Two Baptisms!

Baptismal picture with Starsi Shirley, Starsi Kevern and Tibor

Sestra Miller & Sestra Hayden with Vojtech

Tent that was used to get dressed for baptism

Ready for the baptism

River where the baptism was performed

Some members that Starsi Shirley and Kevern visited this week

June 5, 2017

Hi there!

The baptisms on Saturday went well! Tibor, our investigator, was baptized as well as the Sister's investigator. We met at 8:00 in the morning at the river. We did it early enough that people wouldn't be out on the river that early. There were about 10 of us there. I definitely feel blessed and am thankful that I could have and am serving in Ceske Budejovice at this time to have been able to teach and baptize Tibor. They both came to church, got the gift of the Holy Ghost, and willing be getting a calling and the Aaronic priesthood soon. Pretty exciting! :)

My companion wrote this, but I decided to steal it from his email....

“We went knocking doors yesterday, and had been knocking for about 2 hours with little success. We had passed the man who was handing out newspapers a couple times on our path. After the third time he talked to us and asked to meet!... Just kidding he didn't, he actually screamed and swore at us and shoved both me and my companion. He said he'd call the police if we knocked one more door. So... we went to the other side of town and started knocking there :) Can't let a little opposition stop us!”

Other than that, nothing too big happened during the week. We're just excited from the baptisms. I think that seeing these two baptisms will help push us to work even harder. We have a few other people that could potentially have baptismal dates this next week. 

Love you!

-Elder Shirley

Elder Shirley also sent the following information about the two individuals who were baptized this past weekend:

Their short stories: 

Tibor:

"When I came to the age when I realized that I am an individual with free and rational thinking, I started to search for purpose in life. My thinking of the purpose of life lied in freedom and truth. But my opinions on freedom and truth were crooked. Gradually I started searching in music, philosophy and theology. None of these things solved my desires. Religion interested me though. In religion I learned to look for God in Christianity. I liked that way of life. I also liked that in Christianity, I am a part of the purpose of life. But, I didn't like living according to what was taught. Because of that, I procrastinated actually joining a church and living it. After falling many times in my life after many years of failure, I realized that I need to accept Jesus Christ as my Savior. After meeting the missionaries on the street and at the Church, I found out that my searching and my life failures would come to an end. I sealed my covenant with God by being baptized into the church."

Vojtech was found in January by Sister Heap and Sister Brown on a cold day in the winter. He saw how hard they were working and decided to talk to them for a while. From then he set up with them and they started to meet. He is from Slovakia and was raised a non-believer. He was interested in religions however as he grew up. He became a believer when he was 20 and met the missionaries ten years later. From the very beginning he believed what the missionaries taught him, but still had many trials on the path to his baptism. The break through point happened when he really started to read the Book of Mormon and scriptures, recognizing answers, and performing acts of faith. Through his own efforts to become converted, he finally felt right about his baptismal date and was baptized and then confirmed.