Week 50

Hi family! 

Sorry if this email is weird - Sestra White and I don't speak English so this feels kind of strange. This week we worked really hard - we found a lot of really good, interested people this week.. Miracles! Another miracle this week - it was hot and humid and we were trakting - a lady was like please go away but still really nice. Then when we kept going she yelled at us POJDTE and so we came and she gave us giant juicy tomatoes from her graden. We went to the beautiful Trebic this week - if you have been following along .. and anyone reads these things.. we went to trebic my first 2 months in brno because the members there LOVE sisters but there are no sisters there. And we visit the really old ladies and accept all the cookies and ice cream and bearded kisses and go home. Well then they opened up jihlava to sisters last transfer so we didnt go to trebic but now im in jihlava so im going again. Its really a fun time. The members there are so strong we just love them. And we get the awesome train rides home that are absolutely gorgeous. Also we work on this really cool farmers farm every saturday. His babička said she wanted all the potatoes pryc so I took a knife and had at it. Turns out there were a TON of really good red potatoes in there and they wanted to just throught them all out. so I stuffed them all in my pockets - we had them for dinner last night. THey were SO good! Also he has an ostrich and a llama. then babička feedds us a ton of food and we go home. she made some awesome kuřecí steak and more potatoes - i admit i ate about 6 or 7 raw before that huge meal - almost lost it all! Also he's going to show us how he kills rabbits next time.

So that was most of our week - we saw a lot of  little miracles. I'm excited for this next week when we start meeting with all the people we found. 

Oh! And theres a family here in the branch who lived in Redwood city for a few years - it was awesome because the only thing people know about california is Hollywood and moviestars so it was kind of exciting that someone was actually familiar with my hometown. Their family is like the czech version of the Bryants - like exactly! Say hi to them for me! 

Have a great week everyone! And HAGF Alex! chichi enjoy school

S Laskou,

Sestra Holland

Week 49

Hello Everybody! So this week was a little crazy but i sure went out with a bang. I got into jihlava this morning - its a small little place compared to Brno. Im afraid Brno still has my heart, but I think I'm going to like Jihlava. A little bit of quiet. So last week - it started in Prague, when sister Schaerrer had her viza work in prague. Then we met with a member of the branch his name is Gad Vojkuvka. He was a member of the church here during communism and told us a little more about the history and some of his crazy stories. Basically the church here began on the foundation of yoga. He would teach yoga classes and they would have "spiritual discussions"at the end. In the end most of the students were meeting with Gad personally and by the end mostly everyone had gotten baptized. He told us stories about getting bombarded during the war and always feeling like he was being protected because he always survived. It was a really neat meeting. The old man really talks your ear off so we were lucky to make it only 2.5 hours. He also gave us some marriage advice at the end like most old czech men do. Then on Thursday we had an awesome training. Then fridayMIROSLAV GOT BAPTIZED. The baptism started at 3 - All the members had showed up and were talking in the entry way, and then we started get nervous coming up on 3oclock and Miroslav hadn't arrived to his own baptism. But then he comes in walking down the pathway with his suit and tie and everything. It was awesome. Bratr Holy baptized him - Sister Daugirda came to Brno because we started teaching him together last transfer. That was a happy reunion. And her and I spoke and we all sang. The elders investigator got baptized too in the same service. His name is zbynek - he's got a good heart. Then we all had refreshments and that was a rap. On Saturday the branch mission leader got married to another girl in the branch and we got to go to that. It was a nice wedding and the czechs do it a little different so it was a good experience. Ivo, the branch mission leader, is like our 5th teamate so we were happy to be there. Then on Sunday Miroslav and Zbynek got confirmed and almost everyone I knew from the past 4 months was there. I may have shed a few tears, but it was a good day. I was asked to give a little parting testimony at church and I said goodbye to everyone afterwards - I felt like I left everything I could in Brno and im at peace with the whole thing. One of the elders investigators is a little bit strange and was telling everyone after that he saw a halo on my head while i was speaking at the pulpit. The branch all thought that was pretty funny. Anyways ya, so Im on to new things. Im serving with Sister White here in Jihlava. We are going to make it good - and we will be going to Slovakia on exchanges quite often - yeeee:) i love Slovakia. So I hope this email made sense. It was an amazing week also I am tired. Love you and talk to you next week 

S laskou,

Sestra Holland

Week 48

Happy tuesday everyone! Sorry I didn't get on yesterday - my companion had to do some visa work in prague. THIS WEEK: Miroslav is getting baptized!! He is way excited and so are we. Its been a crazy journey with Miroslav. He asked probably one of my favorite people to baptize him - Brother Holy. The Holyovi are such a solid family. So this week is looking kind of crazy - crazy and awesome. We've got a surprise zone conference on Thursday, Miroslavs baptism on Friday, then saying goodbye to our friend Bara after that, Saturday there will be a wedding and we will be recieving transfer calls, and then Sunday Miroslav will be confirmed and whoever is leaving will pack like crazy at night and head out on monday. Its going to be awesome! So thats where we are. And we got it worked out so sister D can come in for the baptism. Im also super interested in history of the czech republic and the history of the church here during communism, and one of the first members of the church lives here in Brno. So we scheduled to meet with him this week and he's going to tell us his story. I heard he's a talker - im so pumped. Today we did service at the cutest little old folks home - we go there every week - but since it may be my last time I was walking back and just going " i love that building, i love that bridge, i love that random stranger becuase she's a brnačka" my district was making fun of me for moping but if this is my last email from brno, just know that I am in love with this city and the people. There is so much history here and incredible people. Love you all, have a good week! 

S láskou,

Sestra Holland

Week 47

Hey everybody! 

We started this week out with some work in the Brno archives - we took pictures of old birth/death records which get sent to germany then to salt lake and then end up on family search. That was a cool experience - the Baty's work down there and are a hoot. They are so great. Big news of the week ... THIS GIRL WENT TO SLOVAKIA. I had an exchange over there and got to spend the day. I served with sister Eggers who was in the mtc at the same time as me - just a classroom over learning slovak instead of czech. also she's from hollister california and was in zions choir! haha small world. we didn't figure that out til a couple months ago. so we made the trek down there - we had a 5 minute connection in bratislava and our train from brno was late so we missed that. in bratislava (slovakia) we decided to go to the church building and plan for lessons, not even thinking about the fact that we dont have keys to get inside. so we get on the bus and the senior couple, the cottles, are hop on right before the doors shut and go what are you doing here? they took us to the building (which was air contitioned hallelujah). and the bus back to the train station i started talking to this guy about english because he had english on his shirt and the old lady next to him kept cutting him off and answering instead - she ends up falling us to the train and on the train, then tells us where to sit. we sit down and these other people come to sit next to us. in the end we are talking to 7 people around us the same time about the gospel.. it was awesome! and in slovak! they are close enough that it doesnt make a huge difference. they mostly just sound like someones pulling their tongue out of their mouth while theyre talking. one of the guys wants the missionaries to come to his house, the rest just took cards and brochures. anyways that was super fun - then we got into trenčin and i felt like i was in mexico. it was an awesome day. I love sister eggers shes a good one. at the end of the day we went and cooked dinner for the branch president, his wife, and his mom. They were so incredible. When i started speaking czech to him his eyes popped out of his head though. i guess czechs dont really find themselves in trenčin too often. I picked up a few words and i was a real slovak in the end :) then my comp sister schaerrer and sister eggers comp sister abbot came back via train and made us halušky - after the elders friend had made us fruit knedliky the day before.. thats some rich stuff. Then sister schaerrer and i came headed back to brno the next morning.. we may have grabbed the wrong train and ended up kind of close to the austrian border, but as far as we know we never left slovakia/czech republic. well that was kind of the event of the week. Love you all. Happy Anniversary Rachael and Aaron, and Happy Birthday to the tough little princess girl! 

S laskou,

Sestra Holland

Week 46

Hello everybody!

About a month ago we went out to dinner with a senior couple in Prague after a conference, and they had previously served in France. They were telling us about a friend they had, an old lady, who had been meeting with the missionaries for years and years, but baptism was always a concern for her. One day, she asked the missionaries if she could recieve a blessing, and the missionaries weren't sure if they were allowed to without permission, so they told her no and never returned to it again. Then this senior couple became good friends with her a few years later, and the older lady told them that she had previously wanted a priesthood blessing. This elder (who is now working in the archives here in Brno) gave her a blessing, and it changed her! She was baptised and the gospel has blessed her life ever since. 

This week we were working with our friend miroslav who is so prepared, but after hearing this story my companion and I felt the impression to offer him a priesthood blessing. A member of the branch gave a beautiful blessing to this man, and it left an incredible feeling in his home. His baptism is in a few weeks and he feels so good! Its amazing what the gospel does to people. We have a funny relationship with Miroslav and his daughter Karolinka - we joke around a lot. He never really understood why its important to be baptized by someone with proper authority and this week we asked him who he wanted to baptize him. the conversation went like this : us - Will you think about who you want to baptize you? Miroslav - It's the same to me. Someone who has authority. then I put out my fist and he pounded it. It was a proud moment.

Also this week, all the youth got back from FSY (european EFY) - this week at fast and testimony meeting, they all ran up to the front as soon as they opened it up to everyone and gave incredible testimonies - speaking way beyond their years. One young man in particular - Last transfer he looked like he was getting dragged there every week and listened to music the whole time. This week sister Schaerrer and I got there to unlock the building, and he was standing there in a suit and tie to get the sacrament ready - like a new person! It was really cool to see what an impact it had on all of them. And then their parents started getting up and bearing their testimonies, and at the end, Gad Vojkuvka got up to bear his testimony. He was one of the few first members here in czech republic during communism. He expressed his confidence in the hands the church will be in the czech republic. It was a really powerful testimony meeting. 

In other news, there were two companionships of sisters in my mtc group. Me and sister fredrickson, and sister clark and sister birkeland. Sister Clark and Sister Birkeland are serving togther right now where I was BORN in good ol pardubice. Remember the chocolate shop lady? She dropped the sisters after I left - and they found her again! And she is preparing for baptism! I was so happy I almost cried. Her, her husband and her cute little boy who was always trying to explain to me mindcraft in czech when i had been in the country for like 2 months. 

Something else kind of cool, we started meeting with a really nice man who's wife is a priestess at one of the most famous cathedrals in brno. And his job is to open and close the doors everyday.. How cool is that?! 

Love you all-

S laskou,

Sestra Holland

Week 45

Hello everyone!

This week we went up to Karlstejn- all the missionaries met at the prague train station and we went to the dedication site of the mission. 25 years ago the first missionaries stood there and I can't even imagine how they must have felt. They hardly new the language and there were only 8 of them. Our mission president wrote us this week about the history behind it. "July 2015 marks the 25th anniversary of the formal return of missionaries to the Czech Slovak Mission. After forty years of communism, the Velvet Revolution of 1989 prepared the way for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to be recognized again in February 1990. The first missionaries entered the country a few months later and the mission was formally reorganized in July of 1990 when my mission president and his wife, Richard and Barbara Winder, arrived in Prague." Something that is incredible to me is that a lot of the members here have lived through this time when the church was rerecognized and we hear incredible stories everywhere we go. There are pioneers here in czech republic - the people are inspiring and it's such a blessing to be a part of their lives. 

Have a wonderful week everyone! 

S laskou,

Sestra Holland

Week 44

Hello everyone!

A lot of the people we have been meeting with went on vacation this week so we have been outside a lot. Its a whopping 35 on average this week - And sudden thunderstorms every once in a while that do the trick. Miracle of the week.. I drove a Brno Tram!!! Not a lot of czech people can say they've done that! Other than that, we did some gardening this week for some old folks, did a lot of trakting, and talked to a LOT of people. Trakting was a little scary because people answer the door in their underwear when its hot. But when everyone you know is out of town you just take it to the streets. We also had dinner at our friends Adam and Eliska's. They are a young couple studying here in Brno. They are such great people, and she feeds us well!

Hezky týden!

Sestra Holland