Sweater Time in Bulgaria!!!!
September 25th 2013
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Bulgaria Week 10
My eating has been slowly improving.
I have been studying my "Where's
mom now that I need her book" to come up with new ideas. After
emailing we will head to the store.
I am not cooking food just yet. I
made a realization yesterday that I don't know exactly how to handle/cook/prepare
any kinds of meats. So I would love some advice on that.
It is getting cooler here. We bust
out our sweaters from time to time, like right now:) I don't know exactly when
I will need/get the coat. Only time will tell.
A lot of good things have been
happening, it has been a good week. We had zone training where I learned SO
MUCH & how to be so much better. So I am constantly trying to improve &
think of creative ways to be a better missionary in all aspects. I am constantly
just learning & absorbing information & trying to keep track of it all.
Different kinds of things for not just spiritual things & missionary things
but about life & leadership & the home. It is incredible!
I received an email from Brock that
he got his call to Guatemala I think? that is super! Who else have received
calls in our ward?
I studied a beautiful topic that was
on my mind this morning that I studied/read a little bit yesterday. It was the
conversion of the Anti Nephi Lehies. I wanted to understand more why they were
so converted & how so I can apply it to myself & to other people here
like members & investigators. It was beautiful & I found it all in Alma
23-25 I believe. The believed! They knew the knowledge of the truth & they
believed it. Not only that but they hid their "weapons of rebellion"
Our weapons of rebellion are our sins, our favorite sins even. They can be
anything. If we put them away & covenant with God to never do them again we
become so much stronger. They would rather die than sin. They knew the things
were true through the power of the Holy Ghost.
I thought it was incredible. We then
studied how to prepare for our investigator. I read this verse in Mosiah,
Mosiah 4:19 & it was so powerful, it touched me deeply. Are we all not
beggars? Think about it.
We only have one week of this
transfer. I don't want to leave Hackovo, there is so much more for me to do.
But be it according to God's
There was a wedding outside our apartment in the morning.
Bulgarian weddings are so awesome! Haha
APPLY WHAT I RECOMMEND. Pray for my Bulgarian I really need
help.!!!
Bulgaria Week 9
What is going on here first:) We have
a few investigators: S….., C……, & I…. (the most common names here are Ivan
& Georgi it is hilarious haha because every other person we meet has one of
these names) They are all progressing but we will see how things go. We had a
very successful week last week with numbers & such. For some reason it felt
soo long haha but very good & rewarding.
There are two weeks left in the
transfer & Elder S…… has the feeling he will go, & I believe him. So
anything can happen; I could stay, I could go, he could stay, he could go. But
it has been an amazing experience & I have learned so much from him. Even
when I thought I had learned everything I needed to I still learn more! Again
the top two things that i have learned so far are patience & listening.
Patience is definitely the first though.
We find people through street
contacting still haha it is a thrill. I love missionary work! Every day I just
beam with joy because I love it:) I learn so much during my personal studies.
Many, many things have been impressed upon my mind. Many things for now &
in the future. It's almost too much!
Yesterday (Sunday) we had the great
privilege of having President & Sister Wilstead in Hackovo with us:) It was
so awesome! I got to talk to them a bit & get to know them better. President
Wilstead is seriously the coolest. He is so bold & powerful. I wanted to
get to know more about them & I did which was cool. I will tell dad a bit
when I write him because I know he will be interested. I had my first interview
with him, I guess there are 4 a year. So it was nice:)
The church is focusing so much upon
families, which would at first seem obvious because we have known this, but I
never realized how much.
Strengthen the family. Live the
Family Proclomation. Have family home evenings. Read & pray together every
day? Will you & Dad do this? Encourage our new little family as well. I
have realized more how imporatant family is!
Bulgaria Week 8
Things have been hectic. For example
today I am starting my emailing an hour later than normal because there was no
room in the internet zala where we use the computers. So we went & did our
shopping at Kaufland (it is like a store it is really nice) & got our for
food the week.
This last week, like all other weeks
have just flown by & I have learned a lot. The saying "the longest
days & shortest weeks" on your mission is true! Yes I can't believe I
am already 4 months out! In two months I will already be 1/4 of the way done!
I have many precious spiritual
experiences like one this morning. I studied the Atonement, just the Atonement.
I received many important things & made some important realizations. My
perspective has definitely changed
Elder S……. has had the greatest
influence upon me. He is just full of the spirit & I learn so much from him
& the Holy Ghost. He will have truly changed the entire course of my
mission. It is hard to believe that I might only have 3 weeks left with him.
Last P-day I played chess with
Miroslav from the city of Plovdiv. I don't know when but he was the champion of
Plovdiv (which is the second largest city in Bulgaria) we played 3 games then a
fourth.
I won, drew, won, & then decided
to play a 4th & I lost. It was very thrilling! Haha because he is good
& I felt at home:) I played very recklessly because it was very fun &
excited! I felt like Mikhail Tal doing all these crazy sacrifices. It was just
really fun & enjoyable:)
I love every thing happening here:)
I am so happy.
Let me talk about C…….. He has been
so difficult haha. Soooo difficult. But he is getting baptized. He really wants
to be baptized! He is a very interesting & tricky character. He is sooo smart.
So he has so many questions & they are difficult to answer because he
doesn't have the foundation. So we are teaching him all of the commandments
Tuesday. He will be baptized here or back in Holland where he lives. It has
been quite the experience.
Bulgaria Week 7
My Dear family & friends
We are teaching C…, he has a date
for September 21st.
I received the package from grandma
it was great thanks:) I especially love the letters, the jerky, & peanut
butter.
I have many spiritual experiences
through the week.
I am healthy, I love the people, I
love the work, I love the gospel.
Please do family home evening when
you can. It will strengthen & refresh you. Personal prayer & scripture
study are essential. Essential I say!
Bulgaria Week 6
For me lately the simple things have
truly been emphasized lately. The Sacrament, prayer, our relationship with our
Father in Heaven, the role of Jesus Christ & the Atonement, faith, hope,
patience, compassion, & humility.
Easily the number one thing I have
been cultivated & learning while out here is to be patient & listen.
There are all sorts of little
experiences that happen every day. Learning moments, tender mercies..
The cardboard flat of me is..
interesting haha.
Please I beg of you, put God first
in everything. Don't lean upon your understanding, knowledge & talents.
Rely on God & resort to Him for everything. Pray pray pray.
Pattern for revelation: Desire,
study, ponder, pray, do and repeat! The spirit told me this:) it works:)
I love you, you be missionaries out
there:)
Bulgaria Week 5
To sum up though haha church service
is only 30 min Sacrament, small break, then sunday school. & that is it
haha. Our investigator’s family is completely against the church.. so they have
forbidden him to come. But we are working on that so it is all good haha. We
survived the first transfer so I am staying here with my companion to finish my
training. Things are picking up again:) Missionary work is incredible &
works in mysterious ways haha. I have met a few more chess people & I might
play on today so we will see what happens today. It is not a huge tool that I
have been using though. With time we will see how it goes. The members meet at
a little building that is actually pretty good sized but nothing like a chapel.
There are two room, a small office & two bathrooms. No home or visiting
teaching. No ward missionary. Very simple:) haha
Things are just great. I have been
learning so much. Impossible to explain.
I wish the best for this week.
Emails have been terrible today.
Reason, pray, reason, pray, do.
God knows us all so perfectally
& is in the details of our lives.
I am safe, I am healthy, i love
every moment here. Time flies by & I don't want to miss a minute.
Everything is put into place. The first law of the kingdom of heaven is
obedience.
Prayer, the Holy Ghost, & our
relationship with God the Father was really impressed upon my mind this week.
God knows you & loves you. Trust him.
Faith is action. Prayer is specific
& heartfelt.
I have learned so much about
patience & listening hahah. & boy did I need it:)
I love you all, I wish the best for
the wedding & thank you all for the birthday wishes.
Things have been really interesting
here.. it is completely impossible to explain what goes on here. There is just
so much. So much goes through my mind about so many different things. I have so
many things I want to ask you haha & so many thoughts & little things
to say & tell.
I have survived the first transfer.
It was amazing.
So I am still here with my same
companion. I am really focusing on the work. I don't struggle with anything..
Our investigator is having large
struggles with his family, but he knows this is all true. So it is a process. I
love being our here & working. I can't fathom how I do this every day &
life continues on & all the things you & my family do.
This week my understanding of God as
my Father, the sacredness & specialness of prayer, & the role of the
Holy Ghost have been strongly impressed upon my mind this week. My perspective
has completely changed. Something for you to contemplate if you would like is
truly your nature as a daughter of God. How well he really knows you. He hears
& knows everything. All your thoughts, desires, needs. It just changes the
way you think of prayer.
So pray:) pray always! About
everything. Listen for an answer. Listening in general is something that I have
been learning A LOT about.
Things are great here. Stuff happens
for good & bad every day haha missionary work is crazy! I don't understand
how the Lord works. I just have to trust Him & he makes it happen.
God knows us!!
Bulgaria Week 4
Bulgaria Week 4
Our first investigator was baptized & confirmed this
yesterday & Saturday. It was an amazing experience & his story is
great! Before he met us he prayed that something in his life would change &
then we met him the same day! When we asked him to pray about Joseph Smith, the
church, & the Book of Mormon he went home & prayed about it that night.
Later he testified to his mom who was against are church (protiv as we call it
in Bulgarian here) he testified to her & she is no longer protiv
incredible! He is an amazing person! He is so ready & prepared so we are
still working with him. I still can't believe we found him. We were up north
contacting & we were by a park by some blocks (old communist apartment complexes)
& we stopped & prayed where to go. We had the thought to go west &
that is when we ran into him:) He said he agreed to meet with us because we
were so friendly. So that shows you always need to be friendly & an
example, you never know who you might find.
I have been studying & reading
so many things it is super exciting. Alma 12 is amazing & completely
outlines the Plan of Redemption & it is awesome! Alma 13 is all about the
Priesthood which has excited me to study all the chapters about Priesthood. I
restarted the New Testament which is awesome as well I am in chapter like 20?
or 22 or 23? Christ just said woes upon the pharisees, it was intense.
I have been learning a lot about
myself, thinking about the future, trying to improve. My Bulgarian is definitely
improving which I am happy about:) I can understand better if I really listen
& God helps me.
I have been having a lot of thoughts
about prayer. Prayer is simple, be specficccc, express gratitiude. Every prayer
should be different. Never the same.
Earlier last week I went to Stara Zagora with my
companion of course because we had to get the font.. yes there is a portable
font that we have to grab & drag between cities. In Stara Zagora they have
giant chess boards, & people playing chess.. unlike in Hackovo where I am.
We had extra time (2 hours) I introduced myself & began playing with all
these old men:) they seemed skeptical at first & I was a little afraid
because I wanted to make a good impression & I hadn't really played in a
while. I played this gentleman twice & won both:) then I think I played
another guy? I don't remember exactly. But the last guy I played was (as
everyone there had told me) Bulgarian champion 30 years ago. We played, I was
black but equalized in the endgame but lost a pawn, then created a drawn rook
endgame pretty much but he pressed for the win made a crucial mistake & I
went on to win:) I was trying to be as nice as possible & speak in my
broken Bulgarian but I also explained why I was here & such. I hope I left
them with greater respect for us missionaries. I directed them to the church
& told them good day:) so that is my chess story!
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