First Big Week in Plzen!!

K, so this is going to have to be a really short email... boo. I only have like 24 minutes left, and I have to write to President Irwin. Oh well. Anza, sorry also, I can’t figure out how to load pics from this cafe...I’ll try to figure it out for next week.

So, first big week in Plzen! It’s crazy to think that I’m actually here. I have some very interesting and cool stories, though, so I’m going to just jump right in!

We both blinded into this area, so we didn’t know anyone. Yeah. And there were only like 4 investigator sheets...yeah. So we’ve been doing a lot of contacting this week, which has actually gone better than I thought. It’s really scary for me to contact people - I still don’t speak the language conversationally (after one week, you think I’d be fluent haha) and a lot of times, as soon as people hear the words Jesus Christ, they blow you off or just say they don’t have time and walk away. It’s hard, because I love talking to people, and I want them to like talking to me...but a lot of times they just don’t because of who I’m representing right now. It’s difficult for me sometimes, but I know it’ll ¨get better. I’m doing the best and most sacred work right now - just gotta remember that!!

Anyway, despite a lot of rejection in contacting, we actually got like 9 or 10 potential investigators and have already had a lesson at one of their apartments. The man who we taught was Petr, and he is a very cool and interesting fellow. We contacted him near a naměstí, and he told us that he was a polygamist...oops. But we kept talking, and we ended up setting up a meeting with him. We went to his apartment (I said I wanted adventure haha) and thankfully there was only one girl there. She was actually really sweet and her name is Pavla. We taught both of them about Joseph Smith and the Restoration, gave them both Book of Mormons, and they agreed to read it every day. So we’ll see where this goes - we’re meeting with them again later today. Pray for them!!

There’s only one other companionship serving in Plzen - Elders Stockdale and Vivona /(Elder Vivona is our district leader) - they’re awesome to work with!

I got a bit of a reality shock in my first Sunday here - there is only one branch in Plzen, and it is very small. There is no young men or womens, and the attendance on Sunday was somewhere around 18 or so. So we’re really here to build this area. What an opportunity!! Although small, the people in the branch are SO nice - they all complemented me on my Czech, and I introduced myself in sacrament meeting. They all couldn’t believe this was my first Sunday, and one lady said that I’d speak Czech better than her by the time I left!  I love the people, and hope that we can grow this branch in the time we have to work here.

Unfortunately I must close here. Know that I love you so much, and hopefully will be able to get a longer email off next week with some pics!!!

S laskou,

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