Week #47

Danas-Today

This week was full of a lot of cancelled lessons and unexpected events. I felt like this whole week was spent just shifting plans around and trying to figure out what to do. It was rough, but at the end of the week we had District Conference where all of the members of Croatia can gather together. So some people from Zadar went and I was able to see many of the people of Rijeka! (the only other place I've served) It was sooo good to see them again. Things are looking so much better for them, and it was good to hear more faith and hope in their lives especially with the gospel helping them through it. The conference was really good too (it also helped that I understood most of it this time). There was a lot of talk about change and strength for the future. Something that in particular I liked was when Sister Rowe, the mission president's wife, talked about repentance. Repentance isn't a bad thing, it's a gift from our Heavenly Father that we can use to become like him. It's our tool to overcome our mistakes and our faults, but like any tool, we have to use it in order for it to work. President Rowe mentioned about repentance and that our past doesn't have to define our future. We are the ones that make that decision. So from this conference I gained so much more strength and drive to become not only a better missionary but a better person. I have made so many mistakes and I've recognized even more mistakes as a missionary, but I've also learned from those mistakes and use them to help me be better. Repentance means change. A quote that I loved before my mission says something like this, I am who I am today because of what changed me yesterday and what I do today will make me who I am tomorrow. That's not exactly how it goes but it's something like that and you get the picture. Our past has impacted our lives forever, but it doesn't have to define our future. What we do now, today, will determine our future. Yes, we still will make mistakes along the way, but what we do with those mistakes will influence who we are tomorrow. I love the last verse in Enos, and I want that for me (not to die soon, but to be able to say what he says). So I'm willing to do whatever it takes to return with my Heavenly Father. I'm learning more and more of that. So here goes another week of mistakes but another week of learning and repentance. I hope you have a wonderful week of learning! Volim vas!

S vjećnom ljubavlju,
Vaša kćer,

Sestra Kristine Jolley
Uvijek Sljedići Braće