Toronto Service Project, September 20, 2008

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.