So long Kosice...............except not really, I will be staying in Kosice for another 2 months and
throughout Christmas which I am
extremely excited for, even though I kind of wanted to leave just so that I
could experience the rest of the country and not be stuck out in the boonies. Me
and Elder Guymon will be staying together for this transfer as well until Elder
Guymon leaves on the 31st, we also would have to be a trio so that we can adjust
to 2 missionaries once Elder Guymon leaves because he will be leaving in the
middle of the transfer, and.... WE'RE GETTING A NEW MISSIONARY. Yep, me and
Elder Guymon are training this transfer, and once he leaves then I'm solo
training on my 3rd transfer and apparently I will also be the district leader once Elder
Guymon leaves. We aren't going to Prague to pick up our new companion because it
is really far and expensive so president said that somehow they would get him
out to us. We're still marveling at how he's going to do that because riding a
train is still scary for me thinking about being alone and also with a new
missionary let alone him riding alone. But I'm sure they'll find him the
right one and hopefully he'll just have to get off on the last stop. Next
week we'll be having progression training for him and also having to go get his
visa work so like 3 days after he gets here we all have to get on the train and
ride back to Bratislava and stay there for a whole day and then go to Brno from
there and then go home so next week is going to be a long week. but fun I
suppose, and then we have 1 full week and then it's Christmas week. I can't believe that it's already getting
close to that and that we have to make plans for it. I can't believe it's
already December and I still can't believe that I'll be training. President has
a lot of trust in me/us to trust us so far away from mission headquarters and then also with a
new companion. It's really cool to see that he likes me enough to do that and
thinks that I'm up for the task. He has told me many times that he's heard about
my language skills but still it's really awesome to see what he thinks of me.
Elder Guymon and I have really become good friends, I don't know exactly what
happened to make it become so much closer. But we really have become good good
friends and I will be sad that he's leaving. He keeps calling me a legend
because I'm training my third transfer which is pretty rare, and only the
"legends" train their 3rd transfer. The guy who trained him trained him here and
it was also his 3rd transfer. We'll see if I live up to his expectations for
throughout the rest of my mission he always tells me that he wants to come down
to Arizona and see who I've become after my mission because he says I've
really changed a lot. I hope not too much and just for the better
kind of change. A new sister also came in, she is replacing sister Johnson who
was really cool and also went to Zilina. She is also from the Czech Republic
and was the sister trainer leader there and is now the sister trainer leader
here I guess, not exactly sure about that one, but she's as far as possible from
the Czech. Her name is sister Barney I'll have pictures of her
later.
Well that is quite
the wall of text haha I hope that the package that I sent wasn't too worn haha,
and that you all enjoyed the chocolate that I sent. It's very delicious and I
have to make sure I don't buy very many or else I'm going to get fat! Not really,
I've been sick and went to the hospital and got a shot and some pills, I got
shot in the behind which was awkward and also made it hurt to sit down for the
day. They didn't run any tests and just said because I don't have a fever
they have no idea what it could be haha. I was just feeling a lot of pain in my
stomach and couldn't throw up even though I wanted to and then couldn't sleep at all
and was just in really intense pain. But I'm all fine now, but I sent a package
for Taylor to you for Christmas. I
didn't want to misspell anything or whatever so I just sent it to you because I
forgot the address at home. so if you could give it to her that'd be great. Well
that's everything. I love you all and I'm jealous of everything that you're doing
together, we'll hopefully skype, we might be able to do it in the building . I
just might have to buy a camera for it but thank you for all the letters and
updates in stuff. Hope you're all staying safe!!
Elder
Ferrell
This week feels like it has been really long and to be
honest it gets harder and harder to remember the things that we've done. Like it
has felt really long but at the same time it feels like it's just flown by, time
in the mission is really weird and just really hard to get accustomed to haha.
This week we've really seen some really really amazing progression from some of
the members and then also from our one progressing investigator. It really all
relies on church and our church attendance has definitely increased since the
beginning of the transfer and it's something that I've always personally thought
was one of the key aspects to leading a person to baptism. Of course great
teaching and finding are really important but just doing everything you can to
get members and investigators to church because without it, they can't progress
and members will not stay active except in small remote cases. We have seen
sooooo much progress from some of the less active members including 4 coming
back from the first time in a long time this transfer, and just really seeing
how it has changed their lives, we've gone from an average of 5 or so members at
church to an average of 7 with one week getting 9 and we could have gotten 10
had 1 of the members who is usually there hadn't been in the Czech republic and
if one of our strong members wasn't in spain haha. But regardless these people
have been making steps to come backa nd they have been making promises and
accepting commitments and really making amazing goals to go to the temple. I
know that a couple whom the husband has never really been active they want to
completely stop smoking and all that and then they want to get sealed in the
temple and that's their goal. One of the people that Elder Guymon baptised a
year and a half ago wants to really quit smoking and go to the temple. one of
the members we have really really tried to help this transfer wants to be worthy
to take the sacrament. All of these miracles we have seen this week and getting
them to church is just a building block for them to bigger and better things. We
were finally able to get Eva to church this week, she is our progressing
investigator, and it was her first time at church, we had to walk with her evn
though I was feeling pretty under the weather but we got her there and SHE LOVED
It, and she was adding things and testinoy to the things that we hadn't even taught
her yet like tithing, and she was just really really awesome. Me and Elder
Guymon are sure that she will be ready and will get baptised this transfer and
we're hoping for the 28th of this month right after Christmas. I really think that because she was at church she
is really going to start the road to baptism, she keeps on reading and is at
Helaman or something like that she just reads every night she is very very
wonderful.
Then we were also able to help out Rado this week
helping him move some of the junk in his house that his parents want to use in
their kind of cottage house, so we borrowed a truck and we went and unloaded and
loaded everything up and then we had a lesson with his parents. Which was really
awesome because they were very honest and sincere in their interest in the Book
of Mormon and then also Rado who is less active was testifying and pointing out
good arguements to his mom and it was just very wonderful to teach with him he is
just such a wonderful man. He said that he would be coming to church sometime
before Elder Guymon comes so we're hoping to really empower him and his
testimony, I know that he is just so grateful for everything I love him so
much and he is just the coolest guy. Other than those wonderful wonderful
miracles nothing else really happened... haha
Hi, I was searching Košice, Slovakia on the internet and came across this blog. What a wonderful surprise to find that Elder Ferrell is going to train my son, Elder Christensen (who might have finally made it to Košice by now, unless he missed the stop and is in the Ukraine)! I'm thankful that he has a companion who is hard working and has a strong testimony.
ReplyDelete- Brad Christensen
There are some other blogs from Slovak sisters. They have been wonderful. My son is looking forward to the opportunity and challenge of training as you can see from above. He has had extraordinary companions in Kosice who have taught him so much and for whom we are very grateful. We have grown to love the people and missionaries in Slovakia who have accepted, assisted and loved our son. I suspect you will too. Best Wishes
ReplyDeleteMike Ferrell