Travel Day

Elder Hruby is officially leaving the MTC for the Mission Field. We got a little surprise email from his travel day. We are so excited to hear about his first week in the actual Mission Field!

In the midst of traveling and found the best things on earth... Wi-Fi and McDonald's! Love you guys

With love,
Elder Hruby

Week 3: My Favorite Place on Earth (MTC)

Surprise everybody!!!! President Bunker gave us permission to email today since we don't when the next time we will get to email will be. It's crazy to think this is my last time emailing you guys from the mtc. I love this place with all my heart. The weather has been amazing almost the whole time we've been here! I've never felt more joy before in my life then while I've been here. I'm surrounded by people whom I love and wish I never had to leave. I thought nothing could come close to how hard leaving home was, but these people are making it a close second. I continue to be in awe of the fact that I'm able to grow so close to people in less than three weeks. Like how does that even happen? I continue to believe I was friends with my district in the pre earth life and heavenly father told us If we were faithful he would allow us the opportunity to be reunited during our time serving him.

I guess I'll tell you guys about my week a little bit then.

Tuesday was one of the best days of my life. We met a man named Michael while in town who approached us. We talked with him for about an hour about life and his beliefs. He was baptized 17 years ago and has struggled on and off. We got his contact in the hopes of having the opportunity to teach him later in the week. After that I had my first fish and chips at a local store. It was the best thing ever and everything I could've ever imagined! I think I'm in love.

On Wednesday we had exercise time and I lifted and then played ping pong. And when I say ping pong I mean dominated like I use to dominate grant back in the day. We had class in the afternoon with the worst teacher here. He makes me want to sock him square in the face but I'm practicing my Christ like attributes of patience. I called Michael on this day and tried to set up an appointment with here at the mtc but we didn't know whether or not He was gonna come. We had a devotional this night with president bunker discussing the law of chastity. We talked about post mission things which was strange considering we just got here, but still very valid things to discuss.

Thursday I played some nice dunkball during our exercise. I was throwing down on some kids which always feels great. Makes me feel like I'm back home playing church ball with the boys every Wednesday night! Got nice and sweaty which I needed cause I haven't really gained weight here but my stomach says otherwise. When were sitting down to eat lunch Michael, from town on Tuesday, showed up! I honestly didn't think he was going to come but he did! I talked with him for over an hour about life and just talking about Christ. I really think he just needed somebody who would listen to him. We gave him a book of Mormon and asked him to pray about it. We're gonna give his info to the missionaries in his area since we are leaving. We taught another lesson to a new investigator that night named Jeffery. He's from the Philippines and we taught him about the restoration.

On Friday I played more dunkball and continued to ruin kids hopes and dreams. After lunch we had infield orientation which is basically just trying to get us ready to leave. We taught Jeffery again and invited him to be baptized. He accepted! Like I said before even though it's not real it feels soooo good!! At night we got to teach real members from around the area who volunteer. We talked to a girl named Christi and just got to know and shared a quick message.

Saturday was similar to Friday. We had orientation again and taught Jeffery at night. To finish class off we talked about why missionary service isn't easy. The eternal salvation of individuals is not something that comes with ease. We also talked about how Christ was rejected all the time during his mission so why would it be any different for us.

Today was one of the best days of church I've ever had. The theme of sacrament was temple and family history. I love this place with all my heart. I felt the spirit so strong and I felt the prompting of the spirit say to me "It's true" such a little thing , but something I needed. The closing song was families can he together forever. It brought tears to my eyes. It brings me so much joy knowing I get to be with my family forever.

I love you all so much. I'm really doing it. I'm actually headed to the field on Tuesday!! It makes me so sad to leave these people I have grown to love so much, but I know there are many waiting for me to find them. Not sure when I'll be writing next but just know I love you guys forever!!

With love,
Elder Hruby

Week 2: MTC

What is up my dudes? Another one down and only 102 to go WOOHOO! There a couple of things I will tell you before getting into my week. First, Much love for all the packages. Everyone here gets so jealous because I am like the only one that has gotten anything since we have been here... sucks to suck for them. Second, and probably the most important, I found out that my P-Day in the field will be Wednesdays. I don't think I will be able to email next Tuesday because we will be traveling that day, so I am not sure if I will get to email the following day (Wednesday) or not. I know you guys are not used to that and will take some getting used to, but I am very happy its on Wednesday. They say it is super nice to have it in the middle of the week, so I am sorry it's inconvenient for you guys but you can suck it up. On another note I LOVE my district. Like it's hard to put into words how freaking awesome they are. It actually is kinda scary because most people don't like the MTC and can't wait to get to the field, but I love it so much and those around me that it will be hard to leave them and go to the field. The lord provides a way though so no worries. Now for my week...

Tuesday: After emailing you guys our district walked into town and just did some exploring. It was so cool to see what real England is like. We went to a little market and just walked all around. Other than that we just hung out and then it was back to normal classes that night.

Wednesday: Had my most successful study time since being here this day. Sister Lance and I memorized all the 42 gospel principles in our study time which was pretty neat. During our exercise time we went and played some volleyball which was litty. Our district absolutely dominated, as always. Elder Murtonen was a Finnish stud when it comes to volleyball. We taught a lesson to our investigator, Kyle, and at the end we invited him to be baptized. He said Yes! Although it is fake it felt so real. It was also really cool because we were the first ones here to get an investigator to commit to baptism! That night we had a devotional and the are seventy and his wife brother and sister Tunnicliffe spoke to us. They talked to us about how to be good missionaries. One of things they said that stuck with me was "You've had eternity to prepare for your mission and you'll eternity to ponder it, but you only have two years to live it... so live it!" I guess when you put it that way it really makes you realize how short of a time you are really out here serving.

Thursday: We had the good ol fashion service today, AKA cleaning. It actually is nice because you are doing something different. During our exercise time we played some basketball and volleyball. It was great to work up a sweat. We learned lesson three in the afternoon which is the "Gospel of Jesus Christ. We taught a new investigator named Mohammed who is from Iran. He has a super interesting and sad story. We just got to know him and briefly talked about the Restoration.

Friday: We got to go on a church history tour today! It was so cool to see where the church started here in the UK. We got to go the where the first baptisms happened and we got to see Gordon B. Hinckley's first house here. We had choir practice in the afternoon which is always a good time. We taught Mohammed again and talked to him about the Plan of Salvation/Refiner's fire and taught him how to pray. We also practiced contacting on trains which was really entertaining and a good time.

Saturday:We had service again this day. Gotta love it! During our exercise time I did some lifting and then some epic ping pong of course. We had the coolest teacher this day. His name was Elder Peal. We did knocking since it was a new teacher and ended up teaching a guy named Alex who was 19. The rest of the day was just regular classes.

Sunday:Sunday's are the best in the MTC. I spoke in Sacrament meeting! I talked about how we, as missionaries, got to where we are today due to the Holy Ghost. It went really well... I think. In Sunday school our district talked about what our mission plaque scripture was and why. For Priesthood we talked about the Book of Mormon and how it is the keystone of our religion. And then the best part of the day... NAP TIME. BLESSSS UPPP!!! It felt so nice. We took our group picture of everyone at the MTC and then we had a devotional. During our devotional we talked about the power of the Holy Ghost and watched a talk given by Elder Bednar. He told some pretty cool stories of how the Holy Ghost affected him and how you can't worry about if it is just you or if it is the Holy Ghost. During FHE I freaking killed it and won so many different prizes. The haters were hating that is for sure. I wrote in my journal this night "I LOVE MY DISTRICT".

Monday:We went to Manchester again! It was gloomy out so people were not happy at all. It was a very tough couple hours until the very end. After a quick prayer with Elder Murtonen we found two really cool guys who talked with us for a while. One of them was from Finland, so Elder Murtonen talked with him for a good while! After we got back it was back to the classrooms. We taught this guy who I think was trying to act special so that was entertaining to say the least! We learned lesson 4: The Commandments.

Tuesday: We went to the temple again this morning which was amazing as always! After the temple we walked to the bookstore to see what kinda of goodies they had. We are gonna head into town again today and get some fish and chips as well as maybe some shopping! I'll let ya know next time!

Extra: Well I am not sure when I will be emailing you all next, but I just love you guys so much. It is crazy to think that the next time I will be in my first zone in the field! It is actually happening! I love you guys so much!

UPDATE: We just got back from market and it was the best thing of my life. This random guy came up to us and just started talking to us and we talked for like 45 minutes. It was the coolest thing ever! We got his number and we are gonna talk to President Bunker to see if we can meet with him on Thursday! It's the first real thing I've gotten to do. He was the sweetest guy who was baptized 17 years ago but I think he had a really bad experience with the missionaries teaching him. He kept asking if we were gonna call him and if when we said how much we cared for him and how cool he was if we actually meant it. I'm so excited!!! Also I'll send you pics from this week.

With Love,
Elder Hruby

Mama Stef coming in clutch with the Amazon UK goodie package

Basic English Missionary

My whole MTC group - I love these people!

Week 1: MTC

Well there are all the things to tell, so I'll try to get it all down in words rather than just my head. I think I'll start by giving an overview of the people and such and then tell you about each of the days.

I have the weirdest, goofiest, smartest companion out there! His name is elder Murtonen. He's from Finland and is so weird but like the good funny weird. Never does he not have a smile on his face... he loves everything! The things he says and just his mannerisms make everybody laugh. We live with two other elders, elder Jones (Alaska) and elder Bakke (Germany). The four of us together is bad news bears. It's a party all the time. The rest of our district consists of four sisters: sister lance (Utah), sister Jenkins (Utah), sister Medina (Peru), and sister Schifmann (Germany). We have a pretty diverse group but we all get along really Well. It's probably cause we all like to have fun unlike other people. I've also never done so much singing in my life. My district loves to sing, even though we are all terrible. The whole district joined the choir... I know I am back in choir woohoo! We've had like six different teachers because our teacher got the flu and hasn't been here so that's kinda suckky but it's all good. We've actually had more days without rain than we've had with which is like unheard of! The food is pretty good, except breakfast... that sucks here. And by sucks here I mean that there really isn't any. It's basically just yogurt, but hey you win some you lose some. The other crappy part is the gym, or what they call a gym I guess. It's smaller than most hotel gyms I have ever been in but good thing I brought those bands because the elders love watching me "get some", as we call it, at night in the room while I get swoll. Well there's the general stuff so I'll tell you about the week now!

On Wednesday when we arrived we took care of all the little things we had to when we got here like orientation and those kinds of things. I then went and unpacked. Once that was done we had a couple hours to ourselves so I went and lifted, or attempted to in the"gym". After I got a pump all of us from the American flight went to the stake center and played some basketball which was pretty fun. Everything was a blur because we were headed on 48 hours of no sleep.

Thursday consisted of the worlds longest day. We met our districts for the first time and our teacher, well at least for that one day. We had a workshop where we watched a mock investigation where we got to kinda see how they go and we got to get involved with it as well. We talked with a girl who had triplets but one of them died a couple weeks in. We talked to her about the eternity of families and one of the sisters read the song families can be together forever. Myself along with many of the sisters were holding back tears, because it just makes you think of your own family and how amazing they are and how happy it makes me knowing I get to live them forever. Later that night Elder Murtonen and I taught our first lesson to a man named Rumi from Uganda. We taught him the Plan of Salvation and it went way better than I would have ever expected. The rest of the day was just more classes... my fav.. said nobody ever.

Friday starts the same as everyday with years of personal and companion study. After that we got changed and loaded up in vans and got to go to a local park and played some football (it kills me saying that and not truly meaning football). It was nice to get outside for once and get some fresh air. We had some pretty dank fried chicken which was basically just chicken nuggets, but I was not mad. We had choir practice in the afternoon. That night we got taught lesson one, the Restoration, which we then studied and did role play. We had to teach it in less than 60 seconds.

Saturday we had two hours of exercise time. I lifted a little in the gym and then played some ping pong with the other elders. Elder Murtonen is a god at ping pong. He has the funny stance and grip and everything. Elder Jones (from Alaska) and I went on an exchange and walked up to the temple and just walked around to get some fresh air. Twas a very beautiful place! At night since we were missing our real teacher we had to just do knocking where we knock on the door and we have no idea who the person is or anything about them, so we can't prepare a lesson. You just have to get to know them and then be guided by the spirit. We taught a guy name Oscar and taught him about eternal families.

Sunday we had church and the theme was follow the Prophet. We all had to have a talk ready and then we were assigned at random to speak. I did not have to speak this week thankfully. For the second hour we met with our districts and we just got to know each other which was really fun and entertaining. The third hour we had a lesson on how to recognize the spirit which was taught by one of the companionships. In the afternoon we had a temple prep class. We then watched a movie on President Monson's life which was tender. We had Family Home evening at night which was a party. Elder Murtonen won us some matching UK socks!!

Monday we went to Manchester!!! We got a taste of the real stuff. But, to start the day I got to see all the emails I had which was bitter sweet. I loved reading what everyone had to say, but it made me sad not gonna lie. It really made me miss home, but luckily it did not last long cause we got on a bus and headed to Manchester. We taught this guy on the street from Moldova! He really liked to hear what we were saying and had never heard of our church before. He was a pilot who was only in here for a couple hours so we gave him a pamphlet and told him to contact the missionaries back home. It was nice to get out and actually do the real stuff. The rest of the day was back to normal classes. We taught a new Investigator, Kyle, who is 18 and had similar question to Joseph Smith. We taught him the restoration and have another appointment with him Wednesday.

Tuesday is the best day!! P-DAY! BLESS UPPPPP. We went to the Temple this morning which was great as always. Now emails and hopefully headed to town after. I'll let you know next week what we ended up doing.

The Extra: Since I have a phone I can read emails everyday of the week, so if you guys have a thought or something and you are like "oh I have to wait till Tuesday" you can send them anytime of anyday. Or if you just come across something and you think I will like it send it my way! Also there is Amazon UK so things can get here super quick if you are considering it ;) I also think I can email back and forth with you guys on Tuesday while I am in the MTC if you wanna since I have a phone. Well now you can't complain about length! What can I say except you're welcome? I will send another email with pics! Love you guys so much it actually hurts. You guys are the best!

With love,
Elder Hruby

Momma There Goes That Man

Well we made it to the promised land! It's been so long since I have seen you guys and I am sure you all miss me as much as I miss you already. The good news is that it's blue skies and beautiful outside to welcome us here, but it is teasing us. The bad news is I got zero sleep on the flight here so it is going to make for a rough day, but you win some you lose some. There's only going to be a total of 49 missionaries while I am here and that number wont change. Everyone who will be here for the next couple weeks gets here today which is pretty cool. Plus nobody was here when we got here so it is all fresh for us. Well I think I can get away with a short email since it has been less than 24 hours.I will talk to you guys on Tuesday. Love you all!


Much Love,
Elder Hruby

Mission Farewell

Last week Elder Hruby gave his mission farewell address in church. He spoke of his excitement to serve and love of this Gospel. Below is his talk as he gave it in church. We love our Elder Hruby so much and are so proud of his decision to serve the Lord!

Good morning brothers and sisters. I realized after I asked these girls to sing that it probably wasn't’ the brightest idea because I knew everything after it would be downhill… and well the problem is I am the one who has to follow that. When trying to decide what to talk about i was stumped. It’s not like I have gone on a mission and have experiences to talk about and I can’t really tell you what I’m expecting, cause let’s be real… I have no idea what to expect. So I guess that leaves me with Why? Why serve a mission? And how did I get to this point of being 9 days away from flying to England?

So how did I get to the point where I decided to serve a mission? I think more often than not it’s just assumed that that you’re going to serve a mission, but in reality there comes a time when you actually have to make the decision. Growing up, serving a mission was always something that was just gonna happen. It was never if I was going to serve a mission, but rather a when. I was lucky to be raised in an atmosphere like that, because if I had to make the decision now it would’ve been much harder now being in college playing the game I love, but when you make the decision years in advance it’s much easier. Making that decision as a kid was one thing, but keeping myself on that path was another. It couldn’t be done alone. It took the help of countless seminary teachers, young men's leaders, bishops, friends, and of course family. One of the biggest influences on me serving a mission is my brother. Having had nobody in my family serve a mission before, having a brother lead the way made it much more of a reality. It was the true meaning of leading by example. Because let’s all be honest… if Grant can successfully serve a mission then I should have no problem.

Growing up and throughout my life I have often found myself alone in a crowd, and this isn’t me saying I had no friends, because I did, but never any lds ones. Part of that is on me, because when you transfer to a Catholic high school there are no other mormons… shocker I know right. I never realized the lack of peers who shared similar beliefs until I got to college. During fall camp I found myself in some of the loneliest times I had ever been in. I have the best group of friends who I was able to hang with in high school while others were off partying, but I no longer had that support in college. I found myself alone in my room night after night while classmates were being the standard college kid. I had never truly felt Christ in my life until this point. It saddens me to say this because I was too ignorant to ever stop and recognize how blessed I had been my entire life. It took me 18 years to be alone and down to finally Know Christ was more than just a figure I had learned about my whole life, but he was my friend. A friend who had always been there, but I had failed to recognize. I guess you could say that was the moment I knew I needed to serve a mission.

My whole life I have been exposed to missions and missionaries, but when you are preparing for your own it makes you really question what is the purpose of missions, because if you can’t find one then why would you give up two years of your life? So first I wanna look at what the scriptures say about serving a mission. In Mark chapter 16 verse 15 it states “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature”. In Doctrine and Covenants section 18 verse 15 it states, “And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!” This is something I will need to remember when the days get long, the nights get short, and I struggle to find motivation. If all I am able to do in two years is bring one soul unto Christ, then I will have had a successful mission. One single person having the chance to experience truth and the happiness that comes with that truth is all I need to have great joy. Hopefully I will remember that as I get shot down time after time. It makes it clear that the whole world is to here the gospel of Christ and to make this a reality missionaries are needed. In Abraham 3:27 it states And the Lord said: “Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me.” Jesus Christ, the greatest of all, volunteered to descend below all things and to suffer beyond anything mortals could suffer, doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. All of us have the opportunity to choose our own words when we are issued difficult callings, such as a mission. But the question is how will we answer? Elder Dallin H. Oaks taught, “Please consider who it is you are refusing or neglecting to serve when you decline a calling or when you accept, promise, and fail to fulfill” closed quote. When we plead with our heavenly father to send us help as we attempt to magnify a new calling or respond to a new challenge, I believe the savior responds once again, “Here am I, send me”

Now why I want to serve. Henry B. Eyring once said “Tonight, and tomorrow night, you might pray and ponder asking the questions: Did God send a message that was just for me? Did I see his hand in my life or the lives of my children? I will do that. And then I will find a way to preserve that memory for the day that I, and those that I love will need to remember how much God loves us and how much we need Him. I testify that He loves us and blesses us, more than most of us have yet recognized. I know that is true, and it brings me joy to remember Him” closed quote. This displays the exact reason for why I want to serve. Millions of people throughout the world haven’t got the opportunity to experience the joy that the gospel brings or they have fallen away from something that has the potential to fill their life with a joy unlike any other. One of the things I love about this church is the importance of families. Now everyone knows how ridiculous my family is and how crazy we are, but I am so grateful, well most of the time, that I get to spend eternity with them. One of the things that my brother once said to me that has stuck with me and gives me motivation to get out and serve is when he told me that it’s worth it to give up two years of your life to help others be together for eternity. What greater joy is there in life then helping others to get the opportunity to be surrounded by their loved ones forever.

It is not going to be easy to leave family, football, and friends for two years, in fact it is going to be the hardest thing I have ever done in my life by far, but hey as the Colonel always says… if it was easy everybody would do it. I hope they call me on a mission When I have grown a foot or two.I hope by then I will be ready To teach and preach and work as missionaries do. I hope that I can share the gospel With those who want to know the truth. I want to be a missionary And serve and help the Lord while I am in my youth. Brothers and sisters, they have called me on a mission… I have grown a little more than a foot or two… and I hope I can share the gospel with the amazing people of England.

I want to end by bearing my testimony that I know this church is true. I know I was called of God to further his work and bring others unto Christ. I know, and am so very grateful that families are forever. I want them to know that I love them so much and will miss them more than anything. I am excited to fulfill his work and glory these next two years. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Back to his roots

Welcome to Elder Ben Hruby's mission blog! Elder Hruby has been called to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the England London South mission. Elder Hruby will be serving from February 2018-February 2020 (give or take a few weeks). He is very excited to be serving the Lord and spreading the Gospel to the people of England. Throughout his mission his sister Courtney and mom Stefanie will be keeping friends and family updated on Elder Hruby's adventures in England via this mission blog.

After Ben submitted his mission papers and he was waiting to receive his call, family and friends had a lot of fun making guesses as to where Ben was going to be called to serve. There were guesses from Texas, to Brazil, to Samoa, to Japan, and many places in between. Many of these guesses made Ben pretty nervous, but when he opened his call and saw London all his nerves melted away. Ben was actually born in England, but the family moved back to the United States when he was only 4 months old and he has never been back. Ben is so excited for the opportunity to go back to his roots and serve the people of England!