Hello everyone! We're running pretty short on time, so this
email is going to be a short one again.
On Tuesday we had french toast for breakfast, and that was a
nice change. Shortly after that we had an appointment scheduled with a member,
so we walked over there, but then right as we "arrived" I realized
that we were on the wrong side of town. So we called him to tell him we were
going to be late, but he told us first that he needed to re-schedule for later
in the day. Convenient. For comp study a bit later we read some stuff from the
talk "Be Ye Therefore Perfect. Eventually" by Jeffrey R. Holland. It's
a really good one. You should read it. Then a bit later we went over for that
appointment and got to know him some and shared a spiritual thought from that
talk, and it was really good. Then we went to the church for ECG and had a fair
group again.
Although it looks like we are drinking alcohol here, we are not! Just having some fun with water in those fancy glasses. |
Wednesday started off with district meeting, and then after
lunch we made a birthday card for a member and went to drop it off. Then we had
about 5 hours left in the day and didn't really know what to do with them, so
we kinda just started walking. To our credit, we went along the river, where
there are usually a lot of people, so it wasn't just dumb. Though, it turns out
that there weren't that many people there then. Darn. Later on in the day we
set up a table in front of the church with a TV on it where we played the
20-minute Restoration video a number of times. After we packed up and started
heading home for the night, we ran into a funny old guy that was willing to
talk to us, though he wasn't interested.
A rooftop view of Celje, Slovenia. |
On Thursday morning we drove out to one of the smaller towns
around here to visit our beloved Peruvian member, the Elders' Quorum president.
He's so great. We tossed a frisbee around a little bit, taught him how to play
"Horse" on the basketball court, and then he cooked us some legit
Peruvian food for lunch. After we got back to Celje, the rest of the day was
just kinda the normal stuff, including ECG.
Friday started off with me feeling a bit ill. Just the
standard "I have a cold" kinda stuff. So, we stayed inside mostly and
did stuff in the Area Book and made calls. At some point we went with the
Monsons to visit a different member family. Since they don't speak English, I
was suddenly the translator, like my good old times in Sremska Mitrovica. They
fed us some cake and juice that was pretty good, and we had a nice little
discussion. That night for dinner we went with the Monsons to a restaurant
called "Pri Prijatljih" that was pretty darn good. I got "the
Celje burger", which had an egg on it. Like, "sunny side up" egg.
The egg popped when I put the top bun on. It was a good time. For dessert we
got a lava cake to share with some ice cream (and no, Elder Newton, I don't
think it was better than the one at Ms. Sofija's 4 Rooms; the record still
stands).
Elder Love blowing out a candle for his birthday! He's 19! |
Saturday was Elder Love's birthday! And I woke up even more
sick than I'd been feeling on Friday. In any case, we went with a member to do
some Home Teaching. We visited one of the older members. What a funny guy. After
we read a chapter together from the Book of Mormon, he fed us some cold lasagna
that we ate with our hands (no, we didn't have plates either). But the other
member didn't ask for a plate or anything, so I guess it's normal. Sounds good
to me. Later in the day after some of the normal stuff, we met up with one of
the younger members to briefly celebrate Elder Love's birthday. So, we went to
Hotel Evropa where they have really good cakes. I got a lemon one that was
really really good. The member even brought a candle for Elder Love's cake.
Then he went with us back to the church to teach a lesson, but the lesson got
delayed by an hour or so. In the end we did have the lesson, and it was pretty
good. It was the same guy that we met at the end of the year and then had one
lesson with while Elder Jensen was here on exchanges. He seems to have promise,
but he's kinda busy so our meetings might be infrequent.
The yummy lemon cake I ordered at a restaurant. |
On Sunday we of course had church, and the District
President was there visiting. He's a really friendly guy. Our Elders' Quorum
president gave one talk, and the District President gave the other, and they
were both really good. The rest of church was definitely really good too, and
since the District President served his mission in Spain (if I heard
correctly), he helped translate for our dear Peruvian friend when he wanted to
more fully express himself. The rest of Sunday was pretty regular, including
weekly planning and a delicious dinner at the Monsons'. We even got leftovers
to take home that we had for lunch today! Haha.
The beautiful cobblestone streets of Celje, with cafes everywhere. |
Today, since I still wasn't feeling good, I asked Elder
Monson and Elder Love to give me a Priesthood blessing, and then later tried to
go to the doctor, but the doctor was first busy and then closed and it just
didn't work. So, we'll try again tomorrow.
Your homework is to read that talk I mentioned, "Be
Ye Therefore Perfect -- Eventually". It's super good. Here are some
photos! Have a great week!
--
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