Pictures

 Sister Clark's apartment, 2nd floor

 

 The laundry house down the street

 

 A family she loves!

 

 The church

 

Following sheep down the street on Sunday



Happy Monday again!

Well...here we go again! It was another crazy week that seemed to fly by. I dont really know what else to write here so I will just go for a breakdown of the week.

Monday...Monday night we went and checked up on some potentials. Actually first, we had received a referral from church headquarters so we went to find her. We went to the address we were given but apparently it was her cousins house and not hers. We talked to her cousin briefly and she told us if we came back on Wednesday that she would be there. We then had a few potentials that we checked up on. The first one her gate was locked and we couldnt get into her yard. The second one was home and let us in but when we got inside he started telling us all of the things that he had looked up online and how awful it all was. We were very nice and corrected the things that he said but he still unfortunately wouldnt listen to us. We then went to the P's and did a family home evening with them. We all shared our favorite scriptures and talked about the importance of daily scripture study...individual and family. In case you were wondering my current favorite scripture (it changes daily) is Mosiah 2:41"And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it." I love the phrase "a state of never-ending happiness". Not only can we have happiness in this life but we can have never-ending happiness if we keep ALL the commandments of God.

 

Tuesday...Tuesday morning we decided it had been a long time since we had met with Z and for some reason we had a feeling that we should meet with him. So we met him and we wont be doing it again. He has no desire to learn at this point...unfortunately. We then had District Meeting and failed to be informed again that we were combining it with Branch Council again...gotta love the miscommunication.  Then we went to Z's house to see her and her family because they left this week to go to India for two months. We had a good lesson with Z and her whole family was there too so it was good. Then S had invited us over to her house because it was her son L (non member) birthday. We had cake and talked with her and her family and then we shared a message at the end.

 

Wednesday...we started off the morning checking on some former investigators over in Centar and then we had a meeting with the missionaries as well as some members to discuss less active members and get information about them and how we can best try to rescue them. It was kind of a chaotic meeting but ended up being good and we have some inactive members that we are in charge of trying to get in contact with over the next couple weeks. I am really excited about it because working with less actives has been one of my favorite things so far on my mission. We had English which was good and then we went back to get in contact with the referral that we went to find on Monday. She was there and we were able to talk to A and her cousin. They were both super nice and said we are more than willing to stay in contact with them but they arent interested in learning about the church. But we will keep them in our prayers!

 

Thursday...we met with L in the morning. It was an interesting lesson. She was talking to us about some things that are troubling her in her life right now and we showed her a Mormon message. She was just in a really weird mood. We did weekly planning and then we went and had a lesson with S. It ended up being a really good lesson. Last time we met with him we talked to him about faith and what faith was. So today we talked to him about acting on that faith so that it can grow.

 

Friday...we met with A in the morning. We discussed the chapters that he had read in D&C.  Then we talked to him about the importance of gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon. We told him how he can know it is true but it isnt until you have a testimony of it, until you have a spiritual witness, that you will have the desire to act on it. We had a meeting on Friday with a man named B. We met him by the coast about a week ago and have had a hard time getting in contact with him. We shared with him the first lesson and told him that we know that our church is the only true church on the earth. He asked us how we knew that and what made us different than other churches because if you ask anyone they say their church is true. We told him we knew because we prayed about it and we found out for ourselves that it was true and that its not because someone else told us that we should believe in it. He was really taken back by that. He had started reading the Book of Mormon and said he will continue to do so.

 

We then went to a potential we had, E. She is actually the sister of an investigator in Osijek, D. We have been trying to go see her since I got here but she has never been home.  She was finally home and let us in! We got to know her and then we talked to her about the Book of Mormon and what our purpose is as missionaries and asked her if she would be interested in us coming back and teaching her about our church. She asked us a lot of questions and told us that she would be interested in learning...we have an appointment to go back on Tuesday!

 

Saturday morning we had a lesson with G Ćosić who is the Sister of Krešimir. He was the only member in his family. She has gone in spurts of meeting with missionaries and not. But she is so nice! We had a good visit with her and we talked about Gods love for us and read some scriptures. We then spent the morning trying to find some less actives. One of them we found her house and talked to her husband but she wasnt home. The other one we tried all 3 addresses we had. 2 of them she didnt live at and the other one was her parents...but they were not about to give us any of her information...unfortunately.

 

We then had a lesson with L. It turned out to be a really good lesson. We were talking to her about forgiveness because she said that she has had a hard time forgiving people in the past. We talked to her about how Christ is the only one that can judge and that it is required of us to forgive all men. We talked to her about the Atonement and how through repentance our sins are remembered no more and that is how we should be towards others. Sister Maxwell shared with her her conversion story (she is a convert to the church) and it was so powerful. The spirit was so strong and L was in tears. At the end, we were sitting in the church and there is a big picture of Christ being baptized hanging on the wall. Sister Maxwell directed her to the picture and we talked about how Christ was perfect and he was baptized to show an example for us. We then gave her the baptismal commitment...there was a long pause...and then a no...heart sink! It was kind of disappointing because the spirit was so strong but after we discussed why and now know some of her concerns and what we need to teach her next. After L we had English. For the spiritual though I played a hymn and everyone sang...they loved it. 

 

Z had asked us to feed her cats because her Dad wouldnt be here until Sunday to take care of them. So we quickly ran there to feed her cats...it was pitch black and we got there and the gate was locked. We had no other choice so we jumped the gate...in our skirts...and fed the cats. I dont even like cats.

 

Sunday we had church which was good. L and Z came and loved primary again! After church we went out to Z's to feed her cats again but her Dad had gotten there so we didnt have to...we also realized the gate had a latch on it to open it that we hadnt seen the night before since it was dark...so we didnt need to jump it after all. But we decided since we were halfway there we would go see A, a member so we walked out and visited her. We havent been able to get in contact with her for a few weeks so it was good. We had a good lesson with her and talked about enduring to the end and the importance of coming to church each Sunday. After A we took the long trek back (Im not kidding, we walked over 10 miles on Sunday...my legs were exhausted by the time we got home) and contacted along the way and then went to D and L's. We had a good lesson with them discussing the Book of Mormon.

 

This week for language study we have been doing language study together. We have been going through the grammar book that I got in the MTC and I am teaching Sister Maxwell exactly how they taught us in the MTC. It seems to be helping things to start clicking a little bit better. Im glad that I had the MTC time to help to actually learn how to speak rather than just being thrown into the country with nothing at all. But...this seems to be helping!

 

This week during comp study one day we had a deep conversation of why it is so hard here. The church is so small and is growing so slowly...and sometimes it is frustrating. People barely let us say a word before they close the door on us. So we were talking about things to say when we are talking to people that lets them know of the importance of the messages that we have for them. We thought about things such as we have your salvation in our hands, listen to us or you will be damned, and other things like that but decided that was a little too harsh and probably wouldnt go over very well. So I have been thinking about it a lot and the thought came to my head to start by asking a question...which I do quite often on doorsteps. So I was thinking about good questions that I could ask that would get them thinking and help them to realize how important our message is.  I thought of the question how do you know that God loves you? I started thinking about that question and applied it to my own life. I thought of the answers such as I have a family and friends, I have food, shelter, etc., I am able to go to school, I am here right now in Croatia. And then I thought those are all great answers but there is so much more. So I started to think about the most important reason that I know He loves me. And that is exactly what I am here teaching others. The plan that He has for me and the things that he has given me to live that plan...the gospel, the Holy Ghost. He wants us to return to live with him...what greater way is there to show His love for us than that. And He has given us the way that we can do that...he has given us everything that we need, we just need to realize it and accept it. He loves us and He wants nothing more than for us to feel that love that He has for us.

 

I hope that you all have a great week! I love you lots and keep you in my prayers every night!

 

Volim vas!

Sestra Clark

 

Shoutouts!

 

Emails...Mom, Dad, Carrie, Lex, Grandpa, Chris, Tyson

Sretan Rođendan Jordan!

Another week!

Well...here we go again! Another week has come and gone. I know I say this every week but I really cant believe how fast the weeks go by. I feel like I was just barely here emailing and now I am back at it again. Here is how the week went...

Monday...After Pday we went out tracting/contacting/checking up on potentials. Thats all that I have written down and I honestly cant remember where we even went. So there must not have been anything too exciting.

 

Tuesday...We spent the morning contacting former investigators. We only got in contact with one and the other ones we couldnt seem to find their house. We then had district meeting and we also had branch council right after. We were actually a little bit frustrated with the Elders about this because they decided Monday night they were changing the time of District meeting but didnt tell us what time until a half hour before. And we werent informed that Branch Council would be right after...so it kind of threw off our day....gotta love Elders. But both of the meetings went great. After our meetings we went out to Z's. We had a great lesson with her and her kids. I had copied some coloring pages from the coloring book that you sent me in the MTC. I printed one of Joseph Smith and then I took the puzzles that the girls made at girls camp that you had sent me. They loved them! They colored the pictures and did the puzzle and then we taught the first vision to them. They are so cute. Anytime you ask them a question their answer is...Budemo dobri...That loosely translates to we need to be good. But then you explain the answer and ask them again and then they repeat what you said. Anyway...it was a good lesson and I love hearing her kids pray! I had a picture of the Salt Lake Temple with me and we showed it to them and Z told them that was where she served her mission. They loved it and said we want to go there!

With Z and her cute kids

 

Wednesday...we went to D's in the morning. She is the one with all of the cats. We didnt have to clean this time but we had cats climbing on us the entire lesson...wont lie I may have kicked them a few times because they were scratching and clawing us. We had a good lesson with her. She was actually the first female baptized in Croatia.

 

After we went to A's because she had invited us over for lunch. The Elders came too but they were late. So we had a lesson with A before. We talked to her about Christ and how we can become like him.  Then the Elders showed up and we ate. She had made sarma (cabbage stuffed with meat and rice). It was really good but she kept giving us more. I was sick by the time I left.

A gave them these lovely shirts

 

After we walked to the church for English. English was good and then we had a lesson with A after. One of the members was on the lesson with us. She is older (she has a son on a mission). She is super sweet but super talkative. She told about how her family came in contact with the church and kind of their conversion story. Which ended up being really good for A to hear...we are still so close to him committing to baptism.

 

Thursday was a bit of a different day. Sister Maxwell woke up sick so we spent the day in the apartment. She slept all day and I did random things to keep myself busy. I did some cleaning, I called people out of the area book, I did studies, and other things. It actually ended up being a pretty productive day...but...

 

Friday she woke up sick again. Friday was a bit tougher to find things to do because I had done everything on Thursday...I had called all the former investigators, our apartment was clean, and you can only do studies for so long before your brain stops paying attention. So I found a DVD set of church history videos and watched those on our tiny DVD player. It actually ended up being kind of interesting. Most of them I had never seen before and actually really enjoyed watching them. The day still went by kind of slowly but it wasnt as bad as I thought it was going to be in the morning.

Made these, don't look too close!

 

Saturday...she was feeling better. And I cant even tell you how excited I was to get out the door!  We had a packed, crazy day! We started off the morning with a lesson with A with the Matosiches. We had another good lesson with him. Sometimes I feel bad because even when we dont plan on it the lessons always lead to talking about baptism. But he is ok with it and right now it is what he needs. We are still working on building his faith to get him to make the decision. I dont know what he needs but he needs something that gets it to just click. Sometimes it is frustrating when we have investigators that we feel are so ready they just dont see it. But he will get there!

 

After we met with L. We had given her a Book of Mormon and we talked to her about it. She told us that she picks it up to read it and plans on only reading one page and before she knows it she has read multiple and that it gives her energy. We can already see her Spirits up and we can see her changing. She was really interested in the Joseph Smith story so we had decided to watch the Restoration video with her. Holy cow that is an amazing film! It doesnt matter how many times I watch that film every time I watch I get so sucked into it and want more. As my knowledge and understanding of what Joseph Smith really went through increases, my desire to learn more increases. When you watch the film there is no way you cant feel the Spirit and when you feel the Spirit that strong there is no way you can doubt that he was called of God and that this church is Christs church and the only true church on the earth. L really enjoyed the film and she told us she loves the feeling she feels around her...that is the Holy Ghost!

 

After L we had English class...we got another new English student!  Then after we cleaned the church and then we went to B's. We had a good lesson with her and even got her 10 year old daughter to sit in on the lesson with us.

 

Sunday...was church. L came and brought her daughter Z. She was super shy at first and didnt want to stay but got warmed up to us and after told us she would come next week and asked if we could meet during the week! We taught primary and taught about the plan of salvation which ended up being perfect! L actually sat in primary with us because her daughter wanted her too. They both loved it and are so excited to come back next week!

 

After we went to J's who is a less active member. Unfortunately, she is moving to Rijeka this week. But we had a good visit with her and she had a friend there named F who we were able to talk to about the Book of Mormon and gave him a copy of it.

 

We tried to go to V's after to do Personal Progress but she wasnt feeling well so that didnt happen.  Then Sunday night we met with D and L. It was a bit of a hard lesson because their son was super crazy and they were both exhausted and were only half paying attention to us. So we kept it short and decided to not try to teach too much when they werent paying attention. But they had done their reading so we discussed that and read another chapter with them. So it was still a good appointment with them!

 

Well...that was my week. Even with two days stuck in the apartment it managed to be a good week and we managed to be crazy busy and got a lot done. Even though things still seem to be moving slowly with our investigators I have faith that things will start to pick up. We can see them making progress every lesson as the spirit is teaching them of the truthfulness of the gospel. I know this gospel is true. Each time I teach a lesson, each time I study the scriptures, each time I see people changing, it reaffirms my testimony of it. This church is the only true church on the earth-it has to be.  Yesterday during personal study I actually finished the Book of Mormon again. As I finished it I prayed to ask if it is true as we are directed in Mormoni 10:3-5. I have done this multiple times. But each time I do I get a reaffirmation of its truthfulness just as I did yesterday. The Book of Mormon is the foundation of testimony and once we know for ourselves that it is true everything else falls into place.

 

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

 

Volim vas!

Sestra Clark

 

Shoutouts!

 

Thanks for emails from Dad, Mom, Carrie, Grandpa, Lex, and Tyson (Im assuming he will see this somehow) Love you all!

 

Sretan Rođendan Lexi!!



Happy Monday

Happy Monday everybody! It sounds like you have all had a good but crazy week and there is another one on its way. Things are going good here as well. I am still happy, Im still tired, and I still love it here in Zadar.

 

Monday...It was some holiday here in Croatia. 3 Kings day or something like that. They seem to have holidays once a week...ok maybe not that often but it feels like it. But, because of this everything was closed. So we spent Monday at the church emailing and such. Monday night we had an appointment with someone that we had called from the area book. We werent sure what to expect and honestly werent sure if she was going to show up because she seemed kind of hesitant on the phone. But she came! It ended up being a good lesson. We got to know her and kind of set expectations with her and discussed what it was that she remembered from the missionaries that she had met with in the past. She was very nice but had some interesting ways to look at things (to put it lightly). But we had a really good lesson with her and were able to talk about the Restoration with her. She felt the spirit and she set up a time to meet with us again.

 

Tuesday...I went on an exchange to Karlovac, Croatia and I was with Sister Erbe which was a lot of fun! We spent the morning contacting/tracting without much success. No one was home in the area that we tracted in and there was no one on the streets. But we stopped everyone that we could. We talked to some nice people but no one seemed very interested unfortunately. Later in the afternoon we had an appointment with one of the members. She is an older lady that has been a member for about 6 years. She lives alone but has a son who isnt a member. We went in and had a plan of what we wanted to talk about with her but after a few minutes we found out that she doesnt read the Book of Mormon very often. So we switched gears and talked to her about the importance of reading the Book of Mormon and reading it every day. It was a powerful lesson and we committed her to reading it every day. I told her that Sister Erbe would keep me updated so she better do it. It was nice for a day to be with a companion that we could both speak and understand what was being said so we could teach more effectively and powerfully.

 

After we went to the church for English class...but no one showed up. So we went out tracting until our next appointment which was with some members. When I got to Karlovac in the morning we had talked about the day and she told me a little bit about the people that we would be meeting with and asked me what I thought we should teach them. They are members who were baptized 15 years ago. They have been to the temple almost every year since. They come to church every Sunday and they know the doctrine. A few zone conferences ago we talked about practicing teaching/role playing with members and then they can give us feed back and we can help them to be able to help teach people. I asked if she had done this with them before and she said no so we decided that we would teach the first lesson with them. So we got there and suggested this to them and they thought it was a great idea. Well...Sister Erbe started out with God is our loving Heavenly Father she said about two sentences and then asked a question. B responded that he didnt know enough information to answer the question and told her to start from the beginning. So she restarted and talked a little more and then asked a question. This time he told her she gave him too much information at once.  Then he went off about how no one is going to understand her anyway because she isnt a native Croatian and such. He was going off for a good 10 minutes while we all just sat there in silence...even his wife. So we asked him what interested him in the church. He went off about a different situation. So we asked him to teach us the first lesson. He then said I dont know how. So we taught him how and he taught us exactly how Sister Erbe had taught him. But apparently his way was better. Anyway...we were able to bring the Spirit back at the end but it was kind of miserable. I dont know if I will try practicing teaching with members again.

 

Wednesday...we traveled to Zagreb for Zone Conference. We went by bus but Karlovac is less than an hour from Zagreb so it wasnt bad at all. I always enjoy being able to see the other missionaries at zone conferences. They have asked us to start coming to zone conference fasting which was a really neat experience. I feel like I got more out of it and was able to pay more attention to what was being taught. We reviewed points from last months zone conference and then they focused a lot on baptism and getting people to the point of baptism and not being afraid to ask because we dont want to lose investigators or we are afraid they will say no. Anyway...it was a really good zone conference. We then traveled back to Zadar.

 

Thursday...we normally have institute Thursday morning. So we prepared a lesson and went to the church. Well...apparently no one thought to inform us that they had cancelled institute. So we didnt really have it. We went back and did weekly planning and then we went to the church for an appointment but the person never showed up. So we went out and contacted some former investigators as well as a referral that we had gotten. The referral was in the middle of writing a paper for school but told us that we could come back. The former investigators werent home. We were then back at the church for something and making a plan of what to do next and the Elders told us that they were going to go over by the sea organs/coast. I had never been over there at night before so we decided to head that way too. I actually have been wanting to go over there for awhile. I normally hate contacting...I do it but I hate it. But for about a week I have had a feeling that we should go along the coast and contact we just have never had time. So I was excited to go over there. It was really cool at night. They have little things that represent all of the planets and at night the giant sun lights up and is like a disco ball. Anyway...we saw that and then were just contacting along the coast. We saw a man and said hello to him and he stopped us and asked if we knew him. We said no and explained who we were and what we were doing. He knew Krešimir Čosić...well of him...and had a few questions for us. We ended up having a really good, fairly lengthy discussion with him. He was very interested in what we had to say. We talked to him about the Book of Mormon and gave him a copy and got his information to meet with him this week!

 

On the coast by the sea organs at night

 

 

Friday...we had some time in the morning and had some formers that were a little ways away that we decided to go check on. It ended up being a little bit farther than we thought but it was worth it. It was like missionary heaven because there were apartment buildings everywhere you looked and there were hundreds of them...we will definitely be going back. Anyway one of the former investigators named M was home. She was very nice and we had a good conversation with her and invited us to come back. So thats exciting.

 

We then had a lesson with S which went good. She was babysitting her grandson who is adorable! We talked to her about Christ and how he is our example. I love listening to her talk and share her testimony. She is an amazing woman!

 

We then met the Matosiches at the church and went to J's. N was there again and was crazy as ever but this time we were able to go in another room so we didnt have him as a distraction. We had a similar lesson with her as we did with S. And again I love listening to her testimony and to the Faith that she has.

 

Then after we had a lesson with S, and his wife Mwho is a member was on the lesson with us. We talked to him about Faith and what it means to have Faith. We had a really good lesson with him. We were hoping that we could commit him to baptism and get a date but he isnt ready quite yet...but soon!

 

Saturday...back up to Friday we were walking and heard someone driving in a car and they yelled to us Mormons. This doesnt happen very often and we werent sure whether to go or to just ignore it. But the car pulled over and it was a man and a woman. The man was named S and was a former investigator and his friend L was in the car. We talked to them for a minute by their car and L asked us if we could meet with her. So we met with her Saturday morning. We met her at the church and gave her a tour of the church. One of the members  randomly showed up and was able to help us teach her for a little bit which actually turned out really good. Anyway...we gave her a tour of the church. She really liked the pictures especially the one of the first vision. When we told her that the fullness of the Gospel is on the Earth today she was surprised but seemed very excited about it. After her we had a meeting with A, he is great but he is frustrating. We had a really good lesson and discussed the sections that he had read in Doctrine and Covenants and then we decided to talk to him about Faith too. We were talking to him and I had a feeling that I needed to ask him about baptism. So we brought it up. His problem in the past is that his family wasnt accepting of it. He told us that at this point his family wont come to his baptism but they have told him that it is his decision what he wants to do. I asked A if he had thought of a date for baptism and he said he has thought of one but he doesnt want to tell anyone right now. We told him that we have to know in advance so that we can help him prepare. We told him to go home and pray about the date that he has in his mind and he will get an answer of whether or not it is right. He told us that he would do it. So he has a date in mind but he is scared to tell people because he has had a date before but it fell through. His birthday is coming up and a few lessons ago we suggested his birthday. So we have high hopes that it will be soon. I can see his faith growing every day. He has a desire and he has a testimony and when he finally makes the decision he will be in it to the end.

 

Saturday night we had English which was good. We had another new English student which is always exciting. After we cleaned the church because the church was pretty gross and we decided it would be a good idea to clean it before church on Sunday.

 

Sunday was a good day. Church was good. Z had asked us to teach Relief Society so we were planning on doing that. But then the Priesthood teacher didnt show up so I ended up teaching Priesthood and Relief Society. We are starting the new book which Im sure is the same for you, Teachings from President Joseph Fielding Smith. We had to teach the whole introduction which was the first 34 pages of the book. It was hard to decide what to include and what not to but I just went with the Spirit and it ended up being a great lesson and I got a lot of complements on it.

 

After church we had another lesson with L. This lesson was a little shaky at first but it ended up being really good. L has had a long road to get where she is and she has a long road to go. We taught her the Restoration and it was a really powerful lesson. I could feel the Spirit so strong and she kept telling us I feel good when I am here. At the end of the lesson I said the prayer and after she looked at me and said He hears you when you pray. I said He absolutely does. She had felt alone and abandoned a lot of her life so we talked to her about how Heavenly Father is aware of her and if she prays He will hear her too and be there for her. She started crying and we committed her to go home and pray at night. We have a lot to work with L but I am really excited for what I see in store for her!

 

We then went to V's and did Personal Progress with her which was good. I love meeting with V. She has been out of town a lot recently so it has been awhile. And after V we spent the night out tracting.

 

A few pieces of information:

1-I learned this week that the pen was invented or the first pen or something came from Croatia...I found that fitting saying that I love pens.

2- I had to take my first cold shower this week. It was miserable. We arent really sure why but we had no hot water for one day. Dont worry...its back on now. We thought about boiling water but saying that the only pot we have is really small it would have been too big of a pain.

3-Got both packages this week, the one from Grandpa and Carrie and the one with chocolates. Thanks for those! I sent some chocolates to Sister Preston through the APs after zone conference and she said to tell you thank you and that she loved them!

Those are my fun bits of information for you for the week.

 

Anyway...I love life as a missionary. The experiences I am having and the knowledge that I gain every day is life changing. I am changing and it is for the better. I am grateful for the good days and for the challenging days that come and for the lessons that I learn from all of them. I love Zadar! I love the Gospel! I hope that you all have a great week! Love you lots!

 

Sestra Clark

 

 

Shoutouts!

 

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

 

Good luck on Wednesday! I will be thinking about you and praying for you. Good luck in the MTC Tyson! Love you lots!

2014

I cant believe that it is 2014. Crazy! This week went by so fast...Im not really sure why but I kept losing track of what day it was.

Monday...Monday night we went out tracting. We had a few people that we had met Sunday night who told us to come back the next day...unfortunately none of them were home. After awhile of tracting Sister Maxwell wasnt feeling well so we ended up going in a little early and she headed to bed while I looked through the area book...It is kind of a complete mess and hasnt been gone through in awhile so I have been organizing it and finding people that we can go try to teach again.

 

Tuesday...We had to go get some copies made of English flyers. Apparently the guy that does the copies used to be an investigator. He isnt interested in the church but is really nice to missionaries. While we were there we actually had a really good conversation with him about the church. We then stopped by the work place of a former investigator to invite her to our New Years Party...she ended up coming which was exciting. We then had District Meeting and then we had our Branch New Years Eve party. It turned out to be a lot of fun. We had snacks to munch on, a photo booth, and played some games. We had a fairly good turnout and at the end we shared a spiritual thought about New Years. We then went home and went to bed. Definitely slept through the New Year. We talked about waking up at midnight and then going back to bed but that didnt happen. There were fireworks going off all over the place and I woke up for approximately 2 seconds and went right back to bed.

 

Wednesday...Was Elder Prouds birthday and Elder Matosiches was actually the day before so the missionaries went to lunch for their birthdays. We had branch council after and then all of our appointments fell through so we went out tracting for the night. We found a random apartment building that we decided to tract and the nicest lady let us in. We ended up teaching her about the plan of salvation because she started asking some questions along those lines. She seemed to really like it.

 

Thursday...we had institute which went well. Only one member came but we talked about King Benjamin and the first couple chapters of Mosiah. We then had a lesson with A which went really well. We had a member on the lesson with us and we had her talk to him about her baptism because she had to wait until she was 18 to be baptized because her Mom wouldnt let her before. It was a really powerful lesson. We read some scriptures with him about how he can receive an answer to his prayers and how he can know whether or not a decision is right.  Then we showed him the Mormon Message "Dare to Stand Alone" by President Monson.

 

Friday...we had a lesson with a less active member named D. But when we got there she wasnt home. But her daughter who is actually a member too was home and let us in. Let me give you a picture of their house...it is disgusting...they have over 20 cats, it is a small apartment, there is clutter everywhere, dishes lining the counters, old rotten food everywhere. Anyway...she was doing some cleaning when we got there...and my dear companion offered to help her...I had to do a double take when she offered that. Anyway...we ended up helping her clean for an hour. I seriously thought I was going to throw up a few times. But...it ended up being ok because we were able to talk to her for awhile and get to know her and help her feel comfortable around us and see that we just want to help. So...I survived the cleaning. But I was very happy when we left.

 

Friday we spent some more time going through the area book making a plan of who we want to go see and who they live by so that we can do it efficiently. We also made some phone calls of people that we only have numbers for and we got a few appointments for this week!

 

Friday night we went to go see Z and her family. Love them! We had a good lesson with them. I asked Z about her baptism...I like to do that with all of the members just because Im curious. She was actually baptized in Zagreb around 10 years ago.  She served a mission to temple square. Her husband is actually from India. They met while they were both working on a cruise ship. He is not a member but he will come to church sometimes and comes to activities. And he is ok with the kids coming. The kids are adorable. During the lessons we would ask them questions and they knew all the answers.  Then at the end K said lets sing...and they started singing primary songs that they have memorized! So adorable! K said the opening prayer and K said the closing prayer! I love hearing kids pray in Croatian! Anyway...there is just a good feeling in their house and I love the way that Z is teaching her kids and that they are learning at such a young age...I havent really been a lot of families who are members here in Croatia.

 

Saturday...we went and checked on some of the people we found in the area book...actually just one named M. She was very nice and said she loved when she met with the missionaries but isnt ready to start it again yet. We made some more phone calls and then we had English. We had 2 new English students today which was exciting! I love English!  Then we went to visit the P family. Ž actually used to be the branch president but then he got really sick. He is still in the process of recovering. We actually just ended up having a lesson with B...she is so sweet. She told me about how she joined the church which was through her mom (a member) and brother (who is on a mission). And then she told us how they are saving up so that they can go to the temple to be sealed. It was just another one of those feel good moments to see a family preparing to go to the temple to be together forever. I love seeing the young kids learning the Gospel and seeing how good of examples their parents are for them.

 

Sunday...we had some small numbers at church but it was ok. I was a little worried that we would have a lot of silence during testimony meeting but I was pleasantly surprised that we ran out of time! Sunday school was good and then we taught Primary. L was the only one there but it was good. She is a little sassy but she is cute...she is 10. We talked about how we are children of Heavenly Father and that we all have potential to become like him and that he loves us just like our earthly parents.

 

After church we had a break the fast with the members and then we went to a less actives named J. We had a really good lesson with her. We are hoping to be able to help her come back to church. She has a testimony and she knows the doctrine and I think she has the desire she is just scared. But she is very open with us and I can always feel the Spirit when we are teaching her.

 

After we went and checked up on some potentials and then we went to D and L's We actually had a really good lesson with them. We focused on the importance of the Book of Mormon and why we read it. They read it but I think it is more out of curiousity because they like learning rather than a desire to know if it is true. So we talked about how we have to act on what we read and we have to read it with a sincere desire to find out if it is true and then we have to pray so that we can receive an answer. We were able to get both of them to pray with us which was great and the spirit was so strong! They love meeting with us and they keep commitments we are just working with them on helping them to do it with a desire to change rather than just doing it to do it.

 

I love Zadar and I love the feeling that is here especially when we are working with the members! I love going to church each Sunday and I love meeting with the members throughout the week. I have good feelings about Zadar and I know that we have things waiting for us right around the corner. There are people here that are ready for the gospel and I am ready to find them!

 

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

 

Shoutouts!

 

Sretan Rođendan Caryn!

Emails from Dad, Mom, Grandpa, Lex, Tyson

 

Kresimir Cosic statue and sports dome