Happy Thanksgiving ( Week 24 1/2 in Prague, Week 84 1/2 in Czech )

Surprise! So we have P-Day today, I forgot to mention that last week, but I hope you're all doing well. This week will just be a bit more of a note than anything. Enjoy thanksgiving this year with all the trimmings - family, friends, food and all. It's trying to snow over here, here's to a white Christmas in more ways than one. :-)

Elder Brent Anderson

(Thanks to everyone who has been so supportive of Brent with your prayers, letters,other remembrances. We are truly grateful for all of you and your kindness. It means so much to us and to Brent as well.

Have a happy Thanksgiving and a very merry Christmas season as well.

Starsi Brent's parents)

Thanksgiving ruminations ( Week 24 in Prague, Week 84 in Czech )

(Cue the music from the Church's thanksgiving video from last year "In the spirit of thanksgiving", the one on the streets of new york)

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to this Special Edition of my random ramblings and writings to relatives and really close friends. It's the Thanskgiving edition, and while I don't know *quite* what's going on back home, I'd like to start off by talking about a lot of things I'm grateful for. Some of them are things I've always been grateful for, but some of them are things I've learned to be grateful for on my mission. This is in no particular order, and it reminds me of a game we played in Olomouc for our Family Home Evening night when we'd take a ball and toss it back and forth between each other. When you catch the ball, you say something you're grateful for. While I enumerate a condensed list below, think about some of the things you're grateful for and then ask the person next to you what they are grateful for.

I'm grateful for the pictures on my wall in the office, the ones of people that mean a lot to me in the Czech republic.

I'm grateful for the little Czech flag I got about two years ago from my best friends that's right next to those pictures.

I'm grateful that we have a dryer in the mission home. Fluffy towels and wrinkle-free shirts are something you can't get if you just have a clothesline or a drying rack.

I'm grateful for the letters that all the missionaries get every day - a mailbag full - and for how happy and loved it helps them feel.

I'm grateful for the picture of the Savior I have on my desk that reminds me of what's important.

I'm grateful for my Scriptures. I think I can count on one hand the personal possessions I have that I'd be devastated to lose, and they are on that list.

I'm grateful for my companion, Elder Thompson. I was thinking about it last night, and it's not every transfer you get someone like him.

I'm grateful for good zone leaders to look after.

I'm grateful for the Church and it's programs, for the general leadership and for how much they care about and look after the missionaries and the members.

I'm grateful for Joseph Smith and his diligence leading up to the First vision, plus that experience in and of itself

I'm grateful for the progress that our investigators are making and their desire to work towards baptism.

I'm grateful for the Holy Ghost and the role he plays in conversions, including my own.

I'm grateful for friends and family back home that think and pray about us every day and every night

I'm grateful for Temples and covenants

I'm grateful for the people we've found this week and the lessons we've taught

The list could keep on going and going, but that's enough for the moment.

This last week we had another conference (Remember the time when writing about a conference was unusual and only happened every now and then?), a two day leadership training in Brno. We reviewed the fundamentals of preach my gospel training that we've been working with since August and I got to spend the night on a luxurious set of single-seat chairs that I stuck together. It was actually rather comfortable, and I was grateful to have a place to sleep.

During the conference, the two new sister missionaries had to work together since their companions were at the conference. They've been learning Czech for about 9 weeks now, so it's a bit of a stretch asking them to go out and work on their own in a city they've never been in before (Brno), but we did. It felt like a great opportunity for them to get out and perform some miracles, even though they might not realize that with their calling as missionaries, they are fully qualified to perform miracles - they just have to activate that power within them through obedience, faith, prayer, and work.

Below is an excerpt from my letter to my mom this week talking about their experience.

So we had a good conference in Brno (again - always traveling), we had all the mission leadership together. I was really proud of the two new sister missionaries. Because their trainers were in the conference, I had to figure out where to put the two sisters where they'd be safe since they're brand new but still productive. So, we gave them a phone and had them go contacting in Brno. They were absolutely terrified, but we gave them the same pattern I talked about last week in my email (Faith -> Prayer -> Work) and sent them on their way. The first day, they came back thrilled at having found two numbers. Then they set a goal to double that and get four numbers. The next day they were really anxious (Which is good, I think - it indicates that you can break through and be successful) but they hit the streets and came back a few hours later with five phone numbers. It's something small, but think about the task: Speaking a foreign language that you've been learning for about 3 months, you've only been around natives for 3 weeks, most are devout atheists, and you're trying to set up meetings and get their phone numbers. At any rate, I was very proud and I'm not too concerned with these new missionaries that we have. They're great. If only everyone were as simple, innocent, and faith-filled as the new missionaries. It's something you see as a missionary very clearly is the pride cycle, all too often in oneself - as you learn and gain experience, then you forget how much help you actually need and you get proud. It takes some humbling experiences to bring you back around.

So, in conclusion, be grateful this week, enjoy the holiday and the food, and look for ways to perform miracles in your own lives. It works, and I know that the Lord is willing to bless us when we are doing what He would have us do.

Love,

Elder Brent Anderson

A week? ( Week 23 in Prague, Week 83 in Czech )

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

Lilia, the newest Czech member

Here is a photo of Lilia, just before her Baptism. Brent is next to her and Elder Thompson is to the left. This was taken today.

Today is a good day ( Week 22 in Prague, Week 82 in Czech )

Two conferences, an exchange, and a traffic jam later, the tired Elders sat in the back of the big blue mission van. Elder Andersen, the zone leader from Texas, was at the wheel, and Elder Anderson, the AP from Utah, was lolling in his seat, trying to find a comfortable position to enjoy the trip back to Prague. It had been a week, but what a week it had been. They had met with Lilia on Monday and she had her interview for her baptism. She passed, and sat down afterwards beaming with the two Elders. They talked about how far she'd come, about how she'd fasted for a week, and about her willingness to obey the commandments. When it came to the Word of Wisdom, she complied with faith and no doubts. Time for church was readily sacrificed. Her interest in living the Gospel was evident, and she was grateful for it. Even tithing, something that few in today's world will accept and live by without a flinch, was no issue. She then shared with them something miraculous that had started from that point the week before.

When taught Tithing, Lilia expressed her desire to keep all the commandments, but she also knew that in order to pay tithing, she must be making money. While she was a legal resident of the Czech Republic, she did not have full working status. Thus, her options were extremely limited. While she wanted to work, she was not as young as she used to be and she couldn't handle the demands of some jobs like working for a cleaning agency in the middle of the night. And, without english or computer skills to back her resume, she had struggled for six months to find someone who would give her a job. She simply didn't know what to do, especially when faced with the commandment to pay tithing.

As with each of her meetings, Lilia was worthy of an outpouring of the Spirit. His unrestrained influence guided the missionaries and taught her many things that perhaps were not even said. So it was when Elder Thompson taught about fasting. And so it was today when the Elders simply knew what blessings to promise her. "Lilia, if you are willing to keep the law of the tithe, we promise that the Lord will provide you with work. We don't know how and we don't know when, but we know He will." She accepted the commitment and they closed with a prayer. They were both content and peaceful in their hearts, and they knew that within the week the blessing would come. The day of her interview came, she passed, and we return to that moment when she spoke of a miracle. "I wanted to tell you how glad I am that we met and that our paths crossed. I remember your promise last week, and I want you to know that I start work as a hairdresser tomorrow."

She was baptized that Saturday and could see a bright, straight, and narrow path laid in front of her. She had friends, and she had knowledge. Most importantly, she had a covenant with her Heavenly Father which she was prepared to keep forever.

To anyone who reads this, I declare that there is a God in heaven and that He has servants, and I and my companion and our fellow missionaries everywhere are among their number. He is a God of miracles, and the miracles exist today in every shape and kind just as they ever have, and I am a witness of those miracles.

It's been a really good week, and I hope that yours is just as good too. I will also mention that my sister had a baby this weekend, his name is Kelton. I'm way excited to see him.

Love you all,
Elder Brent Anderson