Ahoj!
How's everyone doing??
It's hit that point when all the weeks start blurring together and by the time I go to write in my journal at night I can't even remember what I did that day. So let's see what I can remember.
We started going out and contacting in the mornings just to wake us up and get us pumped for the day. But we kinda ran into a problem because the only people on the streets in the mornings are Czech Babičky haha. They're really willing to talk to you and their so cute, but by the end the conversation just turns into them telling you how you really should put on extra layers and not be outside when it's cold. Don't ask me why their fragile self is allowed to be outside and we aren't, cause I still haven't figured that out yet haha. Talking to Czech grandmas is my favorite.
One of the elders in our district has some relatives in a little town outside of UH, so we went with him and his comp and had dinner and met his relatives. They were so cool. And she actually gave us a service opportunity, so we're gonna stay in contact with them! We're way stoked.
We went to a member's house and made a massive pot of Halušky (a Slovak dish). Literally my favorite ever. But they pulled out the bryndza (sheep cheese), and it was definitely not the kind you buy from a regular store. This stuff was the real deal. We were so stoked to try it. BUT we found out it was unpasteurized. The new handbook says we cant eat unpasteurized stuff, and let me tell you that was one of the biggest tests I've had on my mission so far haha. It took everything we had to bring it up and tell him we couldn't eat the bryndza. But we opted for 100% obedience and it all worked out. We got some pasteurized bryndza and tried not to cry too hard as they ate the other stuff.
Sestra Twitchell and I went on a výlet today to these castle ruins in Lukov near Zlín. We hiked up to it, and it was so sick. So gorgeous. And there were no people there so it was even cooler. I bet you can guess what we did at the top. That's right...we played Skipbo! Such a perfect výlet. I love the Czech Republic. I love this mission.
We wrote a ton of notes for the members in the ward and we've been delivering them. We thought it would only take us 2 hours to deliver them, but 2 hours later and we literally only got 3 done. We didnt even make it off of our street haha. We forgot that Czech grandmas like to invite you in and show you their tree and pictures of their grandkids and tell you about their life haha. And you always end up leaving with some sort of food. As we kept delivering the notes, members kept inviting us in to talk, so it's been way cool. Such a cool opportunity to get close to the members.
One cool experience with that actually started a few weeks ago. This family from America (the dad is Czech) came to visit. He brought his mom to church and turns out shes not only a less active member, but she lives right across the street from us! We decided to bring her a note, and she ended up inviting us in and talking to us for about 45 minutes. It was so cool! We told her to call if she ever needed any help, and she ended up calling us that night with something we could help her with. It was such a cool experience. I love missionary work.
We taught this other lady that has been coming to English for years. She also comes to church every week and activities that we have. And she participates in a Come Follow Me Book of Mormon study group that some of the member do. She's not a member though. And she's not an investigator. She says that she doesn't believe God is there. In her words "in my life I have bread and butter. You all have bread, butter, and honey. You have happier lives, but I don't want your honey." We're pretty sure that she's just so tired of fighting to try to feel like God is there and not getting a result. She's tired of fighting and it's just easier for her to tell herself she doesn't want it. It broke my heart talking with her. I just want so badly for her to feel Heavenly Father's love for her. She'll come around eventually.
You know, sometimes you have rough days. It's hard to keep going. But then Heavenly Father sends you on a perfect výlet and on the way home He sends you a view of the cutest Czech village with a gorgeous sunset even though it was supposed to be pitch black by then. And it's moments like those that you know everything is gonna be okay.
Spiritual Thought:
I was doing Come, Follow Me this week, and a phrase stuck out to me:
"I desire the room that I may write the things of God." -1 Nephi 6:3
Sometimes life gets busy. There's an endless list of things to do, people to talk to, assignments to complete, Netflix shows to watch...
Busy is good. It means you're productive. But sometimes if we aren't careful, the busy productivity can start pushing out the things that matter most. Effective scripture study, meaningful prayers, precious time with family. They all take second place on your list of priorities. We start filling the room in our lives with things that don't really make a difference in the long run. There's always points in my life where I find myself doing this. And then I begin longing for a better relationship with my Heavenly Father. I long for that closeness and the power that comes from feeling like I'm on God's side and He's on mine. Like Nephi said, "I desire the room that I may write the things of God." I think we should all make more room to write the things of God in our lives. Maybe then we could find a little more peace and happiness, because I know that when we have the spiritual part of our lives figured out, the rest of it falls into place. It's such a cool thing.
I hope you all have such a good week! Thanks for all the prayers and support! Love you all!
Sestra Lewis
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