It's Pouring Snow!!

Hi Everyone!

The title of this email is in honor of Ses. Hale, when it's snowing really hard she always says, "It's pouring snow!" And it's been doing that all week long, we've probably gotten about 8 inches, but it keeps melting and then snowing so it's hard to really tell. 

This week was just full of walking around in the snow. I feel like that's all we did, I can't remember doing anything else. We've been doing lots of contacting, visiting members, and we even got to go to Nový Jíčin to look for some referrals. I love Nový Jíčin, it's so pretty there, and we found a great restaurant for lunch! On the way back to Frydek Mistek, we met a man on the bus that buys, sells, and trades frogs for fun, so that was cool. 

Also, I don't know if I mentioned this last week, but we recently found a less active that was just kind of forgotten about. She hasn't been able to go to church because her dog is sick and she has to give it medicine really often, but we got in contact with her and she was soooo happy to have us come over! So now we visit her once a week and she's so cool! It was a miracle, she isn't less active for lack of faith or problems with the church or anything. She just can't go right now, and everyone kind of forgot about her. So we're working with her and she's awesome! :)

Anyway, that is really about it! I'll add some pictures. 

And I'd like to add my testimony that I know this church is true. And nothing will ever change that. Ses. Hale and I were talking about how the gospel just makes sense. There are parts of the gospel that might be hard to understand, but as long as we know that God lives and loves us, and that he speaks to us through his prophets, there's no reason to doubt or be afraid. 

I hope you all have a great week and stay warm!

s laskou,

Sestra Schaerrer

 

 Also we walked on the frozen river, don't worry we survived!

 

Second Chances

Hi Everyone!

So this week is another short email, but I wanted to update you on Jirka, our investigator that kind of dropped us last week.

So we met with him on Thursday, and turns out that he brought a friend, which was kind of cool but also hard because we really needed to talk to him about what had happened. We tried to still ask him about it but he didn't really answer our questions because his friend was there. So we left and nothing had really been resolved. Then, yesterday we called to ask him if he knew what Caro was (we call it Mormon coffee, it tastes like coffee, but it isn't), since he had such a big problem with not being able to drink coffee, and he ended up asking us if we could meet again today before FHE! So tonight we'll see what happens!

Other than that, it's just been snowing here! This past week we visited a lot of members, there are a lot of single sisters, and less actives that we visit, along with others, so we did a lot of that. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful week this week, the gospel is so true, and sometimes we even get second chances to do something better than we did it the first time. God truly loves us and all of His children!

Love you all, have a great week!

s laskou,

Sestra Schaerrer

 

 Pictures! P day in massage chairs, and SNOW!!

 

 

 

A Trial of Faith

Hello Everyone!

I don't have a ton of time to write because the library we're in is super full and we have to leave soon, but I do have a story for the week, unfortunately it's not super happy either. 

So this week Jirka is supposed to get baptized, but he's not going to make it. Jirka didn't show up to church yesterday, so we called him. At first I called him after sacrament meeting and he red buttoned me twice. Then I called him after church and he told us he couldn't get baptized cuz he had talked to a priest and the priest told him that it didn't make sense to get baptized twice. Then he said "I only have two things against your church: you want me to get baptized, and you don't like that I drink coffee." It was really sad because in our last lesson all we did was talk about the blessings of baptism. We listed them all on the white board and he got so excited and it was a great lesson. And then this. He pretty much dropped us over the phone, but I got him to set up with us for Tuesday, so we can at least talk in person and see what we can do. It's sad, but we have faith that something will work out. 

As of other news, I'll send some cool pictures of random stuff we did this week. 

#1: We roasted little marshmallow like candies (Vexta) on pretzels sticks over a candle (so good!).

#2: Just a funny picture of Ses. Hale and I while baking.

#3: A beautiful view we saw walking to the train this morning. 

#4: The Frydek-Mistek train station. 

Enjoy the pictures! The gospel is true, even though sometimes people use their agency to choose otherwise. But I know that God cares for each and every single one of us, and will help us and provide a way for us all to return to Him. Have a great week everyone!

s laskou,

Sestra Schaerrer

 

 

HAPPY 2016!

I'm realizing I jumped the gun just a little bit with the title of my last email, but now we can say it, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! 

Well, I promised everyone a real email, about all the traditions and things for the holidays here in the Czech Republic. I ask you all to forgive my typos, because I'll be writing really fast so I can fit everything in. :)

CHRISTMAS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC:

Christmas is mainly celebrated on December 24th. Czechs fast all day long, so that they can eat lots at dinner, and one tradition is that if they fast, after dinner they will see a golden pig on the wall, or in their dreams, and if they see it, it means they will have good luck and fortune in the next year. 

For dinner on Christmas Eve, they usually have carp and potatoe salad, and some kind of soup, we had pea soup. 

After dinner, the parents ring a bell, letting the kids know that Ježíšek ("Little Jesus") has come and brought them presents, so they run into the room where the tree and the presents are to open them. 

Traditions: (different families tell them differently, so bare with me)

1. Cutting of the Apple

This happens usually on Christmas Eve, you slice an apple in half (cross-wise/horizontally) and look at the two halves. If the seeds in the middle make a star (five seeds) then you will be happy and healthy in the new year. If the seeds make a cross (four seeds), you'll have bad luck and die. 

2. Leaving the dinner table

No one can leave the dinner table during dinner. Once everyone is ready to eat (including going to the bathroom, washing your hands, and having everything you might need during dinner within reach) everyone sits down at the table together, and once the meal is over, everyone stands up together. If someone stands up before everyone else, they'll have bad luck in the new year and die first out of the group. 

3. Money under the plates

At the dinner table, everyone recieves a few coins under their plates. The family we had dinner with had put them there before we got there, and we couldn't look at them until after dinner was over. Some of us got 20 crowns, some of us only 2. 

4. Carp scale in wallet

From the carp that they use for dinner, everyone takes a scale (usually laminates it/protects it) and keeps it in their wallet. If they do this they will never run out of money. (I have one in my wallet right now!)

5. Cukrovi

Cukrovi are little cookies of various shapes and sizes that Czech women make each year around Christmas. It actually gets pretty intense and is like a competition. You'll hear Czechs asking each other how many different kinds of cukrovi they made and try to one up each other. And it takes entire days to make cukrovi. The most I think I heard was one woman made 40 different kinds of cookies. Some are really good, some have alcohol in them, you just have to be careful. ;)

Our Christmas was spent with the Kolkovi. We got there and sang hymns and carols until the food was ready, they we all sat down and ate together. We had pea soup, fried carp (fried chicken was available for those who didn't like the carp) and potatoe salad. We also had some cukrovi and pastries for dessert. Under our plates were some coins, and then we spent the rest of the evening singing Czech folk songs. It was so fun, and such a joyful atmosphere! 

Another thing we did, just as missionaries, was we bought, and killed (by ourselves) a carp. Around the city, before Christmas, you can find street vendors with giant tubs full of live carp. And then you can have them kill it for you, or you can take it home and kill it yourself. We, of course, wanted to try to kill it ourselves. So a few days before Christmas, we bought a carp, took it to the elders' apartment, and tried to kill it. Elder Breyman was put in charge and it was kind of a slow and painful death. But eventually it died, we got some scales off of it, and the elders finished filleting it. So that was our adventure. :) 

NEW YEAR'S IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC:

For New Year's, I don't know as many traditions, sorry. I can only share with you our missionary experience. :) As missionaries, we had to be inside by 5:30pm on New Year's Eve, which means inside the church, or inside anyone's apartment for dinner or something. And then we had to be home at our own apartment by 7:30pm. 

Fireworks started I think around 6pm on New Year's Eve, and continued at a steady rate all the way until midnight, when there were thousands of fireworks going on all around us. And then I think they continued to die out, but still go, until around 1am. Then every night since New Year's Eve there have been fireworks going on around 6pm. I still heard them last night, so I have no idea how long that will last. 

Funny story: Ses. Hale and I were watching the fireworks from our apartment window, when a man went to light a firework in our front lawn. We got excited because we were definitely going to be able to see it. A few go off, and we're watching them, and then BANG! something explodes right next to our window! Turns out, the arial firework the guy had lit, had fallen over, shot our building, and then the force of that shot caused it to fall the other way, and a few seconds later it shot the building accross the street from us! And to make everything better, I caught it all on video! If it's not too long, I'll try to send it home. :)

Well, I hope that this email kind of makes up for all the shorter ones I've been sending lately. I promise I'll try to be better. :) This email pretty much explains everything we've been doing for the past couple of weeks, amongst street contacting and visiting members. 

This gospel is true, and Christ is our Savior. My testimony has really grown over the past couple of weeks. God lives and loves His children everywhere, and He wants them to have His gospel. He also really loves His missionaries, He even protects them from being killed by fireworks. ;)

I love you all, and I hope that this new year brings lots of health, happiness, and joy to everyone. Thank you for your love and prayers, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

s laskou,

Sestra Schaerrer

PS - I'll try to send pictures and videos :)

 

 

 I FORGOT ONE!!!

Tradition #6: Candle on the water

You take a walnut shell, only one half, and you but a candle inside of it. Then you light the candle and float the shell on water. Everyone does this at the same time, and if two peoples' shells go together, then they will be together some way in the new year (married, business partners, etc.). The last candle still burning will have the most luck in the new year. 

Elder Hanis and the carp. Before dinner at the Kolkovi. Our Christmas tree from Bro. Moravec. :)

 

The firework video was too big to send, so here are some pictures of Ses. Hale and me. :)