October 29, 2012:
I love understanding that life can be clear and happy with Christ
I am going to write about this week first before delving into other stuff so that you get a good email, haha, so stay with me! I am so grateful that you guys just loved that rockstar family I told you about. Boy, are we just praying for them! Also yes! [Our investigator] is on track to be baptized this Saturday. We are all very excited, and she asked Elder Nye to do the baptizing! So he is all nervous, it's so cute, but he'll do great. They'll just print out the Slovak prayer on a big piece of paper for him to read. The hotel has been ordered, talks assigned, and interview scheduled. We just have tithing to teach left, so we hope that goes over well. We had a big old party at Church yesterday, and we announced her baptism, and she was so happy! She went to talk to her mom about it yesterday, I hope that went over well. We have a meeting with her in two hours. So we'll see. But keep her in your prayers this week! The week of is usually the toughest. She is a rockstar, too, though. Totally gave up coffee this week! What an example!
I love understanding that life can be clear and happy with Christ
I am going to write about this week first before delving into other stuff so that you get a good email, haha, so stay with me! I am so grateful that you guys just loved that rockstar family I told you about. Boy, are we just praying for them! Also yes! [Our investigator] is on track to be baptized this Saturday. We are all very excited, and she asked Elder Nye to do the baptizing! So he is all nervous, it's so cute, but he'll do great. They'll just print out the Slovak prayer on a big piece of paper for him to read. The hotel has been ordered, talks assigned, and interview scheduled. We just have tithing to teach left, so we hope that goes over well. We had a big old party at Church yesterday, and we announced her baptism, and she was so happy! She went to talk to her mom about it yesterday, I hope that went over well. We have a meeting with her in two hours. So we'll see. But keep her in your prayers this week! The week of is usually the toughest. She is a rockstar, too, though. Totally gave up coffee this week! What an example!
(P.S. Father, I was DYING about your China story. I was laughing so hard, and everyone was looking at me, but I just had tears coming down my face it was so hilarious. This is exactly why you need to keep a journal. How are you doing on that by the way? And Mother, thank you for sending me that story. It was just what I needed! Keep them coming.)
Traveling to Brno... the Elders from Kosice (Slovakia) surprised us and got on the same train! So so fun.
So this was one LONG week. They go quick, but I can’t believe how much we did! So last Wednesday we had a Zone Training in Brno. President called me a few weeks ago and asked me to sing “Love is Spoken Here” with another Elder in the Zone, and I was way excited. Anyway, to get to Brno in time to be able to have time to practice in the morning we had to go there Tuesday night to sleep over with the Sisters. That was one long train ride, but it was fun. Sister Brimhall and I studied and then talked about deep things, hahah; Missions are so great. We evaluated ourselves and set goals for the future. Anyway, about three hours in we were talking to this lady in the same train car when I looked up and saw… Elder Romero! He was in my District last transfer, and I just love him. He is SO funny and oh my word, I just love seeing the Elders! I've been in single companionship cities for so long! So it's always so refreshing! But I looked up, and they were all just piling into this tiny little rundown train car saying "DOEBRY DAIN!" (our awful American accents), and we were just dying. The four of them sat across from us and this lady who wasn’t really interested, but they just started talking to her like nothing, hahah, so so great. Anyway, that was one happy train car. Then we had to switch trains later on, and it was so interesting, because the closer we got to Brno the colder and colder it got! It was freezing! Aaaah, not ready for that again! But winters here are magical.
Sister Brimhall and I in front of the Brno building once again a year later.
So we pulled up to Brno, and I looked over at Sister Brimhall, hugged her and said, “Sister Brimhall, we are back!!! Back in our city. Our beautiful Brno.” We bought some tram tickets to take us to the apartment when I said, “Sister, let's take the 32” (other side of the ‘nameste’), and she agreed. We walked through the main city, and it felt so unreal! It was really dark, and the Christmas lights were already up! I had my huge fatty backpack on my chest and my proselyting backpack on my back, and Sister Brimhall and I were just so happy. We saw all the places where we had done so much, talked about how cold it was, and talked about how magical this whole adventure has been. That's all a Mission is. One massive adventure. We got to the Brno apartment, and had a blast. There’s still a threesome in Brno from when Sister Dolinar and I left Jičín, and it is Sister Dolinar, Jorgensen, and Bowler. We had such a great time. And during nightly planning while sitting on the floor, Sister Brimhall and I tried to speak Czech, and it was SO HARD! Haha, words that used to be so familiar now sound so foreign coming out of our mouths. It's crazy. But it'll come back someday when I start studying it again!
The next morning we got up early to shower etc., and Sister Brimhall and I went to the Church building early for me to warm up. Then the Elders came, and we practiced, and then everyone we love started piling in. President, other missionaries, the Seniors... it was so great. The Mission Doctor came to visit, and he takes care of 18 countries I think it is, and he came to give us a little training on how to cut out ingrown toe nails and how to avoid ticks. I got so excited seeing medical slides! It's been a while. I love bodies! And then President gave his training, and after lunch Elder Meredith and I sang our song. I think it went well :). When it's your last training, you get to bear your testimony to everyone, and it was Sister Brimhall's last as well as a few other missionaries'. I cried. I don’t want this to end. I hate that it's ending. I hate having to think that I'm next. I love everyone so much. I love coming together and feeling the Spirit. I love all these faces, I love the gospel, I love understanding that life can be clear and happy with Christ and have so many others around me who are going through the same struggles and triumphs. It has been a magical ride, I still have two more months, but I got all emotional. We got to hitch a ride with the Nyes back to Slovakia afterwards, and it was a great car ride, because I hadn’t gotten mail in over two months, and so I was just loving the letters. AND Mother love, I got my two packages! THANK YOU. I have been sucking on York Mints all week. Nothing like a York Mint. Thank you for that.
Then it was back to normal work for a few days, teaching lessons, loving everyone, but on Saturday night President came into town, because we had Branch Conference scheduled for Sunday. Out here there are these language programs called language levels. You have to teach lessons, read chapters, make outlines, memorize Scriptures, and then when you get your first or second or third language award it is announced at trainings, and you get a cool paper. Anyway, got my first Slovak one, and so President takes those who switch countries and get their award in the other language out to dinner. So we got to have our President’s Dinner on Saturday night. It was so fun to be with them. We were just cracking up. I love the Irwins. They have a really good relationship and just love each other so much and treat each other so well. Plus they are English, so they just sound so cute.
Sister Irwin and I.
The waiter forgot to bring our soup out, and so the head waiter guy got really worried we'd complain or something, so he just kept coming over multiple times to apologize, and we kept telling him it was totally fine. We're Mormon. We're chill you know? Haha, but after we were done eating President was like, “Alright! Let's get some ‘palacinky!’” (crepes) and we got excited, but before we could order, the guy comes out with these poppy seed and cheese curd desserts that are so common here, but we just aren’t used to them, and they are just so hard to wash down. They just PILE poppy seeds in this dough thing, and it is not sweet at all and makes you gag. Anyway, so he was like, “This is free, we are so sorry.” So we're all faced with this mountain of poppy seed, so we start trying to get it down. At one point I look over at President, and he tries to shove the whole thing into his mouth and swallow, but he just couldn’t do it, hahaha, I was dying. And then I pretended to start putting mine on his plate when he was done, and in an English accent he was like, "Don’t you dare!" Hahahaha, oh my gosh. Cultural experience. And then when we were done the guy comes out with these salty rolls that were... not good. I put mine in my backpack, and President said, "He's being so thoughtful... Now let's get out of here before he gets any more thoughtful!" Hahah, so that was so fun. Good memories. At one point I had Sister Irwin laughing so hard. It was perfect. I love laughter.
Us with brother Holy from Brno on Sunday. We just love his family so much.
Sunday we had a great Branch Conference. Over twenty people were in the Church building, and our investigator came an hour early while we were cleaning, because he didn’t realize the clocks had gone back! He was so cute. He is just repenting up a storm, and I just love him! After Church I felt like we needed to travel out to visit him and give him more reading, which we did. Hopefully we'll meet with him today.
Sister Nye, sister Kolkova from Ostrava and I on Sunday. She is the District Relief Society Pres and she loves me, haha.
Ok, I gotta get to the mundane things, so that's all for now! I love my Mission. It's so hard, and Second Nephi is really coming to life, we learn from opposition. But good thing we have God to rely on and things like prayer and the Scriptures.
Love,
Sister Izatt
Love,
Sister Izatt