Week #60

Prvi Zadnji-The First Last

Yesterday was the first last that I could count on for sure. As I have left areas, there is always the chance for me to come back to serve there, but this time I knew it was the last one. We had a district conference in Zagreb with all of Croatia. These only happen twice a year, and the next one will probably be in November or December. So this is the last. It felt weird to think about. There's an elder in my district who is going home the end of April and it was weird to both of us that this might be the last time we see some of these people. I tried not to cry when the Zadar people left and then I couldn't hold it any more when the Rijeka people left. I love these people so much and it was hard to watch them leave. I hope I'll be able to see them again, but if not in this life time, in the next.

The conference was intense! V, our investigator who was going to be baptized on Saturday, smoked on Monday, so she couldn't be baptized. They need to be off at least a week. So we sent a text our to everyone involved to say a prayer for her to help her have the strength to stop. On Tuesday, we met with her, and she had an amazing story of being at her friend's place smoking a cigarette and then all of a sudden she felt super sick. She threw up all over the place and knew that smoking was bad for her! She told herself that she had to stop smoking. So she was good until Saturday. When we picked her up to go to the conference in Zagreb, she smelled like smoke. She said it was because of her smoking before and the smell was still on her. Then when we were in Zagreb, she disappeared for about 10 minutes and then I saw her again and she strongly smelled of smoke. I was devastated!!! So during the night meeting, she left almost to the end and I told Sis. B we needed to go after her. So we followed her and she said she was waiting for a call from her husband. Which was true and I think this is the first time she's slept a night without her husband for a long time. So she talked to her husband and then she said she needed to step outside for some air. We said we would like to do that too, and then she said she was going to light a cigarette. We asked her why and it just got really intense and by this point the conference was over and people were coming out. We went in a room to talk more and she was super stressed saying all these things like that she wasn't strong enough to quit and that she wasn't ready to be baptized or anything. I asked her if she wouldn't mind getting a blessing. She was being really stubborn (and I pointed that out to her) and said no. We explained more about blessings and how they are a blessing directly from God. Pretty much instantly after that, Elder I our senior elder, came in and I asked Veronika if it's ok that I ask him to give her a blessing. She said yes. He went and grabbed the branch president in Zagreb and another priesthood holder. He gave a beautiful blessing about strength and enduring. Afterwards, she felt a lot better. She went with another member and the next day I asked her about if she had smoked and she said no and she feels like she won't. She looked in her bag later that night and couldn't find her cigarettes! She doesn't know where they went! This morning she called and she was so happy and said that she's done with not enduring and when can we come over and talk about her baptism! I couldn't believe. After that intense night with the blessing, Sestra B and I were sooo exhausted! I decided I could never become emergency help or a doctor because I couldn't handle that intensity all the time! But I'm so grateful that we were able to help save V's life.

Today we went to Đakovo and we stayed longer than we planned, so we're running super late! But I know that miracles come after the trial of our faith! Ether 12:12!!! I'm experiencing that every day! Volim vas!!!

S vjećnom ljubavlju,
Vaša kćer,

Sestra Kristine Jolley
Uvijek Sljedići Braće