June 16, 2014-Mlada Boleslav

 Ahoj Everyone!

     I, myself, am completely shocked at how fast this week went! It's crazy how the days seem long but the weeks fly by.

Well, to answer a few questions:

1.  How has your week gone?  Are you doing well in Czech?

A. The week was great! We were busy, getting a feel for the area and setting companionship and district goals. Of course the Czech language is sometimes kind of hard to understand but luckily Sister Steglich is awesome and speaks and understands a lot so she translates occasionally. The languages are very similar so it's not that difficult. There's a few fun stories from this week (see below)...

2.  Are you being the missionary you were in Slovakia? 

A. Of course!! I'm a Czech/Slovak missionary after all. I don't change just cause I'm border jumping.
3. Are you contacting?

A. Yup! And my contacting is getting better and I'm more confident. Sometimes there are language barriers (see #1) but it's going well. 

 4. How is the three-some and the work?  

Sisters Steglich, Smith & Johnson

A. I love my three-some!! We work great together. We're stilling trying to find our rhythm (like while teaching) but it will come.

5. How are your companions? Do you get along?

A. I love them both. We have very similar personalities (ie sorta crazy, driven, stubborn, love to laugh). We have a lot of work to do right now...there's lots of less actives here. We've had a lot of open communication and personally I think this is going to be one of my best transfers.

6.  Do you have any lingering feelings of…? 

A. I miss hearing Slovak sometimes and I miss Slovak missionaries (I've only served in one zone my entire mission-Slovensko Zone!) But the cool thing is that I know I'm hear for something specific. I'm not completely sure what yet, though I have a few guesses. As for how I'm feeling, occasionally overwhelmed  but mostly I'm happy.  I'm trying to understand what exactly Heavenly Father  wants me to accomplish here.

7. Do you have investigators?

A. Yep, a few. We're teaching two really cool Jewish young single adults and a couple of Poles (those lessons are always fun...a mix of Polish, Czech, Slovak, and English!) I'll give you more details next week.

Story Time!!!

#1:

So there's three of us in our apartment and only two beds so Sister Steglich was sleeping on the couch for a few days while we looked for a mattress store. We finally called a member and he gave us directions. Eventually we made our way over there (partly we were busy with missionary work and partly we were a little lost). so we decided to get a mattress but the one family who lives in Mlada Boleslav was out of town (at the temple) but we decided to get the mattress anyway. We carried it home (it's like 7 blocks, took us a while). I'll send pics...

#2:

So we get to church and I'm asked to play the piano.  Luckily, I got to pick the songs so that was fine. BUT I was playing from an English hymn book and the Czech hymn book is a little different. For instance, the last song, God Be With You Till We Meet Again only has 3 verses in English (and in Slovak, might I add) but it has 4 in Czech! So after playing 3 verses I stop but the congregation keeps singing! It was startling to say the least... it all worked out in the end though.

#3:

THE BRANCH IS HUGE AND THEY ALL SPEAK CZECH!!!! seriously though, there's a primary and everything! They are all really sweet but I have no idea how I'm going to keep everyone straight! Because I don't always understand Czech right away (I'm just a little slow on the uptake) some of the members just started speaking to me in English (apparently a lot of the translators live here). It was nice but sort of embarrassing.

 

Well, I'm having a blast and hope you are too! I love you!

S Laskou,

Sestra WhitneySarah Johnson <3