Saturday, January 15, 2011

"Dobrý Den, Česká Misie Praha!" ( Week 32 in Prague, Week 92 in Czech )

"The Lord's my Shepherd, I'll not want - He makes me down to lie in pastures green...." *CLICK*

Elder Anderson set his phone down on the table and got on his knees. His companions were just waking up in Brno on an exchange with the Zone Leaders before heading to the leadership conference. As he dressed and shaved, he thought about his plans for the day. Studies, check the eMail, spend the morning in Sister Anderson's office, then switch over to the finance desk that afternoon...it was a markedly different pace than what he was used to doing. However, the Lord knew what he was doing and this Elder knew that too.

Following studies, Elder Anderson brought up the latest emails. The Office Elders were out taking care of registering a new senior couple with the foreign police that had just arrived. Interestingly enough, a new law had been passed on the eve of 2010 that completely transformed the foreign police system, merging parts of it with another government ministry, and at the same time recasting the processes for acquiring visas. The dist still hadn't cleared, and everyone involved was still trying to see how the law would be applied in practice.

As if an extension to his thoughts about these changes, an email blipped onto the screen about visas and insurance, an analysis of the new law and what it would mean from Legal Counsel in the Church. Elder Anderson read it carefully, noting all the new changes. It looked like they were in for an interesting couple of months! From changes in length to insurance requirements, there was a lot of work to be done.

The next few days were a flurry of activity, and Elder Anderson could start to see at least part of the vision that the Lord had had in moving Elder Anderson to where he was. All of his past experience with visas and Czech insurance, his new experiences with mission finance and having to work through contracts and legal documents in Czech, and the gifts he'd been given in communicating with the people were coming together at once to help solve the visa crisis that had suddenly developed literally overnight. With the registration and residence of half their missionaries up in the air, Elder Anderson could see where he was, where the mission needed to be, and how he fit into fixing the situation to help keep the missionaries legal and the mission moving forward smoothly.

It made him happy to see how a lot of the little things he'd felt prompted to do for many months were coming back as pieces to the puzzle, and he was grateful for personal revelation and for the gift of the Holy Ghost. Truly it was the greatest gift one could receive, and many other things stem from that gift that are vital to treading the right way. Since they were going into the unknown, it would be reasonable to have some sense of apprehension in solving the problems of the day. But it was evident that the Lord's declaration "If ye are prepared ye shall not fear" was in full effect here, and the interesting thing was that no-one had been actively preparing against the situation (as the changes had been presented, passed, and implemented literally within a week by the government), but we had been preparing by doing small and simple things as prompted by the Spirit. Making good contacts with certain people, reviewing and revising the visa handbook kept by the mission, learning how to use the tools we have to prepare legal documents better, and many other little things that had suddenly come together.

Elder Anderson was grateful for all he was learning, and he knew there were yet other places the Lord was leading them to, other bits and pieces that would come together and resolve into what was yet in the future. And, with the handful of chances there had been to preach the gospel, he had found great success and great satisfaction as well. There was much to be done, and thankfully there seemed enough time to do it all in. And it made him happy.


S láskou,
Starší Brent Anderson

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