Tomas Update: Week 19-20 in Žilina

Ahojte všetci! Sorry it’s been a while, we had a weird pday on saturday last week so I didn’t end up writing. Anyways, I’m low on time so I’ll just throw out the highlights:

Last Saturday we had a big ol zone pday, we learned how to play rugby and played some Frisbee and soccer. I was super muddy and also we got dog poop on the football but it was really fun! Then after we ate some Hawaiian food which was really really good. Such a fun day and I’m glad it all came together.

That Easter Sunday we actually had 3 people come to church too which was great, things are moving here along with our English classes (which are enormous right now) and the sisters here just getting work done. That and Banská Bystrica had 2 more baptisms this past Saturday! Change is in the air.

Had a really cool exchange with the zone leaders too, we talked to quite a few people in some random suburb of žilina. A man evil laughed when I complimented his dog, we watched a guy spit farther than I’ve ever seen, and ate lunch with tap Kofola in a bowling alley in a dying mall of all places. What a day. 

I made the family orange roll recipe and I thankfully didn’t mess them up too bad but they did not turn out like they usually do… Probably something to do with my lack of a rolling pin. Tasted good though! Also saw a trabant that day.

Then for pday just barely we went to Považská Bystrica to check out the castle there and also I bought a camera (again… But this time digital) for a really good deal. We will see if I keep it, if it’s not worth it I’ll just out it up for sale again. The ruins were cool there and the view was great.

Okay I think that’s like all I can really out together this week, I promise next week will be more normal. It gets hard to remember the more time goes by. Hopefully you’re all well, here is the photos link as usual:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qYoYaKPmkqFZHoVM7

S láskou, 

Starší Cundick 

Tomas Update: Week 18 in Žilina

Ahojte všetci! It’s been a pretty crazy week but I’m gonna have to write this one short as I’m low on time.

First off, things have been super good with elder Rigby and we have just been Goin for it on the streets and overall just pushing to make things move here. Also the sisters are working incredibly hard and overall it’s just been so cool to see how much stuff has changed already. Also we run together now which is pretty sweet. 

Tuesday was a lot of bein outside, saw some cool cars and talked to some people. Not a ton of note there.

Wednesday we got my film back and the pictures are all soo cool. Really haply with em and as usual the best will be in the mega album and the rest in the individual one. Also I took a pic with some random mascot guy.

Thursday was more of the grind and trying to find people, we also planned as usual and the goal is to find so many people that we run out of time to find more since we are doing too much teaching. It’s gonna take a lot of work but we got big goals!

Friday was a big one, basically we have been emphasizing Experimentation lately so we were going out and trying to use a picture of Jesus and ask who he was, but it wasn’t working and we were getting doors shut real fast. So we went and bought a pineapple and used that (religion can look kinda weird from the outside but it’s decent inside, like a pineapple) and people would open the door, look at us, look down at the pineapple, and then look back and keep the door open so we had a way higher not-getting-doors-shut-in-our-faces rate. Also we have bus passes now so we are out and about. Anyways the pineapple was fun and also pretty funny and now we have a pineapple to eat too…

Saturday we went to a car meet but it was already over, so we were kinda bummed but I saw a CRX with a Mugen wing at a gas station on the bus back so we stopped to take pictures and stuff. We then went back to the stop and chilled for a bit, still bummed we missed the meet. A guy came out of the Lidl behind us and started eatin his chocolate and then asked us if we believed in Christ. Basically we ended up getting g his number, giving him a book of Mormon, and he literally came to church to watch General Conference with us the next day and is already talking about how he could tell President Nelson is a prophet. Super super cool experience and he was literally just led to us, we were guided to the right place by the most random stuff and it just worked. Also as we were sitting there I was hoping we’d have time to talk to him and the bus that was supposed to be in 5min ended up passing us completely so we had an extra 20 to talk, really just another blessing on top of that. What a cool day.

Sunday was very nice, the highlight was two of our friends coming to watch Conference with us and having a great experience. I’m so glad they could make it and it was really cool to watch with them in Slovak! I got about 80% of the talks so I’ll run em again in English but I’m so happy we have them in our language.

Monday we headed out to Trenčín and ate at a really mid Indian restaurant (won’t be going back but I’m not gonna publicly roast them, they’re trying) and checked out the Castle. It was kinda weird being back in like a different context but also fun. We saw a goat there too, that was new. Overall it’s just a really cool castle and visiting Trenčín is always nice.

Okay I think that’s about it, hopefully you’re all well. Pineapple finding pics here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qYoYaKPmkqFZHoVM7

S láskou, 

Starší Cundick 

Tomas Update: Week 17 in Žilina

Ahojte všetci! Back at it again and STILL IN ŽILINA!! I am so excited to serve another transfer here, I love the area and its people. There are some big changes though: first off, I am now with elder Rigby (Noftle has gone off to Bratislava) and second, on Wednesday we are getting 3 sister missionaries here too so there will be two companionships, plus the Ottos! I wasn’t expecting that at all but it’s gonna be really good and I think things will speed up a lot. It will take some figuring out as I’ve never worked with another companionship around so I have no clue how it goes but things will be super different here.

Okay, besides transfers here is what happened:

Tuesday Noftle and I went out to get some surveys done in Bytča, a town close to žilina. There’s a really pretty castle there and the namestie is nice, also we saw a neat old synagogue. They also had ice cream open there so that’s my first Slovak ice cream of the mission! My budget better get ready for more of that as it gets warmer…

Wednesday was pretty tame and we did more surveys, also made a nice halušky batch that night along with a video of it. Not a ton else there to say.

Also a pretty average Thursday, we had a very nice last meeting of the transfer with our consistent Thursday member. We also planned pretty good that day in case both of us left.

Friday was a very nice day, actually pretty much this whole week has been soooooo nice out. We did more surveys, made fliers for the upcoming general conference, helped with the Bible project, and had a check in with Prezident Skousen. We ended up moving district council to make it work better for Trenčín.

Okay, Saturday was one of the craziest days I’ve had. That morning was the big ol transfer call where we found out where everyone was going, including the addition of sister missionaries here. Then right after that basically we drive out to Banská Bystrica for another baptism there, such a wonderful service, and it’s always nice to watch someone take that step toward Christ. Banská has been building some crazy momentum and I’m so happy and excited for them, things are going great there. Then after that we drove back home but stopped because the sunset in the valley was so pretty and took some pictures. You’ll see them in the album, we took quite a few. I’m glad I happened to have the tripod. After that we had our final district council and left each other with our final compliments which was a really sweet moment, and that was Saturday. We did so much I don’t even know how we managed. It was great though.

Okay, then Sunday we actually went to church twice. That morning we got up and I was all upset that the night felt short and then I realized it was daylight savings here and it actually was an hour shorter. Unfortunately almost no one came to church except one of our friends but it was good that we had it anyways. Also one of our ad referrals ended up going to church in Trenčín so that’s a win. After that we went to Banská again for church and they had the opposite problem-almost not enough chairs! It was nice to see that room so full of people. Then we headed back home, had dinner with the Ottos, and Noftle packed up.

That brings us to today – nothing crazy, just basically all of the elders coming through žilina so they could get to their new areas. It was nice to see everyone but I will miss elder Noftle. Anyways, now we’re just getting unpacked and set up, and the sisters will come in Wednesday. Also it was cold today weirdly enough but other than that it’s been like 13c most days!

Okay, that’s about it for me this week. I’m excited to keep pushing here in žilina and hope you’re all well. I guess I’ll keep the same album for another transfer, but it’s got like 800 pictures or something so who knows. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qYoYaKPmkqFZHoVM7

S láskou, 

Starší Cundick 

Tomas Update: Week 16 in Žilina

Ahojte všetci! A more chill week this week, and also this is gonna be the last email I write before transfers. Not sure what next week will bring or how stuff is gonna go down, but I’m excited for the future. Anyways, here’s what happened this week:

Tuesday was pretty rainy but we decided to go out and get those surveys done anyways. We went over to where one of our member families lives and visited them which was pretty nice, and then on the way back found a sick mural and also some spinny stuff. I haven’t been that dizzy in a while but I’m glad we checked out the park in the way back because on the way over the thought definitely crossed my mind. That evening we also cranked more on that Bible project (I’ve been accidentally reading Slovak words in a Czech way now) and had our English class. 

Wednesday was more surveys, we were out doing that for like 3 hours. Normally we don’t do these but it’s an initiative we have running for another week so expect more about em next email. We have hit the expected quota for young people and as such are now going for older people and they are way less willing do even scan the qr code. It’s been kind tough. But the sunset that day was pretty nice and I just can’t get enough of the námestie (like the main square) here, even though I’ve lived here for four months. We finished up the last of our Bible section that evening. 

Thursday we had the ottos, the senior missionaries in Žilina, come by and make sure we weren’t living in like bad conditions in our apartment. Then we went out to lunch with them and visited our weekly member and planned out the week like usual on Thursdays. That evening we had our weekly Bible club over zoom and had a nice discussion about the yoke of Christ in Matthew. 

Friday we had our district council with Trenčín elders, where we basically discuss how to move forward in our areas and what we can do. Then we hit the streets for some more surveys and called a bunch of our people that had responded to the ads the mission runs on facebook in the evening. Also that day I got my film back and it just looks so good. I might be sold on doing more black and white in the future, because some of those pictures are just incredible. Very happy and also my camera is fixed so the fabric paint thing worked and no more Christmas trees. 

Saturday was also a bit of an adventure, we headed out to an Eastern suburb of Žilina to visit a member who had been inactive for a while. He wasn’t home but we saw a lot of the outer part of the city that we hadn’t seen. There was also a neat display in a mall we walked through that had a фєд-4, the same camera that I have. It was soooo nice out that day and great to get out into the sun. 

Sunday was nice, I had a talk over the plan of salvation that I still write pretty last minute. Working on that. It went well though and we had 2 friends show up to church which was great. We also had a zoom meeting with a member in Prague who was gonna help us teach one of our friends here since they like the same philosopher (Kierkegaard). That went really well. Then more calls in the evening. 

Okay that brings us to Monday, we met up with Banská Bystrica and Trenčín (including the senior missionaries) and went out to a castle south of us called Lietava. It was pretty cool and also super nice out. We played chess against the guys that worked up there and took some good pictures, then headed back home. I started learning some card tricks and then we taught one of our friends that evening with the member from Prague. 

Okay, that’s about it. Here’s the link to the album as usual, including the new black and white film photos. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qYoYaKPmkqFZHoVM7

Hope you’re all doing well and enjoying the beginnings of spring! I sure am, it’s more fun to be outside when it isn’t trying to kill you. See you next week! 

S láskou, 

Starší Cundick

Tomas Update: Week 15 in Žilina

Ahojte všetci! The end of the transfer is coming up again which is crazy, next week is the last pday before transfers. Every week just goes by so fast that I really don’t know where the time is going! I figured it would be a lot slower out here but I was totally wrong. Anyways, here’s what happened this week:

Tuesday was my name day which was pretty cool. I think it’s the first time I’ve ever been in Slovakia for it and one of our friends have me a box of chocolates as a present which was legendary. Aside from that not a ton else happened but we did end up making a nameday Google calendar since none of the online ones we found were working.

Wednesday was a weird day. That morning I got up and baked my foccacia I started last night but I totally forgot to put anything on top or to poke some dimples in it and it definitely didn’t sit long enough in the fridge because it barely rose. Also we didn’t have any olive oil like I thought we did so I had to make it with sunflower oil. Despite all that it turned out pretty good and I’m happy with it, I’ll be making another this week with like real olive oil and some fixes. Anyways after that we hopped on to a train to Dubnica nad Váhom, a town just northeast of Trenčín, to help a member move and assemble a couch. The Trenčín elders would have done it but they were actually in Prešov that day so we helped instead. We ended up spending like 3 hours moving the thing upstairs and then assembling it with only hand tools and no manual. Cool couch though and the member was super thankful for our help. Also we got to chuck the old couch off the edge of the building so that was a plus. Anyways that was basically our day since getting there and back took a while and we had lunch there too.

Ok Thursday was pretty good, that day we usually visit a member who can’t make it to church in person every week but this week we actually visited two. It’s always really nice to visit them and great language practice because they’re so patient. Besides that we planned out for the next week like usual, and that was about it.

Friday was WILD. We had the Trenčín elders with us for an exchange and we went out and did our survey (we are kinda behind numbers wise in žilina) and me and elder Wagner actually ended up teaching two guys off the street a lesson in a restaurant which quickly turned into teaching like six guys, all from Košice weirdly enough. I ended up breaking off from the main conversation and having another conversation with one of the guys there and we talked abiut a lot of weird stuff. I’d like say something and then he’d agree and tell me how wrong I was but like respectfully? And then he talked about how the tower of babel is Iraqs fault and how Elon musks son is the antichrist. And a lot more than that but rest assured it was a really weird conversation and we were in that restaurant for literally 3 hours. That’s how life is basically – you plan something but then end up teaching six random guys in a sushi restaurant for 3 hours. RIP language study for Thursday.

Anyways Saturday was comparatively more chill. We were gonna go survey more but it was all nasty out and the streets are pretty empty Saturdays anyways so we called a ton of people and then helped out with the Czech Bible project. So for that the church has a scan of a 1904 Czech bible and a digital pdf of a “text believed to be very similar” and basically we gotta go through it verse by verse and compare what is different in the digital version so that we can make them identical and thus fair use or something. That hurts my head. I almost understand the Czech sometimes but like reading everything twice in a language I don’t even like 60% know is weird. We go through about two pages an hour. It’s fun though! Later that night we had our game night and played Bang! Me and one of our friends won and killed all the outlaws. A lot of the games we have are just in Czech as well so a lot of Czech that night.

Okay that brings us to Sunday, it was pretty good. Solid turnout for church (2 adults, 2 kids) although unfortunately none of our friends came. Me and elder Noftle played a cool arrangement of How Great Thou Art though which was nice. Rest of the day was studies and then we did more Bible stuff (we found two words that should have been italicized but weren’t!!!) and then dinner with the Ottos, who had received a big ol pot of borscht from one of their friends, a nice Russian couple. So pretty authentic there.

Here we are at Monday, basically we had Trenčín and Banská Bystrica come here. We played a round of Skull King (I won for the record) and we got all the stuff to make a massive batch of halušky and made and ate lunch with the Ottos. That was super fun and I am very full and have never seen that many halušky in one spot. Then I got shredded in chess by elder Osborne as usual. Also I got my new pros bag today so I’m excited to have a better bag this week. Anyways after that they all headed home and we went shopping and now I’m writing this email.

Hope you’re all well back home and doing cool stuff. It’s been great out here and I hit six months as a missionary in like 6 days so it’s been a bit for me even if it might not feel like it… 

Photos as usual:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qYoYaKPmkqFZHoVM7

S láskou, 

Starší Cundick