This week was so much fun here because we had a training in Prague and it was all about Christmas and the Czech traditions so it got me pumped for Christmas. The whole zone got together and sang on the main square in Prague. So many people crowded around, it was a blast! We had to wake up at 2am to catch a train to Prague though so we went the whole day on a solid 3 hours of sleep. Way fun!! haha Christmas is 3 days long here but the main day is on Saturday so we got invited over to the bishops house for dinner where we got to do all of the fun Czech traditions and spend time with their family. Sunday we went to the Moravcovi for dinner and he heard that I had a guitar so he made me bring it and play the guitar while he sang old Czech Christmas songs that I had no idea how to play! Christmas is the best when we are able to be together with family and friends and remember that it is thanks to Jesus Christ that we can be together with our families forever!:) It was awesome that I could be here and share that with families in the Czech Republic and help them find that light in their own lives. Christmas is the best!! Yesterday everything was closed because it was still the holidays here so that is why we have pday today. Today we went to a castle which was way fun! It was giant and we were the only people there so it was pretty sick.
God loves you, have a great week!

sbohem,
Starsi Paxton

So I'm finally starting to get use to the new area. It's fun getting to see new areas because each city is different but moving sucks! It's my least favorite thing. This week was pretty cool cause in Fydek-Mistek there is this tunnel with tons of graffiti and a piano in it so I took my guitar and my companion and I played Christmas songs for people in the tunnel. It was freezing cold so my fingers got wrecked while playing but people loved it! We also had our Christmas party as a ward and that was a lot of fun because we got to do all the Czech Christmas traditions. One thing they do is take a walnut shell and put a candle in it so that it kind of looks like a boat. Then they light the candle and put the shell in a bowl of water and depending on what happens with the little boat it tells you how your year is going to be next year. I don't really know how to explain it but it was fun. The little kids from that family we are working with came and they got the box of presents and walked around giving one to everyone and they would take one until everyone had one first. They are so awesome. Basically the whole Christmas party they came up to me and said please play hide 'n' seek with us! So I did and it was the funnest thing every! haha I love those little kids so much!:) Oh also pretty crazy, we invited someone to our Christmas party and we told them it was with our church but for some reason they thought it was a legit party so they brought a cake with alcohol in it and we didn't know until everyone was already eating it! haha even one of the sister missionaries ate some of it!
It's pretty great cause in my new area a way cute old couple feeds us every Sunday. They cook so much food and I have to eat most of it because the sisters barely eat any and Elder Vickers gets distracted talking the whole time. Its way good food but yesterday I ate so much that I thought I wasn't gonna make it. I gained 3 kilos in one night! Today we got out hair cut from a member and that was pretty fun then we played squash as a district! I'm pretty excited this week for Christmas! I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and don't forget the real meaning behind it!

 Vesele Vanoce!
 Starsi Paxton

Frydek-Mistek

Hey everybody!! So this week was pretty insane! Last Monday we were just shopping and a nice second hand store hittin up all the good deals, which by the way I got a brand new suit coat made in Turkey for $4! Anyways right in the middle of shopping all happily and what not we get a call from the mission president and turns out that the crazy guy that got up in sacrament meeting last week has been creepin on the sisters so we had to be emergency transferred to Frydek-Mistek and Elder Vickers and I have to blind in there. I was pretty bummed cause I really liked my area in Ostrava but God has a plan and we have already seen so many blessings. So we got the call on Monday and Pres said that we had until Thursday to be moved into the apartment in Frydek. We already had lessons and what not planned for the week so we it was way hard to find time to pack. We eventually got everything packed and moved but on Friday we had an appointment with a charity set up for 8 in the morning but we had just moved to Frydek so Pres gave us permission to sleep at the other Elders apartment cause it was closer. So Thursday we moved to Frydek at 7 at night, didn't have time to unpack cause we had to catch a train back to Ostrava then we get off the train and its already 9:15 and we still had to walk through this sketchy path in the woods to get to the other Elders apartment. It was a way fun sleepover though! lol When we woke up, the water heater broke so we all had to take cold showers and hurry out the door to get to our appointment. We finally got there then the lady text us and said sorry my boss isn't here today we are gonna have to reschedule. So that was a bummer. Finally we get back to Frydek-Mistek Friday late at night and got a few minutes to unpack. Turns out we left the box with all of our frozen food on the couch and it melted all over but we just threw it back in the freezer and its all tasted fine so far. Sunday the crazy guy got on the same train as us to go to church in Ostrava and he was going crazy looking all over the train for the sisters then he finally comes up to us and was like where are they?! We had a pretty good discussion with him so that was fun. Then Sunday night we got home for dinner at 8 (we have dinner at 8 here) and realized that the only thing we were missing for standards was 2 people that set up with us. We were already in sweats and what not but we didn't have time to change so we just threw on our coats and dress shoes, said a prayer that we would find 2 people, and went out the door. Right when we turned the corner, we met two people and they said "we have been searching for this. We are so lucky to have met you tonight." It was a huge blessing from God and for sure our prayer was answered! We also had an appointment with an old couple that have been members for soooo long!! They are way old but awesome. He was telling us how he use to hold church meeting is that very apartment before they organized the branch in Ostrava. He has some crazy stories so that was awesome to hear some of them. Anyways its been crazy but a lot of fun. I've definitely been able to see God's hand in our work this week. I hope you all have a great week!

 Přineste Světlo Světu 

 Sbohem,
 Starsi Paxton

Ostrava

Another awesome week here in Ostrava!
Last week at our Thanksgiving party we met a young kid that is 16 years old. We set up with him and have already had 4 lessons with him since then. It's pretty cool to see the change in his life! He also came to church yesterday and it was a very interesting testimony meeting. The sisters had an investigator come and right after the sacrament he was the first one to go up to speak. He sat up there for 35 minutes just going on about how he fell in love with one of the sister missionaries and how all of us are wrong because we believe in a book. Finally the bishop asked him to sit down then all of the members went up and bore strong testimonies basically just against everything the guy said. Then we had Gospel Principles class and he came in a started arguing with the teacher but the teacher just shut him down hard core. The investigator just kept going on and on about how all of this stuff was wrong then all of the sudden this YSA member gets up in his face and went off on him. It was way sick. He was like you can tell us we are wrong all day, reject what we say, reject God, and reject the Book of Mormon but you can never reject what we have found. You don't know what I have in my heart! Basically he was just spittin fire so the guy finally stopped arguing. It was probably the sickest church meeting I have ever been to.
On Thursday we had exchanges with the Zone Leaders. They both came here so we had 4 of us packed in our tiny apartment but it was way fun. We also stopped at this donut shop that sells giant American donuts but it just closed! We were way upset when all of the sudden I look down and see a box slightly wet from the rain with 2 fresh donuts in it. The donuts were perfectly fine though. It was a blessing from God for sure!:) The church is true.

Sbohem,
Elder Paxton

Ostrava

Sick Thanksgiving! We had a party as a ward and a ton of less active and investigators came. The part member family that we have been working with came and their 3 little kids loved the activities and one of them came up to me with a picture and said "Elder, I drew this for you" It was probably the cutest thing that's happened to me on my mission! We also had our sports night this week and an entire basketball team came and played with us then we taught all of them a lesson. It was way cool we basically just preached to 16 young men! This week on the town square they set up the giant Christmas tree and all of the lights so we are going there today to look at all of the markets that they set up. We also did some service for a member and painted her kitchen. That was pretty fun. It's been a good week.

This is the new Christmas film from the church about how we can become more like Jesus! Enjoy:) www.mormon.org/christmas/light-the-world?play=hero

Sbohem,
Elder Paxton

Ostrava

Well things are going good here in Ostrava. We have met a lot of really cool people and been able to work with the members a lot. We did a service project as a ward and helped clean the outside of a senior home. There were a million leaves and it was raining so they were soaking wet and muddy but it was way fun. Next month we get to go back and sing Christmas songs to all the old people so that will be cool. We also had training this week and since Prague is so far away we had to wake up at 2 to catch a train. It was a long train ride but training was way good. Elder Sebin of the Seventy and his wife came and had a really good training. Oh we also visited this part member/ less active family and it was the best less active visit I've had. They were so happy to see us and they have 3 little kids that had so much energy and they gave me a hand made toy that they made out of wood and chestnuts. It was pretty sweet. They are coming to our Thanksgiving party this week so that should be really good for them. Other than that things are good. I hope you all have a great week and remember what is really important during this Thanksgiving.

“Know ye that the Lord he is God: … Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” (Ps. 100:3–4.)

Sbohem,
Elder Paxton

Ostrava

Well I am finally all settled in here in Ostrava! Things are going good!

Last week was pretty cool, we had a stake conference in Prague and while I was there I met the guy that I played hockey with in Utah like 5 years ago! I was way pumped to see him. I got to see all the people from Plzen as well and the two girls that we were teaching when I was there came! Also that less active that we were working with came to the conference with us! The night before the conference we had a lesson with her and she told us that she prayed and asked how she knows if she is getting an answer or not. We had such a spiritual lesson and she was crying and told us that she hadn't felt that feeling for so many years. She is a pretty closed off person and tries to seem like she doesn't need anybody else but she opened up to us and it was an amazing experience to see how much she has changed in just a few weeks. We also had 4 of our investigators tell us that they knew that the Book of Mormon is true. It was so cool to see that they all had their own testimony of the Book of Mormon and were ready to act on that. It was pretty hard saying by to everyone in Olomouc cause I was there for so long but it's good to have change every once in a while.
I'm now serving in a ward which is new for me but it has been good so far. The missionaries don't have to have any callings are anything. Its still pretty small, we have about 30 people at church each week but its a lot more that my last area. Ostrava is a pretty sweet city. It's big and has a ton of trams and trains that we contact on. It's super ugly and the sun never shines but its a ton of fun. My first day here our landlord invited us over for dinner and his wife made the best svickova I have had! It was awesome. I don't know how they aren't members cause they love the missionaries. It's been pretty great here so far though! Oh we also visited this graveyard for a holiday that they have here where they light candles and put them on the tombstones to remember the dead.

I know that God is merciful and even though we all make mistakes, there is always a way to be forgiven. Have a great week!:)

Alma 42:15 And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also.

Elder Paxton

ps Elder Bowen and I switched glasses for Halloween.

Ostrava

Hey I got transfered to Ostrava so I had to travel and don't have time to email. I had a way spiritual week this week but I will have to write about it next week.

Olomouc

Well this week was probably the best week of my mission. This less active member from Slovakia moved to Olomouc to study a couple months ago. Her mom is very active in the church, both her brothers served mission. One just got back and the other was a branch president in Slovakia. She was very against the church and when she moved to Olomouc she said she wanted nothing to do with the church, missionaries or anything. So we started out with inviting her to Family Home Evening. Eventually she came to FHE but still didn't want to hear the spiritual thought or anything. We invited her to lunch one day and asked if we could share our favorite verse with her, at first she said no but eventually she let us. Time went by and she kept coming to FHE and a few of our missionary activities. She became pretty good friends with us so we finally just asked her why she was against the church and she opened up to us and told us about what has happened in her life. We asked her to start praying again and if she would come to the stake conference next week and she said she would think about it. On Wednesday we had our culture night and went to a Kostel for a classical music concert which was way fun but that girl came with us and told us the she had been thinking about what we were saying but she just didn't feel like it could work for her. We ended up talking about Gods love and prayer for an hour during the concert then later that night she sent us a text and said "thank you for not giving up on me. I listen to everything you guys say to me and really do think about it. You guys are the best and I am grateful to have you in my life. You are doing a great job." We were amazed to see that text. She went to Slovakia for the weekend but we asked her if she would be willing to come back for church on Sunday and after a little bit of convincing her to come she said she would. We have been fasting and praying for this girl for months and now she is coming to church and praying again. The change we have seen in her life is incredible. I have a strong testimony that fasting and praying works and I know that we all need to befriend those that are going through a hard time right now and help them remember the love God has for them. The littlest things we do for people could change their life.

Also this week we have been teaching this two girls that referred themselves. Within two lessons with them, one is in Heleman 8 and the other is in the end of Mosiah. They told us that they know that the Book of Mormon is true but they are just waiting for the answer about baptism because they are strong Catholics. We know that they will get their answer soon though. On Saturday we had a pretty crazy day. We watched a man die on the street but we don't know how he died. Then we did a chalk display and this girl came up and interrupted us saying that we were crazy for doing that. Then she thought that I was the 'holy spirit' and she started asking me about all of her dead friends. After that she convinced herself that I was her expartner reincarnated into a new body and she kept saying that she loved me! I didn't know what to do and all the other missionaries just stood there and laughed while this girl fell in love with me. Finally we got away from here with out her doing anything else too crazy!
Sunday we had a lot of nonmembers come to church and that less active girl came for the first time in a long long time. It was a blessing. Then we did a singing display and we got a member to come with us and that less active girl. While some of the missionaries sang with the members I was contacting and a homeless guy came up and tried to fight me. He started screaming at the top of his lungs saying that I don't truly fallow Christ and that I am just a rich, white boy from America that doesn't care about anybody else. He screamed at me for a good 5 minutes and a huge random guy on the street was coming up to fight the homeless guy and get him away from me but I finally got him to leave so luckily they didn't fight. That homeless guy yells at the one of us missionaries at least once a week but I think this week was the most mad he has ever gotten. It was pretty crazy.
Today we played squash with a member and it was a blast. Czech people really like playing squash. So it was a pretty good week for me. I hope you all have a great week. God loves you all and is always there for you!

Sbohem,
Elder Paxton

Olomouc

Good week! We were still stuck in side for a lot of the week but by the end we were able to get back to normal missionary life and that was nice!
Saturday we went to a members house and she has been a member for 67 years and was even a member through communism and all the crazy wars so she tolds us all of the stories and I am just so grateful for the blessing of always having the gospel in my life. She got baptized and wasn't able to take the sacrament for the first time until 40 years later becuase of communism. Then we went tracting that night and there were two really sketchy guys so we werent sure if we should contact them but we decided we needed to but they had no interest. Later we were knocking on this door and a guy rides up on his bike and said hey these two guys back there told me that you tried to stop them and talk about God so I came to find you, I want to learn more. It was really cool cause we were prompted to talk to those two men and even though they didn't have interest, it led another guy to us. Also on Sunday we only had 9 members at church not including the missionaries. That's probably the least amount of people I have ever seen at church. Things are just so different here but I'm glad I get to see what it is like and what others go through because they know these things are true. In America we are so blessed to have churches and temples everywhere. This morning we went to an old Catholic church and tooks some pretty sweet pictures so that was a lot of fun!

We reach toward the unknown, but faith lights the way. If we will cultivate that faith, we shall never walk in darkness. Gordon B. Hinckley

Have a great week. sbohem
Elder Paxton

Olomouc

So this week has been kinda slow. My companion got sick so our mission presidents wife made us stay locked up in our apartment for 2 days straight! It was soo boring. Then we finally got let out but by then we were both pretty sick but we didn't want to be inside anymore so we just kept working. We got a referral but he lived about 2 1/2 hours away so we decided to get the other elders in our district and go on a road trip to visit all of the less actives that live that far away and also give this guy a Book of Mormon. It was way fun! We drove all day and ended up in some crazy places! The GPS took us on this sketchy road and we ended up off roading on a really muddy road in our crappy little European car. Eventually we got to the referrals house at 8 at night and gave him a Book of Mormon and he said he would come to church this week. Sunday I gave a talk in church and it went really well except for the fact that I am still pretty sick so after church we decided to call our mission presidents wife and once again we are locked up in our apartment until we get better so that kind of sucks. Other than that not much happened. I hope you all have a great week!


Sbohem,
Elder Paxton

We also did a chalk display and that is me contacting so girl.

Olomouc

Yup another great week in Olomouc.
It's pretty freezing now a days but we are surviving. This week we got to watch conference finally and it was great! We got a few of our investigators to come and watch with us so we watched it in Czech with them. That was pretty fun but by the end my head was ready to exploid!
We also had our game night like usually and this week I was playing ping pong with this girl and in the middle of our conversation she just cuts me off and asks will you teach me to pray? So we taught her to pray and it was really cool. The members were there and she got to see how prayer really helps in each of our lives even though we all have different things going on.
We got to go to the Slezarovi for dinner this week and it was amazing to see how big the gospel is in there lives. Every question we would ask they would always bring it back to the gospel and relate it to their lives! Crazy! They are the best example for me! We also found a way sick guy this week. He has a giant lion tattoo on his neck and huge gauges, he set up a lesson with us this Tuesday so I am way pumped for that lesson!

My favorite quote was from Russell M. Nelson, he said “the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives, and everything to do with the focus of our lives”. We all have trials in our lives that we can't control but what we can control is the way we react to them. No matter what we are going through we can always find joy with faith in Jesus Christ.

sbohem,
Elder Paxton

Olomouc

Another great week here in Olomouc. Not too much happened but one night was pretty crazy (at least for the life of a missionary) I was on a split with a different missionary in my district and we went back to the building to switch back companions but we end up waiting there until 9 and they still aren't there so we call them a few times and they won't answer so we keep waiting all of the sudden its 9:30 and still nothing. We keep calling and they won't answer so we finally call the zone leaders to see what to do and they told us to just go to my apartment and we can switch back in the morning and they will find out where the other missionaries are. On our way home the AP's call because I was suppose to go on an exchange with them and they heard all this traffic and where like where the heck are you? So I told them what was going on so then they started freaking out cause it was 10 and we were still outside and didn't know where our companions were! Finally at 10:15 my the other missionaries show up and we switched back. They were stuck at a less actives house but nothing bad happened so that was good.
On Wednesday we met with these two girls that were self referrals and are both hard core Catholics but we had a really good lesson and they read past 1 Nefi 11 by the next day.
Sunday a member asked if we would give this lady a blessing and it was really cool. We walked in and I honestly thought she was dead, she wasn't moving or anything. We gave her a blessing and she opened her eyes. Then we sang to her and she got a huge smile on her face and started talking a little bit. We ended with a prayer and she just kept saying "Amen" with a big smile on her face. It was an awesome experience!
Also one of the new YSA's is from Slovakia so she has been teaching me a little Slovak. Pretty fun.
God loves you all. Jesus is our savior.
I hope you have a great week!

sbohem,
Elder Paxton

This girl left on her mission this week.

Olomouc

Pretty fun week here in Olomouc! We actually weren't even in our own area for half of it but we still rocked it this week! We had training in Brno on Thursday and then on Friday we went to Prague for my comps visa work. When we were trying to get a train to Prague the only two seats left were on a luxury train but we had to be there on time so we got on and it was the sickest train ride of my life! They gave us free food and all sorts of stuff. On the way back we weren't so lucky and got stuck on an old train that was too full so we had to stand the whole 3 hour ride.
After training on Thursday we went to visit this girls house that we got as a referral from missionaries in New York, it tooks us forever to get out to her tiny village but when we showed up the dad got super mad and kicked us off his property. We asked if we could at least give the Book of Mormon to here because we wrote our testimonies in it but that just made him even more angry. As we were walking down the street we saw them drive past us in there car so we decided to run all the way back and leave the Book of Mormon in the mail box. So we are praying that it will get to her.
We also had a lesson with this guy that looks like Jack Sparrow. The last time I met him he was wearing a kilt. He swore at me and then flashed me as he was flipping us of but this time he was actually really nice and read in the Book of Mormon with us. On Sunday one of the members here gave her departing testimony and we had a nice lunch party for her. She is leaving for the MTC this week.
Other than that it was a pretty normal week.

Faith-
Having faith in Jesus Christ means relying completely on Him, trusting in His infinite power, intelligence, and love. It includes believing His teachings. It means believing that even though we do not understand all things, He does. Because He has experienced all our pains, afflictions, and infirmities, He knows how to help us rise above our daily difficulties . He has “overcome the world” and prepared the way for us to receive eternal life. He is always ready to help us as we remember His plea: “Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not”

S Bohem,
Elder Paxton

Olomouc

Another great week! My new comp, Elder Collins, and I are doing great. We have seen a lot of blessings just in our first two weeks so this transfer should be a really good one!
School has started here so about 22 thousand young students just moved here. It is crazy!
Our mission isn't really one to get referrals but this week we got 3 solid referrals so we were pretty pumped! I know it doesn't sound like a lot but for this mission that is a ton! I have probably only gotten 2 referrals my entire mission.
We went to a members house last night for dinner and the kids play the accordion so I got to try and it was pretty sick! They also didn't believe me that I could do a back flip so I did it even though I was still in my suit.
Sorry it's short I ran out of time but I hope you all have a great week! God is there and he loves you all!:)

Elder Paxton

Olomouc

This week my companion and I had some pretty sweet experiences. On Tuesday we were on our way to the building but we needed to take a tram so we were at the stop and our tram was 15 minutes late so we decided to take a different tram that would at least get us a little closer but right as the tram pulled up I felt like we needed to stay. So we did and this girl was standing by us so I started to talk to her and turns out she was waiting for the same tram that we originally wanted. We got on the tram with her and had a really good lesson about how God really does care about us and wants to help us through those hard times in life. Then she wanted to meet with us again so we have a meeting with her tomorrow. It was cool to see how the Spirit guided us to find this girl.

Wednesday a man came up to me and told me and tried to sell me drugs, he said the government made it illegal because they don't want us to be healthy, its all a conspiracy. I told him I didn't have money so he started pouring some into a bag and said I'll let you have half for free. You will see within two weeks the result. We didn't end up taking it though.

Thursday our land lady came and cleaned our apartment for us. Elder Collins had his clothes in the wash and when we got home they were all hung up and our bed sheets were changed! She is the best!

Yesterday a member came up to us and asked if we would go to the hospital with him to give his mom a blessing. We end up in this sketchy hospitals where everything was basically abandoned. My companion and I were so confused. We looked all over for his mom but never found her, all of the sudden the member walks into this hospital room so we follow and we see a guy laying on the bed with one leg missing! We had no idea what was going on and neither did the guy without a leg. Then the member said to the legless guy "I was there when this happened" The guy started crying and the member told him who we were and what we do here. We ended up giving him a blessing. Turns out he jumped in front of a train to kill himself but it didn't kill him and the member was working at the train station and saw the whole thing. It was insane that we went there looking for him mom and ended up finding this man.

This week we have seen how the Spirit is willing to guide those who will listen. I am grateful for the guidance from the Holy Ghost and I encourage all of you to look for those small promptings in your everyday lives. Have a great week!

Olomouc

So we had transfers today but turns out I am staying in Olomouc for at least one more transfer so I am pretty excited about that. My new comp is Elder Collins and he seems pretty cool! We are gonna have a great transfer!

This week we had training so we had to go to Bratislava in Slovakia and that was pretty fun. Elder Bowen (Senior missionary) drove us all there so we got to have a pretty sick road trip with Elder Bowen! He loved it!
This week a member from Prague was staying in Olomouc and didn't have much to do so he just contacted with us all day and it was way fun. Then the next day he went all the way to Brno and bought us peanut butter from Marks and Spencer! It was awesome! We had our culture night on Friday and we went to the circus. Not a ton of people were there so a couple of the members and missionaries got called up as volunteers! It was so funny!
Saturday we got our transfer calls and Elder Vickers and I had to wait all day! Finally at 8:30 we got a call and it was my trainer who is the AP now and he said because he is going home this week and it is his last calls he wanted mine to be very last. But I got it eventually so its alright.
Sunday we went to Brno to watch the rededication of the Freiburg Temple! It was so cool to be with the members and see how much they really appreciate the temple because they don't have one here in the Czech Republic so they have to go all they way to Germany if they even want to go.
I realized how blessed we are in the states to have so many temples around us. I am so grateful for that.
I hope you all have a great week and remember how blessed you are to have these gifts from God so close to you.

Olomouc

Pretty normal week. Kinda short because we have Pday on a Saturday.
Last Pday Sister Bowen cooked 80 donuts and we had a donut eating contest for FHE. My companion Elder Vickers won. I got 10 and was out! haha We had an exchange on Tuesday so I was with Elder Cardon for a day and that was a lot of fun.
On Tuesday we started a fast with some of our investigators to help them receive their own personal answers so that was really cool but Wednesday and Thursday were pretty rough because almost all of our lessons bailed on us, but we were able to contact and find some really cool people. Friday was Elder Vickers year mark so we went to lunch with a member and he paid for us which was pretty sick. Today we went to a car museum full of all the old czech cars. It was really cool to see some different cars made here.
We get our transfer calls next Saturday so we will see what happens.
Other than that not much is new.
I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Paxton

Olomouc

This week was great but not too much happened.
President Pohorilicky and his wife came to our district meeting and to check our apartments. When they came to check ours they were like wow this is pretty nice lets have district meeting here. So we did and it was pretty great. I got to contact with president and learned a ton from him. The same day we got a text from one of our old investigators that just dropped off the face of the earth! Turns out he was travelling the world and will be back next week so way are way pumped!
On Saterday Sister Kopecka cooked lunch for us. She made us a huge meal and we had a really good lesson with her. She absolutely loves the missionaries so it is the best when we can go over there because she gets so happy.
We were in the park and saw some of our slacklining buddies so we went to talk to them and practice our slacklining. I finally got my shirt from them so I think I am officially in there gang! haha
Other than that it was just a normal week.
I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Paxton

Olomouc

This week was great. It was kind of hard because all of our YSA went to the conference all week so we had nobody to teach with us but that's alright. We had two really spiritual experiences this week. The first one was when we were looking for less-active members, we went to the address listed but turns out they don't live at this address anymore so we just started tracting the building. One lady eventually answered and at first she said no and started to shut the door, we quickly handed her a card before she closed the door. Suddenly she opened it again with tears in his eyes. Her parents recently passed away and she started drinking because of that. She has been looking for help but hasn't been able to find it anywhere. We shared with her the Book of Mormon and told her how it can change your life for the better. The second was when we got a random call, we were at sports night playing volleyball with some investigators and members when we got this call from a random number. We answered it and this guy said "I was just walking around and saw this sign for your church, I've done some bad things in the past and I want to make things right. Can I come tomorrow?" We met with him and had a really spiritual lesson. Turns out he was born in Mongolia but moved to Detroit when he was young. In Detroit he got mixed up with some bad things so he decided to come to the Czech Republic. He has been here for about 6 years now and is still looking to fix his life. He was a believer when he was young but just fell off the path. When he came to our lesson we asked him what he thought of when we said prophet and he answered Joseph Smith. We were way shocked! Turns out he had read quite a bit of stuff about our church before he came to our lesson unfortunately some things weren't so great that he read but by the end of our lesson he said he knew that this was exactly what he was looking for and he felt like our message gave him a purpose in life.
We also stopped 2 young guys on the street and they said we don't believe at all! You have 15 minutes to convince us. So we taught them about the Book of Mormon and it ended up being way longer than 15 minutes but they left with a Book of Mormon. It was really cool to see how our message fit to each one of these people individually. They were all struggling and found hope and peace in our message.
This reminded me of a scripture in John and about how lucky we are to share the message with people so that they can find this for themselves. "Peace‍ I leave with you, my peace‍ I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

I hope you all have a great week!!

Elder Paxton
/br> We saw some pretty sweet Catholic churches this week and I am actually getting pretty good at cooking.