Czech-ing out

Well Brandon has sent his last email. We are all excited to hear him report on his missionary experiences at his home ward Sacrament meeting Sunday December 10th, 2017 at 1:00 pm

Hradec Kralove

It's been another great week in good ol' HK. We were able to meet with the girl that has been struggling with drugs 2 times this week and we had some really spiritual lessons. It's so sad that she is only 18 years old and she has already gone through so many trials. She is now living with her uncle who is a member though so that is good and we have seen a huge change in her. We had a ward talent show which turned out really well and she was able to come to that and had a lot of fun. We also went to Prague for our training and it was a pretty powerful training so it was cool to be there. We wrote everything that we wanted to leave in the past on small pieces of paper and then threw them in the fire as a "burnt offering" since we are reading the Old Testament as a mission. It was nice cause I got to through the papers in the fire which kept me warm cause it was cold and raining and I didn't have a coat. After the training we drove the Elders from Liberec to HK so we could have an exchange with them. It was fun cause Elder Andrus was there and I trained him so it was good to see him again and I was with his greenie Elder Lund. We taught a couple of families while on the exchange so it was a good exchange. One thing that was pretty cool was that we were at the college dorms this week and we were there for and hour and a half but only knocked on 3 doors because the first guy let us in and we set up with him again then we taught the people at the next two doors. On Saturday we were out tracting and it was so dang cold. We were out there for 3 hours already with no success but then this guy finally comes out and we are having this really good discussion thinking that we will get invited back and all of the sudden the cops show up and start searching us for drugs and all of this stuff. They were like you aren't allowed to do this and I was like man I have been doing this for the last 2 years of my life if you want to call our lawyers then go ahead but here is a paper that says we can be here. So one cop goes back to the car and the other one is looking through our bags and Elder Collins is like well here we have the Book of Mormon it is another testament of Jesus Christ and the cops was like moving on what else is in there. haha in the end they left us alone and we kept tracting.
So yeah things are good! I hope ya'll have a great week!

“Faith always defeats fear.” —Henry B. Eyring

S laskou,
Starsi Paxton

Hradec Kralove

This week was so sick. Elder Collins and I drove to Trencin in Slovakia for a meeting with President and some of the other missionaries so that was a long drive but we stayed in this hotel place and got free breakfast so it was for sure worth it. That morning we went up to the castle in Trencin where President Uchtdorf dedicated the Slovak area for missionary work. It was so cool to feel how strong the spirit was there as we talked about how much the Slovaks went through to get the gospel there. We had a big group finding activity there where we got a big tent on the town square with a tv and heater then we gave out free fruit tea to everyone walking by so that they would come in and watch the video about Jesus. We also did some singing displays and other small activities. After 4 hours of contacting on the town square we found 24 new investigators for the missionaries in Trencin. Unfortunately we had to drive all the way back to HK late that night so we didn't get much sleep but ya know we're alright. Then we got a call from Olomouc and they are having some really big miracles there! This girl came up to them and said I have been looking for a place to be baptized, can you help me with that? haha pretty sick. Right now they are working with a lot of people to get baptized so I am excited because we want Olomouc to be the next ward here. We were tracting last night and it's basically winter now cause it gets way cold at nights. We were in this small village and after a few hours of tracting we found this mom, her son and the grandma that want us to come back on Thursday. There have been some good things going on here lately. Oh we also stopped at a graveyard on the way to Slovakia because it was the holiday where they put tons of candles on the graves so the whole place is lit.

Like Elder Neil L. Andersen said,
“We see God’s miracles in His wondrous work and in our own personal lives.”
Have a great week!

Sbohem,
Starsi Paxton

Hradec Kralove

Well this week has been an interesting one. Things are going great with Elder Collins, we are killin it here in HK! So this week we were contacting and this guy was like yeah I heard you teach English but I can't come on the days that you have it. So we said alright we will do a half hour of English and a half hour of the gospel. So a couple of days later we show up to the address and its like this big warehouse lookin thing, he comes out and was like whats up guys come on in. Turns out it is this huge 2 story garage where they fix only American cars so there are just tons of way nice sports cars, trucks and classic old cars there. We were like alright so how can we help with your English? But he says guys my English sucks and it doesn't really matter to me, I just have a bunch of questions about why you are here and what you believe. When I met you guys I felt like you had something I need. So we had a way sick lesson with him and he just kept saying that he felt like he needed to pay us back somehow so he was like if you ever need a car give me a call, my parents own a huge resort in the mountains so if you need a place to stay give me a call. Actually if you need anything, give me a call cause I know a lot of very well known people here so I can hook you up with anything you need. So yeah that was pretty sick and we are meeting with him again.
Then on Thursday we drove to Olomouc for exchanges and we did a big activity with the missionaries there where we made giant bubbles on the town square and talked to people about joy. We got a lot of families coming up and asking if their kids could try then we got to talk to the parents so it worked really well. I went tracting at the college dorms with Elder Zapalac and we decided that we would pray and ask which door we needed to knock then we would just walk up or down the stairs until we felt like there was a door we needed to knock. Then after every door we would pray and do it over again. We ended up only knocking 4 doors because everyone opened and we taught them.
Yesterday we drove to this city really far away to give a referral a Book of Mormon then on the way home we prayed to know which village we should stop in and tract. We stop in this really small village and start tracting 2 hours later nobody had let us in or even talked to us, one person threatened to call the cops and it was only 2 degrees Celsius with super strong wind and rain. So we are getting ready to drive home for dinner cause it was already past 8 but we saw a house with its lights on and we decided to knock one more door. They ended up letting us in and giving us fruit tea and food. It was a huge blessing from God and an answer to our prayers that the village we were in was the right village for us to tract.

Also on Saturday I hit my 2 year mark so I have officially been on my mission for over 2 years. I guess I'm just in over time now. lol Have a great week!

S laskou,
Starsi Paxton

Hradec Kralove

This week has been one of the most interesting weeks on my mission. So a member came to us and invited us to a hockey game with the young men and some non-members. I had an interview with Pres and asked him if we could go and he said yes so we went to a Czech hockey game. It was way sick, I mad it on the big screen so that makes it worth going. We were in the section where all of the die hard fans stand so they were all confused why two guys in white shirts and ties were there.
Then we had our training in Prague and it went really well. After our training President was like hey I need to talk so we go sit down and he was like "Elders you had an amazing training but..." At this point I was thinkin that I had said something apostate in my training and I just didn't realize it but he continues and says "I need you to share that with others so Elder Collins is going to be in HK with you, Elder Paxton and Elder Flindt will go to Brno." So we had an emergency transfer. We drove back to HK Elder Flindt packed then the next morning we drove all the way to Brno and back. I am pretty pumped to serve with Elder Collins again because we served together exactly one year ago and he is a bro so we get work done well together.
Saturday Elder Beazer came back to visit with his parents so we got to go to dinner with them. Its always good to see Elder Beazer. We also had sports night on Saturday and when we got there, one of our old investigators was there ready to play with us. We haven't heard from him in over 2 months but he came up and was like hey man I heard some stuff and I have a lot of questions now but I want to meet this week. So he definitely got some anti stuff but it was a huge blessing to see him again because we had some really spiritual lessons with I'm in the past. We also went tracting and it was getting pretty dang cold and pretty late but this guy comes out and says hey my son is a member in Jihlava, come in and get some tea. So that was a blessing as well. We have had a lot of good blessing so its cool to see how the Lord has been helping us in the work here.
Turn your soul toward the light. Begin your own wonderful journey home. As you do so, your life will be better, happier, and more purposeful.- Pres. Uchtdorf.

Mejte se moc hezky
Starsi Paxton

Hradec Kralove

Hello.
So this week was good because we visited this dad that has 2 kids and talked a lot about having a new start in life because of the gospel. We are also helping one of our investigators stop smoking and it has been cool seeing her life change a lot. We were out contacting the other day and I met this guy that was like "yeah I know somebody that went to your church for a little." I was like "really? Who?" and he said "Karel" Karel was our investigator that was supposed to get baptized last transfer, he came to church every week since the day we met him, stopped smoking and made a huge change in his life but the day of his interview, he didn't show up and we haven't heard from him since... So I ask the guy how he knows Karel and he was like "He is my roommate and I talked him out of joining your church because it sounds like a sect to me." So we finally found out what happened to Karel, we thought he died.

The other day we were out contacting and saw this guy sitting on a bench and we started talking to him about how we can be more grateful in our lives and how gratitude brings us joy. It was pretty cool cause he said he had been thinking about where he could go and talk to some people about faith. So we are going to visit him this week. Today we went on a bike ride in the forest and that was pretty fun. Some members let us use their bikes then cooked us lunch so it wasn't too bad at all.

I hope you all have a great week as well. Don't forget God loves you!

sbohem,
Starsi Paxton

Hradec Kralove

So we finally got to watch conference this week which was good. It's amazing how we can always hear what we need to at General Conference. This week we had an exchange in Prostejov so I was with another greenie. It was pretty good to be back in the Olomouc area and get to contact in Prostejov for the day. We found a really cool mom and taught her a lesson. Then we went to Olomouc for a district meeting there and we had a lesson with Sara so that was fun. We are trying to get her to go on splits with the sister missionaries in Olomouc but right now she's not so down for that yet but I'm sure she will some day.
Last week I was on an exchange with Elder Simms and I had him pray to know who we needed to look for that day and the first thing that came to his mind was a guy smoking. That day we set up with a guy smoking and yesterday Elder Flindt and I went and taught a lesson at his house. It was pretty cool to see how the Lord led us to those that needed to hear our message. We have also been teaching this Ukrainian family which has been a lot of fun but I think their little 5 year old daughter has fallen in love with me cause she keeps trying to hug me and sit on my lap when we go and teach them. ha
We went to my favorite antique store last week and bargained with the old man there, we are pretty good buddies now days cause we make a lot of deals together. This time his son showed up and was so brain dead from all of the alcohol he drinks. It was pretty sad to see how bad it has messed him up cause he could be really smart, he was speaking English and French but had no idea what was going on around him.

1 Kings 19:11-12
11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

in light of all the stuff that's going on in the world it just reminds us of what is important. There have been hurricanes in the south, earthquakes in Mexico, Fires in the northwest and just to make sure that we are really deaf to the warning signs,there was a huge shooting in Las Vegas. So thank goodness for that still small voice that we got to hear this past weekend in Conference. The Lord is always there for us, we just have to be ready to listen to the still small voice when there is so much noise going on around us. Have a good week!

Sbohem,
Starsi Paxton