Week #14

Bok Bok!!!

So I'll just say it. Last week was a lot of...trying. Full of faith filled days but nothing coming of it. But that's ok because we will endure and continue on because that's what faith truly is!!! Keep going even when it seems like nothing is happening. So the woman who was going to have a baptismal date...wasn't home when we came by. So we think she's out of town now and will stop by tomorrow to see if she's back and keep her in our thoughts, prayers, and hearts. Then the rest of the week followed similarly. Set up an appointment, and then it didn't happen for whatever reason. Then we would talk to people on the bus and there would be no interest or not enough to let us have their number. But thank goodness for new weeks.

On Sunday, we were doing an extra hour of companion study because you have this training program for trainees (aka me). And we watched in District 1 (the video) that they found someone who was baptized later down the line from a potential investigator list. This list is of people we tract into or meet and think they could become investigators. Well after we watched it, I felt like I should look in our Area book. My first thought was the potential investigator list like in District 1, but then I found myself looking through former investigators sheet. I came across these two investigators that it seemed like things were going great but then nothing. So I asked Sestra L. to call them (because I'm still not the best at understanding what they're saying, malo po malo). She small chit chatted for a little bit and then asked them if we could come and see them on Wednesday. They said yes! After that call we called our zone leaders because one was the previous missionary teaching this couple and he said that the couple said that they were busy all the time. So they dropped them, but it's great they'll meet with us. So we'll go in and try to get them committed to reading and hopefully they'll feel the happiness we feel everyday in this gospel.

After that excitement we called a few more names that were not so well accepted. So we decided to go head for the family we taught two lessons with before Easter but haven't heard from them lately. When we got to the door and knocked, the door opened and the husband had a great smile on his face and welcomed us in. They were about to leave for a party, but he said we could come by later that week! We were so excited because this family, I just feel really good about them. I don't know what the future will bring, but I know that we're supposed to be teaching them right now.

After that we went tracting and after about five doors, we knocked at this woman's door who after about 10 seconds asked if we wanted something to drink. We said sure. She gave us water and a bowl full of apples and oranges. She said that her daughter was a Jehovah Witness and that her daughter said that if anyone came knocking with a message to let them in :) So we taught her and her husband the first lesson according to their needs. It was so great! I felt the Spirit prompting us what to say. They are Muslim, and we talked about Jerusalem a bit and how they prayer and what they believe. We then compared how our religion was similar and asked them questions (Sestra L. asked some great questions that made them think, I think I asked good questions if I said them correctly and if I understood their answers correctly). Alas, when it came down to it if they wanted to learn more or not, they just said that it's interesting but they'll stay Muslim. :( But that's ok! We taught a lesson that wasn't the typical, ¨God is our loving Heavenly Father...¨ I now truly know what a lesson meeting their needs is and how to recognize the Holy Ghost when that time comes again. I loved it! Even if they didn't want to meet again, I needed that lesson to get me going again!

Funny story now because the rest flows together. We went to McDonald's and Sestra L. asked me if I wanted to get a Happy Meal. Any need to ask? Ne! So we got Happy Meals with the How to Train Your Dragon toys. The toys were dragons that were like the cars that you move in reverse and then they go on their own. When we got home that night, we raced the dragons for at least 20 minutes. It was super fun!

Again, why I'm not writing on Monday is because we visited Plitvićka yesterday :) This huge lake with waterfalls throughout. They call it a veliki slap (big waterfall). Yesterday was perfect because since it's rainy season, there were like no tourists, but it was beautiful weather until the very end and then it poured. It was like Heavenly Father was telling us to get out and go to work! :) It was so beautiful and I realized how blessed I am. While we were walking, I felt very casual about the whole tour seeing and enjoying the hike. See in Jerusalem, every week we were hiking somewhere that had beauty either to the eye or beauty in what happened there. So going to see this amazing huge lake with bunch of waterfalls felt...normal. I'm very blessed to be able to have gone to Jerusalem. I have seen the blessings from it every day here on my mission. I meet someone who has either been there or wishes to go there all the time. Usually that's the topic subject sometimes to even start a conversation. I understand the Muslims here to more because I have lived in their culture for a while. I heard the call prayer like ten times. But more importantly, I understand Christ's life more. I'm reading Jesus the Christ right now, and every time I read, I have a connection to Jerusalem whether I've been to the pools of Bethesda where he healed a cripple or the Jews said something and I understand why they said it because of their belief. I can't believe how big of a blessing it has been for me to go to Jerusalem. I'm grateful all the time. It's even more crazy to me to see after my mission how my mission will impact my life. I've been saying these are the best two years of my life (EFY, Jerusalem, and mission) and each event only gets better and better. If EFY influenced my time in Jerusalem (being more social, know intro games and questions, etc.) and now Jerusalem is effecting my mission more. What will my mission do for my life? Neznam, ali nemogu čekati. (I don't know, but I can't wait.) In the meantime, I'll continue to add to my I am blessed pile and keep working hard to find those people who need and are ready for this gospel right now.

Which brings me to my scripture of the week: Helaman 15:7-8. I know what I'm doing is helping others come unto the Lord in faith and repentance especially me learning and knowing how to come unto God with faith and repentance. Whenever someone asks me why I'm on a mission now, I'll lead them to this scripture. Because this is the reason why I'm on a mission. I want them to come to a knowledge, change of heart, steadfast, and become free. For the truth can make all of us free. We will become free with the knowledge that our Heavenly Father loves us and will help us in any way he can to return to him by sending his son, Jesus Christ to make it possible. We just have to do our part: Come unto Him. I'm loving every single moment here even if I don't understand all the words all the time, but I know in time I will and I see now that one of the reasons why missionaries don't know the language instantly because they need to know how to speak the language of the heart and the Spirit. For even when I do know what the people are saying, only the Spirit knows what to say, so I need to learn to rely on the Spirit then the Spirit will tell me what to say. Speak the language of the heart and Spirit, have faith, repent, and continuously come unto Christ then you'll be made free!!! Volim vas puno!!!