Week 14 Gathering Israel and Trsat Castle

Tacy was so busy this week! She was so excited to have 7 investigators one whom came to church on Sunday.  Another was reading the Book of Mormon and asked her to explain the Gathering of Israel. She had a Cannabis situation and many other adventures as you can see in the photos. The Castle they visited is called Trsat Castle in Rijeka. Croatia is full of historic beauty.

Week 13 Donovan Mitchell and Elsa

HAPPY EASTER! I am so grateful for our brother and Savior Jesus Christ. HE LIVES!
These two words bring me SO much hope! SO much joy! I know that through Him we can overcome all pain,
all sorrow, and even death!! Because HE LIVES I can live and have JOY!! What a great plan God has
 (: Jesus Christ is NOT a fairy tale, or a story passed down. HE LIVES, HE IS REAL.
He is our brother and our friend and wants us to be happy! 

I love this scripture:

Mormon 9:21

21 Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing,
 whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; 
and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.  

Believe in Him! Doubt not, and ASK! He is always there eager to help you. With whatever you need!
 I know Jesus Christ lives!! 

BIG NEWS

- I met someone this week who knows who Donovan Mitchell is!! He's this young college dude,
and we started talking about basketball. AND HE KNEW who Donovan was!!
But the sad news.... He didn't know who Jesus was.... Sister Roberts and I tried to change that,
 but he just liked that we were American and knew about the NBA....

-While out knocking doors, a family let us in! They have a cute little 6 year old who called Sister Roberts 'Elsa'
and I was 'Ana' (from Frozen). She was the cutest little girl ever and kept running back and forth from her room
to the kitchen and showed me all of her favorite toys! She knows a little English, and I know a little Croatian,
so we became quick friends! And we taught this family the Restoration! I tried to help where I could in the lesson,
 then I got to tell the Joseph Smith story and bear my testimony. The Spirit filled the room throughout our lesson
 and I know they felt something! But they weren't interested in learning more... Sometimes it is hard because once
again, we don't know if they are interested in our message or that we are "American Girls." So we explain our
purpose as missionaries of helping others come unto Christ, and that really determines whether they want to
 know more about our Savior Jesus Christ or not.

-Last night we ate Easter Dinner at a members home! They had homemade Burek, stuffed peppers, potatoes!
Wow it was amazing! Then we sang a little bit of karaoke! Good times(: 

I love you all so much! Thank you for all the prayers and support! It means the world to me!! 

Sestra Gittins

sister roberts and I waiting outside the church preppin' for our lesson!

THE ADRIATIC SEA

Week 12 Ups and Downs

Well hello there lovely family! 

Oh how I just want to give you all big hugs and see your lovely faces! 

This week was really good! Always lots of ups and downs, but lots of learning!

We taught 2 really cool lessons! Both on the restoration! My language ability is pretty limited, but when people talk and can mostly understand what they are saying, but some people are so hard to understand! Some people I'm like oh cool! I get ya! and others I don't catch anything! It's HARD!!

But at our lessons I got to recite the 1st vision in Croatian. It is so cool to bring the Spirit even stronger into the room and bear witness that Jesus lives! and that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God! It's so cool to explain the gospel to people. It is amazing! So simple, and so eternally grand!! I know God wants us to be happy in this life, and in the next life! He wants us to have joy! That is something I've been focusing more on. Finding Joy! Missions are great but sometimes I forget to really look around and realize the blessing it is. I just get stuck in the grind, while not enjoying the find! 

We tracted some huge buildings this week! Lots of doors get slammed on us before we open our mouths. Or I just keep on talking even tho they are like "nista! NIsta!" Nothing nothing" But yeah! It's kind of crazy because you never know who will be behind the door! old, young, happy, angry! It's a fun game! "Who's behind the next door!"

There was this crazy cat that kept hissing at us and following us! We were scared of it lolz! The elevators here are sketchy! haha. It makes me laugh! Most of the time when we step into them, they move slightly down, then we close the doors and just pray we don't die!  But really they are cool! 

Lots of hills here! When President announced where I was going he said "Rijeka! The most hilly city in the mission!" and it is so true! We are always doing hills or stairs or yeah!! My calves are growing so much! It's so intense! hahah. Lots of times big buildings don't have elevators, so we climb tons of flights to the top, then work our way down! 

I love personal study time. It's an hour where I dive into the scriptures and other things and just focus on learning and feeling the spirit. It's so great to leave everything behind and just feel God's love. So if you are struggling- DIVE into your scriptures! they will change your life! But really, always study and always be praying! 

I gave a talk on that in sacrament yesterday! Malo po malo! little by little! I know we need to do the little things everyday to keep strengthening our testimonies and coming closer to Christ! So work on that! Make the time to study your scriptures! I know you all are so busy, but see what things you can do to improve your study. It will change your life! I know when things have been hard I really hold on to my scriptures and my Savior, they have such power.

Sometimes when we are contacting (randomly stopping people on the streets) and no one is listening. IT gets really discouraging! I have learned I'm really bad with taking No for an answer bc I want them to listen so bad! But I know God has His timing. But anyway when it gets rough or long, I grip my book of mormon to my chest and just feel the power. I just hold onto that book and my testimony of it. Sometimes I'm holding on very tight! But I know God is good!! I just have to do my best everyday!!

We go running everyday in the morning. Up hills, to the sea, to the police station, or other fun routes! There are lots of cross walks so we do a lot of run and stop, run and stop. lolz. Also like no one else runs in Croatia, so we always get looks. BUT there was a marathon here yesterday! lolz! haven't seen anyone run! Then they apparently had a marathon!! Also the other day on our run, this huge dog almost got us! haha, it liked jumped out of no where and I barely dodged it! hahahaha. But it was good, gave me a good wake up call! 

Sorry this is long! I love you all lots! I hope the weather starts to get nice! It's been rainy and cold here too! The wind is awwww! But we are good! Mom thanks for that rain jacket IT HAS SAVED ME!!!! 

My comp is great! She's super cool and very chill! so we get along very well! 

ENJOY YOUR EASTER! Enjoy rolling eggs down the hill and having a fun family gathering! Remember, because HE lives we can all live!! 

God's got a plan! He is in charge of this world! I think of the quote on the wall lots mom(: It's a good one! 

You all are my favorite humans!  I miss you all lots!!

Landon: SMILE!! Be happy and kind! People will remember your thoughtfulness and your love! Look for ways to serve those around you! don't worry, be happy! And take a nice long bath for me!!

DAD!! I miss you lots! hopefully I will talk to you soon! Good luck at work and I hope nursery is going well! You are the best(:  I miss you!!

and the rest of you know how much I love you! 

Good luck! Eat some ice cream for me this week! The Ice Cream here is hmmm. Not too good! hopefully today I'll find me some! 

LOVE YOU FAMILY!

Sister Gittins

oh ps I never mentioned this- but we teach english every tuesday & thursday! I Love it! We have so many friends in english! it's the best!

love you all!

Week 11 Tender Mercies and Fun Facts

Bok! 

Rijeka is such a cool city! Just some fun info about being a missionary here-

1- We walk around a lot! But when we need to get outside the city and to apartments we catch the buses! 

2- We have a cool Nokia brick phone(just in case you wanted to know that lolz)

3- Our church is in an apartment building! We are on floor two(: It is a lovely place to gather and worship our Savior! We have a small kitchen, 2 rooms for Sunday School/ Other Meetings, a sacrament room, an office, and then a ping pong table room! We do church cleaning every Saturday with our District and that is lots of fun.

4- My apartment is nice! We live on the 5th floor, so we are pro's at the stairs! Our beds are in the kitchen, so we always make breakfast, then eat in our beds. "breakfast in bed" all the time(;

5- The food here is about the same! But they make amazing breads! Pekaras (Bakeries) are everywhere! Palacinke- is super good here too! They are like crepes, but filled with lots of savory or sweet stuff! Just depending on what kind you want(: 

Wasn't hearing from Apostles and Prophets just the best this weekend?! It really boosted my spirit and gave me a new fire! Isn't it so cool that we all are working together?! I loved the line "We are all part of a larger family". I am hundreds of miles away from my family right now. It has been hard being away! But no matter where I am- that is my family. We are all brothers and sisters. We are all God's children. WE ARE ALL FAMILY. And I'm so glad that I get to help gather my siblings in this part of the land. It is so great to be part of such an amazing family!

On Sunday we watched the recorded sessions of Conference with our branch. It was so great! We had a lot of people come and even one investigator! Then as a District we all gathered at the Christensen's home and watched the live Sunday Morning session and had french toast! The Christensen's are THE BEST! They heard me talking the other day about how I missed Peanut Butter (one of the best food groups ;) ) The next time I saw them, they brought me a huge jar of Peanut Butter! They are so sweet, they are always taking us out to dinner, or checking on us. They are a huge help for the Branch and really have helped the work here immensely! GOD IS GOOD and works through the people around us!

This week Sister Roberts and I were busy finding, contacting, and just in the grind! We forgot to each lunch, but decided to just keep going. At one point we both noticed how hungry we actually were. We joked about how someone would let us in and feed us. The next floor down we knocked on the door of this sweet old woman. The woman persisted that we come in, then proceeded to get out a bowl and give us keks! (cookies) She was very sweet and we couldn't stay long, but how good is our God? When two simple sister missionaries need a snack to help them keep going, God works through a wonderful Baka (grandma) and gives us enough energy to keep on knocking. I have noticed God's hand so abundantly in my life. I know I am not doing His work alone!! This isn't my work, it's God's work. I love my Savior Jesus Christ! I know He can heal any pain, sorrow, or loneliness. Just keep knocking, keep walking, keep working- and GOD will provide!

Sorry I have like no pictures to share! I will take more! 

Have an amazing week! Don't forget to pray & Don't forget to smile!

Sestra Gittins

We went out to this cute restaurant by the sea(: Work hard, play hard(:

 New Temple announced by President Nelson will be the closest to the mission!

Week 10 Rijeka Croatia

Hello! WHAT A WEEK!!

I am in Rijeka, Croatia! It is a cute city right on the coast. When we do our morning runs we run to the pier and look at all the boats. It is a beautiful place, but there is tons of graffiti! (it's a Balkans thing) Here in Rijeka there are lots of cute nuns, and we always love to 'dobar dan' the nuns! Always smile at people on the street and say hello, it goes a long way!! 

My trainer is Sister Roberts! She is so smart and very hard working! I love her example! and it was her birthday this week!! So we went out to eat with Elder and Sister Christensen, and the other 2 elders! Our district is the best! 

I love being out here and sharing my testimony! It is great to be a missionary! But it is also VERY hard. But I know with the Savior "I can do all things". I really have clung onto my scriptures and my Savior this week!

So don't forget to read the Book of Mormon. It brings POWER into your life. Strength beyond your own. (:

Love you all lots! Thank you for all the prayers and support. I never understood when people would say that, but I have so seen that power in my life! 

-Sestra Gittins

enjoy this picture of us in Roman ruins ! they were built before Christ was born! then now they are surrounded by more Croatian buildings!

Sister Roberts 20th Birthday!
Elder and Sister Christensen

Our First Skype from Croatia!