Week 49: Dobrú chuť

My dad's going to like this email, because it shows that even in Slovakia (with all the classic food they have here) it's possible to run into something that's just hard to choke down.  He always used to tell me, "Eat this nasty food that I put in front of you so that you can practice for your mission!"  Well, that practice finally payed off.  [For the record, I never served my children nasty food.  ~Mary]

We were invited on Sunday by the other missionaries to go to church in Poráč and Spišská Nová Ves (instead of Košice).  We had the first service in a member's home.  It was a very humble setting with a fireplace and just enough room to fit the 13 people in attendance.  It felt as if we were at that first church meeting in 1830 with Joseph Smith, which is cool, because it was the first church meeting in Poráč!  

After that first meeting, we had time to visit some people in Poráč before our church service in SNV.  So I went on a mini exchange with Elder Barton.  The last people we visited was the family that was at church (not the member).  I don't know if you know what a Gypsy is, but these people are Gypsies.  Of course, they brought out a dish of food.  The usual bread with meat disks.  We were expected to put the meat disks on the bread and eat it.  Okay, not the worst thing ever, but also not the best, and we had to eat it.  I remembered what my dad told me about eating food to be polite, so I made my "sandwich" and went to eat it.  Elder Barton did the same, but just before he took a bite, he said:

"Oh, I forgot, but I'm fasting."

You're kidding.  

All eyes turned on me.  So now I have to carry weight for two.  In the middle of choking down that sandwich, mine and Elder Barton's companions walked into the house.

"Wow!" I said, "You're just in time for this delicious food!  Eat up!"

Elder Clayton was also fasting, as luck would have it.  But I convinced everyone that I was full, and Elder Papworth, my dear companion, finished the remaining bread and meat disks.  I will forever be thankful.

This is Elder Barton just before we pranked my mom, having him on Skype instead of me. This was also his face in Poráč when he remembered that he was fasting, which meant he didn't have to eat those sandwiches.

Squad that went to church in Poráč and SNV. Me, Elder Clayton, Elder Barton, Elder Papworth.

3rd attempt at trying to create the Wazzup dictionary. Pretty good.

  

Week 48: Get Wormy

Okay.

There's something I need to clear up!  Those first set of tracks on which I was posing were not in use.  In fact, they're completely unusable, because of the concrete that's on them.  The snow covered that, however, making it hard to tell, also making for some sweet pics.  If you've ever been to the train station in Spišská Nová Ves, you would know what I'm talking about.  So I should have explained that, hope I didn't give you too bad of a scare.

Also, I got a lot of emails this week, so it might take "some time" before I can respond to everyone.  

***

In other news, I was casually flipping through the dictionary when I found a word: červivieť.  That means "get wormy."  What is that supposed to mean?  Like when you're dancing and you "get wormy"?  or is it more literal?  More on that later.  

***

Sometimes we take a train to church (whenever one of our members is riding by train, we go with her).  In such a case, we need to wake up early and be out the door by 7:05.  So we did just that.  I knew the train left from Prešov mesto (the city's smaller station) around 7:28, but I wasn't sure exactly when.  When we got there at about 7:21, a train left.  Hm, I thought, I didn't know that TWO trains leave this early.  So I called our member:

Me: Do two trains leave from Prešov mesto this early?

Her: Uhhh... I don't think so.

Me: So we missed out train?

Her: Probably.

Me: What do YOU suggest?

Her: Missionaries in the past have run to Hlavná stanica (main station) after missing the train at PM.  It leaves at 7:42.

Me: *already running* Okay, see you in a bit.

I'll have you know that we made it onto that train with 30 seconds to spare.  

***

I had a companion exchange with Elder Smith, so I got to be his companion in Prešov for a day.  He's one of the four from my MTC group, from the beginning!  How fun that was.  30 minutes before we had to be in bed, we had an idea to make a Christmas dance video.  So we ate dinner quickly, threw together the video, then got to bed.  Elder Smith came up with most of the ideas for the video.  He told me to "get wormy" at the end.

Get Wormy Video 

2nd attempt at impersonating the guy on the "Wazzup slovník" (Lingea)

Fiha, to je vysoký kostol.

Week 47: Miracle of Žilina

All Slovak missionaries were called to Žilina for an event.  In preparation, we fasted to be able to find 40 new investigators, including a future branch president for Žilina.  We rented out a coffee shop for the entire day (naturally, we got rid of all the coffee) so we could bring people inside and teach them.  Meanwhile, there were presentations going on in the shop throughout the day.  You see, a lot of preparation went into this event.  The idea was to be outside for 8 hours on the city square, trying to find people to teach.  

In the meeting before we all hit the streets, the whole zone learned that our own AP, Elder Wutzke, doesn't even know my name.  He said, "Elder Klabačka and Elder Ayree will be together for the first 4 hours."  There was a silence, because no one knew who "Elder Ayree" was.  "Oh, Aillery," he said.

"You're kidding!" I said, which got a laugh out of everyone.  Except for Elder Wutzke.

Never had there been so much fire in the work than in that day.  Rejection phased no one; as soon as one person would reject us, we turned around and talked to the next person in sight.  We literally talked with everyone.  A couple of times.  Many people would tell me something like, "Oh my goodness!  You're the fifth one!"  Haha.  

Despite all the fire and energy put into this, by half-time, there were only meager results.  We had barely taught 20 people in the coffee shop, which, to be fair, was half-way to our goal.  So President called for an impromptu meeting.  There, we refocused our efforts, talked about what needed to be done differently, and restoked the flames of the work.  I believe that after that, there was a lot more success.  I don't know whether we found a branch president, as it is too soon to tell, and I don't know other missionaries' stories, but I have my own.  

Instead of telling people that we have "some event in a coffee shop, you should come check it out," I started by bearing testimony that the Book of Mormon is true, and that it can help people.  There were several times that I, alone, had several college-aged kids around me, listening.  I got 8 phone numbers after the half-time break and was able to teach one person in the coffee shop.  

I don't say this to boast, but I know that when we work with all our hearts, might, minds, and strength, miracles will follow.  I'm guessing the results varied from missionary to missionary, but overall it was a miraculous day.  I also heard that there were a few candidates for potential branch presidents found. 

Yeah, that's bird poop on my shoulder. Anything could happen in the train station, I guess.

Slav Squat photo shoot; it had to be done.  [Yeah, but on the train tracks?!!!?]

If you've ever seen a "Wazzup hovorník," you'd know what I'm referencing.

Week 46: No cliff-hanger here!

Seriously, no cliff-hanger!  Last week we had transfers, and I stayed in Prešov.  

My new companion has been serving for 18 weeks longer than I, but in the Czech Republic until a week ago.  A lot of Czech missionaries don't want to learn Slovak if and when they come here, but Elder Papworth's motto is "Na Slovensku, po slovensky!" which, being interpreted, means "In Slovakia, in Slovak!"  I'm excited to purge the Czech out of him.  

***

Another cold week in eastern Slovakia.  On Friday, we received an assignment to visit a non-member family of a missionary (serving in England).  We were at the train station after having been out in the cold for hours, waiting for the train to take us to the nearby village in which lived the family.  

"I have an idea," I said.  "Let's call some old contacts listed as 'investigator' in our phone, so we can find out who from the past still has interest."  That sounded good to us, because that meant we could stay in the train station building.  Sure, it wasn't the most productive thing, but my fingers had to thaw.  

***

The train finally took us to Kendice, where that non-member family lived.  From the time we got off the train, we had an hour to find the family, deliver the invitation, and get back to the station before the last train of the night left.  And we had no idea where they lived.  Yes, we had a house number, but there were no street names.  And it was cold.  

We wandered for a while, occasionally knocking on doors to ask for directions.  Every time someone would open the door, the warmth from the house would rush out and fog up my glasses.  At least I'm warm, but now I can't see.

While finding this family, I got a phone call.  My stiff hands managed to retrieve the phone from my pocket.  It was a guy named Andrej, labeled as an investigator in our phone.  Hey, I just tried calling him! 

Me: "Hello, this is Elder Aillery."

Andrej: "Hey, what's up?"

Me: "I'm fine, thanks.  So I heard you met with missionaries in the past, is that true?"

Andrej: "Don't you remember me?"

Me: "No?"

Andrej: "You call me every month and say the same thing."

Me: "......... I do?"

Andrej: "Yep."

Me: "Okay.  How are you though?"

Andrej: "Great, and you?"

Me: "Pretty good.  Well, talk to you next month."

Andrej: *chuckles*

***

We finally found the family, the Kostrobovci.  We give the door a solid knock, and then we wait.  Then a lady opens the door.

"Who are you?" asked Pani Kostrobová.

"We're the missionaries, and we have an invitation for you," said Elder Papworth.

The husband shouted from inside the house: "Go away!"  He sounded pretty Slavic, there is no other way to describe it.  Pani Kostrobová didn't shut the door on us, but then Pán Kostrob came to the door.  He stepped outside towards us.  

"We'd like you to come to this Christmas party.  Brother Van Dalen says hello," I said.  

Pán Kostrob looked at us for a moment, then said: "Do you have time for tea?"

"Our train leaves at 7:08,"  I said.  Elder Papworth and I looked at each other.  "Yeah, we have time!"

We spent some time getting to know them.  They talked about their son, Fero, who is on a mission in England.  We enjoyed some Christmas bread and Cola.  They asked us about what we believe.  They're excited to call their son on Christmas.

Just another example of my cooking gone wrong.

On the train back from Kendice.

He looks like Ben Stiller, doesn't he?

This photo and the next two were taken in rapid succession. We didn't coordinate whether we would smile or move our heads in a certain way, so it's funny that we are doing the exact same thing in each photo.

Week 45: I've Been Dreaming of a White Russia

"Belarus" in Slovak is "Bielorusko" which, being interpreted, means "White Russia."  

"Yugoslavia" in Slovak is "Juhoslavia".  "Juh" means south, so "Juhoslavia" means "South Slavic Region".  Usually, whenever you have an "H" in Slovak, Russian has a "G".  Thus we return to "Yugoslavia".

The more you know.

***

Why did Heavenly Father send us to earth to live by faith?  Why can't we just know for sure that He exists, then progress that way?  Good questions.  I'm not sure I can answer them completely for myself yet, but I can tell you that my understanding of the principle of faith has increased while on my mission.  Case in point: While walking along the streets, I ran into a bunch of school-aged Ukrainians.  They were passing around some cigarettes.  Sometimes, it's awkward to talk to young kids, because all they do is laugh.  But Elder McQuivey's motto is this: "If they're old enough to smoke, they're old enough to hear the gospel."  So we approached them with the regular "approach."  They seemed rather uninterested.  Shocker.  

I asked, "Do you believe in God?"

One kid: "Yes."

Me: "God wants us to be healthy, to take care of our bodies.  He doesn't want us to smoke."

Him: "Everyone has his own opinion."

Me: "It's not an opinion that smoking is bad for your body."

Once upon a time, smoking was generally accepted to be a healthy practice.  God revealed to the prophet Joseph Smith otherwise.  This case proves that just because we know that a principle is true, that doesn't mean that we live according to our knowledge.  

This stud, Elder McCallister, goes home this week to Alaska.

This stud just got called to be assistant to the president. Wow, he's not even halfway done his mission.