Tuesday, August 27, 2013

The trio in Kosice

Hey everyone it's that time again this week! and this week was really cool and interesting, not really for our companionship but for the District it was a very exciting week and it went by super quick. But first off we had a Baptism this week for an older gentleman that the sisters taught who was supposed to get baptised last transfer but then didn't but he did get baptized this transfer. His name is Igor Max Bazovsky and apparently he is pretty famous, and he actually doesn't live in kosice. He lives over by Bratislava but was in town for a convention for art, or science or something and then he prolonged his stay in kosice so he could learn all the lessons from the sisters, but it was super awesome and the service was really cool, we havent had a baptism in the area for like 5 months and the one before that guy was last November but it was still awesome. We had the service at a Hotel Pool on the outskirts of town, (so in reality like 5 minutes from our apartment).

We went there and the Prezidents wife make us some Chlebicky, which is very typical Slovak but in reality it is just half a sandwich with cheese ham cucumber tomato and a hard boiled egg slice on it haha. The food ehre is really not weird at all and we cook for ourselves a lot. Typical Slovak food is a lot like American food haha, plus there are so many restaurants out here that from different culutures it's hard to decipher what is Slovak and what is just imported Slovak haha, but the Ice cream is good, and a scoop is 40 cents everywhere because they regulate it, which is awesome haha. I'm running on probably 100 dollars left for the week which I think is actually really good considering I don't think my persoanl 100 dollars has been deposited yet and I've already used 16 for a really cool shirt that from Kosice I'll have to send a picture with it and adventure pants on haha. Today I'm going to buy some sweaters from HnM here from the cash that you sent with me, most likely I'll need more money transferred into my checking on my card over the next 2 years so that I can buy all the souvenirs that I want. As well as I DID bring my camera and the cord with me today so most definitely will you be receiving photos today.

Well, this week has really been great because the weather has been so nice and the poeple at the Ice Cream places are also giving out big scoops of Ice Cream because the weather is getting colder but it's still only 40 cents woohoo! Money won't be a problem I really don't think, I have to get to Trencin this week for a training and back on the money I have left but if really needs be I can use some of my money and then pay myself back, but I doubt that's going to happen, maybe though. The first month they say is hard on funds because you have to buy so many things like bus passes and train passes and it was hard for us because we had to go to brno, then bratislava and then to Kosice and I didn't have a rail pass that made the rail cheaper any of those times because we didn't have the time to buy it but I'll have it on Wednesday. We're leaving on Wednesday because we're going to Trancin for a Slovak conference becuase theres a holiday on the Thurday for the liberation of Slovakia and theres a big memorial I guess over there that the President must have something big planned so that's super cool. I'm excited to see everybody because that will mark the half way point of the transfer as well which really doesn't seem like as long as it is, the month ahs really gone by and they tell me that the time is just going to get faster and faster every transfer. Which is really cool and scary at the same time because I'm really starting to love kosice, I really hope I get to stay here for another transfer and then also come back later in my mission, I think that would be just excellent. Me and my companions really get along and also we have a lot of fun and we really only have eachother and the sisters all the way out here haha. No one really holds grudges and we just laugh a lot with eachother, I really love these guys and Elder Barber hates it when I mention to him that he only has 4 more transfers left after this one haha.

We have got some really cool people that we are currently teaching but it's really hard to find new investigators, we contact probably for 2 hours each day looking for meetings as well as numbers and we usually can get numbers but meetings are hard and when we do get meetings they often don't show up and then red button us when we dial. But that's how sometimes it goes and there's not much we can do about it except keep on trucking along, it's really been a blessings for me to have the attitude that things are going to work out and as long as we continue trying our hardest blessings will come and that the Lord will have his hand in it. it makes countings numbers very easy and doesn't allow us to get discouraged abou the lack of success that we sometimes don't have. One of my teahcers said in the MTC that he didn't teach a lesson or something for 4 months I think and that was a really tough time for him but he persevered and then ended up having a really successful mission and loved even the times when they were rough, he says that moment really defined him as a missionary and I just don't want to get to the point where i feel it's too hard which is why I feel blessed with having this dispostion to the work. So I'm going to keep going. It's funny because a lot of the poeple that we're either teaching and then theres also a girl in the Branch, but they're all moving away for the semester. The girl in the Branch, Lenka, is going to Spain to study and then Miroslava is going to England and then people are always gone who are in our teaching pool, its crazy how many are leaving haha. But we keep on going and planning lessons and keep on trying to reactivate members and keep others strong but I thing we'll be fine. This first month really hasn't been all too bad though, maybe just in the first week was hard being away but I'm settled now.

Anyways I still have a lot of letters to write so I bid thee farewell until the next time, I love you all and hope that your week is fantastic! I miss you all and I hope you're being safe!

Elder Ferrell

The following letter was a request for answers to questions I sent.

We mostly do contacting in the streets of Kosice, but we do some tracting.  We left a book of Mormon with a family who we want to follow up with today and if they aren't there we'll keep tracting the panalaks which are giant apartment buildings that most of the people live in including us

How do you do your contacting?  Do you tract, or do you just walk around downtown Kosice talking to people?
 I talk and teach points and stuff and information but it's never just me personally nor is it just 1 person in the group, we get phone numbers often, around 1 or 2 a day, but getting them to appointments is harder, as for personally, we really don't contact alone.
Have you specifically taught yet?  Have you been able to get any phone numbers yet, personally?
We teach around 10-15 a week, most of ours are active members and Recent converts and less actives where as the sisters get a lot of new investigators
How many lessons does your companionship teach per week?
Elder Barber is taller than I am probably by 3 or so inches Elder Frederickson is not taller than me I am taller by about 3 inches. Prezident and his wife are both about 5"8 or so, so not taller than me haha.
In the photo that sister Jones posted, it appeared like there were some really tall people in the photo.  Are your companions really tall?  The president looked like he was really tall as well, not to mention his wife. They both looked taller than you?
It's okay, its still tight and after long walking days it can hurt a little bit but not too bad, I don't wear the brace all that often anymore just on really tight days.
How is your ankle doing?  Is it feeling better?  Are you wearing your brace?
The weather is a lot better than the first week it cooled down and hasn't gone back up at all, one other night we were really cold waiting for our bus haha.
How is the weather?  It appears that it is cooling down. 

They are both my trainers and it is very likely that He could follow up train me as well as another missionary could come and then we would train him, Elder Barber says that I could train as well, Elder Barber probably wont be staying

Is Elder Barber your trainer?  Or are they both your trainers?  Is it possible that Elder Frederickson will be your follow up trainer, if Elder Barber is transferred? 
I'm speaking a lot more and better is that I'm understanding a lot more of what people are saying and there are quite a few Hungarian speakers but they all speak slovak as well, there re some small Hungarian only villages though outside of Kosice
 Have you started speaking a little bit more?   You are so close to Hungary and the Ukraine, do many of the people speak Hungarian or Russian?
Church does last 3 full hours it's the only branch that does besides Bratislava
How is church?  Does it last a full 3 hours?

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