parts the audience would join in. Actually, they just repeated the same line over and over again. "Zahvaljujte Gospodina, jer je dobar" - this morning I woke up with the tune stuck in my head. That means "thank God, because he's good" Not a bad message. And I wasn't as creeped out by the chanting and recited prayers as I thought I would be. Overall, good experience.

on Saturday we colored eggs for young womens, with the kit mom sent me. It didn't turn out exactly the same, since all the eggs here are orange. But it was fun. We left the eggs at the church and used them as a center piece on Sunday, and the members loved them. They all took a few home, and with the leftovers we made deviled eggs for our barbecue! YUMMY! Anyway, that was the highlight of Saturday.
Oh yeah, and Sister Dillender and I hid cadbury eggs for each other - three a piece. And we searched for them Easter, in the evening, we didn't have time in the morning. So all the Easter traditions were taken care of!

Last Friday nothing exciting happened, on Thursday Sister Dillender got a package from home with a ton of candy, so we've been pigging out on butterfingers and reese's. Really good.

On Wednesday, nothing really exciting. One of Sister Dillender's Spanish students gave us Easter bags, just a little bit of chocolate, matching hair bows, and a duck candle. It was sweet.

On Tuesday one of the Elders was sick, and we named off every single symptom that he had, I guess we passed on the bug! We felt bad.
And last pday, we went to a mall and looked for some shoes for Sister Dillender. So nothing very exciting.

And that was our week!

Easter traditions of Croatia? basically the same as us. Add in go to mass, and add in lent, but they color eggs and they spend time with family.

Questions you all asked: mission presidents stay in a mission for THREE YEARS. I cannot imagine being in Croatia that long. That would be crazy. My easter was good... No other questions. OK.

I'm so glad to hear that all of you had good Easters, too, and that you are well!

LOVE YOU ALL
Sister laws