Finally! An Update!

Time flies by and then one day I realize I have not updated this blog for many weeks! Taylor is still happy and doing well. Here is the last part of his email from Sept. 10:

 

Saturday, not much. Another lesson with Lenka, it went well again. She didn't have a lot of time, so Elder Prymak gave a quick spiritual thought, then I talked a little more about it (agency by the way), and that was it. But it was really good, and she  was really impressed by it. After that, we went contacting for a bit because Veronika is sick and couldn't meet like we normally do, then sports day. Let's just make it known taht I am on a six game win streak in soccer, spanning three weeks worth of games. Also, it's interesting, as I go through a week where I see almost nothing from contacting, I still think to myself, but this is the week! We're going to find them this week. Why do I feel so optimistic? Don't know. but it's the Lord's work, and he's over it.

Sunday was awesome! Sister Krizova, the one with the ancient dog, came to church for the first time in way over a year! She was so happy and all the branch members were allstars in greeting her, making her feel welcome and so forth. And she absolutely loves the Mills. No wonder, they're fantastic. President came by taht afternoon on his way back from a place called Zilina in Slovakia, so the four of us who hadn't been interviewed were. I love President.

The letter should be on it's way soon! I'm sorry, letters take a long time. Also, yes, transfers are next week, so no email until Wednesday. 

I love you all, the Gospel is true. I agree with Savannah one hundred percent, why doesn't everyone get it? It's so clear, so simple.

Go Cougs!

 

After the Sept. 10 email we didn't hear from Taylor until Sept. 22. He was transferred from Ostrava to Prague to serve in the mission office. Here is how he felt initially about the change:

Draha rodino,

First off, yes. I am in the office. I can't say I was super excited about it, I dreaded coming here. I had totally convinced myself I wasn't going to be here, but here I am. I was bummed, and maybe I haven't gotten rid of that completely yet, but I understand. It means a lot more than computer work. President was quick to tell me that he only calls certain missionaries here. Not because we're better or worse, but because they have things they need to do in the future. I've also heard from other elders here in the office, me my comp and the APs btw, that when a missionary enters the field, President creates a two year plan for them. He sees where he wants them to go by the end, then already assigns them companions, positions, and areas to get them there. So, unless President changes his ways, which would be nice, I already know what I'm going to be doing for the next six months. And yes, I know I need a haircut. I'm getting one soon.

 

We did get a picture and that's how we knew he was in need of a haircut! His email was suuuppeerrrrr long, which was wonderful, but I won't try to fit it all here. He enjoyed his last days in Ostrava, went to a castle, found a great lady to teach, taught Veronika, the girl he baptized, one last time, and met with his other investigator, Lenka. He packed up and moved to Prague and got some whirlwind training and began his new assignment. The following excerpts are from his latest email:

His duties:

 

My duties include everything not encompassed in visa work and most computer things. I am the office manager. it's only me and my companion here, along with the APs. I order and distribute supplies, buy and sell cars, maintain them, and negotiate with people. It's interesting. I do have alittle time for proselyting, depending on the day. I love Milka. P-Day was pretty regular. We are going to check some stuff out today though. I'll take some pictures!

  

FYI:  AP's refer to two missionaries who are Assistants to the President--they work closely with the mission president. "Milka" is a type of European chocolate that Taylor loves and told us about. A friend of ours just returned from Germany and brought us Milka chocolate and yes, it is delicious!

 

Despite all of the office duties Taylor is doing, he will still be able to get out and teach every day. Here is his experience from last Monday:

 

So, Monday. Monday was a really good day. The best part about it was that we set up and had a lesson with the lady I found last week during district finding. Her name is Verka, she's probably late 40;s early fifties, actually I have no idea how old she is, and she is very accepting. She has really no religious background, so we have to teach extremely simply and go over things a couple times now and then, but she loves it. She especially likes hearing about Christ. We talked a lot about Him during the first lesson because her knowledge of Him was pretty nonexistent, and you could just see the Spirit touching her heart. She still doesn't understand everything, and things are very new to her, but she knows this is important and she knows it's what God wants for her. And she is on baptismal date. Other than that, I just got a ton of work done for conference and stuff, and some other office issues  They had to do with negotiating with a representative from an office supplies company we order from often. It involves finances, and I'm not budging! I'm not supposed to, I have very strict instructions. We are getting everything worked out though, and it's good.

And a couple more days....

 

Wednesday was training day. I always love trainings. Today's was really good. There are, as far as I have decided,  two kinds of trainings, and each training fits into one of the two categories for different missionaries. There are the feel good trainings, and the slap in the face ones. Feel good trainings are those when you go, take lots of great notes, and the Spirit is there, and you just feel like you can go out and do whatever. Slap in the face ones are the ones where President Irwin stands up and delivers a training that pinpoints the aspect(s) of missionary work that you as an individual need the most work on. The whole time, the Spirit is also there, but this time He says to you, "Are you listening? Do you realize that these are the things you aren't doing as well as you should be? Are you paying attention? What are you going to do better?" In case you haven't gathered, it was a slap in the face training. Way good, just what I needed. It's always good to go and get a little perspective, which is, thankfully what I was given. We also taught Jitka a lesson, the first part of the Plan of Salvation. Her and Verka are really the same person, just two bodies. Their situations are almost identical, the way they understand things, the things they struggle with, all exactly the same. It's crazy.

Thursday I took care of some more things in the office, namely ordering materials for our inventory from Church Distribution, and getting a bunch of office supplies as well. Well, I ordered them, but we don't have them yet. Then, we actually got to go contacting! We talked foreverrr with this girl, way cool, not interested. She had weird ideas about how there is no such thing as good or bad people because we shouldn't judge. Okaaay...whatever. Then we had a lesson with Verka, the one where we watched the Finding Faith video. It was great. After the film, we talked about prayer and it's role in accessing the blessings of the Atonement.

 

 

 

The Latest from Ostrava

 

A good week this week, no new investigators which is a real problem, but we had some really good lessons. Veronika is amazing. Just amazing. Miriam, her young friend who has a baptismal date, left her Book of Mormon at her Grandma's house, so she couldn't read. So Veronika read out loud to her. Incredible. She is an example, Dad, of someone who has had the Gospel sink into her heart and she is on fire to share it. It's awesome. Which reminds me by the way Mom, I don't get it either. Why doesn't everyone get it? Every doctrine of Christ's gospel gives hope. Every single one makes life better, easier to bear. There is no alternative that man can concoct that could provide more joy, or at least the potential for more, than the perfect plan of the Father. It is unfathomable to me.

 

Michal and Helena come to church almost every week. If they're in town and healthy, they come. I don't know if they have been at a baptism ever, they were both in a city called Liberec on the day of Veronika's. We watched the Restoration film with them, and it was great. It really happened you know. Joseph saw what he said he saw.

 

Lenka is in a rough position. School started today, and her son Tomas probably went without supplies. She doesn't have money to buy them, and his dad hasn't yet either, even though he promised he would. We taught her about hope, and it was great. She wants it, we're just working on helping her get it.

 

We had some really good lessons with Miriam, on frustrating, one where she refused to pray, but she prayed very willingly the lesson after that. We may end up moving her date, but it's far in the future, so we aren't worrying about it right now. We jsut want to make sure she wants to get baptized for the right reasons.

 

 

Wahoo!

Here are some excerpts from Taylor's wonderful email which we received this morning:


So. The big question. Was Veronika baptized? Well. YESSSSSSS! It was great. She is great. She's so solid. Elder Mills, the male portion of the senior couple here thinks she is the greatest person he's ever met. he seriously can't even talk about her without getting emotional. He is also one  of my favorite people ever. This week has been absolutely incredible, one of the best yet

  I love the living prophets so much. They are one of the biggetst testimonies to me of the truthfulness of the work. I recently started a very in depth study of every Conference issue I have. It will take awhile, but it's awesome.

Yesterday I was just thinking about how I don't ever want to come back. If you want, you can come see me in a year a nd a half or so. It's just too good. The thought of having to come back makes me scared. Because here, we are somewhat in the world, but we truly are on a completely different plane. I don't want to have to come back. Sorry.

Alright! This week was spectacular. May have mentioned that. It was spent planning the baptism, and fighting all the problems that came up, namely because of the branch presidency. It was a great service though. The water was freeezing, but the Spirit wasn't. One thing that I'm proud to report is that my spiritual sensitivity has increased. It's a great feeling. I've had what some may call a charmed life, and as a result I've nver really been pushed. It takes a lot of practice learning to rely on, listen to, and follow the Spirit. I've got such a long way to go. Thomas S. Monson is my role model in this. I don't know if I know anything as sure as I know that he is called, by God Himself, as a prophet to lead and guide us today. If you don't think people are prepared from their youth to serve, you study that man's life. Anyways, Veronika. She's awesome. I don't really know what else to say about her, but it was a pleasure and an honor to serve, teach, and baptize her.

The other major highlight of this week was the progression training, also known as greenie conference. Thursday we were in Brno for it, and it was the best conference I've ever attended as a missionary. So really ever. The best part was when the trainers all went into a separate room and talked with Elder Durrant, one of the Aps. We just talked about the importance of missions, our expectations for ours, and kind of a little testimony meeting. Let's just say it was powerful. One of my problems is more things run through my mind than I can say, so I really had to slow down, and let the Spirit guide my words. It was very powerful. pthe whole thing. I'm going to tell you though. This trainer thing is the hardest thing I've ever done. 

Sunday, yestereday, we also had some cool experiences. I gave three blessing in Czech. Before yesterday, I had given none. So it was somthing new. And great. Very simple blessings, of course, but I felt the Spirit with me still. Well, except for one. I'm worried about that. Veronika has a friend, who wanted a blessing for her youngest daughter. Which is great, except...she thinks her daughter has a devil. Because she SLEEPWALKS. So I didnt' have a lot of faith giving that blessing because I couldn't help but think it was a tad unnecessary. If sleep walking means you have a devil, Tanner...

Well, folks, thank you so much for everything, the emails, the package on its way, the ballot app inside, and especially your love and support and prayers. Love you all. Just remember this, you will never see the young man you put on a plane seven months ago again. He's slowly disappearing. If I don't come back completely changed, it wasn't enough. One of the trainers siad that one of the greatest things that made him want to go on his mission was the difference he saw in his older brother. It completely changed him, from a good kid to a powerful servant of the Lord. So, Tanner and Hunter, judge me when I get back. And here's how to prepare: Read every day, start now making your prayers more sincere and really find that relationship with you Father in Heaven. Do everything Mom and Dad say. They are wise. DO EVERYTHING. they have a reason for it all. Promise. The Church is true. 100 percent.

  This is the greatest experience ever. I know you've heard that from others, but it is so true. It is a refiner's fire, there's no point in sugar coating. But the spiritual blessings are worth it all. This is the work of the Lord, which He has given to us to do it. Let us all press on and do it.

Love,

Starsi Knapp

Catching Up with Taylor

 Here are a few paragraphs from the emails Taylor has sent in the past two weeks.

Okay, so the week in review. First of all, I am eternally sick of the train ride to Prague. It's no fun. Especially the fact that I've made it twice in the past two weeks, and it costs a load of cash. Not a fan of that. But, it's all okay because I am the proud companion of a greenie. He'll get his first taste of real Czech teaching tomorrow. It's gonna be great. He's Elder Prymak, from Woodbridge, VA. You may have gotten our picture. He's a pretty fun kid, and it's an exciting prospect. He speaks really good for someone fresh from the MTC, and he's going to be great. This is really one of those defining times in a mission, and if it applies to the mission, it applies to life. therefore, this is a defining time in both of our lives. Whew. I'm excited, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared. Just because I'm so young and it's a first time thing. Prayer is what we do. I'm not too worried, because I know where this call comes from.

Alright! It's been a good week. Slightly frustrating in that a few of our lessons fell through, but it was a good week overall. Veronika is doing great, she's totally going to make her baptismal date on Saturday. She's doing excellent. It really is a privilege to teach her. She bore her testimony in church yesterday, and it was awesome. Also really cool, we were at her house, teaching, and she had a girl there, 11 or 12, who has sat in on a few lessons before. Before we started actually teaching, she asked if she could come to church on Sunday. Ummm...yeah. You can. She said that she's seen a big change in Veronika since we started meeting with her, and she wants to try it for herself. Great! Then veronika said that Jana, the girl, was nervous about death because she doesn't know what happens after death. Well, conveniently we had a Plan of Salvation pamphlet in my backpack. Way cool. We'll meet her again on Wdnesday. 

Something real quick from a story President Irwin shared. Just because we have difficulties doesn't mean we're doing something wrong. Just because the path we have placed ourselves on has obstacles doesn't mean it's the wrong path. There was a man who felt that because medical school was so hard, God didn't want him to be a doctor. He found the story of Nephi and the brass plates and changed his mind. Life is meant to try us so that we can become better, even perfect. the only reason to actually change a path is if it is not inline with God's will, and will not lead us to His kingdom. Let us go forth in so great a cause.

 

s laskou,

 

Starsi Knapp

We sent Taylor a list of questions to answer. We thought we would share questions 7 and 9 along with his answers:
 
 What's the best advice you can give your siblings, particularly your brothers, at this point?

Study. Seek ye out of the best books. One of my biggest regrets is that I didn't read prophets' books before my mission. Also, SERVE. That is the lesson we learn from the life of Pres Monson and the life of Christ.

 What is the best thing a mission has done for you thus far?

Helped me realize what I need to do to get better. I have soooo much more to do, but already, the rest of my life has direction. A mission gives a unique perspective of personal potential, as well as a vision of how a life can and should be spent in the service of the Lord. One of my favorite things I've come up with, and you'll hear for years to come, is this: No one could ever make a list of all the things a mission prepares you for. A list like that would go on into eternity because that's what a mission prepares you for. A life time in His service and an eternity in His presence.

 

 Taylor is doing well. We did not hear from him last Monday because of transfers but he emailed us Thursday. He was excited about Veronika and Lenka, both investigators are progressing well. Veronika was scheduled for baptism this past Saturday. We don't know if it happened or not. Taylor sent a one-liner today to tell us that he is on his way to Prague and will send a real email on Wednesday. 

He is on his way to Prague to pick up his new companion who is fresh from the MTC. Taylor has been called to be a trainer. Here was his reaction to that assignment:

So, I am no longer with |Elder Clyde. Normally calls come on Monday nights, except for APs, office elders, and trainers. So, Sunday night, we get a call from President. Elder Clyde answers it, and starts to sweat. And say things like, "What? No way! Aaah...okay..." So yes, he's training. In a little town called Jicin. Oh, and then he says again, "What?!? Okay, here Elder Knapp. He wants to talk to you!" So. So. I'm TRAINING!!! Oh my gosh I'm freaking out. I have been in the Czech Republic for 4 MONTHS. And I'm training. My greenie had to have surgery in the MTC, so I won't actually get him until about two weeks from now. Actually, I am really scared, but also super excited. Elder Story is also training here, in Ostrava, and his comp is British. he talks like Bear Grylls.

 

So an adventure awaits Taylor! He'll do great. We are excited to hear from him in a couple of days.

Taylor and Elder Clyde at a castle.

Catching Up!

I'm slacking again in my blogging duties. Taylor is doing well and has had a few great weeks. His older sister returned from her mission in Paraguay and we are enjoying her home with us. We miss Taylor, but wouldn't want him here right now! We're glad he's where he is. And so is he, as you will see as you read on:

(June 25)
Waahooooo get ready. This is gonna be a good one. But first. Thank you for all the wonderful emails. Hearing about all the things you've been doing, along with our newly returned hermana, did not make me homesick, it made me realize that everything you all said is very true. This time is sooo short. It's already almost six months for me. I'm a quarter of the way done! It is very very hard sometimes, but as you once said, Mom, the days are long, but the years are short. I can't remember correctly, but I think yesterday I was at the creamery with Grandma, Grandpa, Tonya and Alison, but that may be wrong. |My memory is a little shaky. But I will tell you, and Dad and KAitlin both know this, nothing helps a misionary out like hearing the best news from their family. I feel your prayers and support. Even across the pond.

Taylor goes on to talk about two investigators, Veronika and Lenka. More on them later. First, here is a bit of Taylor's reaction to some emails he received from us. He also insists he will never leave the Czech Republic, but will stay there until he is an elderly man, too old to get married.

  Ahhh you all. I love you people. Your letters crack me UP. Emails rather. I haven't seen that letter Tanner promised...Is Emily still living there, or does she just visit to throw tea parties from time to time? Huh. I haven't heard from her for awhile. I hope she still has at least one hand with which to type. And thank you for your picture at the airport! May I just say: Some people look like they've been crying (Savannah, Mom, Kaitlin), some look a little impatient (Tanner, Emily) but really everyone looks happy to have Kaitlin back. What a fun time. Well, since I plan on being here for another 60 or 70 years, I don't know how we'll ever have that kind of experience. Maybe you can borrow Dallas for a minute and take some pics with him and pretend he's yours. Kidding.

Okay, so the week. We have two baptismal dates!!! Veronika and Lenka. Veronika is so solid. We weren't really worried about her date, because she's been asking about baptism long before we specifically extended the committment. She has had a very hard life, and is confident the Gospel will change everything for the better. She's right. She's hilarious, and we have a good time at lessons with her. Right now, her top two priorities are learn everything she needs in order to be baptized, and be baptized. Number three is get out of the Czech Republic as fast as she can. She really doesn't like it here. I think it's probably because of all the rough times she's had here, and she has a brother in New York, so she wants to go either there or England. She always asks us about visas and such, and we don't know anything about visas in English, let alone in Czech. But she understands.

Well, that's really about it. Actually, we did go to a castle. But no big deal. Hopefully the pictures work. THis computer is dumb, so I may have to wait to send pics until next week. Nope, not working. Anyway. I recommend to all, like I did to Savannah, to READ the words of the living prophets. They are the Lord's chosen to lead us here and now, and their words are meant exactly for us in our day. I know Thomas S Monson is a prophet of God. As Lucy Smith said, "We must seek for the knowledge that the world cannot give, nor take away." The only way to do that is through study and prayer. Also, I'm not sure if she actually said taht, it's just on the Restoration video. But it's still true! And so is this Church. I hate seeing people who are so unhappy, who I know could be completely helped and changed by this Gospel, but will not listen or give it a chance. There are a lot of unhappy people here, and still, so few are willing to listen. They truly believe that nothing can help them. Don't ever think that. It isn't true. Elaine S Dalton said, "Heavenly Father is only a prayer away, and the Holy Ghost is within whispering distance." it is so true. Again, I love you all, keep the letters and emails coming, cough cough, EMILY!

Well, we love him. He is doing great, is so happy, and.....very soon I will add some pictures!