Mine Is a World of Houby and Binkyfriends October 27th, 2010

Cauky Family!

Today I lost my mother. In the mission, I mean. A small part of me feels like I could be the little bird in that children's book {"Are You My Mother?"}, constantly searching for a new one. But it will be good. Sister Wheeler was amazing (or Beely, as I typically call her, in enthusiastic Liba fashion) and it was really neat to begin my mission while watching the end of a very successful one. It makes me think a lot about how I want my mission to end. That girl is a rock star. It was neat to see the lives that she touched in Brno (which is only one of four places she served in!)--we met with many of the most significant ones on Monday and Tuesday. Three of them were all young men who are also recent converts, including Petr. I couldn't help but laugh at the gifts they gave her--they were so characteristic of each of them! Tonda, ever the friendly pleaser, gave her chocolates. And boy were they good! (Tonda is also seriously considering serving a mission! Way to go Sister Austin, if you're reading this! We talked to him about that yesterday and he said he was 90% sure and has a meeting with the branch pres soon! Woo!) Pavel, the dramatic and somewhat emotional yet very eloquent 24-year-old who was baptized the weekend before I came to the Czech Republic, wrote a poem for her in English that ended with "you will always be in my brain" (because everyone knows that "brain" rhymes with "again"). And Petr, the incorrigible nature-boy that he is, gave her a fossil that he found on the beach, of a seashell. Hah! Isn't that all just so great? She was a good missionary because all these people knew that she really cared about them. I want to be a missionary like her.

My new compy-doo is Sister Laws, a soccer-playing chocolate addict who's been in the country for three transfers already, all of which have taken place in the little town of Jicin. We are staying in Brno this transfer, which is great because lots of great things are about to happen there, I can just feel it! I think Sister Laws and I will have a grand time together--and chances are, because Mr. Pres is really big on this now, we will be together in Brno for the next two transfers. But no one really knows.

Want to see a real miracle? Pray. Seriously. It really works. I've learned a lot about that this past week. Usually we pray just before we begin contacting people in the city. Twice this past week I've prayed specifically that we will find someone who will give us his phone number and want to meet with us again and IT WORKED BOTH TIMES! Seriously! And it's not like that happens with every person we contact--or even every 5th person we contact. The second man, a 24-year-old named Viktor from Ukraine, seemed really sincere in his interest. Afterwards, Beely said, "I think he's going to get baptized--really! He just seems so humble and interested in what we have to say..." Then we said a prayer and thanked Heavenly Father for the opportunity to meet him. In it, Beely asked Heavenly Father to bless him that he will continue to have interest and eventually get baptized and as soon as she said that I just felt it--that he really would! It's so amazing--we can be led by the Spirit even in our prayers to know what sorts of blessings God is waiting to give us, if only we pay attention enough to know what to ask for. (You should go read about prayer in the Bible Dictionary. No NOW--really, it's THAT good.) We've met with Viktor and two Ukrainian members since then--they say he's pretty solid. It was a little difficult because we didn't understand much if any of what they said. But we trust these men. And he left with a commitment to read in the Book of Mormon. Hot dang, I love this work!

ALSO ALSO ALSO! We had a MISSION CONFERENCE on Saturday! Elder Kevin W. Pearson of the Quorum of the Seventy came! That man is a spiritual beast, and he basically ripped out our souls, showed us the holes in them and shoved them back down our throats. (Wow, that was maybe a little too dramatic). He is a powerful speaker, for sure. In a good way--we all left knowing how we needed to improve and also feeling that it was in our power to improve. You should read his talk in the May 2009 conference Ensign again on faith--a lot of his talk to us was in there. He talked a lot about aligning ourselves with God's will. I realized that I came here with a specific idea of who I am...and it's been a little bit of a struggle maintaining that identity. But really, none of what I was matters now--I'm a disciple of Christ now, and that's all that matters for the time being. I took almost 10 pages of notes from his talk (it was 4 hours long!). Go read his talk. Now.

Petr's doing really well--he gave a talk at another baptism on Sunday and it was so good that they asked him to speak in church on Sunday! He's having a real hard time with Beely leaving though...I'm pretty sure he's in love with her. Rough.

Ahh, I must hurry and end thissss. But I LOVE you! Beks, I'm so glad you're catching the spirit of real missionary work--that's really what it's all about. It doesn't matter how well you speak the language as long as you work to improve and trust in the Lord. That's all.

Smelly- I LOVED your letter! I will write you back asaicgmhospoapd (as soon as i can get my hands on some paper on a p day). Courty and Beks, letters are coming for the both of you right now.

Gayann--Thanks so much for your email! I will keep the deets coming and write more about food on Monday, promise!

Maaa, I think that's all for a package. Of course, if you wanted to include a small thing of Adam's I wouldn't cry about it. I love you all SO SO much! Seriously, I have the best family ever!

--Sestra Dean