Čas letí! Time is flying!

Hello Everyone!

Time really is flying here in Kosice. It feels like our week goes like this: Monday, Friday, Monday Friday, Monday, Friday. And before you know it the transfer is over! I can't believe that I only have two and a half weeks on my mission.

Yesterday, in church, I gave my "farewell" talk, because it was my last Sunday in Kosice. Next week we have a District Conference (President Kearon is coming again!) in Bratislava, and the week after that we have the Freiburg Temple Dedication, which we'll be watching from Brno. So we've got a lot going on for the next few weeks, and a lot of traveling. The weirdest part is probably that when we go to Brno for the Dedication, I won't come back to Kosice. From Brno we're going to Prague, and then from Prague I fly home! It's all really weird.

Anyway yesterday for my talk, I listed lessons that I've learned while I've been on my mission. I definitely didn't have enough time to talk about all of them, and I hope I remember all the ones I wrote down. Some where:

- God loves everyone, absolutely everyone

- The gift of tongues is real

- Other gifts of the Spirit are real, and accessible

- God gives us weakness and trials so we can grow

- Living the gospel isn't easy

- God calls the weak and simple to perform His work

- God knows what we need better than we do

- The gospel blesses those around us

I'm sure there are many many more. My talk went well, it was a little scattered because I probably could have talked for a year and half! We also took pictures and we visited some members after church, that I might now be able to see again before I go home. It was a bitter sweet day.

Other than that, we did a lot of service last week. On Monday we did another mandala stastia, the circle of happiness thing that we did somewhere else. This time we did it at the technical university. Then we were supposed to do some other service with Eva (mandala stastia woman) but we got rained out.

On Saturday we went to go do service with Mat'o, the man with the small farm with the green house and sheep and stuff. But when he came to pick us and the elders up, he turns to us and asks, "Do you HAVE to work today?" We must have looked a little confused, so he proceeded to explain that we could either go work, or we could go on a vylet (a little day trip). Eventually we decided we could go on a little vylet, and then come back and work a bit. So we went and hiked up a mountain and hunted for mushrooms (mushroom hunting is 100% a real thing), and then he took us to do SUMMER BOBSLEDS! It's like the Alpine slide. I'm still not sure if that was okay, but he was so spontaneous and insistant, that it kind of just happen. But it was really fun, and afterwards we get in the car and he turns to us and says, "Oops, looks like we don't have time to go work, you'll have to just come another time and we can work in my garden." He's a really funny guy, and he told us he was really happy that he could pay us back for helping him so much. He's so awesome. On the way back he actually really opened up to us about his personal life, and even asked us to pray for him (he claims to not really believe in God, but is open to the idea). It was an awesome experience. Friendship gets you a long way. :)

We also met with Alexandra, the mom with two sons. She's still on date to get baptized, but she works every Sunday, so we're praying she can find another job.

We also found a less active that we had lost contact with. He works really long hours, so we went at 8:30pm to take him banana bread, and he was home! He made sure we had the right phone number for him, and told us to just call him to see if he has time. He just works a ton, so hopefully we can find time to meet with him soon.

It's been a great week full of work and miracles. I love Kosice, and I love being a missionary. There is really nothing like it. The gospel is true and the Spirit touches people, and we never know how God is preparing someone to receive the gospel.

Have a wonderful week everyone! Talk to you later!

s laskou,

Sestra Schaerrer

PS I'll try to send some pictures :)

 Our district on a city tour today from Prezident Van Dalen, us in Mat'o's car, Sestra Burdigova, and us mushroom hunting with Mat'o.

 

 Sestra McPheeter's birthday cake (about 2 weeks late), a few more from the mushroom hunting, and a picture we took when I hit my 18 MONTH MARK!! AHH!!