Brno District Conference

Matt in Brno for District Conference last week. Pictured with him is Veronika, a member of the Brno Branch. Veronica updates her Facebook page with pictures of the missionaries serving in Brno, and we were able to get pictures of Matt while he was there.

Where in the world is Matt?

It's been too long since I have published an update about Matt. He has long since left the city of Brno and moved to a small town in the middle of the country...Jihlava.
Jihlava is about halfway between Brno and Prague. It is the oldest mining town of the Czech Republic. Silver mining has been ongoing since 799AD. It has a population of about 50,000, so Matt and his companion Elder Hicken are the only missionaries in the area.



They recently had a baptism in Jihlava...



Ondra, was one of the people that Matt and Elder Hicken have been teaching the gospel to. They were very exicted for Ondra to be baptized. They go out everyday looking for people to talk to and teach. Matt really loves what he is doing. He has come to love the people of the Czech Republic.

He says his favorite food is not Czech, but Hungarian. Segedínský guláš.



It is a goulash made with pork, sauerkraut, and apples. His taste buds have changed a lot since going on his mission. If I ever mentioned we were having sauerkraut I'm sure he would have turned up his nose! I'm not a big fan of sauerkraut either, but I suppose I should learn to make this dish so when he comes home he will have a bit of his mission to keep with him.

Matt and I have been reading the book 'Jesus The Christ' together over the last several weeks. I think he has finished it and I'm nearly done. It's a wonderful book on the life and ministry of Jesus. If anyone would like to read it here is a link for the audio version. I have seen several places online where you can download a pdf copy as well.

The past week Matt has been travelling a lot back and forth to Prague and Brno. He needed to go to Prague and renew his visa, but didn't realize until he got there that the visa office was closed and had to return later in the week. He and his companion also traveled to Brno for a District Conference, where he and a lot of the other missionaries in the area met.

The mission has a new President, he and his wife are from England and had served in the Czech Republic as senior missionaries before. Matt really enjoys him and likes hearing him speak with his british accent and all. He says there are times though when it's hard to understand him since he uses british terms for words and he's not always exactly sure what he means.

He was all excited this week as he received a care package from home. A few new shirts, a pair of pants, and new red scarf to wear this winter (he was glad for the color - he was telling his companion they needed to add some color since they seem to always wear black), a lot of Skittles (he requested these a few weeks ago - they just don't have that good old american candy there!), some missionary supplies, and of course, something fun - SPY Glasses!



When you wear them they reflect back over your shoulder so you can see what is going on behind you. We figured he and his companion could have a little fun with each other around the house and on P-Day (their day off).

Well, enough for now. Matt is doing well, is healthy, and looking forward to winter. It's starting to get colder there now, highs in the 40's, low in the 30's. It won't be long before there is snow on the ground. Next week is a transfer week, so he may possibly be moved to a new town. I'll will update this and let everyone know in a couple of weeks...WHERE IN THE WORLD MATT IS!

Hi Uncle Matt!!

This past Mother's Day, when Elder Vivona called home, he told us that he was able to see the blog when he logged on to email home each week.  Well, since it's not always easy to email him photo's (or send them and have him lugging them around) I thought it would be nice to add a few of them here for him to see quickly.  (You're welcome, Matt!) 

I just took some pictures of the girls this past week, and figured I would load those up first.  My plan is to take a few more of the rest of the family this week.  Hopefully the weather will be nice and we can all get outside for some fun sunshine pictures. 

Here you go Matt... we love you!!!

Ashlynn (11 Months)

McKinley (9 Months)

Ashlynn & McKinley

McKinley & Ashlynn

(Click on the collage to make it bigger)

Matt, I promise the rest of the family photo's will get put up this week too!!!

Cesky Raj

Before Matt was transferred from the office in Prague, President Slovacek and his wife took several of the missionaries on a site seeing trip to Cesky Raj/Bohemian Paradise. The Bohemian Paradise is the country's oldset nature reserve featuring deep valleys, lakes and ponds, and sandstone rock towers. Looks like they had a great time. Here are some pictures Sister Slovacek shared on her blog page...


Cesky Raj/Bohemian Paradise


Sister Slovacek writes, "We love this place! We took the office on an excursion to Cesky Raj for P-Day a few weeks ago. From the bottom up: Elder Mittanck, Elder Anderson, Sister Anderson, me, Elder Foster, Heidi Slovacek, Elder Hatch, Sister Foster, Elder Vivona (at the very top). I'm not sure why Elder Fruehan is not in this picture."


"Hey look! We found Elder Fruehan!"


"President Slovacek was the photographer. Here he is getting a good shot of us. I took a picture of him taking a picture of us."


"Every time we looked up, we would see Elder Vivona standing high above us among the rocks."

Mother's Day

Two weeks ago we all got to spend some time talking to Matt on the phone! And he sounded great! He really enjoys his new area...Brno. It's in the southeastern part of the country. Brno is the second largest city in the Czech Republic. His new companion, Elder Darrington, served with him in the MTC (how nice to be working with an old friend). He tells us the language barrier is finally broken and he can now undserstand and speak the language with very little problem. He is very excited to be back out in the field working, not that his experience in the office was all that bad (he just missed being out among the people).

The weather in Brno is very much like the weather here in Indy. Lot's of rain and mild temperatures, although this week he says that it has turned hot so it's a little bit humid. Yesterday he and his companion, along with some of the other missionaries serving in Brno went to visit a castle. Spilberk Castle was built around 1250 and has been a Royal home, a fortress, a prison, a barracks and now is the home of the Brno City Museum.

When we asked him if there was anything from home he wanted his response was...Mac-N-Cheese! So this week we sent him a care package (well, tao care packages. We tend to get carried away when it comes to sending things from home!) It was really wonderful to hear his voice. We already can't wait for Christmas to come around so we can talk to him again. But we are all grateful he has access to email so we can talk to him each week. Here are a couple of pictures he sent this week.






Brno Cave


Missionary cow!


Starsi Vivona and Starsi Darrington

I'm now in Brno!

hey mom and dad,

im sorry that i have been combining your letters into one, but i only have 1 hour to write letters to you and to the president (and you guys write me novel-long emails, haha jk) but thats awesome to hear about all the things that have been going on:) So, once again, we have 9 week transfers not 6 week ones. and the past week, we had my 4th transfer in the country.... and guess what?! im now in brno!! the only sad part is is that im not in praha anymore, i love that city. but being here for only abuot 4 days i can already tell that i will like it here too. im now serving with elder darrington! he was one of the elders in my mtc group. hes a way cool guy and its nice to be around someone that speaks that same amount of czech that i do. my first day here in brno, on wednesday, we talk 3 lessons in about 2 hours. i love how it is summer, because bench contacting rocks.

well im having a blast here! i really cant even destribe it. but i am glad to be out of the office now, it was starting to kill me having to be in the ofice all day and not out being a missionary. well, i already have to go, but i want to you to know that i love you both and that i cant wait to talk to you in about two weeks (for mothers day). oh, and my pdays are back to monday again. i love you.

s laskou

elder vivona

Transfers!

I'm srry that i didnt have a chance to write to you this past pday, but i got transferred early. guess where im at now... PRAGUE!! the reason that i got tranferred early is because im now in the office of the mission home as the office manager:) it was really nerve-recking because on last monday, the district that i was in down in české budějovice went on a vilet (like a field trip) to an old castle ruins that was close by, and while we were there, President Slovacek called me on our cell phone. since we were kinda out in the middle of nowhere, we didn't have very good reception so i had to call him back once we got to civilization again. so needless to say, i was way nervous that he was calling me, i thought that i was in trouble or something. well anyways when i called him back, immediately he told me that i was going to be serving in the office in praha and that i needed to get there as fast as possible. after the phone call we went home and immediately i had to start packing my stuff. i was way nervous because when you are in the office, you have to answer the phone and pretty much be a secretary for the president. and since i dont really speak the language super well, i thought he was almost joking when he told me what i was assigned to do. but anyways, im here now, and let me tell you, THIS CITY IS B-E-A-UTIFUL. and its way uber big too. this past week, has been crazy hectic though. i had to learn all of my responsiblities and all the things that i need to know how to do ( like ordering all the supplies for the mission). but the good thing is is that i can order just about everything from the internet;) its just like im back at home;) oh, and i get some really cool perks too, like i get my own phone and computer, and our pdays are on saturday:) so that is exciting.

its way cool to hear about everything that is happening back at home, its kinda crazy that you are still getting snow there. oh, and thank you for the packages:) (i finally got the package with the sweaters in it:) since im in the office now, i dont have to wait for zone conference to pick up my mail, but it actually just gets delivered to me (that is one of the new resopnsibilties that i now have too, signing for all the mail) but ive been having a blast here. my new comp is Elder Fruehan, he has been in the mission for about a year and a half, so he is my translator for a couple of ppl. its really cool, i cant understand just about everyone if i talk with them in person, but on the phone for some reason i just cant understand everthing... i dont really know why. well tomorrow is my first sunday in the praha branch so im excited:) they have about 130 members here so that is a lot more than in the last branch.

i totally forgot about megans bday today so, im srry that i didnt send a card or something, but i will send her an email today. wish her a happy bday for me:) i miss you both and im happy that i have such awesome parents:) im glad that i had the opportunity to be raised in this church and that i could go on a mission. i know that at times here the work is really difficult, but if we just put our faith in the lord, then everything will work out and that our burdens will become lighter. just like it says in matthew 11:28-30,

28 ¶ aCome unto me, all ye that blabour and are heavy laden, and I will give you crest.
29 Take my ayoke upon you, and blearn of me; for I am cmeek and dlowly in eheart: and ye shall find frest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is aeasy, and my burden is light.

i know that this is a true statement and that if we come unto christ in our afflictions then, he will make our weaknesses and our hardships become our strengths.

love,
starší vívona

Fwd: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

From: matt vivona
Date: February 20, 2010 3:42:54 AM EST
To: meganpeyton@kw.com
Subject: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear megan, happy birthday to you.... and many more from Mr. moby in the morning! ok, there we go, i just felt bad because i havent written in such a long time. but at least i got to sing to you... kinda;) so how are you? from the letter that i get from mom and dad you and jared seem to doing pretty good:) so how is the girl doing? you would not believe how many pictures i have of her and ashlynn. its really crazy. i have more pictures of them than i do of any of the rest of the family. but its good i guess. so how does it feel to be turning 24? wow youre getting old... haha jk. i love you anyways;)

well as you probably heard from mom and dad, im now an office elder, which means that now im serving in Prague:) and this place is really way cool:) the city is beautiful, but i think that it will take me a long time to know my way around. there are so many different forms of transportation here, but thankfully as an office elder, we get a car:) and maybe soon they will let me get my czech licence:) that would be way tight:)

well i just wanted to write and wish you a happy birthday, so happy birthday agian.

s laskou,

starší vívona

Fwd: Letter from President Slovacek

CÍRKEV


CZECH PRAGUE MISSION
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
Milady Horákové 85/95
170 00 Praha 7 – Holešovice
Czech Republic
Tel.: +(420) 224 322 215
Fax: +(420) 224 324 751
2013061-PRS@LDSChurch.org





22 February 2010





Dear Brother and Sister Vivona:

I am pleased to inform you that your son, Elder Matthew Ryan Vivona, has been called to work in the mission office as the Office Manager. Elder Vivona is an outstanding missionary and has touched the lives of many here in the Czech Republic.

As the Office Manager he has many responsibilities necessary for this office to run smoothly and efficiently. He has worked hard at learning the Czech language and we are grateful for his skill, as he will have to communicate with many in the community who provide services and supplies for us. He has the responsibility to distribute printed materials, not only to the missionaries, but to the many branches included in our mission.

This is a very important responsibility. I feel it an honor to serve with him. I have watched him carefully and know him to be a very special young man and a dedicated servant of the Lord. Thank you for raising such a fine young man. May the Lord bless you as you continue to support him in his missionary labors.



With warmest regards,

Marvin J. Slováček, Jr.
President, Czech Prague Mission

Fwd: hi

Subject: hi

ok so im really sorry for not being able to write the past couple of weeks, but weve had pday on saturday, and in české budějovice nothing has been open. well i dont really have a ton of time to write to you but ill try to fit everything in. the past couple of week s have been really good, weve been able to teach a lot of ppl through tracting mostly since it is so cold outside. in the past like 4 days weve gotten about a foot of snow. it makes i not verz much fun to contakt in so weve been tracting alot. christmas was a blast and news zears was a ton of fun too. i got so reallz cool firework pics:) we had to comeee inearly on news years because ppl get pretty crazy with all he fireworks and the alchohl. but it was a lot of fun. the other elders came over to our house and we played monopoly until like 3 in teh morning. it was a blast. but other than that nothing super spectacular has happened. that is so crazy to hear that chris and ashley gto into a car accident!! im so glad to hear that everzone is ok! even ashlznn, she sounds way cute:) well im sorry that this is such a short letter but i dont have much time. me and elder peterson are doing pretty good. its really fun to see how different missionaries do things in the work differently. the past week or so, ive also become quite the good... male seamstress(?) haha its been a lot of fun to fix things for myself:) well that is pretty much everything so i have to gett going, i still have to write president and then go shopping. oh and i get packages everytime that i go up to praha, so every zone conference. i love you all.

s laskou,
starší vivona

ps. im using a czech keyboard, so you may have to repalce the z for a y:)

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Fwd: this week:)

this week:)

Hi:) this week has been pretty good, im srry for the short letter last week, but today we found a better emailing place in a nearby library. so how have things been going? whats it like at home right now? here, today it finally is starting to warm up a little, but there is still snow on the ground. (it snowed about another 3 inches on top of the foot we already had). tracting has gottin' really fun now that it is so cool outside;) in fact, in the past week, we have found 4 new investigators from tracting! its a lot of fun... except when you get kicked out of the biulding by the old ppl that dont want you there. (its happened like 3 times in the past couple weeks) but it is ok i guess. im staying pretty healthy here as weel. last night we were invited over to the harff's house, the american family, for dinner and they fed us some "healthy spanish food" because brother harff went to argintina on hhis mission. they are a pretty cool family:) all of the families in this branch are. and yesterday i had to give a talk in sacrement meeting. it was pretty good i guess. (i personally think that i could have been alot better, but quite a few people complemented me on it) i had been working on it everyday during personal study and then on saturday and sunday morning i translated it. just before church i had elder nowland check it and make corrections to my grammar, and i was glad that i gave it to him! he had to fix alot of things, but there were quite a few less misstakes than in my last talk. i gave it on pokora (humility) and it actually ended up being about 15 minutes long too:) i was pretty excited. and that is pretty much everything that has been going on. all of our investigators are doing pretty well. we found this one girl this past week or two that is really interested in our message:) she is like 16 and she plays softball for the czech national team. and she has been coming to church for the past 2 weeks:) her name is veronika. and there are a couple others that are about the same. i dont know, but i guess things are starting to pick up here:) i cant beleive that the transfer is almost over, we only have about 4 more weeks left. me and elder peterson are getting along really well too:) OH! on wednesday, we went on echanges so i was with elder horvath for the whole day. it was so crazy, we had a meeting with one of their new members, so we went and taught her the new member lessons. since he is new, he really doesnt understand anything, so i pretty much had the whole lesson! it was so cool and scary at the same time. but i understood everything that she said, and i was able to translate for horvath! it was such a neat experience:) i know that the lord really was helping me that day, and i knowthat he helps me everyday:) i know that this church is true and that the spirit really does prompt us to know what our heavnly father wants us to do. i love this gospel and i kow that through this knowledge that we have we can know what we have to do to return to our father in heaven. i love you both and the whole family, i cant wait to hear how everyone is doing. well i have to go, i still need to write to president slovacek.

s laskou,

starsi vivona

p.s. can you maybe find some cool spiritual thought ideas for me? our companoinship is kind of running out, and we are about going to have to start repeating ourselves. thank you:)

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