Competition is the worst.

We just played monopoly. I hate that game. I don't like the word hate; but i hate monopoly. I lost, which i was fine with, but the annoying part is the trash talk of those who are sore winners especially when they themselves didn't even win, but just did better than you. And that's how i used to be, so i'm sorry if anyone has ever been annoyed with me, at all, in any competition, because i'm done being competitive.

any way this week was good, we had a good training in Brno we got to watch "Meet the Mormons"     

http://meetthemormons.com/#/filter-all/page-1    

It was way good. 

Then we had a baptism on Saturday, it was great! 

also this week, i'v been reading the bible,  i finished john and almost done with acts, it's super good. 

I hope you are all having a good week!  sorry for the short email, i hope you are all doing well.  I'm doing fine.  which in czech means good.

but yeah see you all next week.

-Spencer 

PS

i was in a village yesterday and here's the baptismal candidate and his family 

Pherb I Know what we're going to do today!

so I wish I knew what we were going to do today hahah we have nothing on plan, because it's p-day hahah, so yeah I'm going to follow up!

Who set goals? for the new year? to prove to everyone that 10 is not a huge amount of goals I set 30, and I planned how I'm going to achieve every single goal! so you guys should be able to manage at least a tenth of that and get 3 measly goals....haha
anyway the week went great.  this week we had multiple fun things happen, we were informed that 2 more elders are coming into Jihlava at the end of the transfer so we get to start looking for a new apartment. then I got to go to Brno and our baptismal candidate was interviewed, so that was super cool! then later we had the new years whoo hoo!! we watched Popelka (Czech Cinderella) and Sul Nad Zlato (just another Czech fairytale) then we had these huge hamburgers and we watched fireworks from our balcony. there was so many! more than last year

then we had p day the next day, so dumb, literally every single thing in the whole city was closed, even the mall.

then we got to go to Trebic the next day!!  I taught our district about making goals and we all shared our new years resolutions, my companion's goals and mine were kinda trunky because we're going home this year hhahaha

then the next day we had a baptism!!! dope.

then Sunday, testimony meeting in church, it was pretty good. then we taught Sunday school.

pretty good week.

super long, oh it finally is snowing!

well, I hope you all have a good week get done with those goals!!

-Spencer

Baptism Week

So this week was fantastic, we had a baptism!!!

it was so cool, the girl who got baptized is just so cool, she invited her friends and family, and we had so many members there so so so spiritual!! easily the highlight of my week, i actually can't even remember what happened for the rest of the week because it was so great.

it really puts into perspective what's important in life, because the rest of the week was also pretty cool now that i'm reading my planner, we traveled a bit to other parts of the country, I gave a speech yesterday in church. but all of that pales in comparison to the spirit and the feelings that could be felt at the baptism.  being on a mission just really puts into perspective the importance of everything. like how much all this pitiful drama of life really doesn't matter in the end, all you have to do is be a good person, care for and love others, and everything will be ok.
-Spencer

Day 459

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OSKAR!!!

so birthdays are fun. everyone has one birthday left before i get home, that's pretty cool.  

this week was pretty alright, pretty good. we went to Brno and thats always way cool.  also, we had some obviously great meetings and stuff with people. it's so cold here though, holy crap it's cold, like it's super humid, and so, although the temperature is not super cold, the ice misting air is just freezing! but whatever it's super fun.

umm yeah not a whole lot actually happeded this week, somthing super cool that did happen...

we went to a baptism, IN A POND!! it was so cold, like for realz, really, really cold. it was just super cool! 

also this weekend, an awesome investigator that i taught for 6 months in Olomouc was baptized on halloween, IN A RIVER!! like for realz? a river? but afterwards she was telling her current missionaries that although the water was so cold, she just felt so warm... that's amazing, baptism is just awesome! 
the Holy Ghost is so powerful!  

yeah everything else this week just pales in comparison to these two baptisms, so i don't really care to write about anything else. 

So... have a great week, and until next week, peace off!

-Spencer

P.S. someone in their last email said "now i know that you read my emails" of course i read your emails! i read all of the emails (except for your's trevor, when your dad sends them in a pack of 5 haha but i do skim at least hahah) but yes i read all the emails, and thanks for them all.
 

Early Transfers!!

So one of my companions got a call from president yesterday morning, and he moved to Jičín today! so that was pretty exciting.  Yup.

Also my birthday was yesterday!! i was so excited! i made a german pancake! it was so freaking good, we didn't have any syrup though, so i went with the healthier side of things and melted a chocolate bar and had that on it instead, it was good.  I got some amazing presents also from my friends here! so cool! opening those in the morning was probably the highlight of my week! they were just amazing!

Then i had a baptizm this week, well not me but i went to one from my old area, it was so awesome, this kid (23) was just so amazing, like when asked if he knows it's true he was just like no. i don't. but i believe most of it is true and what i don't believe is true i want it to be so badly so his missionaries promised him that everything that he doesn't know when he is baptized he'll gain a testimony of. And he did. and his baptism was so awesome and so spiritual for him, so was his confirmation at church! Really, just cool.

the rest of my week besides those three, points wasn't as important or exciting so yeah but i did go to Prague, so that was good, i also got my visa so i'm legal now.  Also i had zone conference, we watched a video, go watch it right now, it's called Because of Him ​it's in czech* and english, and it's like literally 3 mins and it's just amazing! so go check it out, but seriously go watch it guys.

but that's all for today thanks all for the birthday wishes, and for the presents!!! they were amazing!!!

Love you all,

               -Spencer.

 


*(Mom note - I can't find the Czech translation of the video link... I'll work on it.)

rainy days

So it was raining all week here in Ostrava so that was pretty awesome, I just love the rain!  anyway the rest of the week went well, at the start of the week one of the investigators from my last area decided to get baptized!! so we'll have another baptism on saturday! and then church was really good yesterday.  We had a family come in from Bountiful whose daughter came here on a mission.  So that was way cool and we had two Polish people show up and a member from Olomouc! it was a good day!

but the rest of the week was just same old same old, savin people's souls and what not.  we had some pretty good lessons with a girl who came to our last baptism and she is just so ready and excited to progress towards baptism, she's just turning her whole life around, it's so cool! she's just like, "what do i need to do to be baptized? no drugs no sex? k done. what's next?"  she's pretty awesome!!

but baptisms are so cool and so spiritual, if you haven't been to one in a while you should go to one sometime. They really, even if they're not your own, open your eyes to why this all matters. and they are just so spiritual! and also the confirmation (the next day in church for us) is just so so cool! but really, hit one up sometime, because it's so peaceful and nice.  The one thing about baptisms is that all of the people who we teach as missionaries don't see baptism as a beginning, as a way to come closer to God; they just see it as a huge deadline or final cut, and that's not how it is at all. not at all. baptism is only the beginning, it's just the third step in the gospel (ok well actually faith is the beginning but...) without baptism we as people can only get so close to God, we could follow all of the commandments, read, and pray daily but if we didn't eventually make a promise with God, then we cannot go further. We cannot, because God wont let us; because if He wants to bless us, and He does, He does so badly, then He hast to put us in a higher position of accountability, a position which can only be reached through covenants, the first one being baptism. So if you find yourself in any kind of spiritual low, first of all ask yourself, "Am I in a spiritual low, or have I just gotten to the point of no growth?"  (and if you've been baptized there isn't that point to attain.) then ask yourself if you are following all the laws and statutes pertaining to your covenants with God, and if you have made none, then, if you're following all of the commandments.

Then, if you feel like you're doing everything you should but you can't feel God's presence in your life, ask Him to make Himself and His works known unto you.  Because He truly "giveth to men liberally and upbraideth not," to those who ask of Him. I know that this simple promise from Jakub 1:5 is true.  I've seen it work in my life, and in the life of the people I've taught on my mission. I  know it will work for you all as well.  If there is ever a question, or a spiritual decision to be made, God will direct you and He will help you in every aspect of your life and make you strong enough to carry the hardships that sometimes come along with following His way.  He will bless you.  He will bless you with an immeasurable amount of blessings that will help you in your life. I know it. I tell you these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Elder Spencer Edman Petersen