Praha today baby!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABBIE AND ADÉLA!! (and anyone else if it's your birthday and i forgot)

so today i'm in the great city of Prague doing haha ke$ha music just came on oh what's this song called, ... tik tok hahah alright so doing... oh yeah we're doing visa work here so that we can legally live here haha it went pretty well today no one really had a problem haha but like i don't understand why the people at the visa office just assume we understand czech, like i do but like there telling me all of this stuff while they're taking my fingerprints and it's just crazy the vocab they're using but i mean come on you work in an office where all the people you work with aren't from your country like? what you just expect that everyone speaks perfect czech? whatevs though the lady that i was with was really nice so it's all good and my visa is working.

any way now that i'm done with my rant for the day, my week has been a bit crazy, we had to move apartments which i will again have to do tomorrow. so that's just fantastic.  but besides moving last Monday we went to štramberk, i probably talked about that last week though. then the rest of the week was pretty rainy and windy so we did more inside stuff that needed to get done like move and clean our apartment. 

Sunday though was the best day, we woke up at 5 and had to get on a train at 6:45 but i was busy wrapping a present and i couldn't find rapping paper so we almost missed our train, and we were running to it and there was this huge escalator and the down was closed and so our only option was to run down the up escalator and it took so long, oh my heck it seemed like an eternity we were just running and i felt like we weren't moving at all then we got to the bottom eventually and we hauled like 400 yard sprint in suits, then down some stairs found our platform and came up the stairs just as the train came... whew i got tired just thinking about it. so then we took a train ride for 3 hours to Brno and it was so fun we had a good time on the train we told some stories of just random funny stuff but there was this sister in my district who's story takes the cake, it was hilarious.

so then we got to Brno and We had district conference, it's like stake conference, it was awesome, because i got to see all the people from Olomouc. And they're doing so well then. the conference was good, i got to sit between my two favorite people, it was a good time.  A general authority spoke and some presidency people, president mckonkie and the president of the frieberg temple spoke.  it was a really good conference though, i already said that 3 times but it was. but then afterwards i just got to hang out with some of my friends from oloumouc and some missionaries that i've served around, it was really fun.

then we had zone conference, and it was freaking cool they showed us a ted talk By Amy Cuddy about Body Language   It's really good, maybe only like 10-15 mins it'll change your life. not a joke. just go watch it.

​then i went to praha with the APs and ate dinner with his family, it was so good.  and then at the end they gave us this pinapple upside down cake that president made... so freaking good. but his family is so funny haha it just reminded me of home haha it was a good meal time. Then i stayed the night with the office elders and did visa work this morning.

It was a good week, my lessons this week were going super well, we had 2 lessons where we set baptismal dates for our investigators and like at first they're like umm i don't know i don't really want to set up a date for it like kinda i guess they just think it'll happen... but like i mean you can't just get baptized it's not as easy as that, but we had some members in both of our lessons for baptismal dates and they just told the story of how they got baptized and one of them had been an investigator for over a year, but he refused to set up a date, and he knew so much about the church and he really liked meeting with us and had some good friends in the branch but, he said that the sisters who were teaching him just told him you got to set up a date, and by that time God will, if you put forth the effort, show you what is truth.  and so he did it and now he's baptized and just has the strongest testimony... Goals are important, if you don't have a goal then you can do a bunch of tasks, at least in the gospel, but if God sees that you don't have a goal then he can't do nearly as much for you.   So anyway now we have two investigators who will be baptized next month right before they go to England. and they're pretty strong and intelligent people, so it'll be good. but a plan with no goal is like a race with no finishing line, you'll run forever and ever and you'll get stronger but until you have a goal you'll just keep running.

This church is God's church, people. It really is. The book of Mormon is true.  this week with 2 of our investigators we read 2 Nephi 33:10-12, Nephi says if you believe in Christ you'll believe in these words and vice-verse.  also we read with them 2 Nephi 25:26 - all we do in this church is glorify Christ and what he did for us. 
this truly is Christ's church on the earth today. I know it.

Till next week!
      -Spencer

New Area Assignment!!!

Hey yall, sorry i didn't email yesterday, dad stop freaking out like seriously, i bet you like called the mission office, just if i don't email you i'll probably just email you in the next week or later the same week. haha

so some crazy stuff happened we were going out to Stramberk yesterday and we're sitting in the train station and we get a call from president mckonkie and he's just like ok, so an elder went home in the office, so he had to be replaced so my companion got called to Olomouc to take his space, i'm getting moved to Dubina, Ostrava, and my area is getting shut down. so i'll still be in the same city but it's interesting. right now i'm still in my area with another missionary who is training and his companion broke his foot in the mtc so after i go to Brno this weekend i'll head over to Prague to pick up the new kid do visa work. and finally i'll go to my new area. with my 2 new companions. so for this transfer, i will have served in 3 areas with 5 companions.  That's the way we roll here in the czech republic. 

Hopefully though, the new elder that just got sent to Olomouc will like it there, all of you that are there right now really help him with his czech and help him learn to love being a missionary, he really needs it right now, just ask him about his investigators and how his teaching is going and if he's found anyone cool.  just really encourage him and show him that people care for what he's doing and that he makes a difference out here. also bear testimony to him on just the little things of the truth you know, teach with him as much as you can, just make him learn to love it here and welcome him with open arms!  Oh and only speak czech to him, you have no idea how much that helps!

As for the missionary that just left to the office, he might be back and don't be to sad you'll get chances to see him again, i know he left pretty quick but, he's doing great and the office is such a good place for him to be, and just saying i totally called it, last transfer i was like "he's going to the office" look who was right! this guy!

The rest of the week went rather boringly. in comparison at least. so i really got nothing to say umm well yeah, seriously boring. I loved priesthood session of conference, oh and i said i was going to talk about conference this week but i don't have a bunch of time left so, oh and also so next week my p day will be kinda ruined because i have to leave my apartment sunday morning and get back monday evening and so maybe i'll get to email in Prague but if not my email will be late again. or visa work will go fast and we'll get back in time to email. but, regaurdless don't freak out.

Oh we did go to Štramberk yesterday it was really cool. I'll send some pictures next week, i would right now but i'm busy downloading 6000 pictures and videos someone gave me from last transfer. so my camera and external drive are busy haha 

k cool well see yall next week, and see yall from olomouc in brno!!

​-Spencer.

JSEM OSTRAVA!!!

JSEM OSTRAVA!!!

     So my new city is Ostrava, i would've told you last week but because you kept asking me to tell you where i'm getting transfered I just decided not to. haha. like, what other news do i even have to tell you other than oh hey i'm in a new city hahah you guys, any way Ostrava is a good city it is the european city of sport 2014 and they have a lot of sweet stuff here they got some pretty big malls and stuff. downsides this city is way spread out which actually really isn't a downside but it is harder because it takes so long to get places. umm there are a lot of Jehovah's Witnesses here because during WW2 you had a choice, go to war or work in the mines. and since this is a mining city and JWs don't believe in war they all live here now. it's frustrating mostly just because they love to argue and the spirit of contention is of the devil so i'm not going to argue with people to convince them of truth. The sad part is they don't understand this. but yeah other than that i had a pretty good week.

during the week we got to watch conference. it was so good, i have some stuff from it to tell yall. dang it no i don't because you have to check in your bags at this library but, next week i'll have some stuff from conference.

the guy in front of me is watching floor ball. what a joke of a sport. it's like womens hockey. like no skates no pads no skill.

well since i don't have anything from conference i do have some pics!

i don't like how i look in this picture but everyone else looks fine so there's one for ya

​​street sign kinda in the way but you get the picture, this is part of my new city, Iron horse statue in the middle. (like a horse mixed with a train, it's kinda clever).​


​but so anyway the transition here was a little smooth we got the most lessons in the mission this week i feel like it was kinda cheap that we had two areas mixed haha but whatevs, we'll see how the rest of the transfer goes, right now i'm in a 3 companionship, we had to mix areas because a kid in the mtc broke his foot so he has to stay an extra 3 weeks meanwhile his trainer will be with us here i'm excited for the new transfer. i'm still sad that i had to leave olomouc :( but i'm happy that the investigator i left there decided to keep meeting with the missionaries. and that she has such great faith.​ ​​​  ​oh well, hopefully i'll see all my olomouc friends in Brno on the 27 when i go there for district conference.

​ok this is to clear up some questions that have been asked by yall (repeatedly.)

first off just so we're all clear Czech Republic and Slovakia are different countries and have been since the berlin wall fell. (not in relation with the wall just at the same timeish.)

we don't use euros in Czech Republic we use the czech crown 1 crown is equal to 5 cents. Slovokia uses euros.​ 

Czech is pronounced the way it is because in the old czech language they didn't have čárka like the little carrot guy you see above the c so instead, like in polish, they followed the letter with a z to change it's noise.

the Czech Republic doesn't have a Stake so all of my areas are Branches, no matter their size.

and the language i speak is Czech and it is, according to the people the second hardest language in the world to learn, the reason it beats Finnish is because of the irregularities of pattern, other languages like Russian or Slovainian which some would argue are harder don't even hold a candle to the difficulty. Like there are sounds made in Czech that i bet americans can't do unless you were to practice it for months like we do. case in point ř.

so that's all the folks see yall, oh well talk to yall next week, see yall in a year and a halfish, thats crazy i'm over a 4th done actually including the mtc i'm 1/3 done, and if you're in Olomouc see ya at Brno!

​-Spencer.

ps the pictures are kinda small now because the thing wouldn't lett me send them big due to size

Day 263, Demz da breaks

This week has just been crazy, last week of the transfer and we were trying to pack so many lessons in because i was leaving  so we had a way crazy time, i don't have my planner here becuase i had to make a new one for my new area but it was a pretty good week. on monday we went to Sternberk, didn't spell that right but i don't want to have to keep changing my keyboard, then we came back had 2 lessons

on tuesday we taught some more had a fun english class i had a lot of people come  got some gifts at the end haha one of my english students gave me alcholic chocolate. then i packed that night anticipating my move.
wednesday was less crazy  but we talked to some sick people on the park scene had a lesson with my favorite investigator for the last time.

thursday was awesome, went to Prostejov (spelling again) had  the best lunch thing ever with an elderly sister, than we went to a blind member's house and walked with him to the bus stop it's crazy how good he can get around. i'm saying crazy a lot. then came back to Olomouc had game night went home tired wrote some letters to some members

Friday woke up tired. tired, but still kickin. (i don't really read my blog but when i spell words like this "kickin" it's because that's the way i want it to be read not kicking it doesn't have the same effect.) but then we had some good times with some people who we met on wednesday had 2 great lessons in the morning had some successful finding in the afternoon.

Saturday is a special day, it's a day we get ready for Sunday. i can't remember anything about this day because  got my new area assignment. started fasting.

Sunday: This was the best day for me. so i woke up 6:30 just like everyday, went to church at 7:40 got there, had a meeting with the branch president and 1st counselor, and then we had the best sacrament i've ever had in my life. It was fast and testimony meeting, i'm getting all emotional just writing about it, but i asked my branch president to ask an investigator of mine give the opening prayer, and of course she did because she's amazing. and it was the best prayer i've ever heard. and then after blessing the sacrament i went and sat down next to her. the meeting went well, there was some awesome testimonies one of my favorites was a girl that was baptized about a year ago it was so good.  While the meeting was going on i wrote a little note to the girl i was sitting by (my investigator) asking her to bear her testimony, and she's like no, you should you're leaving, and i don't want to cry. but i was like, neither do i and then i proceded to make a deal with her that i would if she did.  so after thinking about it she kept looking for a time to get up and then in my head i was like oh crap she's going to so now i have to. but then she got up and she bore the most fantastic testimony i have ever heard. ever. i lost it. and then now it's my turn. and i have to get up already crying but that was the deal, and i'm good for my word.  so i struggled not to cry through my testimony, while trying to speak czech, it was hard.  now i can't even remember what was said but i know that it was so amazing and the girls that stood up and bore their testimonies are just so so cool. I Love them both so much! I'm going to miss them so much now that i'm not in Olomouc but hej, demz da breaks.  The rest of the day went well, we delivered brownies to people, our oven burned them though. I got some amazing gifts from people. then another highlight of the day, last phone call to an investigator,, and we both cried... if anyone just sang t-swift in their head they're my kind of people. but it was a good day probably the best of my mission so far, I'm going to miss the people of olomouc. it's my favorite city in the world. But we'll make it good here. but, no looking back, because "those who put their hand to the plow and look back are not fit for the Kingdom of God." Goodbye Olomouc. See ya latter.

-Starší Petersen