week 1 in Ceske Budejovice

Hi! Sorry you had to wait so long for this email, I got transferred! To Ceske Budejovice, which is 2 1/2 hours south. And it was pretty funny that you told me about Marci being with her MTC companion her second transfer, cause I am too! So it's me and Sister Hicken here, and a pair of elders. Elder Hansen is the Branch president, and his companion is the district leader, cause the branch is really small. I kind of figured I wouldn't have a follow-up trainer, but I didn't think I'd have to leave Prague too. It's been probably one of the most stressful weeks ever. I was really surprised when I got the transfer call, so I had to pack up everything, say goodbye to everyone Sunday, and leave on Monday, and take a train by myself. That would have been fine except they were working on the tracks so we had to switch to a bus, and then back to the train...with all of my luggage. Dragging two suitcases and a duffel up all those stairs was definitely not my first choice! I'm pretty sure each of them weighed more than half of me. Definitely got a workout from that! But I made it eventually. We had Sister Smith for two days and then she went home, and we had to fend for ourselves. I got to go back to Prague on Saturday actually because there was a district relief society conference, one of the elders investigators went, so we got to go. That was an adventure too! On the train ride up, their investigator started arguing with one of the members. The investigator was arguing that you can't say God is a person, you have to say he was, because he's perfect. And the member was arguing that God is a person, because the missionaries taught her that he has a body like her, and she's a person. So I tried to get them to see that it was just semantics, they were actually both saying the same thing....but to no avail. So me and Sister Hicken decided we were all going to read Moroni 7 together, out loud, so they couldn't argue anymore, and that lasted us until we got to Prague. They were all obedient, and readily agreed. I honestly felt like I was chaperoning little kids....and all three of them were at least 50 or 60. It's quite intimidating to have that much responsibility...I don't feel like I'm old enough! But then, Vera (one of the members) is afraid of escalators...and huge long, steep escalators are the only way in and out of the metros in Prague. So she freaked out every single time, and Sister Hicken had to convince her to get on them. hahaha, it was ridiculous. Oh and then the elder's investigator Jana, didn't quite believe me that I knew the metros in Prague, so she kept checking the maps, and got off one stop too soon, so we had to find her in the crowd and get her back on the metro before the doors closed....oh the drama. But! We had a miracle on the way too. So we were almost out of money, case it was the end of the month, and we had to buy our train tickets, plus one of the members cause she's on welfare. So we do that, and then realized we needed change for the metro passes. So me and Sister Hicken pull out all the change we have...my two passes were 48 crowns, and I had 49. Sister Hicken buys hers, and then we realized we had to buy them for that member too. So we look at how much we have left, and her tickets are only 12 crowns each cause she's old and gets the senior discount. Sister Hicken had 23 crowns...and then I remembered I had 1 left. Exactly the amount we needed, down to the crown. Pretty crazy. So then we finally made it to the conference, which was pretty good. But very relief society-esque, I know you know what I mean mom. There's something about relief society that has it's own unique culture, no matter what language you are speaking, that's very weird to people who aren't used to it. So Jana thought that was pretty weird, she has a Catholic background. But the new area authority spoke at the end, he's German, and his talk was really really good. He talked about repentance, and asked the question, it is our responsibility to complain or help? (specifically about crying kids during the sacrament), and then he talked about how the temple helps us in every stage of life, that was really good. So I'm really working on trying not to complain and just go to work. So the rest of the week was kind of rough too...we had 5 people dog us (not show up). So we did lots and lots of contacting in the pouring rain, and our numbers were really low. As if all that drama wasn't enough (plus the trying to speak czech and remember everything we are supposed to do when we are both new).... since it's been literally pouring every day for weeks, (I honestly don't think I've seen the sun in weeks, and that is not an exaggeration) there are now severe flood warnings! Yay. Prague is in a state of emergency, all the metros are shut down, and it's supposed to flood here too, but not as bad. When the reservoir gets full they open the floodgates. So the Tuckovi put a bunch of stuff in our apartment from their basement, cause we live by the river (we're on the 2nd floor). It was supposed to happen last night, but now they are saying it will be tomorrow. So we might be stuck inside all day tomorrow...we'll see. Sister Hicken's excited cause it means we might get to do extra service. So yeah...never ending adventure here in Ceske Budejovice. All of that happened in a week! Mom, you wanted to know how singing displays work? They only do them in Prague and Brno, unfortunately not here cause there aren't enough of us. But we just pick a spot by the metro or bus stops where there is a lot of people, and one companion sings while the other one contacts. We just sing hymns. So in Prague we had 4 or 5 people singing and then their companions contact, and we'd switch off every 15 minutes or so, and go for an hour and a half. We also had a info board that we'd set up next to us when the APs remembered it, and it had the church's name and pictures, the living christ, that sort of thing. We did it once a week as a district. I must have just missed your package...lame! I have to wait until training on the 19th to get it unless the zone leaders come here for some reason, cause it will be in Prague. I was really hoping it would be there on Saturday. Mom, I do look up the scriptures you put in your emails, don't worry haha. But I usually don't have time to respond cause Sister Bowler didn't like using the whole hour and a half. But Sister Hicken does, that's one good thing about being with someone from my own group I guess! I had the same epiphany about Satan being bound cause of righteousness the other day, pretty cool. You are totally spoiling the sisters! That is great. It would be so wonderful to have someone like you in the branch, seriously. We don't have any active families, just a few older men and women, and hardly any of them are married, maybe 10 or 15 come. So our primary is totally empty, and we only have 2 hours of church, it switches off between being sunday school and relief society. So we are going to be doing a lot of inactives work, we fasted for help on that on Sunday as a district. Well I am out of time, love you!!! Sestra Cooper