Week 87: -21: Hurrah for Israel

Sitting and waiting for church to start, I was watching our handful of members gradually roll in. 1... 2... 3... 4... nice! Time to start. Just one problem: one of the two members that were supposed to give talks was absent. Uh-oh. And Elder Barton and I decided beforehand that if such would be the case this week, I would be the one to give a backup talk, which I did not have prepared. Bigger uh-oh. But there was hope: that member might walk in late. Let's hold our thumbs ("držme palce" basically means "let's cross our fingers".)

Through the entire first talk, I was paying attention the whole time, but I was also trying to think up what I would talk about for 15 minutes if this member didn't show up. Well, he didn't. As the speaker concluded, I resolved to talk about member-missionary work and had a few stories in mind. What happened next was magic (it was at least *pretty good*.) But I call it magic because I managed to use a scripture, share stories, speak from the heart, and take up all 15 minutes. And it was in Slovak. That's amazing to me because when I was giving my farewell talk before my mission (in English, mind you), even after a lot of preparation (if you consider the night before a lot), I struggled to cover 10 minutes.

I do believe in member-missionary work. Many months before I left on my mission, the missionaries in my home town invited me to teach with them a particular person on a regular basis. That person and I became so close, even to a point that full-time missionaries couldn't reach. For example, we would drive together to and from meetings with the missionaries, bumping to some sweet music. Those are some great memories.

***

Elder Barton and I called the missionaries from Budapest to tell them about someone they should call. When the phone call was coming to a close, an elder on the other side said, "Hurrah for Israel!"

*phone call ended*

Elder Barton: "What does that mean?"

Me: "What?"

Elder Barton: "Her offer is real. Whose offer?"

Me: "No, Elder. Hurrah for Israel!"

Then we had another one of those uncontrollable-laughter moments while saying to each other, "Hurrah for Israel!" or "Her offer is real!"; I couldn't tell which one we were saying.

Week 86: -22: Talen din var god.

This past weekend, all members of the Church in Slovakia gathered in Bratislava for District Conference, which took place on Saturday and Sunday. At the conference would be an area seventy, who has stewardship over the Europe Area, I believe. The man's name is Elder Herland. When we met before the conference, he asked where I was from.

"Connecticut," I said.

"Connecticut..." he repeated. I could tell by the way he pronounced my state that he was not from America, but his accent was otherwise so good that I couldn't place where he might be from. So I asked where he's from. 

"I'm from Norway," he said. Oh, I speak Norwegian!

"Vordan har du det?" I said, then he said something I didn't understand. I don't really speak Norwegian.

Just before the meeting started, I walked to the front of the chapel and gave an earpiece to Elder Herland. There was an interpreter in the back of the room translating everything into English. Elder Herland took that opportunity to get to know me. I told him about my future plans to go to college and about my lack of plans about what I'll study. We also found out that we have a common interest in Electronic Dance Music. I shouldn't have been surprised. It makes sense that he, being from Norway, would probably like that type of music. I just never pictured an area seventy bumping to EDM.

During his address, he emphasized a few points. One was the fact that repentance should be seen as a joyful opportunity! He recounted how President Nelson, while talking to all the area seventies, described repentance in a way that was totally new for Elder Herland. President Nelson made repentance sound so good that it made Elder Herland want to go do something wrong so he could repent. But then he remembered that his list of things he's done wrong is already long enough. He added, "If you're a member of the Church and feel that something is wrong with you, welcome to my club."

He also reminded us of President Nelson's counsel for us to use the correct name of the Church. We should not be referring to members as "Mormons" or our doctrine as "Mormonism" or our church as "the Mormon Church". We should use the terms "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" or "The Church of Jesus Christ". I've seen in an area of the world where the Church is still very small how great of a stumbling block it is for these people to know us as Mormons. President Nelson promised that "if we will do our best to restore the correct name of the Lord’s Church, He whose Church this is will pour down His power and blessings upon the heads of the Latter-day Saints, the likes of which we have never seen. We will have the knowledge and power of God to help us take the blessings of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people and to prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord."

Week 85: -23: Close Call

It's less-common for two missionaries to serve together twice (as I did with Elder Raymond). It's rare to have served with someone, go your separate ways, then serve together again (like with me and Elder Akina). I kinda forgot to mention that I'm back in Banská Bystrica with my buddy, Elder Barton. Same city, same companion. It's like I never left.

***

I would say that finding new people to teach in this mission has been the same for a long time, the main two methods being street contacting and tracting (very straightforward approaches). In line with the assistants' training given a while back (you know, the one about being more friendly with people?), we decided to take a Frisbee into the park and see who wanted to play. You might be thinking, "Why to vlastne pieklo would that work?" That's what I was thinking, too (before I tried the idea).

When we arrived in the park, we came across two teenagers who appeared to be doing something for photography class or something. 

"Hey! Wanna play Frisbee?" I asked.

They looked at each other and said, "We don't know how."

"We'll teach you," said my companion. So we tossed a Frisbee with them for some time, found out more about them, talked about ourselves, and shared a few points about why we're here. Afterward, we added each other on Facebook and have been in contact since then. One is coming to English class this week. Later that day, some guy hit me up out of nowhere on Facebook (it was no coincidence that he was friends with both of those girls from the park). He was asking for more information about our English class.

***

I got around to playing chess with that boy from last week's email. According to the deal set by his dad, he would have to join our church if he lost and we would join his if we lost. I'm still here, so I didn't lose. ;D

***

Photo 1: Hey Mom, are you proud?

Photo 2: A very nice family of a former missionary treated us to lunch. 

Week 84: ???

So, I've been sending emails late by several weeks, missing a few weeks here and there. Therefore, I've lost track of what week it is (oops). 

I wrote an email a while ago about the letter vs. spirit of the law. I still stand by most of it, but I said something to the effect of how the spirit of the law is only lived in the realm of the letter of the law. Well, I recently listened read a talk that changed my view on that. I'll include the link at the end, pokiaľ you're interested ("pokiaľ" just means "if" or "as far as". It's a funny word because it sounds like I'm saying "poke y'all".)

***

We're teaching a family with lots of kids. It's always fun when we go over, especially since they make us cake. At the end of our last meeting, their son found out we liked chess and brought out a chess board. 

"We would play," I said, "but we have to run. We should definitely meet up sometime and have a tourney."

There was a moment of silence before the dad broke it by telling his son: "If they beat you, you have to join their church."

"Deal," we said. But then he added:

"If he beats you, you have to join our church." So I'm going to have to practice with my companion. If you don't hear from me next week, you know why. 

***

Every once in a while, I'll learn something new about Slovak grammar and think to myself, How on earth have I survived til now without knowing this? The same thing just happened in the realm of real life. I've never thought much about what I eat, but I heard a BYU speech about health. I'll post it, and poke y'all you want, you can look at that one, too.

***

Fun video about P-day a few missionaries put together (I should point out that P-day is not on Saturday):

The Power of Principles:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gU6v_tgTlBMsic3CXfP8r_1hjwSQ3FACY2zja_8Aj9g/mobilebasic

The Plagues of Prosperity:

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/benjamin-bikman/the-plagues-of-prosperity/

The awesome city you see is Banská Štiavnica. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/bDLwdFTjz1pZUHDR8

Week 81: Smrdí to smrťou and Week 82: Hello, John speaking!

Week 81:  Smrdí to smrťou

This email is two weeks late.  You're reading this by tape delay. 

Elder Akina is dying.  In other words, he's finishing his mission and leaving to America.  So is Elder Raymond, my companion during my 2nd and 3rd transfers.  Because a huge group of elders are ending their missions and not so many are replacing them, they are closing some areas around the mission.  Elders Raymond and Clayton were the others serving in Bratislava, so we all supposed that our new mission president, President Gehring, would stick me and Elder Clayton together in one of our areas and close the other's area, and then we would be combining the two areas' investigators, seeing as we were the only ones that knew them.  Makes sense.  Transfer brackets are fun. 

Elder Akina will be missed?  Yeah sure maybe.  In his memory, I'll just send a bunch of pics of him.

I'll also add a recording of one of the last times we sang together.  I think I mentioned how I was trying to teach him how to sing?  How proud of him I am!  It might sound weird because we had to harmonize with another recording of us doing base.

* * * * * * * * * *

Week 82: Hello, John speaking!

So... I didn't end up being companions with Elder Clayton like everyone thought.  President Gehring is giving Prezident Pohořelický a run for his money regarding crazy transfer calls.  I wish I had the recording of the phone call... but I could just tell you.  I'm back in Banská Bystrica for at least another two transfers, possibly till the end of my mission, which is fine because now we have a car here. 

There's a man by the name of Ján (John) whom we've been teaching since the beginning of my first time in Bystrica, so we know him pretty well.  After our lessons, we both head home on the same bus, so we have some more time to chat about "normal" things.  One particular evening, a girl whom we're also teaching got on the same bus by chance.  She sat next to my companion, across from me and Ján.  Ján tried to start a conversation with her, but she was more interested in my companion.  She was talking about how he should go to an amusement park with her or something.  Ján, my companion and I got off the bus while the girl continued on her way home.  Ján had some questions.

"Do you teach her about faith?" he asked.

"Yes," said my companion.

"Yes?" he looked pleasantly surprised.  "And how does she accept it?" 

"She's interested," we said.  Then an image came to my mind where Ján was our mission leader and was making sure the work was going alright with those we teach.  So I told him he could be our mission leader.  

"No!" he exclaimed, but he was laughing.  "That's not--- that's not what that was!"  I got him good.  

Attach

Week 80: Čo to pieklo? (What did it say?)

What is up brothers and sisters?  We are back for another email. 

We met in Žilina for a training this week.  When that happens, we have a lot of missionaries in one place.  Kind of fun, actually.  In recent months, there has been across the mission an emphasis on trying to be friends with people.  So at this training, the assistants to the president started by asking how it's going with this whole "friendship" concept that's so foreign to all of us.  A few people shared their experiences, including Elder Akina.  This is what he said: "We're teaching someone who's a professional athlete.  At the end of our first lesson with him, our friendship was strengthened when Elder Aillery and he talked about bodybuilding, as Elder Aillery's trying to get bigger."  Everyone then looked at me, who was in a slouched position, so I straightened my posture to show everyone I was serious, and I am serious.  You better believe it. 

Later, the zone and sister-training leaders gave a training on becoming more like Jesus Christ.  As part of it, they needed "the strongest person in the room" as a volunteer.  Elder Papenfuss, whom I would describe as a číslo (number), pushed me up out of my seat and onto my feet.  I volunteer, I guess?  They had me lift a barbell high above my head.  They started adding weights.  One missionary called out, "Don't lock your knees!"  Thanks, buddy.  Huh, this dumb barbell is getting heavy.  

"How long do you think you can hold this up for?" Elder Jackson asked.

"Probably... minutes," I said.  Then the thinkable happened.  They called on some missionaries, a few of which were my past companions, to help me hold it up.  The point was that we don't have to lift our burdens alone.  

In other news, remember how Elder Akina left me on the bus my first transfer? 

Day 122 - "Let's go!" says Elder Akina.  We're about to get off the bus (after a 1-hour long ride), but wait!  My study material is all over the seat beside me.  Of course I didn't clean it all up in time, so the bus begins leaving.  Elder Akina then realizes that I'm still on the bus, and as I pass him, our eyes meet.  You should have seen his face.

Yeah.  And you thought I'd never get payback.  On our way home, we missed our tram stop because I was busy getting someone's Facebook.  So when we got off, we crossed the tracks and waited for the next tram, which didn't take too long.  We only had one stop to go, but when we got on we saw a kid sitting there.  We just had to give it a shot.  Leave it to Elder Akina to be concise.  He said something like this: "Hi, we're missionaries, we have a message about Jesus Christ, do you have interest?"

"Yeah," said the kid, who didn't seem as taken aback as I was.  I've seen much more thought-out approaches not work. 

"Quick, this is our stop, what's your number?" said Elder Akina as the tram slowed down.  He said his number so quickly that I didn't catch all of it, so I gave him my phone.  He typed it in.  The tram stopped, doors opened.  Elder Akina: "What's your name?"

The kid: *Something complicated*

Elder Akina didn't quite catch his name but I was already jumping through the closing doors.  We stood there staring at each other, separated by a glass pane.  I don't know what was going through his mind as the tram rolled on, but in my opinion, there could have been no better way to end a transfer.

Week 79: Letter vs. spirit of the law

Whenever a rule or standard comes into conflict with what I want to do, I get around it by saying, "I'm more of a 'spirit-of-the-law' kind of guy, anyway." It's always a joke, of course. Maybe some see the spirit of the law as a "looser" interpretation of the letter. Perhaps others suppose the letter of the law was created for those weaker than they, so they define themselves slightly different standards and call it the spirit of the law. In reality, the spirit of the law only operates within the realm of the letter of the law. 

Letter of the law: what the rule/standard/guideline/law/commandment tells you to do.

Spirit of the law: when the letter of the law doesn't specify what to do in a given situation, use your best judgment based on what you know about yourself, others, and the situation to make a decision in accordance with the reason or intent for which the letter of the law was created.

Some laws are higher than others. When Jesus was asked about what the great commandment was, he answered,

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

"This is the first and great commandment.

"And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

"On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40).

In my mind, that means living any law profits you to the same extent to which you love God and your neighbor. 

If you see someone else doing something wrong, your correction may be appropriate, but make sure you do it according to what Jesus taught. In other words, love the person you're correcting. 

Amulek had a few words to say about charity:

"Therefore, if ye do not remember to be charitable, ye are as dross, which the refiners do cast out, (it being of no worth) and is trodden under foot of men" (Alma 34:29).

So, don't be as dross. Mormon tells us what we can do to obtain charity:

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—

"But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him. 

"Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen" (Moroni 7:46-48).

Look for opportunities to apply this counsel; it shouldn't be too hard to find one. My fondest memories from all my transfers have come from when I made a greater effort to love my companion and love the people. Furthermore, make a sincere effort to obey all commandments with exactness, and more importantly, remember the reason behind them. Ask God for help in applying the spirit of the law. 

1-7. Some hike

8. Uhh... anglický?

9. Yeah, I work out!

9. Yeah, I work out!

12. Môj spoločník :) 

11. Elder Akina left his umbrella at someone's house. How did he try to get it back?