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Zdravim vas jeste jednou tenhle krasny tyden zPardubic!

Aug 13, 2012

Hope everyone is doing really well! Oh wow how time is going by so very fast! It's really amazing to me how that happens. It's been such a great weekend this week! I have been loving the work as usual and it's going really well! 

So, great stories of the week, first, this guy Elder Simcock and I found on exchanges in Jihlave is working towards baptism and has been to church two weeks in a row! It's great to see that and I'm really glad we were lead by the spirit to this man there. I don't get to teach him, but I will get to hear about how he progresses! I'm really excited to hear how it goes with him!
 

I was in Jicin on exchanges too this week with Elder Clyde. Wow what a great Elder. It was so good to work with him, and we definitely saw some great things here on exchanges. I'm really glad I got to work with him. Jicin is a great city, it's pretty small, but is so great! I really loved working there for what little time I had.

We have been continuing to teach and find those who are prepared. We have been teaching a young man still and he is really great and progressing so well! He definitely loves the gospel, and is working towards baptism next month. He's just so humble, and I feel so blessed that we were lead to him as we were. We found him, because we set a goal on our way to another appointment to find someone and get their phone number. I really believe and know that when we set goals and make plans that we can achieve whatever the Lord wants us to. I really know this to be true.

We also have been teaching this new guy who is super prepared as well. We will meet with him again this week so I'll let you all know how it goes.
We had this miracle when we found this guy  tracting, and when we came back to teach him again, he referred us to his brothers and sisters who also live in Pardubice. So this week we get to go visit all of them, which we're really excited to go do!

I've just been feeling so very blessed and uplifted by the Lord this whole transfer so far. It's already about halfway over and I don't really know how that's possible. We're just working as hard as we can and seeing all the miracles that we can! I love this great work and I'm excited to continue every week. I hope you all too can experience the sweet joys of missionary work in your lives!
Hope you all have a great week this week. I love you all, thanks you for your prayers, and wish you all the best. I'll be praying for you too!

sLaskou
-Starsi Salas

Pardubicky

 August 6, 2012

Hey Family!!!

Great week this week. We've been working hard and seeing great things! We had a great day especially on Saturday. We found this really great kid from Slovakia!  He is great. He is working here in Pardubice. It was really such an experience to talk to him. At first he had no interest, but we kept talking and the more we talked, the more the spirit touched him and he opened up and we set up a meeting. I felt so blessed that we had been led to him, and I'm really excited to meet with him this week! It's just such a blessing to know that the Lord is working right alongside us, and that He really wants to help us succeed, and when we put our trust in Him, we do succeed! We are led to the elect. I'm so grateful for that. We also were led to this other man who was just so open to the message, and was just such a great guy. I'm just so grateful for the spirit directing my life at this time!

We had another Book of Mormon moment. We were talking to this guy outside this hotel in Pardubice. It's like a normal hotel, but people stay in it long term. We were talking to this guy though, and all these people in the hotel above us were yelling at us and laughing at us. As we were walking away from the guy later (he was a really great guy) we were talking about how we walked right by the great and spacious hotel, with it's inhabitants pointing and mocking. It was really fun to see the relation!!

One of our investigators though made some great progress this week! He rode his bike 2 hours to come to church! He said he feels really welcome and safe from the world at church. It was really great to see his faith in that, and how he was able to see the blessings.

I got to spend a day in Hradec Kralove though on exchanges. It was really great, and I was glad to be back there. It's a really beautiful city.

So I found was I was looking for last week though. On page 120 of the book "Our Heritage", President David O. McKay invites us as members to bring at least one of our beloved friends every year to accept the blessings, the peace and the joy of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that everyone can do that, because a Prophet of the Lord told us we could! Like I said before, with much prayer, I know all of you can achieve this goal. I didn't get too many commitments to do so last week, so I'll ask for them again. Will you all commit to follow the Prophet David O. McKay's counsel before I return home next year?

Love you all family! You are all great and I enjoy hearing from all of you! Keep up the good work you all do.

sLaskou

-Starsi Salas

 P.S. Oh, by the way for Eric, we're teaching these 2 Bulgarians guys, and they told us they would refer all their friends. They're super open, it's too bad they can't help our the church there right now. Also, we met a professional basketball player for Europe. Don't know who he was though

Pardubice

 July 30, 2012

Hey Everyone!

Great week! I'm really glad to be here in Pardubice right now! It's just such a great city and full of miracles!


So this week we had Zone Conference in Prague, which as some of you asked, is about an hour train ride to Prague from Pardubice. It was really great! As zone leaders, Elder Heath and I gave a training, which was definitely scary to do, but it turned out really well. We have 12 missionaries in our zone and they are all great! So it was a great time there.

We've been so extremely busy, and I don't know where the time is going. It really is flying by so fast, and I am really loving every moment of it. We've been continuing to teach our family and they are doing good. They really love the gospel. We had a great miracle this week where we were able to give a priesthood blessing to the father because he was sick and he was healed from that. Such a testimony builder to me in the power of the priesthood actually being the power of God. I know that to be true.
We've been kind of slow at finding new people to teach, but this week should definitely be a lot better as we have a lot more time to find.

A great thing happened this week though. We got a branch mission leader finally! We had a meeting with him and he really raised my vision of the work. We're definitely going to do our best to see every miracle we can this transfer. He is really going to help us work with the members better so we can teach their friends and family. He has really raised my vision of the work though, and I'm so excited to work here right now!

By the way, I have a commitment for everyone. In the book "Our Heritage" one of the prophets (forgot which one, I'll look again) commits all church members to bring at least one person in the church every year. Theres about 1 year until I get home, so I commit everyone to really pick up their missionary efforts and bring someone into the gospel before I get home! Remember 1 Nephi 3:7, put a lot of prayer into it, and get started! I expect to hear all your commitments to do so next week. I promise a greater joy in your lives as you do so.

So I'm just really ready to keep working hard here right now. The elect are here, we're finding them, and the work is true!
Keep being great everyone! I love you all and pray for you! Thanks for everything!!!

sLaskou

-Starsi Salas

Novy Tyden!

July 23, 2010

Zdravime vas zPardubic!
Hope everyone is doing great! It's been a really great week here, and one of the busiest weeks of my mission! There's so much going on! So Pardubice is great! It's been pretty warm these past few days, but not really hot. It just got pretty hot today though. It's interesting how it's so close to Hradec Kralove, but it's really quite a different city. It's definitely newer, and a lot more compact, where as Hradec is much more spread out. Another interesting fact, Hradec Kralove and Pardubice are known for having a rivalry. I love both the cities though. 

So church was great this Sunday! A lot of the members recognized me, I was really so excited to see them! It's really great to be back. I'm definitely here to work though. There were about 40-45 at church this Sunday. The really cool thing is I got to see this really great member who I helped re-activate here in Hradec! He taught the Sunday school class, and seems to be doing really great! I really love him a lot.

So we're teaching this family and they are great!  They just love the gospel. They have given us several referrals too, which has really helped us to be a lot busier here! There are the parents, and 6 kids. It's really great to teach them, and I definitely love them a lot. We've really set a focus this transfer of finding young single adults, who can really build up the church here. It's going really well and we already have found a few!
 

So as Zone Leaders, we have a lot to do. There are 12 missionaries in our zone, us included. There are 5 zones total in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. We recently were in Prague to have a Zone Leader meeting to plan what we would teach our missionaries to help the mission improve. I'm really excited to serve as a Zone Leader, and I'm definitely nervous, but so prepared to do everything I can to serve the Lord and these missionaries as best I can!

Elder Heath and I are doing great. I'm learning so much from him, especially about how to find new investigators. It's great to be back with him, and it's the first time I have served with a missionary from my group from the MTC since I got here. So we're doing great! I've definitely seen some miracles as we've served together, as we go out of our way to find new investigators. It's been such a blessing to me.

It sounds like everyone is doing really good back home. I wish you all the best, and I'm always glad to hear from you! Keep doing the great work you're doing and keep sharing the gospel! Love you all!!!

sLaskou
-Starsi Salas

July 18, 2012

Uz jsem zpatky!!!

Hey Everyone!!!
So it's been transfers! 

It's been a really exciting one this time!
First off, Trencin. Our investigator was baptised this Saturday! It was really cool! She was so prepared and we were really sure it was going to happen. So I had the privledge to do that! We had the baptism in the Vah, the river right by the church building. The really cool part is that just like she really wanted, it rained at her baptism! She said she prayed that it would. She really likes the rain. It was a really great service though, and the members were great and she is so ready to continue on as an active member! It really was a blessing to help the branch in Trencin accept a new member, as they have not really seen success for a long time. The last baptism was 3 years ago, and it was good to give them hope for the future. Elder Zabriskie confirmed her a member on Sunday. One member, the branch President's mother had us and her over for dinner, and it was a really great experience for us all. This member has such a desire to share the gospel and has helped us out so much this last transfer. It was a great end of the transfer. 

I loved my time with Elder Zabriskie and we really worked hard and did our best there in Trencin! I love Trencin so much and will miss it there.

This last week we were able to see some really cool things. We finally were able to meet with this one investigator that we have. It was a really great lesson. He was really open and accepted to read and pray, and to be baptised when he knows it's all true. It was such a blessing for me to see this success right as I was leaving the area, and I know the next missionaries will do great there. Elder Zabriskie is staying there and will train a new missionary.

As for the new transfer, I'm going to an area I'm partially familiar with. I have been assigned to serve as a Zone Leader in the city of Pardubice, with Elder Heath!!! I'm really excited about this! So Pardubice is the only city in the mission with missionaries that attends in a different city. We go to church in Hradec Kralove, which is my first city for anyone who remembers that. So we will be spending some time there in Hradec Kralove this transfer. I'm really excited to be here. It's definitely a blessed opportunity to serve these members again, and to serve and love these people here. Elder Heath is from my MTC group, and is just such a great guy. I love him so much. He is a really hard worker and I know we'll serve great together this transfer. He is from Masachusetts.

So everything else is going great! We have a really great area right now and are teaching a family. They all have baptisimal dates, and I'm really excited to be working with them! Things are looking really good, and I'm so excited to work this transfer! Hope you all have a great week! Again I enjoy all your emails and your spiritual experiences you all have every week. Love you all!

sLaskou

-Starsi Salas

Posledni Tyzden

July 9, 2012

Hey Everyone!

So it's my last week here in Slovakia. We will have transfers next Wednesday, so you won't hear from me until then. It was great to hear from all of you. Sounds like everything is going really well! The river rafting trip sounded really great, as it always is! Glad to hear things are good, and glad to hear your great church experiences as well.

 

So this week was good, but a bit harder to work. It is now extremely hot and today is the first cooler day all week. Half of our members were in the temple in Freiburg Germany this week, so they couldn't help us this week with missionary work, but it was really good anyways!

 

First, our investigator. She is still doing so great! She is still very excited for her baptism this Saturday! We're definitely looking forward to it as well. The members as well are just really excited for it, and so there is a good atmosphere here. We went to Zilina with her and another member this Saturday to see a baptism there. It was really great! She was able to meet the members there in Zilina and build relationships with them. It was just a great event overall.

 

We are working with this inactive member, who is just the coolest guy ever! He's about 25 and just really great. He works on Sundays though so can't come to church. We had a really good lesson with him though and he said he would pray and search for new work to be able to keep that commandment. He said he wasn't going to be able to make it to church this Sunday though. So church is about to start, and all of a sudden, he comes in! I was so excited to see him. It just proves that he really has real intent and he really wants these blessings in his life. I can just see how much of a strength he could be to this branch in Trencin, and I'm so grateful to see him working so hard to do that. He is great!

 

Elder Zabriskie and I are still trying really hard to find new investigators. We haven't found any in 2 weeks now, so we're still doing our best to find them. We haven't been teaching very much because of that, but we still have really high hopes! Trencin is still just full of miracles waiting to happen!

 

So everything is going really well though, and we're just looking to finish the transfer really strong! I've been working a lot this last week on humility, and recognizing that without the Lord's help, we really can't do anything. I really can't deny how without the help of our Father in heaven, the work here doesn't and won't progress. I've also been strengthening my testimony that if we really study the scriptures and look to our Father in heaven, He does show us His will, and He does show us truth. If only everyone could realize this simple truth, that if they humble themselves and seek the will of their God, He will show them how to live happily and safely.

Thank you all for your letters of love and support. I hope you all have a great week! Love you all!!!

sLaskou

-Starsi Salas

July 2, 2012

Vela Stastia

Hey Everyone!

So sounds like everything is going really well still! Glad to hear it. Thanks for all the emails again. I really appreciate hearing all the spiritual highlights of everyone's week.

 

So this week was a really really good one. First of all, the mission. As a mission we are doing so well! The mission has seriously never been doing so good since I got here. In Slovakia this transfer alone, there are 8 baptisms. Thats 8 baptisms in 2 months, more then all of Slovakia got in 2010! We are really just doing so well right now, as Elder Christofferson told us, the work is starting to speed up here, and we're so lucky to be here during it. I really feel that I am the best missionary I have been since getting here too.

 

So, right now it's is so hot. It was the most difficult fast Sunday I have ever had, and I went home and drank liters and liters of water and a liter of chocolate milk. It was really hot. Elder Zabriskie and I we're talking about fasting in relation to missionary work though, and it was really cool. We see how in both cases, we give up something that's not necessarily a bad thing (24 hours of food and water or 2 years of giving up things to be a missionary). The reason we do it though, is for something better. By doing so, we show God that we are willing to draw closer to Him, by following His commandments, and He blessed us with spiritual strength and knowledge. It's really a great trade off.

 

Things are so good here though. Our investigator is still working towards baptism, and we'll probably be going to Zilina this weekend with her to see a baptism there, so we're looking forward to that. We had a lesson on Alma 32 and asked her what we can do to nourish our "trees"and she knew all the things we should do. It was a really cool lesson. She is definitely going to be ready on the 14 of July and we're looking forward to it as well as she is!

 

We had so many cool experiences this week, and I just can't tell all of them. There was this one where this guy kept doing everything he could to disagree with us, whenever we found a common ground, so we had a cool Zeezrom moment and caught him in his words. I learned that if we really teach the gospel, we cannot be caught in our own words, because we are speaking nothing but true doctrine.

 

I have been looking a lot at the Christlike attribute of Humility this week. It is such an important attribute. When we are humble, we admit that we don't have it all figured out. We know that we can't rely wholly on our own wisdom and learning, or the wisdom and learning of others. We realize that only through God can we learn what the truth is and what isn't. In John 5:30, we can see that even Jesus Christ didn't rely on His own learning and understanding, but that of His Father in heaven. Even Jesus Christ was humble and willing looked to His Father for the answers. If only we all could do that. I face that everyday, people who just aren't willing to admit that maybe they don't have it all figured out, and it's sad to see, but we just have to find those who are willing. Humility - 2 Nephi 9:42-43

 

Another word of advice, the more we go out of our way to give to the Lord, the more He will go out of His way to bless us. I'm really learning that a lot.

 

So everything else is going really great! We're really trying to help others as best we can and we're really seeing miracles this transfer! The work is pressing on, the work is true and the church is true! Just remember that, and keep working hard everyone! Keep doing all that you do, you really help us out here a lot with your prayers! Remember, sacrifice obedience and faith=miracles!

Love you all! Have a great week!

sLaskou

-Starsi Salas