Week 4 One Month Down

Wow, it blows my mind that I've been a missionary for 1 month! TIME FLIES!! This week Sister Hart & I were called as Sister Training Leaders. So last night we welcomed in all the new missionaries! 13 were just added to our zone! Facts about our zone- the Dutch are the best! We always joke around with them & yell DONT TOUCH THE DUTCH! Because one of the Dutch is always sick! I love all the inside jokes I have with other missionaries! One Elder is from Canada, but he was born in Cuba. So he has a great Nacho Libre accent! So between the two of us, him with his “eagle powers” and me with my “my favorite color is light tan” we make a great team of swapping quotes in our Nachooooo accents! "It's the best!!" Another Elder has 4 older sisters! (It's like you Landon!!) So he is very cultured in the ways of chick-flicks! So we have movie quote competitions. He'll quote a movie, then I guess, then I'll quote a movie, and he'll guess. It gets pretty crazy sometimes! hahaha(: The MTC is great! But it can get really repetitive and crazy!! But I love it(: I can't wait to share my excitement with the outside world! Yesterday we taught a women from Serbia, and I LOVED HER VOICE! Her Serbian/ Croatian is so much better than any return missionaries ;) I wanted to end with my testimony of the Savior. I know that He is always there for us. But how can we trust someone we don't know about? We need to study His life, His attributes, and try to emulate the things He did. Something that really hit me in my scripture study this week was how much self control and LOVE the Savior has! People mocked Him, scorned Him, and denied His power. He could have destroyed these people or even the very Earth they walked on, yet He did His Father's will. I know that I need to do my Father's Will no matter what people say to me, or try to do! If I trust in my Savior Jesus Christ and LOVE, everything will work out! He lives, He loves each of you. PLEASE trust Him(: He only wants the best for you even if things seem dark- God can make more of you than you can make of yourself!!! Jesus Christ is our brother and our friend. He can control the winds and the waves, why can't He help you? HE CAN!! & WILL! Look for Him in your life and you will see Him. He is there! I love my Savior Jesus Christ! Love you all! Sestra Gittins
 p.s.- It is SO WEIRD to see all the missionaries here talking to their families! You walk around our dorm on P-day and wowza, families everywhere! It's amazing! I can't wait to talk to my family later this afternoon!!

Our First Skype after the Announcement that Missionaries could contact home each week!

Week 3 Sister Mittens

Dobar Dan! Kako ste vi??

What a week to be alive?! We taught 4 lessons in Croatian, dived into grammar and STARTED learning the Cyrillic alphabet! For those who don't know, I am learning Croatian and Serbian while in the MTC. These languages are very similar but have major differences. (and also a different alphabet!) It's challenging, but I know I'm not left to do this alone! God's team is the best team(: But what is super cool is we can understand a little bit of Russian! They are different but it's fun to try and listen to the Russian missionaries and see the similarities!

This week Sister Oppermann flew out to France! I'm so excited for her to get out into the field and serve!

Elder Soares from the 12 apostles came and spoke with us on Tuesday! It was beautiful and reminded me to give the Lord my all, "with clean hands and a pure heart!"

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! VOLIM VAS!! 

Love, Sestra Gittins

 Sister Hart and Sister Gittins

 Sister Gittins with Sister Oppermann before she headed off to France!

 Sister Gittins with Sister Mittens the MTC Cat!

Week 2 Grandma Ruth Returned Home

So... Tacy had said goodbye to Grandma on Tuesday night January 22, 2019 before being set apart. We emailed her that Grandma had fallen on Saturday the 26th of January and broken her hip. Grandma was in the hospital for a few days and then transferred back to Autumn Care. On January 31, 2019 Tacy had her p-day. We emailed back and forth in the morning and then she said she would email again after attending the Provo Temple. Mom had visited Grandma Ruth. She had been a bit tired and hurting as they tried to care for her. I came home from Autumn Care to this email from Sestra Gittins.

I read it and began to cry. Morgan wondered what was wrong with her Mother. Grandma hadn't been doing great but the nurses assured us her vitals were good and she was just tired from pain medicine. We stopped to see her before we cleaned Lazy One and after we finished.  She really wouldn't wake.  I knew that Tacy had truly been prepared for her Grandmothers passing. We went to bed, I didn't sleep much but was awakened on February 1,  by a call from Claudia at 6:00 AM saying that Ruth had passed. My testimony of the temple, Missionary Work, and the power of the Priesthood (Montes blessing a week previous to release her)  were strengthened.

Today Lance did a wonderful job honoring his Mother as he shared his thoughts and her Obituary. It was a beautiful snowy day. Ruth was an amazing example to all of us. The Grandkids shared memories and this is the one Tacy sent from the MTC

Here is my little piece for the memories.
I loved going down to visit Grandma individually. We would talk and laugh together about silly memories or funny stories. One visit stood out in particular. It was the day I realized that Grandma Ruth was MY age when Pearl Harbor happened (18/19)! We sat and visited for an hour about all the changes she'd seen and things she'd experienced. A visit to Grandma always put my life in perspective and she always reminded me to keep things light-hearted, fun, and to never complain! Live life, work hard, and find the joy. I'm honored to be named after this amazing women.
-Tacy Ruth

From the MTC Tacy sent us photos and Love as we really missed her at Grandma's Funeral! I had fresh CHIP cookies delivered and sent a package for Valentines Day filled with Idle Isles made by Uncle Wes and Heart Notes from the family that were made on Super Bowl Sunday!

TACY'S EMAIL AND MORE PICS!

Hey Family! Oh how I love you all so much! I hope the funeral went well. I've heard beautiful things about it. Know I was there in spirit all day with you. My heart loves you all to the point of bursting! Give each other hugs for me! and serve each other(:

This week was super good! Ups and downs, but that's life! 

 This photo was sent by Ashley Regen who is attending BYU and was walking to the temple on a Sunday and saw someone jumping around in the MTC to get her attention. She realized it was Tacy and took a photo!

Hello Family and Friends,

Another week here in the MTC!To be honest, I feel like I am studying for finals week every day here! I'm constantly running through flashcards, scriptures, or anything! I have 7 more weeks and still have a lot to accomplish! 

We taught 2 lessons yesterday in Croatian! The 1st one was a little rough, but the 2nd went a lot better! I'm so grateful that God's hand is in all things. He is lifting me and helping me to learn this language!

This week my sweet Grandma Ruth passed away at the age 96! Her sweet spirit and funny personality will be missed. When I heard the news, I wept with bitter sweet tears. Death is not the end my friends. We are each here for a purpose. God knows you, HE LOVES YOU. And families can be together forever! Jesus Christ broke the bands of death and provided the way back so that YOU can have happiness in this life and in the world to come. I'm so grateful she is with my Grandpa Lee again. And I'm so grateful for the knowledge I have of this gospel!  I can't wait to get to Croatia and share it.

SO- don't forget to hug your family! I mean, it is the 'love month' so PLEASE tell your family you love them!! 

Love you all!

Sestra Gittins

p.s. Laughter is the best medicine, and these adorable sisters help me laugh all the time!

Hannah Hart <hannah.hart@myldsmail.net>	3:29 PM (10 minutes ago)
to me

Mandy,

This is sis. Hart, your daughter’s companion. First of all, thank you

for all of the treats you have sent us. You are so kind! I’m sorry to

hear about your mother in law’s passing. When sister gittins told me

about her I could just tell she loves her so much.

Sis. Gittins is honestly better than any companion I could have

dreamed of! She is so selfless and fun and hard working and smart and

dedicated and kind and beautiful and I could go on and on but I’m sure

you already know how awesome she is. Thank you for being such a great

mom to her because she has the light of Christ shining right through

her. She has not once been angry or mean. She never gives up on

anything even when she’s exhausted. And when her grandma passed away

she took the news with grace and though she was sad, her faith brought

her through. I look up to her in every way and  am so grateful to the

Lord that she was called to speak a language and go to a place we knew

nothing about. The first few days here were very hard but having

someone to go through everything with has been the hugest blessing. I

love that she loves to sing and dance and play volleyball and run and

be crazy. But I especially love her testimony of the gospel. Her

strength is inspiring.

Sorry this is so long lol. Feel free to email anytime!

Sister Hannah Hart