Dear Family,
There's not a whole lot to say since last time that I wrote you all on Wednesday. Elder Vomočil and I are getting along great. I actually enjoy working with someone who's older than I am. Haven't had that kind of companion since my follow-up transfer (except for the two emergency three-somes I was put into because of people getting moved around two to three weeks before transfers). It's exciting and I'm really lonving working with him. We're always laughing.
One thing that I can write you about is that on Friday we went to meet Sister Čermaková, one of the less actives we visit, and we started just talking with her as usual and then she stopped and asked us if we have a message for her. We said yes and prayed and started reading from the Book of Mormon. That was cool because she loves to just talk with us, but we can also see that she needs the spiritual help that we can give her, and it was cool to see that she knew it too. Anyway, earlier that day we had done weekly planning for the next week and we had planned to talk to one of our investigators about fasting, and that's what popped into my head while we were at her house, so we opened up the Book of Mormon and had her read Alma 17:2-3 and she saw that the way that the sons of Mosiah had the spirit of prophecy and revelation by study, praying and fasting. When she read "fasting" she raised her eyebrows and continued on. Afterward, I asked her how they had such great gifts, and she responded perfectly along with what we wanted to talk about: she said, "they fasted." We began talking about that and we challenged her to fast, and she said no right off the bat and explained that she has to eat because she takes various medications which can't be taken on an empty stomach, so we challenged her to a small/mini fast, and jokingly she said, "So only one řizek (schnitzel)." We laughed, but she knew what we were talking about, and she accepted. Then we started talking about what we do at church when we have a fast. She thought for a moment, and said that she didn't know. I must have asked the question wrong, because when I told her we have a testimony meeting, she said, "Oh, I thought you meant what we do with the food when we fast." She's a sweet lady. We then spoke about bearing our testimonies, the blessings that we get, and she got really scared and said that she couldn't do that. The thing with Sister Čermaková is that she's agoraphobic, and so she doesn't like to leave her comfort zone, in fact it's really hard for her. She's began coming to church because she knows it's important, but she said that she couldn't do something like that. We assured her that it would really help her and that it doesn't have to be from her mind. She could write our her testimony and then read it off at testimony meeting. We felt like we shouldn't force her, because that could just push her over the edge, so we left it as a suggestion, and so I wrote an idea on the back of a card and left it on her table, and told her, "I wrote something on the back of this card, and you can look at it after we leave, but it's an idea of what you can talk about in your testimony." We left it at that and just left it up to her. She knows what she needs to be doing, but right now she just needs the support and love from others to help her get back onto what she knows she needs. On the card I wrote, "How Jesus Christ has helped/will help me conquer my problems and hardships." We left it at that, and I had all the faith in the world that she'd pull through.
On Sunday, I was waiting outside the building for people to show up so I could greet them, and five minutes to nine, she pulls up in her car, and I said hello (I was so happy that she came) and went up after her. I then sat next to her during the meeting. Before the meeting started, she got my attention and opened her bag and showed me a piece of paper with a whole bunch of things written on it, and she said, "I don't know if I'm going to say it or not." Nonetheless, I was happy that she had prepared something! Once the testimonies started, the first pause for longer than ten seconds, she grabbed her bag, ruffled it open and pulled out her piece of paper and walked up to the front. She was beaming. President Pohořelický and Brother Fejta, who are usually focused on taking the record of who's at church or whatever they usually do, both looked up and watched her really intently, just so happy that she was giving her testimony. All the other members were really intent as well. She wrote her testimony on enduring on the path that she had taken upon herself by being baptized. She spoke about when she fell away from the church and how she developed agorophobia and how she eventually cut herself from communication of the church. She told us that she knew the things she needed to be doing and that it's going to be hard but she could do it with the Lord's help. It was probably the best testimony given that meeting. After testimony meeting, almost all of the members came up and spoke with her and said that she had a wonderful testimony. Sister Kutilova and Koutkova sat and talked to her for at least fifteen minutes about how she's so wonderful. It was so awesome. That's missionary success. It wasn't a baptism, but it was a changed heart.
I think that it really helped out the branch too. President, in branch council, said that her testimony convinced him that people can change back to the church after they've gone away. He had lost a little bit of faith in that regard because she had been inactive and out of contact for about seven or so years. It was probably one of the greatest experiences I've had in a long time.
I love being out here and hope that you're all safe and well. Have a great next week, and I'll do my best to do so as well.
Starší Monk