12 years ago

12 years ago yesterday I saw the world upside down.  The lights from Phoenix were so bright that they drown out all the stars in the sky.  I my plane flew into Sky Harbor Airport it literally looked like the world had been turned upside down.  It seemed like a nice metaphor for me coming home from my mission and everything that I had known for the last year and a half had changed.

In 1995, I was called to served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in one of the most beautiful places in the world, and a place that I had never heard of before then.  The mission was the Austria Vienna mission, but I was to serve in Slovenia and speak the Slovene language.  This mission has since been changed to the Austria Vienna South Mission and then to the Slovenia Ljubljana mission and it encompasses all of the former Yugoslavia.  I only served in Slovenia and only in two cities there, Ljubljana first for 10 months (in the same apartment) and then in Maribor for the last 5 months.  Yes, I know that only adds up to 15 months, but I did spend 3 months in the MTC because they called us a month early.

The people of Slovenia are amazing.  They are so proud of their tiny country for it’s beauty, culture, and for keeping these things strong while being occupied by several different countries at different times. I am awed by them.

The members of the church in Slovenia have such strong, pure testimonies.  I admire them so much for being able to keep their faith when there is not a huge support system around them.  Some of them drive for hours to get to church every week.  Some left everything they knew to join the church because they could feel the spirit and they knew it was where God wanted them to be.

I am so grateful for that tiny space of time in my life that has influenced everything thing I do with the rest of it.  Here are a few things l learned while I was a missionary in Slovenia:

-People can love you or hate you just because you are American.  (Watch out, they spit.)

-Listen to the Spirit.  I know this sounds like a no brainer, but sometimes we just need a reminder.

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