Elder Brad Pickett: Prague!

Prague is pretty cool. And a view of the city that is nowhere near as good as real life.

Elders Pickett & Terry

Hello everybody, I hope you have had just the most marvelous week this last week. Mine's been pretty swell. And...interesting. On Monday morning we had office meeting, with President and Sister McConkie, the Holts, the Morgans, and Assistants, and us. It is a good time. This week, Elder Petersen shared a spiritual thought about how the Stripling Warriors did not fear fighting, even though they had no experience with it, because they chose to rely on God. So, he concluded, we can do things we never have before. That kind of became a theme for me this week...

· Number 1. I installed a computer for Sister Holt. For those of you who do not know, I am not exactly an IT wizard. If someone had a question about technology, they would certainly not be bringing it to me first. So on Monday we got an email from an IT helper in Frankfurt, who was going to help me do all of the changing over. So I got a call from him and we chatted about what I needed to do to get ready for that. That involved going to the Best Buy of the Czech Republic (hidden in a random, somewhat sketchy looking warehouse that turned out to be a miracle of modern technology inside) to buy a special fancy cable and a flash drive, downloading some giant files, exhausting all of my computer knowledge and then asking him for help, and then asking someone else for help on something else. It was quite a day.

· Then we had exchanges, and I got to go with Elder Beazer to his area in Pankrac, still in Prague. We there had a good time, and a chalk display during which I contacted a pretty cool Dutch scientist, who I thought was Czech. So we were both speaking in Czech until partway into the conversation when I was struggling to formulate a sentence correctly, and he asked "Where are you from?" and I answered "Califonia." To which he replied "Then why the heck are we speaking in Czech! I know it's good for us both to practice, but let's just speak English!" That was a fun contact. Overall it was a good exchange in which a lot didn't go according to plan, but still went rather decently.

Our super awesome chalk display. It is the Gospel of Jesus Christ: Faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. And then we need the Atonement of Jesus Christ to bridge the gap between us and God.

(exchanges with Elder Beazer)

· Then I actually installed the computer most of the way on Wednesday, as well as tried something new and delicious at a restaurant. Elder Terry and I also got to pick up the McConkie kids from school. That was great fun. They are super cool.

· Then we finished installing the computer on Thursday, except for one very important program, which we still can't get downloaded properly. I got to call Salt Lake about that on Friday.

· Then on Friday, we had Visa Work again, in which many good things happened. Mainly 1) We didn't get lost on the way there like last time 2) It was my MTC group, so I got to see them again 3) Almost everyone got the same date and same time to come back, so I don't have to call and try to see how everyone can fit together. 4) Nobody got kicked out of the country.

We took a picture. The sisters couldn't come, but this is the rest of our district. Left to right: me, Elder Terry, Elder Beazer (our District Leader), Elder Trythall, the Assistants Elder Petersen and Elder Needham.

Look a little familiar? This is in a really famous graveyard here in Prague.

The site of the beginning of the Velvet Revolution really.

· CBud (Brad’s last area) is having a baptism next week. I won’t be going to it since it is a family I have never met. And there is a baptism here in Prague, so I will definitely be at that one.

· Overall, it was a crazy week, and we didn't have as much time to find as I would have liked, but we are still working hard, doing our best, and trusting in the Lord. And that is really all that we can do.

My spiritual thought for the week isn't so much of a thought as a habit. This past week, I have been reading the New Testament, in the book of Matthew. It has been incredible for me to study the Lord's life, and everything that Jesus Christ did, and to try to apply some of those principles into my teaching and life. It has been incredible how much my desire to read and to study more out of the scriptures has grown this past week as well. So, my suggestion is that if you ever feel like it is hard to do spiritual things, or make the time to read the scriptures, or find the desire to read the scriptures, study the life of Jesus Christ, and watch how it changes your life. Thanks for the prayers and support!

-Elder Pickett

P-Day Fun:

We went to a pretty great mirror maze last weekend.