Week 40: Bryce "Elder" Hamilton

I'm on Milan and Sylvia: They have a baptismal date, and they ask Elder Raymond about me. That's all I know.

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About a year before I got my mission call, Bryce Hamilton, one of my friends from New York, received his mission call to the Czech/Slovak mission, speaking Czech. What a lame mission, I thought, who knows where that is, anyway? Then I got my mission call to the same place, except Slovak speaking. Wow! What a great mission, I thought.

For a long time, I never saw him personally. We had been in contact here and there, and I spent a lot of time around many who knew him. Why was I the only one who couldn't see him? That was about to change, as Elder Cook, one of the Twelve Apostles, was coming to Prague.

I met "Elder" Hamilton for the first time in Prague. Oh my, he had lost weight. I wish I had a picture of him for you, but as luck would have it, my mom will probably get her hands on one from his mom, so it'll probably be on the blog. [Christine, can you get me before and after pics?]

So we hit the streets of Prague, he speaking Czech, I Slovak, sharing the message of the restored gospel. We had been in a similar situation before the mission. In New York City, we've had a couple opportunities to do missionary work for a day, but none of us was quite so bold at that time. How things have changed.

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As I said, Elder Cook came to Prague. He first spoke to the missionaries. He said many things, but he ended with a powerful testimony. He said that a boy came up to him and said, "Why doesn't God lead His Church and talk to His prophets and apostles as he did in Joseph Smith's time?" Elder Cook then told us something to this effect: "Without speaking too openly about sacred things, I will tell you that I know the Savior's voice, and I know His face. Most of the time, we receive guidance only from the Holy Ghost, and that's all we need, really. But on very important matters regarding missionary work and temples, the Savior makes His will known." While hearing this testimony, I felt the undeniable power of the Holy Ghost, testifying that Elder Cook's words were true. On another occation that evening, I heard him bear the same testimony to the members of the Czech Republic, and the confirmation of the Holy Ghost came to me again. I know this work is important, although it can be very hard sometimes.

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I can't steal photos from Elder Raymond anymore, so I'm back to taking mostly my own pics: