Happy New Year!

Hi Everyone!

Can you believe that 2016 is almost here??? It's so crazy!

This past week has also been pretty crazy, so crazy, that I don't have time to write about it all! So I apologize, but this is probably going to be a pretty short email. I'm going to try to combine the Christmas and New Year's celebrations all into one email, I hope that I can fit it all. 

One thing that I did want to mention, is that today is the first day of the NEW TRANSFER!! It came up on us pretty fast, with Christmas and everything it all happened like lightning. So I'll be staying here in Ostrava/Frydek Mistek, since Ses. Behunin is going home on Thursday. And Ses. Hale is coming here! I'm so excited. Ses. Hale is from Arizona, and she's been on her mission just one transfer longer than I have. I'm so excited to serve with her! 

Also, Elder Lanham and Elder Breyman are staying here, and they are both training! So they'll pick up their greenies on Wednesday! We're so excited!

Sorry I don't have more time, but gear up for an awesome, jam-packed email full of traditions and Czech goodness.

Love you all, I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and I hope you have a happy new year!

Talk to you next year!

s laskou,

Sestra Schaerrer

 

 Christmas visits and presents!

 

 

Wishing You a Very Merry Christmas!

It's here everyone!

Almost, Christmas is almost here and I am so excited!! I swear Christmas on the mission is the greatest celebration on earth! What better thing to do than to walk through the streets and share this amazing message!

This past week was pretty great! We met a lot of great people and had some awesome lessons. We were even able to get back into contact with one of our investigators that was kind of avoiding us for a while. We visited lots of members, passed our cleaning checks, had our culture night, and lots of other things. 

Thursday was part one of our two part culture night, for dinner we got to go to the Naměstí and check out all the shops and food and performances, it was so fun, and then on Friday we went to part two. We got to go to a concert for a choir that a member, Bro. Moravec, is in. It was in a cool cathedral, and it was a miracle we got in! We stood in line to buy tickets and a man comes out and says, "go home, we're all sold out!" And a lot of people leave. But we just couldn't because Bro. Moravec wanted us to come so badly, he even gave Ses. Behunin and I 300 crowns as our Christmas present so we wouldn't have to use our own money for the tickets. So we had to get in. 

So we wait and some people are still trying to get in, and they just keep saying they are all sold out. So Elder Lanham goes up and talks to the lady and says, "Please, we're from America and our friend really wanted us to come, please let us buy tickets." And they told us to just wait off to the side to see if people who bought tickets didn't end up coming. So we waited for a while (and prayed) and by some miracle we got in! They let us buy tickets (and for half of the normal price) and we got to watch the concert!

Then Friday was probably my favorite day the of the whole week. We got up at 2:30am to catch a train to Ostrava, then we caught a train at 5:45am to Brno because an investigator I taught there got baptized!! His name is Peter and he's from the Netherlands, I taught him for 5 or 6 weeks before I left Brno and I got to go back for his baptism! It was such an amazing experience, he grew so much in the time since I left. He shared his testimony after they preformed the baptism and it was so strong, I'm just so happy for him! 

Then Saturday was our Christmas Concert. We spent all day getting ready for it, and it was really really stressful, but I think it turned out okay. I played the piano and Ses. Behunin sang, Elder Lanham played his guitar, and we had a choir, and I think overall it went well. Then after the spiritual program, a member had put together a bunch of Czech traditions for us to do and it was really fun. One of the traditions they do is they throw a shoe behind them, and if it is pointing at a door, it means they'll get married in the next year. They had all the single women throw a shoe and Ses. Behunin's was pointing at the door! ;) Don't worry, mine wasn't haha. 

Then Sunday was Christmas Sunday so after sacrament meeting, instead of classes we just watched the Christmas Devotional and it was really good. Everyone was happy and in the Christmas spirit. :)

Thank you everyone for all the birthday wishes, and thank you for your love and support, and for being great examples of faith in Christ. This gospel is true, Christ is our Savior, and this truely is the most wonderful time of the year.

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone! Talk to you next week!

s laskou,

Sestra Schaerrer

 

Both concerts and the baptism :)

 

It's Beginging To Look a Lot Like Christmas!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Christmas is in the air! I am so excited for Christmas! Everyone is just happier and more charitable around the holiday season. And it's great being a missionary because people are a lot more open to talking about Jesus Christ on the street around Christmas. 

First, I apologize in the lacking quality of my weekly emails. I think it's been getting progressively worse and worse since, well, probably since I got to the country haha. So I promise, as an early New Year's resolution, to do better. :)

This week was really awesome. Ses. Behunin and I taught so many lessons! But unfortunately, we only found 1 new investigator... Which is disheartening, but sometimes that's just how it goes. It's really hard for us right now because we're trying to find people who will meet with us just once or twice during the two last weeks of the year, but right now we're hardly finding anyone. We're searching, but we're not finding. But don't worry, we won't give up! The elect are out there!

We actually have found quite a few potential investigators, which means they gave us their number but didn't set up with us for a specific lesson. And it's actually been really cool this week, we've found a lot. One day, I think Thursday, we were doing a singing display with the elders in Frydek Mistek, and a couple different times people walked up to us and interrupted our singing to ask us questions. It was really cool. 

We've also been planning our Christmas concert for this next Saturday, the 19th. We've put together a small choir, I'm playing a piano solo and accompanying the choir, and Ses. Behunin is going to sing a solo. Elder Lanham is going to play the guitar, it's going to be really good. We're just hoping that we can pull it all off. :)

Oh! GOOD NEWS!! I don't know if any of you remember me talking about Elder Oviatt, he was in our group in the MTC and he's been waiting for his visa for like an eternity. He served in Georgia, and then his American visa expired so he was serving in Canada, and well... HE GOT HERE ON SATURDAY!! Not here like Ostrava, but here in the Czech Republic. Finally! President came to Ostrava over the weekend and he told us about it and we were all so happy, especially since Elder Terry, Elder Lanham and I are all serving here and we're all from the same group. Elder Oviatt will just be serving in Prague for the last two weeks of the transfer, so we'll get to see him at our Christmas training! 

Christmas is here in Frydek Mistek and Ostrava, but unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the markets or decorations or anything. But I promise to take some and show you sometime. :)

I hope you all have a great week, and as you prepare for Christmas, think about what you're going to give the Savior this year. I've been thinking about it, we had a lesson on sacrifices yesterday in Gospel Principles. I've been thinking about what I can give up to have a better mission experience, and a better relationship with my Savior and Father in Heaven. As Christmas draws near, think about what you're going to give Them for Christmas. 

I love you all, thank you for your love and prayers, and have a wonderful week!

s laskou,

Sestra Schaerrer

 

Pictures! Karolina (the elders's investigator) and I at the tree on the Naměstí, and some Christmas treats a member made for us!

 

 

Happy December!!

Hi everyone,

I'm sorry I don't have a ton of time to write this week, it's just been really crazy. But please enjoy some pictures from the last week. We went to the zoo, we found a hedgehog on the way home, and some other random things that I may decide to include. 

Some news as of late: 

- We went on an exchange to Pardubice and that was way fun, we taught some great lessons and found some awesome new people. 

- We're preparing for our Christmas concert, it's going to be the bomb!

- Also, Elder Hanis broke the record for the most eaten knedliky at a members house. 

Love you all, hope you are enjoying the holiday season! I'm so grateful that I get to be here on a mission during this special time of year. There is no better place to celebrate the birth of the Savior than in His service.

Have an awesome week, and I promise to write a better email next week!

s laskou,

Sestra Schaerrer

 

Pictures! Our exchange, Elder Hanis breaking the record, and Ses. Behunin with the hedgehog!

 Me with the hedgehog :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The zoo :)

 

More zoo :)

 

Thanksgiving: A HUGE Success!!

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend full of food, family, and friends. Meanwhile, the missionaries here in Ostrava/Frydek Mistek threw the branch's FIRST EVER THANKSGIVING! And it was a HUGE success!! Everything went way better than we had even expected! 

We had so much food, and lot's of fun! I don't remember if I said this already, but the elders ordered a 15 KILO TURKEY!! That's something like 33 POUNDS!! So crazy! They had to bake it in the oven for more than 8 hours!

We played lots of games, had lots of food, and talked about gratitude. And a lot of people came and I don't really know how to describe it, it was just great! I'll attach pictures.

Between Thursday and Saturday, Ses. Behunin and I made 8 pies, Mashed potatoes, Gravy, and 45 rolls. I have never before in my life made pumpkin pie, and I made 5 this weekend. It was so crazy, but luckily everything turned out great! I'll stop talking now and just send pictures. :)

I hope you all had an awesome Thanksgiving, and that you're getting excited for Christmas!!

I'm so thankful for this opportunity I have to be a missionary here in the Czech Republic. I'm grateful for our wonderful mission president and his family, and the other missionaries I get to work with. I'm so grateful for the members here in the Czech Republic, they are seriously some of the strongest members I've ever met, and the help us so much. I'm so blessed to be able to work with all these amazing people. I'm also extremely grateful for my family, friends, and of course my Savior and Father in Heaven.

Have a wonderful week everyone! Happy December!!

s laskou,

Sestra Schaerrer

 

 Pictures!

 I forgot one thing, Ses. Behunin and I are going to be putting together a little Christmas card. So if you'd like to receive one, please send me you're home address before next Monday. :) Thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hello Everyone!

Can you believe it's almost Thanksgiving? Me neither! I remember thinking at the beginning of my mission "Thanksgiving is sooo far away, it will never get here!" And now it's in 4 days! That's so crazy! I hope you all have a wonderful celebration with family and friends, and take time to really think about what you're grateful for. I'm grateful for so many things, definitely for the opportunity to serve a mission here in the Czech Republic! I won't list everything I'm grateful for, that would take ages to type!

Anyway, this week was pretty good. :)  Monday we were in Prague for visa work, I'm legal now! Not that I wasn't legal before, but it will be so nice not to have to carry around my passport, and I can just carry around the residency card. It was also really fun to see my whole group again. It was probably the last time we'll all be together (minus Elder Oviatt). We probably won't see all of us together until after our missions. 

The next few days were pretty normal, a few lessons here and there and lots of contacting. I like contacting here, I feel like a lot more people listen than they did in my first area. In Brno people were super nice too, maybe it's just something about Moravia. ;)

On Wednesday we had a really cool experience. We had a huge, 4 hour long contacting block because we couldn't set up any lessons, so we were praying for some new investigators, and the night before the sister training leaders called and asked if they could do anything for us so we said "Pray for our 4 hour contacting block tomorrow!" So anyway we get going, and it seems all good and normal, but by the end of the day, we had gotten 5 numbers and 3 new investigators! And we also got a lesson with a less active that randomly said "Yeah I have time." It was so awesome, such a miracle! :)

On Thursday one of our investigators invited us to a meeting at her church, she's a 7th day adventist and they were having a guest speaker from England, so she wanted us to come hear him. Boy it was different. His whole theme was "When...?" in reference to the second coming. He talked about "when" the whole time, and then he basically just said, "I don't know when the second coming will be" which is fine, no one does, but he was talking about "when" it was going to happen the whole time and then just said "I don't know." It was interesting.

On Sunday, we got to go watch a member in a choir concert. It was a catholic choir, and they sang in a catholic kostel, but he was a member of our church. They were really good, they did some Christmas songs, but mostly "normal" songs. I don't really know how to explain what "normal" is, but it was good and fun to support our member! 

So this week is Thanksgiving, and we're throwing the branch a Thanksgiving feast on Saturday (because the kids all still have school on Thrusday). The branch has never done Thanksgiving before, and most of them don't know what it is, but a lot of them are helping us make all the food, so we'll see how it goes. They are really excited about it though so I think it will be really fun, even if it's kind of Czech-ized. :)

I gotta run now, so we can get everything all ready, but have a great week everyone! The gospel is true and we have so much to be thankful for!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

s laskou,

Sestra Schaerrer

 

Pics! The concert and the kostel we went to, and a cool building in Prague. :)

 

Trains for Dayz...

Hi Everyone!

Well not anything super exciting happened this week, we had some really good lessons with some of our investigators, we visited lots of members, and right now we're actually in Prague because I had my last step in the visa work process, which means I'm a legal resident of the Czech Republic! Yay!

Anyway, the most exciting/abnormal part of our week was probably that we got lost. On Thursday we got on the wrong train coming back from a members house (we take trains EVERYWHERE) And ended up in this place called Jilešovice. And to this day I don't know where it is. Long story short we ended up waiting for like and hour for the train to take us back so we could get on the right train, and we ended up taking crazy pictures, which I will attach for your joy and pleasure. Sometimes missionaries just gotta have a little fun. Especially when your at a dark trainstop in the middle of nowhere with no one else to talk to. 

I hope you all have an awesome week, and I'll talk to you later!

OH! One more thing, if you could all please send some more recipes for Thanksgiving, we would really appreciate it! I got a few, but we need way more! Thanks!

s laskou,

Sestra Schaerrer

 

Pics!

 

Leaves are falling all around...

Hello Everyone,

This week was good, but nothing terribly exciting happened. We did have one really cool story though:

So two Sundays ago we met this guy named Jan on the street, and I was kind of doubting that he would have interest, but turned out that he did! So we set up with him, and after some reschedulings we were able to set up for Sunday/yesterday. Then we were in Ostrava contacting with the elders, and we missed our bus to get to the train station, so we found another bus at a different time, and then we ended up missing that one too because Ses. Behunin was in a contact. So we ran to the bus stop and took the very next bus. That bus would get us to the train station 3 minutes before our train left. Then, the bus came two minutes late! So we only had 60 seconds to run from the bus stop to the train station! The whole bus ride there we were praying that the train would have a zpoždění (delay) so that we could make it, but there is absolutely no reason for our train to have a zpoždění because it just comes to Ostrava, sits and waits, and then goes back to Frydek. But for SOME MIRACULOUS REASON, it had a 5 minute zpoždění! And we made it! And we were on time to Jan's lesson! And he is super awesome and prepared and has lots of awesome questions! And we put him on date in the first lesson! It was such a miracle that it all worked out!

Not a whole lot else happened though. We visited some members and we ate so much food that I thought I was going to die. (that's Czech ettiquette, eat whatever they give you). Also, Ses. Behunin made me laugh really hard one day while I was drinking water, and she made me laugh so hard, that I threw up. Well, it was just water, but basically that's what happened. She thought it was hilarious and she's really proud of herself now. :)

Oh also once while we were looking for less actives we found a kitten! And we played with the kitten for a while and I named him Simba because he looks like my first cat whose name was Simba. :) 

Anyway, I'll see if I have any pictures to send, sorry it was kind of a boring week, but the gospel is still true! And I'm so incredibly grateful that I get to be here in the Czech Republic and share that messagel. 

I love you all and hope you have an awesome week!

s laskou,

Sestra Schaerrer

 The kitten we found, a random market on the naměstí, and the sunrise this morning!

 I FORGOT ONE THING!!! THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!!!

The missionaries here in Ostrava are in charge of a Thanksgiving party (the branch really likes it, even though they don't celebrate thanksgiving here) AND WE NEED RECIPES!!! So if any and all of you could send any kind of Thanksgiving day recipe, that would be greatly appreciated! We need them ASAP, so if you could send them this week so I can get them next Monday, that would be fabulous! 

THANK YOU!!

with love,

The missionaries of Ostrava :)

Happy Halloween!

Hi Everyone!

So this last week was pretty crazy! It was my first week in Ostrava/Frydek Mistek, so I was busy getting to know everyone and where everything is. And it was also Halloween and as missionaries we were in charge of throwing the branch Halloween Party! It went really well. We're not allowed to dress up, so I was just "Sestra Schaerrer" but it was fun. We had a eating-donuts-off-a-string contest, musical chairs, sugar cookie decorating, a special musical number, bobbing for apples, and scary stories. It went way better than we expected and was super fun!

I'm trying to think of what else happened, Halloween was kind of the main event of the week. Other than that we've just been finding new investigators and teaching everyone. And I've been trying to get to know everyone and it's kind of hard. 

Oh! We also taught Spanish and English on Tuesday. Which was interesting because neither I nor Ses. Behunin speak spanish. Ses. Boza was here before I came, and she's from Guatamala, so she taught spanish, but then she left and so Ses. Behunin and I tried to put our very small amount of knowlege together. I never even studied spanish, but Ses. Behunin took it for 5 years, so she kind of led the whole thing, but it was an adventure haha. 

Anyway, sorry, but there isn't a whole lot more to tell. I'm still trying to figure everything out. But I'll definitely send some pictures of the party! :)

One thing that I love about transfers, is that you can go to a new area, and your first Sunday there you can feel the spirit so strong. You don't know any of the people, you don't speak the same language, but the gospel is the same and the spirit is so strong. The church is true! And it helps me feel at home, where ever I am. 

Have an awesome week everyone, and Happy November!

s laskou,

Sestra Schaerrer

Pictures from the Party!

Transfer Time!

Hello Everyone!

This email is probably going to be a little short because today was transfer day!! On Saturday we received our transfer calls, and Ses. Andreason got to stay in Brno (lucky!) and I got called to serve in Frýdek Místek (close to Ostrava) with Ses. Behunin!! Crazy! So I spent all morning packing and then on a bus to move all my stuff to Frydek Mistek. I'm so excited for this transfer, it's going to be so great! I don't know anyone, or where anything is, but I'll learn haha. OH! And also, I'm serving here with Elders Lanham and Terry! They are companions and they were both in my MTC group! No one from my group has ever served together and now there are three of us here in Ostrava!

Anyway so last week was pretty crazy. Monday we had to go by me some new suitcases (my old ones died when I moved to Brno). We had training on Tuesday. Friday I had visa work in Prague. And Saturday was the Relief Society conference in Brno. So lots of big things were happening. And then there were all the goodbyes and everything. It was hard for me to say goodbye to Brno. I love that city and the people and the members. And I feel like I really grew a lot there. But I'm so excited to be here in Frydek Mistek/Ostrava. It's going to be a great (and pretty crazy) transfer (full of holidays)!

Last night we had our last district dinner together at the church, and the elders made soup. That was an adventure, and then this morning Elder Baty helped us get to the bus station, and Elder Kleiner and Elder Brittner and Miroslav came to say goodbye to me. :) (Elder Brittner is going home to America, so he doesn't leave until Wednesday.) It was bittersweet. 

I'll try to send some pictures.

The gospel is true, and I know that President McConkie is truly inspired in our transfer calls! I'm a little nervous to go to Ostrava (infamous for people who speak really really fast) but I can still feel that it's the right place for me to be and serve in for the next few months of my mission. I love this gospel and I love my Savior. I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve in His name, wherever I am. :)

Love you all, have an awesome week!

s laskou,

Sestra Schaerrer

 

 Pictures!

 

 

 

 

 Me with Roman, Zbyněk, and then Bara. The elders making dinner and the last time walking away from our Brno apartment. Next week I'll have pictures of my new area!

Wedding #3

Howdy Everyone!

This week was crazy! 

Monday we went to this absolutely adorable town called Znojmo! It's about an hour away from Brno, down by the Austrian boarder, and it is gorgeous there! Everywhere you look is just beautiful! We took tons of pictures!

Then Saturday was Dalibor's wedding! Wedding number 3 for me on my mission, and also number 3 while I've been in Brno. It was a really beautiful ceremony, and we got to be there with President McConkie! And that was really fun.

Time is pretty crazy for me right now because this next week is the last week of the transfer!! Which is crazy both becuase it feels like it just started, and because since I've been in Brno two transfers already, I'll probably be leaving, and I am SO SAD!! I love Brno! I never want to leave! But I'm also excited to see where I'll be going next. And who knows, maybe I'll stay another transfer here in Brno, I'll find out on Saturday, and you'll find out next week!

Sorry for the short email, I don't have tons of time this week. But I'll try to send some pictures, if the computer behaves.

Have an awesome week this week everyone! The gospel is true!

s laskou,

Sestra Schaerrer

 Pics

 Dalibor and his new wife :)

 Here are pictures from last week! Making the cake at the Baty's, making the frosting at home, Tessi's wedding, and our conference set-up. :)

 

 

 And the elevators :)

Piece of Cake

Zdarec Everyone!

Well this week has been pretty crazy! So many things happened, big things! 

Last Monday, we really didn't do anything special for P day. We just went around to different shops and things. Oh! We did visit the post office, which has Mario elevators! They don't stop! Ever! You just hop on and then hop off again! I'll try to send a video I took. :) We also visited a coin shop and I bought some old coins, some were from Germany during Nazism and have swastikas on them (I don't know how to spell those words...). Anyway that was cool. Then we pretty much just ended up on a bench in the center, eating Czech hotdogs, playing 20 questions. But it was fun.

Tuesday we did service in the morning and we were destroyed!! We did the same thing we did a couple weeks ago where we threw bags full of clothes onto a truck, but there were way more bags this time and I swear they were heavier because all four of us missionaries were destroyed afterwards!

Wednesday we had FHE with a family in the branch, the Řezačovi. They are so awesome, we had dinner, and then watched a new Czech mormon message with them, and it was really cool because since the church is really small here, they knew a lot of the people in the mormon message. It was really fun to spend the evening with them. 

Then we went straight to Miroslav's for his usual Wednesday night study group. It was really good, he taught us about the Plan of Salvation, and we talked about the purpose of life on earth. It was awesome. Elder Brittner kind of likes to push Miroslav with harder questions and at one point Miroslav just said, "Viš co? Nemluv. (You know what? Don't speak.)" It was really funny and all of us burst out laughing.  :)

Thursday, Ses. Andreason and I went over to the Baty's to bake Tessi's wedding cake. Tessi's wedding was on Friday and somehow Sis. Baty volunteered to make the wedding cake, and asked us to help her, which ended up in us making the cake, and Sis. Baty decoating it. Anyway so we spent most of Thursday buying the ingredients and then baking the cakes. 

Then Friday, we went over to the church 2 or 3 hours before the wedding was supposed to start so we could frost and decorate the cake. It took a long time, but I think it turned out really well. There were a few minor crisis along the way, but in the end the cake was finished on time and I think it looked pretty good. Sis. Baty did a great job with the flowers and the bride and groom and everything. I even got to taste a little later and it turned out pretty good. 

The wedding itself was awesome! They did so many cool Czech traditions. The ceremony itself was pretty short, just all the legal things. Then they had dinner and did all the traditions. We threw rice at them as they left, then they swept up a broken plate together (doing together their first "work" as husband and wife), then they fed each other soup. Another tradition they did is while they dance, the crowd threw coins at them, and then they got to keep all the money at the end. Tessi is from the Phillipines, so she also showed us her country's national dance, and there were a lot of other dances too. That was probably the hardest part for us missionaries, was not joining in all the dancing. But we just sat and watched. At the end of the wedding they did this thing where the couple sits back to back, and each of them have each of their shoes, then someone asks them questions "Who is the most...?" And they answer by lifting up the shoe of whoever they think it is. We had to leave right as they started that so we didn't get to see much. 

The wedding was so fun! Probably one of the most fun nights I've had on my mission so far. I want a wedding like that! It was pretty small and simple, but full of tradition and so much fun! And it really is like a fairytale ending for Tessi and Bro. Jeglík. They are both so awesome, I'm so happy for them. 

Then Saturday and Sunday we watched conference at the church building. Conference was amazing! If I had more time I'd write a lot more about it, but basically I loved it!! So great!!

I hope you all had an awesome week, and I hope you find time to rewatch or read conference. This church is true and I'm so grateful for the leaders of our church!

Thanks for your love and prayers, have an awesome week everyone!

S laskou,

Sestra Schaerrer

 

Sorry everyone, the computer is being dumb and won't let me send pictures, so you'll just have to wait for next week!

 

It's OCTOBER!

Howdy Everyone!

I can't believe it's OCTOBER!! I opened my mission call on October 1st last year. That was a crazy, happy, exciting, and little bit scary day! I didn't know that a year could go so fast!

Anyway things here are pretty normal. Last week we just played games and things at the building again for P day. We've been pretty lame lately haha. But then President and his wife and two of their kids came from Slovakia, so we got to talk to them for a little bit. And then we went with President and the less active I talked about last week to have a lesson/discussion. I don't really know what to call it. But it was SOOO GOOD!! President is just awesome and answered every single question she had, and explained all of the false information she had read and everything. And she felt so much better afterwards to know that she had the whole story. 

Tuesday we had training. I love training! It's like recharging all your spiritual, missionary energy and afterwards you just want to go out and baptize the whole city! Then later that night we also taught English, except the elders weren't there to teach their classes, so Ses. Andreason taught our beginning class, and I taught the middle class and conversation class combined! It was so hard and awkward! I hadn't prepared anything and it was really intimidating, but I think it worked out haha. I think in the end everyone had a good time. 

Wednesday we had an awesome lesson with our investigator from the Netherlands! He's so cool and we put him on date! He said that he hadn't really received any answers if this stuff was true or not, but if he did, he would get baptized! We're shooting for November 6th.

We also went to work in the archives on Wednesday, because the new couple comes on Friday and after they come, we probably won't be able to work there any more, because they'll finally have enough people. So that was fun, and a little sad that it might be our last time. 

Thursday we had a really good lesson with a member, and his non-member 12 year old son. We talked about the Priesthood, and the dad shared examples of when he used his priesthood and how he felt about it. It was a really good lesson, and soon we're going to ask the son if he wants to get baptized! But he's going to be in England all this week, so next week! Haha

Wednesday night we were doing some calls, and I decided to call this former investigator that pretty much just fell of the planet. She was doing so well and then poof! Gone! She wouldn't answer our calls or texts, nothing. So I just randomly decided to call her, and she didn't answer, but five minutes later she called back! And she asked if we could meet on Thursday and talk! So she came to game night and we talked about what's going on, and now we should be able to start meeting again. 

Friday, the new senior couple came! They are the Birds, and they are from South Jordan, Utah. They were serving a mission working in the archives in Sweden, and then they came here because the Baty's are leaving in about 4 weeks. They're really cool. We helped them carry all their luggage to their apartment (the Archibald's old apartment) and then we all went to a restaurant for dinner, us, the Birds, the Baty's, and the elders. It was cool. We introduced them to Kofola, svičkova, and gulaš. I think they liked it, it was probably a major information overload, but I think they're doing well. 

Saturday we had a singing display and other lessons. Helped the Birds buy groceries and other stuff like that. Then Sunday night all of the missionaries came over for dinner. Ses. Andreason and I made gulaš soup, sliced some knedliky we bought, and the Birds brought a salad, and then for dessert we had Marlenka Medovník, the best cake on the face of the planet!! It was a lot of fun to have everyone over in our tiny apartment haha. 

So that's basically what we did this week. It's been crazy, and it's been good. Time is going so fast right now because we are always so busy! And I think the rest of the transfer is going to be super busy too. We have a wedding next week, a concert in Olomouc the week after, and another wedding. Oh, this weekend is conference because we get it a week late for translation and things, and a whole bunch of other stuff. We're also supposed to have another training before the transfer is over. It's going to be crazy, but it will be good. 

The gospel is so true everyone! I hope you don't get tired of me saying it, because I'm not going to stop! Haha. I'm so grateful to be in this amazing country, doing the work of the Lord with so many amazing people. 

Have an amazing week everyone, thank you for all your love, support, and prayers.

'Til next week!

S laskou,

Sestra Schaerrer

PS - Sorry, no pictures this week. I guess we were so busy I just forgot to take any!

Over-Nighter in Prague

Hello Everyone,

I'm hoping to get back into the habit of writing real weekly emails again, I feel like I've gotten pretty lazy, sorry!

So this week...

Monday, Ses. Andreason and I got up really early to go to Prague because I had a doctors appointment. So we got up, slept through the 2.5 hour long bus ride to Prague and did emailing and a few errands there before my appoinment. The doctor's appointment for just to take some tests, iron I think, and my thyroid. Basically all they did was take blood. Then I also asked them about my tonsils, because last transfer I got sick and they swelled up really big, and they are still bigger than normal. The doctor lady told me that I had to see a specialist the next morning, and that I had to stay in Prague over night. So we called President and got permission to stay and then we arranged with the sisters in Prague so we could stay at their apartment overnight. 

We did a few cool things while we were in Prague. We went to FHE there, and we went on splits with the Prague sisters, so I got to contact and teach someone with Ses. Dubois for a few hours. That was cool. Ses. Dubois is almost done with her mission, she goes home at the end of October, so I got to go and just obsorb all of her wisdom and knowledge haha. 

Then Tuesday we got up and went to the other doctor. He felt my tonsils and looked in my mouth, and then HE STUCK A CAMERA DOWN MY NOSE!! It didn't hurt, but it was the weirdest sensation. After he pulled it back out my eyes were like waterfalls, I was practically bawling uncontrollably. So weird!

Then we got on a bus and headed back to Brno for a few lessons we had in the afternoon.

On Wednesday we had a really hard lesson with a less active. We went to her apartment, and we were going to watch the "Hope of God's Light" together (really awesome Mormon message about the life of the dad of one of the missionaries that served in our mission!) but she started talking to us about something else. There's a member here in the Czech Republic, well he got excommunicated like 3 months ago. But he's been posting really crazy stuff about the church on his blog and youtube and facebook for years. And it turns out that this less active found his stuff and it was really bothering her that he got excommunicated. She told us that she thought "he got excommunicated for sharing his opinions" even though it was actually way deeper than that (he baptized a woman without permission and then gave her the priesthood, among other things). But she was pretty upset about him being excommunicated and we really didn't know what to say about it. We just told her that we wanted to help her, we really did, we just didn't know how. She said that she could tell we were being sincere, but we didn't really leave her any better than we found her. So that was a rough lesson. BUT we called President McConkie and asked him what he thought we should do, and he told us that he's going to be in Brno this week, and that he will personally meet with her and answer any question she has. That's going to be so good for her, we're really excited to see how it goes. :) President is awesome! (And it's such a blessing that he fluently speaks Czech). 

On Thursday we took a short train ride to a small village outside of Brno to visit one of the sweetest members on the planet! Her name is Aneta, and she is so cool! She's not much older than the missionaries, and she's married and has a darling little boy. Her husband isn't a member, but he's supportive and Aneta is just so strong! She told us about when she was inactive for a while, and how she came back. We showed her the Hope of God's Light video and she loved it and wants to show it to her husband. It was so fun visiting with her!

The rest of the week was pretty normal, and then yesterday, Sunday, we went with the Baty's to visit the Vitovi. They are another awesome member family that live about an hour away by train, but we got to go in the Baty's car so it only took about 30 minutes. :) We had dinner with them and got to know them better, and shared a spiritual thought. The Vitovi have 3 kids and it was fun to be with them because they were rough-housing and everything and it just felt like being at home. :) 

Well, not a ton has happened this past week, but it was really good. And guess what?? The new senior couple is coming this Friday! The Baty's go home at the beginning of November, so the new couple is coming to be trained, and then the Baty's will leave. The new couple, I think their last name is Bird, they were serving a mission in Sweden, and we stole them! Just like we stole the Baty's from France haha. We're good at that. We're really excited for them to come, and then next Monday we're going to take them on a tour of Brno and show them where all the important stuff is. :) 

Alright, that's everything I can think of right now. I hope you all enjoyed a somewhat more regular email. :) I personally am doing well. The language is still kicking my butt, but every once in a while I feel like I can actually speak Czech. The gospel is so true. I have no doubt about it, and I love being here and sharing it with people. The Czech people are so amazing and so strong. I'm so grateful to have the oportunity to take care of this little corner of the Lord's vineyard. 

I love you all, have an awesome week and I'll talk to you later!

S laskou,

Sestra Schaerrer

PS - I'll send pictures :)

 

Aneta's little boy, Erik. Me at a castle from a couple week's ago. The Baty's came over for dinner. And Rachel, who's studying in Brno, she's from Cache Valley Utah!