Sister Clark is in Croatia!

Hello Families of the newly arrived Adriatic North Missionaries,

 

President Rowe and I are so pleased to finally see these outstanding eleven missionaries. They arrived safely after a very long flight - but all is well. Only one missing bag out of 22 (and it will arrive in the morning). We had a wonderful dinner and they are ready for a good night's sleep. Even with jet lag they are energetic and enthusiastic. Tomorrow morning we will have breakfast, interviews with President Rowe, then head to the church for training and to meet trainers/receive assignments. At 3:00 they will head out by bus, train, or cars in all directions to four different countries! They will be emailing you on Monday with all the news of the first week.

Warmest regards,

 Sister Brooke Rowe

Adriatic North Mission

May 24 - Pictures

 Sister Palmer & Sister Clark - companions

 

 Sister Clark & Sister Rankin

 

 Sister Erbe & Sister Clark

 

 Sister Clark & Sister Peel

 

 Elder Fausnaught & Sister Clark

 

 Sister Clark & Elder Stuart

 

Sister Clark & Sister Rosenvall

Sisters Peel, Clark, Rankin, Erbe

 

The ultimate creeper picture!

Sister Jolley's last day teaching their group

Fun while cleaning the bathroom

 

Matching today!



Last Email from the MTC

Holy cow! I can't believe it is my last Pday at the MTC. Crazy! This week has been a pretty good week and luckily it hasn't been too stressful. However I'm thinking that might hit these next few days when I start packing. Because you all know how much I love packing.

 

Anyway...Friday and Saturday were pretty uneventful days. We always start to go a little crazy come Saturday night because we have 6 hours straight of class and we have had a full week. So we had some extra time after dinner and decided to play follow the leader around campus to get some of our energy out.  It made us be able to focus in class which was good.

 

Sunday for Relief Society the speaker was from the General Relief Society Board. Her name was Robin Donham. She talked about the importance of Relief Society and how it applies to missionary work. The Sunday night devotional was Sister Edmunds. She spoke in Relief Society a few weeks ago and we love her! She is so funny but gives a good uplifting message too.

 

Monday was Sister Jolley's last day because she is out of town. It was super sad to say bye to her. For her last class she brought stuff from her mission and pictures and told us stories which was kind of fun.

 

Monday night we had a lesson with our investigator Ivica. A few days before I had told Sister Palmer that I wanted her to take the lead on it again. She said ok. But as we were about to knock on the door she told me that she didn't know the words well enough and wanted me to start. Anyway...it didn't turn out so great. I knew the words and was able to talk but my companion didn't say one word the whole lesson. I left the lesson so frustrated with myself and with my companion. When we got back to class I pulled out my scriptures and started reading them. I think my teacher could see how I was feeling so he asked me questions about it and kind of talked to me a bit which helped.  Then after when everyone was done teaching he decided to have us watch Finding Faith in Jesus Christ.  It was exactly what I needed. We watched it in Serbian and I was actually really surprised with how much of it I could understand. Anyway...it just made me realize that if I have Faith in Christ miracles can happen.  When I have bad lessons or bad days He is there to pick me back up and help me to make things better and to not focus on it and to move on.

 

Tuesday during our exercise we decided to go get a haircut before leaving. I just got a trim but decided it was better to do it in the MTC than to wait until we are in Croatia. Tuesday was also our last day on TALL. TALL is the MTC computer language program. It was a super sad day. At the end of TALL when you exit out it sings a song to you. So we all exited out at the same time and sang along with it. Tuesday we had another lesson with Ivica. I was really nervous for it due to how our last one with him went. It was basically just a check up lesson with him and preparing him for the baptismal interview. We went over the interview questions with him which went well. Then my companion and I both bore our testimony. We sat in silence for a few minutes but it was a good silence and then I had the feeling that I should ask him to share his testimony with us. So I did and it was amazing! The Spirit was so strong and it was so cool to see how far he has come since when we first started meeting with him.  It made me so excited for when I am in Croatia and have actual investigators that I can see their progress rather than just our teachers acting as investigators.

 

The Tuesday night devotional was Elder Marcus Nash from the seventy. He talked about the Doctrine of Christ and how it is so important to what we are teaching. It is what we are teaching. He talked about how because of the Savior we have hope and through Christ we can recieve help and be made clean. Because the Savior Chose to come down to Earth and die for us our eternity is secure if we have Faith in him. He told us not to hold anything back from the Lord. He said the ideal missionary gives their all every day and that each day will be different. If we follow Christ and have Faith in him we will be ok and we will have the power that we need to bring others unto Christ.

 

Wednesday our teachers decided to let us do exchanges for one lesson. So I get to teach with Sister Peel and I am super excited about it. We didn't end up teaching on Wednesday because the teacher that is the investigator we were supposed to teach was sick so we get to teach tonight. Wednesday we also got to host. It was fun but was exhausting. One of the girls I hosted was from Germany going to temple square. The other 3 I hosted were from Utah going stateside. It was fun but we were seriously walking around all day hauling luggage in the hot sun. The best part was when I first picked up the girl from Germany I asked her where she was from and where she was going.  Then she asked me where I was going and I said Croatia. She pointed to an Elder who had just got here and said he is from Croatia. I didn't talk to him there for very long but then we saw him at dinner and chatted for a minute and then he came to our class and talked to us. It was really cool but he talked a lot. He is a convert to the church so he talked to us about that. He also talked about the culture in Croatia and told us about the war. He mostly spoke in English but he did speak some in Croatian too which was cool to hear. He said that he was the first one from his family to join the church and since then several more of his family members have. He told us the aspect of how families can be together forever is what interested him most in the church and if we can find families that is what will help the church to grow.

 

Thursday we had infield orientation. It is where the missionaries who will be leaving the next week go and have workshops all day. Seriously all day 8-5:30. It was good but it was really long and it was basically just a review of everything that our teachers have been teaching us the whole time. We did role playing and they tried to have activities to make it interesting but it was still a long day. Immediately after it we went straight to TRC so we had no time to prepare but it went well. There ended up being only one volunteer so we combined companionships so we were with Sister Erbe and Sister Peel. We just talked about the Book of Mormon and shared our favorite scriptures.  Then we had the volunteer tell us stories from her mission.

 

Alright, it seems like you all know more about my flight plans than I do due to the fact that you have internet access and I don't. It is looking like the only option for calling is from Salt Lake. We leave here at 7:30 so I am thinking it will be around 9 or 9:30ish but I am not positive so don't freak out if it is later. I will just call Mom's cell phone so make sure that is with you.  I'm glad that everyone will be together!

 

I feel like I haven't told you much in this email but I don't have anything else written down to talk about.

 

I get to play the piano in sacrament meeting on Sunday. I'm hoping that since I am doing that I won't have to speak.

 

This week I had my first experience with not being able to think of a word in English but I knew what it was in Croatian. Hopefully more of those will start coming. I wish I could close my eyes and wake up and be fluent. But I know it takes work and I am improving every day. Although I am pretty sure the second I step foot in Croatia I will realize I really don't know anything. But that's ok. My teachers have all said it took them a good six months in the country before they felt like they actually had the language. It is even an extra stress not knowing which of the countries I will be in because they are all different enough that it will take some extra getting used to once I know which language I will actually be speaking. We have predictions of where everyone in my district will be going. I would tell you but we are probably wrong so if we end up being right I will let you know if I was right on where I was going. Me and Sister Peel have decided that we will have our trainers the first transfer and then the second transfer we will be companions again. It probably won't happen but it would be awesome! They are actually going to have 2 classes of Croatians in the MTC next transfer so the chances of us being trainers our second transfer are fairly high. Which is a scary thought. But I know if I am called to do it it will be ok and I will have help.

 

How do I feel about leaving the MTC? Mixed emotions. A lot of people told me that towards the end I would be ready to leave. But I am actually really going to miss the MTC. I have loved every minute here! I love the people in my district and my zone. We all get along very well. I love the devotionals they have. I don't love the food they have. I love my teachers- we seriously have the best teachers in the entire MTC. They all know so much and are so helpful. I have learned so much from every single one of them. The MTC really is an amazing place and I am going to miss it but I am so excited for the adventure that I have ahead of me. I am so excited to go put to use everything that I have learned. I know that it will be hard, really hard but I know that with the Lord's help I can do it and it will be so worth it!

 

Remember that I love you all lots and lots and lots! Thanks for all of the love and support and prayers and everything! You are all amazing and I couldn't have asked for a better family!

 

Volim vas!

Sestra Clark

 

Shoutouts!

 

Letters this week from Dad, Mom, Grandpa, Carrie, Lex

 

Thanks for the packages family and Grandpa and Carrie- I am set on treats for the flight plus some!

 

Happy Birthday to Nugget tomorrow!

 

Grandpa asked me if he can email me. The answer to that is yes. We technically can email anyone now and anyone can email us. But don't spread that too far because I don't want to have to read a milliion letters each time and not have time to write.

 

Also I am going to be sending a package home so look for that in the next couple of days.

May 17, 2013

Well! It has definitely been an eventful week but it has been really good! We started off the morning with the temple which is always good. We did more of Dad's family names. I even had the Elders do some today and I am hoping that after next week all of them will be completed and then I can send them home. To answer a question, yes we do get a full p-day next Friday.

 

Last Saturday we started off the morning with service. I wasn't a hero and didn't fix anything this week but service was good. Saturday night we had class with Sister Jolley and for our demonstrating teaching lesson she had 2 of us be missionaries and one person be an investigator but at any point she would pause it and have us all switch places so we never knew if or when we would be called to do something. And it was in Croatian so we had to pay really close attention so that we knew what was going on and being said. I got to be the investigator for the last half of it. I started out with two of the missionaries teaching me. They started out doing really well and I was understanding what they were saying but after awhile they weren't making sense and left me completely confused. Sister Jolley than paused it and two other missionaries began teaching. They were able to really focus on me as an investigator and what I needed and why what they were teaching was important for me to understand. It was a first lesson so they were talking about the Book of Mormon. At the end of the lesson one of the missionaries was bearing their testimony and said If you read the Book of Mormon I promise you that your life will be better. I don't know why but this statement hit me really hard and I liked it. It's so simple and so powerful and so true. While being here at the MTC I have been reading the Book of Mormon faster than I ever have in my life and I am getting so much more out of it than I ever have before. And I love it! I have definitely seen my life change because of the Book of Mormon and I know that if I can get my investigators to read the Book of Mormon their life will be better.

 

Sunday was a great day too. We had relief society and the guest speaker was Janice Kapp Perry. It's hard to explain why her talk was so good but it just was. She wrote an arrangement of some of the Primary songs that we sang with her and it was so cool. She talked about how if we weren't serving a mission missionary work would still go on without us but what we are going to get out of our mission and the person it will help us become could happen no other way. At the end she had us sing a song that she wrote. It was As Sisters in Zion but she changed it to The Sisters of Zion and changed the words to apply to us as missionaries. It was a very powerful song when all of the Sisters sang it. She said we were the first ones ever to sing it but it would be released soon so if you can find that within the next few months I encourage you to because it was really cool. Anyways my favorite line in it was The Angels of Heaven are Walking Beside us. With it being the crap month of May I have definitely felt this as I have been here. I know without a doubt that I have angels walking beside me every step of the way encouraging me when I do something good and picking me up when I am struggling. When we were sitting in relief society I saw a branch presidency members wife that looked super familiar but I couldn't figure out who she was. And then I saw her name tag and it said Sister Robison. It was Jordan's mission presidents wife. I talked to her for a few minutes and she said to tell Jordan hi.

 

For our Sunday District meeting one of the MTC District Presidents was in our district. We were all super terrified to have him there but it went really well. Afterwards he told us how impressed he was with what we had talked about and that we would all be just fine when we got out in the field. It was good to hear from someone who is high up here at the MTC. The MTC devotional was someone from the Missionary Department pre-field training. His name was Shane Littlefield. He talked about how our attitude makes all the difference and it is our responsibility to set a good culture in our mission and determine what our mission will be.

 

Monday night we had a lesson with our investigator Edo. It was our first lesson with him and it went so well. I know without a doubt that the entire lesson was directed by the Spirit because of how strongly I could feel it. When I left that lesson I was on such a spiritual high for the rest of the night. We had an equal balance of talking between me, my companion, and him and we were able to ask him questions, get to know his background, and apply what we were talking about to him.

 

Tuesday night we decided we were going to go to choir even though we hadn't gone on Sunday. So we went to the practice before hand and it was super crowded. There were several people that had been there on Sunday that couldn't find seats so after a few minutes I started feeling really bad and could tell Sister Peel was feeling the same way. So I turned to her and said let's go. So we left and gave our seats to some of the other Sisters while the other Sisters in our district stayed. So it was just me and Sister Peel for devotional. We went straight and got in line for devotional so we were at the very front of the line. So when we got into the devotional room we booked it to the front of the room. We ended up being in the very center on the sixth row so we had awesome seats. And the speaker was Elder Nelson! It was so cool and we got so excited when we saw him walk in and realized how close we were to him. He talked about our purpose as a missionary and about family history work and how the ancestors of those we are teaching are cheering us on and helping us to help their family members recieve the gospel. At the end of the talk he told us that every day the First Presidency and Quorum of the twelve pray for us for our health, safety and success, which was really cool to hear from him. Before Elder Nelson spoke they had a special musical number which was an opera singer. I thought of Tyson and how much he would have loved it the whole time. HAHA!

 

Wednesday night Brother Jacobsen taught us alone for the first time. He is super smart and went through our entire grammar textbook that is written in alien language and made us an index of the important stuff that we will need and how we can use it. He also gave us a huge stack of very useful papers explaining the differences between Croatian and Serbian and when we should use certain words and which case they take, etc. They are super helpful! The language is still coming but it is still hard and confusing and I am still struggling to apply the grammar principles. I understand them all but speaking them is a completely different story. I am really good at spitting out words but sometimes I have a hard time making sense of my sentences.

 

Thursday before lunch I decided I was going to do SYL and I wasn't going to speak a single word of English. Not even to explain to people what I was trying to say. Even if they didn't know Croatian. It was really hard especially since I was the only one doing it. And half of the time even my district had a hard time figuring out what I was trying to say because they didn't know what the words meant. But I made it all the way from lunch to dinner without speaking a single word of English. I will explain why it stopped at dinner in a few minutes. I was pretty proud of myself. We are all supposed to be SYLing every day until we leave but some days we do better than others.

 

We had been told that we would be getting our travel plans on Friday, so today. Last night after dinner we all followed the Elders to the mailbox as we usually do. In the mailroom we wait back while only the district leader goes up to the mailbox. We told Elder Stuart that when our travel plans were there he needed to give us some sort of a sign so that we would know. So we were all standing back waiting and talking and all of the sudden we heard Elder Stuart sing la at the top of his lungs. We all started cracking up and jumping up and down with excitment. We were laughing because Elder Stuart absolutely hates singing so when he sang it was really funny. And as much as I love getting letters from you all I would dare say that this is the best thing I have recieved from the mailbox so far. We were seriously jumping up and down and screaming with excitement. So anyway we leave here on May 27 which is Monday. We leave the MTC at 7:30 and our flight leaves at 11, we fly to Seattle then to Paris and then to Croatia. I'm not really sure why we go to Seattle because everyone else in our zone that is going to Europe is flying to Chicago but that's what we are doing. I am assigned to be the Travel leader. I'm not really sure what that means but I'm sure they will tell me. It was funny because when we read that everyone in our district was like, they chose the right person because you are the most organized and on top of things out of all of us. So that's our excitement for the week. And that is why I stopped talking in Croatian for the day because I got so distracted that I forgot about it.

 

Now for some funny stories. We joke all the time when someone says something or does something that we are going to shun them. So we were sitting in the cafeteria and Elder Fausnaught told us he could shun any of us for 5 minutes. So we told him to shun all of us. So we of course were trying to get him to acknowledge us. We were having peas for dinner and he took a bite of them. So I said how does that taste, does it feel like you are popping a bunch of zits in your mouth (thanks for that one Carrie!). He started busting up laughing. Actually everyone did. It was great!

 

The other day Elder Stuart put on a one man show of Napoleon Dynamite for us. He can seriously quote the entire movie and can even do the voices of each person. It was hilarious. The best part was when he put on Sister Rankin's glasses and sung the song at the end that Kip sings. It sounded just like Kip and I was cracking up. We can tell that we have all been together too long because of how comfortable we are with each other. Some of the things we talk about are really funny. The other day the Elders came back from the bathroom and one of them told us about their experience in the bathroom. And the worst part is none of us were phased by it and acted like it was a normal thing to talk about.

 

On Monday of last week we were talking about Church and how we can receive revelation through church. Brother Hansen told us of a thing he used to have his investigators do. He would have them write down a question and keep it in their pocket all week and then take it with them to church and be thinking of it all week and that at church they would recieve an answer to their question. He encouraged us to do it. So I did. I wrote down a question and kept it in my mind and my pocket and at church I did recieve an answer. I would encourage you all to try it. Think of a question or a concern that you have and take it to church with you. And I promise you that in some way whether it be through something that is said, something that you feel, or through the music you will recieve an answer if you are truly seeking for it. This week has been great! I love the MTC and it is scary to think that we are leaving soon! But it is exciting! I love you all! I love this gospel! The church is true!

 

Love

Sestra Clark

 

Shoutouts!

 

Happy Birthday to Grandpa this week!

 

Letters from Dad, Mom, Lex, Carrie and Jordan

 

 

 

Instead of a messy desk, she now has a messy corner

 

Cute hairdos!

Sister Clark & Sister Rankin-funny face photo



 Travel plans came in the mail

 

May 10, 2013

I'm still trying to get used to this whole Friday p-day thing. And by the time I get used to it I will be leaving the MTC and it will switch back to Monday. Anyway...this week has been a pretty good week. Not much exciting has happened but it's been good. Friday during our p-day we decided to have a fiesta. We had sombreros and ate chips and salsa and a bunch of random snacks. We didn't realize until we were already doing it that Cinco de Mayo was on Sunday so we counted it as a Cinco de Mayo celebration. Which ended up being good because the MTC didn't feed us Mexican food for dinner on Sunday! After P-day on Friday we had class. It was a really good class. We started off by playing investigators while the Elders taught us. It is one of my favorite things we do. We get to really put ourselves in the shoes of the investigators and see how they feel when being taught. It also helps us to see things that we should do when we are teaching as well as things that maybe aren't as effective. Our teachers also do demonstrate teaching lessons where they pick one missionary to be the investigator and everyone else watches. Friday night both Brother Freeman and Brother Jacobsen were here and decided to do a demonstrating teaching. They picked me to be the investigator and I was super nervous about it. They then informed me that it would be in Croatian which was even more nerve racking. But I ended up loving it. It was good practice for me to listen to what they were saying and I had to pay close attention so that I knew what they were saying so that I could answer the questions that they asked. Afterwards they told me that I did a really good job at being the investigator and it ended up being a really good role play for the missionaries to see what they should do in certain situations.

 

 

Saturday was our service day. Because of schedule changes our service assignment also changed so we are now assigned to our own residence hall. There is a paper towel dispenser that is an automatic one in our bathroom that has been broken since we got here. So when we found out we got to clean our residence hall I was determined that I was going to make it work. So when the person in charge asked who wanted to fill paper towel rolls I quickly volunteered. Long story short I fixed the paper towel roll! And the workers were super surprised that I did it because they said it hasn't worked for a long time and many people have tried to fix it. So now I make sure when I get a paper towel that I use that paper towel roll. You can tell that there are more sisters at the MTC right now because they have turned men's bathrooms into womens. How do we know this? Some of the women's bathrooms have urinals. It's great fun.

 

 

Saturday we also had a lesson with our investigator Ivica (Brother Hansen). We taught about the word of wisdom and discovered that he smokes and drinks and drinks coffee. We talked about the importance of not using those and got him to commit to stop. And he has done it! He said it was hard but every time he went to do it he remembered what he had said and didn't do it. And he also talked about how much it has blessed him. It made us really happy! When Brother Hansen left on Saturday he told us how much we have improved since the beginning of the week in the language, pronunciation, and our lessons.

 

 

Sunday was fast Sunday. Because it was Fast Sunday we had a mission conference with the entire MTC. Some of the MTC Presidency spoke to us as well as their wives. It was really good. President Nally who is the MTC President gave us an assignment to read some scriptures as a companionship that day. So when we got back to the room Sister Palmer and I did it. And it was awesome! I was so excited about what we were reading and was learning so much that I started marking my scriptures without a system! This was a really big deal for me but I love it! Since then my Personal Study time has become so much more meaningful as I am actually digging deeper into each scripture and marking things so that I can go back and remember them. Our Sunday District Meeting was also really good. The Subject was enduring to the end. We talked a lot about how Christ suffered for us and endured through so much more than we will ever have to endure. If He can make it through that, we can make it through anything. We also talked about making sure to not only endure to the end but enjoy to the end. Because of our new schedule Saturday we have dinner at 4 and on Sunday we don't have it until 6, which is not good on Fast Sunday. They like us to start fasting after dinner on Saturday and fast until dinner on Sunday but we are also told not to fast more than 24 hours. So we decided to go to dinner early on Sunday which ended up being good because we made it in to the devotional room. The Sunday devotional was Chad Lewis. He is a former BYU football player and also played for the NFL, I believe on the patriots. He told some cool stories and applied them to Gospel principles. He talked about how it is time to put the world on the bench and our testimonies on the line and how through the Lord we can do anything. He has already paid the price and is asking us to carry our burdens. He will not ask us to do anything that we cannot handle. It was a really good devotional!

 

 

Every day when our teachers leave we beg them to give us homework so that we can practice the principles we have been learning and they never do. Monday Sister Jolley finally gave us homework and she gave us a lot. It was long and hard and we don't understand it. Needless to say we don't ask for homework anymore. Haha! It was good practice though and helped us to learn a lot. Monday we also had gym and went to the field. It was raining but it was so much fun! All of the Elders were wimps and went to the gym but all of the Sisters in our zone were outside and we played kickball in the rain. It is probably my favorite gym time we have had so far. Monday we had a lesson with the Elders (Milan and Jovica). Before we went into the lesson I told Sister Palmer that I wanted her to take the lead and I would be there as more of support and to back up what was being said. And it was one of our best lessons. We both talked more of an equal amount than usual. We were able to ask them questions and they asked us questions that we were able to answer through the scriptures. It was really cool!

 

 

Tuesday we had a lesson with Ivica. We have known from the beginning that he was in Prison and from talking to Brother Hansen he has apparently told us multiple times why he was in prison but we didn't understand him. And Brother Hansen wouldn't tell us. So we went into the lesson on Tuesday and I just asked him why did you go to prison. And he told us and we understood what he said. Which was good because now we know what we need to do to help him be ready for baptism. We were also able to figure out some other concerns he had and some things he maybe didn't understand as much so we knew where we needed to go next. After our lesson Brother Hansen told us it was a really good lesson and that we should feel good about it. Tuesday night we had a devotional. The Elders convinced us that we needed to get in line for it way sooner than we needed to. So while waiting in line Sister Peel and I sang all 9 verses of Follow the Prophet in Croatian. We now have the chorus memorized. The rest of our district pretended like they didn't know us but I think they were secretly jealous and wanted to be singing with us. The devotional Tueday night was Elder Gavarret from the seventy and his wife. Neither of them spoke English very well and there were even a few times that they spoke in a different language. The biggest thing I learned is that the Gospel is the same in any language in any place in the world. Although I couldn't understand everything they were saying I could feel the Spirit. When I go to Croatia it doesn't matter how well I speak the language right off the bat as long as I have the Spirit with me that is all that matters.

 

 

Wednesday night for our class the other sisters in our district had to go to something so it was just me and my companion and the Elders and 3 of our teachers. It was actually really nice because we pretty much got one on one attention the whole time. So they were really able to focus on our needs and tell us what we need to do to be better. It was really helpful.

 

 

Thursday for TRC they didn't have enough volunteers so me and my companion taught Sister Jolley. It was a little bit weird but actually ended up being good because she was able to give us advice after on what we did well and what she would recommend for us to do next time. During the lesson she asked us a question which we weren't prepared to answer so it caused us to stop and think and we had to really focus so that we could answer it how we wanted to in Croatian. It was really good and as I took that time to think about it I was able to figure out exactly what I needed to say to answer her question in the way that I wanted to.

 

 

This morning we started our day at the temple. We did initiatories and then we decided to go eat breakfast at the temple cafeteria. It was so good and so nice to have a variety from the usual. We plan on doing that for the rest of our p-days here even though there are only a few left.

 

 

Now for some funny stories. So the word for bed in Croatian is Krevet and the word for tie is Kravata. So Monday night Brother Jacobsen walked into class and had a cool tie on. Sister Erbe went to tell him that she loved his tie but instead said I love your bed. Him and Brother Freeman both started cracking up and it took us all a minute to figure out what had happened. Throughout the day we all think of things that we want to ask our teachers how to say. There was one day that I decided I wanted to learn how to say I'd rather not because I use that phrase quite often. So we got into class and Brother Freeman and Brother Jacobsen were both there and Brother Freeman told us how we were going to start teaching Brother Jacobsen as an investigator. That conversation ended so I raised my hand and asked how to say I'd rather not. Brother Freeman started cracking up and it took me a minute to realize that it was really bad timing to ask that question. Anyways...I now know how to say it radije ne bih!

 

 

There have been multiple times during meals that I spill water on me while drinking to make it look like I peed my pants. It reminds me of the cruise. However my district is nice about it and Sister Erbe always walks right in front of me rather than pointing out to everyone that I peed my pants.

 

 

Me and Sister Peel get distracted during our kickball games at gym and have started doing cartwheels in the field. We have contests to see who can do the most. It's a lot of fun but it makes you super sore afterwards.

Also, Sister Black said she is going to go friend all of us on Facebook. So if you get a friend request for me from Ariana Black or I guess it would be Ariana Jolley now accept it. But, don't try to talk to her unless she says something first. Thanks!

 

 

A few answers to questions. I haven't had to give a talk yet. I have played the piano for fun some but haven't had to for a meeting. We aren't sure if our teachers know that we know their names or not. Also it's probably best that you don't tell me any of the information from Brother Hansen's facebook page. At least not while I am still in the MTC. If you send pictures in emails I am pretty sure I can open them. Just try not to do too many. I have seen Sister Barker and did know that she has been reassigned. I can't really think of anything right now that I need that I haven't told you about.

 

 

I've had many people ask me how I feel about leaving to Croatia soon. And to that I say it depends on the day. Some days I think I am so ready to leave this place and get there already but somedays I am terrified and don't want to leave and feel like I still have so much to learn. And I really don't want to leave my District. We have gotten so close and have honestly become best friends. It is going to be hard to not be together all the time. But I am excited and ready to put what I have been learning to work. I have 2 weeks left here. It's crazy! Anyways I love you all lots! I am doing great and am learning so much! It sounds like things are going well at home and that everyone is doing good. Keep up with the letter writing! Have a great week! Volim te!

 

 

Sestra Clark

 

 

Shoutouts!

 

Letters this week from Dad, Mom, Heidi, Alexa, Ryan, Valori, Grandpa, and Carrie

Thanks for the package! The cookies were a big hit and Brother Hansen loved the M&Ms

I finally remembered to bring my Birthday list with me so here's a late Sretan Rođendan to David and Paul who I believe were both last week.

May 3 Pictures

 Sister Clark, Sister Erbe and their balloon friend, Fernando

 

 Fernando got popped

 

 Fernando's funeral

 

 MTC District

 

 Her messy desk in class, it drives her crazy!

 

 Her clean desk in her room, that's more like it

 

She has her own closet now so she can organize the way she wants!



Dobro jutro! Good morning!

This week has been...interesting. But it has been good. First off my head is doing fine. I haven't had a headache this week and I have been functioning normally so that's good. We started out Monday with our half p-day which was good but the morning seemed to drag on. Because of our schedule we basically did nothing until 2. It was kind of nice but at the same time it was weird because it has been a long time since we have had spare time where we had nothing we were supposed to be doing. I am getting so sick of the food here. Monday we got to breakfast and we were a little bit late and they had no food so I decided I was going to protest and only eat a banana. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one that was affected by my protest because I was starving by lunch time. I can't decide if I like feeling starving or ridiculously full on crap food better. The past couple of days I have been eating a lot of salads. You know how when we go on a cruise towards the last day or so you don't even want to look at any more food because you are so full. Ya, that's about how I feel and I've got 4 weeks of it left. Other than the food part of it I love the MTC though!

 

We have gotten new investigators which are each other so me and my companion teach the Elders. It is interesting but is a really cool experience. We are actually able to communicate and since we are all about on the same level we can actually understand everything that is being said. Monday we had our first lesson with them. It was a really good lesson and we could feel the Spirit. At the end we went to kneel down to say the prayer and one of the elders legs cramped up and he completely fell to the ground. It was awful and we all started busting up laughing for a good five minutes. It was a chain reaction. One person would start and then the next and it kept going in a circle. We were all finally able to gain our composure and finish the lesson and we were able to bring the Spirit back. So the beginning and end of the lesson were great we just had a slight problem in the middle.

 

This week the field has been open so we are able to go outside for gym which is fun! Our whole zone plays kickball and even though I am not athletic and don't like sports it is actually a lot of fun and is fun to be able to be outside!

 

Tuesday for our exercise time we walked around the perimeter of the MTC campus. Also on Tuesday a sister from our district went home. She has a boyfriend and for about the past month she has been going back and forth on whether she should stay here or go home and get married. As hard as it was to see her go it was good because she really did not want to be here and seeing her leave was the happiest she has been since she has been here. With her leaving, I am now down to only one companion...Sister Palmer. It is definitely taking some adjusting to only having one companion and I'm not sure if I like it or not. And I miss Sister Rankin. Even though she is still in the same room as us and everything we were really good friends so it is super weird for her not to be my companion anymore.

 

Tuesday Brother Hansen was our teacher and he was exactly what we needed on the weird day we had. He worked with us individually and helped us work on pronunciation and when he left he complimented us on how well we are improving. Which getting a complement from him was really good! Tuesday nights devotional was Elder Packer from the Seventy. I believe he is President Packers son. He talked about families and family history work and how it is important to teach investigators about these and the importance of them. Tuesday night we were also in the choir. It was good and our faces were zoomed in on the big screen which I'm not sure how I feel about that. Choir actually is kind of fun it's just at a really bad time.

 

Wednesday we taught the Elders again and it went ok.  Wednesday we also had a lesson with our investigator Ivica (Brother Hansen). We did a short followup lesson to try and figure out some concerns he had and make sure he was keeping up on the commitments we had given him. I used absolutely no notes and just went off of memory and the lesson went awesome! I was able to talk to him and ask him questions and really carry on a conversation with him which was good. And at the end of the lesson he told us super lekcija! (Great lesson) I'm not sure if that was coming from the teacher or the investigator but either way it made me feel really good especially since I have done all of the talking. And on Thursday we did a stop by lesson and by what he said I could tell he listened to what I had told him and he was actually doing it! I have started stopping in lessons after each thing that is said and asking my companion if she understands what is being said and if she doesn't I explain it to her hoping that will make her talk more but so far it hasn't worked. So I am still trying to figure out a way to get her to participate more in lessons so that I'm not the only one talking. There have been a few times that I stop and just turn and look at her and wait for her to say something and that doesn't work either. I know it is hard and the language is hard but our teachers have told us multiple times it is better to say something and say it wrong than to not say anything at all so that is what I have been trying to do and that is why I am improving each day.

 

Thursday for TRC one of the people that came is an actual Croatian that has only been a member for just over a year and has been here for about 8 months. It was really cool to hear her speak but it was also terrifying because she talked so fast and I could only catch a little bit of what she was saying. Hopefully with more practice and time I will eventually be able to understand.

 

Today we started out our morning at the temple. We did some of the family names Dad sent which was good. And for the first time our whole district was in the same session which was kind of cool!

It's been a bit of a short week so I don't know what else to talk about. I will see if I can come up with some good stories because I've heard from a few people (Jordan) that my letters are boring.

 

Wednesday in gym we were playing lightning and we were shooting from the three point line. I know I am awful at basketball so I decided to make it fun and do a granny shot. Totally made it in the basket! It was sweet!

 

Our Elders go get mail after every meal and so we decided that we were going to stalk them to the mailbox everyday. For the first couple days we were sneaky about it but now they know we do it and we totally joke about how we are going to the bookstore and just magically appear at the mailbox when they are there. At lunch too the Elders always take our trays when we are finished. Most of the sisters play a game to see if they can get away without an Elder taking their tray. I however, let them take it because you have to wait in a long line to return the trays.

 

Wednesday during lunch we ran into a couple who are here training to be mission presidents in Samoa but they just returned from our mission as a senior couple about a month ago. It was really cool to talk to them and made us really excited. They spoke really highly of all of the missionaries and the mission president and the people there and said it will be awesome!

 

We have another teacher now Brother Jacobsen so we have 4 teachers again. Brothers Jacobsen, Hansen, and Freeman and Sister Black who just got married so she is now Sister Jolley.

Thanks for the Serbian Book of Mormon! I think its dumb that they can't get them at the MTC but whatever.

 

Sister Peel and I don't have good singing voices but we have started singing at the top of our lungs whenever we are in the shower at the same time!  It's great! You may be surprised by this but when I told the missionaries in our district that I am usually a shy person they didn't believe me. Sister Peel and Erbe and I have also decided that there is a reason that we aren't in the same room as each other to sleep. Because we would never sleep. And whoever was in the same room as us would hate us. But I'm pretty sure our district would be super bored without us. But, we do know when to be funny and annoying and when not to be so it's ok.

 

Another thing. I have a challenge for you. One day both Brother Jacobsen and Brother Hansen were in class teaching us and we were talking about something and Brother Hansen brought up something about Almond M&Ms that are supposedly new that he really wants to try. He then turned to Brother Jacobsen and said, "I knew that if I brought that up somehow she would get them" and pointed at me. So there's your challenge for the week. I need some Almond M&Ms haha! Brother Hansen has been the teacher pretty much every time I get a package and have treats to bring to class and he loves it! The second I walk in the door with treats he automatically takes them and eats multiple.

 

I hope I have answered all of the questions you have. I don't really have much else to do today and I don't have a ton of letters to write so you should get a hand written letter too and I will answer questions from your dear elders, etc because it's easier to look at those when I am writing than when I am on the computer. If that makes sense. I hope you all have a great week! I love you lots and lots! I love the MTC and I am learning and growing everyday. Volim vi! I love you all!

 

Sestra Clark

 

Shoutouts!

 

Letters this week from Mom, Dad, Alex Banks, and an email from Alexa and a short one from Tyson

Thanks to Grandpa and Carrie for the package they sent! And I got one from Al and Heidi and Family last week that I am not sure if I mentioned in my email.