Snow and Rain and Beautiful, Beautiful Slovakia

This week was so SO great. We found the most wonderful people. I will just tell you about them, because I do not want to do some long introduction to this email. Just getting down to it.

1) The first person we discovered this week was a young grandfather named Tomaš. We contacted him before Christmas, when he was playing outside of our apartment with his grandson Oliver (cutest name ever, right?) He told us of course, he would be open to watching a short Christmas film, just give him a call.

So we gave him a few calls, and nothing. The holidays were too busy for him to see a five minute clip.

But, the other night, we had a feeling to call him, even though we quite obviously were not showing the christmas film anymore. He promptly invited us over for tea the next night, with his wife. He stated that he did not want to talk about anything about God, but just about Canada. So we (obviously) planned in faith to teach him a small thought on the Book of Mormon.

We were very welcomed into their lovely warm apartment, and he and his wife were the friendliest, most cordial people--basically they adopted us as their grandchildren. Then, he asked if we needed any help with our Slovak pronunciation. And, as Ernest would say, BINGO! Pulled out our Book of Mormon and asked him for help with Moroni 10:3-5. And what a lesson it turned into. We ended up giving him the book and were requested to return to not only talk more about the gospel, but have some genuine Slovak bryndzové halušky.

2) The next day, we contacted inbetween the many many apartment buildings up by where we live. We talked briefly with a woman about the Restoration--about God´s one true church on the earth and Joseph Smith. She said that she had no time, but come back to her apartment at this address at one tomorrow. That was a little weird/totally awesome. So, we went in faith the next day, and sure enough, there she was waiting for us. A wonderful non-practicing Catholic, she invited us in and totally understood our message (which sometimes is unusual with Catholics here. They sometimes just agree with everything we say) She tried to give us alcohol (it is only 10%! haha) but everything was wonderful and we are going back this week! hooray!

3) We talked to a lot of people this week who really do not like America. Is there something awful going on? hahaha one polish man talked to us for over an hour about America, and science, and goverments, and how Americans never really landed on the moon..all very interesting and I was wholly surprised that I could understand any of it.

4) We met a YSA girl on the street named Karen Lilith, but she goes by Lilith. I include her name because it is so totally not Slovak and really weird that it is not. Every Slovak woman has to, I think legally, have their name end in an A. So like Eva, Jana, Michala, Alžbeta, etc etc. It is really really funny. Because you have to be able to change the endings in sentences because that is how the grammar works. Anyway. This girl is really interesting. She is a hardcore athiest and wants proof for everything. She has a very hard time believing that Christ is the son of God, and that we are Gods children. She believes in something like scientology and has had, supposedly, a lot of weird out of body experiences. She is really hard to understand because she uses a lot of uncommon Slovak words. We are excited to teach her because she has so many questions! When we stopped her on the street, and asked if she had time a different day to meet, she said she had time right now. So we taught her on the street and she ended up coming back to our building with us and meeting Andre, and re setting up! She is great.

​i love this picture too much to be embarrassed by the
fact that I am whiter than a sheet and look totally bald. 

So those are just a few of our new investigators we have found this week! Hooray for finding and
 hooray for faith!

Other fun things that happened this week:

1) We bought a jar of Nutella (FINALLY) and it is way better than it is in America and we ate the whole thing in three days.
2) It RAINED. It POURED. it DUMPED. and get this, we forgot our umbrella. So after getting completely soaked, we ran into the Elders and they gave us one of theirs. Hahahahaha so wet
3) it SNOWED. SO BEAUTIFULLY: THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SNOW I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED. It snows very differently than utah sometimes! It was falling in amazing flakes as big as my nose! Just drifting and sticking to all the trees so prettily...ahhhhhh
4) Ran into a very, very, muslim man. He spoke only a little english and no slovak, but his faith was amazing! I love when I can see people from other religions that are still close to God.
5) Cleaning out our apartment like madwomen when we have free time at night. Since it is really old, (The elders lived in it before in like 2008), there is stuff from missionaries everywhere. Just random stuff. So we are purging it. It feels so great...

Lastly, this week I have been reading in Ether and I love it more than anything. I think my most favorite verse is in chapter six:

   3 And thus the Lord caused stones to shine in darkness, to give light unto men, women, and children, that they might not cross the great waters in darkness.

It is such an incredible story of faith and trial. Yes, we have moments in our lives when we must initally make a huge step or decision of faith, and jump into a dark barge without a time limit or surety of safety. And yet, we do. And afterwards, it does not end! In chapter two, it reads,

 24 For behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth.

The storms do not end! The waves beat upon us, they dash upon us! The Lord continues to try our faith with every toss of the ocean. But, he leaves us one remarkable promise:

 25 And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come...

And that promise will always be fulfilled. He will always sufficiently prepare us so that we do not have to cross the depths of the stormy sea in utter darkness. He will be our light to guide us and keep our faith strong when we are in the midst of every trouble, weakness, and pain. What an incredible promise.


I love each of you and am so grateful for the support I feel! Thank you!

Sestra Abbott