Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Out with the old and in with the new (year)

Check back for some photos in a day or two.
 
We are 2 days from the next year, it seems like things are just going so fast, I remember the feelings at the beginning of this year and at the end of last year. I felt that time would be just going so slow and that I was going to be here forever. Now I see it differently, time has gone so dang quickly and it will continue to work that way whether we want life to slow down. It's better to just jump right in and enjoy the ride, there's no need to hurry and put the blinders on, we just need to sit where we are and prepare for the now. Of course we should always have in our minds eye the future but we can't let that distract us from the present. This week has been wonderful, we have done so many things that it has just been a great blessing to be a part of so many people’s lives and see them at their happiest, when they're with their families and enjoying the holidays, it just brings a smile to your face.

 

Well this week was a very interesting week because it was nothing like any of our other weeks as Christmas never is a normal week for missionaries or anyone for that matter. On Tuesday we went and visited the family and shared with them an English lesson and then a lesson on faith, they're doing great and are really excited to know us, they often give us food and they gave us little cakes that were very very delicious. Then on Wednesday we geared up for a day of visiting members and sharing with them the video. We started at 10 AM in the morning and then ended at 530 PM. We spent the entire day walking from one side of town to the other and needless to say, we were very very tired. Elder Boam walked so much that he fell asleep when we finally got back to our apartment on the floor. He also fell asleep yesterday on the floor of the church building when we were doing calls but that's besides the point ha-ha. We visited as many members as we could and then visited a ton of investigators, we looked at all of our formers that we could visit as well and picked out a few. One experience was that we had picked out this woman from the former list because it had her address. So we sought out after her and she was pretty far away. While on the way I realized that we don't have her last name or her number and that she probably lived in an apartment where we would need a name to call her from the ground. We decided to go anyway because we felt that we were being led to her. While on the way this guy working on his car stopped us and asked us who we were. We told him we were missionaries from the Mormon Church and he got excited because he used to live in Canada and had just gotten back. He had been at English class some 15 years ago here and was very grateful and wanted to come back and keep up his English. He asked us what we were doing and we said we were showing videos to people and asked if we could show him the video. He said yes, so we whipped it out and then his kids started walking out and we were able to talk to them. He winds up being a family of 5 and everyone speaks English because they were all born in Canada. After we showed him the video he said he was Catholic but his wife was Protestant and that he was very open to meeting and learning about other people. He then asked us to meet with him so he could learn about us and improve his English. So, it was a very good encounter and all that. We were also able to have a really cool meeting with all of our other members and investigators; all in all, it was very very good.

 

Then on Christmas we had a service project at a homeless shelter at 10 AM, so we head over there and knock on the door and say that were here and ready. The man came out and said he had no idea that we were coming and at that current moment they were having mass and didn't need us. We asked if we could come back later that day and we said we could come back at 2 PM. So we decided to go back to our apartment and make the lunch we were going to prepare. I made mashed potatoes and also Pierogi's made out of potatoes and Bryndza or sheep cheese it was very delicious. We also had homemade bread and then we had chicken which was marinated in soda, and we cooked that all up. It is probably the best tasting lunch or meal that I've ever had on my mission it was very very good. Then we headed back to the shelter to sing and we sang and they were so appreciative. They took our picture and said when we come back that our picture will be up on the wall. I also had the opportunity to hand out the hats that Mom sent me, and they were all very thankful for them. Then we went back to the church and played some games and skyped and then one of the investigators of the other Elders came and played games with us for a little. It was actually a miracle because he tells us that his mom had something happen and that she had a 5 percent chance of living, he said he just came to clear his mind and so that he didn't have to think about it. It was really good and I think he had fun and that it was very good for him.

 

The next day we continued to do more meetings and we went out to Vrutky for most of the day and just showed the video to more people. Brat Duris was very thankful and so was his entire family. I have made new friends with Brat Duris's son who isn't a member; he says we just get each other and that I'm number one of all the missionaries’ ha-ha. So much so that he invited us to lunch the next day because it was Brat Duris's birthday, he's 71 now. They made us Halusky and it was very tasty, and we just had a good time. I met all of Brat Duris's grandchildren and we shared a spiritual thought and got to know some of them. It was great. Then we went to Martin and shred the video with a member there and she was very grateful for that and then we went and shared the video with the family in Vrutky, they were also very happy and thankful for it. We also had a really good church meeting, Samuel Seidl spoke and he's an excellent speaker and shared a story from the Bible and then compared it to the Book of Mormon and then compared it to our lives, it was all very good and prepared mainly because his mom asked us to use scriptures more in our talks so that people could get the sense that scriptures are very important especially for us and that we need to be reading out of them every day. We also had a ton of people at church because it's Christmas and everyone came back for that. Peter Sandor, a member here who lives in Idaho and studies there brought all the missionaries back a can on root beer, so that was pretty cool and delicious. They say it tasted like Wintergreen and after not having had it for a year and a half; it definitely tasted like Wintergreen gum. Ha-ha

 

Well this next week will be odd as well, we're headed to Bratislava tonight and we're going to be having progression training tomorrow and all that it will be good, and constructive. We also have new year’s coming up and that's pretty cool and we're going to watch a few church movies and all that but that's pretty much everything that I have this week, have a great week and thanks everyone for all the support and the packages, I love you all and have a great and safe week as the new year comes in!

 

Elder Ferrell

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