The Best Days of My Life

Dobry den! Man, I just love you so much! I must say, the Adam's and the High Five Fiber bread was BOMB! (v cesky: 'to je bomba!' Literally means, 'it's the bomb!' And they really really say that there. Neat.) Seriously. Sestra Stratton and I had a major feast in the Forbidden Forest. With the vittals you've sent and her family's sent, we are the happiest eaters in the MTC. Mainly because everyone else is suffering from either diarrhea or constipation. I also received the pillow case from Sister Carter! Oh MY, it is the cutest thing I've ever seen! I immediately put it to good use and have been sleeping with visions of 5 year-olds dancing in my head ever since. Tell Sister Carter that they should expect a letter from me soon.

It's interesting that you brought up disappointing missionaries. You'd never guess it, but the MTC is full of them. It's understandable though--leaving the world behind is a difficult thing to do. Many people come here thinking they can have one foot in Babylon and another in Zion. But that makes for pulled groins and/or torn breeches, which is no fun for anyone. I hope that several of the missionaries in my district will have the opportunity to really dedicate themselves to the work as their missions move forward. The most difficult thing is when there are two lackadaisical missionaries paired together...they have no idea how much their combined efforts can impact all those around them. But just pray for the missionaries in your area--your prayers really can help them! Just think of Alma! And Nephi! And a million other people in the Book of Mormon! The Lord had those stories written time and time again so that we would be able to trust that he really will consecrate our prayers for the benefit of others. Isn't it beautiful? The Book of Mormon is like a little piece of all the things that are in God's heart. A piece of His heart that we can carry around with us and take out and look at whenever we please. And the more we look into His heart, the more our hearts begin to reflect the things in His. Awesome.

So, we taught our first lesson in Czech last week. It went surprisingly well. The most interesting part was that the "investigators" told our teacher afterward that we made an excellent team--this is the Elder that I've been having difficulty getting along with. But we both want the same things and we've been making a point of becoming a unified companionship as of late. I suppose God is blessing our efforts. It wasn't super eventful, other than the fact that I began the lesson by asking them if we could "end" with a prayer. They were a little surprised, but we quickly cleared up the misunderstanding. And later, during the lesson, Elder Bracken was throwing "the sign" (we made up a 'subtle' sign that we could use if we ever felt prompted to say something during the lesson while the other was talking...that way we could wrap up our words and transition nicely without interrupting each other and without overriding the Spirit) like crazy, but he wasn't throwing it within my peripheral vision, so I didn't see it at all...but one of the investigators did, apparently, and got a very funny look on his face about it. So what, we're amateurs. :)

I've learned some pretty interesting things about the Czech Republic lately. Mostly because the 3 Elders in my class all have leadership positions, which means they are gone on Wednesday and Thursday nights for meetings and I am left alone with the same teacher, Brother Rowberry, who is really my age, which usually isn't weird. But he's told me all sorts of neat things about the Czech Republic. Everything really is like a fairytale there. Seriously, like the average citizen has a special plot of land in the forest where they search for wild mushrooms to eat. And they all know the various kinds of mushrooms and which ones are okay to eat. Thus, I now have a secret ambition to go mushroom hunting with a member some p-day.
Also, instead of saying weird angry phrases like "Jiminy Christmas!" or "Doggone it!", they say "Hrom do police!" which means, "Thunder to the shelves!" Go figure.

It's weird, lots of people that I've grown to love here are starting to leave for the field. Three weeks. I'm not sure how I feel about it. I've decided that I will be happy, no matter what. Sestra Stratton and I have made a pact that we will make our last 23 (now 21) days together THE BEST DAYS OF OUR LIVES. Thus, we often shout out to each other "THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIIIIIIIFE!"--much to the dismay of our fellow districtmen, who can't figure out how every day happens to be the best day of our lives. But we're still loving it.

Anyway...family, I just love you so much. I can't even believe that Michelle has a phone now. She's so big! A few of my Elders heard it was her birthday and drew her Peter Pan pictures, so make sure she writes them back. I'm really glad about the work increasing--I've been praying for you. I think about you all all the time. I feel your strength here with me. Keep up the great missionary work! I'm so proud of you all!

Miluji vas!

Sestra Dean