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