Pictures this week came from the cameras of Elder Pickett,
Elder Dean and Sestra DeMann! No caption to this picture...?
- Elder Galbraith and his
parents came back into C-Bud to do some sight-seeing/people meeting. They
also took the missionaries out to dinner on Thursday, and came to Friday game
night. We had a fun adventure of going back and forth from English to
Czech all throughout the evening. Also, it was super fun to not be the one
who was the most lost anymore when someone was speaking Czech! That was
cool.
From Elder Galbraith’s parents: “Thought you would enjoy a picture of your missionary. We're having dinner together and having a great time. Everyone is happy and healthy.”
- Also, I think for the very
first time in my mission, I had a several contacts this week alone, in
which I was actually successful at having a conversation, completely in
Czech! I consider that a great milestone for me in terms of the language.
Although I still miss details of what is going on, I no longer feel
paralyzed with my inability to understand. I have faith that I can
understand enough to carry on the conversation and keep it pointed towards
the gospel. It was really cool to be talking to a woman in the park here,
and realize after our conversation ended, that I had just had a full
conversation, and she had understood what I was saying, I had understood
what she was saying, and we had really talked! It was a great experience
for me, and one that I am extremely grateful to see.
- Also, a cool miracle for the
week. On our way walking home from a lesson, we were flagged down by an
older gentleman on a bike, who I didn't recognize. Initially I thought he
was a former investigator, but through our conversation we learned he is
actually a less active member. So, since it was Saturday, we obviously
invited him to church the next day, and he came! So that was great. We
don't usually have people flag us down and start conversations. We were a
little okay with it. In fact, we could probably survive if it happened
more.
- Staying in the same city but
having a new companion means some repeat sightseeing visits on pday. But that is great because there is so
much to see. Our district went to Třeboň.
Elder Dean- new companion
The Schwarzenberg Family Vault.
District photo!
Everyone is taking pictures of the meal.
Also, we found, the COOLEST little restaurant in Třeboň. We
asked a local for a recommendation, and boy did he deliver. It was literally
like a restaurant out of Disneyland. Very cheap too. All in all, a successful
P-Day.
- We had some unfortunate Halusky on Sunday (carrying on Elder Galbraith’s tradition). We kind of ran out of time, and it was undercooked. So it rather turned out to be undercooked potato noodles with flour. You know what though? Still not totally terrible.
- And don't worry about me starving. Some missionaries are rather...unwise in how they spend money. Luckily, I hate spending money whenever I don't need to, and I learned excellent budgeting from Elder Galbraith. He never let his desire for chocolate get him to spend too much money. It is a pattern I plan to follow my whole mission. I did run out of money my first month, because of travel, and the need for a bus pass (I bought it for 3 months), but luckily I had a very nice mission “father” (that’s the term for your mission trainer), so he didn't let me starve. Basically, I am good on food. Promise.
·
I
am getting some letters, at random times. Also, thanks for the care package
through the Galbraiths! That was awesome. For birthday gifts...candy.
Especially fruit candy. They've got chocolate covered quite thoroughly here in
Europe, but they can't do Skittles right. Or Starburst. Maybe can I put in a
special request for Starburst jelly-beans. Other than that, I don't really need
anything, nor do I have much room to take big things with me.
Spiritual thought: Today
I want to talk about honesty. I have been reading a lot in the Book of Mormon
about how the Nephites became increasingly more wicked due to the secret
combinations of the Gadianton Robbers. If you need some sort of clarification
on how the Lord views secret combinations, go read that section of the Book of
Mormon. Honesty is critical for us. And with honesty, I wanted to address one
thing in particular. I don't just mean speaking the truth. I mean doing and
saying things with true intentions behind them. My challenge to you all this
week is that you will make sure that your words truly reflect your heart
(always being polite of course). I know that as we do this, we will feel the
Spirit of the Lord more abundantly in our lives, and can feel more confident
asking others, and the Lord, for help.
Thanks for the prayers and support!
-Elder Pickett
To
answer a couple of Mom's questions:
- Elder Dean will run. We haven't this past week. It really depends on president Chrdle's schedule. We will probably run a few times this week at some point. Usually 3ish mornings a week.
- We actually have a washer in our bathroom! It's a little one, but works perfectly for us. And dryers don't really exist in this country, so we hang things behind one of our doors.
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