Week 72 -- Každý den s usměvem

Also this week was full of a lot of goodbyes but it wasn't until we were saying goodbye to the strong members of the Jicin ward, that I cried. not me alone but even the members. There was such a different spirit at church. Something about the testimonies that were shared, touched all of our hearts and that same spirit carried us throughout the meetings. I was so overwhelmed with joy when I bore my testimony that I think my smile was what brought me to tears. I love the Czechs. I was sent here to serve them and they in return changed my life and I will always be in debt to what they taught me. Not only did the Czechs themselves show me how to apply the gospel into life but Heavenly Father has proved multiple times that he knows these people personally. I am forever in his debt and will always rely on Jesus Christ, my Savior when I need help. I can not deny what I have experienced and what I have felt to be true. This is the true church, God and Jesus Christ live, and I love it all. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

See you all soon friends, I cant wait to hug you all! 

srdečně, 

Sestra Hale

Note: We were able to pick up Melanie at the mission office in Prague, and then have another welcome at the Phoenix airport on her return. It is so nice to be reunited. 

Week 71 Clearly I am losing my mind

THIS is the second to last email I will send out as a full time missionary. 

As for recaps of this week, here they are:

Z is a golden sweet soul and he loved church, we last taught him the law of chastity and tithing and word of wisdom and other laws and ordinances. It all makes sense and he is applying the Goapel so well into this life now so he can have a big spiritual experience when he is baptized. One thing that always gets to him and that he is so excited to have is the Holy Ghost. I can tell his conformation will be one of the highlights of his mortal life. He is preparing so well and is doing all he can to be ready. We LOVE our Z! Keep him in your prayers. 

This last week I had the opportunity to go on an exchange with Sestra Bailey. We were in MB and it was a total finding day. Who better to contact all day with, than Sestra Bailey? We had a BLAST and found 4 or 5 total new investigators for that area. Heavenly Father is blessing us soooo much right now. It's so exhilarating! It's also so hot, which makes the work even better because we feel even more like we are hard working missionaries. Yesterday we taught sooo many people all over the city. We even found a really cute pregnant girl who is so merry and excited to have her baby. We previously decided to contact about baptism. That was way inspired because the first words out of this woman's mouth was "where do I baptize my baby? How can I do that? Do I have to be baptized?" What an awesome moment in teaching! We will see her Monday. Why are we being so blessed right now? No idea, but we are not letting the Lord down and we are acting on all of these opportunities to teach.

 My last training happened this Wednesday. It was so good and also so sad at the end because The Holts (office couple I started the mission with), me, Starsi Vernard, and all of the McConkies shared our departing testimonies. I cried like a baby during the closing prayer. and all throughout training. I love this mission and people and the Czechs. I love the Czechs with all my heart. They have changed me forever. Although it was sad, we are all excited for the change of the new mission president this coming week and for progressional changes in general. Change is the only constant in life so we might as well enjoy it! 

s laskou,

Sestra Hale

Fun Facts of the Czech Republic: the walls have no insulation and the toilets and sinks are in different rooms. 

I love you all and will talk to you back on MONDAY next week. The 4th. 

Week 70 -- Updates

I honestly don't know what to write anymore. 

Guess what? Thursday night President McConkie called us at approximately 8:50 pm and told us the Holt's replacement is coming sooner than expected. Yay! They got their visas! What does this mean for us? Well, I'll try to explain it simply. 

There are not enough sisters in the mission, thus we are covering 2 areas. 

I leave soon, only one sister is coming in. Still a shortage.

The senior couple need an apartment when they come

We are being booted out of Prague and consecrating ourselves in Mlada Boleslav

We are to be out of the apartment (moved and cleaned in detailed) by Monday. 

For the rest of the transfer we will still kind of work in Prague as we try to transition the people we are teaching to the elders who are staying. 

Probably until September, there will not be any sisters serving in Prague. 

SAD!  BUT we are happy to be closer working with those that need us in Mlada Boleslav. 

As far as Z goes, he is AWESOME! I haven't personally seen him for over a week because we had 2 exchanges this week Sestra Cade and I were in Prague both times. BUT Z listened to a conference talk by President Monson and he was also looking around and listened to a talk from general conference about being a Child of God (The night before he prayed to truly know if he was a child of God)  SO cool. we are always on the edge of our seats on the phone after his lessons. He is our favorite!!!!! 

We had a culture night in Jicin this last week. It was a concert of folk music from the Czech Republic. Pretty cool, I was distracted by a cute baby sitting in front of us and the kostel interior. The band also was wearing fancy blouses from times of old. It was pretty nice. 

Love you all! Stay tuned for the last email next week! 

Sestra Hale

p.s. funny moment: a man took a picture of us contacting on the metro. Awkward. #missionariesonthemetro

Sooo many other things happened but I'd rather tell you all in person. Ask me about the bible meeting at the cafe this last week!

Week 69 -- Ahoj Všem!!!

All in all this week has been wild and successful. We have 2 golden golden investigators. One in each area. In MB its Z and he is really feeling the difference of this message in his life. He said he is happier and feels the Holy Ghost a lot and he even wanted to get baptized earlier so he could have this with him always! He's also reading through the BoM with speed and understanding. We are always in Awe after our lessons with him. We are meeting with him today. He is SO Awesome! Keep him in your prayers :)

The other in Prague is H who went MIA for the last 2 weeks but right before the ward grill we were able to meet with him and even teach with (awesome recent convert) S which ended up being a HUGE miracle. In our lesson, we followed up on H reading and praying and since he didn't do either one of those, we taught him right then and there WHY we read and pray daily in the first place. By the end of the lesson he said "well..I should be reading this every day and praying. I will do that!' YES YOU WILL H! It will bless your life! After the lesson H said he hadn't seen the entire building so we started a building tour and went to the baptismal font where the climax hit. S said he hadn't been there since he was baptized himself. So S shared his amazing experience and H asked all sorts of details such as how it looks, who is there, what is said, how far the water goes up, what happens the day after, etc. BOMB OF PERFECT! Lastly, H stayed for the grill and met and talked to a good handful of members who he also asked what their story is like, how they prayed before baptism versus after, etc. H is all about the details. Which I personally love because we are not afraid of hiding anything. I'm not afraid to tell him that going to church is a commandment. And why? Let's read from the scriptures, etc. There are so many sources of truth we have and all of his questions are being answered and he is feeling it. Oh! He also texted us after he prayed at home. He usually doesn't know what to say but he shared with us his experience and wow. The Lord is truly blessing us in our areas.

So in MB we are teaching our favorite Mongolian member E. We are doing Personal Progress with her and it is SO fun! Last week she forgot to prepare a lesson about service so last week we helped her study and get an outline for a lesson then yesterday she comes and said "This hour will be SO good!" Then she whips out chips, 2 bags of candy and a plate with cut sweet bread on it from her backpack and taught us about service using her experiences through school (fundraising money for a place in Afrika), she used the scriptures, and even had photos to go along with what she was talking about. Ohhhh we love E.

This week for English in MB we went on a trip to the Vietnamese tiny grocery store. We walked around in groups with papers and pointed out things and wrote them down in Czech and English. I was with Jiří, the younger, and Vladimir. It was so funny. The store owners kept looking at us and watching us.  I learned the word for diapers is pleny. Then Jiří, the younger, bought ice cream for our group and on our way back to the office we chanted that we were the best group with our arms in the air. It was a lot of fun.

We went on exchanges again this week with Sestra Humphries and DeMann and that was a ball. I like Sestra DeMann.

LASTLY on Sunday we were in Jicin and they called a bishop! The former branch president President Zbranek is the bishop, former 1 counselor in the presidency was Pres. Podlipny, now 1st counselor in the bishopric, and Brother Neckař who served a mission in Idaho and is the coolest man) is the 2nd counselor instead of Elder Gunnel (our senior missionary). It was an awesome Sunday.

Have a crazy week, cause I know we will! This week we are going on exchanges with the CBUD sestry and also Evie McConkie. Wish us luck !!

--Sestra Hale

 First ever Prague Ward Grill

Trip to the wilderness 

Week 68 -- A Happy Week

Here we are in Prague and Mlada Boleslav and we have had yet another amazingly happy week. In a leadership meeting called Mission Leadership Council we talked a lot about those special converting moments when we change from doing the work out of duty to doing the work out of love...we honestly are feeling this every. single. day. I hit that a while ago and Sestra Fred too and I think it's also rubbing off onSestra Cade so much that her personality is coming out more and more and it's so awesome! We are constantly in contact with our investigators, we are running around and are being SO amazingly blessed with the people we meet. We are having a ton of opportunities to teach and gather the Czechs to the Gospel. We are mostly excited about our member lesson in Stare Boleslav with Sestra Marsikova. That is a miracle in and of itself. Stare Boleslav is between MB and Prague and sweet Sestra Marsikova was willing to drive out to teach a lesson with us. He was originally a referral from someone being taught in Slovakia. He has 2 kids. I have only met one daughter and have already created the plan to steal her because she is SO darling! (Plus she has a sweet cowlick that makes her hair stick up and I think we can bond over that) Ivan is kind of hard to read but he wants to be baptized and is getting used to prayer. He says he doesn't ever know what to say but when he prays its so sincere and the Spirit is evident. 

Another reason we are so happy is our straight up MIRACLE man in Mlada Boleslav! Last week we were on exchanges and met Z on the street. NOTE: The Zone Leaders texted us a challenge to put someone on date in a street contact. This came to pass with Z and he is 200% proof that God prepares the souls here. He has had past experiences that have lead him to ponder the doctrine we are teaching, he loves that we can live forever with our families and understands that when he is in the Celestial Kingdom he will be able to visit his family in the other kingdoms, etc. We have met with him 3 times and every. single. time. we leave with HUGE grins because it's literally hard to believe he exists. He sent us his favorite scriptures in the BoM, he is already in 1 Nefi 17, he asks 'golden' questions that we have the simple doctrine to answer with, etc.  Z will be baptized in the next 4 weeks. We are praying that he will also feel ready sooner for his date on July 2nd. 

Oh my gosh I cannot even describe the joy we are feeling. This companionship is united, the work is always moving in the right direction, and we are on top of soooo many things and enjoying the crazy ride the entire time. We are working hard and playing hard. 

Something else this week was a small but spiritual moment for me. We met with a less active whose brother recently passed away and she said it caused her to wonder if what she believed to be true, was actually true. According to her studies, it's confirmed that the life after death is true but she asked "Where is my brother right now" So I whipped out my little pictures that I used a lot with Sestra Stokes and took out the Duchovni Svet (spirit world) And in one sentence I told her "he is being taught in the Spirit world about our Savior Jesus Christ and is being given a chance to accept Him". It was so small and the conversation moved on but I have No Doubts about the Gospel. If we are ever stumped on the street by an anti Christ or angry person, I enjoy studying it out in my mind and heart using sources like scriptures and talks to find the truth and to reconfirm my testimony. 

There are times when we question our religion. I can say that it all starts with faith and as we move on and act on our faith we have experiences that give us knowledge of what we hoped to be true. I know Jesus Christ is our Savior. He loves us, he established his church for us, he died for us, and he continues to give us revelation through our Prophet Thomas S Monson. We are a perfect church full of imperfect people, isn't that so great? 

-Sestra Hale

P.S. if you want a laugh here it is. Yesterday  we were teaching someone on a tram and I lost my balance for a second because I was getting a pamphlet out of my bag. The tram jolted or braked..I honestly don't know, and I caught my balance on the pole which a innocent bystander man was already holding so if you can imagine this with me: I quickly and firmly held a man's hand on the tram for probably the longest 2.5 seconds of my life.  The air felt so awkward  and we could tell he tried to escape our presence but couldn't because the tram was so packed. That's me. Sestra Trapná (Sister Embarassing)

 Lunch with the Jicin Elders in the Mexican Dungeon -- never again!

the Zoo Zamek (the Zoo Chateau) 

Week 67 -- A trip to the Zoo

There comes a point in everyday -usually when we go to bed- that I can't get my thoughts together and my brain is foggy and full of a lot of things we have to do, with people I forgot to pray for, with funny stories I remember and want to tell my comps, or when I just shut off and go into Sestra Hale land somewhere in space. These moments don't last long but they definitely happen. Right now that's kind of happening because we are taking it one day at a time and the second that one day is done and accounted for in the journal, it's kind of forgotten. Not in a bad way but there is too much to do the next day that we need more brain space for those worries and thoughts and inspiration. 

Last P Day we went to the Prague Zoo with our Prague district. It was awesome and we saw all sorts of animals. the most exciting parts were the elephants because a baby elephant threw a small fit and ran away from us, and when we went to see the alligators there was a turtle sitting on top of the alligator. It looked so majestic.

Church in Prague was awesome. We were up for translating and that was a party on its own. We sit in the other room with the speaker overhead to listen to and then have a little tiny microphone thing to talk quietly into for the people in the sacrament meeting room with headphones to listen to. But some late comers joined us who also needed translation but we ran out of headphones so they sat next to us and now we were talking louder and had witnesses to look at us as we would occasionally get lost and make a face then testify about what we think we heard. Translating was awesome. We switched off every other talk and Sestra Cade did the prayers.

 

TRAINING! It was such a good training. It was the Prague and Hradec Kralove zones. so..a lot of missionaries. maybe 40. So yes...the time came when Sestra Fred and I trained on the tools we have as missionaries. Time ran from us so it wasn't as we expected but we were able to open up the missionary mind of thinking we don't have a lot of tools to use in our finding efforts. for example: Preach My Gospel manual is NOT limited to missionaries. That applies to members just as much as us missionaries. Training was sooo fruitful. It's so beneficial when we apply what the leaders train on. Moral of the story:trust and follow the council of the leaders who are led by the Spirit. I can promise answers and blessings. 

We had exchanges with the Jihlava sestry here. I served with Sestra Andersen. She is sooo good and I love her work ethic. She's positive and we had a few AWESOME miracles. For example-we were waiting for our lesson to show up to teach the restoration. He didn't show up but we were able to teach a man who was walking by the building we said hello to. He now knows the restoration and we will see him soon! 

I LOVE our Heavenly Father. It's evident that He lives and that His son is our Savior. I love them with my whole heart and I'm grateful for the Holy Ghost to testify that truth to me often. Have a phenomenal week everybody! 

-Sestra Hale

Week 66 -- HERE IT IS!!!

This is the e-mail you have all been waiting for. http://www.mormonnewsroom.org.uk/article/president-dieter-f-uchtdorf-presides-at-the-creation-of-the-first-stake-in-the-czech-republic

The CR has a Stake!!! It was amazing. The Saturday session was so full that us as missionaries were all standing in the back at the beginning of the session until more chairs were brought in. Even then, some missionaries still stood. It was a beautiful exciting session. President and Sister Uchtdorf were led by the Spirit as they spoke about how we can strengthen ourselves and how we took time to become such a strong foundation of this stake. And. It. Keeps. Growing. As for the Sunday session, we were assigned to be at the front door to welcome all. I don't think I have been that constantly happy in my life.(you can see her as the door greeter in the church video - link is above)  Every single person that came in, we were able to shake their hands and welcome them to the best meeting of their lives! It was so sweet to see people I have served around, members and missionaries, and all those I didn't know on the other side of the country. It was a beautiful historic building and once everyone sat down, the spirit illuminated us. We were in the voluntary group standing along the wall until the last 20 minutes when Sister McConkie ran up to us during the intermediate hymn and said there were 4 seats on the front row we 5 sisters could squeeze on. Perfect timing. I shared half a chair with Sestra Fred and half a chair with Sister Alder (the wife of Elder Alder from the 70's ) We love Sister Alder she is so cute and funny. So, this means we were front row as lucky lucky sisters for Sister Uchtdorf and President Uchtdorf's talks. It was so memorable I can't even describe it. No one wanted to leave this building. All the saints were talking and taking pictures with one another. President McConkie in tears every once in a while, called the first and new Stake Presidency. These men are perfect. They are truly called of God and I, along with all those who were in favor of their calling, know this is right. It's so right. When it was announced that the Czech Republic's first Patriarch was to be called, EVERYONE gasped. I have a feeling they forgot about the Patriarch because of the excitement about WHO will be the new presidency?? Then when Bratr Čanek stood up, That's when I teared up. These men are called of God. Amen to their worthiness and priesthood! 

The rest of this week has been full of deep conversations, tough questions and situations from investigators, preparing for the training this week, MIRACLES, and careful wording as we talk about our newly called bishops and wards. It's so awesome to say those words. I love this land and these people. We have the best companionship and we are on the Lord's errand to invite these people to be a part of the Stake! Its so exciting. Can you feel it too? 

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU!!!! 

-Sestra Hale

p.s. we are going to the zoo today with our district!