Hello from Montenegro!!!
Month: January 2017
Happy New Year & Happy Orthodox Christmas!
12/2/16
Zdravo!
Merry Christmas!
All in all, Christmas was wonderful here. I don’t think I could have asked for anything better this year. Out of the 20 Christmases I’ve experienced, the 2 Christmases on my mission have been some of my most memorable. I love being a missionary at this time of year!
I may have shared last week that President and Sister Grant gave a new Croatian hymnbook to every missionary in the mission for Christmas. I have continued to think about the words in Doctrine and Covenants that say, “For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me,” This week, I have tried to determine how I can best utilize this new hymnbook to make myself a more effective instrument in the hands of the Lord, despite the absence of musical talent! While we were doing service this week with some of the refugees who have been forced out of their home due to their Christian beliefs, I had the impression that these newly translated hymns would be a wonderful blessing to them. I sincerely believe that the music will bring them feelings of peace and comfort into their lives, and it will teach them the simple truths of the gospel. Not to mention it will help them in learning the Croatian language. I committed to come back and sing with these families we have met. I will definitely need all of your prayers that I won’t sound too bad! Haha
That’s all for this week! I love you all and wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year soon to come!
“One of the funnest weeks”
12/19/16
Hello family and friends!
Too many languages!
12/12/16
Well, when you think things can’t get any crazier…they do! Today would have to be in the top 10 craziest for me, mainly because its the first day of transfers and I have taken 45 phone calls since 6 this morning! Plus, its 5 in the evening and I’m just sitting down to write my first letter home…craziness!
The Best kind of Busy
Hello Everyone!
- Elder Mangeris has battled a cold all week so that was just a wonderful addition to the excitement of our week!
- One of the members here in Zagreb is a refugee from Lebanon. He is trying to learn Croatian so he asked Elder Mangeris and I to come sing some Croatian hymns with him for language practice. I still don’t know why the two least musically talented missionaries went to do this, but it was horrendous…absolutely the worst sound!! Haha
- In preparation for the Christmas season, we helped the branch decorate the chapel with Christmas ornaments. Once again, not really Elder Mangeris and my specialty, but we did our best!
- It was Fast Sunday so we had a District lunch with the other Zagreb missionaries at the senior couples house. Im not sure if it was simply because it was Fast Sunday, but the food was amazing!
- Elder Mangeris and I had a member meal with a family here in Zagreb. They are a wonderful family with 3 cute little girls. Not only did we get to eat with them, but we also got to assist them in setting up and decorating their Christmas tree.
- To add to the entire week, we got to watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional this morning. I just love the Christmas season!
Another Week Closer to Christmas!
11/28/16
We have had a really fun Pday today! Since the weather has been getting even colder, we decided we better do all of our fun outdoor activities before it gets too cold. The whole district went to the zoo here in Zagreb and it was a blast. I’m not going to lie, the zoo here is pretty weak sauce, but it was still fun to hang with the other missionaries in the District.
Thanksgiving!
This week has been an eventful one for us here in Zagreb. We had some more conferences, an early Thanksgiving dinner, and final preparations for another General Authority visit this coming week. All in all, it was a busy week!
During church on Sunday, all 8 missionaries in Zagreb had the opportunity to sing a special musical number, “How Great Thou Art” in Croatian. I may have already shared this, but Croatia got their first actual hymnbooks about 2-3 weeks ago. This hymnbook has over 200 hymns and the saints here are so grateful to have it. Many of the hymns in it they have not really heard so sometimes the singing is a little rough in sacrament and especially in priesthood meeting! Haha
Becoming Grace
Hello Everyone!
11/14/16
Family shares in Baptism
Pozdrav!
11/7/16