First off, I just want to start by saying that you are really lucky that I am emailing today...because I honestly have no motivation to do it. I feel like I already told you about this week yesterday so I dont have much to say. But I am going to be a good girl and email you anyway...you are welcome.
Anyway...Monday...Monday was a good Pday. It was one of those days where we woke up Monday morning and luckily had this extra boost of energy and just got everything done in no time. We are convinced that time stood still for awhile because we were stressed about finishing everything before we had to catch our bus but we ended up having extra time. Anyway...we did our normal Pday things and then we caught a bus and headed to Zagreb. We got there at 830 and one of the senior couples picked up Sister Bunker to take her to the mission home and I went with Sister Sare who is a senior sister...she is the mission nurse. We went back to her apartment to stay for the night.
Tuesday morning we woke up and went to the office to meet the Zagreb sisters so that I could go out and work with them for the day instead of having to hang out in the office. They got to the office and we went to a lesson with one of their investigators named M. He has been investigating the church for about 6 months. He knows it is true he just feels like he needs to learn everything. We had a really good lesson with him talking about the Apostasy and authority and why there was a need for a Restoration. It was a really powerful lesson and the Spirit was so strong. We invited him to be baptized and he said yes I think that is something that I would like to do. So we then gave him a date. He was unsure of that and didnt want to commit to a date. So we prayed together. He said the prayer and was so sincere in asking if that was right for him. He ended the prayer and we were all still on our knees and he looked up at us and said Heavenly Father told me that I need to be baptized on that day. It was an amazing lesson.
The Zagreb sisters actually are in the office part of the time so we then went back to the office for a few hours. I sat at the computer of one of the senior office sisters and just did what she told me to do the whole time. It wasnt my favorite thing to do but it was ok. We then had a lesson with a member in Zagreb named S. It was another great lesson. We talked to her about the Doctrine of Christ and what it means to keep our baptismal covenants. She is the only member in her family so we talked to her about her family and encouraged her to invite them to come to church with her. She expressed some other concerns that she has been having and we were able to talk to her and help to ease those concerns which she was very grateful for. We then went to the church for English class.
Wednesday the Zagreb sisters actually had an exchange planned so I was with Sister Erbe and Sister Sturtevant in Zagreb for the day. It was a good day but everything seemed to fall through. For reals. We spent the morning contacting. We tried to get the whiteboard and contact using that but we soon realized there werent enough people and that it wasnt an effective use of our time. So we just did regular contacting. We were able to contact one woman who we were able to set up an appointment with. We then had a lesson with one of the members. She actually served a mission in England a few years ago. She is great. We had a really good lesson with her.
After that the Sisters had a few referrals that they wanted to try and go contact. So we went, unfortunately neither of them were home but we tracted their buildings. It was a little awkward tracting with 3 people but it ended up being great. We got let in and had a lesson with a man named M. He was very hesitant and kept saying that we could teach him and he would even come to church but he would never be a member. We had a really good lesson with him though and I really think that with time he will soften his heart and change and have a desire.
We then went to the office for a lesson with R...her family lives in Zadar so she is there sometimes. She is V's sister. She is great! We had a really good lesson with her. We showed her the Mormon Message Good Things to Come and it tied in perfectly and was just what she needed. We read some scriptures with her where the people in the Book of Mormon had hard things happen but they had an eye of Faith and it turned out ok. She shared an experience she had in the past couple of weeks with paying her tithing and how she knows that she was blessed because of it even though she didnt know if she would have enough money to get by...it was really powerful!
Thursday was zone conference. It was a really good zone conference. The focus was on teaching the Doctrine of Christ and particularly teaching the Doctrine of Christ from the Book of Mormon. President talked about how every scripture story can apply to it in some way. The Europe Area Presidency has also announced June as the month of invitations...it was last year as well. The goal this year is to get every member to bring one person to church with them during the month. So we talked about how we can work with members to accomplish that.
After Zone Conference I headed off to Sremska Mitrovica with Sister Palmer. It was kind of stressful figuring out what I would be doing but it worked out. When I went to Zagreb on Monday I was told I would be there until Thursday after Zone Conference and then someone would be coming back to Zadar with me. Well... that changed on Wednesday and I found out I would be going to Sremska because Sister Palmer was also companionless and President felt it would be better to have Sisters out of Zadar for a few days because the Elders are there and there are no other missionaries in Sremska. Anyway...so after zone conference I headed off to Serbia for a few more days with the 3 pairs of clothes that I had brought to last me a few days in Zagreb. Luckily the Zagreb sisters let me go through their closet and borrow a few things to make my clothes last.
Friday...a great day in Sremska. We spent the morning contacting and then we had a lesson with one of the investigators here who is actually on date for baptism. We had a member on the lesson with us, he is 17 and was baptized just a few months ago. He is great and he loves missionary work and he loves helping the missionaries. Ive also decided he is my new best friend because he is hilarious...but thats not important. Back to the lesson. We taught about the Plan of Salvation and it ended up being a really good lesson. M talked about his Book of Mormon reading and he really understands what he is reading. He feels good in the church and he knows that it is right but I dont think he completely understands baptism and what it means. But it was a really good lesson with him and I really do think he will be baptized.
We did some more contacting and then we had Aktivnost. We played games and had several members and investigators that came so it was great!
Saturday morning we went and cleaned the church. We had several members that came and helped. One of the members is a less active and after we were able to have a lesson with him. His name is A. It ended up being a really good lesson with him. He opened up a lot and we were able to see what he still knows and what faith is missing in order to help him to come back to church.
Saturday we had a lot of free time so we went out for several hours of tracting. It actually ended up being really good. One lady let us in and we had a lesson with her, I dont know if it will go anywhere from that but it was a really good lesson and she listened. We also found several other solid potentials.
Sunday we went to church. Sacrament Meeting was supposed to be music Sunday which is where all of the members pick their favorite hymn and bear their testimony of why and then we all sing one verse of it. When I heard about it I thought it was a great idea...but it didnt really work out that well...not sure why. We taught Sunday School to the youth and we talked about the Gathering of Israel and how we can all be a part of it...for those who are living and those who have passed on. The Branch in Sremska has a lot of families...and a lot of younger people which is really good. It was fun to meet the members.
We went out and did some tracting and contacting and found 2 more solid potential investigators. We then did Skype and then we had a lesson with N. He is hoping to serve a mini mission next month so he likes to practice with the missionaries. So we role played with him and had him teach us. He did a really good job and he knows a lot especially for only being a member for not even 6 months.
It has been a bit of a crazy week but it has also been a great week. As much as I have missed Zadar and I am ready to get back there I have really learned a lot this past week. I have enjoyed being able to work with other missionaries and be in other areas to see different ways of doing missionary work...I have made a list of things that I feel like I can take back and apply in Zadar to help the work to progress more there. It has also been fun to be with Sister Palmer and see how we have both changed since we were in the MTC. It has been a bit interesting switching from Croatian to Serbian...they are similar but different. Ive had to catch myself a few times because even the way you say hello is different. It has been interesting to see Cyrillics because I havent looked at them since the MTC...but have no fear, by the time I go back to Zadar tomorrow I will be fluent in them! But, I am excited to be heading back to Zadar tomorrow with Sister Konietz. I am excited to be able to get back to work with our investigators and the people we have been working with.
I love you all and hope that you have a great week!
Volim vas!
Sestra Clark
Shoutouts!
Emails...Dad, Mom, Tyson, Grandpa, Carrie, Allie
I cant think of any birthdays of the top of my head but since I wasnt planning on being gone I didnt bring my list with me...so hopefully Im not missing anyone!
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