Translated into English, it means "the little stone basement". Our favorite restaurant in Vsetin.


Marv inside the Little Stone Basement

Isn't it just adorable? The food is even better!

The members of the church in Ostrava loved it when they saw us get dirty during their work project. We loved it, too. No white shirt and tie for a few hours! No pantyhose and heels! Who wouldn't be happy to put on a favorite Yellowstone sweatshirt and jeans and get into some errant shrubbery? (Shrubbery reminds me of Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail. "NO! I will not give you a shrubbery! You already have a shrubbery!")




After our trip to Slovakia, we stopped off at Ostrava to help with a work project. Here I am with some new found friends. The lady to my left can't speak a word of English, but she told me in Czech that as soon as her leg heals--I'm not sure what that has to do with anything--she is going to knit me a wool sweater. She is as sweet as they come!

(Sigh) Again we said goodbye to our fine missionaries. They are so good! It's hard to see them go home. But the day before, we welcomed in 11 new missionaries, so the work continues. And the Lord continues to bless us with the finest missionaries the church has to offer.

Mad Dash to Slovakia

Before we started on our trip, the office elders--Elder Tew and Elder Streng--were kind enough to wash and clean out our car. We put a lot of miles on the car. Hence, we end up with a lot of candy bar wrappers and water bottles inside the car after a long trip.


Marv was particularly pleased when we drove through the cities where his grandparents were born--Vsetin and Jablunka. Vsetin is a large and vibrant city. Jablunka is quite a bit smaller. Both are situated in a picturesque valley, surrounded by tiny farms and apple orchards. (Jablunka means "little apple" in Czech.) The area reminded me a bit of Switzerland, minus the Alps, of course. But it is hilly, green, lush, and beautiful. We discovered a GREAT restaurant in Vsetin. To get to it, you have to walk down a flight of stairs that takes you under the city street. It's like walking into a cave. Inside, the wood dining tables have handcrafted linens, and the benches are covered in sheep and goat skins. I was eating next to a fox fur. He would've made a perfect fox stole. The lighting was all candles, except for the stone fireplace. We had some of the best Hlusky ever made. (Hlusky is my favorite Czech dish.)

It was getting late in the namesti--town center--but with the sun setting, it cast a beautiful glow on this little town. What is so amazing is that every town throughout the Czech Republic and Slovakia has a namesti like this one. They are usually centered around a very ornate church and a fountain. They have beautiful fountains. Moravia was celebrating its 700th anniversary of something of other-- I have no clue what--but I don't think they have a clue, either. In conjunction with this festival, they had a family wine tasting festival. Everywhere throughout Moravia, families were out drinking some kind of homemade wine and dancing. (Side note: The Czech Republic is made up of two regions--Bohemia (Prague and to the north) and Moravia (southeast and into Slovakia). Marv's ancestors lived in Moravia when it was all the Austrian Empire. In fact, when they emigrated to Texas, they signed papers declaring they no longer held allegiance to the king of Austria.

Winter is coming fast!

Last month we were at a family camp outside of Brno. The entire branch spends a week in the mountains. They asked us to come speak to them on the last evening. It was so cold! I started out in a jacket. Then someone brought me another parka. I was still shivering, so they brought me a blanket. By the end of the evening, I was wearing a sleeping bag over the parka and blanket.


Town hall in Liberec, Cz. The church is down the street past the namesti.


I had to put this picture in for all the chocolate lovers out there--world headquarters of Lindt Chocolates!


We just completed a whirlwind trip to Slovakia. I know it will be hard for our Florida friends to imagine, but winter is already in progress there. It was COLD! I had to wear a sweater under my leather jacket--and we're only into the second week of September. Not a good sign for what is to come, I'm afraid.

So we hurried on back to Prague to find more of the same weather. Hmmmm....the leaves are turning colors and falling, it's raining more, and I have to wear tights to keep my legs warm. It's starting to get dark earlier, and I find myself wanting to go to bed at 8 pm. This is going to be a very different winter for me, that's for sure. I have fond memories of walking on the golf course on Christmas Eve in my flip flops. Which makes me wonder--can missionaries hibernate?

The people here are so amazing. Each Czech has a conversion story that brings tears to our eyes. Many members of the church were converted during communism, and they were baptized in the dark of night. They met secretly for sacrament services. None of them would share the gospel with any of their friends or family, until they could trust them. Otherwise, they would be reported to the secret police and thrown in jail. To this day, when we use the term "investigator" --which we use often for those who are learning about the gospel-- they still think of men in trench coats interrogating them because of their beliefs. Freedom of religion takes on a whole new dimension of meaning over here.