Vinegar, getting shut inside the bus, itd.

My dearest dears, 

I am going to make a list of some things about this week.

- This week I took a step back and was really thinking about the sacrament. No matter where in the world you are or what is happening around you we can still partake in that sacred ordinance every single week and be clean from our sins and a reminder to remember Christ in our lives! Whether it's in a branch of 20 or a ward of 200 it's the same. I pray to the same Heavenly Father no matter where I am or what language it's in. That is such a powerful, amazing and beautiful thing. I love being a missionary and I love the gospel of Jesus Christ and the love I feel from God and from all of you in the US of A.

- We had to stay home on Saturday because Ses K has been feeling sick and the district leader made us. We were sitting on the couch and heard this scratching in our wall. THERE IS A MOUSE IN THERE. Want to know how I know? I cleaned out the whole kitchen because what else am I supposed to do on a day stuck at home and ya so I put a little piece of cheese in the the bottom drawer and guess what. It was gone in the morning. DISGUSTING. And there were little mouse pellets in there! I am so grossed out by this I cannot even tell you but we are going to talk to our landlord or let a cat inside our house.. but it's gross and we are going to buy traps today. God bless..

- We did a finding activity on Korzo with the Elders. We just took a rolling whiteboard into the middle of the city center street- Korzo and wrote "If you could ask God a question, what would it be?" and handed out cards and talked to people. We had lots of really cool people come by and talk with us. AND we did not realize this but we definitely accidentally set up next to a Jehoviah's witness booth. I went and talked to the guy in the booth and he gave me lots of materials. He was super nice. I gave him a restored gospel pamphlet but he didn't want to take it. So people would come up and write their questions.. some wrote stuff like when will I win the lottery, where did I come from, why am I still alive, etc etc. We had some great conversations and some people that wanted to tell us how Athiest, Muslim, etc they were or how much they love Jesus like we do. Lots of people giving us tourist advice too. It was actually super fun. Talked to so many people. The greatest compliment from a Croat is when you talk to them for a while and they don't realize you're not from HR for a while and then ask where you're from and how you learned their language. THE BEST.

- Lots of people told us this week about some ice bucket challenge that Obama did in America? That sounds like fun, so svaka čast to everyone at home involved in a good cause- I heard Alan did it! So great!

- SO MANY PRAYERS going out to Brad, Amy, Colb and everyone starting school this week. If you can get your hands on a Liahona this month it has an article about "actual learning" and I thought it had some great advice. I can't believe it's already that time of the year again. 

- I FOUND A RIJEKA LICENSE PLATE on P day on a random street corner.

- We drank vinegar.. so oh my goodness. We have both been feeling sick so someone told us you can drink apple cider vinegar and it helps your stomach? I donno, but so we come home one night and (obviously not using my brain) I pour out each of us a cup of water each and add about a fourth a cup of vinegar to eat class. We did *cheers* and chugged. I almost threw up in the sink and then started gagging, Ses Kropushek ran to the bathroom and we both were like making horrible disgusting sounds and she used mouthwash and I downed a yogurt thinking that would help. Bottom line: we are stupid and just wow. The vinegar to water ratio there was horrible and we went to bed that night feeling worse than we did when before we drank the vinegar.

- The mission is long one never ending awkward, but spiritual iskustvo. I can't remember that English word.. 

- We fasted on Tuesday for an investigator with the Elders. We taught her about žirtva- sacrifice. We talked about the things she sacrifices as a mother- her time, her body, her stan, her money. She said it's not a sacrifice because she loves her kids so much and it brings her blessings.  We related this to the blessing of giving up things for the Lord and that they're not really sacrifices because of all we get in return.

So many weird bus experiences this week.. from sitting on one that had wooden seats inside.. and so much more. So we had a "return and report" in Zagreb on Wednesday where all the trainees and the new missionaries got to meet up again. So, the bus stopped in Karlovac for a break and I went out and had to pay three kuna to go to the bathroom and we come out of the bathroom and THE BUS IS PULLING AWAY with our scriptures, a huge box of books of mormon on it, etc etc. So we run after it and it lets us on a guy holds our hand and smiles as we hop on. No idea. But also I got SHUT inside a bus. Ses K got off and I was behind her but the door shut on my leg so I was inside as it pulled away! Fail! So I yelled ČEKAJ! and then MOŽE VRATA! hahaha so as it's pulling away I'm like horrified inside he opens the door and I hop out as it's going. Fail. So. Yep. 

-I hit my three month mark, crazy! 

- Sestra Kropushek almost got hit by a car, I will leave that as as much of the story I will tell. We now go running for an hour instead of 30 minutes.. starting this morning.

Well Laku noč and slatki snovi for most of you who are asleep right now. VOLIM TE PUNO

Sestra Richardson

pictures: at a member's house.. ses K leaning out the bathroom window and me in the kitchen, a view from our bus on the way to return and report, me during the finding activity on Korzo with the whiteboard

Slušaj!

My dears, 

I have to make this email relatively fast,  I am so sorry! I know I didn't get to all your emails, but I had a lot of "potatoes" to reply to. THANK YOU!

THE COOLEST MOMENT OF THIS WEEK: We met with an investigator named who has been gone in Zagreb for a long time so I hadn't even met her yet. She was so sweet. Oh my goodness. She gave us some sok (Croatians thrive on sok) and we taught lesson 3- about how Christ was baptized by immersion and by proper authority and what blessings living the gospel of Jesus Christ brings us. When we were teaching about repentance, she went and got her prayer beads and started saying Oče Nas. A Catholic prayer. We explained that God wants us to pray about the things that are in our hearts and invited her to pray. She prayed and it was so powerful. When we taught more about repentance she said but wait to we have to repent constantly? And I had this feeling I needed to teach about the opportunity to take the sacrament each week. She loved that and I invited her to church. She said she has church at 9 so she couldn't come to ours. I said okay, then come next week. She said probably not. So anyways we had a great lesson. Sunday came around and I'm playing prelude music and GUESS WHO WALKS IN. She hugged me and gave me both side of cheek kisses like they do and I sat between her and another investigator! I had to speak in sacrament. The first talk was about blessings of being a member of the church, and I spoke about enduring to the end! Most of the talk was written and I read it because... Croatian is hard but I did say a lot from my heart too! Then Ivan, an awesome member in the branch who went to the Frankfurt temple this week to receive his own endowment talked about temple blessings. It was a really powerful meeting and I cried like two tears as I sat there and felt the spirit! It was amazing. She turned to me at the end of the meeting and said that is was super wonderful and she felt something different she couldn't explain. CANNOT WAIT for that next lesson. Oh my goodness. Also a member translated Teach me to Walk in the Light into the language and we sang that as the closing hymn. 

This week. P day I got in these thing large ball clear things! I don't even know how to describe it more than that.. look at the pictures. It was only 30 kuna! Worth it. The worker there even let us jump on trampolines for free because I talked to him about his beliefs and he found out the men can't have lots of wives so he felt bad for the Elders. ??  We have three cool finding activities planned for this week involving a white board and cowboy hats, and some more things. Just wait for that email.

So a baka told us this week to pray for she and her cat as we were going off to church. They had a big holiday Friday called Velika Gospa. I think it was just like praising Jesus and everyone goes to lots of the Catholic churches on the same day and burn candles. The bus system ran from the center of the city to the churches and there was a big market at the church to buy candy and crosses and such. We took the wrong bus and ended up there instead of at a lesson one time this week. I am learning this city... slowly.

pictures: we contacted down by the sea one night, we actually got lots of people who wanted to come to our English class! From last P day running and playing in those balls things. THE GRAPES OUTSIDE OUR HOUSE ARE FINALLY SWEET and we have eaten them every meal. God bless Croatia! God bless you all! The spirit is powerful, the church of Jesus Christ is true. I am happy. I am happy when I read the scriptures. I am happy when I get the chance to teach and when I pray! Love you all!

Sestra R

Musk melon

Dear loves, 

We just cut and ate a musk melon. I don't even know, but every food is here somehow so delicious. I love this place. Grocery shopping is a good time. The dairy is really different too, but in my opinion, better. Maybe Grandpa Gary can explain this further to me. 

So, we did not find the nun again. We did however, go look for her at Trsat and around that area. I went in my first Catholic cathedral.  For last week on P day we went to Opatija and ate ice cream and went on a semi submarine and walked around and saw some half dressed people on the shores.. I wanted to jump in the water. Nothing new there. It's so blue and beautiful! 

We went to zone conference in Zagreb. Some great emphasis on finding through family history was talked about. I LOVE FAMILY HISTORY. I wish we had iPads already.. one really old and slow computer in the clerks office is not really enough to teach an English class. But life goes on. I loved the conference. Ses K and I rode in the car with the Maedas. They are the senior couple that is serving in Rijeka. Super nice. From Hawaii. I love them! So I slept the whole way there and the whole 2 hours back. You don't realize how tired you are until you get in a car and have the chance to sleep! Three members from our branch are going on the temple trip this week to Frankfurt. We are super excited for them. 

WE GOT LET IN TRACTING. It was a Sunday miracle! We went to a really nice area and talked to a Filipino woman named Alma and another super nice woman who let us in! She and her mom did! We had the first lesson with her, told her how we are God's children, He is our Heavenly Father. She was so so so nice. We got a return appointment too and left a Book of Mormon! That was my first time ever getting let in. And Sister Kropušek's second time. She gave us water-- hallelujah because it was super hot yesterday. We left her with a Book of Mormon! She had lots of good questions- really interested in why we were sharing a message and if we were allowed to have husbands and if our dads had beards and if we believed in Mary Magdelene. We explained how we are only here for a year and a half then we go back home and we go to school and get married to one man and have families and such. I am really excited to talk with her more. 

A letter came for me one day from the MUP- the police station. We spend soooooo much time there. We joke that it should be one of our key indicators. This week I got a letter and we started translating it and it said "to lock up" in part of it so we had to go pay a fee. We just try and be as legal as we can! We also got juice one morning with a former investigator because she had a referral for us and so that was good. Only 13 people at church yesterday. The summer is hit and miss, lots of people on vacation. If any of you are still reading this email reply with the word potato. I am curious. Lots of you also asked how my language skills are. Sometimes in the moment I can't respond when people talk to me.. like when you get off a bus and a woman yells at you because the way you have your bag around your shoulder someone could steal it and so in the heat of the moment I am scared and just understand nothing.. but usually, yes. When Croatians feel a strong emotion (happy, sad, angry) they talk louder and faster. This makes if difficult for me! But I feel like I can speak, yes. I can talk all day! I can testify! Haha it is just a matter of remembering all the grammar and such all in one. So I can say a lot, but it's not usually correct.

We were sitting on a bench and two bakas (grandmothers) came and were waiting for a bus too so I offered to let them sit and they said no no no we can all sit together! So the four of us squished on this bus and I said so we are new here what is a good place to eat! And they just laughed and laughed and were so amused! Just like please picture us all squished on a bench together and two inches apart from this woman and she asks me where we are from and I said oh well America! She laughed soooo hard. She put her arm around me and gave me a kiss on the cheek and said beautiful American girl beautiful girl! I told them we were here as missionaries for our church. I asked if they believed in Jesus and they said no and I said well we believe that families will be together forever! They just laughed and laughed and were trying to figure out why we were there! I told her again that we were missionaries and we teach about Jesus. They were so sweet. They told us we were too young to be there but thank you so much for coming! They just laughed and laughed and told us we were beautiful and we were like well we teach an English class! So hopefully they come. This is usually how contacting goes. Also somehow we contacted an excommunicated member in the street this week..

I read Elder Holland's talk from last conference, about how people a disciple of Christ has never been, and will never be easy. I know this to be true, but I know that GOD IS ON OUR SIDE! Because this is His church, Jesus Christ is His son, and we can have the Holy Ghost with us ever day. I love and pray for you.

Love, 

Sestra Richardson

Pictures: last week's P day in Opatija! On a semi submarine! And when we got lost tracting on Thursday...somehow found the oldest part of Rijeka and no humans around.

Nuns need the restored gospel just like the rest of us

My dearest familia+friends, 

This week has been a week of laughs, hard work, and knowing that God looks out for me.

First: Sestra K and I said the most sincere prayer I have ever said in my life this week, for the interpretation of tongues.  We were outside a building about to go in and teach a crucial lesson. A couple we are teaching need to get married before they can get baptized. They really want to be baptized but it is expensive. We taught about faith and how faith precedes the miracle and shared how Enos had to ACT first and did what he could so the Lord could answer his prayer. I literally understood every single world she said to us from the time we said the closing. I testified that we are all brothers and sisters and God wants us to work together and love and support each other and that He is always there for us, and that we are in this together! She and I cried, the spirit was so strong and I felt like someone was there giving me a warm hug. Through her tears she said she knew that we were truly sisters because real sisters cry together! We gave her a baptismal calendar and she is going to write down where she reads in the scriptures every day. They have been being taught since January. Her Book of Mormon is super marked up. She is just praying every day to God for strength. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. Literally right after we kneeled and said a prayer with her and said Amen I could no longer understand her. God had blessed me in that moment. It's lessons like that that walk out of them and you are like THE MISSION IS ALL WORTH IT. God knows us, he answers our prayers! We walked out and said a prayer of thanks in the middle of the street. 

My come-to-Jesus-moment for the week.. We were walking and I said.. sometimes I wish Jesus would just pop down here for a minute, show everyone a miracle and then they would all know the truth and would believe. So, in my personal study the next morning I happened to be around Alma 30. That's just not how it works! Even when Jesus was on the earth, his whole life people rejected Him. We need to have faith like a little seed, nourish it and grow it by READING and PRAYING every single day. Faith is not based of seeing, it's based on believing and acting on that belief so you can receive knowledge through the Holy Ghost! 

The keyboards here have the Y and the Z switched and the symbols are all in weird spots so I apologize for that in advance.. some emails are just liekeasdjfčaklsjdčflka cannot tzpe

Okay the nun story you all have been waiting for: We are waiting at the bus stop one evening, and me, (thinking okay, talk to everyone, talk to everyone...because hey that is what preach my gospel says to do and am obedient) so this man is pacing back and forth and he looks nice and I say dobra večer! And he is like "Oh beautiful girls.." and he leans in to look at my badge (EVERYONE STARES AT YOUR BADGE. EVERYONE. but it is usually a blessing) and he is like Reek-hurrddsin? Isus Krist? and I'm like yes do you believe in Christ?! And he says do you have boyfriends? This is the point in the story where I realize he is very very drunk and take a few steps back. He puts his hand on Sestra Kropushek's waist so she also steps back and we look at each other.. look back at him and are like.. "yes. yes we do." and everyone around us was just like ?? So he hops on some bus I don't even think was his and we just laughed so much. BUT THEN a nun comes walking down to the bus stop. Like her whole black and white hat outfit and all of it. She is like is this the stop for the Trsat bus? We said yes. So she is like what are your badges? And then after a few questions figures out we are "Mormoni!" She asks what I enjoy in life.. so I tell her, "nogomet!" (soccer) and she just looked at us like we were the most unholy people ever and that was such an unholy thing for us to even think about.  So I thought maybe she just didn't understand so I said it again and she was like no I understand. And she asked what do you like about Jesus? I said that he is my brother and that he died so we could live together as families! She said that was beautiful and agreed and Sestra Kropushek said we also believe in the Book of Mormon and HANDED HER A BOM PASS ALONG CARD. WE GAVE A NUN A BOOK OF MORMON PASS ALONG CARD. By far one of the most proud moments of my mission. Hahahahaha. So she got on her bus and we smiled and she waved as it drove off! When she was out of sight we just burst into tears laughing and were like did that for real just happen?!

Sometimes the buses here look like you could travel time in them and other times they are like wooden desk chairs and I can't even understand. I got a bus pass though. Also we went to a little Cafe called Coccos for lunch hour one day and I looked at the menu and told him I wanted some kind of pasta and he was like sory we don't have that. After trying to order more things he was like riba? I said mirzim... (I hate fish) So I said krumpire? (potatoes?) and he said something at a million miles per hour and essentially told us what he would make for us. Whatever it was.. he brought it and we ate it and it was good! There was some kind of potato on there though. I translated the receipt when we got home and it said "turkey with much sauce and pepper" hahahaha. More good stories: we rode up seven floors in a pitch black elevator and could not understand what the lady in there was trying to tell us. So we just laughed. We also saw a pigeon with a peg leg and now we see it EVERYWHERE. People wear ridiculous shirts here that say English things that don't even make sense. Usually something along the lines of "drugs, guns, baseball, Beyonće, shopping, love small children" I asked a kid what his name was in line at McDonalds (yes they have one- it's super gourmet here though) and he yelled SPIDERMAN and then spit out a lot of Croatian. I played the piano in church on Sunday for the Elders singing a duet. Thanks mom. We had branch conference and that was sweet. We went to Trsat Castle on Friday for our branch Aktivnost. The Elders forgot to tell us we could wear our P day clothes so we went home and changed because I am not going to pass up on a chance to wear pants. Ever.  A member ordered us a pizza and palačinke and had it sent to our house at like 8pm. The members here are so nice. Mom you know that one blue dress with the baroque looking pattern? A member loved it and literally talked about it alllll day to every person we met as we went to a lesson she helped us with. She said she was going to get fabric like it for herself and make one. She took a picture of it and everything.

I can honestly say I have never been hit on more than on my mission. The men here are not like creeps (usually) (this is the part where I tell you not to worry about me though mom for real) but they are very straight forward. Yesterday like every door that opened when we were tracting old men would be like oh pretty girls! when they open the door and we're just like.. what do you think the purpose of life is? and they're like oh to have one beautiful woman on each arm and we're just like actually do you want to read the book of Mormon?  And such. It's good fun. I like just contacting in the streets better than door to door because you can "pick" your audience a little more. There are a lot of atheists here. They love to talk about how they believe what is in front of them. I am like-- well look, this Momonova Kniga is in front of you! Oh how I love Croats.

We got a new investigator on the bus. I started the conversation by telling her I liked her shirt because it was yellow like the sun. She said I speak beautiful Croatian, better than some Croats. That is a first I've heard that! Maybe a last. She is a student and said she is busy but that we could come by some time. The bus is nice because people cannot run away from you. Except when drunks talk to you on the bus and you get off not at your stop so you can avoid them..

OH! We went to klub srce (club heart) this week and were on the news! It's a school for special needs students in Croatia. We talked with them and I matched one boy there exaclty.. like orange top blue skirt/shorts so we got a picture. We donated all these big appliances and so senior couples were there and they gave us cake. We teach English classes there when it is not summer.. so starting in like Sept. I'll forward that article.  It's been kind of rainy but usually you come home and you are just really sweaty and gross and sticky. Mmm. We go through at least a whole bottle of nutella each week- just Sestra K and I. The Europe stereotype is real-- they LOVE nutella. We don't even buy nutella brand here. We buy a huge bottle of the cheap brand. 

LOVE YOU

Sestra Richardson

PS you send EVERYTHING.. letters packages all that to the mission office which is...

Sestra Jill Richardson

Adriatic North Mission

Svačićev Trg 3/1

10000 Zagreb Croatia

(it has to be exactly like that or it goes to customs and such. so be careful)

pictures: from last P day, the Elders PAID to dress up in these super authenik (I cannot even remember how to spell this word in English) costumes as we walked around the Colosseum, a statue in the middle of Korzo- a street we love to contact up and down. I'll send more pictures to my dad for him to put on the blog.