Expectations and Personal Victories (Week 15 in Ostrava)

Hello Everyone!

So, not a whole lot to report from this last week. Still working on language levels, still speaking czech, still spending a lot of time finding new investigators, and still enjoying the humid heat of Czech weather. You would never guess that thunderstorms would suddenly appear, drop enough rain to fill the roads with water (literally), and then suddenly vanish, leaving everything wet and everyone gone.

I think that we've been spending a lot of time talking about expectations, goals, and how to make that happen. We actually have a zone conference this week that will probably address a lot of these things, so hopefully we'll be able to improve our capacity on the coming week. What I find interesting is that it's the personal success that matters more than the external success in many instances. For instance, if a missionary is going through the motions of missionary work but doesn't have his heart wearing the nametag too, what does it matter? Conversely, when we are absolutely committed to our labors wherever or whatever we are, even when it's hard, we suddenly become really effective at working miracles. For us in Ostrava, we've been having a lot of personal victories recently. Spending extra time finding, skipping or shortening mealtimes to try and sacrifice just a little bit more, improving our hours of speaking czech to all-time highs, and almost literally talking to everyone. On the outside, you can measure the results as somewhat dissappointing. But, on the inside, who can say that we didn't see success? I'm personally performing better today than I was last week, or last month. In the face of another week that will probably have a lot of time looking for people to teach, I'm still hopeful that we will find, that we will teach, and that, in the last three weeks, we will baptize. That's the promise of missionary work - you pay the price, you get the results. Indeed, that's the promise we get from the Lord too. You pay the price, you get the reward. I think it's funny how so many people in this world expect something for nothing. When you look at how many people believe, for instance, in free salvation, nothing after this life, or reincarnation, they're really just saying they want something for nothing. I think it's a profoundly beautiful thing that what we teach people is based upon personal sacrifice. The atonement is universal and infinite, but it does not work if we don't follow the instructions. It's almost like someone being given a bag of groceries, setting it on the table, and expecting to be fed. You've got to work, prepare, and make it happen first. I personally think the best foods are those that take an extra mile of preparation and care and skill in order to be ready. Svickova, the national food here, is like that. You can spend days getting it ready, and then several hours slow cooking your meat with the vegetable sauce. In the end. however, it's some of the best food you've ever tasted. The gospel is like that too. When we follow the instructions, learn what we need to become, and then do it, we can't help but get the blessings.

I think the one neat thing about personal victories is that, when we invest ourselves fully and don't hold ourselves back, when we really put ourselves out and do what we have set out to do, not only can you expect the best but you can expect your expectations to still be high.  I know mine certainly are, and I feel that they are perfectly justified. And if they don't turn out, I can't say that I sold myself short a few cents. Indeed, I can almost say that I have positive credit and just need to wait a little longer to see the results delivered. Discouragement comes from unmet expectations, including self-expectations; if we're doing all we can to be our best self, who can ask for more? I know I can't.

Ultimately, it's been a good week for me. I'm feeling a lot more like a functional missionary instead of just a greeny, and the future has never looked better. Here's to a killer good week!

Elder Anderson