Hey Fam,
This week has been so interesting.... but it has been good.
I dont know if I ever mentioned them before but I was teaching these girls, Marjana and Dajana, but then the sisters started teaching them because then we dont have to try and find a member to come on every lesson which is pretty hard. well since we had that mix up and the sisters are no longer here i am teaching the again. So i invited them to the baptism that we had last week and they really liked it. Dajana told me the next day that she wanted to talk to me about what she needs to do to be baptized. I was so excited. Marjana her twin sister isnt quite ready but Dajana is going to be baptised in less than a month. Baptismal date for us!!!! we are hoping to get Marjana on for the same date and I think that it will happen. This is a huge shock for everyone because they used to be so closed off to so much and now this. Marjana used to say she wanted to be a nun but now when we go to her house for lessons she tells her mom all about the Book of Mormon and how great it is. So I was happen to be able to teach them again. They are great and will do great things for this branch!
We met with the same inactive that we went to the exhibit with last week. His name is Josip and he took us to the museum that he works at. It was really cool. He took us to the new wing that is being added, which we weren't really supposed to go too. but he works there and there was lots of cool stuff there. Then on the way home we took the same tram and we got closer to the church and he started asking about some of the members and everything. Then he said well maybe i will just come on Sunday. Well he had to work this Sunday but said that he wants to come. the greatest thing is that he brought it up not us and he knows that is what he needs to do. So that was cool. WE will probably go to more museums with him seeing as he gets us in free and its a good environment for us to be able to talk to him because he is an art grad and loves to talk about art with us.
So i dont know who asked but no i did not get any credit for the baptism this last week. we are still teaching them but we didnt really have any contact with them till the sister left. So we just got them ready for baptism and now we are teaching the new member lessons. They are so fun and easy to teach and they just are good kids who know this is true. I was a witness at the baptism and their dad baptized them. But when Dajana and Marjana get baptized I might do that. I personally think that it would be a better idea to get them comfortable with a member and he does it so that when i leave they arent just coming to church for me but for the right reasons. ok lets be real they will probably ask me to do and i would love too lol.
it has been rainy here and i hate it. that means no one is outside and no one to talk too. Lots of people go down to the coast during the summer because they get tourist related jobs so that makes it hard to keep in contact and things. ˝I'm going to the sea˝ is a legit excuse for not seeing someone for like 2-3 weeks. So whatev.
it has been really hard getting used to this new president. he came with a lot of new expectations and ways of doing things and I dont really like all the abrupt changes. he is just so different to the president that we all knew and loved. As anticipated his teaching style is also very different. just some other things to get used to, whatev.
that is about it for this week. I love you all and hope you have a great week. I only have one request. When Ryan gets home can you record his homecoming talk for me and work something out so I can listen to him. PLEASE i just want to hear it!! thanks give Ryan a big hug for me and tell him to write me.
love, elder massey
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Week 28~
Hey Fam,
So this week has been really good and went by really fast which is a plus. So I will just start from the beginning. Those 2 new investigators that I talk about last week had already been given baptismal dates for this last Saturday. So they were right on track for that when we started teaching them. They just needed to be taught some things and solidify some other things. So we got to teach them everyday this week which was awesome. Mostly because it meant that we weren't out in the hot trying to talk to people. But they really are great. They are brother and sister and their Dad has been a member for a couple years. So he had the opportunity to baptism his daughter, which was great, and the boy was baptized by a family friend who is a member. The boy is Tomislav (Tommyslauv) who is 18 and the girl is Maja (Maya) who is 22. It really is so easy to teach those you have already been prepared by the Lord and those who already have a testimony as well. They are going to be good additions to the branch and I am glad that we were able to help them and be apart of this journey to baptism. I will have pictures on this next camera card which is not quite full yet so everyone please be patient. I hope you are enjoying the ones you have now.
We also got to teach Marko this week and he is just going to be awhile before he is baptized. So we just kinda talked to him about what his answer might be like and that it probably wont be some big grand vision or something. We have taught this before but felt like we needed to recap with him and find out what he is thinking. So we asked if he though that the Book of Mormon was true and he said he completely believes it. So I asked him if he believed that Joseph Smith was a prophet and he said no. So we have got our work cut out for us there. I also asked him if he still wanted to be baptized and he said he wasn't sure anymore. Then I felt so bad because I feel like sometimes we push him to much or we are maybe to hard on him. At the end of the lesson he asked us if we were satisfied with his progress. I said as long as you are sincerely trying. So I felt kinda bad that he said that. But we are just going to keep working with him and have faith.
Well I had to give a talk on Sunday about missionary work, yes in Croatian. You didn't know last week because I didn't know till Wednesday. Ya I wasn't to happy about this. So I wrote it all in English then Lifferth help me translate it then I took it to a native and had them read over it to make sure it all made sense. So it was on Missionary Work and it was basically a throw down telling them that they need to be better members. All I can say is that I will be so happy to go home to a ˝normal˝ ward.
So i think that is about it. It was really great to hear from you all this week. Sounds like Adam had some fun in Texas. Sounds like you all are keeping pretty busy. Thank you so much for all your thought and prayers. Love you all!!
So this week has been really good and went by really fast which is a plus. So I will just start from the beginning. Those 2 new investigators that I talk about last week had already been given baptismal dates for this last Saturday. So they were right on track for that when we started teaching them. They just needed to be taught some things and solidify some other things. So we got to teach them everyday this week which was awesome. Mostly because it meant that we weren't out in the hot trying to talk to people. But they really are great. They are brother and sister and their Dad has been a member for a couple years. So he had the opportunity to baptism his daughter, which was great, and the boy was baptized by a family friend who is a member. The boy is Tomislav (Tommyslauv) who is 18 and the girl is Maja (Maya) who is 22. It really is so easy to teach those you have already been prepared by the Lord and those who already have a testimony as well. They are going to be good additions to the branch and I am glad that we were able to help them and be apart of this journey to baptism. I will have pictures on this next camera card which is not quite full yet so everyone please be patient. I hope you are enjoying the ones you have now.
We also got to teach Marko this week and he is just going to be awhile before he is baptized. So we just kinda talked to him about what his answer might be like and that it probably wont be some big grand vision or something. We have taught this before but felt like we needed to recap with him and find out what he is thinking. So we asked if he though that the Book of Mormon was true and he said he completely believes it. So I asked him if he believed that Joseph Smith was a prophet and he said no. So we have got our work cut out for us there. I also asked him if he still wanted to be baptized and he said he wasn't sure anymore. Then I felt so bad because I feel like sometimes we push him to much or we are maybe to hard on him. At the end of the lesson he asked us if we were satisfied with his progress. I said as long as you are sincerely trying. So I felt kinda bad that he said that. But we are just going to keep working with him and have faith.
Well I had to give a talk on Sunday about missionary work, yes in Croatian. You didn't know last week because I didn't know till Wednesday. Ya I wasn't to happy about this. So I wrote it all in English then Lifferth help me translate it then I took it to a native and had them read over it to make sure it all made sense. So it was on Missionary Work and it was basically a throw down telling them that they need to be better members. All I can say is that I will be so happy to go home to a ˝normal˝ ward.
So i think that is about it. It was really great to hear from you all this week. Sounds like Adam had some fun in Texas. Sounds like you all are keeping pretty busy. Thank you so much for all your thought and prayers. Love you all!!
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Week 27
Hey Fam,
So it sounds like everyone is doing good. Glad to hear that. I loved looking at that picture of Braxton. He is getting so big. I was actually thinking just last night that when I get home he will probably be walking and talking and wont even know me.
This week has been interesting with a little shake up of our own over here in Croatia.
So the new mission president got here and he is very nice. He is only 44. I say only because President Hill was so much older and didn't have his family with him and now President Rowe is right in the middle of his life and has all 5 of his kids with him. So for the 4th we went to the mission mansion, I mean mission home and Sister Rowe made us lunch and we played on their tennis court and got to know each other a little better. Just like with all changes this one will taking a little warming up. I feel like I knew Pres. Hill so well after just the short time I did actually know him. All the missionaries would talk about him and had such respect for him and now everyone has to start new.
On Tuesday I did get to see his teaching style though. While it is very different and he already has many new ideas and opinions it was a good conference. It was actually a mission conference. So we had everyone in the mission meet together here in Zagreb and it was fun. I mean it was a conference so we got to see everyone. There were a few people who had moved away this last transfer who I was anxious to see. And Westie of course.
Well we had a lesson with Marko on Wednesday and I feel like every time we meet him he gets further away from baptism. Either i am understanding more or we are discovering more. Maybe a little bit of both. So for the lesson we went over some of the baptismal questions to see where he is in coordination to baptism. Well it was a good thing we did that. We found out that he doesn't believe that God has a body. While that is a very typical thing for the catholic Croat we talked about it a little. I felt like I talked a lot more this lesson. I feel like Elder Lifferth is just so used to just giving a normal lesson that the investigator suffers sometimes. I don't want to just teach Marko, I want Marko to know me. I want him to really understand this stuff and I want to let him know that I know these things are true, not just simply give him the information and let him do with it what he will. So I decided like anything in life, if you want it done you have to do it yourself. So I talked a lot more. I asked easy question, mostly so I could understand the response, but also so that he would understand the simple things are important too. So as we were talking about a dream he had I wanted to ask him a question. His dream was that he was arguing with God because he had not yet received an answer about the Book of Mormon or the church. So I wanted to ask him what he thought his answer might me like. After we watched that talk from Elder Bednar about the Spirit of Revelation from this last conference I thought he had a better understanding. So I never got to ask that question because Lifferth nudged me when I started talking. I heeded to that nudge and stopped talking. I thought I may have interrupted something and that I would later have my chance. Well I never got my chance and I was a little mad. It is important to know that I did not understand that dream about the argument with God but just felt like I should ask him that question. So you can imagine my frustration when I found out that he question may have resolved concerned. Not only that but I don't speak much Croatian and when a subject lingers long enough for me to come up with something to say I get a little frustrated when my comp shuts me down.... just saying! So I don't know when he will be baptized but I believe he will sometime.
So as for the Croatian shake up and how I made out like a bandit. Well I was excited to have the Zone leaders go on exchanges after mission conference because that meant that Westie would be staying here and we could go to lunch or something. So I called to arrange lunch only to figure out that he had gone back to his city. However, he would be return, and this time to stay.... So at this news I was very excited. Not to mention my companion as District Leader would have to go on exchanges with his companion and Westie and I would work together for a day. Not only that but I would see him everyday and we could do things together on Pday. So they have moved up to Zagreb switching places with the Sisters. Well to make a long story short. Westie is not in my district which means that no exchange with happen. His coming formed a new district of which he is the district leader. I am not allowed to call out of my district to arrange Pdays and he is an office elder. However, I do see him on Sundays and as a result of the Sisters leaving, Lifferth and I inherited two investigators, brother and sister, who will be baptized this Saturday! Office elders does mean that Westie gets to sit in an air conditioned office while I walk around in this dang heat though. I'm a little jealous.
On Saturday we had a good day. We had been working with a member here trying to meet with an inactive member who is still a friend of his. So when he called we anticipated that he would have an appointment to meet with this guy. However, it was an invite to meet with another inactive member who we had not heard of before. Better yet this encounter would take place at the Pompeii exhibit which would be leaving the next day. So we got the chance to meet a new person who we can work with and see this super cool Exhibit.
The exhibit was so amazing. It was thing that has been uncovered from the city of Pompeii. They even had bodies that had been petrified by the ash. It was very cool. Oh and we got to meet another inactive.
So other than those couple things that I have bored you with all the details about we walked around in the heat and practically died. It is so bloody hot! When we got home for lunch we usually just strip down to our garments and sit in from of the fan. Then we fill our bellies with water. Then we get cold because we are sitting in damp (from sweat) clothes and it's all just a mess. I must say it is very hard to stay diligent when it is so hot and you can either sit at home and not find anyone or got out in the heat and have the same results. None of the people we have now to teach were found by Elder Lifferth and I. Marko is from an exchange, which I was not apart of, and we just inherited the brother and sister. So hopefully we can see the fruits of our labor one day.
Well I love you all and thanks for everything! Have a great week!
Love, Elder Massey
So it sounds like everyone is doing good. Glad to hear that. I loved looking at that picture of Braxton. He is getting so big. I was actually thinking just last night that when I get home he will probably be walking and talking and wont even know me.
This week has been interesting with a little shake up of our own over here in Croatia.
So the new mission president got here and he is very nice. He is only 44. I say only because President Hill was so much older and didn't have his family with him and now President Rowe is right in the middle of his life and has all 5 of his kids with him. So for the 4th we went to the mission mansion, I mean mission home and Sister Rowe made us lunch and we played on their tennis court and got to know each other a little better. Just like with all changes this one will taking a little warming up. I feel like I knew Pres. Hill so well after just the short time I did actually know him. All the missionaries would talk about him and had such respect for him and now everyone has to start new.
On Tuesday I did get to see his teaching style though. While it is very different and he already has many new ideas and opinions it was a good conference. It was actually a mission conference. So we had everyone in the mission meet together here in Zagreb and it was fun. I mean it was a conference so we got to see everyone. There were a few people who had moved away this last transfer who I was anxious to see. And Westie of course.
Well we had a lesson with Marko on Wednesday and I feel like every time we meet him he gets further away from baptism. Either i am understanding more or we are discovering more. Maybe a little bit of both. So for the lesson we went over some of the baptismal questions to see where he is in coordination to baptism. Well it was a good thing we did that. We found out that he doesn't believe that God has a body. While that is a very typical thing for the catholic Croat we talked about it a little. I felt like I talked a lot more this lesson. I feel like Elder Lifferth is just so used to just giving a normal lesson that the investigator suffers sometimes. I don't want to just teach Marko, I want Marko to know me. I want him to really understand this stuff and I want to let him know that I know these things are true, not just simply give him the information and let him do with it what he will. So I decided like anything in life, if you want it done you have to do it yourself. So I talked a lot more. I asked easy question, mostly so I could understand the response, but also so that he would understand the simple things are important too. So as we were talking about a dream he had I wanted to ask him a question. His dream was that he was arguing with God because he had not yet received an answer about the Book of Mormon or the church. So I wanted to ask him what he thought his answer might me like. After we watched that talk from Elder Bednar about the Spirit of Revelation from this last conference I thought he had a better understanding. So I never got to ask that question because Lifferth nudged me when I started talking. I heeded to that nudge and stopped talking. I thought I may have interrupted something and that I would later have my chance. Well I never got my chance and I was a little mad. It is important to know that I did not understand that dream about the argument with God but just felt like I should ask him that question. So you can imagine my frustration when I found out that he question may have resolved concerned. Not only that but I don't speak much Croatian and when a subject lingers long enough for me to come up with something to say I get a little frustrated when my comp shuts me down.... just saying! So I don't know when he will be baptized but I believe he will sometime.
So as for the Croatian shake up and how I made out like a bandit. Well I was excited to have the Zone leaders go on exchanges after mission conference because that meant that Westie would be staying here and we could go to lunch or something. So I called to arrange lunch only to figure out that he had gone back to his city. However, he would be return, and this time to stay.... So at this news I was very excited. Not to mention my companion as District Leader would have to go on exchanges with his companion and Westie and I would work together for a day. Not only that but I would see him everyday and we could do things together on Pday. So they have moved up to Zagreb switching places with the Sisters. Well to make a long story short. Westie is not in my district which means that no exchange with happen. His coming formed a new district of which he is the district leader. I am not allowed to call out of my district to arrange Pdays and he is an office elder. However, I do see him on Sundays and as a result of the Sisters leaving, Lifferth and I inherited two investigators, brother and sister, who will be baptized this Saturday! Office elders does mean that Westie gets to sit in an air conditioned office while I walk around in this dang heat though. I'm a little jealous.
On Saturday we had a good day. We had been working with a member here trying to meet with an inactive member who is still a friend of his. So when he called we anticipated that he would have an appointment to meet with this guy. However, it was an invite to meet with another inactive member who we had not heard of before. Better yet this encounter would take place at the Pompeii exhibit which would be leaving the next day. So we got the chance to meet a new person who we can work with and see this super cool Exhibit.
The exhibit was so amazing. It was thing that has been uncovered from the city of Pompeii. They even had bodies that had been petrified by the ash. It was very cool. Oh and we got to meet another inactive.
So other than those couple things that I have bored you with all the details about we walked around in the heat and practically died. It is so bloody hot! When we got home for lunch we usually just strip down to our garments and sit in from of the fan. Then we fill our bellies with water. Then we get cold because we are sitting in damp (from sweat) clothes and it's all just a mess. I must say it is very hard to stay diligent when it is so hot and you can either sit at home and not find anyone or got out in the heat and have the same results. None of the people we have now to teach were found by Elder Lifferth and I. Marko is from an exchange, which I was not apart of, and we just inherited the brother and sister. So hopefully we can see the fruits of our labor one day.
Well I love you all and thanks for everything! Have a great week!
Love, Elder Massey
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Week 26
Hey Fam,
Well I wont lie this week has been kinda boring. We haven't really done anything except find. Well we had finding time but we didn't find anyone. So we did a whole lot a walking around....
However, the new mission pres is finally here and we got to go up to his house, because they live here in Zagreb, and have interviews with him. He is or was an international lawyer and has lived in China, Africa, Bosnia, Russia, and Holland. So ya...
We were up at his house earlier today for a little 4th of July celebration. He has an indoor swimming pool and tennis court.... so I'm sure he is thankful for your contributions to the Missionary Fund... jk He has 5 kids but only the 6 yr old twin girls are here right now. The others are boy and the oldest 2 are still in the states going to efy and being with friends for a bit and the other is visiting family in Germany. So maybe one day they will all settle in.
Marko came to church this Sunday and that was good. We were able to meet with him but he still came to church. We are going to give him another baptismal date I'm just not sure yet.
A sister went home at the end of this last transfer and her parents came and picked her up. They were so nice! It was so fun to see them even know I didn't know them. They took us missionaries out to dinner and gelato. The Dad reminded me of Papa Lance. Just told the girls to go shopping got a Diet Coke and sat in a park near by. He was lots of fun.
Tomorrow we are having a mission meeting and so the whole mission will be here in Zagreb. That means Westie will be here!! So that will be fun.
It has been a boring week so hopefully some things will come about next week.
I hope you are all having fun and doing well!!
Well I wont lie this week has been kinda boring. We haven't really done anything except find. Well we had finding time but we didn't find anyone. So we did a whole lot a walking around....
However, the new mission pres is finally here and we got to go up to his house, because they live here in Zagreb, and have interviews with him. He is or was an international lawyer and has lived in China, Africa, Bosnia, Russia, and Holland. So ya...
We were up at his house earlier today for a little 4th of July celebration. He has an indoor swimming pool and tennis court.... so I'm sure he is thankful for your contributions to the Missionary Fund... jk He has 5 kids but only the 6 yr old twin girls are here right now. The others are boy and the oldest 2 are still in the states going to efy and being with friends for a bit and the other is visiting family in Germany. So maybe one day they will all settle in.
Marko came to church this Sunday and that was good. We were able to meet with him but he still came to church. We are going to give him another baptismal date I'm just not sure yet.
A sister went home at the end of this last transfer and her parents came and picked her up. They were so nice! It was so fun to see them even know I didn't know them. They took us missionaries out to dinner and gelato. The Dad reminded me of Papa Lance. Just told the girls to go shopping got a Diet Coke and sat in a park near by. He was lots of fun.
Tomorrow we are having a mission meeting and so the whole mission will be here in Zagreb. That means Westie will be here!! So that will be fun.
It has been a boring week so hopefully some things will come about next week.
I hope you are all having fun and doing well!!
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