Week 35 What is Salvation?

Dobar Dan (: 

Fun Facts:

- I'm still alive(: I love sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and I love studying in the Book of Mormon. 

- I contacted a guy on the street who had a beard. Really cool guy, plays basketball (He even knew who Donovan Mitchell was😝). I was thinking he was 22 or so. So after giving him a Book of Mormon and having a really cool discussion on the Restoration he asked me how old I thought he was. I was like 22??? He was 15!! Fifteen!! Whattttt. He had a beard?! You can never tell... But we quickly found out the next day that he is 15 when his mother called us very angrily for talking with her 15 year old son about Jesus... I'm sorry woman... He has a beard..

-There is a concert violinist who is pretty well known in Beograd. A member in our Branch presidency wants me and her to perform together and have a mini concert. So I've been in contact with this violinist and she sent me some of the music she wants us to play together... Bach, Adagio's, and some other really hard stuff.... Hahah! We are going to meet up this week and see how far missionary meal time practicing the piano and a professional violinist get along. Hahah I'm scared!! 

This week we taught a woman from Texas! She is very religious and a super sweet woman. But WOAHHHHH. She throws fire.We tracted into her and had a quick let in lesson before, and then set up a return appointment. I have never prepared for a lesson so intensely in my life. Her overarching question was- What is Salvation?! After searching and hunting the scriptures I came to a few conclusions. But simply stated- We are all saved from physical death. Hallelujah! And spiritual death IF we choose. But what do we have to choose? The Savior Jesus Christ and His Atonement. This woman kept asking what is salvation and who is saved. It really made me look into the grace of God & His Son's Atoning Sacrafice. I love that our Savior was the perfect example. He established His Church on the Earth as a means of how we can access that Sacrafice . I love this quote- "The gospel of Jesus Christ is how we access the powers of Christ's atonement in our lives." Or this quote simply restating this truth, "The Doctrine of Christ is the only means by which we can obtain all of the blessings made available to us through Jesus's Atonement". Simply stated we need to ACT. Christ established His church on the Earth to teach His doctrine. His path is a path of action. Of making and keeping covenants with God. It is a continual journey back to our Father and Jesus shows us how. Church structure shows us how(: The BOOK OF MORMON shows us how. 

Okay- sorry sorry for that little vent.. As you can tell this women really didn't want to act.. which made us sad...  

I hope you all know how loved and precious you are! God created everything around us so that we can be here and experience life. He sent His Son to pay the price for our mistakes. We are never alone. He hears us. Act and ask for help(: 

Thanks for all the prayers! I need them all(: 

Hurrah for Israel

Lots of Love

Sister Gittins

Mom Mandy here sharing a letter I received from the Christensen's. A senior couple that has blessed Tacy in countless ways. 

Hi Sister Gittins,

I thought I would just send you a note--we adore your daughter Sister Gittins.  She has served so energetically and lovingly.  We loved having her in Rijeka with us and we miss her enormously, but know she is exactly where she needs to be.  

We love her letters which show the joy and challenges of missionary work.  But for her, it is not "work" as much as it is a "labor of love."  We loved this last letter about teaching the "boy with a beard."  Ha.  Too funny.  And the woman from Texas (our home State) was so typical of the folks we have.  We are excited about her playing the piano with Borjana Pavlović (the name of the violinist).  I know that will be a challenge.

She has a gift for languages--not sure I ever mentioned that to you.  She translated for me once on the stand (during her "second transfer" so she was still very new).  She was amazing in that she translated just about every word right when it was said.  I told her that no one, not even a "seasoned Elder" has translated for me so thoroughly.  She has a quick mind and will do amazingly well at whatever she sets her mind to do.  

The main reason I am writing is that I was touched by her mention of her favorite scripture in a letter to us.  She particularly mentioned you and I thought I would send the exact statement she sent us:

Favorite Scripture:

"Alma 56:44-48

I love all the lessons in this! But I love that they were full of courage. I love the line "behold our God is with us, and he will not suffer that we should fall; then let us go forth." They had so much faith and trust in the Lord they did not doubt. And I love that they credited it back to God & their mothers! This verse makes me so grateful for my mother and I feel the same way as they did! I'm only here today because of my wonderful mother and leaders. This scripture also motivates me to be a strong mother in the future! Sorry I'm rambling about lots of stuff- but I love so much about these verses! Love you both!"

You must be so proud of her and her service.  She is and will continue to be a wonderful missionary, friend and companion, leader, and someday an amazing mother.   

We end our 21 months in December and hope to get down one more time to Serbia before we go.  

Elder and Sister Christensen

Sisters in the same dress Michigan and Serbia!

Week 34 The park where Serbia was Dedicated

Zdravo svima!! 

Fun Facts about this week!

1-We found 2 cockroaches in our apartment

2-The Lord has perfect timing. We ran into people this week that were complete miracles.

3- We had exchanges and I got to serve with the amazing Sister Andrews! She is a great cook and wow, a great teacher as well! 

NOW onto the subject! 

This week we taught a lesson as we walked through Kalamegdan. Kalamegdan is a huge fortress that is really old and cool. There is a lot of old architecture and views to gaze at as you walk around. Also in the middle of Kalamegdan there is a park. This park happens to be the place where President Nelson dedicated Serbia for missionary work. So we met this really sweet woman who wanted to learn more. She suggested we meet and walk around Kalamegdan and talk. So we did just that! We got to walk around this old fort and describe the Restoration of the Gospel to her. Right as we were describing Joseph Smith and telling her the first vision, we were standing in the same place that President Nelson dedicated Serbia. How powerful is that?! I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. I know that we have a living prophet on the earth today. God leads His people through divine guidance. I honor and respect these men. Now about this woman, we invited her to read the Book of Mormon and to ask God. And that is what our living prophet asks us to do today. So in the words of President Nelson-

“Pour out your heart to God. Ask Him if these things are true. Make time to study His words. Really study! If you truly love your family and if you desire to be exalted with them throughout eternity, pay the price now—through serious study and fervent prayer—to know these eternal truths and then to abide by them.

“If you are not sure you even believe in God, start there. Understand that in the absence of experiences with God, one can doubt the existence of God. So, put yourself in a position to begin having experiences with Him. Humble yourself. Pray to have eyes to see God’s hand in your life and in the world around you. Ask Him to tell you if He is really there—if He knows you. Ask Him how He feels about you. And then listen.”

President Nelson is so cool. I know we have a loving Father in Heaven. I know He wants us to be happy. And so I invite you all to do this(: Read the Book of Mormon and ask your loving Heavenly Father if these things are true. REALLY ASK. I know that the Book of Mormon is true! There is power that will flow into your life when you read from the Book of Mormon and the words of the prophets.

Love you all! Life is good(: God is good! 

Hurrah for Israel!

Sister Gittins

p.s. Yankee Go Home- some cool spray paint we found. Some people feel that way about USA, but mostly I've seen positive reactions to my home land. hehe.

These are pictures from zone conference!! I am so grateful to serve in the ANM !I love my mission president and his wife and I am surrounded by amazing missionaries who teach me everyday! 

Week 33 When the people yell sect

 Oh the adventures in Serbia! This transfer we have had a rough start- but hopefully things only go up from here! My companion is Sister Calderón- she is from Finland & is pretty cool. We white washed into an old Elders apartment and oh boy! The floor is broken, the sinks all leak, and the list goes on! But little by little our landlord is trying to fix things. We live in a big commy block built during the time of Tito! We have lots of sweet neighbors and a cute little park by us.

We had zone conference this week! President and Sister Melonakos are so amazing! I learned so much and am so grateful for inspired leaders. They give their all to the Lord & serve Him with everything they have!

Serbia is really cool! The language is coming along ok! It's funny, we run into people on the street who say 'Serbian and Croatian are basically the same language' then the next person will say 'Serbian and Croatian are complete different languages'. It makes me laugh at all the different opinions on it. But in general- they are the same language. Some of my favorite language practice  is when we talk to the old women in the park! They are really helpful with language questions I have, or telling me about their favorites things about Serbia! There Serbian pride comes out in full colors(: But when we talk about religion- they sometimes don't want to continue talking.. Or they do want to talk to me about there faith but not really listen to mine, hehe.  

We have had a lot of finding time! Which means we've met a lot of cool people! The other day in the park we ran into the sweetest old couple! They accepted a Book of Mormon and wanted us to come over with Conference talks from President Nelson! At the end of that conversation a women ran up to us and started yelling ' sect!!! They are a sect!!' She continued to yell in her angry Serbian until the sweet couple we gave the Book of Mormon to said 'Do you know the definition of a sect, these girls are NOT a sect.' It made me so happy that this couple stood up for us! I have met so many sweet people here in Serbia! They are so very patient with my broken Serbian or standing up for us when people yell sect at us(: 

Today we visited some Pravoslav temples. Really cool historical sights. It is so weird to me that in these temples they have souvenir stands & that tourists go in and out taking pictures and videos(guilty of the following as you will see). All 
while people are worshipping and trying to become closer to God. I am so grateful that our holy houses of worship aren't used for selling souvenirs...

This week I have thought a lot about the enabling power of Jesus Christ. The Atonement of Jesus Christ has redeeming qualities, but it also has enabling qualities. I was laying in bed the other night thinking of all the tender mercies that carried me through the day. (The sweet grandma who waved at us, the 4 year old boy who almost ran us over on his bike while he laughed so loud the world could hear, the hymns I sang when times got tough, etc.) I always called these my "tender mercies" or "little miracles". But then it hit me- those were all little things that enabled me to keep moving forward. All these tender mercies ARE the enabling power of Jesus Christ. I know for a fact that weak and prideful me cannot be a missionary by my shear will power or drive. I need the Savior's enabling power every single day to help me improve as a missionary and sometimes just survive. These last few weeks I have learned so much about The Atonement. None of us are EVER alone on this journey. If we rely on the Savior and His enabling power, things will get better. Even if that 'better' is just a sweet smile or a friendly conversation. Or even if that 'better' is just a prayer of plea for help that gets answered by an overwhelming feeling of love.
Matthew 11
28 ¶ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Thanks for all the love and support! 

Love you all!

Hurrah for Israel!!

Sister Gittins

Week 32 Patience

As you know I'm not a patient person! Haha but I am learning my friends(: God is taking 
my weaknesses and testing them. It is changing me to be a better person .. 
I hope. But growing pains hurt.

 I LOVE THIS SCRIPTURE IN HEBREWS 12:1

1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.

we all have races in our lives! We need to patiently run the race before us. Do your very best in the moment and that's all you can do! 

This week we had lots of finding time! So we walked the streets lots and talked to some cool people! One woman called us after we gave her our card and asked for a BOM! So we went over and delivered a BOM!  Woah little miracles all around us! 

Love you all so much! (: it is September!! Wahooooooooo. 

Ćao

Sister Gittins

 Tacy went to Kalemegdan Park in Belgrade
Tacy was able to see Sister Hart again!