Last Haircut!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRYCE!!!

Also Congrats To Paul for getting engaged!

so humm this week, what even happened, umm...  

well, i got my last haircut as a missionary today, so that was sobering... no i'm just kidding i don't really get all sentimental like that, i've been here so long, 10 days to my 2 year mark baby!! (Spencer left July 31st)

we had a pretty cool church service, it was just unusually powerful this week, maybe its due to the fact that it's like 37 degrees and super humid and everyone still shows up to church and is happy to be there, even without air conditioning or fans. its pretty cool to see the faith of members like that.

oh, we started teaching this Indian man who owns the restaurant across from our apartment building, that's pretty interesting, hearing about Hinduism a lot, and learning what they believe. basically from what he was telling me, I gathered that the main idea of it is, that everything is god whether it be a person or an animal or an object, but i know this to be incorrect, it is true that God works through things and people, and he answers our prayers through an endless variety of means, but, God is a real tangible person who has a body of flesh and bones and who is our literal father. Our heavenly father loves us and cares for us, He loves us, and He's watching out for us. this is the knowledge I've been able to become a true witness of through the power of the Holy Ghost.  I hope everyone reading this can come to this same knowledge because only through knowledge of God can we truly become free.  So i beseech those of you reading this who aren't sure of these things to search for them, make a plan, if you must, of what you have to do to find God, to be able to follow the commandments and live closer to his will, and then, remember C.S. Lewis's quote "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because I see everything else." Knowledge doesn't have to come through seeing, as I look out the window here of this library, down onto the Labe river passing by, with the green trees and the people, I know that the sun exists but I don't see the sun. I know that Christ lives as well as God, not because I've seen them but I've seen the effects they have had on everyone around me.

till next week,

-Elder Spencer Petersen

howdy ho neighbor

Hey everyone so this email is going be focused on a little thing called the Power of Faith in God!

So, a woman who we tracted last week let us in.  She speaks perfect English and told us the story of her life.  This woman is now 78 and she's just so nice.  She sat us down and just told us everything about communism and about how she needed to keep it a secret that she believed in God and on, and on, and on.  She told us her amazing story of how she taught English in this underground railroad, basically.  hahah, Seriously, she was like the czech version of Harriet Tubman. She taught people English in secret (not allowed) and then she prepped them to cross the borders to escape.  It's pretty awesome, the things she did in her life.  Through all this time of hardship, and all these trials, she eventually tells us that she has a testimony that God can help her through her trials and that "no matter what" she said "Never stop believing" this woman was amazing!  She lived through all of these trials and was basically able to stand and say, no matter what, through life, if the whole world is against you, if you'll be punished by death for doing right, even if your own family is against you in what you know to be right, do it anyway and never stop believing in God! This woman is exemplary!  She is someone for all of us to look up to, to strive to be in life!!

so, imma quote Journey on this one, "don't stop believing" and imma also direct you to the end of second Nefi if you want to know the blessings of following this woman's example, and Journey's advice ahaha :)

-Spencer

ps sorry for not sending something last week

pps journey sang that song right? haha