Success!

So this last week was SO GOOD  I can't wait to write about it!

 

Last week, we got the most new investigators out of any other companionship.  The sister missionaries in my district got one less than us.  We decided at the beginning of the week to be more obedient and diligent in our work and it really payed off.  It is just proof that even keeping the small, silly rules are needed.  We got 6 new investigators.  4 of which were all in one day!  We also had 3 investigators at church!  Now for some stories about other success.

 

We have a couple from Romania.  They speak very little Czech, so teaching is interesting and fun.  Also at church, simplifying the lessons during classes and sacrament meeting it interesting.  They have Romanian Book of Mormons, so we teach in Czech and give them scriptures to read about the topic.  It goes a bit slower than teaching a Czech, but we teach for understanding, not for numbers and getting the most lessons.  They are very nice and have very little work and money, but still insist on feeding us when we visit their home.  They are very humble people.

 

Another couple is a Rom couple (gypsy ancestry) and they are very nice too.  They want to be baptised!  They have two little kids; a boy and a girl.  They live in a one room apartment that has group showers and bathrooms.  It is not much, but they are humble about it and consider themselves blessed.

 

We also got a referral from China.  This man Miroslav was contacted on a tram in China.  He seems to like our message and says how things we teach are not in other religions.  He enjoys our message though and is a very nice man.

 

Also another younger guy that works for ACN.  He is a business guy.  He is a believer, but doesn't seem to take our message as serious as it is.  He likes to meet with us though.  He is nice and chill and loves life.

 

We also met an American!  We were tracting streets in a little town just outside of Brno called Lišeň.  We knocked on a door and a girl answered the door.  We talked to her for a bit and she said that there was an American staying at her house.  She called him down stairs and we started talking to him.  He is named Jennings and is from Florida!  He is a way cool kid.  Graduated last year and decided to go on an exchange here.  He is a strong believer and said to us that it is nice talking to someone that is a believer since there are very few here.  He is leaving in a couple weeks after being here for 10 months, but we still invited him to church and he said "I totally want to go!"  He also said about us getting him a Book of Mormon "I totally want one.  I would love to read that!"  He is just way cool.  He was out of town yesterday, so he wasn't at church, but he will be next week!  After we exchanged contact information and left, I said "ELder, you do know that since we just had a really good experience, the next door is going to be bad."  I said that as a joke, but the next door a lady opened the door, yelled at us, including cussing us out with Czech cuss word phrases, mocking our name tags and slamming the door.  Just know, you must take the bad with the good.

 

Last thing; The branch choir sang in sacrament meeting, of which I was a part of, and it was great.  I love singing.  :)

 

I am a happy missionary and am glad I am here.  I am thankful for my circumstances that have led me here; growing up in the church, having a good job, loving parents and a loving family, and the continual encouragment I get.  I love this church and, simply, know that is it true.

 

Well I need to go.  I am getting knighted at a castle by a member for P-Day.  No, for real.  :)  Don't forget to replace fear with faith!  I love you all!

 

S Laskou, Starší Bahr

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Brno, Brno, Brno

I couldn't think of any kind of name that was relevant to what I am going to email about today, so I just named it Brno, Brno, Brno.

 

This last week we had a zone conference and it was a good one.  As everyone does, I had a few concerns and being a missionary, I had a couple other as well.  The conference answered all of the questions and concerns I had.  It was with multiple zones and should have just been called a mission conference because there where more than half of the mission's missionaries there.  I also got an interview with President Irwin (mission president), which I always look forward to.  I have a testimony that we are in our missions for a reason.  One big reason is because of who the mission president is! President and his wife have taught me so many good things that will stick with me my whole life.

 

So this last week I also found out that there is a missionary here that grew up in my same stake with me in Salem, OR!  He is Elder Bateman!  He is in his 4th transfer and gets to serve as branch president in his branch as well as a full time missionary!  That is crazy.  When we found out, we talked about Salem things and things we both remember.  It was just a good time!  The world is small!

 

We have a great investigator named George.  He is 25 years old.  He is such a nice guy.  He had some damaging experiences in the past with other churches, but he is such a down to earth, truth searching, young man.  Our last lesson made me happy.  He makes very slow progress, but for him that is ok.  His progress that he made, to me, was GREAT prgress.  He is our only investigator, as this area is very slow going at this point in time.  All my efforts, though show no appearant success, just give me hope that in the future, some missionary will be down on himself due to who knows what and an amazing person will call them up or arrive at church and bring him joy.

 

I am a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ.  I am this for two years.  I get to preach the gospel and bring others unto Christ with power and authority from God.  I know that this church is Christ's church.  This gospel is true and Christ lives.  He suffered for us, so that WE can return to our Father in Heaven.

 

Take your faith a step further and follow the spirit.  Share your testimony with someone.  Replace fear with faith and, Do it!

 

I love you all.  Mějte se!

 

S Laskou, Starší Bahr.

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Nice Hard Working Week!

This week we worked hard to try to get some investigators at church.  In almost every contact on the street and at apartments we invited the person to church.  Overall, this week... probably 120 people were invited to church.  We came to church anxiously waiting for a few people to show up, and no one showed up.  In the future though, some other missionaries are going to get a few random people showing up.  I am still happy for our work.  It was hard work.

 

So I was on an exchange this last week with our district leader's companion.  I went with Elder Hanson from Texas.  It was a great exchange.  Like always, I find some German people to talk with (Elder Hanson live in Germany when he was younger, so he understood everything said.) but in particular, I want to focus on one part of the exchange which was a miracle.  We started Tuesday evening and decided to use  the time from 8:30pm till 9pm to tract.  No missionary ever tracts at this hour, but we did.  So we went tracting and talked to some nice people but with no interest, until this lady, maybe 30 years old, opened the door.  As we told her who we were she listened with an expression on her face that I can only describe as sincere!  She wasn't that much of a believer, but we asked her if we could come back and she said yes.  So the next day (after the exchange ended)  Elder Hanson and his companion went to teach her.  They got there and she brought her friend with her to the lesson!  They both have families too!  They were being taught, but as they were, they also were teaching themselves!  She asked if we believed in the cross or had crosses and her friend said "No, their church believes in the living Christ!!"  Then at the end of the lesson, she asked how we pray.  Elder Stimpson and Hanson told them how and then prayed.  After that, they both said a prayer and during the prayers they got goose bumps!!!!!!  They are the most prepare people I have ever heard of.  It strengthens my testimony that teaching by the Spirit and with authority will prove to people that we are servants of the Lord and that this is the church of Jesus Christ, not by name only, but by true form.

 

I wish I could write more, but my hour of email time is ending.  I may write more stories next week.  I know that this church is true.  I am a happy missionary and glad to be here.  Everyday I see miracles.  I wish everyone in this world would consider our message.  Many people have had bad experiences and don't trust religion, and if they would only listen to our message they would know that they need not search anymore.

 

Until next week, replace fear with faith.

 

Starší Bahr.

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Fun Week, Full of Joy!

It is now raining, but it was a good week this last week.  It was sunny and we met some cool people and I am happy about everything. 

 

Since I have started my mission, I have been worried about loosing my German that I studied in High School for three years.  Good news for me.  I have met multiple german tourists here!  Just last week I talked to a German couple from Liepzig.  It was good practice but I realized how much I for got.  I got their contact information to give to missionaries in Germany.

 

Something freaky: A few days ago I was separated from my companion for a few minutes.  I was copying what sister missionaries do here where if they are on a tram adn get rejected, they immediately find someone else.  SIsters know how to use time well.  So I was doing that and I lost track of what stop I needed to get off at and my companion got off and I didn't.  SO I got to the next stop and got on one back and he was just waiting there for me.  It was genuinly scary.  haha  Great experience though.  :)

 

We did a service project this week.  We cleaned trash from a park.  There sure were a lot of cigarette butts on the ground.  It was my second "Mormon Helping Hands" project I have done here.  It was fun.

 

So, this week I have been working on my accent so I don't sound American.  I have gotten American, English a lot.  I got a guess that I was from Belgium, Germany, and obviously from my hair Ireland, but recently, I got very close to  Czech accent.  I got Slokak and Russian!!!!!  People guessed I was from Russia and Slovakia!!!  It is fun for me to ask where people think I am from.  All I need to do now is hone my accent and learn vocab and people will think I am Czech!

 

This week has not been TOO successful.  This area is going through a dead spot where people keep stopping having meetings with us, some people just don't show up... I just pray that it will pick up soon.  It is just important to replace fear with faith and work hard.  I know that this church is true.  I am happy to be a missionary.  This last week I saw some small miracles that just grow my testimony.  Each golden person I find builds my testimony and even each rejection.  It just helps me know how blessed I am to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, His church.  I am sad that people reject us so willingly when they know not what we have.  I know that people will have another chance in the future to hear our message and pray for them that the way to be shown to them.

 

Take care this week.  Weekly challenge:  INVITE SOMEONE TO CHURCH!!!!!  (That is what our branch is doing here during the month of June.)  You will receive blessings from doing so and you don't know what the blessings are untill you receive them.  Just trust me, they are good.

 

S Laskou, Starší Bahr.

 

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