Greetings from sunny, vibrant Croatia!
Note: We are heartbroken as I know all of you are for the families in Texas with the terrible flood, Our prayers join with yours for the love and peace of God to surround them.
These early days are filled with meaningful service, sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ, exploring new places, making new friends, and loving our fellow missionaries. We've learned that true purpose stretches and pushes us, but it's all worth it. We feel inspired and grateful for these transformative years.
This beautiful season also brings some challenges.
First, the heat—our apartment’s single wall-mounted air conditioner isn’t enough to cool the entire space, especially our tiny, oven-like bedroom. To cope, I’ve started using cooling towels kept in the refrigerator, which offer some relief.
Second, the crowds—Croatia has become a popular destination, especially in our Old City, where it's nearly impossible to find quiet moments. Cruise ships arrive in multiples now.
But we have a secret: we rise early, around 5:30-6 a.m., to walk along the shaded sea front. It’s almost ours alone—the peaceful, gentle sea inspiring awe. We walk 3.5 to 4 miles, often ending with a quick swim or snorkel in the clear water to refresh our spirits. Starting our days this way renews us and prepares us to serve with joy.
Honestly, there are also moments of anxiety, stress, total confusion and definite frustration. But I think I could have said that at home also! Even though these pictures show incredible side trips, we are very busy with our branch and missionary work and it is work! We are never bored!
We love serving others, watching lives change, and seeing faith grow each day. Every encounter teaches us more about this beautiful culture and reminds us that we are all children of God, united in His love. No matter where we are in the world, His spirit connects us, and His purpose guides us. We are grateful for the opportunity to be His hands and love everyone we meet. This is truly the adventure of a lifetime.
A Glimpse Into Our Mission Life in Croatia
Life on our mission is full, joyful, and constantly moving. Here's a glimpse into some of the things we do regularly as part of our service in beautiful Croatia:
Daily Prayer Call: Each morning at 6:40 a.m., the “West Side” (all the coastal branches) joins together on a group call to pray for individuals on our mission-wide prayer list. It’s a powerful way to begin each day united in faith.
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Ministering and Service: We visit and care for branch members, especially those who can’t attend church. Service is a constant—whether it’s helping with needs, lifting spirits, or offering a listening ear—and it always brings joy to our hearts.
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Supporting Young Missionaries: We often help transport younger missionaries, offer support, and help them stay organized and focused on their work.
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Branch Support: Russell serves as branch president and that keeps him (us) very occupied, From organizing Relief Society, Primary, and youth activities to cleaning the church each week and making sure supplies are ordered—we stay busy helping our branches function smoothly. Russell also creates the weekly branch newsletter, and it's beautiful.
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Teaching and Prep: There’s a lot of last-minute lesson prep! Often, a scheduled teacher doesn’t show up or no one is assigned, so we come prepared to teach whenever needed.
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Conferences and Devotionals: We participate in and help with senior conferences, devotionals, and zone conferences—each one involves planning, travel, and logistics. Sunday night devotionals are a highlight, with amazing speakers invited by President Cordray. He has deep Church media connections and always gives 100%.
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SMA Assignment: Alongside our MLS mission, we also serve in a separate SMA assignment. At times, it feels like we're serving two missions at once—but we love this work as well.
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The “Extra” Work: Apartment inspections, fixing broken things, grocery shopping (which takes longer than you’d think), lots of cooking for events, linger-longers, and weekly district conferences all fill our days. We also celebrate special branch occasions, birthdays, and visits from guests.
What I Miss
Even though we love our mission life, there are still things I miss—
A dryer, fluffy towels, soft socks, and central air conditioning that cools an entire space (not just a room!).
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Giving talks or lessons without waiting for translation.
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Wide city roads—the highways are great here, but city roads are often narrow like alleyways, and traffic is a bit of a dance.
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And most of all, I miss my family and dear friends. That ache never fully leaves.
Even with the challenges, this mission has been one of the greatest blessings of our lives. We're grateful every day to serve the Lord in this part of His vineyard.
I am posting several pictures, feel free to look at those that interest you!
Our missionary here in Zadar, Elder Wagner talking with people.
This is us doing our weekly zoom visit with Sister Anna Louise Matalouvič-Mahoney. She is a service missionary who lives the island Korčula, about 4 hours from us. She does a lot of her work on BillionGraves. She has helped so many people find their loved ones. We love her!
We wanted to find a way to do more with our youth, so we all met on p-day to play some basketball, it was so hot! We can't get them to get up early! I think they were impressed with how Russell can play! They keep telling us we are like their parents, but then the realize we have kids their parents age! We tell them we like being grandparents the most anyway.
So we went for a 1 week trip on our way to Belgrade Serbia to do some SMA work, talking with Branch Presidents in our mission to teach them about service missionaries. While driving through Croatia we stopped at a beautiful City in Istria called Rovinj. I love this place!
So many beautiful cathedrals! Bells ring all of the time.
I know, I know....too many pictures, but I love these old cities!!
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