BOK: week one at the empty sea

Bok!

So much to cover, so little time.

First of all, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE LETTERS, PACKAGES, EMAILS, and love. I am doing my best to get back to all of them.

My updated address is:
Sestra Jill Richardson
JUL21 ADRCRN
2007 N 900 E Unit 61
Provo, UT 84602

What an amazing, rewarding week it has been. I just woke up from a much needed one hour nap. Somehow when I got set apart there must have been something in my blessing about keeping it together, because I have not cried. Except when feeling the spirit. I just love it here!

I can literally feel prayers coming my way every day and I pray for so many people here and back home. We had kind of rough beginning of this week. Sestra Rogers got sent home by her therapist here fro anxiety and so we were all really sad about that, but I know she will be okay and doing great things at home. Now I am in a tri-panionship with Sestra Kawai (from Provo and all over, knows German and some spanish) and Sestra Mahabier (from the Netherlands, and knows like five languages) It's funny that all 7 of us Croatian missionaries all knew other languages somewhat before we came!

There are so many acronyms here. SYL, WOW, LOC, PMG, MTC, RFC, SMH. I think I've forgotten how to speak a lot of English so I apologize in advance for that! We have taught 4 lessons to our "investigator" Valentino EN HRVATSKOM.  We make metaphors about weight lifting in our lessons and he has really nice eyebrows. The first lesson I made the mistake of asking him if he had any questions for us and then we couldn't even really answer them so I basically said "Bog mir" to everything.. God peace. Hahahaha.

This morning at the temple I did an endowment for a sister named "Patience Foly." The irony is unreal. I am definitely learning patience here. I like to be on time, organized, working hard, and walk fast. I like others to do the same. Also having to have your companions take you to the bathroom is fun. I pray every day that I can be more and more patient. I said the closing prayer yesterday in Croatian! It was so lovely! Wow, that brings the spirit.

We have AMAZING teachers. Brat Bell i Jacobsen i Freeman. I asked them (en hrvstatskom) if I gave them money if they'd buy us all Cafe Rio or In-N-Out burger or something. They said they'll lose their jobs.. but we'll see. The food here is.. well.. let's just say I haven't put on any weight haha so that's fine! Mom please don't send me any more candy haha we get so many treats. But I did appreciate the package!

Cool story bro: Sestra M and I were studying the "white bible" like we have to so we can check it off for the missionary portal requirements (we are required to spend an hour on the portal each week- woop woop for Daddy!) and she read that she wasn't supposed to have an ear piercing in the top of her ear. I had noticed it, but wanted her to make the choice for herself. She is so sweet. We were doing companionship study at the time and so we were in this tiny room thing for some privacy and there we were, ME TRYING TO PULL THE EARRING OUT. It was like one of those hoop-ring things so it was impossible. We ended up asking a lady from the travel office to bring her wire cutters and cut it off! Later at the district devotional we were both very happy and talking about how perfect obedience, no matter what it is about, will bring blessings and how we both felt so happy and peaceful after she took it out. She said it hurt a little, but it was worth it.

When we learned to tell time this week, they'd write a time on the board and then we would say it en hrvastskom.  I had to say "5:55" and I called out "pet i petdeset pet!" But after told them I really wanted to scream, "PET PET PET!" The teachers and all of us had a pretty good laugh about it. WE STARTED LEARNING SERBIAN MONDAY. Oh my wow slap in the face. We will get it.. eventually. There are 228, 28, etc all around me. I kid you not. If you don't know what this means ask my family. I'll send pics. Even the J. Crew toothpick skinnies I'm wearing right now are 28's. Oh- and can I say THANK HEAVENS FOR PANTS. Wow. Serbs and Croats say "pants" differently. Serbs say "pantolones" so that is odlicno. (Sorry I can't make the little dash things that's supposed to go over the c.

Elder Nelson spoke to us Sunday- and I was in the choir! If there's any way you can access that on BYUtv or something I'm on the end about four rows up in black.. next to a sister in purple. It was amazing to be a part of that. It was broadcast to MTCs around the world. He talked about perfect obedience and how the mission is a lesson in obedience training.

Sestra M jokes that our teachers are like me- clean freaks! I am fine with this. I've been told I look like Anne Hathaway more times than ever before.. Mormons.. also I am getting pretty good at 4 square. Ses M has to go to phys therapy during gym time so I have to go to the indoor gym with her, hopefully soon I will get some color on my legs outside because this is the palest I have EVER been. Sestra Kawai told me she's never actually met anyone with paler legs than her.. except me.

Another cool story bro: We are in the classroom for hours, so we are girls and have to go to the bathroom all the time. We made a rule in our tripanionship that we have to say the time in Croatian and no complaining about anything or we poke each other. I made a rule we have to ask to go to the bathroom in Croatian too, to practice. Ses M really had to go and we didn't know how to say it so we all yelled "TREBAM BATHROOM!" Then Brat Jacobsen told us bathroom is "W.C" meaning.. water closet! It's pronounced "vet say." So then I yelled, "TREBAM W. C." which means NEED BATHROOM. Hahaahaha. He then taught us a more socially acceptable way to say may I please use the W C.

Okay I am not gonna lie.. I got wayyyy sick on Monday night. Like my whole body ached and I was burning hot and I went to bed at 9:40 and my companions were like um... but I am getting better. I thought I had the flu or something weird and I put a puke bag next to my bag momma richardson-style but I think it's just a cold because I'm getting better but just have sniffles now. You know how I always get some kind of sick when on vacation.. not that this is any form of a vacation but it is a new place!  I also got stomach sick after eating some strange form of breakfast food they served here and accidentally chewed a swallowable pepto bismol tablet. Good times.

Wow I really hope this email didn't sound like all complaining. It has been a hard week, but SOOOOOOO rewarding. So rewarding. I am so excited to see what another week brings. I have started to see some Aggie friends and Amy Whiting's Checketts cousin and such. It's great to see familiar faces.. and give firm handshakes to the elders. And hug-attack the sisters.

We got three new sisters next to us yesterday and this morning our three rooms were all blow-drying, straightening, etc. and we the power shut off and it went pitch black. I stopped taking melatonin to get to sleep because you're tired from hard work so you don't need it- a very good thing.  WOW I am so blessed to even be here. We played the piano last night just for an hour and this Elder from Taiwan wandered in and it was so awkward I felt so uncomfortable. I finally was like WHERE IS YOUR COMPANION and in his broken english he told me he'd get him and he did. We proceeded to sing a medley of as sisters in zion and we are as the army of Helaman, the five of us. I think at one point Ses M was singing in Dutch so we were probably singing in about 4 languages. I can just feel love for so many people. I KNOW GOD LOVES ME. And he loves every single one of you and he rejoices when we read his words in the scriptures!!!!!!!!

LOVE YOU ALL. BOG NAS VOLI
Sestra Richardson

Fishers of fish

Matthew 4:19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

I don't know why, but I really just wanted to go fishing with my dad before I left. We've only done this a few times before, but I took a fishing class (a long long long time ago) and this morning found ourselves driving up to East Canyon Reservoir. When asked when we'd be back, I told my mom, "Whenever we catch a fish."  So, there we were sitting on the banks at about 10.  At first we were really enthusiastic about our task.. catching a fish. Then it got cold and I was semi-bored, then we saw some boaters catch one and my enthusiasm picked up again. By noon, we decided to go buy some worms and different bait then we were using, we were sure that was our problem. 
We picked a new spot and ate our lunch. I paced up and down the shore, sure (punny) we'd get one now with our new tactics. I walked over to a rocky spot a little farther down the from my dad. Fish would jump out of the water, taunting me! No luck. My dad did, however, catch a few 4-footer *sticks.* I sat and stared at the beautiful water, at the mountains around us. It was beautiful. I even made friends with a few geese and a seagull. 
Two hours later, we decided to pack up and head home. We passed through flocks of sheep crossing the road, bleating at us! We were sun-burnt, hot, but I still felt accomplished because we had worked hard at trying to get one.

Missionary work is like fishing. Some days, you come home with seemingly "nothing." I still had a great time talking with my dad, we even listened to my cousin Michelle's homecoming on his phone. 

My mission scripture is: D&C 18:15-16

And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!   And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!

No matter what happens in the mission field, in life, in the world around us, if we follow Him, He will help us be fishers of men- whether that means helping others, or converting and bettering ourselves, He will help us.

Missionary work is just that: WORK. It's not going to be easy, but it's going to be #worthit.. I spoke yesterday in my farewell about maintaining an eternal perspective (article by Dale Renlund) and that's what I'm going to do. 

LOVE YOU ALL. 

HAPPY 17TH AMY JANA. Thanks for letting me share the day with you saying farewell.

yes I'm in Hunter rain boots