Like I said last week, I was in Slovakia this last week. We left last Monday, even before we finished our P-day, and we went and got on the train to Břeclav which is right on the Czech and Slovak border. Then we got on the train with the elders from Brno and went all the way to Bratislava. I don't know what we were expecting when we got into Bratislava, but we were all really excited to go there because Czech Missionaries just about never get to go to Slovakia - there's just no need. However, surprise surprise, it's about the same as the Czech Republic, except everyone speaks Slovak we all felt like a bunch of second or third transfer missionaries who don't really understand anything and don't know how much people understand us. So that was fun.
We all got split up into different missionary appartments around Bratislava and then we found something to do for dinner and got to bed so we could be at conference the next day by 9:30. There were about five missionaries from the Olomouc Zone (three of us from Olomouc), four from the Brno Zone and I think another five from the Slovakia Zone. So the conference was about 18 people (fourteen leaders and the two aps and President and his wife). We had three places to stay and we were stuck working with only the people in our apartment the entire week so we could keep our things separate.
The first full day that we were there, we had conference until about 4:00 o'clock and then we went out and worked. However, before we went out, we were told that the night before, seven or eight people had been shot and killed near Bratislava, so President wanted to make sure that we wouldn't go out working around there - we weren't going to be anywhere near that. So, the weather was terrible: really cold, strong winds, lots of rain... the whole shabam, so everyone decided to go tracting. I was working with a Slovak elder named Butler and we got along really well. We had some really good doors, but we weren't getting let in at all. Then as we were about to go into another 'panelak,' we got a call from one of the other elders from our apartment. As he was talking on the phone, Elder Butler was getting more and more worried/concerned, asking where they were and telling them to get over to where we were. We got together with them and found out what happened. Basically Elder Rigby and Read were tracting together and as they were coming to the very last floor, they both got the weird feeling that they were going to be kicked out and they even said that to each other, but said it in a silly teasing way like, "wouldn't it be funny if we got kicked out right now?" Well, they knocked on either the second to last or the last door, and a girl came and answered. They were having a good conversation with her and then all of a sudden, a guy walks around the corner and immediately starts yelling at them, telling them to get out. Both Elder Read and Rigby were confused, and started moving away and they got to the door leading outside and it was locked, so the guy who was yelling came over and opened it for them, but continued to be yelling at them. Elder Rigby didn't really understand, but Elder Read said that the guy was saying that he had better never see them again or else he'd shoot them just like the guys who died the day before. We were all really nervous about going anywhere near that area that night as we were going home. Elder Read and Rigby were both pretty shaken up by that.
Then the next day after the conference we went out and worked again and I can't say that I saw anything really amazing, but I felt that I was working well. We had a lot better weather because everyone had prayed for it so we could have a street display, but the Slovak elders chickened out as they'd never done one before and they justified it because it was a holiday of some sort in Slovakia. So we all split up and did contacting again. But the third day, we actually went and did the street display, and I must say, it was probably the most successful street display I've been at. There were many people stopping just to watch and listen and there were always at least four missionaries out contacting people. We were on this really busy street that led to the main square, so there was lots of traffic. I finally got out and started talking with a few people and I even had some young slovak girls ask me to take them back to America with me. After I told them that I was here for two years, they got a little disheartened. That was kind of strange. They, however, were even more disheartened when I told them that I was an hour from New York - I guess they wanted to go there. Another odd thing at the street display was that there was a crazy woman who was screaming at the top of her lungs for like three or four minutes during our singing. The people didn't really seem to care because they had something else to listen to, but man, it was sure distracting. She screamed her lungs out and then left, and came back again a while later and did the same thing again. I also saw an old woman kiss a bronze statue of a girl sitting on the ground a few times... that was weird. I guess every city has their crazies, but that just goes to show you, opposition in all things - so the prepared must be here!
When we finally got back to Olomouc, we felt really fired up from the conference and were ready to go to work. I found myself talking to many more people than I would normally speak to and being much more bold with them as far as my calling is as a missionary - a representative of Jesus Christ.
Remember last transfer when we nearly flooded our house due to a broken toilet? Well, on Saturday during weekly planning, or maybe afterward, I saw Elder Pearson come into the room with a piece of toast and I thought to myself, "that looks good. I'll make myself one." So I went into the kitchen and put in some bread, but I noticed that the little lever wouldn't go down very smoothly- actually, not easily at all. I had to force it down. After I got it down, it occured to me that it woudln't come up easily either, so I just figured that I'd come back into the room and take it out manually after a minute or two. So I went back in the other room and sat down to start speaking with Elder Pearson. A few minutes later, I smelled something and Elder Pearson asked, "is something burning?" I immediately took off for the kitchen because I knew what it was. Yes, just as I had predicted, the toaster didn't pop up and the toast stayed in there, continuing to cook and cook and burn and burn. The whole house, except for the room where we were sitting, was completely filled with smoke and my toast was just a few completely black pieces of charcoal. Sad day. Anyhow, we found out that our smoke detector is not in the most logical place to detect smoke from the kitchen! It is in the back room with us so we're going to move it. So, yes... I nearly flooded that house, and now I've almost burned it down. What will I do next?
The missionary work continues and everything goes faster and faster. I can't believe that next month I will be hitting my one-year mark on the mission. Yes, many of my companions around the mission (especially Elder Page) like pointing out that I'm a really old missionary here in the mission. That's weird. Anyway, I love you all and hope that you enjoy this picture. It's a picture of Elder Page, Pearson (older Pearson) and me at President Šlezar's house.
Much love and prayers,
Starší Monk
