I didn't mention in the last latter that I was feeling this way, but people are terrifying. As a missionary, I talk to a lot of people. As a missionary in the Czech Republic, I talk to a lot of people who speak Czech and not English. No matter what I may have informed you previously, I can't carry a meaningful conversation in Czech. You may see the problem. To be an effective missionary, there is no way at all that I can allow myself to be scared of people.
As you may imagine, overcoming this has been my primary focus this week! Everything this week seems to tie in to that.
On last Thursday we went into Brno for Progression Training, which is where are the new missionaries and their trainers meet with President McConkie, Sister McConkie, and one of the assistants to the president for training. One of the things that we talked about embracing everything about being a missionary, from discouragement to terror to the things that are actually good and exciting about being a missionary. President McConkie told us a story when he had had one of his worst days on the mission, he came back to his apartment at the end of the day and collapsed on his chair. His companion excitedly pointed out that it was Thanksgiving (President McConkie groaned at this point) and then their Thanksgiving dinner was just a bunch of sausage. Though at the time President McConkie wasn't happy, now that's one of his favorite memories now because he pushed through it and had a lot of great experiences continuing forward in his mission.
Though I can't really explain why this helped me (it doesn't seem to make sense on paper) this experience has helped me a lot because going through this period where I've been terrified of people has helped me to appreciate them more for some reason.
We've done a lot of contacting this week, which is basically where we stop people on the town square and ask if they're interested to hear our message. As I've been trying to contact EVERYONE and not shy away, I think somehow I've been learning to love the people here more and not be so terrified of them. And that's been great.
I'm learning more and more Czech, and that also helps me to understand and love people more.
On Saturday, M had her baptismal interview and we decided to push her date back a bit (we haven't set it again yet). I was a little disappointed, but it'll end up being for the best because it's probably what she needs (and even probably what the branch needs, too).
We taught Sister Š and had a great lesson on faith and miracles, because we need to help her develop the faith to pay tithing so she can be baptized. She's not quite there yet, but we're getting to that point and it's so uplifting to see her grow.
We taught a first lesson last night, and while it was hard to get this person to engage, the Spirit was still really strong and it was uplifting to me to see what I know and think how I could help this person to know things that have blessed my life.
I've rather gone overtime, and I wanted to talk a bit more about the branch (yes, Mom, someone plays the piano :)) but missionary work is great and is blessing my life.
I love you all,
Starší Boyce
The following pictures are views from St. Procopius Basilica, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The basilica site was part of a Benedictine monastery that was started in the early 12th century. As the monastery became wealthier, the monastery was rebuilt and fortified starting in the year 1240. The reconstruction of the monastery included the construction of the basilica which was completed in 1260.
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| The basilica tower. |
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| Details of the castle gate surrounding the basilica. |
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| The castle gate. |
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| Entrance to the basilica. |
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