Pokračujme

 June 25, 2012

Hey Family!

Sounds like everyone had a good time on the pioneer trek back home!

 It's been another good week, even if not super eventful. We're continuing to teach our investigator and she is making so much progress! It's really a miracle to see whats happening with her. From the time we first met her, she has completely changed so much, she is happier, she has so much desire to do whats right, and she is experiencing the joy of the gospel! We taught the word of wisdom, and she is making so much progress in stopping smoking. She already hasn't for 4 days now! She just wants to live the gospel and she wants all the blessings associated with it. I feel like we're not even doing that much, but it's all coming from God and His help. The members are catching the excitement of the work as well. They love helping us with her and are really enjoying her at church. The Relief Society usually goes over 20 minutes because they don't want to stop talking! Her baptism is still on date for the 14 of July and everyone is looking forward to it, especially her! I feel it is such a blessing to teach her, and I'm learning a lot in the process.

This week I really studied the Atonement a little more in depth. I really just tried to comprehend more what our Savior went through for each one of us. It really is amazing and such an act of love what He did for each of us. We really never will be able to understand what exactly He went through, but I am so very grateful that He did it. For what He did, we can never do enough to even come close to repaying Him. But He loves us, and that's why He makes up the rest with the Atonement. So why can't we just remember that more often, and just do what little He asks.

I spent one day in Zilina this week on exchanges and worked with Elder Johnson there. It is a beautiful city and I really enjoyed it. We saw some really cool things during that time, and worked our hardest. Here in Trencin, we are definitely seeing miracles though! The work is pressing forward, and I'm grateful to be an active part of it.

So it's been so hot this last week. One night we fell asleep with the window open because it was so hot, but then there was this thunderstorm in Trencin at about 2 in the morning so that woke us up. We had to close the window, but then it was extremely hot again. Oh, humidity. We've had to sleep in a different room this week in our apartment.

So, not too much else.  Elder Zabriskie is still just a great companion and I'm loving him! We're continuing to work hard! Keep praying for us!

sLaskou

-Starsi Salas

Pokračujeme ďale

 June 18, 2012

Hey Everyone!!!

So it's been a good one! We were in Brno this week for part of Thursday and Friday. It was great to see the city again. I really love Brno. I got to see Elders Ozmun and Hansen too so that was great! We learned a lot there and it was a really uplifting trip. On the train ride back, I was with Elders Zabriskie and Tenny and Durrant, and we were just talking about how great our missions are and how much we've changed. It really has been the greatest experience of my life so far. I really love it so much, and I love being here, being around these missionaries who are just so extraordinary, being around these members who have given up so much, and being around these great people in these great countries. It's something else out here, but it's so great! I'm just glad to be a missionary here, to be having these experiences which are really changing me, and to share that which is so great in my life, the gospel!

 

I'm so glad to be with Elder Zabriskie right now though, and we're just working so hard trying our best to help our investigators accept the gospel. Our investigator is doing great! She is still working towards baptism and her date is for the 14 of July! We are really excited that she is progressing so well. She is just accepting everything, and we really see a change that has come over her since she has started "experimenting upon the word", to quote the prophet Alma. She is so much happier and really wants to change her life, and I'm just glad the gospel gives us that opportunity. We're working with a lot of other investigators, but no one really steadily. We're picking up and dropping investigators a lot, so we're really trying to find those who are willing to meet often. We're doing really well though.

 

I have really been studying the gospel of Jesus Christ though even more, just the entire purpose behind missionary work. My testimony of missionary work is growing so much, and I really am just so anxious to share the gospel with those around me. I know that it is so important to declare the gospel and I'm just so glad I have learned this lesson and that I have this opportunity to do so. I really hope you all take that to heart.

 

So have a great week everyone! I love you so much and really appreciate you all. Thanks for all the letters and I hope you have a great day!

sLaskou

-Starsi Salas

Pomalo ale Usilovne

 June 11, 2012

Cau Cau,

So I hope everyone is well this week! It sounds like you're all busy which is good. Trencin is just great still! I just love it so much. So we're still just working really hard trying our best to do everything we can. We had a lot of things fall through this week, but we also saw a lot of great things!

 

We only had one person at church this week, but it was still fine. It was our Investigator who is just doing amazing! She hasn't missed church yet, the members love her, she loves them, and she is just progressing so well! She is preparing for baptism, and even told her kids about it, for the 7 of July! I'm so very excited for that!

 

We're still doing our best to find and teach people, and it is going really well. One thing I realized, is that we find a lot of people who don't really progress at all, but our time isn't wasted. People are finding out more about us, and the church is becoming more well known with every person we talk to. I just thought about how that really helps the church out anyway. We are finding a lot of people though, and we feel so blessed. 

 

One cool experience with finding someone, we we're going home at the end of the day, and I saw this guy sitting down, but it was kind of off our path, so we just kept going. But then I really felt we needed to go back and talk to him, and he turned out to be this really cool guy and gave us his number and we'll probably meet with him soon! It was a really cool experience! We also almost lost contact with this really great guy we were teaching, but we were able to find him again, and he is still willing to meet and learn more, so we're just really excited about him. He really would be such a strength to this branch here in Trencin.

 

Slovak is coming along well. I can now talk at a more normal speed. It's really great though!

I will be in Brno this Friday for the day! We're having a training there so I'm really excited!!!

Today we didn't really do too much, but last P-Day we hiked out to these ruins, and it was really great! 

 

They we're really cool, but we couldn't go in, because it was a Monday (All castles, art galleries, and other such things are closed Mondays). But it still was really cool and I got some pictures.

 

So everyone, have a great week! I really love you all, and I'm glad to hear from you!

sLaskou

-Starsi Salas

Jejda

June 4, 2012

Hey Everyone!!!

So it sounds like things are going really well! Things are great as always here in Slovakia!!! Just loving it!

So last P-Day we went exploring through the forests of Trancin. We were getting ready to leave, when it started raining super hard! We got trapped under this roof for about an hour while it poured. 

 

So we went back to the church building after to change, and decided we would call former investigators because we we're just soaked and not doing so great, ha! We set up this meeting with this guy, and met with him the next day. It was a great meeting! He is this 24ish year old guy who told us he is looking for a way to get closer to God in his life! We told him the way he can do that is through baptism, and he really seemed to like that idea! We set up another meeting, and he didn't show up. We thought that was sort of the end of that, because he wasn't answering his phone. But then he called us a few hours later and told us he was sorry, he had some work he had to do and he was going to come to church on Sunday and bring a friend! So he came to church on Sunday, had a great time and said he's coming next week and set up another meeting with us. It really is a miracle that we're finding these prepeared people!!! The best part though is that the members were talking to him, and he told them that he had really been thinking about these things a lot, and then we called him! So that was really just quite a blessing that we are able to teach him right now! 

We are also teaching this lady who is just loving everything about the church. She loves the members and they really have just taken her in, so it's really great to see that! We found this family, who are really nice, but didn't really have interest in the gospel. However we taught them twice now, and they are really starting to see how these things make sense and may be true! They are starting to see how the gospel can bless them!

So we're basically just seeing the hand of the Lord in our work and it's really quite a blessing to see that. 

I'm really loving Trencin and my faith and testimony are growing a lot here. Even though there are a lot of people who are stuck in their traditions, there are those who are prepared to hear the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ! I have seen miracle after miracle here in this country, and I know that the things I am doing are exactly what God wants me to do. I know this is His church here on the earth today, and that He loves and cares about us so much. I just hope I can do everything the Lord expects of me in this short time here on my mission. Love you all, have a great week! Thanks for all you all do for me!

sLaskou

-Starsi Salas

Spring Rain

May 28, 2012

Hey Everyone!

So it's raining today, but it's still hot. You just have to love it! So if you were wondering, yes, Trencin does have a castle sitting right above the city!

 

It's been really an amazing week though! We just had really good experiences. We have been finding a good amount of people lately! It's been really cool to see that the Lord really is preparing and leading us to these people! We had such a great experience though. We we're tracting at these houses, and this guy was on the side yard so we yelled at him, and he told us he didn't live there and didn't have interest. So then we rang the doorbell, some lady answered and we were talking to her for a bit and it was going alright, then this guy comes out from the side yard (different guy) and starts telling us he has cancer and what can we do to help him, and then the lady went back inside the house. So it's just kind of out of control at this point. We just started telling this guy though that God is there and that He does love him, and that even though he has cancer things are still alright. He started to really start listening more, so then I felt inspired to share Alma 40:23 with him. That was the one, the verse he needed to hear. He asked if we believe those words are true and I said I know they are. He let us in and we talked about the Plan of Salvation. He just turned so very hopeful, and really gained a new light in him! He just kept saying he wants to come to church and that he was so glad that we came and he feels so much happier! I'm glad we could fill this man's life with hope and joy! We're really excited to meet with him again this week! 

 

We were able to get 2 investigators to church this week which was really cool! They really enjoyed it and the members took good care of them. The relief society started setting up lessons for us with one of the investigators, so that was really amazing! We just really feel so blessed at this point!

 

Our baptismal date investigator is really busy at this time, so we may have to wait a few weeks for her. She is a single mother, and is just having some challenges, and isn't having much time at the moment, but she's doing well!

 

One thing I've really been studying this week is the why of the gospel. Why is the gospel such a great thing in our lives? I sat down and studied and made a big list one day. Some of the things I decided though are that we have a knowledge of the plan of salvation, which tells us exactly where we came from, why we are here, what we need to do here on earth to be happy and to return to live with God, and we know where we are going after this life. We have the fullness of the gospel, and with it, great joy in our lives as we embrace and follow the gospel. There are so many other things as well!

 

Other questions I got. The Trencin branch is one of the oldest branches in Slovakia, not sure how old though. We meet in a rented building on the second floor. There are about 50,000 people in this city. We contact people just on the streets and wherever we can. There is a main center, but missionaries have always been there in the past. We're finding some new places to go. We walk a lot and it's really good. Nice for a change rather than trams and buses.

 

I love you all family, thanks for all that you do for me. I really appreciate the emails and prayers! Have a great week!

Zdravim z Slovenska

 May, 21, 2012

Dobrý Deň!!

Hey everyone! It's been really such a great week here in Trencin!!1 I love it so much! It's really a lot smaller than Brno, we don't take any buses and there aren't even any trams, but we walk everywhere! I really like it! 

 

So the Slovak language. It's really not all that different than Czech, it's a lot softer though. They do use a lot of different words, but most of the time the spelling difference is only minimal. My understanding of it is pretty good, but I can't speak very well yet. Most all people in Slovakia understand Czech, but I definitely need to learn Slovak if I want to understand them. Once I have it in my head I'll be able to understand better. It's going really well though! I always had hoped I could come to Slovakia, so here I am! 

 

So at church there were 6 members. There is the Branch President and his wife and mom, 2 other women, and another man. We only have church for 2 hours. It was really good though! I was able to bear my testimony during church, which was really a great experience! There are about 20 missionaries her in Slovakia compared to 50 in the Czech Republic I think. The Branch President here is great though! He works in Plzen in the Czech Republic during the week, but he is really a great guy!

 

So we've already had some really cool experiences here in Trencin! We have met this guy who met missionaries in the past. He said that they really left him with a good feeling though, and that he wanted to meet with us sometime! We also met this one family tracting who invited us in. It was really great to share the gospel with them! They didn't seem extremely interested, but said we could come back anytime we want, so we're definitely going to go teach them again! The branch here really needs them! One woman is hopefully going to be baptised the first Saturday in June, so we're really excited about that! The other missionaries have done a great job with her so she's really prepared! 

 

So other than that, we've just been working hard, talking with everyone we can and trying to find these prepared people to teach! This transfer is looking really bright, and we have a lot of good work to do here!!!

Hope everyone is doing really well back home, and I love and miss you all! Have a great week everyone!

sLaskou

-Starsi Salas

New Transfer!

 May 16, 2012

Hey everyone!

So thanks everyone for the call! It was really great to talk to you all this Sunday! I'm glad to hear you are all doing well, and that things are alright back home!

So there is some big news this transfer! I have finished my service in Brno and have been sent to serve in the city of Trencin! In, Slovakia! So I now am serving in a new country, learning a new language (Slovak). That's something, right. My companion is Elder Zabriskie, who is from Utah. 

I have had several occasions to talk to him before, and he is a really great guy. He has served in Kosice and Bratislava. So we just got to Trancin, and I'm completely out of energy from dragging around all my luggage. It's a really cool city though, with a big castle overlooking it! It's really beautiful. Plus, there are actually mountains in Slovakia, not just small hills, so it's pretty great! I'm loving it already. I'll only be here 1 transfer though, as I don't have a Slovak Visa. There aren't any other missionaries here in Trancin, and our district is with the Elders in Zilina. There aren't any sisters in Slovakia. 

The branch here has about 6 active members from what I hear. I'm enthusiastic to get to work! There is a lady here very close to baptism!

So my last week in Brno though. It's been a really cool one. Elder Hansen and I tried to finish off the transfer strong. It was really cool. Elder Hansen is with Elder Stimpson, so he's in good hands. Our investigator Pavlina is doing really well! She is progressing so well, and really is just so excited to hear about the gospel. She's so very open to learn more, it's great! Still not quite ready for baptism yet though. It's just so exciting to teach her though, she really makes it a great experience, and I'm definitely very uplifted every time after we teach her. The other investigators are doing really well as well. They don't have too much time to meet, but we were working on meeting with them multiple times a week.

We found in Brno though this new place to talk to people. It's right buy this business center, so we get a lot of people who are business people. It was really cool to talk to them.

It was sad to leave behind Brno though. So many great memories, so many amazing members. The members there are all so great, and I really love them all. They are such good people and really are willing to help us out when we need them to.

Not too much else to report, just excited to work hard this transfer! I'll hopefully have more to write next week! Hope you all have a great week, and love you all!

Slaskou

-Starsi Salas

1 Year!

 May 7, 2012

 

Hey Everyone!

So yes Friday was the 1 year mark, but it just makes me realize how much I still have to do in such a little amount of time. Time to really step up the missionary work! 

So a question I had was how we get around Brno. Well, we have trams here, also called a Šalina. They are really cool, I had never been in a city with trams before so it's really cool. We take them everywhere, and there are some busses here as well that we take. Trams are better though. The scary thing about them are that they have the right of way before anything else. So they have the right of way over cars, and people, yes people. So watch out. We love talking to people on trams though. They can't get away from you!

Things have been really well this week though! We met with this guy who used to live in New York and Florida for 40 years or something but is Czech. He is super nice and calls himself our "Czech Dad" so it's pretty funny. He just keeps wanting to tell us he'll take us places and to dinner and stuff so it's hard to get to the gospel, but he did accept a Book of Mormon! He is a really nice guy.

 

We are still meeting with this girl, Pavlina, who is still doing so great! She is still extremely cautious, but is progressing so much and comes to church about 75% of the time. She is really great! We went through the plan of salvation with her over the course of 3 or so lessons and she is really just learning so much. She is so excited to learn and to grow it's amazing!

 

We also had set up a meeting with this one guy several times, but he kept canceling at the last minute. But on Saturday, he called and asked if we were going to meet that day. We said sure. We had never met him so we went to the lesson, and he turned out to be this really cool Vietnamese guy who grew up in the Czech Republic! It was a really great lesson, and he's reading and praying about the Book of Mormon!

 

We had this really amazing lesson in Elders quorum this week. Brother Saunders is the Elders quorum president. He is from England and doesn't speak the best Czech. He really gives the best lessons I have ever heard though! He is so inspiring and motivating, and gets his point across however he can! This week he talked about how we need to learn our duty, and then perform it. He told a story about how his dad was a new convert in the military and was called to the branch presidency in Hong Kong in the first branch. There were 8 members, 6 were Americans in the military, 2 were natives. Someone from the brethren came, gave him the Melchizedek Priesthood, and some manuals on it, told him to learn everything he could, and to get to work. The church grew a lot in the the next 3 years, to about 300 members! It was a really cool story.

 

It was kind of hard to get lessons set up this week, but we did our best and really saw some tender mercies of the Lord. I really have felt the Savior's hand in my life in the last few days, and felt how we really can receive strength from Him and His Atonement, which can help make us better, as well as receiving strength from the prayers of others.

 

So thank you everyone for everything you do for me, and thanks for all the prayers and emails. I really love you all a lot. Thanks again. I really appreciate it. Have a great week and I'll talk to some of you next week on Mother's day!

sLaskou

-Starsi Salas