Pictures

 Sad that she can't see this movie for a long time!

 

 First English class for children, not a success!

 

 One student, their favorite!

 

 Kitchen - table behind the fridge door

 

Bedroom- close quarters!

 A friend gave them slippers

 

 Candles lining the street to commemorate the war in Vukovar

 

 Every city has a street called Vukovar in honor of the war

 Ornaments for Aktivnost

 

 The sisters and these girls with their friendship bracelets

 

First signs of snow in Osijek, Croatia



Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Monday! This week has been another busy but good week!

 

Monday night we got back to work and decided to go try and visit M. We had visited her a few weeks ago and had a great lesson and kept trying to go back but she was never home...and one time we were pretty sure we heard them home but they didnt answer the door so we were nervous to go back. But we went. They had just walked in the door from somewhere and were eating dinner but they opened the door. We talked to them for a few minutes but said that now wasnt a good time but that they really wanted to talk to us so to come back another time. We were so happy when we left there! We then went to the Prestons and did Family Home evening with the Prestons and K and her kids which turned out great. It was K's birthday on Saturday so we did a family home evening/ birthday party. We taught the lesson and did an object lesson with string about how we are stronger when we have the Spirit with us and when we take away the Spiritual things in our lives we get weaker until we can break. The kids loved the lesson and it ended up being a great night!

 

Tuesday...we went to the church to read with B. Apparently N had some business in Osijek Tuesday night but came to Osijek in the morning and just decided that he wanted to hang out at the church...he did the same thing Wednesday and Thursday. So he was just hanging out at the church while we did our things on Tuesday. We read with B which went well and then we had District Meeting. After we went to V'. Apparently N had been riding his bike and was hit by a car...he is ok but he had to go to the hospital to be looked at. V called us in a bit of a panic and said that she didnt know who else to call so she called us and asked if we could come over. So we went over to her house and she just wanted someone to talk to about it. It ended up being great and we are happy that we were the ones she thought to call because we were able to read scriptures with her and pray with her and help her to calm down. Tuesday night we had English class which went good. I love English and I love my English students...they love me too. I really think they might have a heart ttack when I leave Osijek. Even on the days when I feel like the class doesnt go so well they tell me how much they love it. So its good!

 

Wednesday we went out to a village to meet with one of the referrals that our members had given us. We tried to get the members to come with us but it didnt work out that they were able to come. But the lesson ended up being great! We went and the rest of her family was there too. They all sat in on the lesson and because some of them hadnt been there I switched gears at the last minute and decided to do a repeat of the First Lesson...Restoration, etc. It went so well! The Spirit was so strong and I could tell that they were feeling it too. We had assigned A to read 2 Nephi 31 which is the chapter that talks about the Doctrine of Christ. She had read it so we discussed what it meant with her. We talked to her about the steps she needs to take and talked about Baptism. She said that she can see herself getting there she just isnt ready for it quite yet and wants to learn more first. I just wish that they were closer to Osijek because they would be golden! It is hard because they are almost an hour away and have no way of transportation to get to Osijek! Somehow there will be a way! After them we did a quick visit to E and J's with the Prestons. I love visiting them and I love D! He is so cute and as much as he tries to act shy he loves it when we come! We always have such great lessons with them...but they wont come to church. E is feeling a lot better and she looks a lot better to so we are happy about that. We are going to work really hard to get them to come to church because they need it!

 

We headed home to grab something to eat and the second we walked in the door we got a call from the MUP telling us that we had to go there today for Sister Framptons Visa. We looked at the clock and noticed that they closed in half an hour so we walked right back out the door and headed there. We were there for about five minutes and they told us to come back tomorrow...seriously. 

 

Wednesday night we had our first childs English class. We were so excited about it. We had passed out a ton of fliers and talked to a ton of people and were positive that it was going to be great. Well...it came time for it to start and we had no students. About 5 minutes late A showed up. So we taught her English. We are going to stick with it for a few more weeks just to see if it will take off but if it doesnt we unfortunately may have to just go back to our regular English classes.

 

Thursday we did studies and then headed back to the MUP. Sister Frampton had to have an interview (I had one too) that they basically just ask why we are here, etc. It went well.  There was a woman and a man interviewing her and they were so nice. Usually the people at the police station arent very nice to us. But they were joking with us and talking to us and they asked us a lot about who we are and what we are doing. We were able to talk to them about the church quite a bit. It went really well.

 

We went home after the MUP and did weekly planning and then the Prestons picked us up and we went out to M's parents to do Family History with them which I loved! M's Dad wasnt actually there so we just talked to his mom. At first she was very hesitant about talking with us but at the end we couldnt get her to stop talking. We asked her questions about her family and growing up and asked her questions about M. I absolutely loved hearing her tell the stories and it made me excited to do more research on our family. Sister Preston is making a book for M for Christmas which will be good. I think family history is a good way to get people started with the church.

 

After M's parents we did some tracting and tried to find inactive members. We had another member that I had found her address while searching through papers. So we went out to find her. We found a door that had her name on it but the man that answered said that she didnt live there anymore. We asked were she lived and he said it would be too hard to explain. So then I asked if he had a number for her and he said that it was a secret number. Some way, somehow we will find these members! We then had English again which went well!

 

Friday...we had to go to the MUP again...3 days in a row! But we are done now! Sister Frampton officially has her visa and everything...happy day! When we were finished at the MUP we went out tracting. We ended up in a different area that had several apartment buildings. We were trying to figure out which building to go to and Sister Frampton pointed to one and said that one. So we went and the door to it was open! We went up to the top floor and knocked on a door. No one was answering it and we were about to go to the next door when a lady answered. We gave her a power statement and she said thank you but I have my religion so I dont need to talk to you. I asked her what it is that she believes and she said that people just have to be good people and that is all. I was very firm and bold with her and told her no that isnt true. I dont want to say we got into an argument but we just werent agreeing. She would say something and didnt like it when I would tell her she was wrong and then tell her what we know. We were positive that she wasnt going to let us in and were about to leave when she said why dont you come inside so that we can talk some more. So we went in and it ended up being a beautiful lesson! She has 2 kids and 2 grandchildren. Her husband was lost in the war and she opened up to us about herself. We talked to her about the Plan of Salvation and the Restoration. She listened intently and asked questions. We testified a lot and in the end we left her with a Book of Mormon and she told us that she would read it and that we could come back and talk with her more!

 

We then went to the church and got ready for Aktivnost and had Aktivnost. One of the members wanted to make ornaments and Christmas decorations. So we did and it turned out great! We had several of our English students come and they loved it and the ornaments turned out cute! I made a ton of snowflakes...not quite as many as I made last year to decorate the kitchen but enough! I cant believe that Christmas is so soon!

 

Saturday we went and cleaned the church and then we met with A. One of my favorite parts of the week. We worked on Personal Progress with her which went great! We love A.  After we went to N and V's and had a great lesson with her. We talked to them about the 13 aritcles of Faith which neither of them had read before and read a talk from conference with them about it. It was Elder Perrys from the Priesthood Session and it was a really good talk. They were asking us questions about the articles of faith. It was good!

 

After we did some tracting.  Then we had a leadership broadcast for the District. So it was broadcast from Zagreb with all of the branches in Croatia. They have had them before but missionaries hadnt gone but this time they invited us and Im glad that we were able to go. They talked about the District Schedule and a few other things and then they talked about how things are going with members getting more involved with missionary work. President Babić who is the District President talked and he is amazing. He talked about how without fasting and prayer nothing is going to happen and that we have to have Faith...the missionaries and the members. We have to have Faith that we can have Zion here, that the church can grow here, and that we can strengthen members as well as bring in new members.  It is not just the effort of the missionaries that will do it. We need the members working with us in order to accomplish this goal.

 

Sunday was a great day! On the way to church we got a phone call from someone asking us about church and he said he was going to come. And he did. Apparently he had met with missionaries before but then had gotten sick. Im not really completely sure what his intentions are and he had some interesting points of view but we will see how things go there. N came to church! Last night when we were at their house we asked them if they were going to come to church. N usually says maybe but this time he said yes. We asked him multiple times and he said I told you I would be there so I will. And he came! And he loved it! We have been teaching N since we have been together and this is the first time I would actually consider him a progressing investigator. He actually came to church and was asking us when we were going to come meet with him again. When we talked to him about Baptism Saturday night instead of saying I have already been baptized he asked us questions about it and I think is actually starting to understand why he needs baptism. It is seriously so exciting! This is the first time that I have actually felt that we can get him to Baptism in the near future. I dont know what that accident did to him but I think it really made him think and realize the important things. Sacrament meeting went great...Elder Preston and K spoke! After church we went to J's. He is the one that we met last Sunday while we were looking for a member. We had called him during the week to ask when we could come again and he told us to come on Sunday and that he was excited to learn more.  It ended up being a great lesson! He had started reading the Book of Mormon and likes it. We taught him about prayer and then we taught the Plan of Salvation. The lesson was so good! We had an even balance of asking questions and getting him talking as well as us teaching and we had a perfect balance between the two of us. We could tell that he was intently focused on the lesson and that he was understanding and liked it. I know that he felt the Spirit! We committed him to come to church on Sunday and he told us that we can come back and teach him again! So exciting! I can really see things leading to baptism with him.

 

After that we went and checked up on some potentials. The first one, her Grandma answered the door and was being kinda mean. She kept asking us to say something and then would tell us to repeat it and each time she would laugh at us...at least we brought some laughter to her Sunday evening. But then her granddaughter came and she was so nice. We had a short discussion with her but she didnt seem very interested in us coming back. The next one we checked up on was so nice and told us that we could come back another time to talk more. I think she was serious and really is interested so hopefully that will be good!

 

On our way home we saw our little Sestra (A). I call Sister Frampton Sestra and she does the same...and recently we have realized that we do the same with A. I love it when we see A and L on the street because they arent afraid to come up and say hi to us even when they are with their friends. Some of there friends will come up and talk to us now even when they arent with A and L! The kids here love us...we are still working on their parents!

 

This week I went back and was reading through the talks that I have given heren Croatia and I love seeing the progress that I have made language wise. Even the talk that I gave just a month ago I have read it and have noticed mistakes and I love being able to see how much I have grown from the first talk that I gave my second week here until now. It was almost tortorous to read my first talk. I still have a lot of room for improvement but it shows me that I am learning and I am improving and I can get there. I am at the point that I understand pretty much everything people say.  M speaking is still not perfect but it is a lot better than it was.

 

This week was a good week and I am excited for this coming week! I am going on an exchange this week to Tuzla which is in Bosnia so I am excited for that to get a little bit of a change of pace. It is also Thanksgiving and we get a half a Pay so we are celebrating Thanksgiving at the Prestons. Time is flying by and I have a feeling that time is going to start to go even faster over these next couple of weeks/months.

 

I love you all and I love it here! The experiences that I am having truly are life changing and I am learning so much! I hope that things continue to go up and that we can keep having these little miracles every day that lead to the bigger miracles. We have more progressing investigators right now than we have had since we have been together and it is so exciting to see these people making changes in their lives to come closer to the Savior. The Gospel is amazing, it is life changing but it is so worth the change! Remember that I love you all! I hope that you have a great week! Have a Happy Thanksgiving...try not to eat too much!

Volim vas!

Sestra Clark

 

 

Thanks for the emails...Mom, Dad, Carrie, Lex, Grandpa

Also...the Prestons made a trip to Zagreb this week and brought back 2 letters from Dad (one of them had a teeny note from Joe!) and one from Carrie!

 

Sretan Rođendan Ryan!

Pictures

YSA FHE

 

Goals for this transfer

 

Dakovo catherdral

 



 Dakovo horses

 

 More horses

 

 Lots of horses

 

Dancing by the dancing horses truck

 

Swinging

Posing like the statue man



We are emailing a little bit later today because we spent the day with the Prestons in Đakovo which is about half an hour from Osijek. They have a really big cathedral there and they also have big horse fields and training stadiums that we went to that were really cool to see. It ended up being a really good day!

Anyway...on to last week! It was a great week! Monday night we had YSA FHE. We did it at one of the members and another one of the members gave the lesson. She talked about how we all have potential to become something great and worthwhile but it doesnt happen without effort. She shared the story that was shared in the General Relief Society Meeting about the Provo Tabernacle which is now being turned into a temple. As she was talking about it it got me thinking about the temple and how much I missed it. But then I looked around the room at the members. 2 of them have been to the temple, only one is endowed. The nearest temple from them is hours away. They dont know if or when they will be able to go to it again. And then I thought, I can do this for this short time because I know that when I go home there will be multiple temples within a short drive and these members will probably never know what that is like.

 

Tuesday...we finally got our transfer call. And as you already know I am in Osijek for another transfer with Sister Frampton. And we dont have another set of missionaries yet. I have mixed emotions on it. Part of me was ready for a change and the other part of me wanted to stay here to be able to see some of the results from the efforts. I know this is where I need to be for another transfer and I know that it will be a good transfer! We sat down Tuesday and made some good goals individually and as a companionship for the transfer. We decided that the reason that they waited until Tuesday to call is because by Tuesday we were ok with staying together in Osijek. If they would have called us on Friday and told us we were both staying we might have been a bit upset because at that point we were both ready for a change. But now we are ok with it!

 

Tuesday we also had District Meeting which went well...I was hoping that someone else would come and be in charge so I didnt have to run those anymore but I guess I get to do it for another transfer. We also had English class Tuesday night which was good.

 

Wednesday...Sister Preston suggested to us that we go tract the Elders old apartment because missionaries havent lived there for 4 months now and it was Elders not Sisters. So we went for it. We found one man that was really close to letting us in but then told us it would be better if we came back another time. We have gone back a few more times but he hasnt been home. But we arent giving up on him! We then went to another building and a super nice old lady let us in...we get old ladies that let us in quite often. They are super nice and will usually listen to our message but say they are old and dont need to change. This lady invited us over for Christmas...dont know if we will take her up on that but she was very nice. We went down one floor and a man  answered the door. He invited us in but he was home alone so we told him we couldnt come in. So he came into the hall and we talked to him briefly about the Book of Mormon. He gave us his phone number...and had us call his phone right then so that we know it was right...and told us to call him and we could set up a time to come back when his wife was home!

 

We did Family History which went well. It is starting to become sort of repetitive. We have gotten to the point where we have entered all of the information in so now we are just trying to help them look for information on their family. It is kind of hard and we arent having much luck because of the limited information that we have. But one of these days we will find something and it will be worth it. After, we were in an area where a member lives that we have tried to visit multiple times but they will never answer the door. We decided to go and her husband answered the door! He was so nice and we talked to him for a good 5 to 10 minutes. We told him that we just want them to know that we are thinking about them and care about them. His wife wasnt home but he told us that he will talk to her and that we can come back in a couple of days. We also went to a girls house named V. We had met her a few nights before and she was heading out the door but told us to come back. So we did and we talked to her about the Restoration. She said she isnt interested in changing but just was curious...but I think that she felt something and that there is potential for her.

 

Thursday morning we did weekly planning and then we went to L's...she is a member. We had a really good lesson with her. She teaches Sunday School and the week before had taught about the Sacrament but we were teaching primary so werent there. So we talked to her about that and how the reason that we go to church is to take the Sacrament and how important it is for us to go every week. We talked about that we go to church for ourselves and we decide if we are going to feel of the Spirit or not. She brought up some concerns and we were able to answer them perfectly in a way that didnt offend her but we said it how it is. It ended up being a really great lesson!

 

We then went and met the Prestons and ate for Elder Prestons birthday and then we went to the church and met with A. She was speaking in church on Sunday and wanted some help with her talk. So we gave her some resources to use and let her write it. She was so cute...she would think of a sentence and then say it out loud and ask us how it was. We would say that is great and then she would write it down. And then she wanted to practice. So we went in the chapel and she practiced sitting down and walking up to the pulpit and giving her talk. Anna really is the future of the church here. As we were meeting with her on Thursday I kept thinking of her as a missionary a few years down the road. She has a testimony and she is reading the Book of Mormon every day as a 12 year old. If she can continue on this path she is going to do great things in her life. She is going to be the turning point for her family and for so many other people and I am so lucky that I get to share a small part in her learning experience.

 

Friday...sometimes as a missionary I feel like a detective. We have so many members that we have absolutely no information about them so when we are home at nights I have been reading through all of their information trying to find any clues as to where they could be. And then when we find information we have to find ways to get into the building that they live in and such. Anyway...I was reading through one of the members information and found the name of a former investigator and an address. So we decided to go check it out. We went out there and she wasnt home but we walked down a few doors and I had a feeling to knock on the door. So we did. A man answered named Robert. He was so nice and we gave a brief introduction of the Restoration and he gave us his information and told us to come back to talk more about it!

 

We then went to an elementary school. For awhile we have wanted to start a childs english class because we have had a lot of people express interest in it. Our other English classes have been going so well that we decided to try it. There is an elementary school right by our house so we decided to run there and just see if they would let their students know about it. We talked to the principal who took us all over the school looking for the English teacher who wasnt there. So we set up an appointment with them to go back this morning. We went this morning and had a meeting with the Principal and English teachers and kind of told them what it was that we were doing and showed them our program. They were so nice and told us they would tell their students about it! The Principal even asked if she could come! It definitely ended up being a good thing and was kind of fun to see into what the schools are like here.

 

After we went to the special needs place for a few minutes. We had seen some of the people on the streets and they kept asking us when we were going to come back. So we decided we had to. We only stayed for about fifteen minutes and just said hi to everyone. And then we went to E and J's. We have had a hard time getting in to visit them because E has been sick. But they finally were able to schedule with us and we had a great meeting with them. D came out and talked to us and was singing us the songs that he is learning in school to learn English! I had never heard any of them before but it was really cute! It is so hard with them because they let us come and we always have really good lessons with them but then they dont come to church. But we will keep trying. They live right by B and E so after we decided to go see if they were home. We have been trying to go for a long time but they are never home when we go. He is the one that read the Book of Mormon in 2 weeks. We went and they were finally home! They were so nice and let us in and we had a good discussion with them but they just arent interested in learning about the church. It makes me so sad because he has read the Book of Mormon all the way through but he just doesnt see a need for him to make a change in his life. We then had Aktivnost and we played charades which ended up being a lot of fun and we had a really good turnout!

 

Saturday...The Prestons wanted to go out to a village to find an inactive member and asked us if we would go with them. We didnt realize until we were heading there that they really meant find him. They didnt have an address they just knew the village. So their goal was to go out there and ask people and find him. Well, yes it was a village but it was still pretty big. We went to several different places and asked people but no one seemed to know who he was. So we had no luck. After we went with them to M's parents. M is in Germany but Sister Preston wanted to make him a family history book for Christmas. So she wanted to go out there to schedule a time with his parents that we could come back and ask them some questions about their family history so that she can do that for them. They were so happy to see us and were so nice to us as usual. They are such a great family! And I think as soon as M finally makes the decision for baptism his family will follow suit! We just need to get him there...as soon as he gets back from Germany!

 

When we got back to Osijek we did some tracting and then we had an appointment with F. We had arranged for M to be there for a member present lesson. But F never showed up. But we made the best of the situation and just decided to have a lesson with M which turned out to be really good! We read scriptures with him...I had just read Alma 17 a few days earlier and had liked it so I shared what I had learned with him from that. We talked to him about his baptism and what first got him interested in the church and how he felt. We really got him to open up to us and it ended up being great!

 

Then we went and had a lesson with N and V. They were both awake this time! We read with them from the Book of Mormon and left a copy of one of the conference talks for them to read. V came to church on Sunday...but N didnt. He says that he wants to be baptized he just needs to do it slowly...but he isnt doing anything to show that he wants it.

 

Sunday...was a good day! A spoke in Sacrament meeting and did a great job! She talked about Faith! The rest of church went great as well. Through my detective work I was able to find a possible address for a member that we havent been in contact with or had any way to get in contact with her. So we went out to find her. The paper I found said that she lived in one of two buildings. We didnt recognize any of the last names so we just decided to tract both buildings. The first building everyone was completely rude...part of me thinks that she actually lives in that building. Because people are always rude but they were extremely rude in this building. So we went to the next building. The second door we knocked on a man answered and invited us in. We asked him if anyone else was home because we werent allowed to be alone with males...he responded just an old Grandma...we'll take it! So we went in! They were so nice! It is just the two of them there. She has had a stroke in the past so he takes care of her. We had a great first lesson with them and committed them to read the Book of Mormon and we are going to go back this week to meet with them again! We never found the member we were looking for but I know we were supposed to go to these buildings for a reason!

 

We then met the Prestons and went to D's to sing with him and then went to D's and talked with her. She is sick...still or again? not sure which. She says she feels great spiritually but not physically. We are just trying to get her to come to church. She says that she will come when she feels better but she has been sick since I have been in Osijek. But one of these days she will realize that church is important and that she needs to come!

 

Anyway...it has been a good busy week. We had several great first lessons and a lot of return appointments that are going to go just as great this week! I am excited for another transfer here in Osijek and know that I will be able to see more people make changes in their lives as they come closer to the Savior through the Spirit and through the blessings of the Atonement. I love this Gospel and I love how much I am learning about it every day as I get to share it with others. Remember that I love you all! Have a great week!

 

Sestra Clark

 

Shoutouts!

 

Thanks for the emails from Jord, Dad, Lex, Grandpa, Mom, Carrie

Sretan Rođendan Valori and Zach!

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday from Croatia! It has been another good week! A bit stressful and a bit crazy but they all seem to be like that. But I am still alive, I am still warm (we will see how long that lasts), and I still love it here.

 

Monday...Last Monday for pday we just had a relaxing day at home. I took a nap and it was the greatest thing in the world.  Monday night we had District Meeting. The Prestons had to go to Zagreb on Tuesday and the rest of our week was already booked so it was the only time that we could do it. We talked about phrases that we can learn and memorize and have ready to go so that anything someone says we can turn it to the Gospel. Like when people go off on the war, or when they say they are sick, or when they have excuses as to why they cant come to church, and other things such as that.

 

Tuesday...First funny story. So we were riding the tram and we didnt realize that we were at our stop until a little late. We quickly got up and booked it to the door...Sister Frampton got off the tram and the door started shutting before I could get off. I could just see the tram driving off with her standing there. Anyway...I stuck my Book of Mormon out and the door got to it and then opened again and I quickly jumped off the tram before the door shut again. Explaining it doesnt sound very funny...but I promise it was. But, we came up with a plan for if that ever happens again.

 

Anyway...we had an inactive member that we decided that we were going to go find. We had an address for her but had heard that she didnt live there anymore. But we decided to go try it anyway. We got there and her son answered and said that she didnt live there but I asked him for her phone number and he gave it to us!  Then we were at our apartment and I was looking for something and in a huge stack of papers found something that had a different address for her...so we decided to go try it. It was clear out in the middle of nowhere but we trudged out there in the pouring rain to find her. We got to the house and a man answered. He said she wasnt home but that she did indeed live there and that if we came back on either Saturday or Sunday after 7 she would be home! We found her house! I dont know where this address has been hiding but missionaries havent had contact with her for a long time because we didnt have a phone number for her and no one knew where she lived. But in one day we found both of those! We went back on Saturday night and she was home. We talked to her very briefly but she wouldnt let us inside and said she was busy and couldnt talk much. I think she was very surprised to see us because it has been awhile. But now we at least know where we can find her and she knows that we care about her.

 

Tuesday night at English my dear friend M had brought her Granddaughter. We were talking to them after and they asked us about Aktivnost and asked if they were allowed to come even though they werent members. We told them absolutely! Then somehow they had found out about our relief society activity (more on that later) and asked if they could come to that and D overheard. We told them everyone was welcome. They said that in Croatia you dont find it very often where people have activities and you like make a craft or such and sit and talk with each other and they were very excited about it.

 

For our thought Tuesday night for English Sister Frampton sang a hymn and I played for her. The students love it when we do that! They ask for it every time...so we do it every once in awhile but dont tell them when we are going to so that they just keep coming. :)

 

Wednesday...we have some members who live right by the border of Hungary. They had told us that they had some friends that were interested in the church and wanted us to come out and meet them and teach them. So we went out on Wednesday to meet them. It was an older woman named A. She was very nice. Her house was older, doesnt even have running water, but it was very clean and well kept. We had a good first lesson with her. She told us that she has looked in to a lot of religions but hasnt ever really chosen one. We taught her the first lesson...it was a bit interesting because the Prestons were there and they dont understand Croatian and Sister Frampton isnt at the point that she can translate yet because she still doesnt completely understand everything so I was teaching and translating and such so that they could give input into the lesson. But we had a really good lesson with her. We taught her about the Restoration and we taught her about prayer. She prayed at the end of the lesson. We invited her to read and pray about the Book of Mormon and she said she would. She really wants to come to church but she lives far away so it is hard for her to get there but she said she will try.

 

After we had Family History and then we went and checked up on some potentials...we got a few people that told us we could come back another time but Im not sure if they were serious or just wanted to get rid of us. But we will go back!

 

Thursday...we had our Relief Society activity which turned out great! M and her granddaughter, V, came and so did D. We actually had less non members come than members. We made scripture cases for our Book of Mormons. We had Ensigns out so that people could pick pictures to put on their cases. V was asking a lot about them and Sister Frampton was sitting by her so was able to talk to her about the pictures and talked to her a lot about Joseph Smith and about what we believe. I was sitting by D. She flipped through every single picture that we had and took every single one in and loved it. If she had questions about it she would ask me. She found several pictures of the Salt Lake temple and asked me what it was. I told her and every single picture that she put on her case was of the Salt Lake Temple. I can tell that she really feels something and she loves it when she comes to things we just cant get her to set up times to meet with us. But the activity turned out great. I was also sitting by one of the members so I got to help her and talk to her which was good!

 

Thursday night English class was a really good one. I had taught the students prepositions on Tuesday and they were really struggling with them so I told them we would review them on Thursday. Cute little M had gone home and made up a song with actions to remember them. So she taught it to us and we all practiced. Her granddaughter said that she wakes up each morning and studies what we are learning in class for an hour...and she is improving so much! Its exciting! Anyway.., then I demonstrated prepositions with the piano bench...sit on the bench, jump off the bench, go under the bench, stand next to the bench, etc.  Then I made them all do it...they didnt like that as much as me doing it. But by the end of the class they all knew the prepositions...I was exhausted and braindead but they knew them!

 

Friday...We were supposed to get transfer calls. We spent all morning anxiously awaiting them. We finally got the call around noon. We answered it and they said we have news for you...We dont know. Apparently there is a sister that is going to the Adriatic South Mission and President just found out that she is coming to our mission to be trained. So all of the Elders got there transfer calls but the Sisters will be getting ours either today or tomorrow and then we will transfer on Friday. I was hoping we would know by the time we emailed but we still dont know...Im suspecting we wont until tomorrow.  I honestly couldnt tell you what I thought would be happening. I wouldnt be surprised to be here another transfer but I wouldnt be surprised if I leave since I have been here for awhile...I guess we will find out soon enough. Anyway...we went out and checked up on potentials and tracted with not so much luck and then we went to Aktivnost. We did brain teasers for Aktivnost...Sister Preston has had to start saying that I cant help my team because I just have to read the question and I know the answer.  Then we just played games...Elder Preston had put together shuffle board again and they had put out puzzles...for awhile every single one of us was working on a puzzle and the entire room was silent...it was pretty funny! But it turned out to be a great, relaxed Aktivnost!

 

 

Saturday...we cleaned the church and then we went with the Prestons because they had a member that they have been trying to meet but it is hard for them since they dont know Croatian. We think they heard us because no one answered but as soon as we left someone came and closed the gate as we were driving away. It makes me so sad that there are so many members that now want absolutely no contact with us or the church.  Some of them we cant even find and have no information on them. I would dare say that over half of the members are either inactive or less active.

 

Saturday Z was in Osijek (he was the Branch President who moved to Zagreb) and he invited us to go with him and his nephew P to go get ice cream with him and K and her two kids A and L. P's mom is a member but she is less active and P is very shy. It ended up being really good and we were able to talk to him and get him to feel a little more comfortable with us. We then had Young Womens with A which went great. We helped her make a scripture case and then we helped her work on a talk. She is speaking in church this coming Sunday and she is so excited about it! We then went to D's and then to N and V's.  N was sleeping. So we just met with V which was good. We all shared our testimonies and we talked to her about the importance of church.  She came to church on Sunday which was the first time in probably two months! After her is when we went to the inactive members house that we found on Tuesday and then we headed home. On our way home we saw our two favorite little boys...A and R. We seriously have a fan club of children. They love us! We have kids chasing us down to say hi! Sometimes they talk to us in German not realizing we dont understand them but at least they recognize we arent Croatian. Anyway...these two boys are so cute and they are very concerned about what we do all of the time. They were being super funny on Saturday night and made Sister Frampton pee her pants...thats the third time. Good times!

 

Sunday...what a great Sunday! Church went good. Sister Preston spoke in Sacrament Meeting and had asked me to translate for her. I was terrified! I translate for her when other people are speaking but it is easier to translate Croatian to English than English to Croatian. But I did it and I made it through. I can guarantee it wasnt perfect but I at least got the point across and it was good practice. Cute little A was sitting on the front row and there were a few times that she would whisper me the word if I would pause. Anyway...it was scary but I did it and I survived and now I would be ok doing it again!

 

We taught Primary to A and L which went good. We taught about 1 Nephi 18 when Nephi and his family sail across the sea in the ship that he built and Nephis brothers tie him up. So we tied L up to the oven. He loved it! The kids love Primary and they love it when we read scriptures and they love learning...and they actually remember what we teach them! After church we went to visit our family that has 3 kids that one of them came to English one time. We have tried several times but havent caught them home. They were home and let us in and were very nice. We then went and had a lesson with a referral from another member. We went to his house  and his neighbor came over.   Her husband had to work and they have a 5 year old daughter. The lesson went so good! We taught the first lesson...I had Sister Frampton take the lead and she did great.  M said that she belives in God but doesnt go to church because it just got to political. She paid close attention to what we were telling her and we could tell that she was feeling it. We gave her a Book of Mormon and committed her to read it. She told us that she would like to meet with us again but she needs to talk to her husband. P was perfect in the lesson and helped when we asked him and helped us teach her. He is already talking about their baptism...not sure that we are quite there yet but we will get there!

 

After that lesson we went to visit R to sing with her which went really good. She was so excited to see us. We sang with her for quite awhile...we even sang some Christmas songs. I love Christmas songs. Anyway...it just turned out to be a really good Sunday.

 

We got 2 new investigators this week and both of them are from Member Referrals which we are really excited about!  Hopefully things continue to go well with both of them because I see great potential in both of them. I am excited this week and it could be my last week in Osijek or I could have a few more. We do know that we arent getting Elders back to Osijek this transfer so we will see what they decide to do with the Sisters. Its a bit nerve wracking knowing that I could be in a different country shortly. But I know that whatever happens will be great and I completely trust that President Rowe knows what he is doing and that we will all be where we need to be. I love Osijek! I love the Gospel and I love being able to learn more about it every day. This morning during Personal Study I finished the New Testament. I havent read it all the way through since Seminary and I absolutely loved it! My testimony is growing every day as I am learning and sharing the Gospel with others.

 

I hope that you have a great week! Remember that I love you all lots and lots!

Sestra Clark

 

Shoutouts...

 

Emails this week from Zach, Tyler, Allie, Lex, Mom, Grandpa, Dad, Joe

Prestons went to Zagreb this week and brought back mail and I got a letter from Dad and from Carrie! Thanks!

 

Sretan Rođendan Brianne!

 

Pictures

 Trying to get a picture of her toothache

 

 At zone conference

 

 Happy Halloween - dressed up as each other

 

Day of the Dead

 

 Day of the Dead

 

 Day of the Dead

 

 A random colorful car

 

The Saturday church cleaning crew



Happy November‏

Don't take this personally but I hate writing emails on Mondays. I love being able to read your emails but writing stresses me out. We had a good week this week. It was a bit exhausting but they all seem to be like that. We were crazy busy which is good.

 

Monday...Monday night is always hard getting started after pday. Monday as we were getting ready to walk out the door Sister Frampton said to me..."I have faith that we will find someone tonight. Do you?" I gave her a half hearted reply of ya. She looked at me and said "No, you have to mean it." So I paused for a second and then said "We are going to find someone. Lets go." So we headed out the door to go check up on some of our potentials and former investigators.  The very first door we knocked on let us in. It was a woman named M. Her husband was there and her 16 year old son. We got to know them and found out what they knew about our church and what they had learned from other missionaries...which turned out to not be very much. So we started at the beginning and gave them a first lesson. They focused intently on what we had to say and asked questions. We left them with a Book of Mormon and challenged them to read it. They said that they would and we have an appointment to go back and see them this week.

 

There are stands that sell chestnuts on every corner in Osijek. Seriously every corner. People sit out there and roast chestnuts and sell them. We have been wanting to try them for awhile but have always been busy or heading somewhere or not hungry. Anyway...Monday night we started talking to one of the guys working one of the stands and a family came up and bought some chestnuts. We started talking to them and they gave each of us a chestnut to try. They were disgusting. Seriously...I do not like chestnuts roasting on an open fire. Ok, it wasnt really an open fire but thats the only time Ive ever heard of chestnuts before in that song...needless to say chestnuts are gross...but we tried them. The people here love them though. They have plain chestnuts, chestnut cake, chestnut icecream, chestnut everything...its all gross.

 

Tuesday...was an interesting day. I woke up with a toothache. We went to the church and I told the Prestons and they had me call one of the senior missionaries who is a dentist. So we called him and asked him a few questions and he had the Prestons take some pictures (we have a funny picture of this that I will send) and send to him. He looked at it and said he couldnt see anything so he told me to go to a dentist here just to be sure. He recommended a dentist so we went and they were completely rude to us and told us they couldnt get an appointment for 3 weeks. We were talking to the Prestons and they decided to call their landlord and ask her for a suggestion of a dentist. She was so nice and called one of her friends and got me an appointment for the next morning. We went in, she looked at my tooth, said nothing was wrong and didnt even charge us. Not really sure why my tooth was hurting but it doesnt hurt anymore.

 

Anyway...back to Tuesday. We read with B and then had district meeting. We then had an appointment with one of our members who said that he had a friend that wanted to meet with us that was going to be there. We got to his house  and he said my friend cant come today so instead you are going to have a lesson with me So we taught him with the Prestons. He had some questions from his Book of Mormon reading so we answered those and talked about the Book of Mormon with him.

 

Tuesday night we had English. English classes are still going good. Last Thursday after English we had handed out Book of Mormons so on Tuesday we told everyone that if they had any questions about the Book of Mormon to come up and talk to us about it. One of the cute little old ladies raised her hand and said I read it and it is very similar to the Bible. She said then I went and looked up your church on the computer and did you know that your church is the fastest growing church in the world. It is growing the fastest in America and Brazil but it is growing everywhere else too. We tried to talk to her a little more after but she didnt really seem to want to talk to us anymore.

 

Wednesday...I had the dentist appointment Wednesday morning that went well. We then went to visit M, her granddaughter and is a member was there sick so we got to teach both of them which was good. M loves it when we come visit and we always have really good lessons with her...but she wont come to church. She comes maybe once every other month but other than that she doesnt. So we are hoping that if we keep working with her she will start coming more.

 

We then checked up on a few potentials that lived over by her. Neither of them were home. One of their parents were home and they let us in but after a few minutes it became very obvious that they werent interested so we left.

 

We had Family History which went good. I am learning a lot more about family history because these members really are starting from scratch. It really is interesting and it is exciting when we find things. After family history we had a return appointment with someone we had met a few nights earlier that told us to come back a different day. So we went back. Her daughter and granddaughter were there so it was a little bit chaotic. But we talked to them all and had a good discussion with them. They told us that we could come back to visit with them but they arent interested in the church...so we wont be going back.

 

Thursday...was Halloween. We dressed up as each other...I wore Sister Framptons clothes and she wore mine. No one noticed we were dressed up.  Im pretty sure we were the only ones in all of Osijek that dressed up for Halloween. We started out the morning with weekly planning which went well.  Then we went out tracting...with not much luck. We had one guy that opened the door (Im pretty sure he was waiting for us) and before we could even say hi he had the biggest grin on his face and was shutting the door as he said Doviđenja (Goodbye). Another lady told us that we werent allowed to go door to door and that we had better get out of her apartment building immediately. Thats about how our night went. But we had English class which went really well! We had fewer students than usual but it was good. After M, the same lady from Tuesday, told me that she liked that their were fewer students because it was easier to learn and went better. She told me though that I am the perfect teacher because I am patient with them and even when there are 12 students I dont get stressed...I told her that we are hoping soon to have another set of missionaries so that we can have 2 teachers per class...she said she doesnt want that. So that made me feel good. I was also able to talk to her about the church a little bit which was good...we are making baby steps with he which is good. Because we have noticed that when we try to take things too fast people get scared. For our spiritual thought Thursday night we decided to read part of the introduction to the Book of Mormon which was really good. They were all focused intently and nodding their heads and really liked it. I think we are starting to get to even some of the students that have been coming to English for years. The English program that we are using right now is one that President Rowe found and we are trying to get it used mission wide. He took a lot of time deciding on a program to use and I know that he was definitely inspired to use this one because it really is bringing amazing results!

 

Thursday night we were home and someone rang our door bell...that never happens. We opened it to find A and L and each of them had a friend and they said trick or treat. Luckily we had some oreos to give them. We asked them how they knew where we lived and they said they just asked people around our building where the 2 Americans lived. We were the only house they trick or treated.

 

Friday...we had zone conference. Zone conference is always really good but it is also really exhausting. We had to wake up at 5:30 to get there on time and then they ended up starting an hour late anyway. But between that and the 6 hour car ride it is a little exhausting. But it was good. They talked about finding and especially finding through members and gave us some good tips on how to better get our members involved and make them feel like we need them. They also talked a lot about finding through English classes. They suggested doing a church tour after English classes. The only problem is our church is two rooms. One English class is in one room and the other class is in the other room. The Chapel is the same room that we have Aktivnost, English, Meetings, everything. We need a bigger church...its just a lot of work to try to find one and we dont really want to do it. :) But zone conference was great and we learned a lot and it was a lot of stuff that we can apply to our work. At the end President Rowe showed a film that had clips of talks from President Eyring and Elder Holland that were talking about the Atonement and it you could just hear them talking in the background and it was showing video of the Savior. The Power in their voices was incredible and it was an amazing film. I have always known that the Atonement was real but each day as I am using it more and more in my life I am seeing how incredible it really is. We can use the Atonement in almost everything we do. Christ is our perfect example of everything...obedience, enduring to the end...and whenever I have a hard time or a down moment I think of the sacrifice that he made for me and what I am doing is nothing compared to that.

 

On the way home we tried to visit a less active member but she wasnt home. We also stopped at a cemetery because it was The Day of the Dead or All Saints Day which is basically like Memorial day. Its where everyone goes and puts flowers on graves. But they also light candles so the cemetery was really cool to look at...I will send some pictures.

 

Saturday...We cleaned the church and then we met with F...I am still not completely sure what his intentions are. He keeps coming and says he wants to meet with us but then he doesnt act on any of the things that we ask him to do. He agrees with what we say and says that he has a good feeling about it though. We also met with N and V which went well. We did some tracting for the rest of the night...we had some people tell us we could come back...we werent sure if they were serious or if they were just saying it to get rid of us. But we will go back!

 

Sunday...was a great day! Church was great...our numbers were small (probably the smallest amount of people since I have been there) but it was a great meeting. It was fast Sunday and most of the members that bore their testimony were ones that dont usually do it rather than our regulars that go every month. Cute little A bore her testimony...she had asked us a few weeks ago if anyone was allowed to do it, we told her yes. She is going to do amazing things in her life. Since we have started doing Personal Progress with her she has been reading from the Book of Mormon daily. She always tells us about what she is learning. We love it! The Spirit in the meeting was so strong. It really was amazing. Each Sunday and each Aktivnost, etc. my love for these members grows stronger and stronger. It truly is amazing the changes that they are making to come closer to Christ. After Church we had branch council which went well. The Prestons invited us over for dinner so we went over there and ate and then we went tracting for the night. We found one girl that is probaly in her 20s that told us she would love to talk to us and so we are going back this week. Sunday night was super windy so it was kind of interesting when people would answer the door and you had to keep your skirt from flying up and your hair was in your face. Luckily it didnt start raining though until it was time to go back home...I had my umbrella but Sister Frampton didnt so we had to share. Im sure we looked pretty funny running back to our apartment in the pouring rain! Im just glad it wasnt snow!

 

This week was a great week...there were several times this week that I told Sister Frampton I was the tiredest I have ever been...she didnt think I was very funny. But then I would go to bed and wake up the next morning and forget how tired I was and we would just get to work. It is amazing how we just keep going even though sometimes we feel like the walking dead. I am excited for this next week...we already have a full week planned and if things go as planned it is going to be a great week!

 

I love you all! I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to be here serving. I know without a doubt that this is exactly where I need to be right now. I am learning so much and seeing changes in so many people that I know is not because of anything I am doing...it is 100 percent the Spirit.

 

I hope that you have a great week! Love you lots and lots!

Sestra Clark

 

 

Shoutouts!

Thanks for the emails from Mom, Dad, Lex, Grandpa, Carrie

 

Sretan Rođendan...Kelsey