Service Projects

The Missionary Who Cried Lawyer

The creative title was easy this week! …to be explained later! :) For our missionary work this week, it has been the same as the last month or so.  We will find new people on the streets that will come to one lesson and then not come again, or they just do not come to the first lesson at all. We are deeply stuck in the hay right now, so to say, looking for the needle a.k.a the next progressing investigator! Viktor and Vera are still in good contact, reading and praying, but still nothing on their marriage.  :/ We are hoping to have an actual lesson with them this upcoming week at their work rather than having them come over to us all the time. Unfortunately, they live on the other side of Prague and takes a lot of time, but we have enough time this week to go there, which will be nice. :) 

 

Office work slowed down to a halt this week (which was rather nice, but also slightly stressful). I am currently waiting for the response from the lawyer and I cannot do anything till I hear a reply. I have a deadline that we have to meet next week and he is nowhere to be found. Therefore I am the missionary that cried lawyer, but in this story, he doesn’t respond!!! BUT, it has given us more time for missionary work! Which is way better anyway! :) We had another exchange with the zone leaders. Elder Terry and I were in Plzen, and Elder Cardon ran the show for our area in Prague with Elder Cook. Sounds like it went well! They got us some new potential investigators! :) We also have been preparing Olda to receive the Aaronic Priesthood this week! That will be awesome! :) He is so stoked! We are also stoked for him! 

 

This week we had our culture night where we went to the National Theatre and saw the Bartered Bride, a very famous Czech Opera. That was super awesome! :) It was all about a woman that was having an arranged marriage, and she did not like it, you know how that goes. Best quote of the play: “Beer is a gift from God!” which became a song for one of the acts. That was so Czech! Haha made me laugh! Overall, super awesome experience!

 

As for my scripture this week it comes from Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. This week in District meeting we talked about the importance of helping our investigators recognize the spirit and helping them build spiritual dependence. It is so important when we feel the spirit that we help others recognize it as well. We need to be more active in our use of one of the greatest gifts of God! I know that the spirit has truly blessed me, and has blessed those that have entered into the covenant of baptism! Have a great week!

 

 Love you all!

 

Elder Belshe 

Oldrich's Baptism

April 16, 2016

This week has been a crazy week! Sorry I do not have much time to email today due to the fact that we had a service project that ran super long! There was a Czech wide service project that I signed my district up for, and then we came back together to have a halusky feast! It was called Service Saturday -  a nationwide service project to pick up trash. Such a great experience! Our hope is that as others drove by and saw us, their view of us is in a brighter light!

 

The greatest part of this week: Oldrich's baptism! He got baptized this week! He is such an incredible man, and just found so much happiness in his baptism! I would love to send pictures, but on my computer is not accepting USB ports at all, so I will have to send them next week sorry!

 

Finding is the same, we are just turning up new names, and then nobodycomes.  Viktor and Vera did make it to conference! Huge miracle! :) I absolutely love them so much! They are doing ok, but are very stressed about work. Still haven’t had many meetings with them, but the meeting that we did have with them was one of the most favorite I ever had. It was rather emotional for them as we talked about baptism. They desire it so much, but marriage is just hard for them. I think to end the transfer we are going to fast for them, so that they can resolve this issue.

 

 Also sorry for others that sent me emails last week, I promise I have them and I will read them and respond next week!

 

Sorry I do not have much time for anything else!

 

Conference was awesome! Elder Holland's and Elder Bednar's talks were the best! :D Have a great week! See you next week!

 

Elder Belshe

Conference, Conference, Conference

It has been quite the week as it normally is here in Prague. From the great training we had last week on finding we have tried to apply the finding calendar into our every day work and avoid "getting into a rut", so we created a Survey rather than our normal street contacting and asked people about prophets. Overall our district found 3 new investigators from it! That was a huge success this week. Then I had another exchange this week with the Pankrac Elders, I had one with Elder Beazer who is in the transfer below me. It was great! We tried to focus on the importance of testifying often to focus on bringing the spirit into our contacting. Then following that I had them conduct part of the training during district meeting teaching on how to give commitments focusing on the importance of testifying frequently. Hopefully that will help them in the last half of this transfer! This week was the Mission Leadership Conference and in being in the adjoining room on the computer I heard all the juicy details about our next training in April, it will be good ;) President tends to get very loud when he gets excited! :) Amanda also came to church this week which was a huge relief! She is doing really well, she has been sick and got a new phone for her new job! Glad to see that she was doing so well! :) 

We focused solely on getting everyone to conference, everyone we contacted we at the very least if they did not have interest invited them to conference, we called members, and we talked to all of our investigators, recent converts, and less actives about how to be spiritually prepared for conference by preparing 3 questions that you want answered! I am excited to see next week how it has gone for us, and for this challenge for the rest of the district! Sorry I do not have as much time to email today! With conference being on our Pday our emailing is a little bit messed up, split into two parts! I will be on later, I have to email President but if I am back on I will make sure to email you! Love you much! Have an awesome week! Sorry, I will give two quotes next week! I do not have time this morning! Have a great week!

Elders Belshe, Terry and Cardon

Conference Week

It has been such a crazy week. When I sit down to email I have the feeling that I have lots to talk about, but then I dont even remember what happened this week :)..from what I do remember it has been a great week! Of the big things this week, I conducted an exchange with the APs who are in our district here in Prague, and I am supposed to be training them..which is ridiculous because they are both studs and one of them trained me (Elder Needham)! So I really prayed for the guidance of the spirit and what to try to help them to apply in their missionary work and it hit me right as we started, making our contacts as spiritual as our sit down lessons. Which is hard in the environments that we are in, but it really helped me as well. Interesting how the spirit helps us while we are in the work :)..we also had an awesome training this week about Finding and not getting into a rut. My second favorite training ever! He is so great! It has been so fun to be so close to him here in Prague! He is such a great, humble, and spiritual man!

We have so many new finding ideas that we are going to apply this week, I am super stoked! Then we also had a funeral this week, and the missionaries were asked to sing, so we, by a miracle, made it there on time. #districtleaderscreweduptheaddress...but after hearing both my companions tell me that I am too hard on myself they forced me to forgive myself, so there :) Even though we were late they were so appreciative, and this member that is less active is now planning to come to church! That was a HUGE miracle this week. As for other news, Viktor and Vera have been really busy with work and have not met with us, but Oldrich has PASSED his interview (if I did not say that already), and he will be watching the conference via smartphone in his science camp that he is doing! He is SO awesome! :) That is about all for this week!

Here is my scripture for the week.  What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same. In preparation for conference we have challenged the branch to think about their concerns and questions and to bring it to the Lord in prayer, write down, and be prepared for the revelation. As we prepare for conference this week, I am very excited for the opportunity I have to listen to a prophets voice. I know the Lord lives and loves us, and his mouthpiece is President Thomas S. Monson, a true and living Prophet. Have an amazing week! Love you all!

S Laskou,

Starší Belshe

Petrin Hill

#Aleluja

This week it has been ALL about Easter! Our goal (should we choose to accept it, which we did): Tell everyone that Christ has risen from the dead and that he is our Savior and Redeemer. It was really fun to have a lot of time to have finding! Unfortunately, that also meant that we were unable to meet with a lot of investigators. Viktor and Vera were overloaded with work, and sick so they could not make it to church. Also, Oldrich was out of town due to the fact that he is a host to a free science camp that he puts on for kids to learn Physics, not sure If I said this last week, but he is awesome! :) We talk about Calculus some times...haha only some times though :) This week Oldrich passed his baptismal interview! Yay!! Now all that is left is a couple of lessons followed by a interview with the branch president! Good stuff! This week fortunately he will be in Brno for church while he is visiting his grandmother, but the next two weeks for church he will be gone for this camp :(..however, once he gets back he will be all ready for his baptism! Looking forward to it so much!

Our district in Prague slowed down a bit this week due to the fact that so many people were sick, out of town for the holiday, or out of contact. Finding has been great, all of the companionships have been finding and teaching people on the streets; however, they have been not translating to progressing investigators, so in District Meeting we talked about these awesome things called Baptism Calendars that our mission has (not sure if other missions do), but they are great. They basically have a daily box to check to read and pray and another box to check for church each week! Then you can talk to them about what they need to do to be ready for baptism and write it in with them on the sheet. Ultimate way to set expectations! Then we had some district finding, and we faced some opposition in that! Opposition can be good though! It just means that blessings are around the corner! I had this awesome spot picked out for a singing display, unfortunately, stolen by other people selling stuff! Then when we wanted to have a chalk display and write #Aleluja everywhere in this park near the center I had no idea that across the street is a famous Dancing Hall, #tourists..but that is ok, it happens! :) Our English class that we teach, and the people that were here for game night and for family home evening loved the video! It has been a great thing going around asking people's opinions about Easter! It has also been great practice for Elder Cardon for contacting :) We also took a walk to the 2nd best view of Prague in a place called Petrin Hill, awesome view! 

Although it has been a slow week for us, my personal testimony of the Savior has truly grown as I have remembered that truly I can have a new start, thanks to his sacrifice for me. Rather than a scripture this week I want to bear my true witness that Christ lives. I know he does. As I testify to everyone that we meet here in Prague that feeling of truth confirms to me, and to those we meet that he truly does live. He died for us, and on the third day, he rose from the grave. The grave hath no victory, because of him, and death hath no sting, because of him. If you have ever wondered if he truly did sacrifice himself for us, then I encourage you, challenge you to test. Pray to God, in his name sincerely looking for an answer, and it will come. I can promise you that. If you have not had a chance watch the video on lds.org promoted for easter, it is right on the front page, can't miss it! Love you all! Have a great week! #Aleluja

Elder Belshe