Monday, November 28, 2016

Week 4 - Bratislava, Slovakia

Well it has been a great thanksgiving week here! We have had a lot of fun and it has been busy! Last Monday we just emailed and did our weekly shopping but we had the rest of pday on Thursday.  On Tuesday, we got up a little early and started our road trip. We visited three of our five districts. We started at 8 in the morning in Nitra. We had district meeting. Both of the companionships there had lost their phones, and were sick. It was an interesting meeting. We got to Find with them for a little bit and we found one girl who set up with them! After that we headed to Banska Bystrice! Had a good meeting there and headed after that to Trencin. It was a beautiful drive through the mountains. We brought the missionaries there home with us on an exchange. We got home about 8:45 at night. IT was a long day!

I was with Elder Redd on our exchange. We had a goal to get 15 people to smile at us at the beginning of our contact so we were even more smiley and friendly! It was pretty fun! Thursday was thanksgiving! We had a great day! We walked around the Christmas markets here and there are tons! Bratislava is a pretty big city! Then we went home and started cooking. We managed to make stuffing, green bean casserole, banana pie, key lime pie and a pumpkin pie! The sisters made the turkey and a peach pie. The other elders made mashed potatoes, funeral potatoes, sweet potatoes and about 100 rolls. There were a few other things and we ate great!! It was a fun meal! And we had a good time! 

Friday morning, thanksgiving was not sitting too well with me. We actually had to get up at 3:30 to go to the foreign police. And i was not feeling to well. I managed to not throw up and we made it to the place. We had to wait outside until 7. I slept on the grass. It was drizzly and cold. At 7 the sisters came. We had been waiting in line for them so we left and got home. I laid down on the floor in my big coat and a couple blankets and fell asleep and then we got up and studied and had a good day. We met some really interesting people, had a great first lesson and things went well! 

One funny story we met an older guy and his son in law. The old guy was really drunk! They thought i was from the Czech republic and we played along with them. They started telling my companion how hard the language is and then said to me but you understand being from the Czech republic. It was pretty funny! We had a fun game night. played a little more chess! Sunday we had a nice meal with a member family from Russia and some good visits! It has been a good week! Today we went to a tower on the hill and had lunch, we had some snow flurries and its cold! Hope things are well! Love you all!




Monday, November 21, 2016

Week 3 - Bratislava, Slovakia

Well from wednesday until now time has flown! After emailing last wednesday we got on the road to Prague. We left about 16 in the afternoon and I didn't get to the assistants place until 22.15. It was a long drive! We got up the next morning and ran up a mountain and then we had MLC with president Sabin. IT was a good meeting and focused on a couple things. The biggest i think was the role of the spirit in missionary work that we can use our gifts to allow people to feel the spirit. We need to become spiritual giants! Friday we were back and had a normal day. We did a little English contacting and stopped a young couple in English inviting them to English class. The girl turned to the boy in Slovak asked "Do you want to?" And he said "No they look like Jehovah witnesses" We shocked them as we jumped in in Slovak back. They were a little embarrassed but it was pretty funny! 

Saturday we went and tracted for service and we raked a LOT of leaves. Probably over 50 bags full. IT was a lot. That night we had game night and i was undefeated on the night in ping pong. Two right handed one left handed ;) And a game of chess. It has been a while. Sunday was a good day and we had a cool miracle. A woman came to church and sat by me. She said she had met missionaries a lot at the foreign police and she always said she would come to church so this week she did. She had a great time and is going to meet with us later this week! Pretty cool! Sunday night we met a couple people from the Jehovah witness church. we talked to them for a while and it was an interesting experience. But we made it! Today we actually didn't have pday. It will be on Thursday for thanksgiving but we had some good things today. Hope all is well! Love ya!



Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Week 2 - Bratislava, Slovakia

Well it has been a whirlwind of a week to say the least. New country, different money and a funny language. It has been great! It is pretty similar to the Czech republic. The languages are about the same. I speak Czech and they understand. They speak Slovak and i understand. In the Czech republic they all are atheists. Here they all believe. The church is much smaller here as well. We had two guys call us last Monday who wanted to meet! Pretty cool! They are both progressing now! One has already read to mosiah in the Book of Mormon. The other one wants to baptize all of Bratislava and wants our help! Pretty funny stuff! We woke up and were on the street just as the election was closing. Lets just say we heard about it!
We had our first couple snows this week! Stuck for a few hours and then warmed up! On Friday we had MLC over the phone to prepare for a mission tour this week! We met some really cool people but no one wanted to set up. Saturday night we had a fireside with the 6 missionaries here in Bratislava with president and his wife and Elder and sister Adler from Germany. WE had a great fireside and talked about conversion and Jesus Christ. Our testimony of Jesus Christ can push the holy ghost into peoples hearts. That is the power we have. Sunday those same four were at church and it was a great meeting and great to be there. That night president came over to see our apartment and had an interview with my companion. I had interview with His wife while we waited. The pohorelicti are amazing. I love them a lot! After that the assistants arrived as well as 4 other missionaries staying with us. Monday we had interviews for our zone here so they all came and we flooded Bratislava. We planned a group finding idea to give away book of Mormons for telephone numbers. Only if we would have an opportunity to talk again. We gave out about 100! It was a great day! In the afternoon we went to a different part and we built an 8 foot tall tower out of book of Mormons which drew a lot of attention! It was a long day and everyone stayed the night again because yesterday we had a mission tour with Elder Sabin. we had training all day! It was great! He knew the scriptures. Probably used more than 250 in the 6 hours. It was  a lot of information and it was good. He focused on the spirit and success that we will see it in the future. He said don't be afraid to go out on a limb. Maybe promising blessings or something of the sort because God will not let you fall.
 We also asked about happiness. It says in preach my gospel that more happiness than you have ever experienced awaits you as you serve. He said the happiness is just beginning and will come and and come and will come even more after your mission. I saw Elder Plewe for the first time in a year and a half! That was great! It was fun to be with a lot of missionaries from my MTC group. It was great to be around president. IT was interesting. WE translated the meeting. The first part into English and then we had to translate into Czech because there is a missionary in Slovakia from the Czech republic. IT was an exhausting couple of days. Today we have p-day and then in a few hours we are heading to Prague and we have MLC there tomorrow with Elder Sabin and then we will have a normal weekend. Next week we have to visit some district meetings and a lot more on plan! Things are going great here Love you all!

Monday, November 7, 2016

Week 1 - Bratislava, Slovakia

Well the big news of the week is transfers. I finished 6 months in Brno and really loved it and then came the surprise! I am emailing right now in Slovakia in Bratislava! Ill be serving here for at least the next transfer and as a zone leader again! My new companion is Elder Cahoon and it is his last transfer. That was a shock! But it has been great! Its a new money system, a weird language, and a whole new group of missionaries. It will be fun!

This week has been pretty crazy! Last Monday a member took us to a castle and she knighted us with a sword which was pretty cool. Tuesday we had our last exchange. I was with elder hymas again and we talked to some guy with a knife which got a little sketchy but we were fine! We also had a good lesson with a guy and put him on date for his area which was good! Wednesday we did service with a family and the fed us lunch. After our investigator bronislav saw there was a sign up for meals with the missionaries and he wanted to do it. So we met him and weren't hungry at all and he says"i hope you didn't eat today cause we have a lot of food" he ended up taking us to running sushi. We ate a lot!! IT was pretty fun! We had a cool experience on the way home and someone saw us and she contacted us. She had seen an article about the fLds church and wanted to ask us some questions. She was the very last person we talked to for the day! IT was cool! 

Thursday we had our culture night and we saw a play with a member and bronislav. It was called limonadovy joe. It was pretty interesting! it was a musical comedy. Friday during lunch we went to the kostnice which is a crypt or something under a church which was full of bones! 

We had our Halloween party that night. We dressed up like Nephites! we ran eating the donut off the string. And then they had a fear factor for missionaries... The first round was a tongue twister in Czech and the second was a special type of cheese from olomouc. It is way gross... All of us were gagging. They all love it though. But it tastes like wet dog. and smells really awful. And the third round was tlacenka which is meat in jello.. After the cheese it was pretty good.

Saturday we had a little more service and bench pressed at the end. Did better than last time! Sunday we had stake conference! The first one! IT was really cool. They had 7 new brothers to be ordained to the priesthood and about 20 high priests and called the last members of the high council which was really cool to see. After a year of trying to get just one more brother to be an elder at once 7! It was also cool to see a Czech patriarch, stake president, and mission president all on the stand together.

It was sad to leave Brno and i feel like i have some really good relationships there with some members. It was one of the best days Sunday and a good way to end. Now a new adventure in Slovakia for thanksgiving and Christmas. Pretty crazy! Hope things are well! Love ya!