Monday, August 26, 2019

The highest of highs & lowest of lows -- August 2, 2019

Čau všem, 

Tuesday was a busy day. We took a 2 hour train ride to Plzen for district council. Sister Draper and I did the practice and taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We talked about the people we are teaching and got advice on things we need help with. Then we went to lunch together and caught a 2 hour train ride back. We prepared for our English class and had 6 students today which was great. 

Wednesday we did all of our studies in the morning. Then we went and visited less actives. We discovered that a lot of them have moved. We then had a Skype lesson with Andrea and taught about the Priesthood. She had a lot of questions. Some of the big questions came up like women and the priesthood and polygamy. She has already read to Mosiah in the Book of Mormon. She is doing family history and she wants to do personal progress. She is scared to pray about if the church is true because she knows she will have to act and change. But, she is coming to realize and get her own testimony which has been wonderful to watch. She has changed so much since the day I first talked to her on the street until now! I'm so proud of her. Then we worked on area book. In the evening we had a district call. We star gazed out the window for the spiritual thought and it was really powerful. 
Thursday we did our studies and had a language study with Radek which was awesome. He lights up every time we ask him for help. We visited Věra and shared a spiritual thought with her. I did her dishes and we played uno. Afterwards, we had a lesson with Jiřina and taught her the gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a good lesson. Then we started marking up Book of Mormons with questions of the soul so that we can leave them in the train station at a book exchange for people to read while they travel. We also worked on updating area book. We finished the day with call-ins with our District leader. 

Friday we did our studies. Afterwards, we went to visit returning members and invite them back to church. Well, we got yelled at and threatened to have the cops called on us. Also, many people just did not want to talk to us, whatsoever. I felt bad because I think Sister Draper got a little discouraged. But, on our bus home, Heavenly Father gave us a miracle. I felt prompted to talk to a girl and turned out, she spoke English and it was her first month here in the Czech Republic. We exchanged numbers and so we can get together, go somewhere fun and talk about the gospel. I know that we have to experience the bad in order to taste the joy of the good. It is just part of the work and helps shape us as individuals. We finished the day with weekly planning, companion inventory, and device audits.
Saturday we went and visited a lady with the Elders they tracted into because they can't visit her alone. We talked about faith, repentance, and why we experience trials in life. It was difficult to keep the lesson on track becuase she kept changing the subject but we did our best. We cleaned the church to get it ready for Sunday and then had a lesson with Radek. I am so grateful for the promptings of the holy ghost. During that lesson, I felt an overwhelming feeling of love for him; the love that God has for him. Then I was inspired to share something that was totally off our plan but that he needed to hear. I know it will help him change things in his life so that he can get his life on track and feel ready to be baptized. It was a wonderful experience for me and I'm grateful I could be in tune with the spirit. Then we played soccer for sports night and we had 2 people we are teaching and a returning member come. It was a blast! 
Sunday had the highest of highs and lowest of lows. We had a wonderful church. We had the first councilor in the stake presidency and his family visit.  I gave a talk about faith and he ended up speaking about repentance. I know the spirit led us both on what to talk about because we ended up hitting the first two points in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then we came home and got a surprise call from Andrea. She was the happiest I have ever seen her. She said she went to the ward in  Prague and asked if we had time to meet because she wanted to tell us about her experience in person. We told her our schedule and she drove straight away from Prague and met with us for 15 minutes before another lesson we had. She just started crying and said she felt the spirit and recieved the answers she was looking for. It was such a sweet, tender moment. She wanted to talk more so we said we could meet up after our lesson. We had a lesson with Mengmeng and Daquan and we skyped in a member who spoke Chinese. We found out that some of their friends have been giving them some anti stuff so now Daquan is off baptismal date and we are hoping to get all his questions answered and everything worked out. Then we went and met with Andrea again and talked about the different ways the spirit can speak to us. It was a really good lesson. We are continuing to help her work towards baptism but there are still a few things that need to be overcome. It truly was a wonderful day and I love being a missionary and see people change their lives by coming closer to christ. I know that this gospel can bring us true joy and I love helping people find that joy. 

Today we hiked the black tower and got a beautiful view of the city. We also went to lunch with our district. 

I love being a missionary with all of my heart. I have met so many amazing people and have seen a lot of miracles. 

S laskou, 

Sestra Guymon 
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Monday, August 19, 2019

Miracles, Castle & Waterfall -- August 19, 2019

Ahoj,

Tuesday we had district council and the Plzen sisters came. We set goals for the transfer and had a great training about faith. Then we did studies and prepared things for our English class. We had a 4 students which was wonderful! We played uno with them to help them with their colors and numbers. 

Wednesday was really busy! We had 4 lessons! The first lesson was with Andrea. We taught her about temples and family history. It was wonderful. She also shared experiences from deciding to live the word of wisdom. My heart was so full of love and I was so proud of her for choosing to live the word of wisdom. Then we visited Věra and shared a thought about enduring to the end and played uno. Our next lesson was with a former from 2005. It was a really frustrating lesson because he just wanted to argue and would interrupt us every time we tried to talk and testify. He was just not prepared to hear the gospel; his heart still needs to be softened.  Then we walked about 45 minutes in the rain to our next lesson. Unfortunately, we forgot our umbrellas, so we got a little wet. We went up to a little room with a bed and a table where she lives and taught her the plan of salvation. It was a wonderful lesson. The spirit was there and we committed her to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. Then we came home and made halušky for dinner. 
Thursday we went and visited a less active. We got to know her and started teaching her the restoration. She has some opinions about things, but it was good to visit her, get to know her better and invite her back to church. Then we had a lesson with Andrea. We invited the Glassers to come and we talked about family history and helped her get a family search account. Then we finished the day with interviews with President Gehring. He is a wonderful mission President and is helping us improve our finding techniques. Then the Glassers took us to dinner at a burrito place. :) 

Friday we did our studies then walked about an hour to go visit a less active who we scheduled with. When we got there, she wouldn't answer her door, or her phone, even though she confirmed and said she would be home. That was really sad. So, we just rang doorbells of giant ponolocks/apartment buildings. Sister Draper enjoyed doing that. Then we had to search out a bus stop to get home. Haha. Then we had a meeting with the Elders to split up the less actives. We finished the day with weekly planning. 

Saturday we did studies in the morning and tried to go buy Sister Chrdlova flowers because she broke her wrist and back. Unfortunately, all the stores were closed because it was Saturday. Cities here shut down on the weekend, like they even turn off the traffic lights.  So we mapped out returning members to visit. We visited 3 of them. 2 weren't home and the other said she didn't want to talk to us. Also, while we took buses today we played a little game and watched Heavenly Father work his magic. We described the person we were going to talk to on the bus before we got on. For example, it will be a woman, she will be wearing a white shirt, have brown hair and will be carrying a bag. Well, it was crazy to watch Heavenly Father put the exact people we described on the bus both times. We talked the entire bus ride with these people too! One of them gave us her number and invited us over! Then we cleaned the church and had a language study with Radek. He helped me perfect things I translated. Then we had sports night and played soccer which was a lot of fun. 
Sunday was wonderful. We had 3 people we are teaching come to church! Also Mengmeng and Daquan came for the first time with their daughter Emma! I was so happy! Afterwards, we had a lesson with Radek. That was a powerful lesson. We had a member teach with us. We have taught Radek everything and told him that his progression was up to him now. We have done our part and he needs to do his and step into the waters of baptism. We went over all the baptismal interview questions and found a few small things that we didn't know he had a problem with. But, they are small and I know he can easily work through them. He has the desire to be baptized, but he is also afraid to take that step because he knows it is a big, life long commitment. It was a wonderful lesson. We also had a lesson with Mengmeng and Daquan. We taught them the 10 commandments and answered Daquan's questions about the apostasy. We finally got Mengmeng a Book of Mormon in Chinese and now she is understanding a lot more. We finished the night with correlation. 

Today we went to a castle with a less active and hiked to a waterfall with him. It was a lot of fun. 

I'm just so grateful that I get to see God's hand in this work. Everyday I have seen miracles. I have watched people change their lives. I have seen people have an earnest desire to find the truth and follow Jesus Christ. Going on a mission is one of the best choices I have made. I have seen myself grow in many ways as I have been on a quest to become more like my Savior and help bring my brothers and sisters back home. 

I love you all! Have a wonderful week! 

S laskou, 

Sestra Guymon
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Monday, August 12, 2019

6.18.19 -- August 12, 2019

Čau všem, 

Tuesday was really busy. We got all of our studies done in the morning. Then we went over to the Glasser's house for lunch and district council. Then we prepared for our English class and taught. We only had one student come to our beginners class. Afterwards, we shared a spiritual thought about the sabbath day. Then we had correlation with President Chrdle. He is so wise and encouraging. I know he truly has the keys to receive revelation on how to help the people here. 
Wednesday morning we did our studies and then went to lunch with Vojtěch and the Elders. We shared parts from a talk Elder Holland gave last conference called, "Behold the Lamb of God." Then we worked to set up lessons with the people we are teaching and members. Next, we had a lesson with Jiřina. It has been a while since I last met with her, like a couple months, but we had a great lesson about the restoration and focused heavily on the atonement. The spirit really helped us find the words to comfort her through her challenges. It was a cool experience. Then on the way home, I felt prompted to visit a lady, Sister Nabrotzky mentioned stopping by to visit. She answered through the window, as most Czechs do, and then yelled that she would come down. As we waited, another lady in the apartment came down with her trash and we were able to brighten her day with compliments. Then the lady made it down and she was really nice. She had her own faith and wasn't super interested, but wanted to try coming to our English class again. Then we came home and worked on digitalizing the areabook. I'm so grateful for the promptings of the Holy Ghost. It helps me know what to say, where to go, and who I need to talk to. 
Thursday we started with s
ervice by weeding the church's back patio to prepare for our barbeque the next day. Then we had a wonderful lesson with Andrea about the Word of Wisdom. She asked a great question about why Jesus could drink wine, but we can't. We were able to study about that during companion study to answer her question. She committed to live the Word of Wisdom. We grabbed pizza for lunch and then called Jiřina to follow up on her prayer. She did it and said she felt that God loved her which was really cool. Then we visited Věra and shared a spiritual thought with her and played a quick round of uno. Then we came home and did our studies, worked on area book and answered questions people asked us on Facebook. We posed the question, "If you could ask God one question, what would you ask?" We answered their questions with scriptures from the Book of Mormon. 

Friday we got our studies done and then did weekly planning. Then we had a language study with Radek and I had him correct some grammatical things on a paper I wrote. Then we prepared for our branch Barbeque. We had a wonderful turn out. We had yummy food and played songs on the guitar and ukulele. We had lots of the people we are teaching come. We also had 2 professional soccer players from Nigeria there. We took them on a tour through our building and invited them to church. It was a lot of fun. We hurried and cleaned things up and then ran home to make it home on time. 

Saturday we did our morning studies and then went and did some service for Věra. We cleaned her house and that needed to be done pretty bad. It was gross. So we showered afterwards and then went to clean the church to get it ready for Sunday. Then we had a lesson with Radek and invited Bratr Maška to teach with us. We went over repentance and read the 6 steps to repent in true to the faith. That was wonderful and I felt the spirit very strongly.  We finished teaching Radek all the lessons. So, now I don't know what we will teach him. President suggested starting to teach him temple prep and not dropping him. We will see how it goes. There is something stopping him from baptism. Then we had game night and we played ping pong and shared a spiritual thought about priesthood authority. 

Sunday was wonderful. Last minute, we were asked to throw together the relief society lesson. But, it turned out great. Then we went home and worked on digitalizing the area book. Afterwards, we went and had one of the best lessons I've had on my mission with Mengmeng and Daquan. The spirit was so strong and I know they felt it. We talked about the commandments, prayer, scripture study, and sabbath day observance. Then the spirit prompted us to commit them to be baptized. Daquan accepted a date but Mengmeng, still wasn't ready. It was so fun to watch their faces light up and have them recognize the Holy Ghost. My heart is just so full of love for them. Daquan also ended with the most beautiful, heartfelt prayer. Then we talked to and met some interesting people on the way home. We finished the night with correlation and said goodbye to Elder Graff who is flying home. It will be weird without him here. I've served with him since I got into the country... so 10 months now. Crazy. The rest of our district is staying the same which I'm grateful for. Elder Harrell is follow up training Elder Scott, who I got to serve with a little bit while I was in Plzen. This transfer, we lost so many missionaries, that there are only sisters in Plzen now, so they are joining our district. The district will be very similar to what it was while I was waiting for sister Draper to come. 

I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ.  He is always there to support me and lift me up. He leads me to the people that are ready to hear his message. He walks by my side and protects me from harm. He heals me when I'm sick... that was a miracle. This last Monday, I was not feeling good at all! I prayed for strength, so that I could do missionary work the next day because we had a lot going on. I know my family was praying for me at home too. I went to bed and I woke up the next day healed, full of energy, and ready to go to work. It was a testament to me that God is aware of me and that the work I am doing is very important. I love you all and keep sharing the beautiful message of the restored gospel! 

S laskou, 

Sestra Guymon 
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Monday, August 5, 2019

One Year Mark ! August 5, 2019

Ahoj,
Tuesday we had district council. Sis Draper and I practiced teaching about the Book of Mormon in Czech. I'm so proud of her for not being afraid to make mistakes! Then we had an awesome training from 1 kings 18 about how God is all powerful and that we need to worship him and not false idols. We were also able to set up with a less active we called so that we can go visit her when she gets back in town. Then we taught our English class which was a lot of fun. We talked about families.
Wednesday was wonderful. We picked up the Sister Training Leaders from the train station and went on exchanges with them.
I went with sister Nabrotzky. We did some finding and talked to a bunch of cool people. We talked to some Russians and to another lady in French. Haha. Then we had a first lesson with a girl sister Draper and I met on the bus. We taught her the restoration. It was wonderful. Then we came home and did our studies and I learned a lot about patience. Then we went and sat on a bench by the river to have an interview. 2 drunk guys came and sat by us and were trying to talk to us and flirt with us. I literally got up and said, "my musíme jit" "we have to go" and grabbed sister Nabrotzky by the hand and we got out of there. They called to us as we walked away. The Czech Republic is known for their beer, so we often have run ins with drunk people. Then we all went to dinner at a nice Czech Resuraunt. The zone leaders were also here on exchanges with the Elders, so we had a small mission reunion. It was a lot of fun. 
Thursday was my 1 year mark on the mission. Crazy stuff. It has flown by way to fast. It was a great day because we were able to get some missionaries in our zone to come to our area and we did group finding. One group did chalk displays while the other did a singing display. We switched after 2 hours and went for 4 hours total. It was a lot of fun and we found a lot of amazing people. We got ice cream to celebrate my year mark and the elders in my district remembered and gave me a chocolate bar which was super nice. Afterwards, we had a lesson with a woman named Jitka, whom the Elders tracted into. We taught her the plan of salvation and it was wonderful. Then we came home and did personal study and made halušky for dinner. 

Friday was a busy day. We had an awesome lesson with Andrea. She is starting to see God's hand in her life and how much he loves her. We also visited Věra and sang a song for her with the ukulele. Then the Glassers drove us to Husínec and we had a lesson with Eliška. She has 5 kids and twins on the way, so she has her hands full. Then we came home and did weekly planning. I was able to help people realize that we go through hard things in life so that God can help shape us. This life truly is a test. All of us have burdens to bare, but when we rely on Christ, those burdens are made lighter. 

Saturday we had a lesson with Honza, a person sis Rudd and I met on the street, and we finally set up with him. We talked about God, families, and prayer. Then I met up with my trainer sister Robert's who was here with her family on vacation and we went to lunch. Sister Robert's trainer sister Longhurst was also there and we invited Vojtěch who is a member. So we had 4 generations of trainers and the missionaries they trained. It was pretty fun. Another funny thing... Honza and a friend ended up at the same restaurant. We just seemed to keep running into each other. 
Then we had a lesson with Radek and talked about fasting and missionary work. Then for sports night we played a czech card game called "bang" because it was raining. 

Sunday was wonderful and I shared my testimony about the power of the atonement. I know that I will never be able to do enough or be enough without my savior. He lifts me up and makes my 80% reach the full 100%. He helps me turn my weaknesses into strengths. I have seen that a lot on my mission because I have a lot of weaknesses. Then we did some chalk displays in the park with the Elders, which turned out good. Then we had a lesson with Mengmeng and Daquan. They are wonderful people and we taught them the Gospel of Jesus Christ and they want to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized when they find out for themselves that our message is true. Then we came home and did some work digitalizing the areabook. 

Today we went to Český Krumlov which was a lot of fun! 

Here's a quote I've been thinking a lot about this week... I'm not sure who it is by, but it  says, "Choose joy! Don't wait for things to get easier, simpler, better. Life will always be complicated. Learn to be happy right now. Otherwise, you will run out of time. We can't often choose our circumstances but we can better control our reactions and emotions. Choose joy!" I love that because, even when we go through hard days or are in tough situations, we can still choose to be happy and find something to be grateful for. 

I love you all! Have a wonderful week full of miracles! 

S laskou, 

Sestra Guymon 
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