Week #66

Izdržavanje dobro-Endure well

 

Another week full of miracles and heartaches. What else should I expect from a missionary life? It started off with a night of tracting and we found an investigator of course the last 5 minutes of tracting. I love it when it happens like that! This woman is very curious. She felt the Holy Ghost with us. She probably wouldn't say it like this, but I think she is looking for more than what her religion is giving her. I gather that because she talks about not being healed from when her husband passed away and that life is just going day by day with not a lot of purpose. We'll help her and her family see the purpose. Another miracle is our Family History class. Dad you would be proud. I came to translate for the senior couple, and it was so awesome to see the growth in these less-actives and investigators that came to the class! They are definitely feeling the Spirit of Elijah and trying to find out where they are from. So many people in these countries have absolutely nothing. Some members don't even know the names of their grandparents. They have to do a lot of searching and it's really hard especially since so much was destroyed when the wars happened. But there are some amazing stories they are finding. Just being there one hour gave me the Spirit of Elijah. Hopefully that spirit will stay with me until I get home, so I can do my own research. Aren't you happy, Dad? :) Then we went to zone conference, and we knew it was going to be about planning and goal setting. I was expecting it to be boring, but it ended up to be really good. I always had a vision what I wanted for these people and I know how to work hard to get things done, but I could never could connect those two things and make them meet! Well, we learned and were uplifted on how to do that. Sestra M and I now have a vision for Osijek to see 3 baptisms before the end of the transfer and 4 more on baptismal date at least! I really feel like this can happen and we can see Osijek grow to a great height! After zone conference, I went on an exchange with Sestra CC in Beograd! It was so much fun to see how much she has grown as a missionary and the miracles that are happening in Beograd. I will admit I had some preconceived notions about Beograd being a super hard city and no success happening, but Sestra CC showed me a different side of Beograd. It's like any other city. There are hard times and successful times, but the success is always happening we just have to find it. We found some wonderful potentials and even one who would be a new investigator if he didn't live in America! But he'll be a great referral to a pair of missionaries. While I was with Sestra CC (my first trainee), Sestra B (my last companion) and Sestra M (my current trainee) made so much progress with some of our investigators! One who said that she won't be baptized until September is now considering May. Another whose boyfriend just got sent to jail and she's been in a state of depression for almost a month, is looking so much better and is coming to church if her mom doesn't need help with the family lunch. But her cousin is interested and wants to learn more, so he said he'll help her come to church next Sunday. I'm so excited to be here right now and help Osijek become a consistent successful city. We just need to connect our vision with our actions and we'll see the growth and miracles every day! The biggest heartache of the week is that one of our members who is so strong texted us and said that she didn't want anything to do with the church anymore. She can do fun things with us, but she doesn't want to be invited to go on lessons, come to church, or go to activities. My heart just broke when I heard that. She has been so strong for so long, and she is losing faith right now. We met with her the day after she sent the text and basically she knows the Church is true, she just doesn't like the people in it. She's alright with us, sisters, but she wants a break. We tried to uplift her and give her life experiences, but it all ended with it being her choice. I pray and hope she'll come back soon. I have seen people leave the church and it may seem like they are happy in the moment because Satan gives that impression. He makes it seem like this is a good choice and that it's easier without the gospel of Jesus Christ. But then down the road, he has a grasp of you and it's harder to get back to the happiness that lasts for eternity. We shared that with her, but she chose to deal with the moment. Sometimes we have to live life moment to moment because that's all the strength we have, but we need that vision to keep us moving forward towards the end. Which end do we have in mind? In Helaman 15:10 it talks about holding onto the enlightenment we once had. Like the prophets and apostles have said, we have to be converted everyday. We have to remember why we were converted in the first place. Hold onto the reason that we are converted for God and want to live with him again. I hope this member will remember the reason why she joined the church and continue being converted. I love you all and hope you are being converted every day and remember what enlightened you. Volim vas jako puno!

 

 

 S vjećnom ljubavlju,
 Vaša kćer,

Sestra Kristine Jolley
Uvijek Sljedići Braće