Mlada'mazing Experiences

This has been an awesome week! We have really putting our shoulders to the wheel and pushing along. We have had some push-back too, one of our investigators got some anti-Mormon stuff thrown at her by her priest and refuses to meet with us again... It is really sad, not just that she is missing out on the opportunity to continue to grow in her understanding of the truth but that there are people, supposedly representing God, who feel the need to spread slander about our religion, having no actual knowledge about who we are or what we believe. 

 

Our purpose as missionaries here is to invite people to come unto Christ, we teach them what we believe and allow them to learn it for themselves. The foundation of our religion is truly personal-experimentation. That is the basis to the First Vision, a young man who wanted to know for himself what was true, praying with faith that he would receive it, then acting on it. That is our message. 

 

We believe that our personal relationship with God is the most important thing, that we can receive personal revelation for ourselves and also have the guidance of righteous, faithful leaders to give us a standard and proper direction. If people really sought for the truth and if our church is of God, it would be completely obvious by the fruits of our religion. And it is really sad to see how Satan can coerce people to believing good is evil and evil, good. 

 

The Church is 100% everything we boldy proclaim it to be. We hide nothing. We love truth and we follow to-a-tee, what the Savior outlined and lived while he was on the earth. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, virtuous, and in doing good to all men. We also allow all others to worship how, where, and what they may. Never are we prohibited, forced, or mislead by our church leaders. And we are not held accountable to them for our salvation, only to our Heavenly Father through His Son Jesus Christ. We are his disciples, we carry His holy name on our hearts and strive to be more like Him. But it gladdens my heart when there are those who really get it. Those who aren't afraid of changing their life and receiving the blessings of the gospel. 

 

There was another baptism in our branch on Saturday and it was such a beautiful spiritual experience. There are people who are prepared and it is soooo awesome to feel the strength of the people here. We are seeing a lot of success in MB and I am holding my thumbs that I stay next transfer. We are having Branch Conference this week in Prague so that will be awesome. We are also having training again this week on Wednesday and on Saturday we are having a concert in Liberec. Btdubs, I have never been a "singer" really, but we have been asked to sing quite a lot lately.

Sister Hicken and I sang at the baptism and at Church the Sunday School teacher asked us to sing an impromptu hymn that has been newly translated for the new Czech hymnbook. I think it is  "Father in Heaven" in English, that is definitely one of those songs rarely sung unless the ward chorister gets a little daring and the whole congregation flounders for the melody...either that or its been awhile since I heard it... anywho, we sang it and a miracle happened...we got it! Our Branch Pres. heard us singing it and liked it and wanted us to sing it again...in priesthood. So we had to call on the Lord's help once again and... got it! Then we had to hurry back to relief society and teach the lesson! The Lesson went great. We are really getting to know the branch better, it has been difficult since we're in Jicin only twice a week usually and most of the members live there and the Elders are technically "their" missionaries. But now we are helping the relief society since we need their help for some service.

A homeless shelter in Mlada Boleslav is having a beneficiary concert and we are helping them make small gifts for people who attend. We are getting nice and creative, but since we don't have a ton of time to devote to making all the things, we are having activities and the relief society is helping put the flowers together. I will attach pics of the specifics next week. They're really quite cute. We teach the amazing woman who is the head at the shelter. It is Christian-based and an awesome opportunity to help serve the community. We have loved getting involved in the service opportunities here. It really opens your eyes to the blessings we have and how much Heavenly Father loves all His children. Long email this week! Woo! I love, love, LOVE being here and I love you all! Have an amazing week!

They're after me mlada gold (?)

Quite possibly the lamest pun yet, I was going for an irish "they're after me pot 'a gold!". Judges? Happy Saint Patty's Day! We tried to get the awesome socks and some smiles in the same pick and it was proving difficult...ergo the awkward pic.lol.

Speaking of LoL, Taught our investigator, I mean member!, "S", american slang like lol and the elders taught him "keep it real homie". I have been trying to train him to say y'all but to no avail. He speaks hardly any english but it is really comical randomly getting slang phrases as we talk to him in Czech. My czech is getting much better and I am not afraid of talking to people...doesnt mean I am necessarily perfect but I am confident that I will be able to get my point across relatively well...at least passing. But still gots a long ways to go. We have had a great week but I am sooo happy to read all yalls emails!!! It seriously fills me with such pride, I almost need to repent. haha. I am so grateful to be here and even though it is tough, I know it is more than worth it! Sacrificing only proves how much it means to us and this is the most worthy cause to sacrifice my time to! I love the people here. We were invited to lunch by one of the women we meet with and we met her family, had a traditional czech meal and played games with her family. It was awesome! The Lord is really behind this work, and we see His hand in our efforts and feel his guidance and support when we do what is right!

Thank you all for your support! 

I love you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sestra Schoen

Carley's Response to Courtney's (Sister's) Pregnancy Announcement

OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOST it, reading your email! wow.wow wowww!!!!! I just love the Lord! I just love you and Cam!!!!!!!! Everything is just amazing and yay!!!!!!! :'D I am so happy! You are the bestest and i just...YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A letter is totally coming to you shortly. You are amazing and I know that this miracle is due to youuuuuur diligence, righteousness, and faith. You are incredible and I love the meme :)

Too presh. I am just speachless. I will be sending prayers of gratitude for you and Cam, The Lord loves you so much. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!!<3 that is so wonderful. Blahopřeju!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congratulations!!! You have just made my week sis.

So excited!! You are going to have him/her before I get back, and while I wish I could be there for the delivery, I am so excited to come stay with yall to help in any way I can! Are there any good colleges near Las Cruces? Perhaps I could keep some in mind...just curious. Of course no firm plans, but I do want to keep a bit of a tack on options when I gets back. I love being here and as hard as it is, it is soooo worth it and I appreciate everything in life so much more. The gospel is so true and what a blessing that you will be a wonderful, righteous wife and mother!!!! I love you more than you could know!!!! Crying right now, but sooo happy! <3

You da bestest!!!

Sestra Schoen :)

Mlada Pictures

That's pretty much all her e-mail was last week: pictures of the amazing "S" and his baptism.

"S" is doing wonderfully :) He is just on a spiritual high and is really helping the branch be more united and have more of a missionary mind. It is amazing to witness. I am so soo sooo happy that Las Cruces is a good fit for yall! I am anxious to get some pics and things of what it is like and hear stories of the adventures there. I am so grateful for your prayers! I love you sista! I get compliments on my eyelashes from czechs haha (insert Courtney's note: I mailed her a special kind of mascara) It is rather funny. And I am excited to wear the saint patrick's socks! :) Happy pi-day (3.14.) this week!!!! I guess technically it is pi-month...haha. 

Have a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious week!

Sestra Schoen

 

All the sestri I have been companions with are all int he same zone, we just haaaaaad to take a picture

 

"S" baptism!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

"My city, Mlada Boleslav"

Me and Sister Hicken at the namesti (town square)

super excited to try some Mexican food in the Czech Republic

 

 

Bole-slavfter the fact

Okay, so much to fill in for this week! 

 

I read all your letters and I will try to respond back to all of them asap. But I am sorta pressed for time. Anywho! So I obviously skimmed over the whole no baptism thing....let me tell you why!

 

We contacted "S" on January 10th, he said while faith made sense to him he had none. We shared a scripture and set up for another meeting and since then he really just jumped head-first into the gospel. It was amazing. I mentioned it many times in my letters. We felt sooo blessed and his conversion story had become part of our testimonies. Then a few days before his baptism we tried to call him to see how his trip to visit his son was...the phone went straight into a recording. Uh-oh. So we tried not to panic, why should we? He had been soooo reliable throughout all our teaching. Friday passes by and we are on the verge of a freak-out. I am just in denial. So saturday (the day of the baptism) still no sign from the main-man... That morning we searched every nook and cranny of this city and in Plazy. We went to the hospital in Mlada Boleslav and searched for him there. (by the way. remarkable all the places you can go without clearance...its a little scary.) We met a really nice lady who tried to help us out there. Then we go to where he used to live. Not there. We called our mission president wanting to know what to do...his advice. Plan with faith. Alrighty. So we did. We have everything in order as if it were going to happen. It is in Prague, the font is filled, the refreshments  made (one of the most integral parts of a baptism), the programs printed, musical number practiced...etc. Except. No "S". As the chapel filled with members, missionaries, investigators, etc. I was on the verge of a heart-attack. Every ounce of me wanted to take off in a dead sprint away from the situation. Not just the uncomfortableness of the shot-expectations but the personal spritiual-confusion I was experiencing. I could not fathom any solid reason we would be in that situation and yet there we are in the foyer of the church building. Pleading in prayer in our hearts that he will just show-up with his son as planned and all this mess would be right-side up again. I stood there in the foyer with Sister Hicken and noticed the adjacent room of pictures of Christ. We went in and shed a few tears. Only each other and the Savior truly understanding the heart-ache. Christ's plea to "Come and be baptized" meant more than ever. We walked out and President McConkie as us if we could bear our testimonies... I almost guffawed (insert Courtney's note: I looked it up..."to laugh in a loud or boisterous way). I can't possibly speak czech in a state like this. But before I even realized, my mouth blurted yes. I guess my heart knowing it was the right thing to do before my mind could say otherwise. So we follow with the program as normal and shared our testimonies with them. And I don't think I have ever felt the Spirit of the Lord so strong in my life. It gave me courage, clarity, and calmness like none other. So that was Saturday in a nutshell. We didn't have contact with "S" until Tuesday. We got a text from a random number in the middle of Training saying he was in the hospital in Jicin. So after training we went to see him. Turns out, while driving with his son he saw some people on the side of the road and they stopped to offer them help. The people turned on them and beat-em up pretty bad and took the car. "S" was hospitalized and didnt know how to get ahold of us, he could only remember the last several digits of our phone number. He asked the man who shared the room with him to look up our number on-line when he got home and he did! (a miracle in itself!) He has moved to Jicin and will be baptized on Thursday. Its all just crazy!!! He is happier than ever though. The branch just loves him and everyone is stoked for his baptism. Other than that, everything's been just dandy :) Happier than ever and my testimony has grown 10-fold from the experience.

I love you all and am so grateful for the support! I truly feel the strength of your prayers and I am so blessed!!!!

Love you!!!!!!!!!!!

Sestra Schoen :)