Hello everyone from Zagreb, Croatia

Hello everyone from Zagreb, Croatia

     

      Why are you in Croatia when your mission is in Hungary?  Two simple words, “A Friend”.

      I have talked about Kresimer Cosic before.  We are in Zagreb to help in a memorial basketball game put on each year by the mission, BYU and Sister Ann Madsen, Truman Madsen’s wife.  They learned that Kres and I were good friends at BYU and asked me to come give a talk about him prior to his conversion.

      I hope that Riley, Garrett, Parker, Ryan, Kate and Evan take the time to look up Kresimer Cosic on the Internet.  It will tell you a story about a very good basketball play. But it won’t tell you about the fact that Kres had very many offers and he chose only two, one was UCLA, the other BYU, why because a Finish basketball player that Kres play with on an All-Europe team said BYU was the best at European type basketball. In 1969 UCLA was the #1 basketball team in the nation.  They actually went over 4 years without losing a game!  But Kresimer went with dream he had about a school in the mountains that had a very large basketball arena, (BYU)!  He did not speak English, he did not believe in God, he did not live the commandments of God.  However, three years later, he was baptized into the church.

      In June 1984, Kresimer baptized the first members of the church in the eastern Europe country that was called Yugoslavia and now is five different countries.  One man, brought the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to this area of the world and was not afraid of what might happen to him.  The government at that time did not allow religions to exist, but Kresimir was too popular to stop.  One man.  When you have problems and think, how can I do this, I am not old enough, smart enough and one will supports me, other than knowing you received an answer to your prayers, remember, Kresimir Cosic, he did the same thing and had success.

      Nema and I visited a city in Croatia that is on the sea between Croatia and Italy.  It is called Zadar.  This is where Kresimir grew up.  There now is a street with his name and a large area with his name on it.  Traveling from Zadar up to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, we literally went through large granite mountains.  We went through several tunnels to get through the mountains.  Two of the tunnels were each 6 kilometers long!  That is over 3 miles long!

      We don’t use our phone GPS system, too expensive on data, but use a GPS system called Garmin.  This system has been around for many years.  Our system tells us how fast we are going, it tells us when to slow down due to speed changes, tells us when to turn left, right and which exit on the many many many round-a-bouts that are in Europe roads.  GPS works when it can get information sent down to it from satellites up in space.  It works really well, except when you are in tunnels!  You see, inside a tunnel the satellite messages don’t come through.  Going in the tunnels, we were to go about 50 mph, but the Garmin said we were traveling 65 mph!  What was Hepa supposed to do?  I did something really dumb, I looked down at the speedometer, which works by counting the number of times the tire goes around in circles.  It is old fashion, but it works in a tunnel.  I looked down and guess what?  I was going 48 mph!

      Today’s life is a lot like using GPS, either on the phone or on a Garmin.  They work as long as they don’t have any interference from mountains, from rain and snow storms, electricity going out, inside a parking garage especially, it will never work when you are late to an appointment to a place you have never been to, it will always fail when you need GPS the most.  The speedometer works inside mountains, during storms, doing snow blizzards, in the parking garage and especially when you are going too fast and you see a radar camera, it will work and tell you, NO! NO! NO!, you are going too fast and it is too late to stop!

      Too many people today rely on GPS to tell them where they are going.  When they go into tunnels, they don’t get any instructions and become lost.  Those who believe in Jesus Christ and pray to Heavenly Father each day are like the speedometer in the car.  They get answers and directions from Heavenly Father whether they are in a tunnel, in a rainstorm, in a snow blizzard, or in a parking garage.  The only thing required to make getting directions from Heavenly Father is the same thing that made the Liahona work for Nephi and his father Lehi, faith.  Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 

      Kresimir Cosic didn’t know why he pick BYU, especially when he found out about its standards.   But he knew he had received a message from somewhere (at the time he did not know about the Holy Ghost, nor thought that God existed) that BYU was where he was supposed to go.  He listened and by selecting to come to BYU, like Joseph Smith, Kresimir opened the door to the church, this time behind a very cruel communist country.  Kresimir is a true Captain Moroni, but he could also shoot 3s, dunk behind his back and play like a point guard, something that Captain Moroni couldn’t do!  Why, because a basketball wasn’t invented until 1880s (about the time Hepa was born.)

      So who do you want to listen to, a GPS that only works in certain locations or the Holy Ghost who works everywhere? 

      Nema and Hepa bear testimony that listening to the Holy Ghost will point you to where Heavenly Father wants you to be.  Please pray, every morning, during the day and every night.  You do that and who knows what you will accomplish, Joseph Smith was only 14 when he prayed, Kresimer Cosic at the age of 20 didn’t even pray, but got a revelation in the form of a dream from God, what will you get if you pray? 

      Hepa prayed about where to play football, the answer, BYU.  Then came the car accident, then came the mission to Japan, then came meeting an Elder Zinke, then came Rich Zinke as Hepa’s roommate, then came Jane Zinke, then came Jane Moser, then came Marnee Moser, then came Scott Moser, then came Steven Moser, then came Anne Moser, then came you!!!!!!!!

      How did all this happen?  All because Hepa listen to a returned missionary football player who told Hepa God will tell Hepa where to play football, all Hepa had to do was study it out in his mind, make a decision and then pray about it and find out if Hepa made the right decision.  (D&C 9:7/9)

      We testify that prayer works.  All we have to do is talk to you in Skype and we see prayers do works!  All you have to do is look in the mirror and you too can see that Hepa’s pray worked!  And that was 48 years, 2 months ago that I got that answer.  A very long time ago to make sure that you came to earth to the parents that would be the best ones for you.  Now doesn’t that make you glad God answers prayers?

      We love you,

Nema and Hepa