Hey Fam,
I have been so anxious to write this email to you all, you have no idea!! So your probably wondering the reason for the subject line but you will have to wait till it comes to that day of the week. I'm still doing that thing where I find one good thing a day for the week.
So on Monday we had that hike that I told you about last time. Don't ask me why on the day that we don't have to walk around all day we chose too.... So that was fun we had THE young man go with us. Emphasis on the because there is only one lol. So that was fun but not really.....
On Tuesday we had a lesson with a man that the sisters contacted but they have to give all the men to us because it is easier than trying to find a member to go with them. So hopefully we can start teaching him more regularly. We have a lesson with him tonight so hopefully that works out good.
Then on Wednesday.... for the first time ever, and in Croatian..... Elder Eric Massey.... asked someone a certain question..... that is so important to missionary work....and he said YES! So let me fill in the blanks! We met with our investigator Marko on Wednesday and Elder Lifferth and I had decided that Marko was ready for a baptismal commit because he responded so well to the ˝soft commit˝. He was talking about how he always gets so nervous when he has to ask that question. So I said, ˝shoot, tell me how to say it, I will!˝ So when we got to the lesson we asked him if he has prayed about the Book of Mormon and he said no. So I thought we would just wait till the next time we met with him hoping that by then he would have prayed. However, when it came to the planned times Elder Lifferth looked at me and just kinda stopped talking. Under my breath I asked him if we were still doing it and he kinda kicked my foot. So in my very best Croatian I asked Marko if he would, ˝Show Heavenly Father his faith and be baptized on the 18th of next month?˝ And he looked at me and said yes! I was so excited first of all because he understood me speak and second of all because he said YES. So he still really has a lot to learn but he now knows that he needs to be baptized and has committed to do that. Honestly we will probably be moving his date but we wont tell him that because i think that he will get the impression that the time is not important. We definitely don't want to rush him but I want it to go fast enough for my own selfish reasons. First of all I want to be there and it is cutting it close to the transfer and I could move and President also goes home at the end of the transfer and I want him to be here. So we are working with him about 2-3 times a week and I made him a calender that has what we plan to teach and what he needs to read to be prepared for those lesson. Then it ends with his baptismal date. Also, we have a member baptizing their daughter this Saturday so hopefully he can come to that. But I really am so excited! This has been a real confidence and diligence booster. I remember this guy from the first time he was contacted. I didn't actually contact him. It was Elder Warren when he was on an exchange but I remember that we were going through our phone and we accidentally deleted his number because we thought it was something different and so I thought it was just done and gone. Well he called us the next morning and wanted to meet with us and get a Book of Mormon. Shoot this guy is legit and I am so excited to be able to teach him. So that, my family, is why this has been the best week yet.
So I am doing great after that! It really has helped me to see that the Lord is really preparing people even when it is hard to see sometimes. Like at 2 in the afternoon when you are walking around in the hot sun...... but ya.
So we taught a few other lessons and had an exchange while people went up to a leadership meeting in Slovenia.
So I have had a few questions about the branch here. So the branch had about 30 people in it every week and it is an adventure to say the least. There is a lot of part member families and a couple crazy people. It is kind of hard because the things for us missionaries that ˝just are˝ because we grew up in the church is something that they don't have. I answer questions that I have known the answer to for basically my whole life but they are just learning. I believe if I remember right, every single person in the branch is a convert. There is no one that grew up in the church. The little girl that is being baptized is the only one that i know of that was baptized at age 8. So that is kind of interesting. It is not uncommon for fights to break out in Sunday School because people have different understandings of the gospel. It usually ends up with someone asking the missionaries but we are told that we should have them figure it out so that we are not forced to say who is right and who is wrong. So there is a lot of inactive and as in any ward or branch and there is about 30 people average on any given Sunday. There is about 7 kids in primary and mostly sometimes more missionaries than members in gospel essentials. We as missionaries don't go to any sort of ward council because there isn't one. So I am actually working on getting that together with the branch president because I want to be more involved and get help from them but the other missionaries keep pushing it to the side. So ya I love all the members even though the branch is a little dysfunctional.
Well I am off to play some sand Volleyball but I love you all and thank you for all your love and support. Hope you all have a good week.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Week 20
Dearest Family,
So how is everyone?? Sounds like you get to experience all the fun of graduation with Dani! Oh that doesn't sound to fun! But with the weather and all sounds about like here. One day it is bloomin hot and the next it's raining, only to have it blooming hot AND humid the next day! So ya but a member did tell me yesterday that I got a tan... that means white upper arms, white neck. This is the worst kind of tan, no not a farmers tan a ˝missionary tan˝. Well I will get down to the nitty gritty because we are all hurrying off to a hike today..... not my idea.
So this week has been another crazy one. Some days were good and others just didnt seem to work out. We have been getting some numbers from people but some of the time they just give us what we want so they can be on their way. So we had a lesson with a guy that Elder Warren and I had met with once but had kind of lost contact with. So we called him up and met with him this week and it was a fairly good lesson. I couldnt remember what we had taught him because my understanding sucks so we just kind of went over the first lesson, some restoration stuff, just see what he knew. So turns out he had heard most of it because he was finishing his sentences. So when we asked him if he had prayed about any of this he replied that he had but he didnt have the real intented needed for an answer so he didnt receive one. I was quite shocked! He actually understood and could apply things that he heard. He knew what he needed to do. We are meeting with him tonight so hopefully he does that.
So I have made the most amazing discovery..... the sandwich maker has so much potential!! Here I was thinkin that it was ˝just˝ as sandwich maker. Oh but it's so much more! I have now moved on to making fried eggs in it and it is absolutely amazing. Yes I have video documented this and you will all get to join with me in the excitement when I finally send home my camera cards. But we are just going crazy with this thing! The options are endless, french toast, pancakes, egg in the hole, pretty much anything that you cook in a frying pan and flip.... SOLVED. I feel like i want to make an infomercial. Love all those foods in a pan but can never flip them just right? Well we have the solution. The sandwich maker ultimate 10000 is the answer to all your frying pan needs. oh but the name doesnt do much justice. To stop at making sandwiches would just be ridiculous! you see where im going with this. So needless to say this has just been a real energy booster. Just have to learn to appreciate the small things you know!?
Another great thing that happened this week is that I was able to got to a concert for the Zagerb Philharmonic. President Hill came down and went with Elder Lifferth and I, as well as some sisters. We got in free because a member plays the bassoon for them. As Grandma Judy calls it, the burping bed post. So that was very nice, a little break and very relaxing.
So yesterday we had planned 3 lessons and only one actually happened so that resulted in us going house tracting.... my favorite activity, not so much. I would rather go to a huge apartment building rather than walk around and go through all these crazy yards and such. So we rescheduled most of them for later this week so hopefully that works out.
Well everything from before this part was written much earlier in the day. I just got back from a hike... oh let me tell you about it. First of all why would we plan to go on a hike and walk all day when that is what we do everyday!? We have some real genius people out here. Second of all this was the dumbest hike ever. When you get to the top guess what there was... nothing. It was the hike to nowhere with all the same fun of walking and crap. So yes I would love to plan another 4 hour round trip walk to no where... HOWEVER, the company was good and we all laughed and complained together.
So not much has really gone on this week. When I was tracting I was getting kind of fed up with people and their dumb excuses so I decided to find out why people were saying these things, you know ask some other questions or something because what I was saying was not working. So the first door we knock on the guy says he knows everything in the Bible. I instantly thought, this is great, I have found the golden contact! He knows everything, everything will make sense to him. I was being sarcastic. So I asked him that if he would share something with me because I am young and still learning. He replied, ˝I know everything!˝. I asked again if he would share something with me. Then we had an exchange that went a little like this...
Man, I dont have time for this
Me, Time for what
Man, for your message
Me, What is our message about
Man, I dont know
Me, Then how do you know you dont have time
Man, I believe in Jesus
Me, Good, we have a message about Christ
Man, I dont have time
Me, You dont have time for Christ, then when will you have time.
Man, No, nothing (those were his exact words)
Me, Ok here is our number maybe you can share something with us sometime when you have time. Have a good day!
Does anyone see the frustration in my exchange here. People wont even give us the time of day. and half the time one of the things that helps us most is to tell them we aren't Jehovah witnesses. It really is an adventure every door.
Well we have a lesson to go home and get ready for this evening. Hope you all have a good week. Thanks for everything!
Love Elder Massey
So how is everyone?? Sounds like you get to experience all the fun of graduation with Dani! Oh that doesn't sound to fun! But with the weather and all sounds about like here. One day it is bloomin hot and the next it's raining, only to have it blooming hot AND humid the next day! So ya but a member did tell me yesterday that I got a tan... that means white upper arms, white neck. This is the worst kind of tan, no not a farmers tan a ˝missionary tan˝. Well I will get down to the nitty gritty because we are all hurrying off to a hike today..... not my idea.
So this week has been another crazy one. Some days were good and others just didnt seem to work out. We have been getting some numbers from people but some of the time they just give us what we want so they can be on their way. So we had a lesson with a guy that Elder Warren and I had met with once but had kind of lost contact with. So we called him up and met with him this week and it was a fairly good lesson. I couldnt remember what we had taught him because my understanding sucks so we just kind of went over the first lesson, some restoration stuff, just see what he knew. So turns out he had heard most of it because he was finishing his sentences. So when we asked him if he had prayed about any of this he replied that he had but he didnt have the real intented needed for an answer so he didnt receive one. I was quite shocked! He actually understood and could apply things that he heard. He knew what he needed to do. We are meeting with him tonight so hopefully he does that.
So I have made the most amazing discovery..... the sandwich maker has so much potential!! Here I was thinkin that it was ˝just˝ as sandwich maker. Oh but it's so much more! I have now moved on to making fried eggs in it and it is absolutely amazing. Yes I have video documented this and you will all get to join with me in the excitement when I finally send home my camera cards. But we are just going crazy with this thing! The options are endless, french toast, pancakes, egg in the hole, pretty much anything that you cook in a frying pan and flip.... SOLVED. I feel like i want to make an infomercial. Love all those foods in a pan but can never flip them just right? Well we have the solution. The sandwich maker ultimate 10000 is the answer to all your frying pan needs. oh but the name doesnt do much justice. To stop at making sandwiches would just be ridiculous! you see where im going with this. So needless to say this has just been a real energy booster. Just have to learn to appreciate the small things you know!?
Another great thing that happened this week is that I was able to got to a concert for the Zagerb Philharmonic. President Hill came down and went with Elder Lifferth and I, as well as some sisters. We got in free because a member plays the bassoon for them. As Grandma Judy calls it, the burping bed post. So that was very nice, a little break and very relaxing.
So yesterday we had planned 3 lessons and only one actually happened so that resulted in us going house tracting.... my favorite activity, not so much. I would rather go to a huge apartment building rather than walk around and go through all these crazy yards and such. So we rescheduled most of them for later this week so hopefully that works out.
Well everything from before this part was written much earlier in the day. I just got back from a hike... oh let me tell you about it. First of all why would we plan to go on a hike and walk all day when that is what we do everyday!? We have some real genius people out here. Second of all this was the dumbest hike ever. When you get to the top guess what there was... nothing. It was the hike to nowhere with all the same fun of walking and crap. So yes I would love to plan another 4 hour round trip walk to no where... HOWEVER, the company was good and we all laughed and complained together.
So not much has really gone on this week. When I was tracting I was getting kind of fed up with people and their dumb excuses so I decided to find out why people were saying these things, you know ask some other questions or something because what I was saying was not working. So the first door we knock on the guy says he knows everything in the Bible. I instantly thought, this is great, I have found the golden contact! He knows everything, everything will make sense to him. I was being sarcastic. So I asked him that if he would share something with me because I am young and still learning. He replied, ˝I know everything!˝. I asked again if he would share something with me. Then we had an exchange that went a little like this...
Man, I dont have time for this
Me, Time for what
Man, for your message
Me, What is our message about
Man, I dont know
Me, Then how do you know you dont have time
Man, I believe in Jesus
Me, Good, we have a message about Christ
Man, I dont have time
Me, You dont have time for Christ, then when will you have time.
Man, No, nothing (those were his exact words)
Me, Ok here is our number maybe you can share something with us sometime when you have time. Have a good day!
Does anyone see the frustration in my exchange here. People wont even give us the time of day. and half the time one of the things that helps us most is to tell them we aren't Jehovah witnesses. It really is an adventure every door.
Well we have a lesson to go home and get ready for this evening. Hope you all have a good week. Thanks for everything!
Love Elder Massey
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Week 19
Hey Fam,
So this week has been great and full of lots of fun and entertaining stories so hope you are prepared for a good Monday night read. First I must say, the subject line of an e-mail coming from a missionary is kind of overrated. I feel this urge to put something profound or use it as just that, a subject line, but nothing really ever comes to mind. I don't know why but this is something I am learning to cope with. It may seem a little odd, or a lot, but I'm sorry, for now it will stay blank.
So like i said this week has been really good for stories because i have started a new ˝system˝ so that i can remember all the fun stuff that goes on in a week. So we have lots of mirrors in the new place so I like to write little notes to myself to remind me of my goals or just little reminders of things that i need to do. So I on the mirror on the way out the door I wrote with dry erase marker, ˝return with honor˝ and our goals for the day so that i can remember what we are striving for. On the mirror in the bathroom I wrote, ˝did you think to pray˝ and ˝vitamins!˝. On the mirror in the bedroom I wrote a list of things that i can do in the morning so that i can have a little motivation to get up in the morning because i have been struggling with that. So this list consists of things like, write in journal, iron some shirts, and do the dishes, and further down the list is work out, which is what i am really supposed to do but never really get around to.
So now getting to the actual point... so sorry sometimes i just go on and on lol. i have had a hard time staying positive with all this finding time and not much teaching. So i have made a little weekly calender and every day i write something good that happened that day. So on monday after all the p-day fun was done i had another little adventure. Which leads to my first story!
So we have found a good tracting area that we have been working in but it has been taking a while to walk there so we decided to try and find a short cut. so we started walking and about 5 mins later we found ourselves climbing this nasty hill. it was not working out for me but it may have led us to our area in shorter time. Well it didnt, dang it. but we did find a super fun service opportunity!! ya for service! we saw this little old lady chopping wood and I told elder Lifferth that we just HAD to go help her. sometimes we see things and i want to go help but i have bad luck with that, you know like maybe that is their job or something. So sometimes he just says no we need to go find but i was not going to have any of that excuse this time. So fully knowing that this would probably not lead to a teaching opportunity we went for it. So we went over and asked her and at first she said no then i basically just took the ax from her and said thanks. So we each had an ax and if yall know me you know i have probably never chopped wood before, oh wait i havent. So Lifferth, who actually knows what he is doing, starts and everything is just dandy for him. Me on the other hand, i pick the worst pieces of wood. one has a huge knot in the middle, on is super wet. So i am done i just let Lifferth, who at this point is frustrated with me, pick the pieces of wood for me lol. This little old lady is just sitting on the other stack of wood, just going on and on about how great this is and blah blah. Then this other lady comes out and by this time we have found out that one of the axes is better so he is chopping and when it gets stuck i hammer it out with other one. So then this other little old lady starts talking but it is really hard to understand her because she has very few teeth and is mumbling. she says something and Lifferth just starts laughing and says that we have to call the other elders tonight. Im all sorts of suspicious.... so we get done and i have some blisters and i am not to happy. it beat finding but whatev... so we are walking away and i ask him what that little old lady said. he told me and i wasnt to happy. The little old lady who i couldnt understand asked him, ˝Why is your companion such a girl?˝. What the heck lady! im splitting wood for you and i have the harder job. If he gets it suck i have to hammer it out. he swings once and i sit and pound on it. Oh what the heck, foo reals!! then when we are about to leave they want us to come and get a beer at there house, which they have been trying to give us this whole time. when we decline that one says, oh i know, liquor. then they ask lifferth if he is married and why not with such strong arms... oh geez... then when we decline the liquor they still try assuring us that the police wont come. so that was a fun little adventure, but the old lady was hating on me.
So I have become better acquainted with gelado, this week i tried strawberry, banana, lemon, punch, and cookies. there is a place by our house and it is not good for me lol.
So there is this other american group here that are kind of missionaries. they are Nazarene. I havent ever heard of them but they are so cool. so they are over here and studying at a college that is all english and accredited in America. But they just basically do missionary work by their example kind of thing. So we are all good friends and one of them graduated so she is going home so we all got together for lunch. I was talking to one of the girls and kind of complaining and she stops and asks me if i am here by choice. oh dang i should probably stop she thinks i was forced here lol. i wasnt complaining that much and she told me she was kidding but it was nice to see ˝normal˝ people lol. they are fun and come play sports with us on p day sometimes.
So i am kind of having a hard time staying positive and diligent. It is just so hard when all you do is tract and contact and yes i said that i like tracting but even that gets old. So when i think i want to sleep in or take a little longer at lunch its hard cause all those doors will still be there when i decide to go get them. Especially now that it is getting kind of hot it makes me tired that much faster. I am glad we are done passing out English flyers though. I think that is one of the reasons that we are struggling to find some investigators because our finding time has been cut into a bit with the flyers but hopefully that time will pay off whth English class. So no new investigators but lots of knocking on doors. We have been let in a couple times but usually it is just old people that want to talk. But hey they need the gospel too.
So I love you all and thanks so much for everything!! Oh and another thing. Lots of people wear Mickey Mouse shirts here and whenever Elder Lifferth or i see one we say, i spy mickey, and when i spot it i say, oh your never to far from home! just keepin it real.
Well I will hear from you all next week! It was so good to hear every ones voices last week. it already seems to far away.
So this week has been great and full of lots of fun and entertaining stories so hope you are prepared for a good Monday night read. First I must say, the subject line of an e-mail coming from a missionary is kind of overrated. I feel this urge to put something profound or use it as just that, a subject line, but nothing really ever comes to mind. I don't know why but this is something I am learning to cope with. It may seem a little odd, or a lot, but I'm sorry, for now it will stay blank.
So like i said this week has been really good for stories because i have started a new ˝system˝ so that i can remember all the fun stuff that goes on in a week. So we have lots of mirrors in the new place so I like to write little notes to myself to remind me of my goals or just little reminders of things that i need to do. So I on the mirror on the way out the door I wrote with dry erase marker, ˝return with honor˝ and our goals for the day so that i can remember what we are striving for. On the mirror in the bathroom I wrote, ˝did you think to pray˝ and ˝vitamins!˝. On the mirror in the bedroom I wrote a list of things that i can do in the morning so that i can have a little motivation to get up in the morning because i have been struggling with that. So this list consists of things like, write in journal, iron some shirts, and do the dishes, and further down the list is work out, which is what i am really supposed to do but never really get around to.
So now getting to the actual point... so sorry sometimes i just go on and on lol. i have had a hard time staying positive with all this finding time and not much teaching. So i have made a little weekly calender and every day i write something good that happened that day. So on monday after all the p-day fun was done i had another little adventure. Which leads to my first story!
So we have found a good tracting area that we have been working in but it has been taking a while to walk there so we decided to try and find a short cut. so we started walking and about 5 mins later we found ourselves climbing this nasty hill. it was not working out for me but it may have led us to our area in shorter time. Well it didnt, dang it. but we did find a super fun service opportunity!! ya for service! we saw this little old lady chopping wood and I told elder Lifferth that we just HAD to go help her. sometimes we see things and i want to go help but i have bad luck with that, you know like maybe that is their job or something. So sometimes he just says no we need to go find but i was not going to have any of that excuse this time. So fully knowing that this would probably not lead to a teaching opportunity we went for it. So we went over and asked her and at first she said no then i basically just took the ax from her and said thanks. So we each had an ax and if yall know me you know i have probably never chopped wood before, oh wait i havent. So Lifferth, who actually knows what he is doing, starts and everything is just dandy for him. Me on the other hand, i pick the worst pieces of wood. one has a huge knot in the middle, on is super wet. So i am done i just let Lifferth, who at this point is frustrated with me, pick the pieces of wood for me lol. This little old lady is just sitting on the other stack of wood, just going on and on about how great this is and blah blah. Then this other lady comes out and by this time we have found out that one of the axes is better so he is chopping and when it gets stuck i hammer it out with other one. So then this other little old lady starts talking but it is really hard to understand her because she has very few teeth and is mumbling. she says something and Lifferth just starts laughing and says that we have to call the other elders tonight. Im all sorts of suspicious.... so we get done and i have some blisters and i am not to happy. it beat finding but whatev... so we are walking away and i ask him what that little old lady said. he told me and i wasnt to happy. The little old lady who i couldnt understand asked him, ˝Why is your companion such a girl?˝. What the heck lady! im splitting wood for you and i have the harder job. If he gets it suck i have to hammer it out. he swings once and i sit and pound on it. Oh what the heck, foo reals!! then when we are about to leave they want us to come and get a beer at there house, which they have been trying to give us this whole time. when we decline that one says, oh i know, liquor. then they ask lifferth if he is married and why not with such strong arms... oh geez... then when we decline the liquor they still try assuring us that the police wont come. so that was a fun little adventure, but the old lady was hating on me.
So I have become better acquainted with gelado, this week i tried strawberry, banana, lemon, punch, and cookies. there is a place by our house and it is not good for me lol.
So there is this other american group here that are kind of missionaries. they are Nazarene. I havent ever heard of them but they are so cool. so they are over here and studying at a college that is all english and accredited in America. But they just basically do missionary work by their example kind of thing. So we are all good friends and one of them graduated so she is going home so we all got together for lunch. I was talking to one of the girls and kind of complaining and she stops and asks me if i am here by choice. oh dang i should probably stop she thinks i was forced here lol. i wasnt complaining that much and she told me she was kidding but it was nice to see ˝normal˝ people lol. they are fun and come play sports with us on p day sometimes.
So i am kind of having a hard time staying positive and diligent. It is just so hard when all you do is tract and contact and yes i said that i like tracting but even that gets old. So when i think i want to sleep in or take a little longer at lunch its hard cause all those doors will still be there when i decide to go get them. Especially now that it is getting kind of hot it makes me tired that much faster. I am glad we are done passing out English flyers though. I think that is one of the reasons that we are struggling to find some investigators because our finding time has been cut into a bit with the flyers but hopefully that time will pay off whth English class. So no new investigators but lots of knocking on doors. We have been let in a couple times but usually it is just old people that want to talk. But hey they need the gospel too.
So I love you all and thanks so much for everything!! Oh and another thing. Lots of people wear Mickey Mouse shirts here and whenever Elder Lifferth or i see one we say, i spy mickey, and when i spot it i say, oh your never to far from home! just keepin it real.
Well I will hear from you all next week! It was so good to hear every ones voices last week. it already seems to far away.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Week 18
Hey Fam,
It was so good to talk to you and a little serial after the time had pasted. I had to stop and tell myself that I just heard my families voices and they are half way across the world. It is amazing how we all benefit from some nerd who didn't have a social life. So thank you all so much for all the love and prayers. I'm glad I didn't waste any time crying, I was worried. So I hope that you all had a good day yesterday. Can I get an update on Ryan? How was his call? Well I really did just talk to you yesterday and nothing exciting has really happened. I will talk to you all next week though so I hope ya'll have a good week and know that I love you!
Love, Elder Massey
It was so good to talk to you and a little serial after the time had pasted. I had to stop and tell myself that I just heard my families voices and they are half way across the world. It is amazing how we all benefit from some nerd who didn't have a social life. So thank you all so much for all the love and prayers. I'm glad I didn't waste any time crying, I was worried. So I hope that you all had a good day yesterday. Can I get an update on Ryan? How was his call? Well I really did just talk to you yesterday and nothing exciting has really happened. I will talk to you all next week though so I hope ya'll have a good week and know that I love you!
Love, Elder Massey
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Week 17 Transfers Came and my Testimony was Strenghtened
Hey Fam,
So you read right, my first transfer has already come and gone! Can yall believe that I have been in Croatia for 2 months already?? Holy cow this is going fast! However, I am no longer with Elder Warren and that is definitely a testimony builder. So he is gone down to Osijek and is Westie's District Leader. So I am still here in Zagreb, which is exactly where I wanted to be. It is the biggest city and makes me feel at least a little at home because it is the most American like city. So Elder Lifferth is my new companion. You say it Lifert, just so you know. He is super chill and we have had no arguments thus far lol. I am so happy that I got the chance to stay here. We have a goal for 28 baptisms by July and I hope that Lifferth and I can contribute to that here in Zagreb!
So in a more perfect effect to contribute to that goal we were out doing some finding and it was a really good time for me. We went tracting for a little and some guy let us in and so we sat and talked to him for a bit. He said he wanted to be a hotel manager and was going to school for business so that was fun to sit and be able to talk about that for a bit. It switched to an English conversation very fast when he heard my Croatian lol. So then we went contacting for a little which I am still not the biggest fan of yesterday. I was doing exceptionally well yesterday though. At first it was like normal, my companion would say alright this next one is yours and I would find an excuse to not contact them, but I just stepped in front of the next dude and started talking. Learning these missionary skills is really just like anything else, JUST DO IT. The more I did it the more comfortable I was. That story was just to basically explain that I am having better experiences with contacting the more I do it.
So I was quite impressed with myself and how I am coming along with my Croatian. Some things that I have been working on for awhile seemed to just come so naturally yesterday. I am becoming my ˝witty self˝ as my district and zone leader like to word it. We have a native Croatian sister serving here in Zagreb because of a medical issue with another sister that was required to go home. That has really helped me with my Croatian. Talking to her and being able to ask her questions that I wouldn't want to ask random people on the street. I just have a hard time understanding the natives but when I hear one word I know I just go with it and sometimes I am talking about something totally different but hey whatever works right.
So we had Zone Conference on Saturday. It was a good experience and was my first one. I got to see Westie which is usually the best part of these little meetings. It is nice for everyone to be able to meet together and catch up. I also like being able to receive council from President Hill. So that was fun.
Well I don't think anything else has happened except transfers. Not many funny stories this week I'm sorry. But I am learning and growing everyday. I am begging to like it more and more everyday. I can't quite say I love this language or these people yet but I working at that too. Even though the branch here is small and very dysfunctional I have come to understand what a sacrifice it really is for these people and that gives me a greater love and respect for these people. This is an area of the world where yes you really can lose all your friends, your job, and be persecuted for being a member of our church. There is only one Aaronic priesthood holder in our branch and he is a priest. He told me how he used to get beat up at school and he still gets crap for it all the time. Anything for people burning him with there cigarettes to people just calling him names. I have such a great respect for these people.
Well I love you all and now I have some information you have all been waiting for... Phone Calls for Mothers Day. So I know it is short notice but that's not my fault. So this is how we do it here. You call me on our cell phone and we talk for an hour..... Hard huh. So we need to figure out a time that we can all talk. I get an hour with Dad and an hour with Mom. We are 8 hours ahead here and I don't know what time yall have church. So I am allowed to check my email again in the middle of the week to make sure we have everything figured out. There will be no test call so sorry. We have church from 10 till 2 our time. It doesn't matter who calls first but I kinda need you all to communicate and schedule it then let me know. So I don't know when i will check my email again so if yall could just figure it out asap and email me. Thanks.
I am doing good and all is well. I hope you all are happy and healthy. I love you all and can't wait to talk to you.
Love Elder Massey
So you read right, my first transfer has already come and gone! Can yall believe that I have been in Croatia for 2 months already?? Holy cow this is going fast! However, I am no longer with Elder Warren and that is definitely a testimony builder. So he is gone down to Osijek and is Westie's District Leader. So I am still here in Zagreb, which is exactly where I wanted to be. It is the biggest city and makes me feel at least a little at home because it is the most American like city. So Elder Lifferth is my new companion. You say it Lifert, just so you know. He is super chill and we have had no arguments thus far lol. I am so happy that I got the chance to stay here. We have a goal for 28 baptisms by July and I hope that Lifferth and I can contribute to that here in Zagreb!
So in a more perfect effect to contribute to that goal we were out doing some finding and it was a really good time for me. We went tracting for a little and some guy let us in and so we sat and talked to him for a bit. He said he wanted to be a hotel manager and was going to school for business so that was fun to sit and be able to talk about that for a bit. It switched to an English conversation very fast when he heard my Croatian lol. So then we went contacting for a little which I am still not the biggest fan of yesterday. I was doing exceptionally well yesterday though. At first it was like normal, my companion would say alright this next one is yours and I would find an excuse to not contact them, but I just stepped in front of the next dude and started talking. Learning these missionary skills is really just like anything else, JUST DO IT. The more I did it the more comfortable I was. That story was just to basically explain that I am having better experiences with contacting the more I do it.
So I was quite impressed with myself and how I am coming along with my Croatian. Some things that I have been working on for awhile seemed to just come so naturally yesterday. I am becoming my ˝witty self˝ as my district and zone leader like to word it. We have a native Croatian sister serving here in Zagreb because of a medical issue with another sister that was required to go home. That has really helped me with my Croatian. Talking to her and being able to ask her questions that I wouldn't want to ask random people on the street. I just have a hard time understanding the natives but when I hear one word I know I just go with it and sometimes I am talking about something totally different but hey whatever works right.
So we had Zone Conference on Saturday. It was a good experience and was my first one. I got to see Westie which is usually the best part of these little meetings. It is nice for everyone to be able to meet together and catch up. I also like being able to receive council from President Hill. So that was fun.
Well I don't think anything else has happened except transfers. Not many funny stories this week I'm sorry. But I am learning and growing everyday. I am begging to like it more and more everyday. I can't quite say I love this language or these people yet but I working at that too. Even though the branch here is small and very dysfunctional I have come to understand what a sacrifice it really is for these people and that gives me a greater love and respect for these people. This is an area of the world where yes you really can lose all your friends, your job, and be persecuted for being a member of our church. There is only one Aaronic priesthood holder in our branch and he is a priest. He told me how he used to get beat up at school and he still gets crap for it all the time. Anything for people burning him with there cigarettes to people just calling him names. I have such a great respect for these people.
Well I love you all and now I have some information you have all been waiting for... Phone Calls for Mothers Day. So I know it is short notice but that's not my fault. So this is how we do it here. You call me on our cell phone and we talk for an hour..... Hard huh. So we need to figure out a time that we can all talk. I get an hour with Dad and an hour with Mom. We are 8 hours ahead here and I don't know what time yall have church. So I am allowed to check my email again in the middle of the week to make sure we have everything figured out. There will be no test call so sorry. We have church from 10 till 2 our time. It doesn't matter who calls first but I kinda need you all to communicate and schedule it then let me know. So I don't know when i will check my email again so if yall could just figure it out asap and email me. Thanks.
I am doing good and all is well. I hope you all are happy and healthy. I love you all and can't wait to talk to you.
Love Elder Massey
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