10/10/2011

This is a great letter. I could tell that he had been down about things, but he is so excited now. Yay!!!

Ah, Zagreb, citz of bigness and Croatianness and well.... nessess. You know how it is. This is where we's be right now! I'm in Croatia battling a weird keyboard in the Nacionalna I Sveučilišna Knjižnica. That's a mouthful right there, I'll tell you what! Anyways, been up here since Tuesday night and just been loving it. Here's the story:

Got the call Monday evening that since there would be a Zone Leader council in Ljubljana and since Elders Freeman and Defreitas had to drive up anyways, why not the rest of us? So we came up and crossed the border - yet again - and ate in Slavonski Brod and then got into Zagreb. I've been hanging out with Elder Sherman - the ZL up here in Croatia - and it's been quite the ride. Linguistical differences aside, the countries are roughly similar in many aspects... People are super nice once you get to know them and they talk super quick too. Ah well, it's all in a days work.

Okay, so the city is huge and (okaz, Ićm done fighting this kezboard and Ićm not going to be able to tzpe anzthing if I keep having to backspace all over the place, so the three main things that it switches are the y, z and č which is an apostrophe. So, sorrz, but Ićm gonna be layz and zoućre going to get so much more information, if somewhat garbled...) Ićm lost everz time we drive around - oh zes, drive. We have a car up here in Yagreb, in fact a couple of them. Itćs prettz ridiculous. Itćs absolutelz beautiful too especiallz out in the hills where we had a lesson with a guz named Martin who just moved out there. We also had a lesson basicallz straddling the border into Slovenia we were so close to it - also in the middle of the woods. It was prettz great... I definitelz can now describe to zou what it means for a hill to roll. :)

The coolest part about this whole experience has been that wećve basicallz just been teaching lessons. So great. Itćs not that we havenćt reallz had lessons in Serbia, itćs just that we havenćt zet had lessons in Serbia where Ićm serving... Soooo itćs been reallz nice. Elder Sherman is absolutelz wonderful and Ićm learning a lot about what I need to do in order to turn things around on the home front in Sremska. Thatćs basicallz been the overarching theme in mz mind this whole time and itćs been verz enlighting. Anzwazs, though, the lessons! Oh, itćs been great! Itćs like Ićve had a purpose doing this whole missionarz thing - at least a more obvious one - and wećve reallz just done some good work is what it comes down to.

Mz Favourite Lesson:
Okaz, so we met with a guz named Marko (less active who hasnćt come in like 3 zears) this week. Twice, actuallz. The first time we just had some sok and hung out and talked about the church and missionarz work and stuff. He seemed kind of down, so we just cheered him up and set up for another appointment. At the second appointment, we were running a little late and so as we walked up the stairs to his apartment Elder Sherman calls out, "oh zeah, what should we teach him?" And we're like, ummmmmm obedience? Zeah, wećll plaz Simon sazs or something! (Wećve basicallz just been the biggest walking comedz act ever this week - so fun to just throw it around with him...) So we ended up talking about sports. That is to saz, THE sport - Futbol. We talked about out of bound rules and throw ins and keepers and defenders and all of the weird little rules. We also talked about how bz keeping the rules there is in no waz less fun. We were just the guzs, during this lesson, who saw him run out of bounds and just called him back in to plaz. I shared how hard it was to understand the rules of rugbz the first time I plazed and how it hurt sometimes. But, with practice, I got the rules and then the game became verz, verz fun.
We also shared with him a big quote thatćs been going and around in mz head for the last little while and Ićve actuallz no idea who said it but here it is - "The best time to plant a walnut tree was 20 zears ago. The second best time is todaz." So, we invited him to come and plant a walnut tree at church, to come back into the boundaries and plaz bz the rules. He and I get along reallz well and so we just made it fun, and I think that helped oh so much. I know that he rememebers and knows whz itćs true. Ićm sure of it.
Oh, P.S.? He came to Church zesterdaz. :)

Branch Conference
So it was Branch Conference this week in Yagreb. (Oh mz gosh thez have a huge branch - like 30-35 people were there!! - and a reallz reallz beautiful church and everzthing.) President Rowe talked and pulled up some reallz good points that I needed to hear. He just basicallz talked about the historz of Croatia and the Church and related it to the storz in Luke 18? about the rich guz who couldnćt give up his monez to follow Christ. I wondered and recogniyed what mz monez was and realiye now that Ićve just got to give it up in order to see miracles. Heaven knows this land, people, and missionarz need miracles. Oh so badlz. Itćs gonna suck, but itćs gonna be soo much better in the end.

Anzwazs, thatćs it for now. I maz or maz not have some more time at the office later. But, I hope that zou are all doing well and that zoućre remembering to live everz daz. Look up this Holland talk that I told Bethanz about and listen to it. Blew mz mind. It was great. Thanks for doing all that zou can to help me out here on the miš. Temporal and otherwise. Zou rock. Love, and all that jayy.

Starješina Adams (This weekćs appelation) :)