Baptism This Week!!!!!

First and most exciting piece of news was that an investigator I taught last transfer just got baptised!  Ivo got baptised last Saturday.  We travelled down to Brno for the baptism.  The baptism was great.  We had a member there sing a song.  It was a solo.  Then there were a couple talks about baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost.  They were good talks and Ivo seemed to love them.  Then we had the baptism.  I had the honor of baptising him.  It was an experience to remember.  Afterward, the branch president spoke and then Ivo got up and told his conversion story.  He has such a strong testimony now and I know he will be a great addition to the Brno branch.  I am proud of him.

 

Next, I was in Prague yesterday to finish up some visa things.  We were there all day.  I was one of the first of the missionaries there to get done with it.  Me and a couple sisters and another Elder were waiting outside for the others to finish, when an older man came up and tried to sell us some phone plan and we declinded because we already had a phone plan, but anyway, Sister Jorgenson, being who she was started to talk to the man about our church.  She talks with EVERYONE, in EVERY situation.  Great example.... but we all said a little bit about our message, us 4 missionaries, and got his address (he lives in a missionary-less city) to give him a Book of Mormon.  He left and thanked us, then about 15 minutes later came back and gave us all a peach.  We went to the store and bought some, then geve them to us as gifts.  He was a nice man and I can't wait to hear about his experiences he will have with the Book of Mormon.

 

Also this week, I have been reading some things in the book Jesus the Christ, which I HIGHLY RECOMMEND to anyone who hasn't read it, but I have ben reading from it and other books and I KNOW without a doubt that the Book of Mormon is true and that God and Christ live.  I wish I could yell this at the top of my lungs through the computer, but just these simple words will have to do.  I know this church is true and everything about it.  Christ is our Savior and God is our Father in Heaven. Reader, If you don't know it for yourself - Read the Book of Mormon and PRAY about it!  Do not hesitate!  Time is getting short.  If you don't know if you want to or not, just replace fear with faith, and try it.  You will feel peace and more joy in lfe.  I promise.

 

I have no more time to write today, but know this:  I love the gospel and this missionary work.  I love my Savior Jesus Christ and know he lives.  I am thankful for this 2 year opportunity I have to share this wonderful blessing.  I wouldn't trade it for the world.  I have been blessed beyond measure.

 

Have a great week everyone.

Elder Bahr

Early Exchanges!

Transfers were a surprise!  We got calls on Saturday night rather than the normal Monday. No new missionaries are coming in, that's why.  So.  I am in a new city!  I really enjoyed Brno, andI am thankful for the blessings I had to meet people and help people there.  Now I am serving in a small city a couple hours away called Zlín.  Pronouce: "Zleeen"  I am serving with Elder Odell.  He is from Georgia.  He has been out here a little more than a year.  He is two MTC groups earlier than me.  75,000 people live in the small city of Zlín.  I am used to the 2nd and 3rd largest cities with 300,000 people, so this will be a little different.  In the branch here, there are about 20 people.  It is small.  :)  Time to put my extra game face on.  Let's build up the branch!

 

This past week has been a good week.  He missed some lessons with Ivo, because he was out of town, so we had some good time to find more to teach.  Ivo still has his baptism this Saturday and he asked me to baptize him.  I will be coming back to Brno to Saturday, then next Monday I also am going to Prague for more visa work!  I just got to my new area.  :)  Wow.  I like to travel though, so all is well.  Also this week, we met with Aladar and he brought his cousin to the lesson.  His name is František.  At church this week, they also came and introduced themselves and told people "I have found a place for me."  I know this church is true.

 

We also had a member from Brno leave on his mission.   His name is Zdeněk.  His brother served in Scotland and he is serving in Leeds, England.  This church is growing here.

 

Something cool I learned last week was about our Heavenly Father.  He doesn't control our future and know it because he set our fate for us.  He just knows us so well.  For the eternities in our pre-earth life, he gave very close observation to us, by spending time with us, and therefore knows us so well, he know what the outcome of our actions are.

 

I am thankful for a loving Heavenly Father and my Father and Mother back home in America.  I love my family and am excited to spend eternity with them. I know this church is true and we can come closer to our Father in Heaven through scripture study and sincere prayer.

 

I realized last week, I forgot a phrase that I say in all my emails, but you probably can think of it now already.  Anyway, here it is for last week and this:  "Replace Fear with Faith."  Take care this week.  To my family, friends, home ward, and any other reader out there.  I love you all and pray for the Lord's blessings on you.

 

Elder Bahr

Nice Short E-Mails Now, But Big Stories.

I am not able to write as detailed letters now because some mission rules have been explained better.  I must obey if I want blessings.  It will also help to only write about important things.  So here they are.  I hope you enjoy.

We have had some amazing lessons with Ivo.  He is progressing toward baptism on the 22nd.  We have taught him everything, now just strengthening his testimony in these things.  Right now we are talking with him about the baptism interview questions.  They are some powerful lessons and I always look forward to lessons with him.

We had some great lessons with some members and helped them do their missionary duty.  They will be helping activate less active members.  As we taught them, I felt at home because I could feel their love.  The members we taught this week are the Zikmundovi and Sister Marečková.  Sister Marečková is the one who knighted us at the castle last transfer.  She also, at our meeting with her, taught us how to make Smažený Sýr (fried cheese.)  Members here in Brno are the best.

Yesterday I was in Prague for visa work and on the train there, we met and Austrailian girl and a German lady in our same room on the train.  I was able to speak german for 3 hours!!!!  We spoke about everything.  We also gave the Austrailian a Book of Mormon.  She is in Europe travelling.

We also used a new idea.  He went on the main square and brought around pictures from the Book of Mormon.  Most people had no interest unless I approached them with the picture of Christ in the Americas.

I must go now.  I am thankful for this mission opportunity and love you all.  Take care.

Elder Bahr

A Lot of Finding This Week

Each week these last few weeks have been tougher and tougher to reach goals we have set.  It is good work though.  It has also been warm here too, which makes it harder to stay willing and focused to work all day outside.  I can't wait so on the week.  I will try to write a little shorter than last week because the last one was long.  Here it is.  J

27.8.12

                Today was P-Day.  We had the normal routine of studies and shopping and email; which was nice to hear from my family, they always have good stories and things to tell me.  I love my family.  Then we went to FHE.  The dinner was make-your-own sandwich.  We then had a lesson by Bara a single adult.  She had a great FHE lesson.  It was on friendships.  That was really all today.

28.8.12

                District meeting was very good.  We talked and learned about how to begin teaching someone the restored gospel.  Something that really sounded great was what Sister Martin (senior couple) said; "Their heart knows why they are there.  Help them understand it in their mind as well."  Many people who meet with us feel something good, but then put worldly logic to it and loose interest.  If you just think about it, God does exist, and when he exists – all else is true about him.  After our district meeting, we had a power finding exchange.  If you are wondering what a power finding exchange is, look back in my letters a couple weeks and read about it.  J  During the exchange which was with the district leader and his companion we got the contact information from a priest who is interested in the Book of Mormon.  We had a good time during the finding exchange then went to English.  English class went well as normal.  After English, we had dinner at a curry place near the square.  The owners and workers were all from Nepal.  They all were very nice and very interested in who we were.  After we had dinner, we had to rush home to not be late.

 

29.8.12

                We had a nice district lunch.  It was the sisters' turn to pick and they heard about the curry place, where we went the night before, and decided to have it be the district lunch.  We then went singing on the square.  It went well.  We had later that evening a couple lessons, so we left after the singing display to get to them.  We waited at the building for one and then he didn't show up, so we went around the building to try to give tours of our building.  While we walked around, he snuck up behind us and so we went to the building and talked about the Book of Mormon.  We also had a lesson with Ivo about tithing and at first, he wasn't quite sure about it, but now he feels good about it.  Toward the end, well at the end, he said quickly "LET'S PRAY!"  He had to catch his train, so we prayed and ran.  We finished up the evening with a nice lesson with Anna.  The last lesson, we had on plan to watch the Joseph Smith film, but couldn't.  This time, we did and the lesson was a good one.  She said that the video answered many of her questions.  She is a very humble woman.  Lastly… interesting thing of the day: We saw a car with a California license plate driving around!!!  It had no other plates, so it was a California car.  It must have cost a lot to send it.

                Well, maybe not lastly… we were one the square earlier today as well and I saw someone we met last transfer!  It was André from Portugal.  He had gone to a few activities and then had to go back to his country.  He gave us his contact information to give to missionaries there and when we talked to him today, he said that he got a Book of Mormon!  It is great how the church is organized.

30.8.12

                We found out today that our investigator Anna is leaving for a bit!  She said she will be back on the 20^th though, so no worries.  What else today?... We contacted on the streets almost all day!  Good thing to keep in mind during these long blocks of time is that no effort is wasted.  We had very good contacts.  We have a few new people to potentially teach.  We met all three back to back.  .  We talked with him about the plan of salvation.  Sometime, we will meet with him and tell him about how death is not the end.  We see loved ones again and can live with them forever.

31.8.12

                Today was a nice weekly plan.  We took a few hours to plan out the next week and talked about what how we can help our investigators progress in the true gospel of Christ.  ;)  We also had today a couple lessons today.  One with Ivo and a lesson with Libor. They were nice lessons.  We talked about the Book of Mormon some more with Libor and about the Holy Ghost with Ivo.  Ivo is just great.

1.9.12

                Sports day was this morning, but no one showed up.  The branch here has good testimonies.  Then something really awesome happened in priesthood.  The elders' quorum president had a really cool lesson.  It started out with him asking a couple people what our calling is as priesthood holders.  He gave us 3 minutes to find it in the scriptures.  After that, some people answered.  Then he began to explain that he had been praying for guidance for the quorum.  He told us all that as the president of the elders' quorum, he received revelation and was going to share it with us by the power of the Melchizedek priesthood.  He told us he had never received such strong revelation as he had.  What he said is simple in my words, but when he read what he wrote down, it sounded like the Lord talking directly to the Brno branch.  Simply it was about how we have a priesthood duty to open our mouths and talk to people about the gospel.  To get the whole feeling, you would have had to be there.  To me though, being a witness, will always remember the power of those words.  After church, we went to the Martins for bread bowls and soup!  It was SO good.  Especially after fasting.  The soup were a potato kind and another one was chicken gumbo.  They were very heavy soups and very filling.   After that, we went to go teach people on the street.  We met a couple people, but no one really interested.  Nothing else too much.

 

                Slow week… over the past few weeks, we have seen fewer and fewer results, but it we have been working hard.  This is difficult work, but the worth of souls is great in the sight of God, so this work must continue.  Have a great week everyone and be happy, and don't forget to replace fear with faith.

~Elder Bahr