It was certainly a good week here in Jihlava. The Christmas markets are hopping, the sun finally shone for a little bit, and we even got to whittle a Christmas tree! We had some struggles while contacting people, but we were able to teach some good lessons.
One HOT Dog: I’m officially on the Pillar of Heroes at BurgerBára cause I ate a spicy hotdog. It was really spicy, but I eat fast. Now my picture is forever on their wall.
Whittling a Christmas tree: We had our branch Christmas party on Thursday! We really tried to get members to invite their friends and family, and a lot of them came! We played some fun games and sang some classic Czech Christmas songs. We also watched the Christ Child, which is a video our church put out about the birth of Jesus Christ. It’s an amazing video and if you haven’t watched it yet, I would highly suggest it. There are few things as powerful as the story of Jesus Christ, and I love the way it is portrayed here. A member bought a little Christmas tree on the town square, and then brought a little stand for us to put it in as well, however when we got there, we found out the base of the tree was way larger than what would fit into the stand. So, in typical Czech fashion, the members grabbed a kitchen knife and went to town. We shaved the base down all the way until it was small enough to fit into the stand. Czech people never cease to amaze me with their determination.
Teaching over texting: Unfortunately, both the people we were normally teaching had things come up in their lives that made it hard/impossible to meet in person, but we weren’t about to let that go. We kept up with texting them both. As they went about doing the things they needed to, we continued to teach over the phone, and one of them is now regularly reading from the Book of Mormon and attending church where he’s living now!
Well, those are all the stories I have for this week. The Christ Child video is truly amazing, it’s worth watching. Also, if you want to add a little Czech to your Christmas celebrations, you should try listening to the Czech carols that they sing here. They’re truly beautiful songs, and it’s always fun because all the Czech people know them and will sing along. They’re ‘Nesem Vám Noviny’ and ‘Narodil se Kristus Pán.’ I promise they’re good songs and you won’t regret listening to them.
-Starší O’Barr
