Week 32: Kniha Mormon

Sports night.  We were playing football (or soccer).  I had been making bad plays all game, despite the fact that it was us against mostly little children.  I hoped that I would be able to redeem myself.  In one instance, Elder Raymond had the ball and was running down-field towards the opponent's goal.  Between him and the goal was only one player, the goalie.  

Elder Raymond called out to me and made a perfect pass right to me.  This is it, my chance to redeem myself.  From Elder Raymond's point of view, the ugly, soccer-field turf turned into a beautiful meadow, and it was as if I were running off into the sunset with the ball.  Everything was perfect, I just had to score.  

Can you guess what happened next?  If you guessed that I stepped on the ball and fell flat on my back, the ball slowly rolling forward, I'm afraid you're right.  As I was recovering, one of the little kids ran up to me and laughed in my face.  I stood up and turned around to see everyone, and they all had continued playing except for the other three missionaries, who where all doubled over on the turf, dying of laughter.  That's an experience none of us will ever forget, and the mission's full of them.  

***

Yesterday, we decided to go tracting with the Sisters in a place to which we never go: Kubra.  Nice little corner Trenčín.  We picked a block to tract, so we would work together to get all of it done.  We rang a doorbell, and a nice old man came out.  He asked us how we were, then invited us in.  Elder Raymond was taken aback.  

"Wait a second, we're missionaries," he said.

"It doesn't matter, come it," the man replied.  Whoa.  Good luck, Sisters, tracting the whole block by yourselves.

As we were sitting down with the man, Elder Raymond asked him if he had ever heard of Mormons.  The man then went into his house (we were at a table in his backyard) and comes out with a blue book.  On the cover was written "Kniha Mormon," which is the old, Czech version of the Kniha Mormonova.  Then he showed us old pictures of the missionaries who used to visit him, along with a note from some Elder Matthew Puchard that read something like this: "It was very nice to know you.  Thank you for your kindness and friendship."  Wow, these missionaries made it a point to leave off on a good note, despite the man not accepting the full message.  

That taught me an important lesson about my purpose as a missionary.  I'm trying to find and teach people who will accept me, and for those who don't, it's important to always be kind, especially when saying final goodbyes.  We have a return appointment with that man this week.