Week 17 Bratislava, Slovakia

This has been a great week! Time flew as usual. Tuesday we helped the senior couple here move apartments which was fun and spent some time planning our part of training for Thursday. We have one really cool investigator right now. WE met with him twice this week and had some of the most solid lessons about the plan of salvation. He said himself he was thinking about baptism without us even asking. Pretty cool! Wednesday we also visited an older couple who i had actually met before. We had called people in our area book and they said we could visit. I met the husband about 2 months ago he gave us his book of Mormon back. Then we went and gave them a book of Mormon again. Pretty funny!

But training this week was one of the best trainings of my mission. It was awesome! The sister training leaders talked about families and changing how we approach finding and praying for families. For us to really focus on them instead of just hoping to find them. It was really great! After we trained about perspective and attitude. We talked about what our perspective is and how we can change it. I talked about physics, the principle of simultaneity, and how we have to change our perspective to see what God sees in finding. We then talked and showed pictures of airplanes. We showed one of a really nice plane just cruising in the sky. WE talked about how it is beautiful and it is doing a wonderful job and will get where we want to go safely. WE then showed pictures of blue angels! And showed how they are not on autopilot! We talked about this in missionary work that sometimes we go on autopilot and we check in and out. OR we do the same things again and again. We read some quotes from Dad about this and had a really good training about this and how each person we contact we change them. Not planting seeds but spiritually change the people we come in contact with. The assistants came after with a training about positivity and effectiveness and president closed it out with a really spiritual training about companions. IT was an awesome training! 

Saturday we went and helped a member clean his factory that he bought. It's the same guy we helped in December. This time we made a lot of progress. Nothing like throwing mattresses and furniture down a stair well! We had a really nice Sunday and lots of great experiences. WE have been led to lots of families and we are seeing changes happening! The weather is getting warmer and good things are happening! Hope you have a great week!

S Laskou,

Week 16 Bratislava, Slovakia

Well It has been another busy week and full of traveling again. Last Monday we headed to Prague for MLC on Tuesday so we were there the first two days of the week. MLC was great we talked about a lot of good things. We talked about teaching in members and investigators homes more and trying to shift towards that. We teach almost exclusively in the church building. We had a lot of good conversation and this coming week Thursday we are training so we have lots to get ready.

Wednesday we had a great day in Bratislava. in the afternoon our phone rings and its a sister missionary from a referral center in America. Some guy in Bratislava was chatting and asking about English and things. It was pretty funny as we talked to her and she told us her name was carol. Turns out its a guy Karl.  He came to English and we had actually met him two weeks ago tracting. We gave them a card and they said they were looking for a society where they can learn about god and practice English. They found the right one! We had a really good lesson with him and another one on plan tomorrow. Also on Wednesday a guy we met about 3 months ago set up and we had a first lesson with him that went well.

Wednesday night we started exchanges with missionaries from Nitra. I was with Elder Harp and we had a great day. We had a goal to write our testimonies in Books of Mormon before giving them to people so we had some great experiences. A few people said they would meet with us the next day and had a successful day.

Friday three lessons didn't show up but we did have a lesson with a deaf member and watched President uchtdorfs talk from the last general conference. We had a district dinner that night on dad!

Saturday we were off to trencin and we did our fireside for the members there and spent time with the missionaries. Sunday was the first time on my mission that i haven't been in church in the area where i am serving. We were in Zilina and also did that same fireside. We got back to Bratislava around 3 in the afternoon. We had dinner with the senior couple and then had two hours after. We needed one new investigator in order to hit standards. We had texted and called a bunch of people but no one had responded. We were running around the city talking to everyone but not too much luck. So we said a prayer and we  then saw four young teenage boys. WE stopped and talked to them and ended up teaching them about Joseph Smith and God. They set up to meet on Tuesday but for them to be a new investigator we have to get their contact. They didn't give it because we are meeting where they have sports practice right before. So they didn't count as new investigators yet. At the end of the day we didn't have another one... But we woke up this morning and one of the people we had texted yesterday confirmed a meeting for this week. God made us work until the end, and then we prayed at the end of the night and we said we had done everything the rest was on him. He holds up his bargain!

It has been a great week, things are going well! Take care

S Laskou

Starsi Hanis

Week 15 Bratislava, Slovakia

Well this week has been full of traveling. Things have been great though, and we have been blessed! Tuesday we had a good district meeting about the spirit and how much we are led by the spirit. I had some time to think. We are led all the time. So many times we have thoughts to do things. to say something- To go a different way and it happens! we did a practice where a 19 year old kid asks us who God is -- the catch is you're on the way to a lesson and don't have much time. Fast forward to that night. Its about 1730 and we have a lesson at 18 we have a little time and our contacting people on our way to the building when a 21 your old guy asks who God is. Coincidence? Not at all. Fast forward to Saturday we have a first lesson and he accepts a baptismal date! Pretty cool! 

Wednesday we started travels. First to Trencin about a little more than an hour away by train. We were on exchanges with the missionaries there. We had some good lessons. Met with a family, and visited a guy they had met a few weeks before. We ended up missing a bus to meet the other missionaries for dinner so we contacted the rest of the night without dinner because we didn't have keys until the other missionaries got to the apartment at 9! Always good times. We met some funny guys and had some good experiences! Thursday we did a big singing display because the sister training leaders were also in TRencin and we had about 9 missionaries there. At 1 President Showed up and we headed to Kosice. We got there at 18 taking a stop a long the way so president could do an interview with a guy writing a book. In kosice we had a fireside about missionary work. There were four parts: The first about what we do all day, we had pictures and explained it, showed our planners, The second part was about ward mission leader and what there role is and how that is our goal, The third part was about how to react when new people come to sacrament meeting. We had some demonstrations and the fourth part was the part we were in charge of. We used the Europe area plan and talked about how to invite people to come to activities or hear about the gospel. 

WE have three steps

1 Use religious words in everyday life

2. When people ask you about things in the church, share a simple answer and testify that it makes you happy. Then ask them why they are asking

3 This is the real invite. But you must decouple your relationship from the invite. Tell them You have something really important and want to ask them something but just so they know however they answer doesn't matter, you'll be friends still and it doesn't depend on it. 

Things went really well. WE had lots of practicing and fun! 

Friday morning we went up on a mountain with the missionaries and read the prayer given when Slovakia was dedicated for the preaching of the gospel. We said our own prayers for the people of Kosice. We then headed to Banska Bystrice, We passed the Town of HANISKA. We did the same fireside that night and then headed home to Bratislava. WE stopped at a little restaurant and had good Slovak food. In the middle of dinner president got up and went over to a family he saw and gave him his card. Pretty awesome guy! 

After being gone all week Saturday and Sunday we were blessed! WE had some meetings with investigators, Two eccepted baptismal dates. Three came to church on sunday. We did the same fireside on sunday for our branch during church which got a little awkward with our investigators there but it turned out really good! Lots of fun! Things are great here!

Tonght we are headed to Prague and Saturday to trencin and sunday to Zilina. Lots of things going on. Its a little bit warmer. The lord is blessing us and things are great! 

S laskou

Starsi Hanis

President took us to a ski resort




The menu says "Welcome in the devils restaurant"