Week 4 in Brno

21 Oct 2013 Ahoj! I'm not really sure what to say about this week, we're working hard. We got some referrals, which was cool, and we have a lot of potentials that say they want to meet with us, it's just a matter of them actually showing up/answering their phones. But oh well. We got to go on a hike with one of them in Saturday, and that was absolutely beautiful, cause it was all the fall leaves. I'd better enjoy it while I can though cause the snow is supposed to start in 2 weeks....And the branch has started a Christmas choir, so we get to be in that, that was fun. Church yesterday was super productive, we had our investigator actually show up, and he's Russian. So it was super cool cause a member got up to speak and she's Russian too, so he got to hear it in his own language :) He understands Czech fairly well cause they are pretty similar, but that was a small tender mercy. And then I was talking to a YSA, and he had brought his roommate to church, and said his other roommate has been asking lots of questions about our church as well :) So we got two referrals! That was awesome. He's from Taiwan and served his mission there, and he's studying music here so he's going to help us with the concert we are going to put on in November too! I'm excited for that. Last p-day was really fun, we went to Spilberk, the castle that's in the middle of the city on a huge hill, and then Sister Steglich bought a guitar, we all got scarves, and then we tracked down The Candy Store, which sells American food. That was super exciting haha, I got goldfish, jelly beans and rootbeer-- so we had rootbeer floats the other night!! It's been so long since I've had American stuff haha. That was happy. Today we are going to IKEA to buy a bunk bed, cause we only have one bed, the other one broke, and now there are three of us. So we'll see how that goes. Hopefully the zone leaders will be able to drive there to pick it up, cause they have a car. Otherwise it will be us lugging it by ourselves onto trams and buses and up and down stairs.....which will be a bit of a nightmare. So we'll see. I'm sorry to hear about Grandpa, gah I wish I could have been there to help!!! I'm glad that everything went as smoothly as it could have. I miss you all so much. I'm so grateful that we all know without a doubt that we will see him again. The gospel is so amazing. I just feel my testimony getting deeper and deeper the longer I'm out here--it's way more that I could have imagined, so I know that it's worth it. love you all soooo much. Hug Grandma for me. Sestra Cooper

Week 3 in Brno

14 OCT 2013 Ahoj! Well I'm definitely feeling better than last week, but this week was just kind of ridiculous. We had the worst train-wreck of a first lesson I've ever had on Monday and so that just kind of made my self-confidence die, and working with three people is really hard so there's been drama with that...but we're getting better. Found some new potentials and we've gotten a lot of referrals lately, so that's been exciting. There's one who's a yw and has been coming to church with her mom, and she went to efy and everything this summer, and I guess the other yw have been talking to her about getting baptized and she's thinking about it. So we should have our first lesson with her this week, and i'm excited about that. And another one came to conference and sports day this weekend, he's italian. (He speaks fluent French, but not very much English so I'm trying to remember my french...haha. It's a struggle, but at least I still understand everything) So we will finally have some people to teach, yay! And we did a how-to-start family history presentation that actually went really well, and it made contacting people on the street way less awkward when we could just invite them to an event at the beginning. So that was cool. (I'd love to see that family history stuff you are working on mom! it sounds awesome.) We are going to organize a concert soon and try to get more potentials there. One of the other cities did it and basically taught the first lesson through songs, and musical numbers and got new investigators out of it. Super cool right? Oh but the other ridiculous thing...I don't know what it is with me and getting sick/eaten alive here but it seems to happen way more than normal. We had a pigeon's nest outside our bedroom window that they knocked down, but apparently when you do that the bird mites go looking for something else to bite, and since i had the bed by the window the next day I woke up with more than 100 bites all over... So I've been sleeping on the couch all week while we've sprayed the bedroom with raid and aired it out just in case... So that was disgusting and kind of miserable, but we've gotten rid of them at least. So progress? Hopefully we'll move back into the bedroom in the next couple of days. And I found some good running shoes so we've started running again, and that felt amazing. anyways....we also went to prague again, and I officially have my visa now, so that's finally done. President McConkie was in Brno so we got to ride back with him, that was cool to just talk to him cause we never really see him except for trainings. And Conference was amazing of course. I think every talk was just so good. I loved Elder Hollands, Dube, Hales, Bednar, Ochoa....basically all of them. I can't wait to study them. There really is such a sense of the Lord's hastening His work, which is a little scary, I felt like a lot of them talked about how the world is just getting darker and darker, and how there is such a divide between those who are converted and those who aren't. There seems to be less and less middle ground. And it really does feel like Satan is throwing a tantrum like you said mom. Yuck. But at the same time, the gospel is so amazing, I can't believe we have more than 15 million members now!! That's crazy. Conference had me thinking about the future a lot, so I'm trying to not think about next year and how I have no idea what I'm doing with my life... Besides, I know that the Lord is in control, and that he will guide me when I make big decisions. It's still a long ways away, but at the same time transfers go by so fast, and I'm almost halfway done. So weird. Anyways. Well today should be fun cause I think I have a cool idea for Christmas presents for you guys assuming it works out and we are going to another castle with the whole district. So I'm excited about that. I can't believe it's almost Halloween! October just started.... love you!!!!! So. much. Sestra Cooper P.S. I finally saw a hedgehog! haha. And apparently I have a slovak accent when I speak Czech, I probably already told you that, but I thought it was funny.

Week 2 in Brno

7 oct 2013 Cau, Well I was doing fine until I sat down to email....I think the stress of this last week has caught up to me, and I've felt like I have to be the strong one for both of my companions. Both of them have kind of had a hard transition, so I've been trying to be the one that has faith and is optimistic and pushing us on, and comforting them. But I got sick AGAIN, and my cough won't go away, so I've been kind of miserable all week. Finally got to organize half the apartment yesterday though, which helped, it was such a mess I couldn't figure out what materials we even had. So that will help a little. I just really miss you right now. And I know that my friends are probably busy but no one but you guys have written me for a couple transfers now, which is lame. I know I shouldn't care, or take it personally, but it does hurt a little bit. I think I'm just extra sensitive because I don't really know any missionaries in Moravia--all of my friends are on the other side of the country. And the elders in my district here like to make feminist jokes and such, which is just annoying. I'm sorry this is such a downer, I think it just all caught up to me, and I feel like if I lose it in front of them then my companions will too-gah. I'm just feeling kind of alone right now. But I know that it's not about me, yadda yadda.... And I am working hard of course. I'll be fine, we're so busy there really isn't that much time to think about myself anyways. Well on the bright side the members here are great, and I really do like Brno. We have a really good YSA group, and people actually stop when you talk to them on the street. All of the people they taught last transfer have kind of disappeared, so we are basically starting from scratch, but we have a meeting with an old potential from C Bud (that I referred to myself haha) tonight and she sounded super cool on the phone, so that's exciting. We are teaching a family history introduction night on Wednesday so we are going to contact on that for the next few days to try and find some new people to teach, and then after that we are going to focus on inviting people to Conference, since we watch it a week late. I can't wait for it, I think I really need that spiritual boost. Can't believe it's been 6 months since the last one though! That was my second week in the country. Kind of crazy. The days just seem so incredibly long, but then I look back and I'm almost halfway done with my mission, and I don't know what happened! Well I don't really know what else to say about this week, it's all just kind of a blur. I just feel like I need to just be so much better, more effective, more bold, just everything. I know I shouldn't be such a perfectionist, but I could just be so much better. Gah. It probably doesn't help that I haven't had a real P-day for 3 weeks. I am excited about this transfer, it's just going to be a lot of work. But I'm really glad that I feel like I left C Bud a lot better than it was when I got there, so I'm determined to do the same thing here. I like contacting better in a trio, teaching is kind of hard to get used to, but we'll get there in the end. We are going up to Prague again on Friday for my last visa appointment, which will be good to get done. And I'm going to try and find some good tennis shoes today, I hate shopping as a missionary it's so stressful. Gah. Oh well. It'll be fine. love you!!!! Sestra Cooper

Week 1 in Brno! 30 Sept 2013

Ahoj! I'm surprised we had time to email today but I do! I'm now in Brno in a trio! I'm with Sister Steglich and follow-up training Sister Schoen. Should be an adventure, I just got here a couple of hours ago. It's weird cause they are both 20 so I feel a lot older haha. And the greenie is the only one who knows the city, so she has to remember where everything is. But that's ok. The apartment is really nice, a lot better than C Bud's and we have FHE tonight, so that should be cool. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone in C Bud, I was there for 4 months! Which is the longest I've been anywhere, so it was kind of strange to leave. I had to get up and bear my testimony yesterday in sacrament meeting and I thought I would be fine, and I got up there and just started crying. I hate that! gah. But I really do love them all so much. It was hard to say goodbye. I was really grateful that I was there to see Constantin pass the sacrament for the first time though :) That was really neat to see how far he has come in the last 4 months. And the branch is finally getting going, we were going to actually have a real branch council soon! Oh well, I guess I did my part and now I need to be here. I'm really excited to be here, though, Brno is a lot bigger so it will be nice to have a bigger branch. As much as I loved the little one, it's kind of a relief to not be in charge of Relief Society and Young Womens haha. And Brno has a lot of students, so I'm excited to find some new cool investigators. Plus we have a big district so I get to do singing displays again :) I don't really know what to say about last week, we travelled so much. Twice to Prague and back. But we did get to go to Michal's performance, that was super cool. He's a professional violinist and plays for the opera, so we got permission to go :) It was Tosca, I've never seen an opera before, but the music was so good. So I was pleasantly surprised :) Other than that, nothing really happened. I made enchildas for district lunch yesterday and they were soooo good. Oh but can you send me your sauce recipe mom? The sauce here is more like salsa. Yesterday was a blur of packing, so not much to say there, except we went to the Chrdlovi for dinner, that was really nice. This morning on the superlong bus ride I was kind of reflecting on what I've learned from the different areas I've served in, and my different companions, and I decided that C Bud taught me how to have charity, how to really love people, and to see them how Christ does. I just cringe when I think about how I was before my mission. I know I didn't do anything bad, but I could have done so much more good, if I had learned how to serve others -what you guys tried to teach me my whole life! haha. I'm just so grateful that I have the chance to learn that now. The power of the gospel to transform us is just absolutely amazing. I feel like I can relate to what you were talking about mom, about being more converted, that's exactly how I feel as well. It's amazing. Well I think that's about it, love you all!!!

Week 18 in C Bud 23 Sept 2013

Nazdar! Well I can't believe transfers are next week already. aaah. I feel like I just blinked and the transfer is already over. So if you don't get an email that's why. I think I'm probably leaving, but you never know! We'll see. I really don't know what to say about last week, it went by super fast, and I don't think anything really happened.... oh wait. We have a full-fledged branch now, Constantin got the priesthood, my visa went through, and we've been sick all week, so it's kind of a blur of tiredness. Just a cold though, so that was good. We tried to sleep during lunches and go to bed right after planning. Yesterday was exciting though, because Elder Greener has two counselors now, and we have a primary president, should be getting a relief society one and elders quorum soon which will be nice, so that we don't have to do yw and everything else too! But our chapel has been full for the last couple of weeks, so we have to look for a new building! That is an amazing problem to have. It's funny cause I think we aren't making any progress, and then I remember that we had 8 people at church, if that, when I first got here 4 months ago. So that's pretty amazing that we are averaging like 25 every week now. It finally feels like a real branch :) President was telling us this morning that the Lord is just going to open the floodgates now that we have somewhere to fellowship new converts :) So that was an exciting thought. It's so hard to find people to teach in C Bud, but maybe it just had to wait until there was somewhere to bring them, and now we'll start finding people. We did meet some pretty cool people tracting this week, so that was fun. We'll see what happens there. It was really nice cause the 1st counselor in the mission presidency and his wife came down to organize the presidency (Tmejovi) and they are so cool. I love it when I meet active members who have been in the church for 20 years, it gives me hope. Because most of the branch is recent converts. But she taught relief society and is so cool, it was so nice to have someone ask how we are doing in a motherly way haha. Made me miss you mom! There's just nothing quite like it. what else....we went out to Trebon to find a less active, that was cool cause the town still has it's medieval wall with a moat around it :) He still lives there too, and we found his house, so it was good to confirm his address. haha Czech addresses are ridiculous, his number was 148, but it was after 145 and 135, they make no sense. Basically you just have to wander around and go both directions until you find it. We had a couple miracles happen with less actives actually, we were calling old potentials, and one of them is the son of an inactive, the son is catholic, and not interested, but super nice, and he gave us his dad's new number! So that was awesome, most people wouldn't. Our senior couple are just super excited that they get to help with that, and are super helpful with that cause they have a car and a lot of them live far out. I think that's about it...I found quinoa so I made that this week, super good. haha that was exciting. We have training on Thursday, so we are coming back up to Prague, and then I have to come back again in two weeks for more visa stuff...so lots of train rides. I'm still reading the Bible, and I'm really enjoying Deuteronomy actually. Deut. 4:29-31 is really beautiful, about how the Lord will never forget us, and the second we turn back to Him, He is always right there, ready to bless, and uplift us. So I was thinking about that this week. I'm so imperfect and do so many things wrong, but somehow He trusts me enough to represent Him. And so in my small way I get to be a tool in His hands and help other people come back to Him as well. love you!!!! Sestra Cooper

Week 17 in C Bud

16 Sept 2013 Ahoj! Well this week went by pretty fast, we only have one normal week of the transfer left cause next week we go to Prague twice--I have to get fingerprinted for my visa and then we have training! And we were in Prague yesterday as well for District Conference. So a ton of travel lately. District Conference was so good though I loved it. And I got to see Vaclav and Martin Novak again! That was sooo fun because I can actually communicate with them now, I absolutely loved it. Martin's still an investigator, but he's so great, he'll make it eventually. It was so funny cause he was telling me that he's growing out his beard again cause people always think he's a student even though he's had a real job for like 10 years haha. So I was like, yeah I have the same problem, people always think I'm 18, and he was like what? you aren't 18?? hahaha no Martin, I'm not. And it was all in Czech of course. Ah beautiful. And I understood almost all of the Conference as well, which was super exciting, cause the last time I was in church in Prague I just tried not to fall asleep. This time I actually got things out of it :) It was super cool cause they had a bunch of little talks by youth and young adults, one was about to leave on a mission, the others preparing, and then a woman got up and talked about how her husband patiently waited 8 years for her to get baptized and how they were recently sealed in the Temple. It was so cool because I just felt an overwhelming love for these people. The church really is growing here, even if it seems to be so incredibly slow to me. And I just love them so much--I know missionaries always say that, but I don't think I realized how much I really would feel it, you know? It's an incredible gift. Sister McConkie gave a talk on siblings--apparently there is an article in Times magazine called the new science of siblings, and she quoted it--they were saying that our siblings are our true partners for life, because spouses come into the picture comparatively late and parents leave earlier, but our siblings are with us for the whole journey. (It sounds like a really interesting study.) So she talked about how siblings sometimes fight, or disagree, but at the end of the day always forgive each other, because we are family. So then she compared it to how we are all siblings in the church, and how we need to love each other like family, and forgive each other like family. Ah it was so good. And it made me miss you guys, but in a good way, if that makes sense. Because I know that I'll be such a better sister when I get home because of what I'm learning here. Other things...we went on a road trip on Saturday with the senior couple to find inactives, and we actually had way more success than I thought we were going to. We went up past Tabor, which is like an hour and a half away (our area is huge) and one of the families let us in, and were so friendly! It was such a nice surprise to be welcomed haha, usually they just don't answer or say they don't have time. But they said they would totally come to church if they lived closer, but it's just such a long way. And then we tracked down another member in a different town, who also answered the door and gave us her contact info :) I was so excited. So we are going to start visiting them once a month I think. It was awesome. Oh and the elders had a miracle happen to them too, Elder Greener wanted to get some books bound, and Gita (a member) said she had a friend who did them, so last week they went to this shop to get them done, and at the end, they found out that her friend is no less than one of the inactives no one has been able to get ahold of, and she said they can start visiting her :) Total divine intervention! And then yesterday on the train back from Prague the same member happened to get on the same car as us so I got to meet her too! And we had members traveling back with us, so they all said hi, and exchanged phone numbers :) Not a coincidence. The branch is growing!! Even though we only have 1 investigator.... but that's ok. We are working hard and that's all that matters. love you!!! Sestra Cooper

week 16 in C BUD...aaaaah

9 Sep 2013 Ahoj! I freaked out yesterday during weekly planning when I realized we only have 3 weeks left of the transfer. Can't believe it, it goes by so fast! We've got District Conference in Prague this Sunday and then the next week Constantin and our returning member get the priesthood (!!) and then we've got training in Prague and transfers. Oh yeah and we have another investigator with a baptismal date for that week too. So we'll see how that goes, should be pretty busy. It's really cool because our vision for the transfer included 1 baptism or someone progressing towards it, and a less-active returning and getting the priesthood, even though at the time we had like no investigators and it didn't look possible. (we still have like no new investigators...but that's ok!) God is a God of miracles and they are totally happening :) Annica that is awesome that you had a baptism the same day! so fun. Wow orange water, gross. Good thing you checked! Constantin did get baptized on Saturday :) It was pretty small cause not a lot of people could come up to Prague, but the spirit was so strong and he is so happy. So neat to be a part of it. We got him a shirt and tie as a present, and he was so excited haha. So great. It was cool too, cause Sister Bateman, who is our sister training leader is in Prague, she was there for his 2nd lesson a year ago as a greenie and she got to see him get baptized :) The office elders filled up the font for us, which was good, cause we wouldn't have had time. Other things....we went out to Prachatice, Sedlec and Plastovice to find less actives with the senior couple this week. That was really nice to be able to make some progress on that, cause they have a car. So that was fun, the only one we taught was one that we've visited before, the other two have moved, but that was good to know. It was fun seeing this tiny old villages, they are so pretty, and a nice change from the city. I think we are going to make it a weekly thing, we're going to visit some more on Saturday. Our area is gigantic, it goes to the German border and all the way up to Plzen, so for some of them it's an hour drive to get there. But that was fun. We're trying to keep them busy cause they don't really have anything to do. I'm glad my package made it! I was worried about that. I'm glad only one of them broke, i'll just have to get some more next Easter. The keychain is from Indonesia, Charlah gave it to me. The old testament manual would be helpful, but I don't think I can lug around anymore books for transfers haha. We have one in Czech at the church, not that that is very helpful. But I have been learning a lot, even though Leviticus is kind of painful haha. All these things I never knew were in there! Like one of our investigators said Mosiah 29 (about the judges) seemed too modern to be true, and then I was reading Exodus and Moses does the same thing! And one of our returning members was freaked out that the temple font has 12 oxen--but Solomon has the exact same thing in his temple. Totally cool. haha we would finally get a snuggly dog when I'm not there! go figure. but that's awesome. We were watching the district today in comp study and just laughing about how it would be if they filmed it in our mission. Cause they are like, "we did all we could to just get a baptism, and it didn't happen." Ours is more like "the whole district did all we could to find just one new investigator to teach this week and we still have no one!" haha. (that's actually true for this week...) And our apartment....haha the top of the toilet is broken so we have to leave the window open 24/7 or it stinks, and the toilet seat falls off, our freezer eats our food alive even though we just cleaned it out and our clothes drying rack is duct-taped in 4 places and still collapsing so we have it propped up with weights. Oh yeah and my bed is two pea-green box-beds from the 70s stacked on top of each other with a mattress on top, and my nightstand is an ironing board hahahaha. Can you imagine them filming that?? we were just cracking up. Gotta love it. But the funny thing is that I just love it here. It really makes no sense. Blessings! I wish I could describe it better, what it's actually like, I feel like I can only tell you like a tenth of everything that happens, if that. Love you sooooo much!!! Sestra Cooper