Dear Family,
This week was pretty weird. Monday came around and I already told you about the whole transfer fax thing, but the next day was just weird having to wrap everything up, knowing that I wouldn't be there anymore. I'm not going to say that I'm one of those missionaries who thinks that the area won't do well or thrive after I leave, because I know that it will actually do better after I leave. :P
On Tuesday we packed up and got ready to go, but something weird happened this transfer. We've cut down on zones in the Czech Republic from four to three, and so there's been alot of switching around of responsibility and other things. Also, with the volcano in Iceland (or wherever it was) the greenies weren't going to be in until Thursday. So Elder Mills had to go to Prague to get a greenie but he had to wait an extra day, so I had to go to Olomouc a day late so that he wouldn't be alone too long. Gah... it was a big mess. Anyway, come Wednesday, we take Elder Thompson to the bus station in the morning so that he can get to Hradec Kralove by about noon and get to work and so Elder Mills and I had the day to ourselves pretty much. We went around doing little last minute things and at one point, Elder Mills called the sisters and spoke to them for a moment. Sister Hill was also going to Prague to get a greenie and she told Mills that she was going into Prague that night because everything the next day was sold out. So we started freaking out trying to figure what the heck we had to do. Elder Mills found a bus that would take him to Prauge and I found a train that would take me to Olomouc soon before his bus, and so we ran to the bus station so that we could buy his ticket. We only had about an hour to wrap everything up and get me to the train. We spent way too long there because the woman in front of us wouldn't stop asking questions to the lady behind the desk. Finally Elder Mills got his ticket and we ran back to the house. At the house I was basically already packed so I finished really fast, got all my stuff out the door and ran to the station, hoping that I'd make it. I had called Denisa already telling her that we had to leave that night and that we wouldn't be coming to game night like we had said the day before. Denisa wanted to come see me off because she hadn't really said good bye, so she tried running to the train station as well. We got there in time for the train but then Denisa called saying that she was on the namesti and that she probably wouldn't be able to make it to the train station, so we said good byes over the phone and that she knew that I'd do well in Olomouc.
So I had also called to tell the other elders in Olomouc that I'd be coming in around 8:30, which I thought I had remembered reading on one of the texts about the train times. So they said that that they'd put it on the plan to come and get me. Once I was on the train, Elder Mills gave me a hug and hopped off because he didn't want to come with. It was really weird feeling alone. Completely alone. I didn't even have a phone or keys. Felt kind of like I had no place to go, but in reality, that's all I had - to go to Olomouc. It was really strange. Anyway, I had alot of confusion with the ticket because the phone had told me that I only needed to change trains one time, but the ticket said I needed to change twice (once in Hulín and once in Přerov). That really confused me because before I got to either, I got to Otrokovice which was the last stop on the train I was on. So I got off and barely made it to the train that was heading to Přerov. The conductor was really mad at me because he waited a whole five seconds for me to get on with my two bags, violin case and backpack. One of my bags, however, was 84 pounds, the other was probably around 30-40 and my backpack was easily 15 or 20. I had a ton of weight. So I made it to that train and then I came to Hulín. So I got off and now I was even more confused because I had already gotten off the train twice. That's all the times I had to change, but I hadn't made it to Přerov. What's going on?! So I waited in Hulín and I walked down the stairs, through the tunnel under the tracks, up the stairs to the station and asked the lady there if there was a train to Olomouc, and she said that it'd be coming in about ten minutes. So I trucked my stuff down the stairs, back through the tunnel, and back up the stairs to wait for the train. By this time my arms wanted to fall off. Really. That one bag was a killer. So I sat there with not a single train in sight for a long while. A few people started showing up, so I started feeling better. When a train arrived, and the people started getting on, I asked one man if it was going to Olomouc and he said yes - straight there. He also told me that I'd have to change in Olomouc if I wanted to get to Prague. I didn't so it didn't matter to me. So got on the train, and there were booths on this train, so the hallways were really small and hard to get my baggage through, not to mention that I wanted to die at this point. Anyway, just a little down the hallway, there was a door open, and inside there were two girls sitting there and I asked them if I could sit with them. They said I could and so I started loading my stuff into the booth. They kind of looked at me like I was strange, but also like I was a chudak (poor fellow). We sat there in pretty good silence for a while and then one of the girls wanted to get off because her stop was coming up, and that kind of stirred conversation because I had all my stuff blocking the entry way and so I had to play some tangrams to get the stuff out of the way enough for her to get out. The other girl became really friendly after the other left and we started talking. She told me that she was only going to Olomouc for a singing gig at one of the Kostels and that she studied in Kroměříž. I told her that I'd follow her because I had no idea where I was going, and she kind of giggled at that.
Anyway, when we arrived in Olomouc, I got off the train and realized that it was only 7:00. I had told the other elders that I'd arrive at 8:30. So I got ready for the wait. I got off the train, and the girl helped me with the violin which was being a nuisance before. I thanked her for her help and I made the long slow walk to the main area of the train station. I was way thirsty when I sat down, but I didn't want to have to move my bags again to go to the vending machine to buy a coke or something, so I just endured it. I sat there for the hour and a half, and then I decided that it'd be easier for them to get me if I went outside. So I drug my stuff outside, and waited there for a while, probably ten minutes, and it was very cold, so I went inside again. I didn't feel like sitting so I went to the area next to the vending machine and got a coke finally and drank it really fast. I stood by my luggage, again because I didn't want to move it. Then this guy came up to me, asking for money, and I didn't want to deal with him, so I pulled the "I don't speak Czech" card, but he then switched over into English. So I gave him the benefit of the doubt. He wanted 500 Kč which is about $25, but I just told him that I didn't have that much and so I gave him a little bit of pocket change and told him that I had no more. He kept bothering me because, as I soon found out, he doesn't understand English super well. That's to be expected. Anyway, he started talking to me like I was his friend and he even hung around me because I was probably the only person who'd actually be nice to him. He tried giving me his headphones, and I said that I didn't want them. Then he tried giving me a vodaphone sim card, and I told him that I don't have a phone, which caught him pretty off guard, but it was true! Then he started asking me if I liked marijuana, and I told him no to that too. The guy was really quite interesting, but I just wanted to be left alone. Anyway, the zone leaders finally came at about 9:30 to get me and apologized because they were stuck at a dinner meeting with some members. They took my luggage so I didn't have to, which made me really glad.
They took me to my byt (apartment/flat) and it's huge. Maybe I'll give you guys pictures soon. Elder Kreitzer is borec (a stud - literally means gymnast). Basically, he speaks and understands Czech almost as good as I do right now, so that takes a little bit of stress off my shoulders. Anyway, I don't have a whole lot of time, so I'll talk more about this stuff next week.
Love you all, and hope you enjoyed this story of how I made my first move. Even though I got frustrated and had no clue of what I was doing, I know that the Lord was helping me get to the right place.
Love you all muches and pray for you always. Čao čao,
Starší Monk