Sister Kylie Guymon

Monday, September 9, 2019

So Much Traveling -- September 9, 2019

Čau všem,

Tuesday was a busy day. We got up and got on a train to Plzen for district council. It was one of the most spiritual district councils I have had on my mission. Everyone shared their conversion stories and the spirit was so strong. We grew a lot closer as a district. Then we went to lunch and they took 40 minutes to bring our food, so we ate it in 5 minutes and practically ran to the train station to catch a train home. Then we had a wonderful lesson with Andrea. Afterwards, Jirka came to English with us. We taught the conversational class this week which was fun!

Wednesday we got on another train to go to Prague for Progressive training. I learned a lot more about the history of the mission. The first missionary, Thomas Biesinger came here in 1884. On July 24, 1929 the Czech Republic was dedicated for the preaching of the gospel by President Nelson at Karlštejn. In 1933, the Book of Mormon was translated into Czech. Wallace Toronto was the first mission President and had to evacuate the mission for World War II from 1939-1945. On May 15, 2016 the first stake in the Czech Republic was dedicated by President Uchdorf. Now, we are working towards a second stake and a temple. The history here is so rich and so many people have sacrificed so much for religion. The members here are truly amazing. After training, we came home and ran into our neighbor on the 3rd floor. We asked her if we could bring her something and she accepted. So, we brought her some muffins we made and she gave us a tour of her house and showed us all her family pictures and her husband's ashes. We talked about how families can be together forever and she believes that. She is such a sweet lady. She kept trying to give us little gifts and we ended up with some wafer cookies and jam. She said she felt that there was something different and special about us. I'm glad that she was able to feel the Holy Ghost. I hope we can keep bringing her joy and teach her the gospel.

Thursday we had a normal day. We did our studies and then went to visit Věra. We shared a thought and then we went and talked to some people on a busy street. We met a miracle. One woman we talked to used to have the missionaries come by all the time, but then she moved to Germany and she just moved back. We gave her information about church and she gave us her address so that we can go visit her. The cool thing was... on this busy road out of all the people we could have talked to, I looked up and saw her. Sister Draper saw her too and without saying anything to each other, we knew we had to talk to her. The spirit really guides us to the people we need to talk to. We then taught Jirka the plan of salvation and he accepted it and said he knew it was true. He has been keeping our commitments and is progressing well. It is exciting to watch. Then we came home and did weekly planning, companion inventory and device audits.

Friday we did all of our studies in the morning. Then we packed and got on a train to go to Prague. Well, there was an accident on the track, so we had to get onto another train, then a bus, and then back onto another train to get there. However, we did meet a super nice lady who helped us figure out where we needed to go. We got her number and are going to meet up with her next week. From Prague, we took the metro to a bus station and then took a bus to Liberec. It was a total of 6 hours of traveling. Crazy. But, we made it. We crashed at the Jone's house with the Plzen sisters for the night.

Saturday we took part in the Walace Toronto Service project. He was the first mission President and we do the project in remembrance of him. There were 4 different stations of service. For our station, we literally took out a forest. We pulled out trees and branches and vines. We placed them all in a pile and by the end, the pile was as big as a house. I don't know how they are going to get rid of that huge pile of trees. We cleared out the forest so that it can be made into a playground for kids. If there is one thing I can say about Czechs, it is that they know how to work! Even little kids were dragging branches for hours. They gave us a tea break because the weather was a little rainy and cold and they fed us fried chicken and potatoe salad for lunch. Afterwards, we met met up with everyone and I got to see my friends from Třebič. Then we drove home with the Glassers and it only took us 3 hrs to get home. We finished the day by having correlation with our branch President.

Sunday was busy we went early to church to meet Gita. We visited with her and got things ready for church. Sister Draper gave a talk about the Holy ghost and I translated. We had 3 people we are teaching at church. However, after church was very frustrating because there was a returning member giving the people we are teaching anti material and there was a whole big debate that went down. It was horrible. For some reason, Czechs really like to debate. After church we had a lesson with Mengmeng and Daquan and we talked about the holy ghost. We discussed how they can recognize the holy ghost and receive answers to their prayers. It was a good lesson.

Today we went to Česky Krumlov and the Dransfields came up to visit. It was a lot of fun!

Love you all,

Sestra Guymon

Monday, September 2, 2019

Miracles -- September 2, 2019

Ahoj,

Tuesday we did our studies in the morning and then we went to meet Andrea. She had her 2 kids with her, so we met at a park and talked. It was a good lesson, even though there were a lot of interruptions and distractions. We also had a lesson with Radek and he got emotional in our lesson. That was the first time I've ever seen him get emotional and it confirmed to me that the promptings I received during our last lesson were accurate. It amazes me how much the spirit will reveal to us so that we can help people progress and come closer to Christ. We finished the day by teaching our English class. We had to teach both the beginner and intermediate classes. It went well and we had a good turn out.

Wednesday we contacted Jirka who is a referral from Andrea. We taught him the restoration and he is sincerely interested in our message. He said he has been searching for the truth for 20-30 years and hasn't been able to find it. He asked a lot of wonderful questions during the lesson. We gave him his own Book of Mormon and he had already read some parts from it with Andrea. I'm excited to see where he goes. Then we went and did some trackting. We rang a lot of doorbells and went up a lot of flights of stairs. Unfortunately, we didn't have a ton of success. Then we prepare for our training and did some work in the area book.

Thursday we woke up early and took a 2 hour train ride to Prague for zone conference. Sister Draper and I did a presentation on keeping a clean apartment which was really good. We made some funny videos to get people laughing and got creative with it. A clean apartment helps us feel the spirit and it really is the closest thing we have to the temple in this mission. We recieved some wonderful trainings and council. Our mission is completely changing the way we are doing finding. We are getting a whole lot more creative with it, which I am excited for. It will be really different compared to the street finding and trackting I've done my entire mission. Ideas like scavenger hunts and car washes have been thrown out. So we will see how it helps us find new people to teach. It was truly an inspired training.

Friday was a day full of miracles. We had quite the adventure the night before. I woke up to a bug flying right by my ear and it wouldn't leave me alone, so I turned on the light and discovered that there was a bat in our room flying around. It scared me so bad and I hid under the covers for a second until I got it back together. Then I watched it fly around for a second and tried to wake sister Draper, but she was sound asleep. So I had to face the bat on my own. I opened all the windows and then took cover in bed and that is when sister Draper woke up and watched a black object fly out the window, then she looked at me and I just said, "It's a bat." We laughed at how crazy that experience was and then we went back to bed.

After the bat episode, we got ready for the day. We had a lesson with Věra and afterwards had a lesson with Andrea about tithing which went really well. Then we noticed the farmers market down the street from the church building. Andrea offered to show us some things in the farmers market, so we walked down the street. Then she had to run, but we walked a little further to take a picture. While snapping the pic an older man approached us, he said "hello, excuse me, you are sisters of my church" a little confused we asked where he was from and he told us he was from Germany; he was here looking for his ancestors. We had a wonderful conversation and were so happy to help him. We asked if he would be here Sunday and he said he would and would love to join us at church! We pointed down the busy street to our church, gave him a card with our number, and pointed him in the direction of his grandfather's house and continued on. Such a miracle we met a member all the way from Germany, who we were able to invite to church and help do family history! But the miracle gets better.... The Elders met up with one of the people they are teaching just after we finished our lesson with Andrea and she brought them homemeade doughnuts. While this woman peeked out the door of the church for look for her husband, she started talking to someone and she invited then in to meet the missionaries. Turns out, it was the German guy sister Draper and I talked to earlier. The Elders walked with the man to his ancestors house and there they ended up meeting a potential person they are teaching who they haven't been able to get a hold of. So, it was really crazy to see God's perfect timing and his hand in everything.

Saturday we did some more finding at the festival and asked people the questions of the soul. We were surrounded by people, however, not many of them would stop and talk to us. We cleaned the church to get it ready for Sunday and then we had a lesson with Radek. It went well, but he still wants to take baptism slowly even though we have taught him everything. I really can't figure out what is stopping him. But, I trust in the lord's timing. Then we had sports night and played ultimate frisbee. We got the frisbee stuck in the tree twice and Radek climbed up to get it which was crazy. But, we got it down and had a good time.

Sunday was busy. We had a lot of visitors. The guy we met from Germany came to church and shared his testimony about family history. Radek shared his testimony about fasting. I had to play the piano and help translate, so it was busy. Then we came home and did our studies. We have never done studies on Sunday but President asked us to do so at our last zone training. So Sunday flew by and Mengmeng and Daquan canceled their lesson with us, which was disappointing. We ended the night with correlation.

Today we got soaking wet buying groceries and walking home with them. We made some banana chocolate chip muffins and took them around to people and that was a lot of fun. The best part of the day was being able to talk to my cute family. I love them so much and thanks to the gospel, I know that I will be able to live with them forever. Even after this life. That us such a blessing.

I hope you all have a wonderful week.

S laskou,

Sestra Guymon

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.

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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