Alexanders Penzion

We rode in the little red hatchback until Brno, then piled in the Mission Van with 2 other couples and headed for Prague. We saw so many castles on the way, but only talked them into stopping to take a couple pictures. We stayed in Alexander's Penzion in Prague for 9 days, while we waited for the Apartment to be available. It is just a block away from the Church so very convenient. It is affectionately referred to as the Bohemian Penzion. It was quite interesting, flowers stapled to the curtains and walls etc. I took pictures because it was interesting and hard to describe. Our first Sunday was Fast and Testimony Meeting, and it was great! We could even understand some of the language. Ha ha They had language transmitters for us giving us the translation. We had to spend that first Sunday in a dark, very small, far from stellar room. To get some light we took a short walk to a park and looked over the city. It is beautiful. There are beautiful Church spires everywhere. The castle is just up the street and we can't wait to go for a visit. Staying at the Penzion got old very quickly. Living out of a suitcase for that long was tough on me, I couldn't find anything. You know my anal side of knowing where things are....I was going a little bit crazy but I held on until we got into our apartment on Sunday, March 14th.

Pension Andreas in Vienna

Our accommodations have been far from stellar, but we have managed. We had to walk up 6 flights of stairs to our place in Vienna. The elevator was just too scary for me so to the stairs I went. Terry's favorite thing here is the toilets, see for yourself! We slept well and the next morning found us in meetings until noon being trained for our Outreach program. We then squeezed into a tiny, red hatchback car and left for Prague.

Vienna at night

I don't know how we did it, but we managed to stay out until dark in our quest to stay awake so we could adjust quicker to the time change. As the sun went down we were well rewarded. The buildings were suddenly all lit up . . . it was magical! We found a little German Cafe and ate an authentic German meal for a very big price but had a wonderful time. We headed back to our home for the night, for some much needed rest at Andreas Penzion.

We arrived in Vienna

We arrived in Vienna Friday morning at 8:30 am which was really 12:30 am Utah time. It was bitter cold. We just about froze to death! We walked around Vienna and took great pictures of some really cool buildings. We stayed out all afternoon just wandering the streets of Vienna. It was so cold, we would sneak inside some of these beautiful buildings every few minutes to warm up. They flooded a huge town square and made it an ice skating rink. It was fun to watch the people skate to the music. It felt like we had stepped back in time. . .

Departure

We met some wonderful Senior Couples who were were called to serve all over the world. Among other places, they were called to the Marshall Islands, Australia, Germany, South Africa, Switzerland, Philippines, Guam, Brazil, Canada, Florida, New York, Washington D.C., and San Diego. We grew to love them very quickly. One Couple became fast friends, Elder and Sister Davidson who are serving a Humanitarian/ S&I mission in the Marshall Islands. Here we are the night before we left for Prague in our Super 8 Motel Room. We were filled with mixed emotions that were hard to really figure out. Excitement, joy, sadness, fear, they were all mixed up together. We left March 4th, at 5:00 am for the airport, our flight took off at about 8:30 am. We tried hard to sleep on the plane, but it didn't happen. Our arrival in Vienna found us very tired but glad to be out of the airplane!

CZECH PRAGUE MISSION BEGINS

February 22, 2010

We said our goodbyes to our family over french toast and tears at Magelby's Fresh in Orem. That was one of the hardest things we have ever done. We were so excited to start this Mission adventure, however, saying goodbye to all those you love was almost torture. It felt so final, I struggled more than I thought I would trying to leave home and family behind. Angie dropped us off at the MTC with all our luggage and there was no going back. We ended up being housed at the nearby Super 8 Motel because they were remodeling the apartments for Senior Couples at the MTC. The stay at the MTC was memorable for several reasons; the Spirit that permeated everything we did, Missionaries singing at the firesides, the amazing choice of food, the chance to testify of Jesus Christ in our training, the new friends we met there and the chance to gain some confidence in what we were about to embark on. The training was great but it was difficult to sit that long for that many days. Terry really had a hard time with the chairs, they were not soft! But all in all it was a wonderful experience that we will never forget!