Saying Good Bye to Winter

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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.