Week 66 - spring is here

Suprise suprise! Another email but hey this one is from this week because I am tired of writing catchup emails hahaha. So this one is from this past week (April 17th-23rd)

- On monday Teja wanted to practice being a tour guide with us and so we went all around Ljubljana city center and she told us all of these really cool facts and stories. She even took us to this chocolate shop to try the sample and fed us snacks the whole time 10/10 would go on a tour with her again. 

Teja and us finding the lock S. Chandler and I put on the bridge

- We also had a cute little picnic with the other sisters on Monday with a whole assortment of treats. We had homemade walnut raisin bread, pasta, bread, drinks, fruit, vegetables, and cookies. So it was probably the fanciest picnic I have had in my life haha. The only problem was I didn't bring anything to drink out of so I had to get creative with a tub-a-ware container (is it actually tub of ware? I genuinely have no clue)

fancy picnic

- We taught a good amount of english this week and I have come to recognize that I really don't have the patience or desire to be a teacher. So big props to all of the teachers or future teachers out there. Big respect

We also got special permission to go to Celje to watch another one of our friends' basketball games. We couldn't stay the whole time because of the stupid train schedule but it was so fun. I really hope that next time we can meet afterwards and talk more 

- We went and visited one of our members in the hospital twice this week and it was so sweet. We read a general conference talk with her and she just kept talking about how great it was and how thankful she was that we came. She gave us chocolate and apples and it was the sweetest thing ever. Pray for her :,)

pretty scene on our morning run 

- Another one of our members is moving to Germany so we had dinner all together at the senior couple's house. She made us food back from the Dominican Republic which was fire.  

 

- Sestra Smith and I found another cool cafe to do our language study in 

- We had a lesson with our friend on Saturday. We read from the Book of Mormon and Bible and then talked about God's pattern of revelation. My mom gave me a fun little chart talking about it. Let me know if you want it (esp other missionaries!!!!) because it is fire. The lesson went pretty well. And then we had made plans to go have another lesson with Nataša and had super ellaborate plans for traveling because we had to take a bus to the train station and the a train and then another bus and then walk for a bit and then do all of that again on the way back BUT THEN she cancelled right as we were getting on the train. Thankfully the train hadn't left yet so we just went and did our studies outside because the weather was SO nice!! It was 21 degrees! (I think that is like 63 or something for my american buddies) This was the other day we went and visited the member in the hospital. 

the trees are all blossoming now 

- Sunday was good too - we had a luncheon after church and talked to a bunch of people. Then we met up with a random guy on Facebook to play basketball together with the Elders but then there were no basketball nets so we walked around and saw this small group of people playing volleyball (!!!!!!) so we joined them and made a bunch of new friends. 

zoom in to find two lizards :)

Overall this week was a good one! It is crazy how fast time is flying. I hope you are all good and I am sorry for not responding to all of you as often as I should :( But just know I love you all so much!!!!!!! 

Now for what you are all waiting for:

Ice cream count: 0 :(

Times I have been insulted because I speak "american" english by people were are teaching english to (for free): 2 >:(

Week 65 - over 90 waterfalls 🤯

Hi guys! Look at me go sending another email so soon after the other one. What a miracle. This week was so much fun. Half of it was in Croatia for the most part.

Monday:

Since today wasn't our pday, we had a day filled with visits. The first visit we had was with Tanja who I have def talked about before but she is one of our members here who is so so so sweet. I love her so much. She has a son who is absolutely obsessed with trains atm so I plaed train conductor with him for a good solid amount of time. After our visit with them, our lovely senior couple took us out to eat at this amazing restaurant. While there, Elder Tanner started talking to a group of girls who turned out to be famous basketball players for slovenia?!?!?!?! One of them is from America, one from Australia, and then the other two were from Slovenia. So ofc we got their contacts and the information about when and where their next game was. So so so cool. Then we drove to the completely other side of Slovenia and visited the majc family. The dad is the district president here and that visit was so fun. It was really cool to get to know them better. They are a fun and strong family. 

Tuesday: 

We started service at the red cross today! We are teaching a guy from Africa english. That is fun. We also started out at another new service place. Really close to our apartment is a botanical garden and so we went over and helped with harvesting seeds from a specific flower. It was so fun but a good reminder that I need to brush up my plant vocabulary hahaha.

Service at the botanical garden

We also had district council today and then we went to the basketball ladies' game!! It was so fun! It has been forever since I have seen a basketball game. They were really good and ended up winning by a good amount. I am excited to stay in contact with them. 

The basketball game score (killin it!)

Wednesday:

Today was more of a chill day. We went to the river by our apartment and recorded a video when out of nowhere this beaver-like thing just swims up to us. And now, as a reminder, my favorite animal is a beaver (bc I had a stuffed animal beaver) so when this happened my mind went blank. A whole BEAVER. Not even 5 feet away from us. I lost my mind. Later we found out that they are like a cross between a beaver and rat lol. I think they are called Nutrija. I genuinely don't know but hey close enough. We also had a lesson with a new person that we are teaching. He is really cool and is looking to improve his life so he reached out to us for help. It went really well and we are excited to see him progress. :) And then we got on a bus to Croatiaaa! The Celje sisters (Williams and McConkie) also came with us which was fun. 

Sestra Williams and I recreating a picture taken almost a year ago

Once we got there we were left on our own to get food so we wandered the streets of zagreb for food and saw the bosnian missionaries which was so so so good. I was esp excited to see my bbr Sestra Washington <3

Sestra Washington and I <3

Thursday 

Plitvice lakes - 90 waterfalls 

it was so so so fun and cool because not only were we in one of the most beautiful places on the Earth, but we were with the Bosnian missionaries!! I brought my selfie stick (thanks mom) and took so many pictures. So so fun. The weather was perfect because it wasn't too hot or too cold and it started raining right after we left. When we got back we could go out to get dinner. We went to this really good Indian restaurant where I got a mild dish but it was so hot so that is how you know it was legit. I also finally got to buy a fannypack (I have been on the search for MONTHS). 

More waterfalls and missionaries

Another waterfall pic

Another waterfall pic 

Waterfall 39482 out of 4920325832 haha

Bosnian sisterrsss

Friday:

Zone conference!!

It was so so so so so good. I think this has been one of my favorite zone conferences ever. The theme was focused on love and charity. Do we love God? Do we love our fellow people? If so, how do we show it? 

 

Bosnia/Slovenia missionaries all today + President and Sister Field 

Saturday:

So for context our waterin the bathroom has been kinda funky for the longest time. It doesn't really have cold water so the showers and whatnot are pretty hot but it hasn't been horrible. Well recently they have been really bad like boiling water type beat so we have been showing with a bucket of cold water next to us hahaha. So ghetto but today the plumber guy finally came in and fixed our water! Woooooo! We also helped teach english to two people today, sunya and karlina and planned our week and then we helped some of our members clean the church. An overall chill day

Sunday:

Church!! Wooo! Today was fast sunday so anyone had the opportunity to share their testimony. I always love fast sunday because it is a great opportunity to hear other people share their experiences and what they believe. We also had a lesson with Nataša in person which was so good. We talked a lot about general conference and what it is/what we can learn from it. Also her cat came and slept inbetween Sestra Smith and I and it was the cutest thing ever. 

Also I am going to steal this from Sestra Washington's email but it is way too good not to share. Please read it!!!!

"Pushups for Donuts"  

"There was a boy by the name of Steve who was attending Seminary. In this Seminary, classes are held during school hours. Brother Christianson taught Seminary at this particular school. He had an open-door policy and would take in any student that had been thrown out of another class as long as they would abide by his rules. Steve had been kicked out of his sixth period and no other teacher wanted him, so he went into Brother Christianson's Seminary class.

Steve was told that he could not be late, so he arrived just seconds before the bell rang and he would sit in the very back of the room. He would also be the first to leave after the class was over.

One day, Brother Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. After class, Bro. Christianson pulled Steve aside and said, "You think you're pretty tough, don't you?"

Steve's answer was, "Yeah, I do."

Then Brother Christianson asked, "How many push-ups can you do?"

Steve said, "I do about 200 every night."

"200? That's pretty good, Steve," Brother Christianson said. "Do you think you could do 300?"

Steve replied, "I don't know... I've never done 300 at a time." "Do you think you could?" Again asked Brother Christianson.

"Well, I can try," said Steve.

"Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I need you to do 300 in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it," Brother Christianson said. Steve said, "Well... I think I can... yeah, I can do it."

Brother Christianson said, "Good! I need you to do this on Friday."

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room.

When class started, Brother Christianson pulled out a big box of donuts. Now these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited-it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend.

Bro. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, "Cynthia, do you want a donut?"

Cynthia said, "Yes."

Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?"

Steve said, "Sure," and jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Bro. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia's desk..

Bro. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe do you want a donut?"

Joe said, "Yes." Bro. Christianson asked, "Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?" Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut.

And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every person before they got their donut. And down the second aisle, till Bro. Christianson came to Scott.

Scott was captain of the football team and center of the basketball team. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. When Bro. Christianson asked, "Scott, do you want a donut?"

Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own pushups?"

Bro. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them."

Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want one then."

Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?"

Steve started to do ten pushups. Scott said, "HEY! I said I didn't want one!"

Bro. Christianson said, "Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it." And he put a donut on Scott's desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Bro. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry.

Bro. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?"

Jenny said, "No."

Then Bro. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?" Steve did ten, Jenny got a donut.

By now, the students were beginning to say "No" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve was also having to really put forth a lot of effort to get these pushups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.

Bro. Christianson asked Robert to watch Steve to make sure he did ten pushups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. So Robert began to watch Steve closely. Bro. Christianson started down the fourth row.

During his class, however, some students had wandered in and sat along the heaters along the sides of the room. When Bro. Christianson realized this; he did a quick count and saw 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.

Bro. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

Steve asked Bro. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?"

Bro. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your pushups. You can do them any way that you want." And Bro. Christianson went on.

A few moments later, Jason came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled, "NO! Don't come in! Stay out!"

Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said, "No, let him come."

Bro. Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten pushups for him."

Steve said, "Yes, let him come in."

Bro. Christianson said, "Okay, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?"

"Yes."

"Steve, will you do ten pushups so that Jason can have a donut?" Steve did ten pushups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

Bro. Christianson finished the fourth row, then started on those seated on the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each pushup in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. Sweat was dropping off of his face and, by this time, there was not a dry eye in the room.

The very last two girls in the room were cheerleaders and very popular. Bro. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda, do you want a doughnut?

Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you."

Bro. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?"

Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for Linda. Then Bro. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a donut?"

Susan, with tears flowing down her face, asked, "Bro. Christianson, can I help him?"

Bro. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, he has to do it alone, Steve, would you do ten pushups so Susan can have a donut?"

As Steve very slowly finished his last pushup, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Brother Christianson turned to the room and said, "And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, pleaded to the Father, "Into thy hands I commend my spirit." With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, he collapsed on the cross and died. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten."

Steve smiled as he laid on the ground in his own sweat and began to cry.

Don’t be like those who didn’t eat the donut. Remember Christ and His sacrifice. It is my prayer that you will remember and take advantage of the Savior’s marvelous Atonement."

Isn't that so powerful? I nearly cry everytime I read it. Please remember that last line "remember and take advantage of the Savior's marvelous Atonement"

Icecream count: 0 :( so so bad I know