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Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Snow in the Mission!

We attended a senior conference in Zlatibor, Serbia a few weeks back.  The weather was beautiful and sunny.  We ended up forgetting a bag at the hotel and had an opportunity to go back for it last week.  We were planning a trip to Čačac anyway,  and decided to do a little detour.  We were surprised to drive through a small snow storm as we neared our destination, and there was 6" of snow on the ground when we got there.  It was beautiful, with snow clinging to the tree branches.  It reminded us of Wisconsin.
We continued on to Čačac and met with the missionaries and Sister Zarić.  The Zarić family is strong and faithful and we try to get there as often as possible.  They live out of the city and have goats and a dog named Dumbo.  I love Dumbo, and he loves me.

Elder Frandsen and Dumbo
As soon as I got out of the car, he came running up to me and in his tail wagging, and wiggly way, showed his excitement at seeing me again. Part of the frenzy could be that I carry doggy biscuits in the car, but I like to think it's me!


Croatia District Conference was on April 23rd and we headed out for Zagreb on the 21st.  It was so fun to reconnect with everyone. We love going back to Croatia, and we ended up staying in Karlovac for one night before heading to Zagreb.  Our favorite place to stay is the ŠuŠu Pub.  It is a local Pub with rooms above.  We are always warmly welcomed and given what we think is the best room!  It has a king sized round bed with the main color being lime green.  It reminds me of the Karlovac apartment we used to live in.  When we checked in, our friend Jasna told us that she had emailed, telling us that we might want to cancel.  She went on to explain that there was a big party planned for the evening with a live band.  EK innocently asked her how late it would go, maybe midnight?  "Oh no, she said, probably 3:00 a.m."  We decided to stay and since our room was in a good location, and I had a set of earplugs (I never leave home without them), it wasn't bad.  The next day we drove to Zagreb.  It was a busy weekend as there was also a Singles Conference going on at the mission home.  There is always something going on at there, whether it's an activity or a zone conference.  It is the missionaries home away from home and the Grants always make us feel welcome.

One of my responsibilities is to teach Institute Class on Wednesday evenings.  Institute is a program that provides religious education for young adults (18-30).  I have one participant who is faithful in coming every week, and actively participates in our discussions.  EK is teaching a missionary preparation class on Wednesday evenings for several soon to be missionaries.  What an amazing group they are! So with teaching during the week and traveling on the weekends, we are kept busy.

We had a baptism in Belgrade on April 29th.  Elder Valentine baptized a young woman, who has been studying with them for several weeks.  We have enjoyed getting to know her and she has made many friends in the Branch.  As I spoke with her before the baptism, I saw a light in her eyes. She was excited and I told her that this was just the beginning of an amazing journey. In the Book of Mormon it tells of Lamoni receiving the light of everlasting life. In Alma 18: 6  it tells of this light which is the light of the glory of God, which was a marvelous light of his goodness - yea, this light had infused such joy into his soul.  I saw that joy in her and was grateful to be a part of her special day.  We had a social and refreshments afterwards with about 30 people in attendance.

The "paperclip" fix
 We had a holiday weekend  in Serbia.  It was "workman's day" and it lasted through the weekend and Monday & Tuesday.  All the missionaries were invited to a BBQ at the Garvin home, along with the Moody family.  The husbands both work at the American Embassy.  We had hamburgers, hot dogs,  potato salad,  Doritos (a big deal), and S'mores for dessert.  S'mores are not common as graham crackers and marshmallows are hard to come by, so it was a real treat!  They even had Country Time lemonade.  There was a rousing game of soccer and frisbee early on, to work up appetites.

EK took his suit to the dry cleaners to get cleaned.  He noticed that the pull tab on his pants was missing, so he mentioned it to the lady and she said she could fix it.  Later in the week he picked up the suit and we had a good laugh when we looked at the pants.  She "fixed" it by slipping a paperclip
where the tab was.  He noticed it on Sunday when he was getting dressed, and of course wore them that way to church.

I had a sweet experience at church on Sunday.  As the meetings started, little Ila Moody came and sat by me.   I smiled at her and asked her why she wasn't sitting by her family.  She told me that she noticed me sitting by myself and thought I looked lonely.  Oh my, how that touched my heart. I gave her a hug and thanked her for being so considerate.  Blessings sometimes come in small packages.

As we near the end of our mission with six weeks remaining, we are amazed at how fast the time has passed.  We have met many new senior couples who have come recently, and we see their strength and much experience.  What a blessing they will be to the mission.  There are 17 senior couples serving in the ANM.  I remember when we first came, President Grant kiddingly told us that we couldn't leave until we found a replacement.  I think we are covered.

Word of the week:  krštenje (cur shten je) which means baptism.



2 comments:

  1. Thanks for the updates. Miss you guys :)

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  2. Oh the nostalgia that engendered!! Thank you for that wonderful post. What happy memories I have of the Adriatic North Mission.

    ReplyDelete