Note: Ann Madsen, a member of the Sunday School general board, recently returned from Croatia, where she participated in the training of prospective missionaries. She has provided this report to the Church News.
A historic gathering was held July 12-14 in Zagreb, Croatia, to train 17 prospective missionaries from the countries that form the Adriatic North Mission. Some of these countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, have been open to proselyting by full-time missionaries just since last year. During the gathering, the first missionary to serve from the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina received her call.
At the invitation of Adriatic North Mission President Edward B. Rowe, eight young men and nine young women gathered from throughout the mission's boundaries, including Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Some had been baptized only one or two years before. President Rowe warmly welcomed the participants, sharing his vision of why serving a mission would prove tremendously important to them and their countries. He explained that the purpose of the conference was to usher in a new era where continuous waves of powerful, young missionaries would go forth from these countries to proclaim the gospel and return to lead in the future establishment of stakes in their own countries.
Training was provided by the mission by returned missionaries from Croatia and Slovenia; I represented the Sunday School general board. The joy among the participants in being together was tangible. Their enthusiasm to share the gospel increased hour by hour.
On arrival they received orientation packets, which included their personal copy of Preach My Gospel, the missionary handbook, and plans for the three days they would be together.
They had their first class, taught by Ivana Nemic, a returned missionary who served in Birmingham, England, who now lives in Zagreb. She led a discussion on how to be an effective companion, personal study and how to prepare for the day. The dynamics of living with a companion were experienced in a three-legged treasure hunt. Cooperation, flexibility and love were emphasized.
The assistants to the mission president, Elder Corey DeFreitas and Elder Nathan Mecham, next led a discussion which included role playing, where the prospective missionaries practiced teaching, testifying, inviting and promising, using the First Vision of Joseph Smith as their vehicle. They learned to answer the question, "What is the difference between your church and other churches?"
After a dinner hour, they attended a devotional. First, Sister Brooke Rowe discussed "My purpose as a missionary: To invite others to come unto Christ."
Then, Sister Linda Goodsell used her family members as examples of how there are lifelong blessings of serving a mission. She and her husband, a counselor in the mission presidency, are one of the senior couples serving in the mission.
I was providing training throughout the mission on behalf of the Sunday School general board at the time, and I described to the future missionaries the part they will play in fulfilling Kresimir Cosic's dream for these countries. He was the first member to be baptized from Yugoslavia while playing basketball at BYU; he returned and baptized the first convert in the country in 1972.
Workshops were conducted all day Saturday by four more returned missionaries from Slovenia.
Monika Medvescek, a member of the Ljubliana Branch who returned home just a week earlier after serving in the England Birmingham Mission, led a discussion on the role of the Holy Ghost in conversion. Borut Lakner of the Celje Branch, who had served in the Salt Lake South Mission, powerfully taught the young people the central role of the Book of Mormon in conversion.
The morning's activities concluded with a lively explanation of exactly how to prepare to fill out the required papers, visit their doctors and other necessary parts of preparation for a mission. Elder Richard Westergard, counselor to President Rowe, conducted this question-and-answer session with humor and common sense. In addition he shared his experience as a former stake president on how they could spiritually prepare themselves.
Among many high points during the weekend was the time just before the lunch break when one of the attendees, Vicky Tadic, opened her mission call to serve in the Arizona Gilbert Mission. It was an exciting moment for the rest of the group. Vicky had an interesting introduction to the gospel. The Rowe family was living in Banja Luka, Bosnia, two years previous to his call to serve as mission president. Several neighborhood youth began to go to their house and play with their children. One day, one of those youth, Vicky Tadic, said to Sister Rowe, "There is something different about your son, David, and I'm going to find out what it is!" The conversations that followed ended with the baptism of Vicky along with the entire Tadic family, including her grandmother. The Tadic family was the first to be taught in Bosnia and baptized, and Vicky is now the first missionary called from Bosnia. How fitting that as Vicky opened her call when David Rowe was there as another prospective missionary. He received his call to Chile two weeks later.
The afternoon continued with Peter Klobcic leading a discussion and role plays on "How to Invite and Teach People, Not Lessons." He had returned two weeks earlier from the England London Mission.
The last missionary to teach was Elvi Rwankuba, who serves as the Slovenian District President. He returned last November from the Utah Ogden Mission. He showed how to begin a gospel conversation, then counseled his listeners, "Before you go on your mission, go with me to the Sacred Grove. Imagine you are there. Joseph Smith had questions in 1820. What do you do when you have questions? Pray. He read James 1:4. He prayed. The Father and the Son appeared to him and later called him to be a prophet. The Church was restored. Ask Joseph, 'May I share your powerful story?' Then share it with feeling! You can trust the Holy Ghost to teach at this point."
As he concluded he said simply, "You only need one moment to change people's lives."
After a question-and-answer session with President and Sister Rowe, the young people ate dinner together, excited to spend the evening on splits with full-time missionaries in the local area practicing what had been preached. At a devotional following their experiences, Miljenko Babic, who had served in the England Manchester Mission and is now district president of Croatia, provided the youth with inspiring counsel. Full of energy and excitement, the youth then reported on the evening's proselyting, including how they had placed copies of the Book of Mormon and pass-along cards, and taught lessons with the full-time missionaries.
One commented, "Why didn't we do this all day?" During the follow-up report session a question was posed by 8-year-old Jessica Rowe, the Rowes' youngest daughter, twin sister of Anna. When her father asked, "Does anyone else want to add something?" She raised her hand in the back of the group and asked, "Did any of you have the chance to share your testimony about Jesus?" All were taught in the silence that followed.
The conference ended Sunday morning with a testimony meeting where the participants shared with each other their tender feelings about the truthfulness of the gospel and their desire to share it as missionaries.
President Rowe concluded the conference by inviting each young person to prepare to serve a mission and "become like these returned missionaries who have taught you." He also invited them, before they depart on their missions, to find and bring to the gospel one other person, to sit in their place at a similar conference next year, as the next group of missionaries to serve. By beginning a new era of missionary service, President Rowe, declared, "I testify that you have the power to change the destiny of the Church in these countries."
A couple of weeks after the missionary gathering, during the month of August nearly 100 members from the Adriatic North Mission traveled to the Frankfurt Temple. Among them were some from the prospective missionary group, receiving their own endowments in preparation for their missions.
