First week in the big city of Bratislava! What a beautiful, beautiful place. I really thought that no place could live up to the magic of Košice but I was so wrong! There are beautiful colored buildings everywhere, the Dunaj (Is this Danube in English? Not sure on that one, I cannot remember) and castles and beautiful sunshine. It is nothing like February here, and I am happy to not be bundled in scarves all day, finally with a little color on my face. And I love Sister Eggers! Really we are doing missionary work all day erry day and having more fun than ever doing it. And, I am in a huge missionary district! It seems like I am with the whole mission when we have district meetings! There are four elders, a senior couple, and us two sisters here, and wow! It is incredible! I feel so supported.
Things to be found in Bratislava:
1) Still drunk people, but not half as many as in Košice.
This week started off with a drunk man, as always, who began to yell at us and say "Sisters! Sisters!" Which was a little strange, since we did not know him and he was speaking english (PS, so many people speak english here, and I literally never know what to do when I have to speak in english. It is so confusing.) So he says, "Sisters! I have a problem. Come here. Come here" Timidly, we peek at what he is showing us, and he is standing in front of a shop window and pointing at a T-shirt. "I have a problem," he says, "I really like this T-shirt." We just about died of laughter.
2) Atheists!
My favorite people. It is so weird to contact so many people who do not believe in God. Coming from Košice, where probably a good 98% of the city is Katholic and the 2% who are not are international medical students, this was a pleasant surprise for me. Nothing solidifies my testimony more than the sadness I feel when I am talking to someone who thinks they are above the knowledge of God, or some other higher power. We talked to a man for forty five minutes who, when asked how he recognizes when something is right or wrong, responded with a twenty minute answer about the physiology of the human body and how information is transmitted into it. Testifying of God brings the spirit so strongly in these contacts--stronger than I have almost ever felt before. "Boh je", and will always be, and always was, and He is the reason why we are all here! Ah I love it. It is so exciting to me.
3) International people
From all over! Every country you can think of! Our less active we teach, Sanja, is from Croatia, and is so wonderful. There are English translator things at church for people where they can put the headphones on, and one of us translates english for them into a microphone during sacrament meeting. We ran into a man who was a little crazy, and said he was a "World Citzen". He came to game night and threw a lot of crazy questions at us. And there are all these different restaurants all over and not just kabobs and pizza! A whole new world.
There are more things, such as trams and busses and beautiful churches and bridges and ping pong tables in parks and really good restaurant halušky and parks every where and lots and lots of panelaks in the suburb we call Petržalka...ah. It is so beautiful.
This week was also a bit of a celebration. Sister Eggers turned 20 on the 20th (Also my brother´s birthday, S.O. Happy 18th) and I made her a beautiful cake. So terrific. With raspberry frosting and sprinkles. And we had chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, and chicken carbonara for dinner. My life revolves around food, so...
On saturday, we had a bit of a Halušky adventure. We overdosed on what could possibly be the most filling food on the face of the earth. After going to get a bus pass for sister eggers*, We went to the Slovak Pub and ate wonderful halušky for a filling lunch in the city. Afterwards, we went to visit our sweet, sweet, relief society president. As we walked into her apartment, we smelt (yes, smelt) a familiar smell...
And yes, fifteen minutes later, we had a second and third bowl of Halušky. Our stomach linings were stretched to such enormous capacity that they were nearly nonexistant. I felt that all of my intestines and organs were made of the small, squishy potato noodles and my blood had dissolved into a bowl of bryndza. Needless to say, I looked a little like a beached whale afterwards.
But at least it was halušky! My favoritest food!
*Sister Eggers´ wallet bol strateny. Was lost last week. So we are surviving off my wallet. Such adventures, such adventures.
Lastly, I think, This week I finished the Book of Mormon! Ah. My testimony has already been confirmed so many times by that little book of all knowledge and wisdom. But actually. I can testify "Sto percent!" That this book is true and was written by prophets of God. It is another Testament of Jesus Christ, and really will bring you closer to Christ every time you look into its pages. If there is anything I know, it is that reading the Book of Mormon with a sincere desire to know of the truth will lead you to any answer you are looking for. Seriously. Važne. Naozaj. The plain and precious truths found in her pages build testimonies more than any deeper doctrine or scientific evidence you can find. The faith I feel when I read helps me more than anything else in this work. I love that book!
Anyway, but actually, I do, and I love missionary work and the people here in Slovakia! I really wish I could be here stale...
Love and pray for you all! Have a wonderful next few weeks preparing for conference and easter!
Sestra Abbott
PS I forgot my camera cord. I am really really sorry. Life sometimes is lame. But I have some great pictures! Imagine 1) Red sun coming over the horizon 2) Huge pink birthday cake
Actually that is all i have hahah so you will have to wait until next week
No comments:
Post a Comment