November 8th, 2010

Bok Svima,


I hope that you are doing well! I hope you don't mind getting this email also, so just let me know if you don't want to get the mass emails that I send every week.


Anyway, on to business, I went to Zone Meeting in Zagreb last week where all the missionaries get together in Croatia for training and guess what! I was the part of the Zadar Sisters. It was so great, I know that doesn't mean anything to you but when I look back on this and read this I will know exactly what I mean. Well, Anu will understand....weird.....I keep wanted to say Sister Fitzsimmons. I'm A ZADAR SISTER! There are only four of us now and we had breakfast together in my old apartment right before the meeting. It was so nice to be together and we shared funny stories of the week before.


At the meeting Elder Jacobsen shared a scripture James 1:22 where it talks about not just being hearers of the word but doers also. A few scriptures after talks about how a man who is only a hearer is like a man who sees himself in a mirror and when he is gone from the mirror he forgets himself. Uh there is a lot of paraphrasing there, but I think of that in our everyday life. It is one thing to hear the word of God and be edified by it, but what is it worth if we don't make ourselves better by it. We know that Christ didn't do anything save it were to Glorify the Father and for the salvation of others. What is the point of having great words if we don't take it to heart and make ourselves better with them. I like the quote that Rachie sent me when she said, "If we want to talk to God, we pray. If we want God to talk to us, we read the scriptures." It is true, and I love that we are not alone but have a Father who loves us and is guiding us...if we let Him.


Speaking of Spiritual things....we had a Halloween party that wasn't a Halloween party. Some people think that it is worshiping the devil so we just had a party the day before Halloween. Elder Bachynski made an indestructible piñata and by the time people beat it open the candy was all powder and sprayed all over everyone....well not everyone. We still ate it anyway. The only dressing up I did for Halloween day was when I dressed up like Elder Bachynski. I put his suit coat on and stood on a chair and said a couple of funny quotes that he said before. Yes he was still taller than me.


Sister Laws and I are so full of the spirit that we usually think of things at the same time or tend to put on the same kind of outfits, but the other day we were lacking in unity and I couldn’t understand the words coming out of her mouth. This was our conversation:


I put on my clothes for the day which was a sweater and a long sleeve button up. We had just finished making a cake for Rafaela's birthday.
S. Laws: "Aren't you going to bake in that?"
S. Dillender: "Uh are we going to make some more treats for Rafaela?"
S. Laws: "No! Aren't you going to cook in that!"
S. Dillender:"Oh, do you want to have lunch now?"
We are cracking up at this point.
S. Laws: "NOOOOOO! Aren't you going to be hot in that today?!"
We just laugh and I realized how dumb it was to winter it up in a not wintry city. So I changed so I wouldn't figuratively bake or cook.


The other great story for the week was when we were stuffing mailboxes with free language class flayers in the dark at 8 at night. We walk into this yard area and were looking for a mailbox in the dark. I start to hear a dog bark and growl so I say lets go and book it. I look to my left and see this BIG DOG running at us and don't even to see if my companion is following. We round the corner and some other dogs bark at us too and run half way down the street, realize the BACHYNSKI sized dog is not following us (must have been chained) and realize that we are not going to be eaten alive and stop in the middle of the street and keel over laughing. I can't believe that I had my first stereotypical missionary story...being chased by a dog.


I hope you are all well and I hope this letter makes up for the lame one I wrote last week!


Svako Dobro!


Sestra Dillender