Week 24: Your Reason for the Season?

 MERRY CHRISTMAS! Oh my goodness, this is the week. 

My reason for the season:

 Jesus Christ has given me so much, the little bit I can do is serve Him as a missionary.

Jesus Christ loved others unconditionally and perfectly, I can follow His example and love people I teach, other missionaries around me, my companion, everyone, with all my heart. When it's easy, but especially when it's not.💛

Jesus Christ is the light of my life. He's the light of the world (obviously 🙃), but He's the light of my world, and each of your personal worlds. And honestly, for me, it's not like His light just shines in and I think, "oh wow where'd all this light come from? Awesome, it's warm and I can see stuff." His light is always shining, but it's my decision to open the curtains or flip the light switch and invite Him in :) 

So, Merry Christmas to each one of you. And how can you open the curtains today? How can you let Christ's life shine a little brighter?

Also, why would you want to do that?

For me: more light=more joy 🌞 more light=more light to share with others. Why else are we here, than to feel joy and share it with others? 

Those are my five thousand cents, my little thoughts and testimony. I am figuring out my reason for the season every day, really. And I think that's OK :)

With all my love to each of you,

Sestra Call

Some cute Christmas art next to our apartment.

Sister Milich has been carrying around a spoon in her pocket for the last month and a half, we're convinced it will come in handy eventually.🥄

We had a big conference with all the Czech missionaries this week!! So look!! It's all the missionaries in the Czech republic!! So fun!🙃🤗🍦

Of course we have the MTC group. Our goal is to do a picture each time we get together for the next year till all the sisters go home :)

 

We also had a gingerbread making competition and we won! Not really, but we put forth our best effort.

And of course a really nice Christmas picture that I found :)

 

🎄🎁🎇🎉🎄🎄

Week 23: Cooold🤧 wotw

 A HA! As deceiving as it may be the temperature this week was actually surprisingly WARM. By cold, I meant that everyone is sick because I think it's just that time of the year and the sneeze, runny nose is going around :) haha. So funny 🥳 

This week was a little slow in terms of seeing our friends and teaching lessons because lots of people are not feeling well and are stressed with university finals! BUT! It was still a good week. I was feeling pretty tired today, but talking to my family and going to a MUSEUM made me really happy and helped so much:)

We met with our new friend named Temo and he had a lot of questions about life after death. It was so beautiful. He is so curious and wants to understand what's true. I asked him near the beginning of the lesson, "so, do you believe in life after death?" 

Temo says, "well, I'm not sure, but I want to."

Isn't that beautiful faith? I was a little bit blown away. 

I think I mentioned our friend, Amen, who wants to be baptized in January. He has the same birthday as my dad!!! And their birthday was THIS LAST WEEK. Happy Birthday, Dad!!! Happy Birthday, Amen!! Anyways, on Sunday we were calling Amen and it was great. And he says to us, "I'm just thinking about my baptism so much and trying to prepare as best as I can". 

Suffice it to say that everyday I feel so honored to be a missionary. To be a part of these people's lives who are trying to prioritize what's most important and change their lives to be more like Jesus Christ. I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is worth it. I know He understands everything we go through, whether good or bad.

I hope you find moments of joy this week :) I love you all!

Love, Sestra Call

A little bit of a photo dump but the museum was AWESOME. Featuring, my new pet penguins, my army of bats, and my variety of bird friends. Also, just the entrance to the museum was beautiful.

Christmas time around Prague!!

A pretty sunrise that brightened my morning.

Learning how to tell time in Czech!

                                   

The video is some really stinking cheese our friend Denis wanted us to try 

Week 22 WOTW: Christmas

 AHOJ!!! Hello!! Happy Monday to each of you 💛🌞 

Christmas moments!!!

1) I've definitely been singing Christmas songs to myself in the mornings because it's that time of the year :) 

Ok that's basically my only Christmas moment, here are other thoughts on my mind this week :)

First, sacrifice is amazing. I'm grateful for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and I'm realizing more and more that each sacrifice we make to follow Him seems so hard for a moment, but, in reality it's nothing compared to what He did for us. 

We are teaching an amazing friend named Amen and he's making big sacrifices so he can get baptized and it makes me so happy and amazes me every day. I love Jesus :) and He loves you. 

Second, most of the time people are harder on themselves than you could ever be on them. I've judged other missionaries I'm working with before or people in general the past few weeks and I realized this week that almost 100% of the time what people need to more love, not criticism. So, I was really grateful for that lesson from Heavenly Father who always loves me.

Please everyone is you have the time, please look up What Shall We Give, tabernacle choir Christmas video. It brought me so much joy this week. What will you give to others and to the Savior this Christmas? 

With all my love, Sestra Call

Talitha and Sister Velechovska

Talitha and Companion, Sister Milich

Prague

Nina and Jiri

District Fun: Sister Hagberg, Sister Peterson, Elder Shoepf and Elder Woodland and Talitha and Companion

Week 21 WOTW: Others

 Oh hey there :) I really hope you are doing splendid(ly?). Everyone almost always has a storm they're dealing with so my prayers are with you and my hope is that the learning experiences are going well 💛☀️

Others. Something I should always be thinking about but sometimes I'm better at it than other times 🤷‍♀️🥴 this week though, there were a lot of gentle reminders from God that true joy comes from looking outside of myself 🤗 (I'm using a lot of emojis today in honor of Sister Kim)

I don't actually have time to walk you through the moments this week but I just have to say that when the going gets tough and even when the going is fantastic, serving others and looking out for them works miracles :) 

I read in the Book of Mormon this week about Nephi's vision of our world and the birth of the Savior and all things good and bad seemingly!! I know He was grateful for all of it and I am too!!

I love you all!! Veselé Vánoce (Merry Christmas) because now we can say that ALL THE TIME so I'm going to do it!!!

I'm learning so much here and enjoying the people here so so very much. They are filled with LOVE 

Love, Sestra Call

Our church building!! One of the Kniha Mormonova during communist times so it could be smuggled in as a Karl Marx book!! 

An otter we found!!! Our friend!! That's Starší Woodland speaking with it! I will send a pic of my district next week sooorrryy!