Week 17 Slovenia Visit

Tacy was too busy traveling Europe to send an email this week!  She did say over hangouts, that they had done a lot of door knocking and one of their investigators came to church. This made them so happy. They went to Slovenia! Ljubliana and Lake Bled. They also went to the Island of Cres in Croatia which I believe is near the island of Krk where they already explored. They are getting a phone in June along with a Facebook account. Tacy is very upbeat and Happy. She is always expressing gratitude for me and it makes my whole week. I feel like all the down I feel, is compensated when I chat with her! I am so grateful to be able to hear from her! She has also been bowling. I am so grateful to the Christensen's for giving her so many beautiful opportunities within all the hard work! They had a fish cook off also. What a fun mission!

A Note from Elder Christensen on when they went to Slovenia and Moscenice Croatia.
We had the most remarkable P-Day. First, we love these Elders and Sisters dearly. They feel like our sons and daughters. You have raised such incredible, wonderful, genuinely good sons and daughters!! We have been waiting for weeks for the rain to stop. We cancelled our trip last week and hoped for a better week this week. When we left it was raining and then as we headed up to Slovenia, it rained even harder. But all day long at stop after stop, it rained as we drove, but when we arrived, it was dry and NOT raining and beautiful. Get back in the car and drive a few miles toward the next destination and the rain would start again. Time after time. Beautiful in Bled, Slovenia beautiful in Ljubljana, Slovenia, beautiful in Mošćenice, Croatia, stunning on the island of Cres, Croatia. Finally, back to Rijeka and it started to rain again. It was a wonderful day.

 Lake Bled Slovenia ^

Week 16 Mothers Day Call!

Sestra Gittins didn't send a real email this week but she had many adventures as the pictures will tell! It was great to talk with her on Mother's Day! She is full of love and light! She told us she is going to be getting a phone in a few weeks and is also going to be doing missionary work through Facebook! She has a great attitude even on hard days! She doesn't complain and is so Optimistic. She has been to Zagreb a few times for meetings in the past weeks. She loves the people in Rijeka and explained to me that Croatia is Catholic and Bosnia is Muslim.  So it is almost like they are true to their Countries Religion in each place. It makes them struggle to want to embrace what they see as an American religion.  I sure am grateful as a Mother to have a daughter willing to do hard things in order to share what she knows to be True!  She is a blessing to our family!

Always excited to hear from her! This postcard made my day!

Week 15 Prayers and Islands!!

Hello everyone! So much happens every week and I want to share it all! But I will give you a small glimpse into life!! 

Last p-day we went to the island of Krk! And specifically the city Vrbnik and WOW! It is the cutest little Croatian town. The cobblestone streets are lined with old homes, flowers, and so much history! We got lost in the cute little city and just walked around in awe. We also walked down the "smallest street in the world". In my opinion, Vrbnik was what you would think Italy and Greece would look like- all combined in one! We checked out the beaches too ! The beaches here are all pebble beaches, so the water is so clear! We went with the Christensen's! They are the best! They are always taking us out to dinner, on adventures, and always such a blessing in our lives! 

This week we got to do service!!! We helped the Vilopeks move! We packed up lots of books, couches, and lots of random stuff! 

On Tuesday we had Zone Conference in Zagreb! It was so great to meet so many other missionaries and be strengthened together! We really studied our mission scripture 2 Nephi 2:8. I love the power that scripture has and really "how great the importance to make these things known".

One of the huge things I learned this week was the power of prayer in our lives. As a missionary, I am constantly praying for strength and the Spirit to be with me. I feel like I am constantly praying and searching for guidance to help me and those around me. So for me when I hear "pray" it is a natural thing. But for the people we teach, prayer is a very uncommon thing. They feel awkward doing it, or even trying to pray. It's weird for them to fold their arms, close their eyes, and address someone they cannot see. BUT let me say this. We have a Heavenly Father who LOVES us. He is our Father and wants us to talk to Him. He wants us to pray to Him and ask for help. He wants us to ask Him the questions of our soul or whether the Book of Mormon is true. AND He wants to answer us. Prayer shouldn't be something we are scared of or feel awkward about. How amazing is it that we can speak to our Father in Heaven? I know that when we pray, Heavenly Father hears us. Through prayer, we can have His love flow more powerfully into our lives.

FUN FACTS

-I tried swordfish this week!! It was SO good!!

-Last p-day we also went to Trsat! It is a beautiful castle that over looks Rijeka! 

-I have a Chaco Tan line!! BUT it's been raining a lot, so it is slowly disappearing... All the Grandma's on the street always yell at us when we wear sandals and say "It's winter!" But hey, it's a great way to strike up a conversation.(:

-We ate onions! Just plain baby onions! We were helping a family move and they said they would bring out "salad" and here came a plate of onions! So you put the onions with cheese and this croatian sauce and dobar tek! (imagine how great our breath smelt after that!)

-We taught lots of lessons this week and really got to bear testimony of the things we hold dear. It is so amazing to watch the Spirit come into a lesson and bring tears to the eyes of our friends.

-Did you know that if you read the Book of Mormon you can find out it's true? YEAH crazy I know!! If you haven't read this amazing book, I invite you to read it! And pray about it! I know it is God's word and how amazing that we have more clarity about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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

Hurrah for Israel!!!

Sestra Gittins