Hello Everyone,
Things have been good here. We went on another exchange and I got all the logistics organized for a conference next week in Brno. We made assignments for all 35 missionaries that needed temporary sleeping, companion, and travel arrangements for a few days. Normally we wouldn't spend quite so much time in the Office, but Elder Thompson and I have been sick. He's got the stomach flu, I've got a head cold, and we're both working on getting over it. But, it's been a good couple of days. In Olomouc on exchanges this week, we had to run to catch the only train we could: the bullet train. We left from a meeting with Lilia who is doing great, and we had a 17 minute metro ride plus getting through the train station when the train itself left in 16 minutes, and by all accounts we shouldn't have made it - especially considering that this train is the most clockwork piece of public transportation in the country. But, true to the counsel fresh on our lips to Lilia, that when you don't know how to do something but you know it's divinely approved, you should first have faith, second pray, and third work as hard as you can. And, you'll succeed! So, we prayed with her and her member friend in the friend's apartment, ran into the elevator, and on the 7 floors down to the ground floor said a fervent prayer. Then we ran, and we ran, and we caught the metro just in time, and we waited patiently as it galloped through the depths of Prague. The metro clock read 7:25 PM when we got off, the train left at 7:26 from the platform that was up two sets of stairs and about 400 meters through crowds of bustling travelers. I think the last set of stairs was the worst. And, as we climbed up the last set of stairs, we could hear the beeping of the train doors sliding shut. With the last burst of energy we had, we piled into the doors just as they closed and we were on board headed for Olomouc. I don't know how we did it, but it was a miracle.
Travelling by train at 80 miles/hour is a much better experience than other trains here. You could actually sleep on it without getting rocked back and forth. When we arrived, it was raining (As usual) and Elder Thompson talked about how when he was in Olomouc last year it just rained and rained and rained all the time. When we planned with the zone leaders, they had just contacting all day long on their plans. That's not very pleasant when it's pouring rain, so when we prayed together I said the prayer and asked for blue skies and clear weather. The next day was great, the skies cleared out that morning and the rest of the day was overcast. But, workable for contacting. We did get a lesson set up for 2 PM, but he couldn't make it, and we sat down. We read a scripture, and as Elder Pearson prayed I had a vision of where we needed to go. It was a street I didn't like contacting when I served in olomouc, since it was skinny and hard to stop people on. I just thought to myself "No, it couldn't be up there...no way. I can't believe that someone could possibly be over there." Then I stepped back and saw the voice for what it was - a doubtful voice, a negative one, and I pushed it offstage. We stood up, and I knew we'd be successful from there to the place we had planned to go to. On the way, we found a family (Libor and Petra, proud parents of a baby boy) and a few students. Then, just as we got to the point on the road that I saw, we saw a woman next to the restaurant on the street I had seen as the point we needed to go to, and we contacted her. She was on her way home from buying a bible for her son, and it wasn't long before she asked us "How much does the Book of Mormon cost?"
It's been a good week, and I'm glad for what we have. Next week we're going to Brno and we're working closely with one of our investigators to overcome 2 years of fears and get baptized.
Don't forget to look for the little miracles and be grateful for them, especially as we near thanksgiving directly. I really like the thanksgiving video the church did last year that they republished this year on their website, the one with people from the streets of new york. It's good to see people grateful for the simple things.
Love,
Elder Brent Anderson
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