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.
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