Training,Office Work, Transfer Calls and Temple Rededications

Well that title pretty much sums up everything that I would need to put in this email, but I will include some other fun details as well. First off, I did receive my transfer call today. I will be staying in Prague in the office, and I will be the district leader here. Elder Brockbank will be my companion. He is a missionary in his third transfer, and he will be replacing Elder Terry. Elder Terry is going to Plzeň. It should be a really run and interesting transfer and I am looking forward to all of the changes and new experiences that will be available. Other than that I will put in some weekly updates.

• This last Saturday we did a cultural presentation. We had some members, missionaries, and investigators come. We had presentations on California, Utah, Ecuador, and Australia. It was fun, and I learned a lot of random facts about Australia and Ecuador (I already knew most of the stuff about Utah and California)
• We had our "Culture Night" on Wednesday, when we went into Prague castle and toured the giant cathedral and a few other areas. Pictures to follow. It was quite fun, and had some fabulous views. In case anyone was considering visiting Prague, I would highly recommend it. From Elder Terry: "We got an extended tour of the castle. It was really cool. We got to go to a lot of places that you can't on a normal or free tour. We learned a lot about the castle and got to see a cool exhibition about armor and medieval weapons."

the giant St. Vitus Cathedral 

                                        
                                             Elders Pickett, Peterson, Terry, and Trythall

• We also had zone training on Thursday, and we heard some great messages from President and his wife, and from the Assistants. It was a great, we learned a lot.  It was all in Czech.
• We also were able to get out during the week and look for people. We had a great first lesson with a referral from a member, and we really hope that we can keep working with her. Her schedule is a little tricky but we are patient.
• Missions are great. They are truly life-changing, especially if you allow them to be.   It is very interesting that the Lord sometimes gives assignments to change us, not for us to change the situations around us. I really enjoy that fact and knowing  that blessings from the Lord come with that.

My spiritual thought for this week is about trying again. In life, we often try something, only to find that it doesn't work. This can be true of so many different subjects. Dieting, exercising, spiritual growth, problem solving, the list is endless. But the great thing is that we can always try again. Sometimes, we make big mistakes in life. Sometimes we do something that makes us lose an opportunity forever, or we may think we lose it. The great thing about these kind of mistakes is that we have the Atonement, and we can, in fact, start again. So my invitation to you all is to leave things that are in the past truly in the past and use the Atonement and to start again. It is a great blessing that we have and a great tool to overcome difficulties. Thank you for the prayers and support!

-Elder Pickett 

Fun things in Prague. The Lenin wall and good sights.