Week 16~ Happy Easter!

Hey Everyone!

So this week has been fun.  Sorry about the change up of P day.  This town shuts down for Easter.  All these Catholics just take the week off basically.  So nothing was open yesterday.  It is so crazy!!  All I saw was people going to church!  This Easter holiday leads into my first story this week. 

So Happy Easter in Croatian is Sretan Uskurs.  So in an effort to be more friendly I started just saying this as passing to people and they would respond.  This is unusual because people usually just keep walking but when you throw a greeting like that in there shoot all the sudden everyone wants to talk to you.  Can't wait for the next holiday so people will be nice lol.  So we were tracting and just doing our thing you know.  Well a door had a sign on it that said Happy Easter.  I thought to myself well this person may be nice.  So turns out she wasn't very nice.  She opens the door and i introduced myself, which turned into a very short exchange as she said no thank you and closed the door.  This was not a very nice lady.  So through the door I gave her a little ˝Sretan Uskurs˝.  Well this must have struck a note with her because she opened the door and said, ˝And to you too˝.  While it wasn't very happy she still opened the door back up and it made me feel better.  It must have made her feel a little guilty, and as it should.  She was not very nice.  So that was fun. 

Dad you asked if we have had any service opportunities.  Well funny you asked!  When I first got here i wanted to do service really bad.  Walking around all day was getting a little old and so i was just looking to mix it up.  I saw a lady racking leaves one day and so i asked warren if he would ask her if we could help.  he did and it turns our she works at this place and that is her job.  well that went over well.  then another time we saw an older man throwing wood over a fence and so this time i asked if we could help and he said well now you show up im almost done.  well shoot we are 0 for 2 and its almost the bottom of the transfer.  so as you can imagine i was excited when my zone leaders told me that all the missionaries were invited over to a members house where we would be doing some service and then have lunch.  well when we got there we were able to take out a fence for him and move around some wood.  what he didn't know is that here was 10 missionaries that he now had to feed.  turns out that this was a miscommunication and he was expecting only 4.  so we went to the store and got some more čavapi, which is like a sausage almost.  it is really good.  we all had a good laugh and a good time.  so that is my one service opportunity so far. 

So we have not tracted into any other nonactive member.  however, instead they have come to us!  we were walking the other day and some guy says hello elders.  this is in english and im all for speakin english.  so we stop and start talking to him.  turns out he is an inactive member who served in this mission when it was the Austrian south mission.  However, he is now with his ˝partner˝ here just as a tourist.  He is now openly gay...... all i have to say is ˝to je to˝ which is something Croatians say all the time when you are finished talking which just means ˝that is it˝ or literally translated ˝that is that˝. 

So we have finally moved into our new apartment and i am hesitant to completely unpack everything because this is transfer and i may be going somewhere else.  so this place is all redone.  so everything is all brand new.  but it is so empty.  i came from a fully furnished apartment to this place which just has a few drawers, two beds, a closet, and a table.  So we are in the process of getting some things like dishes, and all the necessities.  I said it could use maybe a couple rugs, some curtains, and maybe some things to hang on the wall.  I was abruptly informed by lovely elder warren that those are not things that missionaries NEED.  just the bare necessities for us.  I dont know what to do with myself the place is like a box, so empty, so sad.  Warren says to get over it and i say to shut it. 

So i thought that i would able to get a break from allergies for two years... that was a joke.  Allergies are in full swing and i am dying.  Apparently warren knew right what to do so he had been giving me what i later found out to be benadryl.  So i was tired all day long cause every few hours he would give me that and i thought i was just tired because my body was fighting the allergies.  So when i call sister hill, the mission pres wife, to see if there is anything i can do she asked what i have been taking and i turn to warren and ask him, he says oh just benadryl and sudafed.  Instantly both of us, Sister Hill and I, are like what the heck.  why benadryl??  So i went to the pharmacy and they have Allegra here so that has been working.  my companion, bless his soul, he means well. 

Other than what I have said i am doing really good.  the allergies have made it hard to focus and be very motivated but i am doing well.  Transfer is this week like I said and English class is over so we are just wrapping things up! I love you all and hope you had a Happy Easter.