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 :)