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.