Czech Prague Mission Experience 2007 - 2010

I never thought this day would come

2010-07-20T17:43:00.000-07:00

And so we are at the end of our mission. Back in 2007, three years seemed like it would be forever; but in fact, three years was just a blip on the radar screen of life. It went so fast! There are no words that can adequately describe what we experienced while serving in the Czech Prague Mission. The people, the culture, the missionaries, all added to our adventure, and our lives have been forever changed. We have loved, laughed, cried, torn out our hair, worried ourselves sick, preached, hugged, comforted, fed, prayed over, rejoiced, stood in amazement, and shivered with excitement for each missionary who passed our way. We have loved them all, and the members became our dearest friends

We are back in Tampa now (after a much needed vacation on the way home), but are looking forward to the mission reunion in October. Thank you for all your support while we have been away. I can hardly believe it's over, but we no longer wear black name badges, and we are back into our khakis and flip flops, so it must be over. In a couple of weeks, it will seem like it was all a dream. But the Czech Prague Mission will be forever in our hearts.
Buh bud s vami nez se sejdem zas.

Pictures from Around the Mission

2010-06-07T22:15:00.000-07:00

Alena Pilkova and Petra Horakova--two beautiful women from the Czech Republic

Sister Jedlickova from Liberec, serving in Prague

Elder Hicken and President Slovacek

Prague and Hradec Kralove zone conference

In Brno, the Super Sisters--Miller and Richards--put together a Spring Concert. Our missionaries were asked to participate. Here they are, in all their glory:

P-Day at Karlstejn

2010-06-07T21:58:00.000-07:00

Here's the group at the dedication site.

Elders Fruehan and Hatch found a wig vendor on the way back down from the castle. Nice look for P-Day.

I liked Elder Vomocil's shirt.

Elder Monk's Hair

2010-05-25T09:14:00.000-07:00

This is a fun one. We had a busy weekend and stopped in Olomouc to see how things were going. That's when we saw this:

Elder Monk decided to give himself a haircut. Fortunately, he stopped when he saw how much he had cut, but his new hairstyle was still pretty shocking. I told him my black, waterproof mascara might be able to help.

I think it turned out pretty nicely. He called me a few days after zone conference and asked what type of mascara he should buy. Here's hoping he won't need to wear it too long!

Leadership Training in Brno

2010-05-03T03:32:00.000-07:00

Assistants to the President: Elders Hatch and Doxey.

Olomouc Zone: Elders Anderson, Lance, McGowen, Mills, and Pearson or "Papa Smurf" as he is lovingly called by his district. (Elders Anderson and McGowen are the zone leaders.)

Slovensko Zone:Elders Fish, Melling, Larson, Wilson, Emerson, and Read. (Elders Wilson and Fish are the zone leaders.)

Hradec Kralove Zone: Elders Thompson, Rigby, Jones, Mittanck, and Briggs. (Elders Briggs and Thompson are the zone leaders.)

Prague Zone: Elders Roubicek, Hicken, Andersen, and Nestman. (Elders Hicken and Andersen are the zone leaders.)

Last week we had leadership training for all the zone and district leaders in the mission. They are amazing young men! Because President Slovacek and I can't be with all of the missionaries all of the time, we depend on our leaders to keep the missionaries motivated and the work moving forward when we are away.

April Transfer

2010-05-03T02:56:00.001-07:00

Yeah, you can tell they really love each other. We finally got them to behave so we could take a nice picture.
Oh how I wish they could've stayed! It's so hard sending our beloved missionaries home!
Front row, left to right: Elder McFarland, Sister Anderson, Sister Magidson, Sister Austin, Elder Hadzik. Back row, left to right: Sister Slovacek, Elder Erickson, Elder Lindsay, Elder Haberman, Elder Boles, Elder Maw, Elder Brown, Elder Kartchner, Elder Williams, and President Slovacek.
Here are the new arrivals. See how nice they look? We love them already!

Elder Haberman and Elder Boles were exhausted after our dinner and testimony meeting the night before they left for home. I think they are singing the Czech Prague Mission song here, but I'm not sure.

Cesky Raj/Bohemian Paradise

2010-05-02T13:28:00.000-07:00

We love this place! We took the office on an excursion to Cesky Raj for P-Day a few weeks ago. From the bottom up: Elder Mittanck, Elder Anderson, Sister Anderson, me, Elder Foster, Heidi Slovacek, Elder Hatch, Sister Foster, Elder Vivona (at the very top). I'm not sure why Elder Fruehan is not in this picture.
Hey look! We found Elder Fruehan!

President Slovacek was the photographer. Here he is getting a good shot of us. I took a picture of him taking a picture of us.

Every time we looked up, we would see Elder Vivona standing high above us among the rocks.

A trip to Olomouc, Czech Republic

2010-05-02T13:18:00.000-07:00

We have been on the road quite a bit, trying to see all the branches before we leave at the end of June. We had a branch conference in Olomouc a couple of weeks ago and took the Andersons, our office couple, with us. We had a wonderful time.

Birthday Celebration

2010-04-07T09:10:00.000-07:00

April is our birthday month. We have a grandson Tobin who was born on April 2.

The next day, April 3 is mine, and on April 10 is President Slovacek's birthday. This year for our birthdays, we decided to climb Priest Hill(Knezi Hora)and see the spot where the land of Czechoslovakia was dedicated for the preaching of the gospel by John Widtsoe in 1929. It's a beautiful hill beyond Karlstejn Castle, so it was quite a hike, but we made it!
When we arrived back at the mission home, the Prague District missionaries made us a fabulous lunch and entertained us with a birthday song and dance. It was quite an event, and a birthday we will never forget.

Saying Good Bye to Winter

2010-04-04T12:47:00.001-07:00

It was getting to the point that I never thought this day would come--saying goodbye to winter. Finally I feel safe in putting away the winter clothes. I can polish my boots and put them away, or give them away. (Who wears winter boots in Florida?) Here are some winter scenes from January.

You might think we took these in black and white--but no we did not. The day was really that dark and gray. Actually, it was very scenic in an austere kind of way. It made us pensive as we drove this dreary wonderland with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing "I'll go where you want me to go" on the CD player. And then, a couple of weeks ago, the sun came out. HELLO sunshine! It's so good to see you!

The Robbins leave us and the Fosters come

2010-04-04T08:42:00.000-07:00

We were so sad to see the Robbins go! They were the Outreach couple for Prague, and were fantastic at their job. The youth and all those who worked with them loved them! We loved them!
The Fosters have come from Utah to take their place. They are wonderful people who have quickly won the hearts of all the people of Prague and Hradec Kralove. We are so blessed to associate with such great couples on our mission. We love and appreciate them all!

Kosice, Slovakia

2010-04-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

Kosice is a beautiful city that is farthest away from the mission home. We drive more than 9 hours to get there, but it is always worth it. Not only do we love the missionaries and members, but in Kosice you can find some of the best hot chocolate in the world!

Aren't they cute? These are the elders in Kosice, Slovakia. From left to Right: Elders Bodily, Walker, Melling, Evans, and Brown.

Sights around the mission

2010-03-17T13:06:00.000-07:00

Elders Hatch and Mittank are the assistants; and Elders Fruehan and Vivona run the office.
Elder Anderson is our financial clerk.
President Slovacek took these pictures in the evening when the lights of Prague castle were just coming on.

Mission-Wide Women's Conference

2010-03-17T12:10:00.000-07:00

On March 5-6th, we held a mission-wide women's conference in the Brno building. It was so exciting to see the building filled to over-flowing with women from all 18 branches throughout the mission.

Elder Kerr and his wife came from Scotland to be our guest speakers. They kept the women spellbound with their stories and experiences.
When I spoke, I asked the women to stand and give each other a hug. It was a very sweet moment. Many women tried to hug every person in the room.

Sister Kolkova is the Brno District Relief Society president. She, with her counselors, did much of the work on the conference. They are amazing women.
These three from Liberec are marking their scriptures during a break.
These are the women from Zilina, Slovakia.

We had more women than we planned on, so we added another workshop at the last moment. President Slovacek was kind enough to teach. The women loved having the mission president teach them from the Book of Mormon.

At the end of the conference, I was given a sash with pictures of the women from the mission on it. It will always be a treasure to me.

20 Things I can't live without on my mission

2010-02-18T04:49:00.000-08:00

The other day, I was thinking about some of the wonderful things that have made a difference in my life as a missionary. Some of these things are mundane, but mandatory to make my life easier on this adventure of the Czech Prague Mission. I started out with a list of 10, but it quickly grew to the top 20. Here they are in no particular order:

1. My back knit dress. It doesn’t wrinkle when I travel. It rolls up into a ball. I can dress it up with a jacket for a conference, or dress it down with a cardigan for the office. It matches everything!
2. My pearl necklace and earrings. Very classic, and dresses up an outfit in an instant.
3. My combination hairdryer/curling iron. Travels well and gives me instant body and curl wherever I may be, and I don’t need to pack a hairdryer. It does it all!
4. My Danskos. Oh my goodness! These shoes have saved my life! I have worn them nearly every day for almost 3 years. They fairly skip over cobblestones and even through mud. I could walk in them for miles. (I change into dressier heels when I am speaking, but my Danskos are the workhorse of my shoe wardrobe.
5. My scriptures, duh!
6. My laptop. It keeps me connected with the family and the world when I am on the road, which is nearly always.
7. My office. There are talks to write and trainings to create, and basically a lot of things to organize. I love my office and all of its equipment. It’s my quiet place amidst the flurry of activity that takes place in the mission home.
8. My husband who gives me all the love and support I need, and often a helping hand in taking the trash down 3 flights of stairs, and hanging curtains on exceedingly high windows.
9. My family and friends at home and here in the mission. They are the cheerleaders in my life and keep me going when I get tired or feel overwhelmed.
10. I know my daughters will laugh at this—but I LOVE my scrunchie! I pull my hair up into it at night, and in the morning, I have instant body when I take it down. Sometimes it only takes a minute to do my hair for the day, because my dear scrunchie has been working all night.
11. My knitted slippers. Sister Buncikova from Ostrava made these for me. Because my feet get cold easily, I wear them to bed nearly every night. God bless Sister Buncikova!
12. LDS.org. Between speeches.byu.edu and lds.org, I have all reference materials at my finger tips. I love it!
13. Google. It is the source of almost all knowledge. Often I need to know how to cure a missionary’s migraine headache or an ingrown toenail, or find the nearest hospital to the missionaries in Jicin. Google nearly always comes through.
14. My camera. It captures the moments I will want to remember forever.
15. My black patent leather, peep toe, sling back pumps from Ecco; so cute and comfortable, yet dressy. Perfect for conferences and walking short distances.
16. My alligator briefcase. It holds a lot of zone conference stuff like markers, a dinger bell, my laptop, cell phone, and candy bars for hungry missionaries.
17. My hot pot. Boils water in a jiffy. Perfect for fruit teas, instant oatmeal, and hot soups on a cold day. We take one on the road with us for a quick meal in a hotel room on those busy, busy days.
18. Dr. and Sister Maddock. When Google fails, Dr. Maddock and his wife always come through.
19. My remarkable goose down feather pillow. It’s like resting your head on a fluffy cloud every night.
20. My testimony that this is the Lord’s work. Without it, I wouldn’t be here, doing what I am doing.

Another Transfer has come and gone!

2010-02-18T04:44:00.000-08:00

Above: The new group

The Departing group

This transfer was huge! So many missionaries coming and going, it was hard to keep up with all of them. And it was bitter sweet. We are so grateful for the new energy that is being pumped into the mission with this new group, but so sad to see our senior-most, well seasoned missionaries go; and yet we are so grateful for their diligent service; so yes, it was hard on us emotionally, as it always is, every 9 weeks. But one thing is consistent: we love our missionaries, whether they are coming or going.

St. Mikulas Cathedral Concert

2010-01-20T04:06:00.001-08:00

It really was a dream come true! The Czech Prague Mission Choir was able to perform a Christmas concert on December 14th in a beautiful cathedral in Old Towne. (The cathedral is in the background.) The little red roofed huts are the Christmas markets they put up every year.

A few missionaries were contacting on the Namesti while we were performing. This is Elder Grimshaw and Elder Roubicek in front of the cathedral with our streetboard.

We concluded the concert by singing "I Believe in Christ" in Czech. (I had a video of it but no one could bring it up. I'll try putting it back on later.)

This is me in front of the poster the cathedral used for advertising our concert. It was a free concert and open to the public. We had a crowd there! It was a wonderful experience.

It's Snowing In Prague!!

2010-01-20T03:11:00.000-08:00

We took a walk through the park the other day, and decided to take pictures of our winter wonderland. I really can't decide which season is my favorite in this country, because each is so beautiful! I guess each season that we're are in, is my favorite.

This is our view from the park. The Vltava River is not iced over, but it's still pretty cold.
Heidi walks her dog, Harry, in this park twice a day. He's a very lucky dog.

Our Grandchildren at Christmas

2009-12-26T09:23:00.000-08:00

We don't get to see these three very often, but our daughter posts pictures of them regularly on her blog, for which we are very grateful. We did actually see them in action on Christmas morning through the miracle of Skype technology. Zoie is holding Chase and Tobin is giving us his cheesy smile. Oh how we love our three little munchkins!

We have People Coming and Going

2009-12-26T09:04:00.000-08:00

These missionaries flew home to their families right before Christmas. I can only imagine the joyous reunion they had. We will miss them. They represent the best of the best. Front row left to right: Elder Davis, Elder Killpack, Sister Clark, Sister Perez, and Elder Machado. Back row left to right: Elder Johnson, Elder Harris, Elder Strupp, Elder Ames, and Elder Peart.
We had three new missionaries join us the same week as the Big 10 went home. They are, from left to right: Elder Horvath, Elder Monk, and Elder Jones. We are so grateful to have them!
Matthew has been with us since last summer, but his school track at BYU-I is beginning in January, so he is leaving us in a couple of days. Here he is in Paris, a side-trip he took with his sister Heidi. Matthew has thoroughly enjoyed his European experience. The next time we see him will be in Tampa this summer. That's really hard to believe!

Karlovy Vary and Loket Castle

2009-12-26T08:44:00.000-08:00

Every transfer, we take the office missionaries on a vylet--or small trip--to a local site of interest. In December, the office staff wanted to see Karlovy Vary and the castle at Loket.
The Grand Pupp is the Karlovy Vary hotel where they filmed The James Bond movie, Casino Royale

The assistants, Elder Briggs and Elder Williams, made friends with this kind gentleman, and tried teaching him the great plan of happiness.

Thanksgiving Football and St. Mikulas Volleyball

2009-12-26T07:48:00.000-08:00

The Prague Zone is in yellow, the Hradec Kralove Zone in Black. The other three zones--Olomouc, Slovakia, and Brno played in Brno. All enjoyed a dinner of Kentucky Fried Chicken and other American foods.
So, for Thanksgiving this year, we issued a challenge to the missionaries to achieve specific goals in finding new investigators, number of investigators attending church, and teaching lessons with members during a 3 week span. If these goals were met, it would be the best 3 week performance in the mission ever on record--as far as we know-- and the missionaries would get to play a football game on Thanksgiving day. The missionaries took up the challenge and shattered the records. We were all very happy.

The following weekend, the church members in Uherske Hradiste hold an annual volleyball tournament on St. Mikulas Vikend. It is a very fun time as members from all over the mission come to compete in volleyball. They take the game very seriously! The local missionaries get to participate in the games if they bring investigators. Below is Sister Anderson who came to play.

We all had a great time, but none so much as the Prague team who took home the trophy for first place. Viktor, the guy holding the trophy, bore his testimony about volleyball in church the next day. He even carried the trophy to the stand with him. It was very sweet.

Czech Prague Mission 2009 Photo Movie

2009-11-25T11:58:00.000-08:00

Senior Missionary Conference in Trencin, Slovakia

2009-11-12T12:42:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm having trouble with getting the text in this post, so bear with me. I don't know why everything is underlined. I don't know why I can't put the text where I want, and the pictures I uploaded to this post are not showing up. So, the text will be limited in this post. But we did have a wonderful senior missionary conference in Slovakia. The weather was picture perfect. The trees were brilliantly golden and the air cool and crisp. We spent time in what we affectionately call the "sacred Slovak grove", where the land was dedicated for the preaching of the gospel. All in all, it was a wonderful weekend.

This is the whole group. We have the most wonderful senior missionaries on the planet!

New Kosice Branch Presidency and other stuff

2009-11-04T10:29:00.000-08:00

Elder Brown was the branch president of the Kosice branch, up until last Sunday. In an historic meeting, for the first time, one of the members of the Kosice branch was called as the branch president, President Robert Van Dalen. The little branch has flourished in the last two years, and we're sure it will only grow bigger and better under President Van Dalen's leadership.

Elder Brown has retired as the branch president, but remains in the branch presidency as the second counselor. From left to right: Elder Alexander, 1st counselor, Robert Van Dalen branch president, Elder Brown, 2nd counselor, and President Slovacek, mission president These sweet ladies are members of the Kosice branch. The one on the left survived living 4 years in a concentration camp when she was just 13-17 years old. She was the only survivor of her family in that camp, and was a witness to each of their deaths. She is an amazing woman of strength and courage. Elder Habermann had a birthday on the day of our zone leader/district leader training. He graciously posed for the picture documenting his birthday in the mission field. Elder Davis and Elder Wade posed during a break in our zone conference.

We returned to Utah for the burial of President Slovacek's mom. While we were there, we were able to see one of our very own Czech members enter the MTC. Jarda will be serving a mission in Wisconsin, so he is at the MTC learning English. In this photo, President Slovacek is putting the missionary name tag on him. It was a very happy moment.We are leaving for a senior missionary conference in Trencin, Slovakia tomorrow. While there, we will be staying at a hotel near the famous Trencin castle. On Friday, we'll be touring Bojnice castle, which is about an hour away. It's a very cool castle with underground caves and a moat. Our granddaughter, Zoie, would be fascinated by these real life castles. (She loves all things princess.) I'll blog more on the conference when we get back.

Bojnice castle, Slovakia

I found this picture in the photo album, and I don't think I have posted this one; so here it is. This was taken last May when Elder Perry and Elder Oaks came to visit. We had a mission wide conference with all of our missionaries, then had a picture taken. This was the whole group. Now, in November, many missionaries have returned home, and many new ones have come. But this was the whole group when Elder Perry came to visit.

A Birth, A death, and Life Rumbles Along

2009-10-09T06:56:00.001-07:00

September 16th, our daughter Kira gave birth to a new grandson, Chase Rasmussen. I flew home to be with her family. It was strange being back in Florida. For one thing, it was HOT. For another thing, the cars in the states are HUGE. I don't remember them being so big. After driving our little Skoda for two years, I was shocked to see such enormous vehicles clogging the highways. That's not to say I didn't enjoy being home. I loved seeing my family and friends; and when did Walmart and Target get so much stuff?! But it is not the same when my companion is still in Prague. I missed not being with him.
Shortly after I returned to Prague, my sweet mother in law passed away. She was an amazing woman who converted her husband to the gospel, and raised 3 beautiful, intelligent, wonderful people. I will always honor her for giving birth to, and teaching my husband how to be a true Latter Day Saint. She was a saint herself. Her burial is in Brigham City, Utah next week. I would say "Rest in peace, Ruth", but I know she is already busy and happy with her beloved husband who passed away many years ago, and no doubt she is teaching the gospel. She was an exceptional teacher.

Mongolians, Missionaries, and Jolly Old England

2009-08-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

In Hradec Kralove, we have many Mongolian investigators and converts. Last Sunday we met with them in their Sunday School classroom. Soon they will need to create their own branch!
We welcomed in this group of handsome young missionaries fresh from the MTC. We are excited to have them here. Their enthusiasm will only do great things for the mission.Sadly, we had to say good-bye to this group of wonderful missionaries. We will never forget them. It reminds me of a poem a student of mine wrote when I was leaving my job:

Friends may come and go
But never be apart.
They keep each others' smiles
Deep within their heart.

We had the opportunity to travel to Preston, England this last week. I fell in love with the beautiful country villages that are a backdrop to the church history that took place there.

While in Preston, we ran into missionaries who are still in the MTC in England. I took a shot of them during their first venture out contacting people on the street. I think they were surprised when they ran into a group of mission presidents and their wives; but we had a good time talking to them.
On the banks of the River Ribble is where 8000 people lined up to watch people be baptized into the church. We were there in August, and the water was pretty cold. These English ancestors must have been pretty sturdy souls!
We stayed at a beautiful country resort on 7 acres outside of town. It had been fully restored and updated with every modern day convenience. It was a great place for a Mission Presidents' Seminar.
One of the highlights of the trip was to attend the Preston, England temple. Here we are with our good friends who oversee the Poland Warsaw mission. We came out together 2 years ago, and we will go home together next year.

I just had to take a picture of this. My maiden name is Dickson, so when I saw that I come from a long line of "solicitors who care", well, I got pretty excited. I have found my roots!

Smiths, Matthew, and a Wedding--Oh my!

2009-08-08T13:13:00.000-07:00

In the Czech republic, it is a requirement to be married civilly before you can be sealed in the temple; so we were able to attend a Czech wedding of a return missionary from Liberec in the Decin castle. It was so beautiful! These are a few scenes from the wedding.
Castle rose garden
The groom kissed the bride.
The happy couple coming out of the castle.
A foggy morning outside a different castle in the Czech republic.
Our friends, Rob and April Smith came to visit for a couple of days. It was so good to see them! Here they are in the METRO with President Slovacek on our p-day.
Oh these elders! We were looking all over for them so we could start our meeting, and President found them in the men's room painting on fake mustaches. They said it was Mustache Monday. They washed them off eventually.
Matthew came back to Prague today! We were so happy to pick him up from the airport. While we were walking in downtown Prague, we came across our assistants who were taking in the sights on their p-day. Matthew had a joyful reunion with the two. It's so nice to have him back.

The video is what we experience walking over Charles Bridge. The guy on the sax is pretty good. Notice the castle in the background.

Missionaries Past and Present

2009-07-12T13:29:00.000-07:00

I'm playing catch up with the blog. Be sure to scroll through the other two new posts after this one! (I'm going to be home this week, so I should be able to update the blog with more pictures sometime this week.) Anyway, I thought it would be fun to show some pictures of missionaries from the past and present. This is Elder Killpack and Elder Starling with a new convert on his baptismal day.
Elder and Sister Alsop were a couple of characters. They completed their mission in June. Here they are showing their true colors--clowning for the camera.
I was happy to come across this picture. It has 3 of our assistants in it--Elder Mack, Elder Whiting, and Elder Chambers. Two of the three are home, and Elder Chambers has just a few weeks left to go. They are all fine missionaries.
I took this picture of Elder Zuniga in Bratislava, quite a while ago.
This is a picture of the Prague zone missionaries. I took this shot last month. Aren't they cute?
I love these people so much! These missionaries--all 16 of them-- departed in June. The Humanitarian couple--Elder and Sister Burns--are not in this picture. They also left in June, bringing the total of missionaries leaving to 18. Such a huge group! They will forever be in our hearts.
This is the Hradec Kralove zone. This picture was taken last month also. We love our missionaries!

Amazing Adrspach

2009-07-12T12:48:00.000-07:00

It took us two years to discover this place, but what a find it is! Adrspach is up in the Northeast corner of the Czech Republic, very close to the border of Poland. It is a natural preserve much like Cesky Raj.
We had some church business to take care of, so we went a day early and explored this beautiful part of the country. I'm so glad we did! This picture gives you an idea of how massive these rock formations are.
This is a waterfall we hiked to. There is something so soothing about being in nature. All of our missionary worries seemed to melt away as we hiked and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

I think this is a place we will come back to, when we get some time. It's just too beautiful not to revisit before we leave.

Happy 4th of July with the Trentovi

2009-07-12T12:01:00.000-07:00

Our good friends, Larry and Mayetta Trent, came to visit over the 4th of July holiday. We had a wonderful time celebrating with them and the Prague district missionaries. Elder Kartchner (blue apron) was our master chef overseeing the barbecue effort.We can't have a barbecue without Ed. He's the one who brings the grill and his pet dog. He also requested me to make a potato salad, which the office elders were not too sure about, as evidenced by this picture and video.

Sister Barron, Elder Roushar, and Elder Mittank entertained us with the American Flag dance.

We took Larry and Mayetta to Cesky Raj. Here they are posing on the back side of Trotsky Hrad.Cesky Raj is one of our favorite places in the Czech Republic. It truly is a Bohemian paradise!

This is the fountain show we took the Trents to when they were here. The London Philharmonic played Rock. It was awesome.

A Visit From Our General Authorities

2009-05-26T12:35:00.001-07:00

We were honored to have Elder L.Tom Perry and his wife, and Elder Robert Oaks and his wife come for a visit. Elder Oaks is the Area President over Europe. We have enjoyed associating with him and Gloria for the last two years.
I love this picture of Elder Perry with the Charles bridge in the background. The six of us took a river cruise on the Vltava. We had picture perfect weather! The Oaks sat across from us on the boat.
We had a full agenda while they were here with sight-seeing, a mission-wide fireside for the members, and a mission-wide conference for the missionaries. We took a mission photo which I will include on the next posting. It was such a thrill to have all of our missionaries in one room! We don't get to do that very often. Here are a few of our elders relaxing after the conference. From left to right are: Elder Apple, Elder Wade, Elder MacLaughlin, Elder Maw, and Elder Baxter.
I found these guys in the back of the chapel. From left to right are: Elder Barker, Elder Gagon, Elder Auger, Elder Young, Elder Guzy, and in the foreground is Elder Boles. We sure love our missionaries!
We were out walking the other night, and I took this picture of the Tyn chapel.
Another McDonalds sign. This is how we say good-bye in Czech.

Prague Wanderings and Brno Women's Conference

2009-05-17T12:16:00.001-07:00

I love this picture because you can see the communist museum poster, and in the background is the one of many McDonald's in the city. This makes me laugh every time I see it. There's something very ironic about McDonald's gracing the area where communism once was. By the way, Na Prikope has some great shopping, and also a TGI Fridays.

I had to stop and get a video of this guy performing in Old Towne. He was just too cute.

Last weekend, Sister Alsop and I drove down to Brno to speak at a women's conference, while President Slovacek held a priesthood training in Prague. This is a group shot of some of the women from the Brno District. Sister Alsop is the last person in the top row, right. I am the second from the right on the bottom row. I love these women!

Beautiful Decin and Liberec

2009-05-17T10:48:00.001-07:00

We took a couple of days out on our way to Liberec to stop and see Decin, a small town near the border of Germany. What a beautiful place! It lies on the banks of the Labe River.

Decin has a castle complex. This is the rose garden inside the castle walls.

We took an unexpectedly loooooong, steep hike to the top of a mountain outside of Decin to see the largest natural stone bridge in central Europe. We had no idea it was going to be this far and this steep, but we kept persevering until we reached the top. You can't tell from this picture, but we had just hiked an hour straight up. We were both pretty beat. I took a picture of President Slovacek with the bridge in the background, just to show that we made it to the top.

The more we climbed, the more we grew to hate the bridge. It felt good to finally reach our destination, though.

On our way back toward our hotel, we stopped off at Belvedere. Here you can see the rocks and cliffs that are in the Decin area. I love the lone cypress out on the ledge, with the Labe River in the background. It made for some spectacular scenery.

Elder and Sister Alsop, our office couple and friends for the last 25 years, came with us on our trip to Decin. We are so sad because their mission is coming to an end. Our loss is Redwood City, California's gain. I know Doug will be happy to be out surfing again instead of doing office work, and Nancy can go back to her outlet shopping in San Francisco. Though we did our share of shopping at MACRO for zone conferences! I guess that doesn't count.
We went to church in Liberec. Here we are on the Namesti. That's the town hall in the background. Sure doesn't look like any of our town halls in Florida!
These are our cute missionaries in Liberec. From the left they are: Elder Briggs, Elder Ames, Elder Hill, and Elder Hicken. They are doing great things in that city!

Beautiful Spring

2009-04-26T08:13:00.001-07:00

Old Towne becomes quite festive right before Easter.
April is a birthday month for our family. President Slovacek's birthday was celebrated at our favorite American restaurant in Prague--TGI Fridays. Here he is with his cake and balloon. He was so happy to eat a real American cheeseburger and fries.

My birthday is also in April--one week earlier than President's. This has always been known in our family as the week where Mom and Dad are "the same age". After that week, President's mantra becomes, "We are basically the same age". I think he's hoping I will some day catch up.

We celebrated my birthday at one of the restaurants on the waterfront, near the Charles Bridge. It was fun to watch the lights come on in the city, especially on the bridge. I took this night shot from our table.

We ate dinner outside. This is before it got dark. Heidi joined us for both dinners. It's fun to have her with us in Prague. She has just been called into the Primary presidency in our branch.
Even though he was released, he will always be Bishop Whitaker to me. Bishop/Brother Whitaker came to Prague on a work assignment, and we met him for dinner at Kavarna Slavia. It was good to see him again.
At the end of each transfer, we take the sisters in Prague out to lunch. As we were walking back to the building, I challenged Sister Clark and Sister Magidson to contact a couple across the street who were kissing. They took up the challenge, as you can see. The final outcome--they now have two new investigators! The couple is very interested in hearing more about the gospel. Isn't that wonderful?
We just finished a round of zone conferences. Here we are with the Slovak elders and the Burns who are the humanitarian couple living in Kosice. We love our missionaries!
The saddest day of our mission comes every 9 weeks when we say good-by to our beloved missionaries. Even now, looking at this picture makes me so sad. I know parents will disagree, but missionaries come and go so fast! They come and leave an indelible mark on our hearts. I told them the night before they left, that like it or not, they are now one of ours. They always will be. Good-bye Elder Whiting, Elder Burgener, Sister Gapinski, Elder Earl, and Elder Story. We miss you already!
There is always a silver lining in losing our missionaries. We get new ones in the same week. We love their fresh new enthusiasm and vigor! Pictured below are: Elder Nestman, Elder Anderson, Sister Reese, Elder Fish, and Elder Reed.

2009-04-11T00:51:00.000-07:00

Good bye, Road Trip, and Missionary Stuff

2009-03-31T09:44:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again, when Steven comes for a visit, and then goes back to New York. We miss him and his tech-savy ways!

Every transfer we try to take the office missionaries on a little sight-seeing tour. Here they are smooshed in the van--oh wait, that's just Elder Crane trying to get out of the van. Anyway, we took them to a couple of cute little towns outside of Prague. It was a beautiful day.

A couple of posts ago, I wrote about the Czech Prague Mission song. This is the missionary who made it all happen--Elder Tanner. Here he is at the piano where we would sit and argue over music, timing, and words. Somehow, we made it work.
This is a random shot of the sisters in Prague and Hradec Kralove zones. That's Sister Rust's hair in the back row behind Sister Lee, and Sister Robbins is peeking from in back of me.
This was taken on the day of the last zone conference for Elder Earl and Elder Burgener. We're going to miss them. Slovakia will never be the same without them.

The Handshake

2009-03-04T11:12:00.000-08:00

This is Elder Whiting and Elder Young greeting each other at zone conference. They do this every time they see each other. It's especially fun to see Sister Parry's reaction in the background. Enjoy!

Mission Song

2009-02-27T13:02:00.001-08:00

Our mission is fortunate to have some very talented musicians. When Elder Tanner arrived last year, we knew it was time to create a mission song. He and I sat down at the piano and pounded out a few notes. Then we got a notebook and wrote the lyrics. Elder Tanner then input our notes (mostly his) and lyrics (mostly mine) in a computer program. The result is a stirring rendition of this song at every zone conference. Every time I hear it, I think of us at the piano debating over past martyrs and whether it should be near and far, or far and near. (He won. He said most of us come from far, then near. I couldn't argue with that logic.) Thank you , Elder Tanner. You have left an indelible impression on the Czech Prague Mission for many years to come!

Scenes From česky Krumlov

2009-01-25T12:13:00.000-08:00

We had a branch conference in Ceske Budejovice last weekend. We had never been there in the winter, so here are a few pictures from that trip. This is Steven is standing on the frozen Vltava river in Cesky Krumlov. He was feeling quite confident until he heard some ice cracking.

This is a broader view of the Vltava river in Cesky Krumlov, taken from the castle. That's the ice Steven was standing on.

This was taken through an opening on the castle walkway.

The facades of the buildings are all hand painted. What appears to be brick or stone, or even statue, is really just paint with shading to make it look three dimensional.

Castle clock tower

Julee will fondly remember this street as the one that had the trdlenik shop.

It was a perfectly beautiful winter's day in Cesky Krumlov.

Our Grandchildren at Busch Gardens, Tampa Florida

2009-01-01T06:33:00.000-08:00

This is just too cute not to share. Zoie (almost 4) and Tobin (1 1/2) have annual passes to Busch Gardens. This is a shot of them with Santa--their best friend this time of year. We're hoping they can bring their parents to Prague next year for our last Christmas here. I'm sure they would be good little missionaries.

A Trip to the Slovacek Homeland

2008-12-28T07:11:00.000-08:00

Over the Christmas holidays, we took Heidi and Steven to the places where the Slováčeks lived. Vsetín, Czech Republic, was the birthplace of Tomaš Slováček (President Slovacek's great grandfather).

Jablůnka--which means "little apple"-- is a small village just a few kilometers from Vsetín. This is where Anna Tatalak (President's Slovacek's great grandmother) and J.R. Slováček (President Slovacek's grandfather) were born. It's a pretty little place where there are many apple orchards (surprise, surprise). It's quite a bit smaller than Vsetín, but both towns are agricultural in nature. We love the countryside with its small streams and tiny farm houses.

After visiting the homeland, we decided to travel into Slovakia and show Heidi and Steven the Oravsky castle. These are a few pictures of what we saw. By the way, it was a very cold trip, but we enjoyed seeing the sights in snow.

We had a great time, but it felt good to get back to Prague and get ready for the new year. We had a great 2008; but we are determined to make 2009 even better!

Prague--Home Sweet Home!

BRRRR

2008-12-23T00:45:00.000-08:00

Slovak Missionaries

2008-12-22T10:36:00.000-08:00

It was just a couple of years ago the land of Slovakia was dedicated for the preaching of the gospel by President Uchtdorf. Here we are with the missionaries serving in Slovakia, at Trenčin, where the land was dedicated. Not far from us is the Trenčin castle. It makes me smile when I see this picture. We love these missionaries so much. I'm sure they often feel isolated from the rest of the mission because they only serve with each other, and not with the Czech elders; yet they are so dedicated and hard working. They truly are a band of brothers. We're grateful Elder and Sister Burns are in Košice to watch over them when we are not there.

November 2008

2008-11-30T02:59:00.000-08:00

The missionaries of the Prague and Hradec Kralove zones got together on Thanksgiving and had a big football game. As you can see, they really got into it. I'm not sure why Elder McLaughlin wore a wig, but it didn't slow him down any.

Before Thanksgiving, we were on the road quite a bit. First was our trip to Warsaw, Poland; then our mission tour in Slovakia. We were surprised at how similar the Czech and Polish languages are, yet they look nothing alike.

Krakow, Poland

During our mission tour in Slovakia, we were able to stay a couple of days in the Velky Tatry, a mountain range that borders Slovakia and Poland. Stary Smokovec is a bustling little ski village nestled at the foothills of the mountains. The first day there, we bought earmuffs. The second day there, we bought gloves. It was SO COLD. And it snowed. It was just lovely!

We attended church and had a district meeting in Kosice, Slovakia. Elder Campbell is the branch president there. I took a picture of him after church so I could send it to his mom.

The church steeple was the view from our hotel room in Kosice. It's a lovely cathedral--very different from what we usually see in the two countries. This one has more of a Russian influence in its architecture.

I saved the best for last. President Slovacek was instrumental in teaching the gospel to a remarkable young man in Prague. Just two nights ago, we were able to witness his baptism--and President Slovacek had the opportunity to perform the ordinance in Czech. It was his first in that language.

President Slovacek, Elder Young, Petr, and Elder Barker.

Random pictures from around the mission

2008-11-06T13:08:00.000-08:00

New Transfer group, September 29
These 4 were giving each other a back rub during a break in zone conference.
Our missionaries from Hradec Kralove zone.
The missionaries from the Olomouc zone.
The leaders of the Slovak zone.
The wild and crazy guys from Prague.
President Slovacek gives Elder Mack a pep talk.

We found a really fun restaurant tucked away at the foot of the castle. The lighting is strictly by candlelight, and the food is served with only a knife presented to you, stuck in a loaf of bread; a fork if you are lucky, but never a glass to drink out of. Eating with us are Ed Barner and the Alsops.
In the Czech Republic, you have to be married civilly before you can be sealed in the temple. Last week, we attended a wedding of a young couple who met last year at the YSA conference in Budapest. It was really sweet. They are going to Germany this week to be sealed in the temple.
Elder Anderson and Elder Auger are the zone leaders of the Prague zone. They are awesome missionaries. We love having them in the mission home.
Sunday, November 2, was a national holiday where everyone puts candles on the graves in the cemetaries, to help their deceased loved ones find their path back home to God. It was really beautiful at night.

I need to apologize for not posting in such a long, long time! I will try to do better, even when we are on the road much of the time. A lifetime has happened in the last month, but I didn't take pictures of everything. We had a wonderful women's conference. We had a transfer with new missionaries coming in, and no one going home--my FAVORITE kind of transfer! We have witnessed an absolutely gorgeous fall season, with brilliant red and gold hillsides. We've had many baptisms, a wedding, and Halloween. So, enjoy the few pictures of a marvelous October.

Guys on Crutches, Slovacek, and Karlovy Vary

2008-09-21T10:18:00.000-07:00

Oh these two! Elder Gagon (on the right) had some foot problems for quite a while. Thankfully, his cast is off, and he's doing great now. But right before he got his cast off, he escorted Elder Barker to the clinic to have an ingrown toenail removed. When they came back, they looked like quite the pair, so I had to take a picture. Elder Barker is doing well now, too.

We were driving along in Jihlava and had to stop and get a picture of this billboard. I don't know who Lubomir is, but it looks like he's in real estate like his long-lost cousin Marvin Slovacek. We loved seeing the diacritical marks above the A and the C. Now we know why our name is pronounced Slow-VA-check, as opposed to SLOW-va-sek.
We take the office missionaries on a vylet, or small trip, once a transfer. Here they are in one of my favorite cities--Karlovy Vary. It is a beautifully restored city that is populated heavily with Russians. It was is in Karlovy Vary, where they filmed the James Bond movie "Casino Royale", at the Grand Pup Hotel.
From left to right: Elder Gagon, Elder Whiting, Elder Chambers, and Elder Tanner.

Festivals and Zone Conferences!

2008-09-21T09:57:00.000-07:00

These are all the sister missionaries of the Brno and Olomouc zones. They are fabulous missionaries! We took a week and toured the mission, stopping off at many of the missionaries' apartments for individual interviews. It was fun (and enlightening) to see them in their "natural habitat". We decided to drop in on them more often.

We were so lucky! We had been on the road for a few days, and decided at the last minute to pop in on the sister missionaries in Uherske Hradiste, just for fun. We didn't know the whole town would be out in full force for the Wine Festival! The town square was filled with people in native costume, singing and dancing, and of course, drinking their homemade wine. (They make it from potatoes.) We didn't drink the wine, but loved the caramelized cashews that were roasted over an open fire. It was a gorgeous day in Moravia! The guys on stage reminded me of Chevy Chase in European Vacation. They were great fun to watch.

Toronto Service Project, September 20, 2008

2008-09-21T09:26:00.000-07:00

On the way to the annual service project sponsored by the Wallace Toronto Foundation, we stopped to see the Cesky Sternberk castle. It always amazes me that we can be in the middle of nowhere, and a castle will appear on the horizon. This country really is a land of fairy tales.
This is where we spent the better part of the day on the Toronto Service Project--in the garden. In this picture, I think President Slovacek is teaching us which weeds to look for. It felt good to be in contact with soil again. (I love gardening!)
Most of the missionaries from Prague and surrounding areas participated in the service project. While we weeded the gardens, these missionaries were busy scraping and painting the fence that went around the perimeter of the property. By the end of the day, I think more paint went on them than the fence; but the work got done, and they had a good time.

I found a kitten and put it in the pocket of my sweatshirt. I thought it was really cute, until someone pointed out to me that it had a tick behind its left ear. I put the cute little kitten down, very quickly. By the way, it was REALLY cold that day! I had to wear gloves, and it's only September. Not a good sign of things to come, I'm afraid.

Bad Homburg, Rhine River, and Beckov Castle

2008-08-28T09:40:00.000-07:00

We spent the last weekend in Bad Hamburg, Germany at the Mission Presidents' seminar. We were able to see our good friends, Jim and Lynda Henry, who are presiding over the Porto, Portugal mission. We had some amazing training by Elder L.Tom Perry, Elder Rasband of the First Quorum of Seventy, Bishop Burton, and the area presidency. We also took a side trip and cruised down the Rhine River, stopping off for a tour of the Rheinfels Castle, where we had a delightful tour guide and dinner.

While in training in Slovakia, we took our assistants--Elder Whiting and Elder Chambers-- on a tour of the Beckov castle. Aren't they cute? I think this picture of them should be on the cover of the Ensign magazine.

Beautiful Budapest and Other Stuff

2008-08-09T12:42:00.000-07:00

We had the opportunity to visit Budapest, Hungary, while attending a Young Single Adult conference. What a beautiful city!

There was a biker's club posing in front of the parliment building in Budapest.

Sentendra is a quaint little town just north of Budapest.

Matthew joined his Czech friends for the conference. You can see more pictures of him on YouTube.com. They had a great time. Michal on the back row has just received his mission call.

We had quite a group of characters departing from our mission at the end of July.

Actually, they were awesome missionaries, and we miss them very much; but we wish them the best of everything in their new life at home.

Here are our new missionaries fresh from the MTC. We are excited to have them with us.

We took the office missionaries on a trip to Cesky Raj for P Day a couple of weeks ago. It is about 45 minutes north of Prague, and can best be described as Zions National Park meets the Rain Forest. It is absolutely breath-taking. President Slovacek, below, is wearing a bright blue garbage bag over his clothes because it was raining.

Inspirational Words

2008-07-25T22:44:00.000-07:00

I read these inspirational words from President Hinckley this morning:

"We know not all that lies ahead of us. We live in a world of uncertainty. For some, there will be great accomplishment. For others, disappointment. For some, much of rejoicing and gladness, good health, and gracious living. For others, perhaps sickness and a measure of sorrow. We do not know.

Like the Polar Star in the heavens, regardless of what the future holds, there stands the Redeemer of the world, the Son of God, certain and sure as the anchor of our immortal lives. He is the rock of our salvation, our strength, our comfort,the very focus of our faith. In sunshine and in shadow we look to Him, and He is there to assure and smile upon us.

There is none to equal Him. There never has been. There never will. Thanks be to God for the gift of His Beloved Son, who gave His life that we might live and who is the chief, immovable cornerstone of our faith and His Church--The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints."

Marc and Julee Come to Visit

2008-07-15T12:03:00.000-07:00

The Bernhiselovi came to visit for a few days. We took them to Cesky Krumlov and Ceska Budejovice for the weekend. The bear lives in the moat of the castle we visited. He's very cute.
Marc, Julee, and President Slovacek on their way to church.
Marc and Julee at Hluboka.
The afternoon they arrived, I took them on a walking tour of Prague. Here they are in Wenceslas Square, with the National Museum in the background. It was a beautiful day. I think they brought the Florida sunshine with them.
Marv, Julee, and I at Hluboka castle.
After church in Ceske Budejovice, our missionaries made a traditional dinner for us at their apartment. Elders Winder, Erickson, Smith, and Murray were excellent hosts, as they served homemade halusky and ovoce knedliky. Truly outstanding! I particularly loved Elder Erickson's Y apron, but the Bernhisels were partial to Elder Smith's Ute jacket. Go Cougars!
Another beautiful day in Cesky Krumlov.

It was sad to see them go, but we have work to do, and Marc has mountains to climb. Julee has stairs to master at the Y. We will meet again in Florida in a couple of years.

Random Pictures of Our Mission

2008-06-28T08:40:00.000-07:00

Matthew and I are in Kosice, Slovakia, in front of the singing fountain.

President Slovacek is standing in what is left of Spissky Hrad. Construction of the castle began in the early 12th century, but the original structure collapsed, having been built
on a geological fault. The present castle was built in the first half of the 13th century, as a defense against Tatar incursions from the east. The Romanesque palace was completed in 1249. Following severe damage from the armies of Matthias Cak in the early 14th century, it was rebuilt in the Gothic style. Additions were made in the 15th century and served as a garrison until 1780 when it was abandoned after a disastrous fire. The Spis castle is the largest in central Europe. It covers over 10 acres.

In May, we sent home 13 wonderful missionaries. We miss them. But they were replaced by
13 excited new missionaries. We love their enthusiasm and spirit!

We were out walking one evening, and the storm clouds started to gather as we came upon Charles bridge. I took a picture before it started to rain.

This is a random thing, but the Young Women from my ward back home will know the M&M guy stands for "Slam Dunk Missionary Moments". We've instituted it in our zone conferences, as well. The missionaries get to share their happy experiences (Sharing Time), and get a handful of M&Ms. By the way, many thanks to those of you who send us M&Ms!! Our missionaries LOVE them!

Baptism in Trencin, Slovakia

2008-06-18T10:47:00.000-07:00

While on our usual round of zone conferences, Elder Van de Graaf baptized a semi-professional soccer player named Roman in a river that runs below the Trencin castle. It was a picture perfect day in Trencin. They say the water was a little chilly, but there was a warm spirit in that grove of trees, as a few of the elders in Slovakia sang a hymn before the baptism.

You can see the Trencin castle on the hill in the background. Roman's baptism was one of my most memorable experiences on my mission so far.

Memorial Day and Learning the Ropes

2008-05-26T06:27:00.000-07:00

Today was Memorial Day, so Elder and Sister Alsop decided to host a good old American barbecue for the Prague district missionaries. For many of them, it was P-day, so they came in their casual clothes and had a good time. Elder Trost is in the apron flipping hot dogs, while Elders Nowland and Johnson are excited to receive the award for the Most Extreme Contacting. (They won a pair of flip-flops--nice!) Ed Barner came and was the hit of the barbecue because he brought A&W Rootbeer--impossible to find in the Czech Republic.

The Brno District Young Women had a conference at a ropes course in Zlin. I was invited to come along. It was an honor for me to be with them, but I had to wonder if I was invited for comic relief. We practiced walking on the ropes a few feet above the ground before we ventured up high into the sky. The lone silhouette against the cloud in the sky is me. A few minutes later I fall from the rope, but my tethering person catches me, so I wasn't hurt. It was a GREAT DAY!

The Brno Young Women leaders are a fun-loving bunch! And the girls love them, too.
Sister Hansen and I practice walking the ropes in the forest before we hit the big time. This was hard work!

More Pictures from Zone Conference

2008-05-17T07:49:00.000-07:00

Hradec Kralove Zone

Slovakia Zone

The Busy Month of May!

2008-05-16T11:16:00.000-07:00

We held 5 zone conferences in 5 days, working our way from Slovakia, back to Prague. In this post I could only get three zone pictures in. I'll post pictures from the Slovak zone and Hradec Kralove zone in the next post. We were pleased to find all the missionaries happy and well.
Olomouc Zone: Notice Matthew Slovacek, the missionary--front row, third from left. He was called and set apart to serve for 6 weeks, as we needed a missionary in Ostrava to fill out a companionship. He's having a great time on his second mission.

Brno Zone

Prague Zone

When we got to Brno, we found all the hotels to be sold out due to trade fairs in town. We finally found the last room in the city in this little boutique hotel. It's very quaint and beautiful, but it had no elevator, and we stayed in the attic room--up 5 flights of very steep stairs. Now we know why it was the last room in the city.

Slovakia is a land of castles. On our way home from zone conference, we came across Oravska castle; so we stopped to explore. It was built in the 1400's.

This little church is in the quiet town of Cecmany, Slovakia. The whole town has been preserved, and functions just as it did 200 years ago.

A ceremony commemorating the dedication of Slovakia was held in this grove outside of Trencin. As the President Uchtdorf's prayer was read in Slovak, Marv and I followed along in English. It was a picture perfect day!

Who We Really Are

2008-04-28T03:19:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have been watching the news and may have wondered....

Some Mormon women dance...

Some Mormon women write scary stories...

Some Mormon women have lots of money and really great hair...

I know hundreds of Mormon women.
They do all kinds of different things and live all different kinds of lives.

This woman served as a leader in the Mormon church. She recently spoke to teenage girls worldwide.
She encouraged them to stand up to peer pressure, strengthen their families and serve others. (Click here for more.)

None of the Mormon women I know look like this...

None of them are marrying off their teenage daughters and -- none of them really want to share their husband with anyone.
Furthermore...
Some Mormon guys can throw a ball...

Some Mormon guys yell at the ball...

Some Mormon guys make scary movies...

Some Mormon guys have a lot of money and really great hair...

I know hundreds of Mormon guys. They do all kinds of different things and live all kinds of different lives.
This is one of the leaders of the Mormon church. Last Sunday he spoke about honoring women, especially mothers,
and gave advice to husbands and children about how to treat the women in their lives. (For the whole story, click here.)

None of the Mormon men I know look like this...

The Mormon men I know are honest and hard-working. They don't cheat, smoke, drink or gamble.
And TRUST ME....the last thing any of them want is another wife.

The Book of Mormon--My Favorite Book

2008-04-21T07:40:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many times I've read it; but I read it every day. And when I get to the last page, as I did today, I start reading it over again from the beginning. The Book of Mormon is my favorite book in the world. It has every element of literature that makes a book worth reading: drama, heroes, villains, sweet love stories ("to me he doth not stink"); but the most compelling reason why I read the Book of Mormon is because it testifies of Jesus Christ and His mission. On nearly every page, there is a testimony from an ancient prophet of Jesus Christ. The culmination of all these testimonies comes in 3 Nephi, when Jesus Christ appears to the inhabitants of the new world. I love this book!

Over the years I have come to know and love the ancient prophets from the Book of Mormon. I marveled at Abinadi's strength of courage when he testified before King Noah; and I cried when he was burned at the stake. I cheer when Captain Moroni comes on the scene and saves his cities from utter destruction with the help from his chief captains Lehi and Teancum. I love Alma's and Amulek's missionary companionship and all they go through together. And I always shudder with claustrophobic horror as Jared and his brother get into those barges that are "tight like a dish". I don't think I would've had that much faith!

Living in the Czech Republic has given me a new appreciation for the Book of Mormon. During the years of communism, when all religious materials were outlawed, the members of the church published their copies of the Book of Mormon, bound in red leather. The letters K.M. were stamped on the front. The government officials thought the little red books were the writings of Karl Marx; but in fact, the letters K.M. stood for Kniha Mormonova--Czech for "Book of Mormon".

How grateful I am for this precious book. Every page is filled with light and truth. For anyone seeking truth, they have no further to go than to open the first page and join Nephi as he tutors us in the ways of Christ.

So Much to Tell, So Little Time!

2008-04-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

The week before Easter, we were given permission to have a street display in Old Towne. Every morning the missionaries would set up their display and sing hymns to the many people who would pass by. Elder Alsop, the financial clerk had lots of fun contacting people.

What would a blog be without a castle? The day after Easter, we took the assistants and all the office missionaries on a trip about an hour west of Prague to Loket and Karlovy Vary. It was at Karlovy Vary where they filmed the latest James Bond movie. That is a GORGEOUS city! The castle pictured here is found in Loket.

We bid farewell to 13 amazing missionaries. The Czech Prague mission will never be the same without them.

I put a picture of the Charles Bridge here because this is the view we had from the restaurant on the Vltava River, celebrating Marv's birthday. It was so beautiful to see the lights come on in the evening.

I had to take a picture of this because it was so funny! We just got back from touring the mission doing zone conferences. Our faithful assistants came with us and were pretty good sports about having to always sit in the back seat. But on the way home, after spending days and days in the back seat of the car, they were forced to sit close together because one of the branches wanted us to take a full size keyboard back to Prague. Here they are, cramped together, holding my birthday bouquet of flowers. They looked pretty weary. We were all happy to get home!

Steven Says Goodbye

2008-03-22T01:06:00.000-07:00

Our son Steven came for the holidays and stayed for a few months. He went back to New York City just a few days ago. We miss him already. Who's going to fix my computer/Sunday dinner? We're really going to miss his killer chicken enchiladas. Nashledenou, Steven. Have fun in New York.

Cowboy Night

2008-03-21T07:36:00.000-07:00

Zone Leader Elder Mills (a cowboy from Utah) organized a Cowboy Night for the Prague Branch and all their friends. The Czechs loved the chili and cornbread, and especially liked the roping demonstration. The highlight of the evening was when all the missionaries got together and sang (in English) Home on the Range. It was a very fun and successful evening. The missionaries were able to take visitors on a tour of the building and answer a lot of questions.

Outside of Trencin, Slovakia

2008-03-20T14:19:00.000-07:00

We attended branch conferences in Trencin and Zilina, Slovakia. The Monday after the conferences, we stopped in to visit the castle outside of Trencin. From the freeway, it looks as if it's floating in the air.

Bird Tales/Tails

2008-03-12T14:16:00.001-07:00

We came across this awesome peacock while traveling home from Slovakia. You need to double-click on these pictures so you can see the magnificence of this bird. Here's what happened: He saw me take a picture of him; and as if on cue, he fanned his tail out and did a perfect 360 in front of me. It was as if he were a trained model, posing for the camera. Of course, I kept taking pictures.
This was taken while he was turning. I couldn't believe he was turning in a very slow circle for me. He must be very proud of his tail feathers. Pretty Majestic, Mr. Peacock.

Ceske Budejovice

2008-03-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

We found this cool castle on a weekend trip to the branch conference in Ceske Budejovice. Notice how big the doors are that President Slovacek and Elder Alsop are standing next to.

The wrought iron gates lead to an atrium. I'm standing in the back of the castle. The pictures don't show just how HUGE this thing is, but it is VERY, VERY BIG--massive, even.

It was a very fun weekend. The branch conference went well, and discovering the castle was an added bonus.

Bishop Whitaker comes to visit

2008-03-12T13:39:00.000-07:00

Our Bishop from Florida came into town, so we had the opportunity to show him around Prague. It was fun to see a familiar face and hear all the news from home.

More Scenes from Prague

2008-02-22T10:29:00.000-08:00

The Spanish Embassy is our neighbor to the right of us, and the

Israeli Embassy is two doors down from us.

We live on the corner of Milady Horakove and Badeniho on the top floor of a lovely European apartment with lots of tall windows and hardwood floors. We live near a major tram and metro hub, so we get an earthquake effect when the transportation goes by. It took a few days to get used to the chandeliers shaking every few minutes--we always braced ourselves for an earthquake; but now we're used to it.

We have a favorite restaurant that's around the corner from the mission home. We call it "The Restaurant Around the Corner", because we can never think of its real name. The atmosphere and food is pure unadulterated authentic Czech. Offbeat and out of the way from the main tourist attractions, this place is a haven for locals. We quickly became regular customers, and everyone knows us there now as the crazy Americans who like ice in their drinks.

WELCOME TO PRAGUE!!

2008-02-11T12:46:00.000-08:00

The first week of February, we were able to welcome in our visa-waiters. We were so happy to finally have them arrive!

The day after we returned home from Germany, our good friends, the Alsops arrived after being delayed for 2 long months. They will fill an important role in the office. We need them desperately!

The boxes the Alsops brought with them are filled with chocolate chips. I have a feeling the missionaries are going to love the Alsops!

It's always a sad day when we say good-bye to one of our assistants and put him back out in the field. Unfortunately, this last transfer broke up the Johnson and Johnson team. But it also has a benefit--Elder David Johnson is doing amazing things out in the field; and that was the plan.

When the Oaks came to visit, I took Sister Oaks on a walking tour of Prague. This is a stained glass window in St. Vitus cathedral. Sister Oaks was having such a great time in the cathedral, she didn't notice that someone stole her camera from her tote bag. The pick pockets are pretty slick here. How sad that someone will steal your stuff when you're in a church!

January Events

2008-01-31T07:44:00.001-08:00

When Heidi came to visit, she brought out a pair of boots that I had ordered from the states. This is what they look like. They keep my legs so warm! I LOVE them!

This morning Heidi left to go back to Tampa. We enjoyed having her with us for the last couple of weeks. While she was here, we had a violent flu run through the family. Steven and I were the only ones who made it through unscathed. But as sick as she was, Heidi was still able to travel to Krakow, Poland and Kutna Hora to see the bone church. She had a former missionary companion from Bulgaria to travel with, and they had a good time.

(From left to right:Brother Adams, Sister Adams, Sister Oaks, Elder Oaks, me, and President Slovacek)
This past weekend, we were privileged to host our area president--Elder Robert Oaks--and his wife, Gloria, for the Prague District conference. They drove from Germany with their good friends, the Adams. It was an inspiring weekend, listening to the speakers. The Oaks have fascinating stories from the time they served in Africa.

These are the new missionaries who arrived right before the Prague District conference. Elder Killpack, Sister Waite, and Sister Gapinski are a wonderful addition to our mission!

Matt and I took a train to Bratislava to witness the baptism in Slovakia. Pictured here is Elder Roylance and Elder Papworth with their new convert. Bratislava has the best halusky in Moravia, and Matt and I found a great Italian restaurant across from a cathedral in Old Town. Bratislava is the capitol of Slovakia. I love that city! It has a fascinating history.

Castles, a Czech Nutcracker, and Snow

2008-01-06T12:04:00.000-08:00

To celebrate the new year, we drove out to Karlstejn--the site where the land of Czechoslovakia was dedicated for the spreading of the gospel in 1929. The castle on the hill looks down on the tiny village below. It's very imposing. We found some interesting art shops on our way back down the mountain, and vowed to come back shopping right before we finish our mission.

Last Saturday, the assistants and the office elders treated us to a performance of The Nutcracker at the National Theater. We were surprised (and pleased) that the elders wanted to see a ballet; and we all had a great time. We found The Nutcracker performed here to be an interesting mix of Dickens A Christmas Carol and Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. The main character in the ballet was Scrooge. He was taken down to hell where he encountered the devil--a very muscular guy in red tights. The Ghost of Christmas Goodness rescues Scrooge from hell and what follows is a delightful 2 hour dance, quite like Clara's dream in the Nutcracker. It was fun to see the Czech's twist on two Christmas classics. Here we are pictured in the National Theater. What an amazing building! From left to right are Elders Mack, Streng, Johnson, and Johnson. Their mothers would be so proud.

The next day--Sunday--it snowed and left a beautiful blanket of white all over the city of Prague. These pictures were taken in our backyard park; except for the one where I'm standing in front of the chapel/ mission home.

The Prague castle is so beautiful in the winter. I have found myself loving this city in every season.

Oh! Here's some GREAT news! We have been working really hard on helping the missionaries with their finding and teaching skills. We've also raised the standards of excellence in the mission, and now we're starting to see results! In the next two months, we have more than 1/2 the baptismal commitments that we had in the entire year of 2007. The Lord is pouring out his blessings upon this people, and we are excited to be a part of this tremendous surge forward!

More Scenes From Christmas

2007-12-30T12:59:00.000-08:00

We were out walking the Charles Bridge a few nights before Christmas. Steven took the picture of us, with the castle in the background.

Steven and Matthew loved the hot trndl rolls they bake and sell at the markets. If you double click on the picture, you can see them better.

I'm not sure why carp is the traditional Czech food for Christmas, but the tradition goes like this: Men come out on every street corner and fill up tubs and tubs with live carp. People will line up to buy a live carp. They take it home and let it live in their bathtub for a few days, then they kill it and eat it on Christmas Eve. Again, I'm not sure of the reasoning, but I guess cutting down a perfectly good tree and putting tinsel on it doesn't make much sense either.

Christmas morning, we had the Prague district missionaries over for breakfast. If you've ever wondered what missionaries do on Christmas, this is what they do after breakfast--they relax in the mission home. We loved having them with us.

Elder Holik resting in Matthew's favorite chair.

This is the group we had over for breakfast. Steven and Matthew are hiding out in the back row.

Our funny, funny tree. We bought a beautiful, yet little, tree right before we left for Slovakia. When we got home, we discovered our error in forgetting to ask the boys to water it while we were gone. Our once vibrant, bursting with life tree, became this sad, sagging tree; barely able to hold up its ornaments. Sister Forsythe said it best when she walked into the family room this afternoon. She said, "Oh, your tree." Yes, indeed. Our tree. It goes into the trash tomorrow.

If you are reading our post, could you do us a favor and just write your name in the comments box and where you are from? We thought it would be fun to know who is reading. Many thanks, and Stastny Novy Rok!! (Happy New Year)

The Beautiful Christmas Season

2007-12-18T07:04:00.001-08:00

I love this time of year! Winter is in full force with chilly weather and dark afternoons. There is no daylight after 4 pm! We have learned that even after the sun goes down, missionary work continues. But it is so beautiful here when everything is decorated for Christmas.

We visited Trebic last Sunday, where I was invited into Primary to watch them practice a Christmas play. Here the children are receiving last minute instructions before they begin the re-enactment of Luke 2. It was fun to watch Mary (little girl in the pink sweater) ride the donkey (little boy in the plaid shirt), and Joseph (little boy in the suit and tie) protect her. To my delight, it was a musical. So every once in awhile, the children would break into a Christmas song. I especially enjoyed it when the donkey got tired and layed down while Mary was trying to balance on top of him.

We had an office party in the apartment upstairs and invited all the missionaries from the office for a Byli Sloan (white elephant) gift exchange. Elder Nelson was particularly pleased to get a kazoo. Here he is showing off his kazoo skills to his wife and Elder Johnson. The Nelsons were released from their mission last week. Though we miss them, I think we'll get along just fine without Elder Nelson's rendition of Jingle Bells on the kazoo.

I tried to enlarge this picture so you can see the Christmas markets (the little red-roofed buildings) they set up in the town squares throughout the Czech Republic. They are so quaint and fun to shop in. They sell everything from hand painted jewelry to homemade cookies and chocolates. We like to go down at night and listen to the carolers sing.

I had Marv stop driving so I could get out a take a picture of the road we were on. We thought this was going to be a major highway..... Before we left on our trip, we thought it was odd that a woman wished us safe travels on our way. When the highway narrowed into a

very tight two lane country road covered in snow, we suddenly knew what she meant. Though the driving was not ideal, the scenery of the countryside was absolutely gorgeous! We were grateful for our snow tires and the office elders who put them on the car right before we left!

More Pictures From the Mission Wide Conference

2007-11-27T09:43:00.000-08:00

Sorry this layout is so random. I'm experimenting. These are all pictures from our Thanksgiving weekend; the turkey, the restaurant, the people. The six elders above are the newest in the mission. They arrived Tuesday morning before the mission wide conference began.

The four elders in the picture below are our former and current assistants--Elder Roberts, Elder Bentley, Elder Johnson, and Elder Johnson. That's right, our two current assistants are Johnson & Johnson.

These missionaries finished their missions and went home Thanksgiving morning. I can only imagine the joyful reunion they had with their families at the airport; and how appropriate to have them return home on Thanksgiving!

We had a musical fireside Wednesday night. The elders from Slovakia performed a hymn together. They were amazing. This is a shot of one of the three street displays in Old Town Prague.

Thanksgiving Mission Wide Conference

2007-11-20T06:51:00.000-08:00

We were able to hold a mission wide conference on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. A very generous American member of the church, Ed Barner, rented out a beautiful restaurant in Old Town Prague and catered Thanksgiving dinner for the entire mission. We had everything an American could want to eat on Thanksgiving day. Our missionaries were sooo happy, and so were we! (I didn't have to cook.) Many thanks to Ed! He is such a good friend to the missionaries here, and to the church. This is a picture of ALL the missionaries in the Czech Prague mission, including the missionaries who labor in Slovakia.

It was so exciting to see everyone in the same room! We had an intensive couple of days of leadership training, new missionary training, a special musical fireside, and 3 massive street displays. (By the way, from the street displays, the missionaries were able to make appointments with 57 people and give away a case of The Book of Mormon. It was an inspiring afternoon.) Our son Steven went to all three street displays and took pictures. While he was there, a few of the newer missionaries asked him if he would like to know more about the church. He then explained that he is the mission president's son, and he was assigned to take their picture. It was pretty funny.

A note from President Slovacek

2007-11-15T05:45:00.000-08:00

As I look at our blog, sharing some of the sights and experiences of our mission, I see that it is fun and worthwhile. We love it here and desire to share it fully as possible with you. My only concern is that it is difficult to capture in photos, or anything remotely "bloggable", some of the other experiences we are having. At the risk of being boring, I would like to at least touch on some of the less visually capturable things we are experiencing.

The stories of the early members of the church here are so faith inspiring; at least as much so as many of the stories of the pioneers crossing the plains. They first had to deal with the Nazis and the forced evacuation of the missionaries. They tried to remain faithful during the war, but were limited in what they could do. After the war, despite difficult living conditions, they welcomed back with open arms the missionaries. This was short lived though, as communism came in and made missionary work difficult and church membership dangerous. The stories of the people still worshipping and even converting others are amazing.

Meetings were limited in attendance to no more than 10, without government approval (which was not granted). So in Prague, they would sometimes have 3 meetings simultaneously, in 3 different rooms, with 9 people in attendance in each room. The Branch president would rotate between the 3 meetings. There was no translation department, so the members woul do their own translating of church materials from English to Czech.

They actually published a monthly newsletter about religious happenings. At one time, it had a circulation of 15 times the membership of the church. People actually paid to subscribe to it to read about religion.

Travel for many of the members was long and arduous. Even today it is not unusual to have a member ride an hour on the train to get to church. A counselor in our branch presidency here in Prague lives more than an hour away.

While some of the "people skills" and church experience are missing here, we love the people and their happy spirits. Theirs is a unique burden, trying to live as a Latter Day Saint in a Godless society.

It is wonderful--though not bloggable--the experiences we have with missionaries as they begin to understand what it means to serve with all of their heart, might, mind, and strength. We love to hear them talk with excitement about their investigators. Often when the investigator comes out of the baptismal water, the missionary is crying as much as the new member.

We love being here with these dear saints. As much as we miss family and friends, and many of the conveniences of home, we are grateful for the chance to serve with all our hearts for this short period of time.

Walking Around Prague

2007-11-03T07:59:00.000-07:00

We've been running pretty hard lately, so we decided to take some time off this morning and just walk around the city.

I had forgotten how beautiful and amazing the architecture is here.

We were in the Jewish Quarter of town, an old section where the Jewish people congregated during WWII. We looked through a gate at the synagogue and saw this massive graveyard.

This is the Jewish synagogue in the old quarter of town.

This tower was built in the 1400's. Some of the places we've seen go as far back as the 1100's. I can't imagine anything being that old!

A concert hall on the waterfront. It's very beautiful.

This is one of my favorite places in Prague. This is St. Wencelas Square. It was here that 300,000 Czechs gathered in 1989 to protest communism. They all stood out in the square and jingled their keys. I'm not sure of the symbolism of that, but it was effective. What is called now the "Velvet Revolution" because of its quiet and smooth transition, took place, and communism was toppled, all starting from this square.

In this same square, two students in 1968 set themselves on fire to protest the communists taking over the city. A memorial for them is at the base of the rose garden.

You may remember from an earlier post, all of our service projects in Slovakia. We're happy to report that we've had enormous success from them! In particular, the technical college that we helped to clean up, offered the missionaries a classroom to teach the gospel on campus one night every week for as long as they want. Now when you walk on campus, you can see posters for the church and it's weekly class. The missionaries are very excited!

Halloween/All Saints Day

2007-11-03T07:36:00.001-07:00

The missionaries in Prague helped out with a branch Halloween party. It was a huge success with lots of investigators who brought their friends. We had people come in from all over the city to the party. Evidently, it's an annual thing that has spread by word of mouth. Several nonmembers called during the day to see if we were going to have it. They remembered it from last year.

Elder Mills as a Scottish lad.

Sister Sorenson put a hanger in her braids to make them stick out. I was in a 50's costume, but after I got my face painted at the children's booth, people thought I was a mouse???

Elder Tew got his holidays mixed up. He found this Santa suit in the basement. We didn't even recognize him when he walked in!

Sister Berkquist and Sister Mitchell were CIA agents; but one of the elders said that Sister Mitchell looked more like a Prague Tram driver. He was right!

Our assistants, Elder Johnson and Elder Bentley decided to dress up as guys from the 80's. They were hysterical! You should've seen their jeans--pegged pants and all! That's Marv in the background talking to our new senior missionary couple from Utah.

Kostnice, St. Barbara's, and the Assistants

2007-10-21T09:52:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of Elder Bently taking a picture of me, taking a picture of him. Actually, his companion, Elder Johnson, was taking a picture of the two of us taking a picture of each other. This is what we do in our spare time while waiting for President Slovacek to finish his interviews.

Last Saturday, Marv, Matt and I drove to Kutna Hora to visit a couple of sites. The first one, Kostnice, would be perfect for a Halloween party. In English, it's called The Bone Church, because it's decorated in hundreds of thousands of human bones. Below is a bin of bones. There are 3 other bins like this one in the church. Those are real skulls you're looking at!

Above Matt's head, the foyer is decorated in human bones. The chandelier in the next picture is made out of every bone in the human body. Evidently, some monk centuries ago got the bright idea to clean up all the bones from the surrounding graveyard, and decorate the church with them. My question is, wasn't there a sane voice in the group of monks? Did it not occur to ANYONE that this might not be such a good idea?? Who wakes up in the middle of the night and says, "Yes! Of course! We need to decorate the church in bones!" ??

Another site we visited in Kutna Hora was St. Barbara's Cathedral. It is a beautiful place that was built in the 1400's and was added onto throughout the centuries. The paintings and murals are masterful.

Usually Cathedrals bother me with their opulence; but this one has a different spirit. I was impressed by their devotion to the Lord, which is shown through their works of art.

Meanwhile, back at home, our assistants, Elders Johnson and Bently have moved into our home while their apartment is being renovated. I caught them cooking in my kitchen the other day. It's quite eye-opening to see what the missionaries eat. Elder Bently has his favorite sandwich which is made by placing uncooked Raman noodles between two pieces of bread with some ketchup. I think he puts something else on it, but I quit listening to him after he mentioned the ketchup.

Elder Johnson in the foreground is from Salt Lake City, as is Elder Bently.

Recognition of the Church in Slovakia

2007-10-17T11:55:00.000-07:00

Marv speaking at the Bratislava ceremony, with his translator.

October 18, marked the one year anniversary of when the church was recognized in Slovakia. Since last year, five branches have been created and we have over 120 members of the church in that beautiful country. I rode the train to Bratislava and met Marv to attend a formal reception for the recognition of the church. The office elders and I spent a good deal of time creating a PowerPoint/video presentation for the reception. It was an important part of the ceremony, and it went really well. I was so glad!

The Bratislava elders sang the Slovak national anthem. It was pretty powerful. I looked around the room and noticed the Slovaks had tears in their eyes. I was filled with a great love for these people and the country they are so proud to finally call their own.

We have been so blessed to be here at this time. It is a wonderful experience to see the shroud of darkness being lifted and good people throughout both countries embracing the gospel. It is life changing for them (and surprisingly for me) to see them develop and grow. We feel as though we are directed daily in the missionary work. And oh how we love our missionaries! It's hard to believe we have only been here a few months. We have travelled through Slovakia and the Czech Republic so many times, and know each of the missionaries so well. It seems as though we have lived here forever and have 90 children to prove it. (Okay, they are not children. They are servants of the Lord; but they we love them as our own.)

More Service Projects!!

2007-10-06T10:12:00.000-07:00

Brush clean up in Zilina.

We had a huge bonfire going in Zilina. As soon as we got it going, I was sorry we didn't have marshmallows to roast; but I guess that would've interferred with the service project...still...hot dogs would've been fun, too.

Elder Baughman and Elder Auger are cleaning blankets at the homeless shelter in Trencin.

Nature trail clean up in Banska Bystrice. Elder Van de Graff found a shoe. I was jealous! But later, Matt and I found a pair of jeans and a belt. Who loses a pair of jeans in a park??

Homeless shelter clean up in Trencin.

Evidently, Slovaks are proud of their uprising history. We found this place in Banska Bystrice.

Our nature trail clean up crew. The funny little man in the middle asked me to take a break and go get a drink with him. When I politely refused, he told me that he would pay. I could tell he already had a few drinks that morning. It scared me when he told me that he was a blood donor. Mental note: Do Not Accept Blood in Banska!

Service Projects and Youth Hostels Galore!

2007-10-06T09:52:00.000-07:00

So....in celebration of the one year anniversary of the church's recognition in Slovakia, all 5 of our branches throughout the nation held a service project. We decided to take a week and participate in all of the projects. This time we took Matthew with us to land a helping hand. We drove 14 hours straight from Prague to Kosice. We were so tired when we finally arrived in the city. We could hardly wait to get to the hotel and unwind, but wait! There was no vacancy in sight! We looked for 3 hours and were ready to sleep in the car, until one nice young man found us a place at a youth hostel. It was kind of sparse and a little creepy, but hey, it was a room with 3 tiny little beds. It was past midnight, so we gladly took it, rejoicing in the fact that we didn't have to sleep in the car after all.

The next morning, we went to the service project. We cleaned a college campus that was pretty disgusting. We worked all morning and got quite a few stares--I think they were envious of our bright yellow tee shirts. They have "Mormon Helping Hands" written on them in Slovak. Yep, we were a pretty good looking lot! (I was the designated photographer so I'm not in most of the pictures.)

2007-09-24T07:17:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-09-23T08:36:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-23T05:40:00.001-07:00

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!

2007-09-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

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.

Switzerland!!

2007-08-29T12:54:00.001-07:00

We had an experience of a lifetime attending a mission presidents' seminar in Switzerland. Our first stop was a session in the Swiss temple with all 16 couples from the Europe Central missions with our area president, Elder Robert Oaks and his wife. This is a picture of our group entering the temple.

After the temple, we drove to Grindelwald and stayed at a beautiful hotel situated at the base of the alps. This is the view we had from our balcony at the hotel. Pretty amazing stuff. Our conference meetings all had the same view. I can't describe the feeling Marv and I had as we were taught by an apostle and other general authorities, basking in the beauty of the Alps!

As we had dinner one night, these two guys were our entertainment. That long horn instrument has a beautiful sound.

After several days of intense training, we were able to take a P-day. Most of us took a train up to Jungfraujoch, a half-way point up the mountain. Only a few of us decided to go the rest of the way up the moutain to the top. This is a picture of the Adventurous 10, as we called ourselves. From left to right are: Area President Elder Oaks and his wife, Elder Uchtdorf and his wife, the mission president from Poland and his wife, me and Marv, and the couple behind us is the attorney for the church in central Europe and his wife. We are standing in an ice cave at the top of the mountain. After we took this picture, we went out and walked on the glacier. Oh my goodness! It was bitter cold and the wind was blowing snow and ice into our faces, but the view was spectacular. We were on the highest rail station in Europe. The next picture is just to give you an idea of where we were.

It's something, yes?! We were out there! I still can't believe it when I look at these pictures. We have a funny story about Elder Oaks. He was going out onto the glacier where the wind was gusting to over 40 miles per hour. His wife and Sister Uchtdorf offered him an umbrella to use as a walking stick, but this retired 4 star general yells back, "Are you kidding?! I'd look like Mary Poppins flying off the Alps!" We got a kick out of that visual.

The mountain view was spectacular on the way back down. I took this shot leaning out the train window, facing backwards. It was a good thing there were no trams passing by--I would've lost an arm, if not my head.

As beautiful as was the scenery, it cannot compare to the spiritual feast we had daily while in the seminar. We were taught by Elders Uchtdorf, Rasband--one of the presidents of the 70, and our area presidency in every session. We sat for hours and yet it felt like 15 minutes. We didn't want them to stop. I have never heard the gospel taught so clearly and effectively using only the scriptures as a source. It was an amazing experience! Did I already say that? I call it the Sermon in the Alps.

Our last evening there, Marv and I had dinner at a little Italian restaurant across the street from the hotel. We were surprised to find Elder Oaks and his wife there, so we sat by them and talked for the rest of the evening. They told us their fascinating stories from their experiences in South Africa and all over the world. They are truly great people.

All to soon the seminar was over. We had several hours before our plane left, so we took a train into downtown Zurich and walked around. Talk about upscale shopping! I found a purse there for a mere $20,000. I said to Marv, "I know you can't appreciate it, but look at this cute purse!" He said, "You're right, I can't appreciate it." I told him that even though he is an excellent missionary companion, sometimes I need a girlfriend or my daughters on these trips. They would understand.

Well, that's our report from Switzerland. We are home now with a new found energy and drive to dive back into the work. Look out Czechs and Slovaks--here we come!

2007-08-20T22:41:00.000-07:00

For P-Day, we went to Cesky Krumlov,a little town a couple of hours south of Prague.
I had to get a shot of this!

More of Cesky Krumov. We loved this place because all the tourists there were from the Czech Republic on holiday. I think we were the only Americans in the city.

Matthew was happy when we left the torture chamber and stopped for lunch.

For our anniversary--32 years!--we took a river boat cruise down the Vltava River in Prague. It was a beautiful evening, especially at dusk when all the lights came on. We had fun listening to this little band on the top deck; though it did seem a bit incongruous with the background scenery when they started playing "When the Saints Come Marching in".

More scenes from the river. Such a beautiful place!

2007-08-13T11:24:00.000-07:00

An interior shot of the castle in Bohunice. It's quite ornate.

I caught these guys after church hanging out by the Relief Society room. The two on the left are our assistants. Elder Roberts is holding his glasses and trying to look very thoughtful.

Elder Bently plays the keyboard for Primary in the Prague branch. Isn't that cute?

The mist was rising over the bridges this morning in the park. We're going on a river boat dinner cruise on this river Wednesday night for our anniversary.

Lest you think all we're doing is touring the country and visiting castles, I'll let Marv write about our schedule; just to give you an idea of what our days are like:

We have the great opportunity/obligation to hold 5 zone conferences each month and to teach and interview about 90 wonderful missionaries. We have 16 branches, spread out from right downstairs to a 14 hour drive which we are trying to get to ASAP. In addition, I meet with each District Presidency monthly as well as the mission Presidency. We have a monthly zone leaders council, transfers and a variety of temple interviews, General authority tours in addition to the PH leadership training meetings, Ellen's auxiliary training efforts as well as the normal paperwork, other meetings and preparations for these other events. It is clearly a full-time labor; but one we love doing.