Week 19 - final week in Bratislava, Slovakia

Well, this week has been a crazy last week to the transfer. I can work backward. My time in Slovakia has come to an end and I am emailing from the Czech republic. It is weird to be back! I will be serving in Prague!! And I'll be serving as AP. It's gonna be a fun transfer! IT has started busy! Left this morning at 6. Got here at 11. Had a meeting right away and now working on things for new missionaries this week! Being in Prague means that my pday is now on SATURDAYS. So that's how it will work. 

But the rest of the week has been great! Tuesday we had a potluck dinner with a member which was great! This week I finished reading PMG in Czech. It was a transfer challenge for the mission. Wednesday we were contacting in a park and saw some people throwing around a football. We ended up playing some catch with them which was pretty fun! For mutual this week we carved soap with the young men and on Saturday went bowling with them! We met a really cool guy from Sweden on the street and wanted to meet! We had a couple first lessons and ended up planning for 27 people in weekly planning. A lot has changed in the area over the last 4 months. 

Thursday we went to the Bratislava Philharmonic which was really good! Then transfer call day rolled around. at about 9 we were in personal study and couldn't focus anymore. It was almost like we knew the call was coming. About 5 minutes later president calls. President says" Starsi Hanis, you know I love you right?" I said "Maybe" It will be great to serve around him. Sunday we were in Nitra doing the last of the missionary firesides! I had packed a suitcase and given it to president so it was a pretty nice transfer today. Sunday night we went to the senior couples for dinner. They had a new apartment and we tried to walk there. We looked on the map and said just go along the river, past the graveyard and then up the hill. It worked great until one of the roads didn't exist. They ended up having to come and pick us up and rescue us! IT was a great transfer and this week is starting fast! Hope things find you well! Love you!

Week 18 - Bratislava, Slovakia

Well this has been a great week and one of the more exhausting! Last Monday we had a cool experience! We went to a castle with our district and a group of three people asked us to take their picture. We ended up talking to them for a while and as a district we ended up teaching about the whole restoration of the gospel! IT was fun having 5 companions all of a sudden. You always knew you could be quiet and someone else wanted to say something!

Tuesday was a good day. We had just finished getting our exchanges finalized. One starting Tuesday night to Wednesday, other missionaries coming Thursday and us going to Nitra to be with those missionaries on Friday when the phone rings and its our lawyer in Slovakia. The new missionaries have to get their visas and it didn't work that morning. She said we need two people to go and wait starting at 8 pm that night.. and stay until 5.. Lets just say the day seemed to go by pretty slow. we had one lesson on plan and before it we went home and suited up, Two pairs of long johns, two pairs of socks, two pairs of gloves, two hats, a winter coat, blanket and some hand warmers. We then went to the building and had the missionaries who we should have been starting an exchange with teach us and then we left for the foreign police. We got there at 7:45 pm and were the first two people. a minute later someone else got there. In thirty minutes we were 4. In three hours about 20 and by 4 in the morning about40. They can usually do between 30 and 40 people a day. Sometimes more, sometimes less.

It was quite the experience. WE came prepared. Elder Mueller and i brought pictures, told stories, we brought a chess board and then started playing chess with people there. Most of them don't speak the greatest Slovak either. Most are from Ukraine, and 4 were from Korea. WE read PMG, and at about 2 when they all started drinking and smoking we kept to ourselves. IT was a long night! The greatest sight was other missionaries showing up at 4:45 and we could switch. WE went home and slept until 9 then started our exchange again. WE had mutual that night and brought our car and did it about cars.

Thursday we had fun exchanges with two missionaries from Zilina. They have been together for almost 4 months and hadn't served outside their area. So we had them come a day early (One of them also had to do some legal things Friday) And worked with them. We actually switched with who we were half way and had a great day. Friday morning we got up and went to NITRA we did a fun finding display. WE took tables and chairs and invited people to learn about us in a minute. We tried lots of fun things and stayed there on an exchange with missions. I was with Elder KAtrnak who is from the Czech republic which was a lot of fun.

Sunday was a great fast Sunday. As a zone we were fasting to find families. We had a great dinner with a family and a good lesson with one deaf member! IT has been a crazy week and now its the last week of the transfer! So well see what happens next week! Hope things are well! Love ya