A Trip to the Slovacek Homeland

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

Slovak Missionaries

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.