That Awkward After-Christmas-Time-where-people-are-waiting-for-New-Year's-and-still-don't-want-to-meet with you

Hey Fam!

It was so nice to talk to all of you on Christmas! Seriously. It made my year!!!! Things I learned: 

MY FAMILY IS CRAZY (in a good way) all the other missionaries could hear everything we were saying and I was in a different room with the door closed... hahaha. 

I miss you all more than I expected to!

I wouldn't be the missionary I am without all of you!!!

That being said, Thank you... And stop promising me to random strangers in Brazil and utah singles wards. 

It was an amazing Christmas!!!! We started off with a visit from my girl Marketa from Prague. It was a great visit. Then we spent Christmas Eve visiting members and showing them a 5 minute film then bearing our testimony of Jesus Christ. It was amazing. We have wonderful members in this part of God's vineyard. The members in Plzen are just so friendly and genuinely pray for the missionaries success. It is a beautiful thing. Then for Christmas Eve dinner all the missionaries got invited to a members house. She made us... get this... Fried Chicken and potato salad... Traditional Czech christmas food. I thought that was funny since I am used to fried chicken and potato salad but prepared in a whole different way. A little bit of southern comfort for me during my Christmas in the Czech Republic. It was pretty funny. Then we had millions of things called sucrovy which are just these tiny christmas cookies. Every cookie tastes different though. It's crazy. I'll have to send pictures. We literally eat thousands of these things. Needless to say I am F-A-T. I have a New Year's Resolution to give up milka bars (the chocolate here). 

Then for Christmas we visited a hospital and sang to this man. It was so cute. He asked where we were from and we told him America and he was shocked that we had come all the way from America to sing for him on Christmas. Then he wished us health so that we wouldn't end up in the hospital like him. It was really cute. He sang along to the carols we sang... it was awesome. Then we had lunch with our district. And dinner with some members who didn't have family to go home to.

The day after Christmas was probably the funniest because we went around singing at places where we thought people would be, but Plzen is pretty small and so there was no one out. We were basically singing to ourselves. It was definitely an experience that I will never forget. I have never sung so much in my life for an audience as I have on my mission... I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing. hahhaha. 

The holidays were so wonderful but I am really excited for everything to go back to normal and to get back to normal missionary work. I have souls to save here! hahaha. But really I am super excited for what the New Year will bring. It is truly a time to reflect on how to improve and change and get better (as is every new day that comes) because "a marvelous work is about to come forth among the Children of men" and I get to be apart of it! #STOKED 

I miss you all so so so much! Have Fun at Annika's wedding!!!! Do the stanky leg for me!

s laskou

Sestro Bruno

VESELE VANOCE

Hey fam!

This week was really good. We had interviews with President. It really helped. So much. My mission president is really THE BEST person ever. I told him how I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing and I don't understand anything and he told me about when he served in Plzen and it was the same time of year as when I am here. He said that he was trained by someone who had only been on their mission for 4 months and they had no idea what they were doing either and they still found people who are still members today. It's amazing. They are super strong members too. He said that we would find the people who would be willing to meet with us no matter what. No matter how much Czech we spoke, no matter how good our people skills were, no matter what. I can tell that's true. It's so amazing how the Lord works and I can really feel his hand in the work that we are doing as missionaries. It has to be him because there is no way that people would listen to my Czech if the Holy Ghost wasn't working with them.

For Christmas I don't think we are going to have time to e-mail next monday because we will be in Prague so I will just tell you what the plans are I guess. I'm still confused what we do... but we can only call after 6 and my companion is going to call her family at 7 so I am going to call at 8 pm here. I think that will be 2 pm on the east coast and 12 pm MST???? I'm not sure. Also I guess you are suppose to call me so our number is 420.775.474.340 at 8 pm our time. We have 45 minutes to talk. So 8 p.m. my time on Christmas Day (the 25th)

Christmas Eve is the really big Holiday here in the CR and so a lot of member are going out of town and things like that but it should still be a pretty good Christmas. On the 24th a member from Prague is going to come down and visit us and I'm so excited! She is the best. I am really excited for my first (and probably only) Czech Christmas.

If anyone is on right now and has questions let me know because I don't know exactly how this is suppose to work... Or if I should change the time??? I don't know

Changing All of Our Natural Habits

Dearest Family,

A big ahoj hoj from Plzen.

 After being here for a week I am realizing that I am one of those missionaries that is just meant to plant seeds. I got here only to find out that there are absolutely no investigators in this area. (This area has only been opened for 4 transfers so as long as I have been a missionary) YES. So after having a mini-panic attack because I am the senior companion (I'm suppose to know what I'm doing and I don't AT ALL) and praying a whole ton... I came up with the solution. Kontakting. It's so fun. Really I love it. It reminds me of two transfers ago when we opened Namesti Miru in Prague. We didn't have anyone during those transfers and now we have solid investigators and one even with a baptismal date. We will find the elect here in Plzen too. Already last week we saw a lot of success and we have a ton of potential, we just need to get people to meet with us... the problem every missionary has...  But really starting at ground zero just makes me realize that there is so much room to grow and to change and that's why we are here as people on the earth. To learn and grow. So I can't wait to grow-up in Plzen. It's going to be SUPER. Sister Jackson is really good. She is so sweet and really dedicated to the work. If anybody has anytime this week they should write to her because she is kind of having a hard time with her family and just missionary life. It would be really really nice and I think that she would really appreciate it.

This week in personal study I have a goal to focus on CONVERSION. What does it mean to be converted? I was reading in the Topical Guide today and one of the Synonyms for conversion was change. I thought that was interesting. The more I read the more I discovered that when we are converted we change all of our natural habits, everything that the world tells us to do to become Godly. True conversion. It's so hard. Sometimes I really don't want to do what needs to be done. REALLY don't want to. But I know that every time I do something that scares me, or is really really hard, that I am coming a little closer to being like God. It's a good feeling. So I hope that everyone will try to do something this week that scares them, but helps them come closer to Jesus Christ. For me it is kontakting people on public transportation. It scares me so bad, but it shows God that I have faith and trust him. 

I love you all so so much and hope that everything is good!!!

s laskou

Sestra Bruno

Plzen Bound

Hey fam,

My p-days are switched to Monday because I got transferred to Plzen!!!! My companion's name is Sister Jackson. She is 1 transfer behind me so we are just a bunch of newbies still... well I guess I'm not really a newbie anymore but it feels like I am!!! 

I'm really excited to be in Plzen. President has been really worried about this area lately, so I'm glad that he trusts me enough to send me here. I am really hoping to see miracles and do some good work here!!! I don't really have a lot to say so I will write more next week once I know what I am doing!!!!!