of house hunting, hospitals, and hungary

Ćao svi! Kako ste? First off, I didn't get admitted to the hospital, and i didn't cross the hungarian border. On monday, we went to the hospital and visited with Marijana while we wrote letters. We bought some apricots and got some good potentials while we tracted and contacted in the evening. On tuesday, we went a kilometer and a half from hungary to a little selo to visit an inactive couple. their names are Spasenija and Milivoj Bilić. Spasenija means salvation, but i'm not sure what milivoj means. probably gracious or something. anyways, they hadn't been to church in 2 years. From what I gathered, they stopped coming when Spasenija started having a harder time getting around. They're both sort of old, but she has a harder time getting around. They had a good time showing us old pictures of missionaries and the branch. We read Moroni 6 with them and talked about the sacrament. They said they'd try to come to church this week. They did.

Wednesday we helped the senior sisters, sister rowe and sister turner, find an apartment for a senior couple who will be living in osijek in a week. we found a way cute apartment that was perfect for an old couple. The woman who owned it seemed very hesitant to let mormons live in her house, and was worried there would be church services in it. We were afraid that when they saw that the church's name would be on the contract they wouldn't be happy. Sister Moody and I went back the next day, after sister turner and rowe went home, to show them the contract and explain things on it. That was interesting. It was a slightly different feeling representing the church like that instead of just teaching them the gospel.

On thursday, we were tracting and we had a lesson with a cool family. They didn't accept a return appointment or anything, but after we left, the daughter, Marija, who was about 20, ran out and started telling us how desperately she wanted her parents to come closer to Christ. She begged us in tears to not give up on them, and to at least go back a couple times more. she was moving to the coast soon, and was worried about what would happen to her parents without her influence there.

Mirjana got consent from her husband to be baptized in Zadar, and Petar's still doing great. They're probably the only ones getting baptized this week, but none of those five have completely given up yet.

This week at church was awesome. It felt like a real branch with families. not just a couple of kids and an old man meeting together. It was so awesome seeing so many people, especially members and their families, who weren't there just because of a missionary leaving or a special guest, but just in a normal week. Another couple, Bernard and Gordana, have started to come back to church, and their niece, marijana wants to get baptized, and their nephew, zoran, came to church and has a tentative baptismal date. So at church we had Lidia and Alen, Marijana and her grandma and cousin, Gordana, Zoran and Marijana, Spasenija and Milivoj, Božo, Petar, and this kid named Robert from serbia that we picked up as we were walking to church. Maybe that doesn't sound like a lot, but it is. also, Marijana's cousin asked Marijana if he could get baptized. the elders are going to start meeting with him. Oh, and Robert got a book of mormon and said he'd start reading it and that he wants to learn more. It was a great sunday.

Well, that's it for this week really. have an awesome week. love you all!

Sestra Black