Sister Kane 07_28_2014

What miracles we saw this week!!!

Sister Seninger and I set a goal at the beginning of the week that we wanted to be able to teach more this week than we did the last week we had training. Because we are in Kosice, that means anytime we have training we are out of our area for 2 days (traveling on the train takes about 8 hours). We were able to exceed our goal this week! Definetly saw the hand of the Lord in the work

Last night as we rode home in the bus (we had just been at the hospital to visit a former invesgator who is ill) there was a young guy sitting next to me. Headphones in. Music screaming loud. He was reading something on his ipod in a language I didn't recognize. Got up the courage to just talk to this guy. "hey! What's up? how are you? who are you? what are you doing here?" typical ya know?

Turns out he speaks hungarian, but he's slovak. (a lot of the older generation here speaks hungarian and russian) He was super excited to speak english with us. But then the conversation turned a little more spiritual, as it normally does and should with every missionary. We asked about God and he bluntly stated "there is No way I believe in God." sister seninger and I were surprised because most people here are catholic and fairly believing, if not practicing. "okay, well why not?" usually thinking it takes a bit more digging to find out a persons need. He quickly responded "because everyone I loved died." whoa. Okay blunt and open. We then were able to begin talking with him about the plan of salvation. testifying that we know there is life after death and that God lives and does love him. He smartly responded "and what proof do you have?" we responded "we know, because know. We've asked God." he was shocked that we didn't pull out anything to try and "prove" anything to him but rather that we were just testifying from our hearts. He was very very dark. Soooo angry at God. But the spirit was there. One day he'll be ready. I love telling people that God loves them. The world needs to hear it more.

CRAZIEST thing ever. So our investigators that live in kralovce - their whole entire family was in town from france! So we went out to visit them and you'd never guess but their french family? Apparently they're already members. Have been for 3 years. Nobody knew. Small world! I spoke with the one man, "frank", for a long time. BOY IS MY FRENCH RUSTY. but he's going to teach with us next week and we challenged him to talk with his family about the gospel before we come back. Their Roma community is just like entering another world. Here in kosice there are the giant cathedrals, and the architecture that is hundreds of years old. There are singing fountains, and men carryings their money purses, people strollin up and down in street dressed to the 9s. Out in kralovce its different. There, houses are made from concrete with scrapped together floors. Their water is drawn from a community well. Yet they have computers and T.V.s in their living rooms. While children run around outside, our investigator is standing at a giant table piled with "goya" a.k.a. goat intestines. As she's cleaning them, flies buzzing all about and I am thinking to myself "there is NO way no way that they are actually going to eat that. That can't possibly be real?!?" but they do. whoa. We really have SOOOOOOOOOO much to be grateful for in our lives. There is SOOOO much that we have been given.

Also GREAT story. one of their sons I guess a pastor approached him and his friends (he's 8) and asked him about prayer. This little boy is quite animated and has some funny attitude :) he said "of course I know how to pray. What, you think I don't know how to talk to God? I talk to God every day and I do it in my own words. And my mom goes to church every sunday." then I guess he showed the pastor how to pray and soon all of his friends were saying "we want to pray like that too!!" and I guess he taught all his classmates how to pray. haah i wish I could have been there to see that. Gotta love kids :) funniest teachers ever. 

This week as I was sitting at my desk studying, I thought about prayer. How can we help so-and-so to understand the importance of gratitude in prayer? I thought about my brother Sam. I remember as a family, my mom would always call us into her room to say family prayer. No matter what my brother was praying for, he would always begin each new phrase with "thank you". He would say things like "thank you that tomorrow we can have a good day, thank you that we can travel safely, thank you that we can not fight." I often thought "Sam, if you're asking for something you actually need to ask for it, i.e. "bless us to not fight" or something likewise, you can't say thank you it hasn't happened yet." Only now do I realize the important lesson to be learned from my younger brother. Gratitude is the essence of effective and healing prayers. I am thankful for his example of never forgetting to "thank God" even when I am asking for something. 

On another note -
I am thoroughly convinced that we cannot live the lives we ought to live without daily application of the atonement of Jesus Christ.

 32 Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven;

Each and every one of us - we have a promise from the Lord that as we repent and keep the commandments the Lord will not withold forgiveness from us. We should not withhold forgiveness from ourselves.

This week we had training in bratislava. We were encouraged to increase our faith, and get rid of traditions. To change and "leave the laban camp and enter camp nephi" to become all that the Lord has designed for us to become. We were asked to inclued baptism and confirmation in every contact and in every lesson and in every conversation. It has been SOOOOOOOOOOO cool so far as I have been doing this to see how quickly people open up to the message of the restoration just because we are being SO FRANK with them. It might sound abrasive when I say "we walk up to people and tell them we're missionaries and want to baptize them" but that's exactly what we do, because why? Christ said "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." (matt 28:19) 

We were able to have interviews with president and he taught me a beautiful lesson about scripture. I asked Pres. McConkie which was his favorite scripture? He told me that he does not have one - but that he likes various scriptures for various reasons. As he continue to explain, I noticed a theme. All the scriptures he referenced, where scriptures he had used in some experience or another to help another person. He liked such and such a verse because as a bishop he saw it change so-and-so's life, he liked such and such a verse because it helped this investigator overcome a concern, so on and so on. How beautiful. The scriptures we come to know and learn - we can use to help those we know and love.

I love you all! Have a wonderful week!