365 Days to Go!

In the tunnels underneath a church in Uherske Hradiste

The chapel in Uherske Hradiste

Finishing up a study session in the apartment

7 ties for $25!

The elders in the Uherske Hradiste district

A picture of the mission countdown timer that we keep at home

July 18, 2016

This week went well; pretty normal again. On Friday though, my companion had to go to Prague to finish up his visa work. So I stayed in UH and was in a threesome with the other two missionaries here for a day. We had an awesome day and taught a ton of people on the street. It was a little weird being in a threesome so I was happy when Elder Hudson got back at the end of the day. 

This whole last week, it has been raining quite a bit. It reminds me of Washington weather. It was a good change from the normal burning hot. A few of my pairs of pants are actually sun-bleached pretty bad from being worn for a year and through all this sun. My black pants are turning a kind of orangish color and my gray pants are going pink haha.

But, because it was raining on Saturday, we had a pretty cool experience. We had on plan to go do service at a member's house, but because of the rain, she cancelled on us. We weren't sure what to do. So we decided that we should either tract in the city or go to a different city and tract, offering service. So we decided to pray about it. We all felt strongly that we should go tracting for service. So we got in the car and prayed again about where we should go. We felt impressed to go to a specific city so we went there and started tracting. The very first lady that we tracted into said that she didn't need help, but she told us to tract the street behind her house and ask people for service there. So we did and after about half an hour, we knocked on one house and an older lady answered the door. She said she didn’t need any help, but she recognized that we were Mormon. She started asking us all the typical questions that everyone asks us like "What state are you from?", "How long will you be here?", "How long have you been learning Czech?" and so on. She said, "You can come in, but I don't want to talk about faith." We said okay, but of course, we had to bring it up :) We ended up having a really good conversation with her and at the end of the conversation we gave her a Book of Mormon. It was an awesome experience. 

It is amazing how sometimes you feel like the work is so hard. But every so often, we are blessed with certain experiences that help us keep going and help us to keep that faith.

Miracles happen often when we look for them. With faith, they happen always when we seek them. The Lord is in this work! We are blessed in so many ways that we sometimes don't recognize. I know that this Church is true and that the message that we share brings happiness and peace to all who will hear. 

This coming week we will actually be going to Brno for an exchange with the zone leaders and then the next day, we are going to Prague, and then on to Karlštejn to celebrate the anniversary of the mission opening up. It should be a really good week! I totally believe that this entire year will go faster than the last one, so I'll make sure to keep working harder! 

By the way, I ate cow tongue today, just a little piece for fun. It was really soft and I have to admit, pretty good. But the texture and just the thought of eating cow tongue made me feel a little weird haha.

{We asked him what we could send him in a package} As for what I would like in a package? I actually don't have bad allergies at all now, so you might not have to send the medicine! I'm probably still good on clothes. And I actually bought 3 ties this last week for about 10 bucks. You can get clothes for really cheap here! As far as requests go.....candy of course. Reese’s, Butterfingers, another box cake, boxes of Mac & Chees, etc. Whatever you like really; I’d appreciate anything!

-Elder Shirley

Everything is Great in Uherské Hradiště

Another successful service project in the forest with some members

Elder Shirley and his companion Elder Hudson at the start of another transfer

July 11, 2016

This last week was great! Honestly, nothing really new to talk about. There haven't really been any new adventures lately. But hopefully, there will be more to write about in the upcoming weeks! District Leader isn't too hard, there's not a whole lot to it. But I hope I can do it well!  My responsibilities are basically to teach/train at district meeting every week and do call-ins with the other companionships and with the zone leaders during the week just to talk about the progress of the missionary work in the areas. I'm doing great still in this area. At first, I was a little disappointed to not get transferred to a new city, but then I realized that I just needed to get over myself haha. Missionary work is essentially the same no matter where you serve or who you serve with.

The new mission President (President Pohořelický from the Czech Republic) is great. The only interaction that I have had with him is this last week when we had new district leader meeting over the phone. He is great though! My companion, Elder Hudson, is also great. We're already used to each other so we didn't have to worry about the first few days of the transfer being a little weird. Usually when you get a new comp you have to adjust to each other, but where we didn't switch, it made it easy.

We did a lot of tracting this week. At the start of this transfer, we decided that we are going to attempt to tract the entire city in these next 9 weeks. We'll see if we can get it done!

The branch here is great as ever. I've been here long enough to where I know them all really well. I actually gave a talk this last week at church. It was on 'How can I fulfill the commitment to always remember the Savior?" It was a pretty simple topic and I enjoyed giving it! I feel comfortable enough giving talks now so I wasn't too nervous. I didn't even write a script this time!

We don't get too many dinners fed to us; most of the time we just cook on our own. Sometimes we eat pasta. We also have rice and pork a lot, grilled cheese, and halušky. Got any other ideas for something to make in 30 minutes? 

Love you all lots! Good luck with everything this week!

-Elder Shirley

{With the latest terrorist attack in Nice, France this past week, we received a brief letter from the Czech/Slovak mission office regarding missionary safety.  I’ve attached the letter below.  It is nice to hear of the great care and concern that the mission president has for his missionaries!}

Dear Parents of the Czech/Slovak Mission:

As we hear about the different tragedies that are happening around the world, President Pohořelický has expressed concern for you as parents, and that you might be worried about the safety of your missionaries.  He wants you to know that the Czech/Slovak area is a safe place and that your missionaries are safe and happy here. We are always praying for their safety as I know that you are as well.  May the Lord bless you for your willingness to have your young people serve here in Prague.  We love them and we thank you for raising such valiant servants of the Lord.

Warm regards,

Sister Tricia Scott

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints

Czech/Slovak Mission

Executive Secretary

Two More Months in Uherske Hradiste and a Calling To Be a District Leader

With Elder Lanham, my district leader for 4 months,  who was transferred to Liberec this week. By the way, that shirt I'm wearing, I bought for 3 bucks. Pretty cool, right?

July 4, 2016

Happy 4th! I hope you guys have a fun Independence Day. We probably won't do anything here haha. 

This last week was the switch of the new mission President! We had a "Meet the President" training on Saturday in Brno and it went well. Since they are both Czech, they have decided to do all trainings in Czech as well. It will be an awesome change and I think the entire mission will improve in their ability to speak and understand Czech because of it. 

This last week in UH a big summer festival thing started. So on the town square is a bunch of tents with food, actually mostly just beer, and they set up some bleachers and they have a sand soccer court in the middle of the square. It is pretty cool but it makes it a little hard to contact people there now. Everyone is drunk and we get yelled at by drunk people quite often haha. Nothing like being a missionary! 

In my first interview with President Pohořelický, which was only a few minutes, I really felt good about him being the new mission president. This mission will be led exactly how it needs to be led in the next 3 years.

So transfer calls came this last week and...........I am staying! Elder Hudson and I will be together another transfer. Four transfers in one area doesn't happen very often at all. I will get a total of 8 months in the city of Uherské Hradiště. I thought for sure I would be transferred to a new area this time, but I guess the Lord has something else still in mind for me. This city must have something great in store for me!

Last Monday, we had Family Home Evening and only one person ended up coming. He is an American that lives here every so often. He had heard of our church before but didn't know a whole lot about it. We showed the Restoration film and talked about the Book of Mormon with him. This past week he flew back to the states, so we left with him our testimonies. The Spirit was so strong and I really feel that this man will be baptized. It was one of the few lessons that I have taught in English, but it was powerful! 

Funny story, this morning when Elder Lanham, my district leader was transferring to his new city, his comp, who was staying in UH, got stuck on the train with him! And he didn't have any of his stuff or the phone. So he borrowed a phone from a random guy and called us and told us we have to drive to the next train stop to pick him up. So we had to drive about 25 minutes to the next stop to find him haha. And then on the way back, a few cop cars on the street flagged us down. I was pretty nervous, but they were just doing random license checks and they also breath checked me. It was a pretty interesting morning!

Oh, and by the way, I was made district leader this transfer. I am the oldest missionary out of the six in my district now and I'm supposed to lead them haha. Hope it goes well!

Love you all!

-Elder Shirley

Good Experiences Doing "Service Tracting"

Elder Shirley on P-day this week

For P-day, they visited a mansion in the area named Zamek

Elder Shirley and his companion

June 27, 2016

Ahoj!

Just a few experiences from the past week:

On Saturday, we went tracting with the other Elders in our district. We tracted in work clothes and asked people if we could just do service for them and help them in their garden. We surprisingly got a great reaction from people and we met a few awesome people. One lady didn't even need help, but she just wanted to talk. So we talked to her, she fed us an amazing cake, and we ended up given her a Book of Mormon and we have a return appointment this week. Oh, and last week, we also did service tracting and we got the cops called on us haha. That actually happened twice last week. But all went well!

To celebrate reaching my one year mark this week, we went out to an awesome steak restaurant.  I got a nice rib eye steak!

Next week I could have a new area; I’m excited! I don't think I'll be going to Prague, but you never know! There are quite a few other big cities I could go to. Actually, compared to where I’ve been, almost every other city in the mission is a big city haha.

Sorry about how short this is, but I’m getting kicked off my computer because there are so many people in the library today!

Love you all! The church is true!

-Starší Shirley

Hitting the One Year Mark This Week!

Elder Shirley with President McConkie, who finishes his service as mission president this week

Elder Shirley with Sister McConkie

The church building in Uherske Hradiste

Cleaning up after "a flood in the apartment". Elder Shirley didn't provide any further explanation as to the cause of this "flood".

The last district meeting for the current Uherske Hradiste district

Elder Shirley with some of the missionaries from his MTC group after being in the mission field for a year.

June 21, 2016

Ahoj!

It was a great week! I say that every week, but it really was! We had zone training yesterday in Brno, so that is why I am a day late in my email this week.

This week is a special week for me and for this mission. We will be getting a new mission president, a Czech mission President this week. Also, I hit my year mark! Exciting things are happening. 

Yesterday was the last training with President and Sister McConkie. They are people that I have come to love and as exciting as the new change is, it will be sad to see them go. They have really changed my mission and my life.

At training yesterday, we talked about testimony. President shared a few things that really hit me. We opened up to section 80 of the Doctrine and Covenants. It is only 5 verses long but it gives us great insight to what a testimony can be. In verse 4 it says, to talk about things which you have HEARD, things that you BELIEVE, and things that you KNOW. A testimony doesn't need to be a profound thing that you are absolutely sure about, but as you bear that testimony, of things you have HEARD, BELIEVE, and KNOW, your testimony will be strengthened. 

We also talked a lot about Elder Oaks' talk in April 2008 conference I think is what is was. We talked about how there are 3 kinds of truth that exist. Scientific, Personal Subjective, and Spiritual. Obviously 2+2=4 - that is scientific. Something that is also truth is if I say, I love my family. That is truth and that is accepted as truth by everyone. How do I know I love my family? I just know. That isn't a scientific fact, but it is a fact and it is true. And just as I can say I love my family, I can say that I know the Book of Mormon is true. That is a spiritual truth. Spiritual truths are just as real and as valid as these other 2 truths. 

It was a really great training and I will miss President and Sister McConkie. A lot more happened this week, but I don't have any more time to write!

Love you all! 

-Starší Shirley

Being A Missionary Is A Wonderful Experience

Elder Shirley with Elder Swink

Attending a branch campfire activity

June 13, 2016

Ahojte!

We had a great week! Pretty normal except we had an awesome exchange in Brno on Friday. 

We contacted most of the day on our exchange, and contacting in Brno is quite different. We have trams and trolley buses to contact on and the city is way bigger. But the coolest part of the exchange was when we found a couple sitting in a park on a bench. We started talking about the plan of salvation and somehow that lead into the restoration. We taught them the entire Restoration and gave them the first vision. It was really cool to see how into it this couple was. They had a lot of questions for us. We started talking about life after death and what we believe about that. The guy asked us what we believe. We told him that we will live in the Spirit world and we will all be resurrected. We asked him to read a few verses in the Book of Mormon. He read them and then stopped, closed the book, and said he was done talking for the day. We had been talking for probably more than a half an hour and all of the sudden he just stopped and said he was done. I really think and believe that he felt something. I think he realized that what we taught was true, but he was scared. It was sad to see them turn away after such a great conversation. 

With all the finding that we do as missionaries in the Czech Republic on the streets, it makes me realize how true the message of the Restoration of the gospel is. Joseph Smith was a prophet, called by God, and restored the true church of Jesus Christ on the earth again. The Book of Mormon is evidence of that Restoration and through reading it, we can and will come to know of its truthfulness. I am thankful for the knowledge that I have of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and that I will be resurrected and live with my family forever. The gospel brings peace and joy to a chaotic and sin-filled world. Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and through him, we can overcome sin and trials. Being a missionary is a wonderful experience. This is the message I carry for these people and it is a wonderful thing. I love my calling! The church is true!

-Starší Shirley

{Below is some additional information that Elder Shirley sent in his personal emails to us}

Investigators right now are unfortunately few. The next transfer is on July 4th! Good celebration right? I'll probably change areas this time. Elder Lanham, my district leader, got his license recently so we switch off driving now.

Funnest thing this week: We had an exchange with the zone leaders in Brno this week and I was with Elder Hanis, an Elder from my MTC group. It was really fun to work with him for a day!

Hardest thing this week: We basically had to drop one of our awesome investigators this week. He just wouldn't accept the fact that there can be one true church. He believes that all churches are working toward the same goal and that all you need to do is believe in God and follow him. It was a sad lesson!

Another Great Week in Uherske Hradiste

A picture of the house where Elder Shirley lives

Street view in front of Elder Shirley's house. The blue car is theirs.

June 6, 2016

Ahoj!

We had a great week here in Uherské Hradiště! Hope you all had a great week as well!

On Tuesday, we had district meeting in Zlín and we always do group finding with the other Elders that are serving there. This time, because it has gotten warmer, we did something called a chalk display. We went to a busy part in the city and drew out the plan of salvation on the sidewalk. It was huge! And then we contacted people that were walking by and we walked them through the plan of salvation and explained it to them. It was really cool to see how well that worked! 

We tracted a lot this week in different little villages outside the town. We are lucky that we have the car here and are able to travel out to smaller cities to tract. One day when we were tracting, it started to dump rain. And right when it started raining hard, we knocked on a door of a family of 6. They saw the rain and invited us in until it passed. It was crazy with all their little kids, but we taught a little about the Book of Mormon and set up a return visit. 

We had another awesome sports night on Saturday! 12 people came and it was a pretty good game of soccer! I hadn't played that hard in a long time! We also did service for a few people this week. We weeded in somebody’s back yard and we also painted some rails on a deck sort of a thing.

Sunday was awesome! We had a multi-stake conference broadcast from Salt Lake. We texted a few less actives about it and 2 of them came! Since coming here 5 months ago, I haven't heard a single thing from either of these people and they both showed up to church yesterday! It was really cool. We set up with them and are hoping to help them back to activity in the church. Also, this last week, a lot of callings were filled in the stake. It was really cool to hear people be called as bishops and presidents of various organizations and wards here in the Czech Republic. We got to hear the stake president speak again and it was just exciting to see that the Czech Republic is working under Czech leaders. This country is awesome!

This next week should be great as well! Congrats to everybody that is out of school for the summer! Love you all!

-Elder Shirley

{Here are a couple of other tidbits of information taken from Elder Shirley’s personal email to us}

My companion is great! The Czech language is coming along great as well. I feel really good about it, but I realize that I have no chance at being "fluent". But I understand most of what people are saying now. It improves slowly every day! Investigators are few right now, but we just got in contact with a few less actives which is good news!