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September 10, 2012:
I know the Plan of Salvation is the Plan of Happiness
Ok, I am going to start typing today earlier so that you can actually hear from me. Hah, sorry the last few weeks have been bad. I just get so into your emails, and then I always have to show Sister Pysnakova all of the pictures Mother sends me of Matilda eating Rexu's food. Ah so great. Hahah, I am so happy our family loves the little things, and that we are so quirky. Thank you for all you do. All of my companions are dying to meet you all. Someday. But not today. I still got time :).
I know the Plan of Salvation is the Plan of Happiness
Ok, I am going to start typing today earlier so that you can actually hear from me. Hah, sorry the last few weeks have been bad. I just get so into your emails, and then I always have to show Sister Pysnakova all of the pictures Mother sends me of Matilda eating Rexu's food. Ah so great. Hahah, I am so happy our family loves the little things, and that we are so quirky. Thank you for all you do. All of my companions are dying to meet you all. Someday. But not today. I still got time :).
So this week's highlight was that we were able to go to something called the Wallace Toronto project. I don’t really know all the history, but what I have gathered is that he was the first Mission President here. Anyway, every year they have this massive service project for members and non-members alike where they come together for a weekend and do a few service projects for a specific city. This year the city of Zilina was chosen, which is about two hours by train from Banska.
I had heard that President didn’t want any missionaries other than the Zilina ones going, but I texted him just to make sure. And he definitely replied that no, we couldn’t go. But throughout the week we talked to him a few times about some things, and then I offhandedly said, "You know President, our investigator is going to the project, so if you want you could let us go with her."
I didn’t think that he'd actually be convinced, but then he said, "You have an investigator going? Ok, well I'll think about it then." Hahahah, and wouldn’t you know it he called later and said we could go if we had an investigator, but that he'd called all the other missionaries in Slovakia and none of them had an investigator going. So I asked, "So it's a green light for anyone with an investigator?" and he said yes! So we started harassing all the missionaries to get investigators going! Aaaahahaa, oh poor President.
But there were so many missionaries there, but it was good, because since the option was open everyone started pushing their investigators to go. And we not only had one investigator go, but two. AND our less active we've been working with! So great! The Elders were already on the train so we all had spots, and that was fantastic. Speaking Slovak left and right! And then we got there and were met by the Branch President's wife who is in her twenties, and she drove us girlies to the project, which was at a school for little kids.
It honestly looked more like a rundown orphanage to me than a school. There were dirty cribs everywhere. And cobwebs all over the place, and the linen was dirty, and the yard was not taken care of in the least. So we went there and started raking and weeding and sweeping. And then we also cleaned out this nasty storage room that seriously hadn’t been cleaned in years. I felt so bad for the little kids who actually stay there. It was horrible.
The problem was that they had separated all the missionaries from the members etc. because all the members were at the main project which was at the dam picking up garbage. So [our young investigator] unfortunately wasn’t able to meet any youth, which was the reason we'd wanted to go in the first place--to help her see that the Church is bigger than the 3 members at Banska. But the dam was a good hour or so walk away, and so we were stuck and just made the best of it.
President finally came, and we asked him if he could drive us to the main project, and he gladly did so. We met up with the rest of the group, but it was already over. But at least she got to see about 100 members (people had come down from the Czech Republic as well), so that was great. There was this HUGE truck thing pulling one of those MASSIVE metal dumpsters around the whole dam, and once you had your bag full of trash you’d walk up to it, empty your bag, and go back to work. They filled up TWO of those huge dumpster things! TWO. The place was filthy. So that was cool to see that.
We all got my favorite shade of green shirts (I like apple green as well, but grass green is also a fave), and Sister Irwin had saved us ‘Smalls’, bless her heart. I shall wear this shirt forever! We sang ‘God Be with You till We Meet Again’ and that was fun. Then we convinced a member to take us to the train station in his bus of a car, paid him for gas, and started the trek back home. I love adventures! The Toronto project was really great, and I was grateful we were able to go. You should look it up. www.torontofoundation.org . Really neat. I bet it has a good history.
Another interesting thing that happened this week was that we were able to go to a non-religious funeral. The Relief Society President here in Banska told us on Sunday that her father-in-law had passed away. The Nyes (he is presiding over the Branch) asked us to go visit her one day that week, which we did, and I brought up the funeral. The Nyes didn’t realize someone had died, and they encouraged us to go to the funeral. We asked if we could, and the Relief Society President said she'd love it if we came. So we did. I told Sister Pysnak that we needed to dress in all black, and she didn’t understand why. She has never been to a non-LDS funeral, so it was new for her. But all morning she was wearing a pink shirt and didn’t think it was that big of a deal, but I told her about Mother, and how she was always buying black clothes that we could "wear to a funeral" and so she changed. Boy were we glad. Everyone was head to toe in black. Literally. It was held at this crematorium outside of the city, and they have a funeral every hour, so when we got there the previous one had just ended, and there were SWARMS of people dressed in black. Sister Pysnak’s mouth dropped open. We went, and it was such an empty, awful funeral. They had decided to have a "non-religious funeral" and so there was just a lady who came and talked into this microphone, and I don’t understand a ton of Slovak, but she kept saying that this was "the end." The end of everything. And then she bowed to the casket, and this really loud creepy organ music came on. And everyone was bawling. AH it was horrible! And the casket was propped up onto this cement thing, and below it I could see that metal things were holding it up so that afterwards it could be lowered into the basement and burned. So awful! And at the end of the organ music these two big metal things came from either side and covered the coffin making this metal wall so you couldn’t see it anymore. We waited until the end and then quietly left while everyone was shaking hands.
We had about 20 minutes before the bus, so I asked Sister Pysnak if she would like to go to the cemetery right next to the crematorium, and she said she would. I have always found cemeteries peaceful places. Sister Pysnak had a little sister die in a skiing accident the year we were at Wyview together. That morning before the funeral I asked Sister Pysnak to tell me more about her sister (I ask about her a lot, because I love mine so much), and she told me about Megan, and started to cry. I held her for a few minutes and cried with her. We continued our conversation about her all day, but especially in the cemetery. I asked about her sister's grave, and she said that they never feel peace when they are there, but that they'd rather go to her bedroom, because they feel her more there. Sister Pysnak told me about how President Monson and other General Authorities had gone to her sister’s funeral (in their family they actually call it her graduation, because she has just graduated to the next level of life), and how President Monson had spoken about peace and Christ and hope.
We had about 20 minutes before the bus, so I asked Sister Pysnak if she would like to go to the cemetery right next to the crematorium, and she said she would. I have always found cemeteries peaceful places. Sister Pysnak had a little sister die in a skiing accident the year we were at Wyview together. That morning before the funeral I asked Sister Pysnak to tell me more about her sister (I ask about her a lot, because I love mine so much), and she told me about Megan, and started to cry. I held her for a few minutes and cried with her. We continued our conversation about her all day, but especially in the cemetery. I asked about her sister's grave, and she said that they never feel peace when they are there, but that they'd rather go to her bedroom, because they feel her more there. Sister Pysnak told me about how President Monson and other General Authorities had gone to her sister’s funeral (in their family they actually call it her graduation, because she has just graduated to the next level of life), and how President Monson had spoken about peace and Christ and hope.
I saw so clearly then the difference we have when we have the gospel. Life is such a precious thing, and when we have the gospel we understand that it doesn’t end with physical death. Because of Christ we can be again with those we love so much. And that is so beautiful. I love Him so much. He is our Savior. Our Savior from pain both physical and emotional. He saves us from losing all hope, He saves me from feeling inadequate at times, He saves me from the worry of not knowing what the future holds. He is my Big Brother who paid the price of the plane ticket that was way too much for me to ever afford to be able to see my Father again. I am so grateful. I know the Plan of Salvation is the Plan of Happiness.
It really really is the way we can be happy in a world that is fallen and full of imperfect, mortal people. I am grateful that I have a chance to be with loved ones again, and I am grateful death is not the end. I am grateful for learning to mourn with those that mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort. The Atonement can change us. And will if applied. I love life, and I love knowing that it will forever continue.
You are all so wonderful, thank you for your support. You're in my prayers!
S laskou,
Sestra Izattova
You are all so wonderful, thank you for your support. You're in my prayers!
S laskou,
Sestra Izattova