Week #71

Vratim se domu!-I'm returning home!

 

No this is not announcing that I'll be returning back to my American home. For my last transfer, I'll be returning back to Rijeka!!! I'm going back to my first Croatian home! I'm sooo excited! I'll be the first sister there since I've been there last year. I'm so blessed. And another surprise is that I won't be training! I'll be with Sestra Compare. I'm very excited to be back with her especially since it will be my last transfer, and we'll just push each other beyond measure! I was surprised to not train, but the Lord wanted us to be together in Rijeka, so here come the baptisms! An even bigger surprise is that Sestra Mortensen is training and so are everyone of the sisters in her MTC group! If you didn't understand that let me explain. Every sister that came to this mission 2 months ago is training starting this Wednesday. Crazy huh? But they are so ready and prepared. They feel nervous, but I know each of them will do a fantastic job :)

 

Sad news of the week: D doesn't want to be baptized until October. She wants to wait for her friend to baptize her and he can't come out until October. But she's still the cutest little thing ever and I'm excited for whenever she does get baptized.

 

Miracle of the week: During companionship study, Sestra Mortensen read, "Our Search for Happiness" by Elder Packer, the part where he speaks of his experience as a mission president and his elders set him up to speak at a college. Well, there are many colleges in Osijek and we live less than a block from a Theological college. Our plans were switched around a bit and we found ourselves with some extra time, so we decided to talk to the college if they even had forums or lectures which our mission president could speak with them. We started talking to some college students about who we would talk to and then 10 minutes later we are talking to one of the head directors. He said he loved the idea, but one more person needed to ok it and he was in America for a week. I won't be here to talk with this man (we found out later is the president of the college), but Sestra Mortensen and her greenie will do great! The forum will be super fantastic! But this wasn't the miracle. After speaking with this head director about our idea, he said, "I actually have been looking for Mormons for quite some time. I have a question. I was reading in the Bible and it suggests that Paul did baptisms for the dead. Do you believe in that?" We both looked at each other not expecting this to happen at all, then replied, "Yes. We do." Then continued on speaking about the Spirit World. This man has been in pain for about 15-20 years because his father died an atheist, and he believes his father and grandfather are burning in hell. He even admitted himself that this fact pains him and he can't see a loving Heavenly Father just allowing them to suffer with no hope to happiness just because they didn't know. After we spoke about the Spirit World he said he would like to talk more the next time we come back. He is so ready to find peace! I'm excited to hear how it all goes. And I'm excited to see how ready Rijeka is now. There were soooo many people who were so close to being baptized, was a year enough time for them? I am sure counting on it! I'm praying as I serve my last transfer that I'll be able to serve as it talks in Mosiah 2:21. I'll live and move and do according to his will because I want to serve with all my soul and not become an unprofitable servant. For I'm not serving a mission to gain for my own soul, but for the souls of others. Bring it on! Volim vas!

 

Week #70

Iznenađenje!-Surprise!

 

So this week there were some surprises! First off, we headed to Beograd for the conference with Elder Patrick Kearon. We thought we would have enough time for internet...but we didn't. I borrowed one of the senior couple's laptop after the fireside to write a quick e-mail to you all, but...surprise! The e-mail didn't go through. At the member fireside there were so many members that about 20 missionaries had to be kicked out so there was enough room. Surprise! A funny story at the amazing missionary conference the next day was that Elder Kearon asked for a missionary who was good at role plays and my whole district plus some other missionaries pointed at me and said, "Sister Jolley!" Well, this role play he told me that I had to contact him on the street with the most miserable face I can make and introduce the Book of Mormon and how the message makes you happy. I could not do it! They said that I kept a straight face, but it was sooo hard! After the role play, he asked what the missionaries thought. One elder said, "I don't think I've ever seen Sestra Jolley without a smile." Haha. Well, I'm glad I keep up with my name :) Role playing with a General Authority..surprise! When we arrived back home to Osijek, the next day we had some down time, so we looked for some former investigators. I knocked on the door that I thought was right, the woman opened up and said that there was no Kristina in the area. So we went in talking about our message and she offered us to come in for some water. We went in and talked for a few minutes, and she said she let us in because we looked like nice girls and there was this good feeling from us. She just felt like she was supposed to offer us something to drink and let us in. I told her that was the Holy Ghost and that she needed to hear what we had to say. Surprise! That caught her off guard, but she agreed to let us come back this upcoming week. Later that day, the Elders couldn't make it to one of their lessons and asked us if we could cover for them. Well, we had a lesson already scheduled. So you know what that means? Sestra Mortensen's first time going on splits. Surprise! And from what I can tell, she did a wonderful job! M is doing fantastic! This last time when we met with him, our branch president is becoming friends with M and said maybe we should make this visit more like a social call. But after 10 or 15 minutes of just chitchatting, M asked us what we were learning today. Surprise! He wants to learn more. He feels the goodness from the gospel. He has been reading the Book of Mormon at least 30 minutes a day and is slowly giving up coffee and smoking. We're getting there! He came to church yesterday with his niece. I gave a talk about obedience and I feel like he felt the importance of being 100% obedient. I wouldn't be surprised if next time he says, "I'm done smoking and drinking. I want to be baptized!" But we'll see how it goes :) A sad surprise is that D doesn't want to be baptized this Saturday. She wants to wait for the man who referred her. He lives near Rijeka and he works for a hotel and with tourist season he can't have a weekend free until October. :( We're still praying and hoping that she is ok with someone else baptizing her. We'll see...But we had a busy week! Another thing that happened at the end of the week was we had an exchange with Sestra Moody and Sestra Matthews. They are our Training Sisters, and Sestra Matthews was just super cute and humble. This is her first transfer and she is already an awesome missionary like Sestra Mortensen. She asked me two questions at the end or our exchange: 1. What do you wish you knew when you first came out? 2.What do you want to continue that you have learned from your mission when you return home? I answered her with one answer. Use of members. I wish I understood how to use members better when I was a greenie and I want to be the best member missionary I can be for the missionaries I work with later. For there is no better work other than what's done in the family, but I want missionary work to be a part of my family. I want to continually be finding those missionary moments throughout my life, throughout each day. For nothing has given me greater happiness thus far. Especially now. I'm feeling what Alma felt in Alma 36:25. I am in the fruit of my labors and have this "exceedingly great joy". I feel the love Heavenly Father has for these people. I feel the love for these people. I can't wait to see the miracles and joy Heavenly Father has in store for my investigators and members this week. Find this joy. Work for this joy. It's worth it. Then you'll see surprises God has for you every day. Volim vas!

 

 

S vjećnom ljubavlju,
Vaša kćer,

Sestra Kristine Jolley
Uvijek Sljedići Braće

 

Week #69

Promjena srce- A Change of Heart

 

This was a great fun week of nothing going to plan and not as many people coming to the activities as we were hoping for. It was quite sad, BUT D agreed to be baptized! She has been wanting to get baptized for about the past month but wants a member she knows in Rijeka to come and baptize her, so she hasn't agreed to a date until they know his schedule. Well, we talked about it and she agreed to get baptized on the 25 of May if this member can be there which will be likely. He still doesn't know his schedule all the way. But we have a date so we can start planning more exactly what she needs and when. Yay! We also had a miracle lesson with one of our members who is also Hara Krishna...long story. But she has come to a down hill lately, but the lesson we had with her helped her realize to read every day from the Book of Mormon and the Bible this week. We'll see how our lesson with her tomorrow goes.

 

Another miracle despite all the hardships is that Mario, the cousin of another investigator, said that he would get baptized if he feels it. :) Everything he's done in his life has been done because he feels like he needs to do it. So now we just need to help him recognize the answer. But he's definitely getting baptized. I don't know what the Lord's timing is on it, but we're going to try our best to help him realize it this week :) Keep you posted.

 

Two funny stories that I keep forgetting to mention in my emails. First is that Osijek lives by the Danube, so guess what that means? Komarci! Mosquitos! We played soccer for a branch activity two weeks ago and the next day I counted 40 bites just on my legs! Grosno! Gross! Second story is a language story because just so you know, I'm still not perfect in the language. I'm actually far from perfect, I'm so amazed how I'm getting us through lessons still! The Lord definitely blesses. But anyways, so we were listening to a story from our branch president and well, when I listen to a story especially when I don't know the vocabulary, I fill in the spaces with what I think. He was describing about Beograd in Serbia and how people would go to bomb shelters to runaway from the bombs. Well the word for bomb is bom and the word for candy is bombon. I didn't connect bomb with the word bom and I filled it instead with candy. He asked if I understood at the end and I said, "Were they throwing down candy from the airplanes?" Well, that was a great laugh to last the rest of the day. Learning every day :)

 

The biggest miracle for me is the change of heart that I felt yesterday and today. I don't know exactly what has been happening, but I can feel the mighty change of heart within me (Mosiah 5:2-4). I love these changes and I am excited to continue feeling like this the rest of my life. Missions are amazing! I received a letter from a friend who has been having missionary experiences even though she's not on a mission. We are all on missions. The Lord's errand. Find what the Lord sees for you and feel the change happening within you! It's great, I promise :) Volim vas!