Well, this was an interesting week. A really interesting week.
The continuing saga of visas and insurance came to a head this week. There were about 3 or 4 points where we weren't sure if we were going to be losing an entire group of missionary visas, but we pulled through. The insurance is squared away, we have all the documents put together for their renewals, most of which now have to be notarized, and the missionaries will be coming on monday to file their applications.
I've got to say that it's really hard not doing missionary work as much as I used to. They say that missionary work is the life-blood of the church, but it's even more so the lifeblood of the missionaries themselves. It was very exciting getting to go sing and contact yesterday. An anecdote worth sharing was when the new mongolian sister missionary spotted a couple of mongolians walking through the crowd. She slipped out of the group that was singing and rushed over to them. The rest of the district was so excited to see her have a chance to shine, since she doesn't have fluency in english or czech just yet. We were singing "Lead Kindly Light", but all of us had our heads turned and we were leaning and straining so we could see around the whiteboard we had with us how she was doing. And, she was very successful. It was very exciting to see and there were a lot of high-fives shared when she came back.
I think it's interesting to use her as an example, since she really doesn't have much going for her. Except for one thing: She knows what she believes is true, and she's willing to act accordingly. Her willingness to sacrifice stems from her faith and hope, and both of those stem from her willingness to follow the rules and live what she believes. When we have that confidence backing us, we cannot fail.
In other news, Lilia decided to get married and the marriage took place yesterday. We were invited, and it was a simple ceremony at a town hall in one of the quarters of Prague. Her husband isn't a member, he seems nice enough. A lot of their decision to be married revolves around having someone there for the other (She's a widow), and another benefit is that she's now a czech citizen. This will help her a lot in establishing herself financially, and in being able to visit the USA to see her son who moved there many years ago. And, she'll be able to go to the temple in Freiburg for baptisms since she'll have a passport and all the documentation she'll need. We're very happy for her.
On the way back from the wedding, we were in the back seat of a member's car. As we were going through an intersection, another vehicle swerved into our lane and rammed the back of her car, giving a good knock to everyone in the car. Her car didn't have much damage, a literal "fender-bender". The other car had a nice round dent in the front, though. After assessing the situation, me and my companions left the scene to get back to our plans for the day. But, now I can say I've been in a car accident in the czech republic. I guess I can cross that one of my list of mission experiences.
This next week will be a good one. There is much to be done, and I'm glad to be where I am. I don't count, but it's hard to miss next wednesday, the 3rd of February at 8 PM I'll have been a missionary for 2 years. It's such a great blessing, and I'm glad there is yet more to do and more time to do it in. I couldn't ask for more.
One last note: This week I was blessed with a new investigator! Last saturday a lady walked in the door who wanted to learn about our church and asked some very specific questions regarding baptism and church membership. I was very grateful to explain some principles to her, and she is now engaged in reading the book of mormon. I'm glad the Lord gives us small and simple things like that which end up meaning so much to us.
Elder Brent Anderson
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