SCM - Pula, Croatia

Dearest Loved Ones! What a joy it is to sit down and contemplate your receiving this update!  As I think of you and ponder the miracles we behold from day to day, it is hard to narrow them down to just one or two.  Most of those miracles are quiet and quite unadorned.  They are sacred and often very difficult to put into words.  Nevertheless, they are a powerful force in our lives, and combined with all of God's Work in this corner of His Kingdom, they become a powerful force for good in our beloved mission countries. We had the chance recently to visit Croatia, our neighbor country to the south.  We had some business in Pula and Rijeka and were delighted to see these cities for the first time.  Pula is a beautiful coastal city and busy port.  With Italy just across the the Adriatic Sea, we saw a lot of Italian influence.  In fact, right in the middle of this bustling, modern city, is an amazingly preserved Roman Coliseum.  Knowing much of what originally transpired in this edifice, made the beauty of it both great and terrible.  It took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes, all in one.   The grandeur of that experience still lingered with me as we attended our little "Twig" (we have a "Group" in Pula, not big enough to be a Branch yet) the next day.  Between the handful of missionaries and members that attended, we basked in the Spirit and partook of our Lord's Sacrament, in lands where the Lord's Twelve Apostles likely traveled and administered the Lord's emblems of Salvation.  We spoke and bore our testimonies of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ, brought back anew just for them! After such a rich outpouring, we broke into our separate meetings, only to participate in a most historic moment in Pula...  No, it was not heralded by kings or parades, but was sanctioned all the same by the King of Kings.  I was privileged to participate in Pula's first ever Relief Society Meeting and Elder Lindorf in Pula's first Priesthood Meeting.   As we four sisters made the very first footprints on the pathway called by God "Relief Society," as we studied in faith the first Relief Society meeting held in Nauvoo, I felt a sweet thrill to know that God's daughters were once again organizing in the perfect pattern He has given us.   I rejoiced with the angels above that these humble sisters were joining hands with millions of women across the world.  Having raised my voice in songs of praise with thousands of Relief Society Sisters in the Conference Center and felt the magnificence and power of that sisterhood, I shared my testimony that they belonged to the largest women's organization in all the world!   This little field of grain is green and tender, it is true.  Missionary work in Pula began a year ago and has been lovingly nurtured by full time missionaries; two Elders and a Senior Couple.  However, gradually, one by one, our Senior Couples are going home and there is no one to replace them.  Our Senior Couple from Pula went home yesterday.  They were the ones to open Pula, to nourish those first converts, to laugh with them, cry with them..., to encourage, strengthen and lead them with their every waking breath and thought.  They leave behind a baton that needs, yet, to picked up and carried, again and again, until our little Pula becomes a beautiful, golden field with full and drooping heads of grain!  We send our dearest and fondest love to you, knowing the Lord and His tremendous love for each of His children. Yours always,  Sestra Lindorf