Hello!

Most of what I want to say to y'all is about yesterday (Sunday) because it was the coolest day of the week.

But first, I had an amazing exchange with one of my favorite sisters (I'm allowed to pick favorites, right?), Sister Chauncey, who goes home in a WEEK and you wouldn't even know it she's so dedicated to working hard. She's one of the nicest, smartest, funniest, beautifulest (I KNOW that's not a real word) people I've ever met. So attention, all of my friends that go to BYU-Idaho, please date her. She'll die if she knows I wrote this, but that's okay. I don't lie. So anyway, I missed Sister Kawai, but exchanges are fun because you get to work with someone that you're not typically with, and you get new ideas for how to teach/ find people to teach.

Alright. Yesterday, first of all, was a blast because we went to church. I know people typically don't describe church as a blast, but I truly have realized that Sundays are the best day of the week, strictly because going to church is so good. It's good for the soul. It also doesn't hurt that we were in charge of the primary yesterday ("primary" means Sunday School for children under 12) and we probably have the cutest kids ever in Beograd. It was weird, too, though, because all the native children were gone on vacation, so everyone there was English-speaking, whether they were here because their parent(s) work at the American embassy or they were just passing through. So we sang English songs and taught an English lesson about Jesus and -- wait for it--- how to be a missionary! I don't know how much they got out of the lesson (I'm not used to teaching people besides adults O.o), but Sister Kawai and I sure had a grand old time.

We also had a successful day outside of church. We decided to focus on talking to couples and families, and the first couple we stopped on the street agreed to come have a tour of our church while we told them about what we believe! They asked a lot of questions. They were foreign, too, so we did the whole thing in English. WEIRD. I spoke English way too much yesterday.

Also, we got to teach a lot about how our church came about and what we believe to yet another couple that we stopped on the street. We tend to try to do that kind of thing a lot, but this conversation was just so good and so inspiring for everyone involved. I don't know how to describe it. We have high hopes for those two.

Alright you all. Have a great week.

Hi friends.

I would like to formally apologize for not having written a mass email in approximately forever. We finally have a day to relax! The past few Mondays have been pretty insane. Two weeks ago we were in Zagreb for another MLC, and last week, Sister Kawai and I were responsible for driving a ton of people around 3 different countries because SOMEONE had to get kicked out of Serbia (cough cough sister hertz), so things had to get rearranged a bit. It was a ton of fun. Not a lot of people can say they spent quality time in 3 different countries in one day, I don't think.

But yeah. As for big news, I got a nice blister on the back of my foot again. These things tend to happen fairly often, since we seem to find ourselves walking a lot, to make a vast understatement. My goal is to come home with dark brown skin and the ugliest, knobbliest feet you'll ever see.

There's only two more weeks till we find out about transfers. Time just gets faster the longer I'm here. I'd like someone to explain the science behind that. And then tell me how I can counteract it, thanks.

Peace and blessings!

Your Sestra


An excerpt from a letter to mom:

Throughout my entire mission, I have found myself thinking about Mummi (Finnish grandmother) a lot more than I ever have. These past two weeks I have especially felt that she is more present in my life. At MLC President told us something that Elder Eyring said at the funeral for President's mother (how neat that President Eyring spoke there-- it's okay though, Elder Nielsen at Pappa's funeral was amazing too) directed towards the grandchildren of the deceased. He said that now that their grandmother has passed, she has the chance to check up on her grandkids even more so than she did in mortality. I never knew, or rather realized, that Mummi and Pappa could be so involved from the other side. I find that I wonder a lot more now about what Mummi experienced on her mission and in her life in general, since she is my closest related convert to the church, and my life has now become entirely focused on the conversion of myself and others. I also recognize that I am the only granddaughter to this point who has served a mission. I hope that what I am doing is making her happy. Even more so, I hope that what I am doing is making the Lord happy. I have to constantly remind myself that even though it's hard, it is not the hardest. I don't remember which, but one apostle said that we did not come here to fail, but to succeed gloriously, or something like that. 

Sorry I missed writing last week! I happened to be... busy...of course...

No, but seriously, these past two weeks have been haos (that means "chaos" in Serbian. Neat, huh?). Two weeks ago Sister Hertz and I had a jolly good time together in Novi Sad for two days. I was with her till Wednesday morning, which also happened to be her birthday, so I cleverly schemed with the elders in her district and made her a cool picture collage thing of our friendship (which consists of the MTC and our random exchanges together-- our friendship has been short, but altogether magical). She loved it, of course. Then when our real companions came to pick us up we had a delightful lunch of homemade tacos with random, year-old Taco Bell taco seasoning that we found in their pantry. Hence our domestic photo-op. What a day.

Other big event of the fortnight; our two day zone conference in Zagreb was a raging success. I don't know if I mentioned that in my last. President brought all the zones to Zagreb (at different times, naturally) for zone conference this month as a rare treat. It followed a similar format to MLC, in which the first day was p-day, so we were allowed to come up early and do all sorts of activities, like volleyball, basketball, tennis, and your general assortment of card/board games. We enjoyed ourselves and partied immensely, and then had a wonderful, spiritual party during the meetings. And by party, I mean that we talked and shared and laughed and cried and learned a lot, but we didn't scream or yell or dance, or whatever else you do at real parties. Everyone had good things to say, and we all came out of there with renewed energy and desire to work harder and more effectively. At least, I'm assuming everyone else felt that way. I sure did.

Did you know that last Wednesday, June 24th was exactly 9 months to the day that I entered the Missionary Training Center? That means I am basically halfway through this miraculous journey that they call a mission, but which I'm more inclined to call "intensive life skills training" because I have learned more in the past 9 months about what and who I want to be than at any other time in my life.

Alright. That's enough from me. Uzivajte (enjoy)!

Sestra Watts

(Here is an excerpt from Rina's email to her family. It has some interesting information about her actual mission work. Having served a mission in Finland, I can totally relate to the slowness of the work and the lack of people to teach. In some countries people get baptized every week or every month, but in some you might have one or two of the people you are teaching get baptized your whole mission, or maybe even no one. But you still are serving people and teaching them good things and learning a lot yourself.  --Tiina)

It has been a good few days since I last emailed you all. Zone conference, as you might have already heard from my mass email, was fantastic. I don't know if I told you this, but we are not teaching anyone here in Beograd right now, at least not seriously. It was like that when I came, so we have been working really hard to try to build up a teaching pool, but so far our efforts haven't yielded much fruit. I am used to coming into areas with no investigators (it's what I've done in both of the other cities, too), but still, the first little while before things pick up are extremely difficult, and for some reason, this time the empty period has lasted longer than I'm used to. It has really been a growth experience and continues to be. I have never contacted so much in a single day. There were a few days this week where our entire day was filled with finding, be it tracting, contacting, or a few other attempts to shake things up in our search for the elect. At one point we went and read the Serbian Book of Mormon by the river out loud and then waited to see if anyone would stare at us, with the idea that when they did, we would invite them to learn more. There weren't many people out that day. Another time we took off our watches and called it our "tract till we drop" time, with the idea that we could tract for hours on end since we had so much time to fill. It was a good time of the day, but for some reason no one was home. So we contacted instead. 

The strange thing about all of this is that even though I've never spent this much time doing the nitty gritty, I don't hate it. I've come to enjoy contacting, and I've come to realize that the more people I talk to and have a good conversation with about the gospel, the happier I am. And I am learning more about the worth of souls, too. It's easy in a mission like this to make excuses for not having baptisms by saying things like, "the people are colder here" or "tradition is so deep that no one will listen to us," but in reality, I have never met kinder people than the ones I have met on my mission. Balkan people look out and care for each other in a way that I still don't fully comprehend. There is an endless amount of love beneath their battle-worn skin. What could be stopping me from finding the ones who will listen is that I don't rely on the Lord enough to help me get through, past the cultural boundaries and into their hearts. In reality, all humanity is the same in that we all seek happiness and love. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the epitome of both of those things. So I am really working to develop that Christ-like love for all of God's children and figuring out how to share that with others. It requires a lot of prayer and focus on my studies. I am thankful and happy, despite the fact that sometimes I am also really sad and disappointed. 

Tell the family that I love them, and it was good to see everyone last week! Thank you for your prayers.

I love you! Bog s tobom!

Cao, friends!

It's blazin' hot out there! I think I've lost more weight from sweat than an Atkins diet could ever do for a person.

Belgrade continues to be an adventure. We've taken to contacting sometimes in the center of town, and at certain points during the day you can barely breathe there are so many people, most of them tourists. We don't spend a whole ton of time there though because if you stop walking you get trampled. No bueno.

Also, Mission Leader Council was inTENSE, and that's putting it lightly. You ever go to a meeting and feel completely chastised and imperfect, but also 100% inspired to do better and work harder? That was MLC. I can't even put it into words.

Today for our free day, the sisters from Novi Sad are coming to chill with us, and we're going to do everything Beograd has to offer! And, in case you were wondering, the sisters in Novi Sad are Sisters Hertz and Washburn, who happen to be two of my favorite people in the world. Sister Washburn and I were companions in the MTC and we roomed with Sister Hertz and her comp, and we all got along famously well, so let's just say I am a little bit excited. And then at day's end I got back to Novi Sad to be on an exchange with Sister Hertz (this is actually my second one -- remember? #tbt to when I was in Karlovac and she in Rijeka), and it will be glorious and we will work our hind ends off.

So yep. Things are good here. Y'all stay wonderful. God be with you.

Sestra Watts

Last week before district conference, President called us and asked for a favor. We were told to go to the church, grab a chair for each of us, and sit in an empty parking space out front until Elder Boom from the 70 got there. Parking is really scarce in front of our church, so it made some sense, but we still felt a little foolish when people would pass by and obviously wonder why two nicely dressed people were on the street in comfy relief society chairs. Just another day in the #ANM

Sister Chauncey, one of the other sisters serving in Belgrade (we go way back-- she was in my last zone and I'm friends with her sister) knows me INCREDIBLY well and bought these tissues for me on a whim. I have yet to use one.

What!? I am in Serbia! How neat is that!

So two weeks ago, president called and told me I was getting transferred early to Belgrade, Serbia, and that I would leave the next day! So I packed my bags and said goodbye to my dear, beloved Zagreb and hitched a ride (a.k.a. drove a mission-owned vehicle) to Beograd, Srbija, population 2.5 million (about 3 times as much as Zagreb). Big city means big changes. We have a big, beautiful apartment and a big, beautiful branch of members here (although not that many more than in Zagreb) and we meet in a big, beautiful rented apartment building for our meetings. The members here are lovely and the other missionaries I'm working with are stellar. I miss Zagreb with all of my heart, but I wouldn't have chosen any other city besides Beograd to be next. I'm pretty happy here.

In case you're wondering, I still have not figured out the bus system completely. But don't worry, that will come with time. Sometimes I have to resort to the baby duck method, waddling behind Sister Kawai, nipping her heels as she navigates the steep hills and complex metro transport, panting with exertion as I go. It's hot, okay?

Yesterday was district conference, with means that all of Serbia either gathered here or watched a broadcast of our special church service. We had a guest from the 70 (meaning he's a regional leader of our church, like a cardinal or something, if I'm trying to relate it to Catholicism. I think that's a good equivalent.) named Elder Boom from the Netherlands. That was fantastic. The whole conference had a focus on keeping the Sabbath Day holy (see Exodus 20, The Holy Bible), and it was impressed on my mind that dedicating our entire Sabbath to the Lord is crucial. God has set apart that day for us to rest and to worship, and that does not just mean going to church. It means that our entire day must be focused on Him. I don't shop, I don't play sports, watch TV, etc. because I want to focus on things that are important to Him that day. Elder Boom had a really good analogy. He said that when we get an ice cream sundae, we don't put pickles and cheese on it. There's a time and a place for those, and that time is not sundae. Or Sunday. Get it? I thought it was cool. We spend our Sundays doing things that will bring us closer to our families and to the Lord, like having family dinner and doing genealogy, playing games as a family, reading scriptures and other good book, etc. And the Lord has promised us that we will be happier because of it.

Alright, friends. It's been a good week. I'm headed back up to Zagreb today for the monthly Mission Leader Council. I can't wait to see everything/everyone again!

Have a good week!

Fraza Dana:

Bre (bray) -- no translation. It's a word used for emphasis, mostly by the young people, and specifically in Serbia. Kind of like how we would use bro, but it is not the same meaning. Like "come at me bro!" But remember, it does NOT mean bro.

Love y'all!

Sestra Watts

Hey... don't freak out, but I definitely am on my personal email account right now. My myldsmail account is on the fritz, so president gave me permission to shoot you a quick email just telling you I'm alive. Hopefully my email will start working..eventually. 

Oh yeah, also I am in Beograd!! Surprise! I got transferred here with a day's notice last Wednesday, about a week before real transfers. I don't exactly know why it happened, but here I am! Beograd is HUGE. About 3 times as many people as Zagreb, so like 2.5 mil. Our apartment is also huge. And the branch is really nice. About the same size as Zagreb's, but this time, I don't have to play the piano, thank heavens (literally)! 

I'm serving with Sister Kawai, a sister who's been out 4 months longer than me. We were together for that random week I was in Zadar, remember? It's been great.

Okay, well, hope you all are well. I wish I could have read what you actually sent to me on myldsmail, but oh well. What'll you do. 

Love you all! Have a great week!

Love,

Tvoja prekrasna kci

This Krešimir poster is by the lake that we always contact around. 

Hello!

Did I tell you we were in a trio two weeks ago with a recently returned missionary who is a native? One picture is of us. You can't tell, but all 3 of us are wearing my clothing. Ana had to because she wasn't planning on staying as long as she did. She was in Zagreb doing Visa work to go back to Utah, so she stayed with us as a sort of mini mission. We had waaaay too much fun together and Sister Durfee and I miss her terribly now.

Sister Durfee, Ana and me.

Also, we were in ANOTHER trio with a native (this one pre-mission) from Beograd, who had been in Zadar serving a mini mission the past month with Sister Washburn (my beloved comp from the MTC) but had to go home early so she came up to Zagreb Thursday and stayed with us until the Krešo event on Saturday where she hitched a ride back to Belgrade with the Serbian team. 

The Krešimir Čosić memorial event was amazing beyond words. It was the most divine mixture of fun and spiritual and uplifting and a little bit sad (only because I won't actually get to meet him until I die, which hopefully won't be for a long time). There was a basketball tournament in the morning, where teams from Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, and Slovenia played each other for the trophy. Slovenia creamed all of us, but only because there are these two brothers who play amazingly well from Ljubljana. It felt surreal to be able to watch basketball again, but president wanted us missionaries to help out at everything, so we got to be there. I feel bad because only the missionaries in Zagreb (and a few others who were playing for Bosnia) got to go to this event. 

Then in the evening was a program at our church building in Zagreb, where tons of important people showed up. I can't even tell you how many famous Croatians I saw/met there. I loved it so much. I never realized how much I love the people here until I heard speech after speech of the sacrifices the Krešimir Čosić made with regards to his basketball career in order to build up the church in Yugoslavia, all out of his love for the people and desire for their happiness. I realized that that is why I really am here. I am happy and hopeful because of the truth that I know, and I want to share that with other people. My purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ because that is the only thing that will bring you true happiness, the kind of happiness that lasts forever, and never gets old.

I love my mission, and no matter how incredibly difficult it is sometimes, I will never regret the choice that I made to come out here. 

Love,

Sestra Watts

Elder Porter photobombed this last picture, I think that was at the cemetery where Krešo is buried. We went two or 3 weeks ago, and also Sister Durfee and I took Sister Madsen there yesterday after church. Today (May 25th) is the 20 year anniversary of his death.

(a letter just to mom and dad that has interesting info in it)

Hi mom and dad,

I hope you don't mind that some weeks I get lazy and send you the same message. It's good though because you're supposed to be united as husband and wife anyway. 

I had the most FANTASTIC week. The Krešimir Čosić memorial was like a dream. I got to watch basketball! I was in a free throw contest too, against a girl who played pro in Montenegro. She won.

I think dad will be more jealous than mom on this one, but let me tell you about all the famous people I met:

Mišo Oštarčević -- Played with Krešo in Zadar professionally, he and wife Ankica were the 2nd and 3rd members in Jugoslavia after Krešo, and now they do tons of translation for the church. Mišo played for Croatia on Saturday and did amazingly well for his age. He ended up on the ground wrestling more than a few times trying to get a jump ball or a foul against Bosnia.

Doug Richards -- did you know him? He played at BYU with Krešo and followed him to play professionally in Zadar. He and his wide flew out for this and came to church the nest day. Two of my favorite memories of this weekend were talking to him. First on Saturday before the program, which was supposed to be pretty non-religious, he told me that as he was writing the speech he felt impressed to put in a lot about the Savior and His love for us. The speech went well, and during it you could see one of Krešimir's daughters just weeping from the Spirit, apparently. The other treasured moment was yesterday at sacrament meeting we sat behind the Richardses and Doug turned around and told me I have a beautiful singing voice :) Doug also won the "men over 50" foul shooting contest.

Krešimir Petar Čosić -- Krešo's son, Krešo. He played for Croatia in our tournament! None of Krešimir Sr's children are members, which makes me sad. I chatted with Little Krešo though (he's probably 6'6 and 23ish years old) and he was really nice. I neglected to ask him to take the lessons from the elders, but I swore to myself I would next time. At least I'll invite him to play ball with us on p-days and the elders can take it from there. We got a picture with him, I'll send it to you when I get it from the elder who took it.

Ann Madsen -- You know her! I spent quite a bit of time with her this weekend. Her and her granddaughter, Liz, flew out for the weekend from Provo. They came to church on Sunday, and afterward Sister Durfee and I had lunch at President's home with them and President's daughter Anna. President and Sister Grant had to go somewhere so they requested us to "babysit". Sister Madsen told countless hilarious and spiritual stories of her and Truman's lives. I will cherish them forever, and write them in my journal so you can read them all when I get back. Sister Madsen is old, but still so spunky. One of my favorite times was when she told a story and said that someone was "cramping her style." After lunch we then went to Mirogoj cemetery to see Krešimir once again. That was a sweet experience, even though I'd been twice before. Sister Madsen told a lot of stories about him, especially right before his death.

The understatement of the year would be to say that it was a GREAT week. I am so so so thankful that I was in Zagreb at the time of the tournament. I don't feel like I deserved this though! Good to hear you all are doing well. 

Love ya!

Vaša kćer