So June is Here Now I Guess

The Candy Store, a place of magic and marvels, has Barq's Red Creme Soda. The real deal. 

How we lost the month of May to the sands of time I will never know, but I guess it is already June. It is incredible to think that I have been in Prague for a month. You would think that means I know what I am doing here with Visa Work. You would think wrong if that is the case. This transfer is flying by, and it is just going to get more and more busy as we approach the end and President McConkie leaves and we transition into a new Mission President. And, as if that weren't enough, we are going to get a new Office Couple too. That just adds to the insanity. Speaking of insanity, this week happened, highlighted by:

• The weather is Bohemian, meaning madness. What is the Bohemian Spring/early Summer weather like? Every day is essentially the same: hot and humid, with a chance of sudden and violent downpours of rain for an interval of anywhere from 5-20 minutes. Then simply repeat the cycle. It has been crazy.
• An invitation by President to go on an hour road trip outside of Prague to give a blessing to a man, whose daughter attended BYU and got baptized. He is not a member, but she is, and she asked if missionaries could come to give him a blessing in the hospital. He spoke excellent English, and was really grateful that we came out.
• Running into random members from Utah while we were out tracting one night, in a random suburb of Prague, probably 30 minutes away from anything remotely touristy.
• The organization of our new Prague Bishopric on Sunday. That was quite exciting for all of us. Our Prague ward is great. We officially got a Bishop and 1^st counselor, who used to be a ward missionary and is just amazing. I love the metro in Prague! It is awesome. And the YSA here are incredible. As well as basically just every member. And the sheer amount of people.
• Lots of really good food, from some really good restaurants
• District contacting, which consisted of singing, and creating a beautiful chalk display that disappeared from a sudden downpour right after we left the area.
• Visiting the notary with President McConkie to get 16 documents notarized (and in this country, notarizing is a big deal. President McConkie explained that notaries have to go through law school, and act as a "neutral lawyer" when notarizing documents)
• And other general mayhem that just goes along with missionary life, especially here in the office. Office pictures:

 My desk in the office!

 The Office. Not to be confused with the hit TV show. Picture above is where Elder Terry, Elder Holt, and I sit. Picture to the left is the entrance and where Sister Holt sits.  Then the supply room and a random hallway with bathrooms. 

President's office 

• The McConkie's stuff is mostly all gone already. (Mission President McConkie and his family will be returning to the US.  This is his last transfer as the Mission President before the new Mission President starts.) On its way back on a slow boat. They are kind of in the process of moving out so that the new MP can have space when he comes. He does speak English. He is a good guy.
• Prague is having a music festival, where random people go around as street performers to celebrate the ending of WWII. That's been coolio. Also, I haven't seen Czech pants anywhere in this city! I don't know how that is even possible. But I will keep searching for a purple pair to send to Caroline for her birthday.
• Responding to a blog post from Mom from about Americans living in the Czech called “Surviving the Foreign Police.”   That is real advice. If you don't know Czech you are toast. A lot of the people know English, but when you call the Foreign Police phone line it literally translates for the first two or three phrases then says "This conversations will continue in the Czech language." And the Operators only do Czech.

My spiritual thought today is about patience. We have been struggling this last month to find investigators, to meet with the ones we already have, and to do the things we want to for our area. Some days, things we can't control get in our way and prevent us from contacting, or trying to visit someone, or something like that. But I have gained a testimony that when we rely on the Lord, we will still see miracles. It is His timing, and His plan, not ours.  I have personally seen that there are some times when we just blunder around and do everything wrong, and God makes it okay. So I invite you all to keep going. When we do our best, and leave the rest to the Lord, He will magnify our efforts to more that we can imagine. And we will grow more than we ever thought possible. Thanks for the prayers and support!

-Elder Pickett