Hello friends and family! Merry Christmas to all! I hope
you've been having a great holiday season. This week was a pretty good one for
me, and I hope it was for you also.
On Monday evening, our branch had a Christmas-themed FHE
activity together. There was much singing, some testimonies given of Christ our
Lord, as well as food and games. One of the best parts was when we each got a
piece of paper taped to our back, and we went around writing nice things about
people on their backs. There was so much love in that room right then, even
though people hadn't yet looked at what was written on their paper. Right then
I definitely felt like these people are my family. We also had a White Elephant
gift exchange. Since it's started getting cold recently, I'd been planning on
buying a scarf, but hadn't yet gotten around to it. However, the gift that I
got out of the exchange at this activity was a red plaid scarf! It was a little
Christmas miracle to me that I ended up with it. From that point we had some
food that people had brought to share, and then some of us played a game called
4 Women On A Couch. I don't really want to try to explain it here, but I think
I can just mention that it's pretty confusing in the best way possible, super
funny, and everyone loved it, even if they were just watching.
Tuesday we went contacting on the street. No one really
listened to us. That evening we had English Conversation Group scheduled, but
not a single soul showed up. Tako je život, ponekad. It was really weird that
no one showed up, though.
Wednesday we started off with the McAlpins briefly having us
over so I could help with some computer stuff, and they also quickly fed us
breakfast so we could still get working on time. Having such a great breakfast
(and generally something out of the ordinary in the morning) really started the
day off well. When we went out contacting right after that, a lot more people
than usual seemed open and willing to listen. I think something like 4 people
were willing to listen to us, with 2 open to meet again.
Thursday we headed off to Zagreb, Croatia, for our zone's
Christmas Conference. We met up with some other missionaries in Sremska
Mitrovica to get carpool stuff situated, and I ended up in the back row of
"the silver bullet" (the mission's 8-seat van) with Elder Froc, from
my MTC group, and Elder Rice. That was a pretty fun car ride. Once at the
mission office, we all had our conference-y stuff, including talking about
setting goals and keeping high expectations and such. Very good stuff. From
there we all went out into Centar to go caroling. It was really fun to be there
singing with other missionaries, being "a light unto the world". We
also got to explore downtown Zagreb a bit and see cool Christmas stuff they
have set up there. When we got back to the office, there was hot chocolate
prepared for us, and we all got to sit and talk a bit. After that stuff, we went to the mission home for the night
where we had a Christmas talent show! Everything was great, whether it was
silly music, or smaller groups of missionaries singing really well. Then we
played some games, and watched a documentary about Krešimir Ćosić.
Friday we started off with Sister Grant talking to us about
using music in our missionary efforts as well as our personal lives. She
referred to the church's music as "the green scriptures" since the
hymnals are always green. As a gift, we each received one of the newly
translated Croatian Hymnals! The first official hymnal in any of the
languages/countries in our mission area. President Grant also talked to us
about some really good stuff, including how to help avoid people ditching us
for appointments! That's going to come in handy. To close that meeting, some of
shared testimonies, and it was really good. These people are the best.
For the drive home, I got to be the driver! This was my
first time driving since becoming a missionary. It was pretty interesting
though, since we were stuck waiting to get through the Croatia/Serbia border
for 4.5 hours. There were some parts where most people would just turn their
cars off while we all waited for the line to move any significant amount. We
eventually got through, and it was all ok. Quite an adventure.
On Saturday night we went over to the McAlpins' so that
Elder Osborn could Skype his family, since they got special permission to do it
a night early. While we were there, the McAlpins also fed us waffles, since
Sister McAlpin found out that waffles on Christmas morning are a tradition for
my family. The McAlpins are like having grandparents that live just on the
other side of town, and it's pretty great. After Elder Osborn and I retired to
our apartment for the night, I opened up all the "wait until Christmas to
open this!" letters that various people sent with me. Thanks so much if
you were one of the people that sent a card or letter!
 |
| Christmas Stocking my Mom sent from home |
Yesterday was Christmas! We had our branch Christmas
program, and it was really good. Small branches like ours generally don't sound
entirely on-key for hymns, but it doesn't even matter ;) After the program we
all had a big Christmas lunch together. After that Elder Osborn and I did some
weekly planning before we headed over to the McAlpins for me to get to Skype my
family. In case you hadn't already guessed, it was really good to get to talk
to them (I love you guys!), and even briefly see my cat. From there we went to
visit a sick investigator and give a blessing of healing, and then we headed
home.
 |
| Skyping with my sister Kayla, my mom, and my dad on Christmas! |
The last week or two, there's been a mysterious stench in
our kitchen, and we've been searching for the source of it for quite a while.
Last night we finally found it. Hidden away behind a pile of rags, in a little
plastic bag, we found an onion. A red onion that seemed like it had been
rotting for years, though it was probably "only" a few months. It
smelled beyond awful. We got rid of that thing fast. Hopefully our apartment will
go back to not smelling weird fairly soon =P
As for your homework, I'd encourage you to figure out a way
to serve the people around you, even though the Christmas season is technically
over. Figure out even one simple way to serve, and go do it! Be a light to the
world.
Have a great week! Enjoy your breaks from school and such,
and have a Happy New Year!
--
Elder Ryan Echols
Adriatic North Mission
Svačićev Trg 3/1
HR-10000 Zagreb
Croatia
Adriatic North Mission
Svačićev Trg 3/1
HR-10000 Zagreb
Croatia
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