Monday, February 13, 2017

Dear everyone,

We had transfer announcements this week and I will be going to Zadar, Croatia! It is VERY bittersweet for me. I have absolutely loved being in Sarajevo, Bosnia but I am so excited to go to Zadar, Croatia! Zadar is on the coast and I am STOKED to see the Adriatic Sea. And it'll be a little warmer there! My new companion will be Sister Elmore. She is dying this transfer (this is her last transfer then she goes home) so I am killing her off! She goes home with Sister Rougeau (my companion right now). The two elders in my district will be Elder Osborn(e?) and Elder James. (I was in the MTC with Elder James. I am stoked to serve with him again!) (I am excited to serve with Elder Osborn(e?) too but I don't really know him yet. He is also dying this transfer!)

I circled Sarajevo, where she's been serving, and Zagreb, where the
mission office is. Slovenia is west of Zagreb, and I left in the
Italian coast to give perspective.

We were able to go to the zemaljski muzej (earth/country museum or something) this week and it was cool! I wish we had had more time to be there but the little bit of time we had was good.

Museum

We had my farewell dinner with the Newtons and the elders and it was tasty. They had crème brûlée and it was way tasty. We went to this rotating restaurant! It was so cool! I didn't know what that was. No need to worry, I figured it out. It was a new experience for me and I enjoyed it very much!

OH. Way funny story: we were waiting for the tram for a while and then we found out it was broken down so we started to walk. It was a long walk though so when the trams started working again, we went and waited at a nearby stop. Because they had been broken down for a while, all the trams that came were way packed. The trams have something similar to a trailer hitch on the back of them (obviously it isn't a trailer hitch, I haven't seen any of them pulling camping trailers or anything (haha I think I'm funny). I just dunno what it's called). Then a tram pulls up and on the back of the tram, sitting on the not trailer hitch, is a teenage boy, smoking away and enjoying the ride. I snagged a picture and laughed very hard.

Also while we were waiting for the tram, this guy said something to us about our phone we were holding. I had NO idea what he said. I didn't understand a single word he said. Nothing. I turned to Sister Rougeau and she was just as confused as I was. He said something else and the only thing I understood were the words "touch screen". We both got that and said that it wasn't. Then he started speaking in English. We had a nice conversation with him. He was super nice and very friendly. It sounded like he learned English at school (he spoke very well) and visited America very briefly. He does some doctor thing. He said he doesn't like the way the younger generation is living. He visited the south and he told us about how when he would be walking down the road, people would say hello to him. That was such a foreign concept to him. It just helped me realize how weird it is to the people here when we say hello to them on the street as we walk past them.

Elder Perry (an elder I'm serving with right now in Sarajevo) hit his year mark the other day. Because we are his favorite sisters (and his only sisters since the MTC, so naturally we have to be his favorite. But even if he had served with all of the sisters, we would still be his favorite ones because we would make him), we didn't say anything to him all day about it being his year mark. They texted us that morning for whatever reason and we didn't say anything then. We saw them at district meeting later and didn't say anything then either. I think he gave up on us remembering or saying anything about it. Then. We set everything up and sent them on a scavenger hunt in the church. Elder Perry had no idea what was happening but Elder Echols figured it out. Either way, they both played along so nicely. (Aren't they so great?) Even when we yelled at them to not go in a specific room (which obviously gave away that whatever they were looking for was in that room), they played along and found all the clues! They are so good to us. When they found the last clue, they went into the room (the one we had previously yelled at them for) and Elder Perry found the cake we had made for him and the note we wrote on the whiteboard. He was surprised and glad and it was so fun for us!! I am glad it all worked out! They ate a lot of the cake and shared some with the recent convert here who they had a lesson with. It was chocolate with cream cheese frosting and I had to refrain from taste testing it beforehand.

I "borrowed" this photo from the Newtons. Their caption read:
These two are always laughing and have a true love of life!

I had my last Sunday in Sarajevo. Sister Rougeau, with her angelic voice, sang a musical number during sacrament meeting. It was a nice treat, as we don't usually have musical numbers. I taught Relief Society. I didn't have it planned, I was unprepared. But it went alright. We talked about happiness and I loved it.

Today at church we had everyone there! All of the active members in our branch were there! (Besides the one who isn't in the country.) We took a big group photo and I love it! But the elders and the Newtons aren't in the picture; they were taking the picture.

Sarajevo at night

I have enjoyed my time in Sarajevo and as I have been thinking about my time here and time on my mission and time in general, it just goes by so fast. When I was in the MTC, as the weeks went on, the time seemed to pass faster. I assumed when I got out to the field that it would be slow down a little, just like it was slow at the beginning of the MTC, and get faster and faster as my mission went on. Boy was I wrong, the time has been going faster and faster from the fast point it was at at the end of the MTC! And now I am concerned that the rest of my life is going to steadily go faster and faster! But I've been getting used to that idea and I think that, while I don't like it very much, it'll be okay. And! It will make me use my time more wisely and cherish the moments more. I have realized that we need to choose to be happy and choose to have a good attitude and choose to enjoy life and choose to be optimistic and all that jazz. A new goal I have is to be as happy as Gordon B Hinckley. He is great and I love him.

I love you all! And I hope you have a wonderful week. Enjoy it and be happy. (:

Love,
Sestra Locey

with the Newtons

Another Sarajevo Rose

General information on Zadar, Croatia:

Zadar, a city on Croatia’s Dalmatian coast (yes, this is where Dalmatian dogs come from), is known for the Roman and Venetian ruins of its peninsular Old Town. There are several Venetian gates in the city walls. Surrounding the Roman-era Forum is 11th-century St. Mary’s Convent, with religious art dating to the 8th century. There’s also the grand, 12th-century St. Anastasia’s Cathedral and the round, 9th-century pre-Romanesque Church of St. Donatus.

July and August are the hottest months with temperatures averaging 78 degrees F. November is the wettest month with an average of 4" of rain. August is the best month to swim in the sea, as the water temperature averages 77 degrees F. They should get up to 58 degrees this week with humidity around 55%.

Zadar

St Anastasia's Cathedral

Church of St Donatus

Venetian Gate