SWEET IS THE WORK--September 13th, 2010

Family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I LOVE you!

First of all, happy happy birthday, dearest Chris and Maa! I'm praying for you to receive birthday cake and icecream falling from the sky like in Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. Let me know if you get it.

Chris: I don't know if you ever get these, but an Elder here gave me a MAGIC CARD the other day. And you won't believe what it is--it's called "Timeless Missionaries" and has a great little blurb about how they save the souls of those they teach and never grow weary. Soon I will take a picture of it and send it to you. I couldn't stop thinking about how I wanted to show it to you the whole day! I hope Hawaii was great! Did you two happen to meet a tall sister working at the PCC--she uses a cane and has had some brain damage, but her name is Brandy. She was in my missionary prep class and she has an amazing story. I hope you got to hear some of it.

Anyway. I'm in this crazy CyberCafe where there are lots of teenage boys giggling together over computer games. Weirdies. We now have TWO baptisms planned for the 16th of October! WEEEEEEEEEEEE! The other is Liba--an older woman who is very, shall we say, simple minded. The first time we challenged her to baptism she said no because that kind of baptism would hurt her back too much. But lately she's been making loads of progress. She's getting the hang of praying in her own words, which was really hard for her before. And sometimes, after we read something in the Book of Mormon that she thinks is especially beautiful she'll yell out "In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen!" It's really funny. But we taught her about the plan of salvation and about baptism last week. At first, when we invited her to be baptised, she said no again. But then we read in Mosiah 18 and in 3 Nephi about following Christ's example and we felt prompted to promise her blessings regarding her husband's health(he's been in the hospital for a long while now) and she really felt the spirit and said yes and began to cry. It was amazing. In all, Brno has SIX pending baptisms! SIX! It's incredible. Lately we've been talking about bringing up baptism earlier in our relationships with investigators and it's been really great to see such results.

So many miracles have happened this past week. I met a ROMANIAN boy (about my age) on Saturday who spoke great English. There's also a Romanian man in our ward, so we've invited them both to Family Home Eveing tonight...hopefully some good will come of it. It's incredible how the Lord takes His work into His own hands. The hard part is being willing to follow promptings that seem obscure or unclear and having the faith that it will work out. But every time I do, my heart feels as though it will explode from that cavity in my chest because it's grown so big, even if it seems like nothing's come from it.

Danielle: Don't worry, reffing will get easier. I felt like that my first few times reffing volleyball. Just act like you know what you're doing and they'll listen to you. I LOVED your letter--I couldn't stop laughing over it. You're great. Remember: never be ashamed of who you are or the truth that you know about life on earth and what's really important. It's difficult seeing friends make poor choices--I went through it too. But you have the opportunity to allow others to feel of the happiness that radiates from someone who's clean and who harbors within her the glory of the truth. Isn't it wonderful, that we know so much about who we are, where we've come from, and why we're here? That's the thing I wish everyone could understand.

Family, I love you SO SO much! I'm sending you all an e-kiss with this letter. Cau!

Sestra Dean

"No, I Wouldn't Like That . . . "

(Sister Wheeler--my awesome comp--& Me)


Nazdaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!

Haha, sorry--I meant to explain that subject line last time but I forgot/ran out of time. "The frog-mouse wars and other petty tussles" is something that I saw written on a poster my very first day in Prague. It was an advertisement for some kind of artist or singer and I think that was the name of an album or collection of work or something. I couldn't help but laugh at it!

Today's subject line features a common response to our efforts to contact people on the street. It doesn't really mean what it would mean in English, but I always laugh at it anyway because of the way it sounds.

This week is Czech week--all Czech all the time! I almost wrote this letter in Czech and told you to google translate it, but I think it would take me far too long to construct so many sentences. It will be a little challenging, but I like myself a good challenge. Things are always getting better with the language. The hardest part for me now is understanding people. This is interesting, because in the MTC I could understand much more than I could say. But the Czech accent is murdering me. (Not really). I love it when we meet people who also speak Czech as a second language--there are a lot of people from Ukraine or Russia here...and a lot of other places--because it's easier for me to understand them. I usually have some sort of headache by the end of Sundays, after hours and hours of listening to only Czech and straining my brain to decipher everything. But it's really good for me--I'm really hoping that this week will help me improve a lot.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand we have GREAT NEWS!! BAHSEKFLJawefoijasdflkmavclkdsaf! I'm just so excited about it! So there's a man that we've been teaching. His name is Petr (Peter in English). Sister Wheeler and her former companion found him a while ago. Before he met them he had been completely atheist and was mostly interested in talking to them because he wanted to practice English (he's really good and usually we have our meetings in English, which is handy because he is really hard to understand...you could compare his Czech to a surfer's English), but as they met and talked he became pretty interested in everything. He's really tall and almost hippie-ish--he kind of looks like Fabio and has long blonde hair. He's about 27 and just finished school last year--he studied landscape engineering, but there are no jobs for anyone with such a degree here in the Czech Republic, so he has consented to work in a factory for the time being. I love listening to him speak English because he uses funny phrases--everything to him is 'quite okay'. He probably has the greatest conscience I've ever seen in anyone--he's living by every single commandment we've told him about and says that he's been a lot happier since he's changed, even though his friends tease him about it. He's even said that he would pay tithing if he were to be baptized. Before I ever met him, Sister Wheeler told me about him and how she thought that he was ready to be baptized. As soon as she said this, the date October 16th popped in to my head, which was silly because I didn't even know him and I had no idea whether it was a Saturday or not. Later, when we planned for our meeting with him, she talked about that date and I immediately told her what I had thought (yah! It's really a Saturday! Cool, huh?). So we talked to him about it. He was somewhat apprehensive--he takes the idea of baptism very seriously and is afraid of regressing after his baptism. We talked about the gift of the Holy Ghost with him and how it helps us continue to improve when we are trying our best. We told him that we both felt really strongly about Oct. 16th and that he should pray about it too, which he said he would do. That was my first week.

Fast forward to now. Since then, he's been progressing slowly--we've been having meetings with him and other members who have conversion stories similar to his. He's really enjoyed their stories and he's learning the value of asking specific questions in his prayers in order to receive specific answers. But still nothing compelling. Yesterday we finally asked him if he was scared to receive an answer--scared because, with his conscience, he knew he'd have to act on it if he received an answer, and he's afraid of himself sliding back in to his old ways. He admitted to it. But even then, he was fasting for his first time ever! And he was telling baptised members that they should just buy food on Saturdays and save them for Sundays instead of buying things on Sundays! I mean really, this guy is rock solid. And we're always saying things to him about "when he's baptized" and "on October 16th", etc. He smiles and doesn't deny it, but he's never said, "Yes, I want to plan on October 16th" to us, so we've never counted it as an authentic baptismal date. Bummer. So we fasted for him yesterday (without telling him about it--we mentioned it to him once, and he forbade anyone from suffering in his behalf...he doesn't quite understand the point of it yet, I think).

BUT! We all broke our contraband fast yesterday with the senior couple who lives down the hall from us. Petr knows them really well and ended up staying over for another hour after we left. Later that evening, Bro. Hrncirik (the senior missionary) said that Petr told them that he's planning on getting baptized on Oct. 16. There was a resonating thud as our jaws hit the floor. REALLY!? So, after 20 minutes of debating as to how we could go about this delicately and directly without scaring him, we called him and talked to him, and he confirmed, that yes, it's a goal that he's working towards and he wants to plan on that date. He also said that he was glad that another woman was getting baptized on that same date so that he wouldn't do it alone. Waaaaahhh! We were ecstatic. And kind of freaking out. And when we talked to him, he had five pages or so left in the Book of Mormon and was about to finish it that night. And he said that he wasn't so scared to receive an answer anymore (apparently Bro Hrncirik talked to him about it) and that he was going to ask a specific question in his prayers afterwards! YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! Now we're just waiting to hear from him.

Other cool experiences: a few nights ago we received a text that was written at 4:30 in the morning. It said something like, "I don't know if I'm doing this the right way, but I believe in God and I'd really like to learn more about your faith." We had no idea who it was! After a little digging, we discovered that it was someone we had tried talking to in the park a few days before, but whose friend said they were hurrying and couldn't stop. He had looked a little disappointed, but we gave him a pass-a-long card and moved on, not thinking much of it. We give out a TON of pass-a-long cards each day and it very rarely happens that someone that we never even really talked to calls us. But he did! It was a small miracle.

Last night we went on splits with a set of Elders. Elder Bailey (who's been out for four transfers--he and I will fly home together) and I met a woman named Jana, who had a lot of interest. She was really cool--looked to be about 40 or so and had lived in Australia for a year (yes, I told her my dad lived there for a few years). She really listened to us and I was able to bear my testimony to her about a number of things and we read Moroni's promise together. It was really neat. I'm beginning to realize the value of testifying as soon and as much as possible. Because it's guaranteed to invite the spirit. And people (especially here) don't want to change unless they feel the spirit.

Also. There's another investigator that's been meeting with the Elders--Jiri(like George)--who has a baptismal date a few weeks away. Yesterday at church he decided he's taken a liking to me and starting telling me how beautiful I looked and asking me if I had any boyfriends waiting at home--he even kind of tried to hold my hand! When he left he gave both Sister Wheeler and I a hug...I realized then and there that I am already somewhat of an awkward missionary. Eek! But the Elders talked it out with him. I think he'll think twice before he tries to pull another fast one.

Anyway. I think I'm pushing my time limits. The work is great here--I love it. Really, there's nothing I'd rather be doing. Keep it up with the missionary work in the homefront. It's SO important! Seriously! The way we do it, with the contacting and the tracting and such--that's the hard way. I probably think that exact thought to myself a hundred times a day. If only members would share it with their friends, then we could spend our time teaching instead of sifting through all the people who don't want to talk to us to find the few who might. You already have a relationship with people who could be interested--they trust you and can see how it blesses your lives. Don't be afraid to share it! Have people over for dinner and invite the missionaries too! Anything! I'm so proud of the way you've involved yourselves in missionary work. I love you so much! Keep me in the know!

s laskou,


Sestra Dean

(Here I just tell people my name is 'Dean', because it's kind of weird to say, 'I'm Sister Dean'...they're not so familiar with church things. But it always makes me feel like James Bond or something. Yes, missionaries are that cool.)

First Email From Czech, 8-30-10: The Frog-Mouse Wars & Other Petty Tussles . . .

MY FAMILYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!

Jejda, it feels as though it's been a lifetime since we talked while I waited for my flight! So much has changed--and yet, it doesn't feel altogether so different. Maybe the most surprising thing is how normal it does feel, considering how abnormal my life is at the moment. Before I explain, a few items of business: 1) I get AN HOUR to email now, which is just dandy. So definitely email me if you want me to get anything in a timely manner, because we only get paper mail about once a month. Also, if you do send paper mail/packages, make sure you put the church's name FIRST, then put my name underneath theirs. For some reason things that come in any other form are not delivered to them. 2) Tell Beks that really nylons are not needed. Remember how I said we planned on wearing them on Sundays and for the big devotionals on Tuesdays? That was a big ftip (joke). I wore those one time afterwards and never again. No one cares, just look presentable. 3) Tell Beks I love her. I left a letter for her at the MTC--someone should be delivering it to her shortly after she arrives (I hope). If you could forward her emails to me, that'd be great. While she's in the MTC it'll take up too much of her email time for you to forward my emails to her, but you could copy them and send them as a DearElder. That works pretty well. From what I hear, DearElder still works while we're here in the country, but I think it will only come as often as the regular mail comes. 4) I think that's everythiiiiiiiiiiiiiing.g.g.

So. Here I am, in the home of the Hrncirikovi (a great senior couple serving here--they're actually American, but their ancestors are from the Czech Republic, so they have a funny last name), in a city called Brno. Through the lace curtains and out the window to my right I can see a web of branches, a long line of recently-waxed cars, and a neighboring apartment that looks like it could fit well in downtown Provo. I'm typing on a DELL laptop. Things don't seem so different at the moment. But THEY ARE!

First, I must tell you--the plane ride over: I didn't sleep at all--not one wink! I was too excited/nervous/giddy/insertanyagitatedsortofemotionhere. It was interesting walking around in the NY airport and suddenly realizing that the three of us snazzy missionaries together looked about as inconspicuous as a beached norwal. But I suppose we're supposed to stand out. We tried talking to people in the airport, but New Yorkers are suspicious and high-strung and no one wanted to get caught looking at us, even though we knew they were. On the flight we met a women named--uhh, I forget her name--but she lived in Michigan and was flying to visit her family in Macedonia. She was really nice and spoke English really well. We ended up talking with her for the vast majority of the flight--we gave her a Book of Mormon and told her a lot about the Church. Maybe too much...but it was a really long flight. She was pretty excited about reading the Book of Mormon. And we got her address so we could write her and send the missionaries to her. My first contact!

Needless to say, I was already getting tired by the time we arrived in the Czech Republic. And I was feeling very sticky and a little smelly (hence the fatigue in the picture). But the Irwins received us with big smiles and big hearts. The APs were with them, and I already began to feel a little like an ostracized Sister again. It's weird, but a lot of Elders are apprehensive about being normal with Sisters. Sometimes I feel like the odd one out, but it's not all bad. At least they like to carry all my things for me, right?

We spent the day walking around Prague, seeing mostly things that I saw last summer. Which is good, because I wasn't very attentive. Then they made us contact people. By this time, I was ready to fall asleep while standing there. Before they sent us off, the APs told us that the last group had found four new investigators (but no pressure, right?). People weren't very friendly. Some of them laughed. Some of them brushed by us. Some of them humored us. I endured it, but just barely. Finally, the last person I contacted was kind of a creeper. A young guy, about my age. Before I talked to him, I saw him check out another lady walking by, so I should have known better. Apparently two days without sleep can impair one's judgement. But I talked with him and he mostly laughed at me, but listened to what I had to say. I felt like it wasn't going terribly, until he said, "Can I ask you a personal question?" This was follwed by a very inappropriate idea which suggested to me that he knew very little about what kind of women sister missionaries are. So I just walked away. And I felt so tired and defeated--like a joke, after what he'd just said to me--that I began to cry as I walked back to the gaggle of Elders in the middle of the town square. And of course they all put their awkward goggles on and I was embarrassed and apologized and blamed it mostly on the lack of sleep (which I think is accurate, seeing as how I haven't cried over anything else since). And they tried to reassure me in their endearing contact-free, emotion-free sort of way and we all ate knedliky until we could burst, and slept the day's hazards away.

I met my new companion the very next day and we hopped on the next bus to Brno asap. She is WONDERFUL and her name is Sister Jocelyn Wheeler. And this is her VERY LAST transfer. ! She's really nice and lets me do as much as I can here. Somehow, when I contact with her I am nearly fearless--maybe because she understands everything and can say everything. Apparently everyone here is really surprised by all that I've learned as far as the language goes. Elder Gale (the one that had been in the MTC with us for a few weeks because of his bum leg) is serving here in Brno too and the language is a bit of a struggle for him. But it's really fun saying the things I know how to say here. We've made a goal to talk to someone about the Church on every tram ride--we take the trams everywhere! It's really fun. Usually I ask someone next to me a question about Czech and tell them that I'm trying to learn and then they ask what I'm doing here and things just go from there. A lot of people stiffen a bit when they hear that we're affiliated with a church. Most people aren't "believers", as they're called here. Well, at least they say they aren't. Most of them actually do believe in something, they just haven't really figured out what that something is yet. But they all get really excited when they hear that I'm learning Czech and they're all very complimentary of my ability to speak, even though I say almost everything incorrectly. But I think maybe that's an overlooked part of the gift of tongues--receiving the courage to say what you know how to say, which is enough.

We do a LOT of contacting here. We'll have a few lessons a day and then we just go to parks or town squares and talk to people. We went tracting a few days ago because it was raining--not super successful. But we developed a new approach: telling them we're missionaries and asking if I could play a song for them on my harmonica. Hey, it got us an appointment.

I am LOVING missionary work. Really. Yesterday we had SIX investigators at church(the branch here is great...maybe 80 members?! it's really big--and there are 4 sets of missionaries here, including us, and then 2 other senior couples). And then we found a few more. We've found that, when we remember to pray and thank our Heavenly Father for the good experiences we have talking to people, we always have more. It's really neat.

And today we moved out of our apartment into a new one because the land lady's crazy. I was kind of sad because I really liked the old apartment, but I think this new one will be just fine.

I'm taking too long, I must go. I love you! I love it here! Missionary work's not scary at all--it almost feels like a game of sorts. Maybe that's because I only understand a quarter of what's being said to me. It's really hard to understand Czech accents. If everyone spoke Czech the way Americans speak Czech, I would be in great shape. Oh well. I sure love you! I'm so proud of you and all your missionary endeavors at home! Keep it up!

Cau!

Sestra Dean

Letter From President Irwin, August 24th

24 August 2010

Dear Brother and Sister Dean:

This is a short note to make you aware that your daughter, Sister Ashley Lynne Dean has arrived safely in the Czech Prague Mission. We are so impressed with your daughter and want to thank you for all that you have done in preparing this wonderful young woman for her mission.

Today we will do our best to keep Sister Dean awake until early this evening. Tomorrow after a good night's rest, Sister Dean will meet her new companion and travel to her first area.

With love and appreciation,

David R. Irwin
President, Czech Prague Mission

Leaving for Czech Monday, August 23rd!!

Moje Milujici Rodina,

I will probably be sending a few things home sometime this week. Anything you send needs to be sent SOON however (today or tomorrow probably)--mail doesn't come on Saturday afternoons or Sundays and we leave on MONDAY! YES, MONDAY!! Can you believe this? (Probably not because your last Dear Elder had a departure date of 8/30 on it...) So yes, 6 MORE DAYSSSSSSSSSS. DUN DUN DUNNNNNN.

wE RECEIVED OUR FLIGHT PLANS ON fRIDAY (HAHA--HOW FUNNY WOULD IT BE IF i FOREVER LEFT THE CAPS LOCK ON?). Here's the plan: we will arrive at the Salt Lake City airport around 6 or so and our flight leaves at 8 or 8:30. This is when I will be calling you (hopefully). I know it's early, but it'll be more difficult to call at the airport in New York, which is also where I'll have to say goodbye to my beloved Sister Stratton. I'm just planning on calling the home phone because that's the only number I can remember right now--write me soon and let me know if I should use a different one. PLEEEEASE wake up and answer. Please! From NY we fly directly to Prague. A lot of air time, but I think we'll make it. I'm not too worried about it--we talked about our travel plans in district meeting on Sunday and I realized that I feel very safe in the hands of those three 19 year-old boys I'll be traveling with. It's funny how closely 14 hours/day for 8 weeks brings you together. A few things: in the Czech Republic I will probably only get snail mail once a month or so, unless I'm serving in Prague--all mail goes to the mission home and is then delivered at zone conferences. So you can email me every week instead and I will probably have more time to email.

Enough of the boring business stuff and on to the adventures! This week has been an interesting one, that's for sure. I told you last week that Sister Stratton was having a rough time--little did I know that later that day we'd find out that Elder Meiling was too. Apparently he has some blood issues--his trygliceride levels are in the 500s! It's so strange because he appears so normal and healthy. He's been on some medication for it, but we found out last Tuesday that the meds haven't been working. Right after I sat in on a beautiful blessing of comfort given to Sister Stratton, my three elders stormed in to the room where I was studying, somewhat emotional, and gave Elder Meiling a priesthood blessing. In it, the Lord promised Elder Meiling three times that he had work to do in the Czech Republic, but He never guaranteed that he would leave with the rest of us to get there. It was incredible to witness both those blessings back to back. Time and time again I am struck by the notion that the Lord really wants to raise powerful, capable children. He gives these little elders the ability to work miracles, and when that happens they, more often than not, live up to the responsibilities that it entails. It seems that the health issues are all going to work out for Elder Meiling, although we discovered yesterday that he's the only one who doesn't have his visa yet...there's still time for it to come before we leave. Whatever happens, it's all in the Lord's hands. He's taking it all in stride.

For some reason, Sister Stratton and I were nominated by our teachers to be exemplary missionaries and demonstrate to the incoming missionaries tomorrow "How to Begin Teaching" (it's a section in Preach My Gospel). It was really surprising, but it's a principle I'm really coming to appreciate. It's all about learning more about those we teach and creating a spiritual atmosphere right from the beginning. It's so great to teach with Sister Stratton again--it's like coming home after teaching with BOYS (ack) all the time. I hope that we can do well enough to impress upon the new missionaries the ideas. You should read it sometime, if you'd like--apparently the bullet points in the sections are ones that President Packer wrote down in the middle of the night after feeling impressed to, and then presented to the board that was putting together Preach My Gospel. The more I read it, the more I see the benefits of it.

I'm starting to feel really eager to get out into the field. Sometimes I'm slightly nervous--who wants to be the useless new missionary who can't understand anything? I was able to spend a good chunk of time speaking in Czech with my favorite teacher, Brother Rowberry, yesterday while the elders were at a doctor's appointment for Elder Meiling. It was so fun to understand what he was saying and stop him and ask questions about words and grammar and such. He, who happens to be an AMAZING speaker--he really pushes us with the language--told me that he thought the Lord had blessed me with the gift of tongues--that he'd seen it in the field and he saw it in me and that I was going to do well. He doesn't throw compliments away, so this meant a lot to me. But it's hard to not feel nervous at all--I think it's just a normal part of life and adventuring, being nervous. But I'm okay with that. Along with the nervousness comes the wonderful anticipation and the hopes and dreams for those I will meet and teach. It's a package deal, I suppose.

I love you all and I think about you all the time. We prayed for Danielle's soccer tryouts--that's why she made it. :) Kidding. Sort of--I knew she would. Talk to you soooooooooon!

Sestra Dean

Two More Weeks!!

Moje Drahy Rodino,

Fun fact: "drahy" means both "dear" and "expensive" in Czech--sometimes, when I'm addressing my letters to you, it makes me think of how valuable and classy you are. Isn't it interesting to look at the meanings that other cultures tend to combine into one idea? I remember in an anthropology class talking about how an Eskimo language included upwards of 20 different words for snow. I thought it silly at first, but really--dirty snow is very different from white snow, and fluffy snow is nothing like icy snow. I love learning about the way other people think. For example: around Christmas in the Czech Republic, Czechs eat carp and potato salad. Every year someone dies from choking on a carp bone (don't worry Ma, I'll avoid that). And, around December 6th Miculas (St. Nicholas) walks all over town with his sidekicks Angel and Devil. They greet little kids and ask them if they've been good--if they have, they'll recite a poem and the angel gives them a sweet and some approving look, I'm sure. If they haven't been good, however, the devil opens up his knapsack and uses it to transport their souls to Hell. Neat, huh? Also, on Christmas there is no Santa to bring them gifts--Jezicek, or "Little Jesus" does instead. I wonder what kind of gifts little Jesus would bring to a country that is 80% atheist--? He's almost become a fairytale to them, it seems.

Anyway. There has been a fragile atmosphere around these parts as of late. The earth won't stop crying, which is comforting in some ways because Sister Stratton and I have been feeling somewhat fragile. I had a terribly real dream Saturday night about Dad and Mom splitting up and woke up crying around 3:45 in the morning. I finally fell back asleep, but woke up with embarrassing swollen eyes--doubly embarrassing because it wasn't even real and there's no way it ever would be. But you know what embarrassing, swollen eyes do to the rest of the day--I just felt all silly and buggy. Until the rain started up and I felt that I had someone to cry with. The beautiful part is, however, that, when I awoke, I was able to feel confident that my parents have solid testimonies and they love each other and the Lord and, because of that, they will do whatever it takes to keep the family together forever and happy forever.

It has been a fragile morning for Sister Stratton. We went and did sealings at the temple, which were amazing. It's such a powerful ordinance, and yet, the people administering the ordinances were so happy and comfortable. Initially I thought that maybe that was somewhat irreverent. But I realized that the ordinances are just as sacred as life in general is. That IS life. It's real work involving real people--why shouldn't we be cheerful? Anyway, there was a woman doing sealings with us who looked like she had undergone chemo--she was in bad shape and I had a difficult time telling whether the man with her was her son or her husband. Sister Stratton's Aunt Betty has cancer--the chemo wasn't working, so she's stopped doing it. Sister Stratton's having a difficult time with it. Will you pray for her and her aunt Betty? She could really use all the peace and comfort and strength that your prayers can give her. I just love her so much and I wish there was more that I could do for her.

Sorry to be a Debbie Downer! Really, life is just great. We have TWO WEEKS left! Can you believe it?! Last Thursday we taught the 1st lesson in Czech again. It was incredible! Really! And I don't say that to brag of myself--it was definitely not my doing. Yes, I prepared as well as I could, but I think the real difference came when my companion (Elder Bracken) and I decided that we wanted to make our focus understanding our investigators. So we did that--we figured out what was important to them--they were a newly wed couple--and we tied everything back into their marriage and how, because of God's love and plan for them, they can be together forever. The spirit was so powerful and our words didn't get in the way of the overwhelming feelings of unutterable joy. For the first time, I could really see myself as a missionary in the Czech Republic, teaching people about God's plan for them, about who they really are. I am beginning to understand how God gets His work done. It's astounding, really, that little 19 and 21-year-olds can saunter half way around the world with two months of language classes under their belts and bring salvation and eternal joy to people. WOO! I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!! Also: the "investigators" we taught just so happened to be the girl that I had been emailing back and forth about the Czech Republic before I came to the MTC (Jessica Roylance) and her new husband! It was so great to finally meet her--we just embraced like old friends. Don't you just love new friends that automatically feel like old friends?

Something I've been thinking about a bit: I always think of you and the ------- family whenever I learn some great missionary tactic. Last week we talked about asking questions that encourage the investigators to bear their testimonies or say some truth, which will enable them to feel the spirit as they speak truth. Such as, "how do you think your family could benefit from the principles of the gospel?" etc. Things like that my help them realize how much they really do love the restored gospel.

I love you all so much! In 2 WEEKS you'll be getting a phone call from meeeeeee! Weeeeeeeee!

Na shle!

Sestra Dean

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