Tyzden Osem

ahoj!

ako sa mate? as i write this i am six days away from leaving the mtc, and i have to say it feels great. don't get me wrong, i have enjoyed my time here, but i am just so excited to teach real investigators and speak slovak with real slovaks. it has been a really interesting week. this last sunday we had our usual fireside. it was good like always, except this time the musical number was amazing! instead of the usual crappy efy song sung by some squeaky-voiced kid from payson, we had an elder from hungary play a vivaldi concerto arranged for the organ by bach. it was sooooo cool! dad will you teach me how to play the organ when i get back? it's such a cool instrument. on tuesday elder scott spoke at our devotional. it was SO cool. thus far we've just had bottom feeders with titles like "managing director of the missionary department" or "managing director of the mtc." it was so great to finally look up at the screen on tuesday night and see "Richard G. Scott: Quorum of the Twelve Apostles" his talk was the coolest. in the middle of his talk he asked how many of the missionaries in the audience were in the mtc to learn a different language. after everybody raised their hands he said "i now use my powers as a apostle of Jesus Christ to bestow upon each and every one of you the gift of toungues." wow. how about them apples? he assured us that we will still be expected to work hard, but he also assured us that learning the language will now be easier than it would have been. it showed this week in the trc. our volunteer came up to us afterwards and say "mluvite pekne" czech for "you speak beautifully." elder scott also said that we should not let our potential as missionaries be determined by the past. that was very comforting to me, because i know i haven't always been the greatest kid, but i promise i've been trying, and right now i'm really trying hard to be the best elder meredith possible. i know that as i humbly seek the help of the Lord, i can do all things that will be asked of me not just on my mission, but in every other stage of my life as well. the best part of elder scott's talk, however, had to be his testimony at the end. elder scott doesn't speak as loudly as some of the other apostles, but his testimony could move a mountain with ease.

 

elder bezas was reassigned this week to the pennsylvania philadelphia mission. he left this morning, and although i'm sad he won't be making the trip to slovakia with me, i know he will do great work in philly. i'm excited for him. with elder bezas gone, i have two new companions. each one of us is the only elder in the mtc learning his particular language. elder genther is learning croatian, elder baker is learning slovenian, and i am learning slovak. needless to say, our "speak your langauge" time over the next week will be very interesting. we can understand each other a little bit, but the languages definitely have their differences. they are both great guys and i will really enjoy living with them for the next few days. it's weird that we are all going to be moving away from each other. i've become such good friends with so many of the elders in my zone, so it's going to be tough saying goodbye when we all ship off to our respective missions. it is possible that i will serve with one of the czech speakers on my mission, but even that isn't super likely. i will see them whenever we have mission conference, but that doesn't happen very much. i'm really excited to see who my trainer is out in the field. jake and joe both told me to just pray for a good trainer, so hopefully those prayers will be answered.

 

we got our flight plans this week. we leave on monday the 2nd. we go from the mtc at 5 am. our flight from salt lake leaves around 8 in the morning. we then have a 4 hour layover in dallas. yipee. after that we make an incredibly long flight to london where we have a 3 hour layover. after that it's on to prague. we will start traveling at 5am may 2, and we will stop traveling at about 130 pm may 3 prague time. needless to say, it's going to be a long day of travel. and right after that we have to go walk around prague for a few hours. i'm really excited for that part, but i just hope i will be awake for it. our teachers have been telling us more and more stories and sending us more and more pictures, and i am getting more and more excited. i am so stoked to serve the people of slovakia. everytime my teachers talk about their missions to slovakia, their eyes light up and they get a smile on their face. i hope that i am the same way when i return from my mission.

 

anyway, things are getting really exciting now. i'm only a matter of days away from beginning the experience of living in europe for two years. if you would like to write me in the mission field, you can talk to mom or libby or whoever and they can get you my address. o and mom and dad, i get to call from the airport in salt lake, so what is the best number to call for each of you? let me know. anyway, i hope that all of you are doing well. i miss you all and i can't wait to tell you all about the wonderful experiences that i know are in store for me once i reach slovakia

 

cau!

sam