Missionaries Past and Present

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.