Letter: 28 November 2015

Dear all,

Do you know how much I love my mission? Because I really do love it!
It is full of ups and downs but I would not regret it at all. I am learning more than I ever thought I would and although it isn't anything like I thought it would be (we have so many "I never thought that would happen on my mission moments") I love every single moment. I love the moments that make me laugh. I love the moments that are touched with the spirit more than I ever thought they could be. I love the trials I face each day because they help me learn more and more each day. I love the people I meet on the street, on public transport and at church. I love every opportunity I am given each day to testify of Christ. I LOVE MY MISSION!!! 

We help to clean the chapel every week

This week was the perfect opportunity to reflect on why I love my mission because we had Thanksgiving! I never thought I would celebrate big American holidays in Eastern Europe as a missionary but when you are serving close to your mission president, it is a must. It is his favourite holiday! He even changed our P-day (besides emailing) to Thursday so we could enjoy it more! We spent the morning singing as a district to get in our proselyting for the day and then we started the celebrations! We had a turkey bowl as a district with the McConkies (but I was still getting over a cold so I was bundled up and put in the kitchen with our amazing senior couples to finish food preparations) and then afterwards we had an amazing feast! There were various members from all over the world and we even had the privilege of being joined by the newest member of the branch who was baptized just last Saturday! It was his first Thanksgiving ever and he loved it! I was reminded of the many miracles that have happened this year to get me to where I am today and I was amazed at how many little miracles happen each day! Count them and you will be amazed yourself!

The day before Thanksgiving, we had zone conference! And I love Zone Conferences! This one was extra special since we were told all about the many things we will be doing for Christmas!!! I am so excited! We will be doing a lot of visits and teaching and service and I am so excited! Christmas as a missionary is extraordinary and all those who have already experienced it have gotten me so excited! President finished all of our trainings with a Jesus thought. He reads something to us about Christ and tells us about the deeper meaning behind it and I love it! This time he shared with us John 10:1-14 and taught us more about the different tools of a Shepard so we could understand the deeper meaning behind the use of the word Shepard as a description of Christ. It was incredible! I encourage you to read it and study it.

This really is such an opportunity for me to learn more about my Saviour and come closer to Him. I feel like I have already learned so much just from reading about Him in the scriptures and trying to act as He would. Yesterday on the way home that evening I remembered what I had learned of Christ that day and it helped me to focus so much more on others. I just turned around on the tram and started talking to the lady sitting behind me and thought of what Christ would do and say if He were the one in my place. It helped so much! It completely changed what I was thinking and helped me to focus so much more on that woman. We had a great conversation about the Gospel and she even mentioned that she has met missionaries before and notices the light in our eyes each time. I just knew that she recognized the Spirit and we talked more about Christ and His role. It was awesome! I truly love being a missionary!

I really want to make the most out of my mission and I am seeing and recognizing that I will do so best as I strive to focus on the Saviour and His teachings and do my best to represent Him. I know that to be true and I am so excited for the many opportunities I have to share that message with others.

I know that He lives and loves us. I know that He is my Saviour and no matter what, He is always there for me.

I LOVE YOU ALL!

S laskou,

Sestra Manners

P.S. the Christmas markets are up and I am soo excited!! Eek! Here is a sneek peek :) 

 

Letter: 21 November 2015

Ahoj!!

This week was soo great! Super spiritual and I have been able to recognize the whispering of the Spirit more and more each day.

We had the best surprise ever this past Sunday! Our most recent convert who was baptized the end of last month told us he had something to show us. Little did we know that he has holding his temple recommend in his hands! I just about cried with happiness because I was sooo excited for him! I am still in awe and I can not stop smiling whenever I see him! He is a spiritual giant and I am so proud of him!

We had a really spiritual experience helping someone prepare to be baptized by committing to a date this week. It was incredible! It was really led by the Spirit and although I felt like it was the worst Czech I have ever spoken, it was a time when I felt the Spirit the strongest on my mission. There is so much power in teaching by the Spirit! 

We did service this week for a beloved member and we were able to teach them the power of prayer at the same time! Their door locked on us and we were all stuck in the same room. My awesome companion offered to say a prayer and shortly after the door worked again! It was a miracle and really softened his heart.

We had some amazing help from members this week. Their faith helps us so much and they all have the incredible pioneer stories of faith. Most of them come from atheist backgrounds and their hearts were softened by reading the Book of Mormon and listening to the message and the spirit. Amazing!!!

I made a really funny language mistake this week. I was trying to set up with a referral and asked them if we could 'chodit spolu' which is the way that Czechs ask people out on dates... I was really surprised the referral said yes and why sis D was laughing but it all makes sense now! I am learning that the best way to learn is by making silly mistakes like asking investigators out! 

Sister Manners with Evie, daughter of the Mission President

I am loving my mission! Today we went and walked around Prague with Evie, our mission sister (Mission President's daughter) and she showed us some sights that not a lot of tourists know about! It was really cool! 

A Prague canal

I hope you are all having a great week and enjoy thanksgiving! That is actually when my Pday will be next week! So make sure you email me by Wednesday evening at the latest. I love you all!

I know more and more each day that this church is true and that Christ is my Saviour. I know He lives and loves me.

s laskou,

Sestra Manners 

This is what I did today!  We had a baptism (the assistants taught him but he is a really great guy and wanted a pic with us!) 

Letter: 14 November 2015

Hello everybody!

This week was crazy! It flew by so so fast and I loved it! We definitely had a lot of things we were not expecting (like a doctors visit since most of our district were sick with a virus but thank goodness we are all good and healthy!)

This week we got a new senior couple in the Prague district. They are such sweethearts and I love having so many wise people to serve alongside that are like parents to me (I have quite as few sets of parents and moms in Prague now!).

This week I have really seen how important the Spirit is. It has been so strongly present in our lessons this week and sometimes we end up teaching about something completely different to what we had planned as directed by the Spirit. I love it! Sometimes scriptures I read weeks ago come to my mind in answer to a question or a concern and I know that they are by the Spirit.

I am also seeing the blessings that are coming from having a wonderful district this transfer! We often do something called a singing display where half of us sing and the other half contact but we also have an Elder with us that plays the guitar. Music really does help to invite the Spirit so much as it appropriate and we met so many incredible people as we had these singing displays going on. I love music so much!

Well today was probably the funniest P-day ever! We started out by trying to bake brownies for some members in the branch but we still have no idea how the oven works properly and we ended up burning them and it caused quite the cloud of smoke (thank goodness for large windows and senior couples who help to keep us calm via a phone call). And then this afternoon we decided to do a quick walk around Prague and got utterly lost. It was really funny and we saw some gorgeous things during our little adventure! Like this amazing view of Prague!

My favorite part of this week happened clear back on Sunday: we had district conference and many members of the district were being ordained to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood. They stood up during the meeting as their names were called. One dear sweet man that we love who has been inactive for the past 5ish years was among those who stood up! We were in awe! It was such a miracle and we are so happy for him! He is amazing!

I am so grateful for all of your help and love and prayers. They are helping miracles to happen here in Prague!

s laskou,

Setra Manners 

I am still burning things when cooking!

Letter: 7 November 2015

Dear all, 

I love my mission! It is seriously the best decision I have ever made! (Besides becoming a member of the church and in the first place deciding to follow Heavenly Father's plan of course!) 

This week has been amazing! It has been so so busy and I have loved it. I seriously have learned so much and I am soo grateful for every experience! Here are just a couple: 

I learned that is really important to have a plan B! We met with a new investigator on Sunday whop said he was going to make us dinner.. little did we know that he planned to take us out for dinner! That was the perfect opportunity to teach him about the Sabbath but also we switched it into an opportunity to give him a building tour and ended up having a treat party with him in the chapel with the Elders :) It was quite the experience but I loved it! Thank you for those who give treats to missionaries! They make be used to save an very awkward lesson :)

Down in the metro (with the 1960s sci-fi walls)

We had a branch baptism this week! A lady and man that have been investigating for over 6 months joined the church this week! It was incredible and they are both glowing with the spirit! The lady took this huge breathe after she came out of the water and it was amazing! It reminded me that baptism really does represent a new beginning for us as disciples of Christ. 

Also on a random side note (this is mainly for Matt) but sis D and I started teaching a Chilean man! He is soo cool and he is here on vacation for a few weeks, met another member from Chile who is here, too and they started meeting with us this past week. Teaching them is soo different since they are soo bubbly and chatty but I have loved it!

I got a package from my family!

Testimony power this week: Sister D and I were calling potential investigators and one phone call was really tough and the woman didn't show any interest. However Sis D reminded me to testify and as soon as I started doing that, her heart was softened and she was touched by the Spirit. 

Heavenly Father has given us so many talents and as a missionary I am just starting to learn what that means in regards to service. Today, I had my first expreicnes translating a church meeting. Sis D and I were translating together but she wasn't feeling very well so she handed me the microphone and I translated most of the meeting. It was definitely led by the Spirit and I could feel my prayers being answered as I felt peace and comfort trying to understand this hard language and then translate it into English for district conference. We are also starting a German class this week! I am soo excited! Please pray that we will find people to teach!

We had a really long tough day this week and were picking up a few random things for dinner and we found some flowers and bought them for us! It was soo funny but we are loving our little pink roses that we get to look at each morning :) when in doubt: buy flowers

Today I am emailing a little later than usual because we did a service project this morning! We went and helped this sweet family with the assistants to prepare their horse ranch for winter. It was soo much fun and I wore more layers than I have in a long time since we thought it would be cold, but it ended up being a really warm day! It was soo much fun!  

Something that I really enjoyed learning this week is that the Spirit truly is the greatest teacher. We had some tough lessons this week that really felt like we were not teaching as well as we could have. But the Spirit taught us so much more. I know that by listening to the Spirit and inviting those we teach to simply read the scriptures, pray and attend church helped me to learn that it really is by the Spirit that we come to know the truth of all things. 

I love my mission so much but I love my Savior even more. He is the perfect example for us and he helps me to become better each day as I use is Atonement. 

I love you and thank you for all you do for missionaries around the world! You are amazing! 

S Laskou,

Sestra Manners

Riding on the tram

Letter: 31 October 2015

Hello all!

All is well here in the Czech Republic and I cannot believe that I am already in my second transfer in the field! Time really does fly by! We saw so many miracles this week and I have them all written down in my journal but like a true Czech Slovak missionary, I am out of time. 

Our District went to the top of this beautiful tower called Petrin, like a mini Eiffel Tower!

I assure you all that all is well and that I am loving life as a missionary. I am serving in the most beautiful place with an amazing companion!

Hope all is well.

I love you!

Love,

Sestra Manners 

We rode the Metro and it was empty!