August 2, 2011

Grab some tissue....holy cow this is good.

Heyy! Supp cats? Otay, it's early so this one may be a little well.... early-style writing. We're just doing laundry at this Godless time of morning because my companion's eyes are about to fall out of his head so we have to go check his glasses during our normal time. Anyways, here we go! (Man, I feel like Mario when I say that. Could I pull of Italian?)

Dad. Srsly. I get your DearElders. Stop freakin'. They come in about two days I feel like. They're great. No need to keep printing everything off and sending it to me. It works. Trust the system!! Okay, maybe not, but this part of the system is effective.... I LOVED getting your package. It was mostly just sweet and awesome because of the vast amounts of electrical tape all over it, but the inside was fun too! I walk around with that yo-yo all the time. Definitely helps me to remember the vocab that I'm trying to get down. It's fun. And, it came on Starjesina Armond's birthday, so we had some fun and party time with that. His parents actually sent him a cake in this massive box (he's from Provo, like two secs away....) and balloons and streamers. So much fun. And then of course, back down to quiet time and journal writing. I'm still writing in my journal everyday! It's fun, but I think that it'll definitely be worth it even though most of it is just boring day-to-day. Whatevs.

I'm so excited about Blake! I wish that I could have been there, but it sounds like it was really awesome. Way to go, kid. He's here in like October, right? Or is he just going straight down to Sao Paulo?

Our investigators are great. With Srdan we had a REAL conversation! I was so happy, because we actually talked for 45 minutes in straight Croatian, and half of that was me. Admittedly, my companion does little to help with the whole teaching bit, but it's nice because I usually have him pray or do something along those lines so that he's included. It's hard by myself, but I feel like there's a lot of good things that happen in our lessons. With Srdan, he is an Orthodox Serbian and so is nationalistically decided against baptism because of his family. He's been taught by like 6 sets of missionaries, but has been mistaught something along the way and I can't quite put my finger on it. Like someone taught him that our prayers with God are more of a rote thing? I don't know what that's all about, but he is seeming to be intrigued and interested in what we have to say and when we show him the actual reasons that we're here. It's interesting. Marilena, our other investigator is very interested in the whole after life bit. We talk to her about ordinances for the dead and everything and have now invited her to baptism twice. She just needs to know for herself. Prayer prayer prayer.

OH!!!!!!!!!! I'm so glad I didn't forget. We found out like Thursday sometime that we are now leaving the MTC a whole week early! So now our departure date is like Tuesday August 29 or something like that. You've no idea how excited AND freaked out we were when we translated that message on our chalk board. Vi Odlazite jednog tjedna rano!!!! It was insanity. The thing is, with our new Mission President, transfers have shifted to a different week (apparently we are 9 week transfers) and so they bumped us up. BUT, our mission is losing around 8 missionaries this transfer, and there are around 4 greenies there right now of the 26, which means that after another 6 or 7 leave after our first transfer, and their replacements come in, we will be the majority of our mission and will likely have to train and be the senior companions that second transfer out. Little freaked out? Oh, you betcha. It is so amazing though, we are incredibly excited to get out of here and just start this work. I NEED to bee out there. I'm so excited.

The language is coming along as it is supposed to, I believe. We are speaking only in Croatian for roughly 3 hours every day and are trying a mixed Croenglish whenever it is physically possible. We actually do a decent job of that, though mostly it's just for our entertainment so we can mentally escape the monotony. Yesterday S. Mulder and I were translating Preach My Gospel back into English and I hit about 7 sentences right on the nose word for word. Granted, I can only really call you to repentance and teach the Plan of Happiness, and would have no idea how to ask directions or tell you my favorite colour at all. It's pretty messed up, but it's fun. We sing hymns three times a day in our class in Croatian and are starting to be comfortable with the words and phrasings. I can usually translate about half of them as we sing, which is cool. It's pretty darn easy to rhyme in Croatian, which makes for fun hymns and things. So cool. We're also praying a lot more in our language and have memorized the Our Purpose thing and the beginning of JST in it. Coming along. Polako, polako. As Skylar would say, malo pa malo.

I thought about it on Sunday and thought that maybe I should let you know why I'm here. It's so easy to think that because I'm LDS and a Mormon that I was always destined to come on a mission and had to go through my right of passage. It's easy to suppose that I'm here through blind obedience, but I want you to know the real reasons, or at least the real reasons that strike a chord with me right now.
I am a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints because I love my God. I know that he is there and that he loves me entirely. I have been placed in a wonderful home with parents who sought to teach and to educate me about my purpose here on this earth at this time. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities and people and love that have been placed along my path and cannot help but feel a sweet desire to in some way pay it back. I am here because of Jesus Christ. My brother has asked that I take on his name every day for a tiny portion of my life and preach his redeeming love; preach joy and happiness and truth. I am here because I love people. I love the people in my life, I love the people of Croatia on an unprecedented level. I love the thought that I get to serve them. I love. And so I share.
I want to share this gospel that causes me to laugh and giggle and cry and feel because I know that it can bring happiness unfounded in the world. I know that if people will but listen to the broken words that I offer, they will find a joy and a peace and a hope that is uncomparable with any here by a far cry. I am here because I hold the Priesthood of God and because I have been given the gift of knowing the truth about why we are here and what our purpose is on this life - to return to him; to love Him. I am here because in the early 1800s a boy had a question and asked it. I am here because he received an answer to his prayer and was given the same Gospel that was given to Adam, Moses, Noah, and Jesus Christ. I am here because I asked. I took the promise of the prophets and asked and felt that warm, filling, comforting, loving, entirely encompassing feeling of joy and peace and love and happiness and goodness. I am here because I cannot be anywhere else. I am here because it is right.
I love my Heavenly Father with an undying desire to serve him in my small way. I love the joy. I love the hope. I love the truth. I hope to continue on and be a good servant and yearn for that day when I might return and kneel before Him. I believe in Christ. I hope in Christ. I know.
I love you all, my family. I hope for you and pray for you and know you to be doing good things always. I am so excited about this work and this joy.

Yours,
Starjesina Adams