A slower, but better week (Week 14 in Ostrava)

So it's been a slower but better week. In all, we taught only a handful of lessons, found a new investigator, and worked really hard to get that accomplished. People come and go on vacations, people are out and about but not particularly interested in what we have to say, and overall the work is going rather slowly. At the same time, however, the intensity of what we've been putting on the line has been much higher. We're working harder, smarter, faster, more effectively than ever before. I feel very pleased with my performance this last week, and already see how I can improve to make what we're doing reach a new high. Last week, for instance, we hit 60 hours of czech speaking. We're still shooting for something in the 80's, but 60 is the highest we've made it this transfer. When we go out to find, it is always with a prayer in our heart, a vision in our minds, and the absolute best we can offer to people on an individal basis with the best czech we can speak.

 

Ultimately, I'm seeing how when we put out our best but our expectations are still not met, it only means that we just get to wait a little longer. I think of patience as an ingredient in a cake or something. It's like when you beat air into batter. It needs to be there, but you can't see it. It's the same as throwing that batter into the oven to make it into what it's meant to be. If yo just ate the batter, it would be nasty, if not unhealthy. Those extra 30 minutes at 350 degrees makes it so much more rewarding.

 

I trust my parents have posted some photos that illustrate the slowness we've had here lately. Even still, I'm hopeful and feel very confident that we are just waiting and being prepared to focus all our efforts on someone or something very significant. I guess if we were teaching 30 lessons a week and had a huge teaching pool, we just might miss the one that really matters for us right now.

 

I was planning on finishing a letter to my friend Nate this week. Unfortunately, I've heard that he's already packing for Philladelphia. If he is, I wish him luck. If not, I'd finish that letter by saying that it all comes back to emulating the Savior and, equivalently, our Heavenly Parents. All of us, whether we believe it or not, are sons of God. If he's the king of the universe, that makes us princes and princesses of consequence, but we only have that divine birthright when we remember who we are and act like it. Therefore, being the best children we can be and emulating our parents in heaven, following the example of our older brother Christ (who really was and is just "on his father's business" and was showing us His example anyway), we can make the most of our lives in every way. That's how I find the most success and satisfaction, and that is how it's meant to be. Be like Him, and you'll not have any problems when everything is said and done.

 

Good luck this week! I look forward to hearing about your successes and sharing some of mine next week.

 

Elder Brent Anderson