Surprises!

Ok first of all, I want to say dziękuje bardzo for the parcel!! (I have photos that I'll send later). Everyone loves my kangaroo-fur scripture case hehe and I must say, it makes a comfy pillow when I just need to rest my head for 3 seconds in class I mean what? I don't sleep in class.. ANYWHO, so I've pretty much devoured all the Cadbury (don't worry- I shared) but I still have some Tim-Tams left :D My friend Sister Kuchar loves them, so we just have like 1 or 2 every now and then, while she tries to speak in an Aussie accent. (she's really bad at it, but it's ok, because she's here to learn Polish not Australian!)

So this morning after I printed off your email mum, I read the story from Elder Whitmarsh out loud to Siostra Bąk, and we both just about cried from how amazing that story is. I love missionary work, and I know for sure that God prepares people who are ready to hear from the missionaries, if only we as missionaries listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and put ourselves in a position to be led by those promptings, then we can and will be used as instruments in the Lord's hands to bring people to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

I love all the things I've been learning here at the MTC- from practical skills like language to spiritual skills such as patience and humility. So last week, we had something called TRC (which is when we NORMALLY teach return missionaries who speak Polish, but we teach them as if they were themselves as members, not as if they were actually investigating the church) but someone brought along his friend who is here on holiday from Poland, and he is a real investigator. Then our teacher looks around sort of surprised (he wasn't expecting a non-member to be there, because that's really rare in the MTC) and I ask if we're meant to teach him, and he says yes. So my companion asks if our companionship can go in and talk to him, and so we went ahead! We got to talk to him about the Book of Mormon and a bit about Poland and the language. It was so cool to actually talk to a Polish non-member about the church, and words seriously can't explain how much that experience just made my time here in the MTC. At first, I felt a lot of pressure, talking to someone about the gospel in Polish, but during our time with him, I felt a lot more at ease, and I could feel the Spirit helping me with what to say. I cannot wait til we get out into the mission field. Kocham Polski!

 

So mum I did indeed get your Dear Elder letter :) It was such a pleasant surprise to see that on my desk when it arrived! I'm really sad to hear about Sister Ireland. I actually found out that one of my Polish teachers (we have 3 in total) served at the same time as the Irelands, and I asked if he knew them and his eyes lit up when I mentioned them! They must have made a big impact on a lot of people in Poland, from the way that people react when I ask if they know them. That reminds me, I really love Sister Draper- please give her many many hugs from me!

 

I love hearing about Stevie-lee and Madison! They are just too cute haha. And I'm so proud of you for being such an awesome person, with going to the temple in your free-time off from working at the temple! I can't believe how big the temple here in Provo is. There's like a kajillion sealing rooms. Last week I went to do initiatories, and it was really nice and peaceful. I did the work for 5 Hungarian people, and it was just an awesome spiritual experience that I won't forget. I love that we get to go to temple here every week :) 

 

This past Sunday, I gave a talk in my zone's Sacrament meeting about Faith in Jesus Christ. They don't give you notice of who exactly will speak, but they just tell every missionary to prepare a 5 minute talk, and then they call on you in the announcements of the meeting. So yeah, that was slightly scary! But I love talking about that topic, so it was actually great for me. Also, this Sunday, Siostra Bąk and I are going to sing a song as the musical item, called "My Soul Hungered". Unfortunately, the original key of the song is not good for girls, so we are just going to sing it acapella. But we both reckon it sounds pretty good :)

 

Well not much more to say! We have 4 investigators now (instead of only 1) and we've been keeping very busy. Lots of class, lots of planning, lots of language study, but so rewarding. There are truly so many blessings that come from doing this work. Yes it's very hard, but knowing that I'm helping others and myself become better, is so worth it.

I love you all, and please keep being awesome!

 

Package from Down Uner!

Outside my classroom with the American flag

My companion and I being crazy as usual

Letters from Winston Hills Ward

Has anyone seen Skippy? I want to show him my scripture case.

Siostra Grgich

Half Way!

So 4 weeks down and 5 more to go! Crazy stuff. Well, this week was pretty interesting! We got to host again yesterday (which is when we go to the curb where the new missionaries get dropped off, and then take them with their bags to their bedroom and classroom etc). I hosted 3 sisters- 2 going to California, and 1 going to Denmark (which was cool coz I just told her the entire time how much I love Copenhagen and how cool the people are etc. and also cool coz her classroom is on the same floor as mine!)

Ooh, I met 2 elders that are going to serve in Melbourne (speaking a chinese language) and I gave them Tim-tams, and I taught them how to do a tim-tam slam, and now every time I see them in the cafeteria, I teach them stuff about Australia. I always get so excited when I meet people that are going to serve Down Under! I also met 2 elders going to the Sydney North mission, and I told them that my mum works in the Sydney Temple, so they'll look out for you mum!

Every week we have something called "TRC" which is where we teach Polish speakers (normally return missionaries from Poland) but it's not meant to be like an investigator- rather just a member like how missionaries would go teach at a member's home. Anyway, there was this guy called Fenton, and he knew the Irelands! I think he served at the same time as them (I'm not entirely sure if I understood him perfectly, because we were speaking in Polish haha but yeah, he has at least heard of them, and thinks they are awesome people, coz i showed him my keychain that they gave me, and he thought it was cool). Anywho, so that happened.

Something funny, this week when we were playing Volleyball, everyone was asking me how to say my name, and they're like "Grrr-gich" "grrrr-gich" and then it was my turn to serve the ball, and Elder Firth (going to Turkey) says just as I'm about to hit the ball "Grr-get em!" and I was just laughing so hard. It was pretty funny. I dunno, maybe it's not that funny, it's a 'you had to be there-moment' haha.

Uhh, ooh, this week for the service activity, I went with Sister Bak, and we cleaned some showers, and we got to wear crazy goggles and use a cleaning gun/hose thing. And we just sung the whole time while cleaning, so that was heaps of fun. I'm really gonna miss all these sisters when we get assigned to all our different cities in Poland.

On Sunday, our class (district) sung "Come Thou Fount" for a musical item during Sacrament Meeting, and it sounded pretty awesome if I do say so myself ;) And the other day, the 2 Polish classes were singing an opening hymn, and one of the teachers said he wants to record us singing before we leave for the field. I love how musical the Polish missionaries are- i feel so blessed :)

Also on Sunday, I was looking on the Polish church website, and there was a link to Mormon.org in POLISH and I was like 'yaaaay', so I watched a few videos (English speaking, but Polish subtitles) and it was really good for me to learn some new phrases. There were also some videos of Polish members giving their testimonies, so Sister Kuchar and I were trying to understand the videos, and we actually were able to get quite a bit out of it. Mind you, we had to pause after every sentence, but it was nonetheless very insightful.

What else happened this week? Well my class are having just a ball of a time repeating everything I say in their attempted Aussie accents which is sometimes annoying, but mostly pretty funny haha. I don't notice the weird things we aussies say, until they (the americans) start repeating it! When I was watching some of those "I'm a Mormon" videos, I saw some aussie ones, and it really made me appreciate Australia. I love that place so much. Ahhh ok better not get myself homesick. I really love the mission though for reals :) Ah, all the Croatian/Bosnian/Serbian missionaries are leaving on Tuesday, and I told them to look out for any Grgic families and to ask them (if they meet any) if they have family in Sydney, coz they could be related to us haha. Lucky missionaries going there!

Okie doke, well we gotta go put our laundry away now, and then go teach some Polish speakers when Pday finishes. Let me know how you're all going, and don't hesitate to 'Dear Elder' me if you feel so inclined!

Love you so much,

Siostra Grgich

Sister Bak and I Cleaning the showers

The drawing on the board is Starszy ('Elder' in Polish) Quackenbush and I. I'm the one saying "nohrr" because that's how they all think I say 'no' in my aussie accent. And the "meh meh meh" is Starszy Quackenbush teasing me

Just a Photo of my crazy class

This is of my awesome friends who've all left for the Quezon City Philippines mission this past Monday (although 1 elder is still waiting to leave hopefully next week or something). It was sad to see them go because they're my first MTC friends, but all good.

Making Memories :)

Ok, so I don't have a lot of time to write you (as always!) but I wrote down a list of what happened this week so I can tell you! (You know how bad my memory is)

SO, first of all I had to get 2 immunisations done last week (Typhoid and my 3rd dose for Hep A and B) and they were so painful haha- I've still got a tiny bruise, but all is well! I'm strong hehe

Ok, so we celebrated the 4th of July (USA independence day) with a devotional in the big hall for all of the missionaries, and then we were allowed to go outside and watch the fireworks going off from BYU right next door. That was pretty fun, and especially awesome because we all got free Magnum ice-cream wooo! (I've been eating a lot of ice-cream here at the MTC. Every day is HOT AS) I think I've got a pic or 2 of that day, I'll send them through later.

We had 2 very awesome devotionals this past week- one was Neil L Anderson and his wife spoke to us about the Holy Ghost, and it was so inspiring and uplifting. I just love how blessed we are here with so many wonderful uplifting opportunities. The other devotional was AMAZ-A-ZING- there was this guy called Josh Wright (I think..) and he's a professional pianist, and he played some classical music as well as churchy music and spoke about stories from his mission a few years back. It was like sitting in a concert almost, so I of course loved that time to just listen to beautiful music through my earholes and relax.

Oh, and I think at that same devotional, I met Ann Nicholl's (spelling?) grandson (Elder Whitmarsh I think) who's serving somewhere Spanish speaking, so that was cool. I don't see him around because all the Spanish speakers are on a different campus to the main one here which is a shame because you know me and my Spanish! All good though. He's very tall indeed, just like she said! That was cool to hear another Aussie. There's actually one Aussie elder in my zone, he's going to Bulgaria, so we always speak Aussie to each other and it's pretty funny (and probably obnoxious to the Americans haha). Our zone normally plays sport together, so we've been going a lot to the field and playing volleyball and kickball. It's nice that we have time everyday to do sport. It's one of my favourite times of the day now.

Well sad things of my week- almost all of the international people that were in my intake are all gone now. I miss seeing their faces, but it's so cool to think that we're all around different places of the world with the same purpose of helping people come closer to Christ. Also sad, (sort of) I kept losing a lot of things this week haha. So one day after sport, I left my nametag in the pigeonhole thing where we keep our tags and stuff, so I had to run all the way back with my companion to get it. And on the way, I managed to drop my ID card (it broke off the chain it was on), so then I had to run around and look for that. And then today after sport again, my companion got my badge and stuff for me, but somehow my watch got overlooked, so I had to run back and get that today. So a little but stressful, but I'm all good! Lots of exercise I guess!

And for something maybe slightly funny... so last week I waxed my underarms and Siostra Bak was helping me, and then she wanted me to do hers, so I did them a couple of days ago, and she pretty much died of the pain (she's never had it done before) and all the Polish sisters (our room and next door) came in to look and laugh hehehe I'm not sadistic, honest! But yeah, that was quite the memory-making moment.

Well, Kate, I really want to see a picture of this chicken! I'm so jealous. I wish I had a chicken. And I laughed so hard about your makeup being dishonest remark. TRUE DAT sister. I love you so much. And mum and dad and nieces and Mandy I love you so much too. And thanks mum for sending me stuff! I hope I get it in time! And I'm so happy for Isabelle's baptism! Thanks for telling me stuff from home, it's good to hear from you.

Love you, be happy, be productive, be charitable,

Siostra Grgich 

 

4th of July! Siostra Smith gets a fireworks crown hehe

Some new friends we made here at the MTC

Myself and the lovely Siostra Bak

ls being girlie-girls and putting on makeup (which Kate likes to call, 'dishonesty' hahaha)

My companion and I with 3 elders going to the Philippines on their mission (they leave next week). One of the elders lived in Austria last year so I speak German with him it's pretty fun.

My Polish class (minus 2 sisters)

A lot of the Sisters in my zone (Polish, Croatian and Slovene)

I LOVE Getting Mail

Well first of all, I LOVE getting mail (through Dear Elder, or packages or anything really!) so thank you so much, I feel so loved :) (and mum btw, if you feel so inclined to send any more Krispy Kremes to me, I will be totally okay with that). Hm, well today I got 2 vaccinations done (ouchie) and we've just been relaxing and talking and eating, so it's been a pretty good day. Preparation day ends at 5:30pm here in the MTC though, so we're just doing our laundry now, and then we'll be off to something called TRC (I can't even remember what it stands for right now haha) and we get to teach a Polish person (I think..?) and they might be a member but might not be.. so that will be something different!

We've got a new 'investigator' this week, and we've also got to finish planning his lesson for tomorrow, so it's been pretty busy every day, but I love how it's stretching me, and making me a more skillful person in language and abilities, and I also love how it's stretching me spiritually. We've been having a lot of devotionals/talks/lessons this past week about the importance of conversion to the gospel (as opposed to say, conversion to a person's testimony, or conversion to the church). I can really say with confidence, and I am glad, that I don't have a doubt in my mind that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true and that I have made the decision once and for all that I will follow Christ.

Every Sunday evening, we get to watch a video from the church (feature films or talks/devotionals etc.) and last week was so beautiful. It was from Elder David A. Bednar called "Character of Christ" and it was his address to the MTC on Christmas Day (I think it's from a few years back). Everything he said was just so true, and so inspiring, and it really helped me see things from an eternal perspective. We've also been able to hear from many other wonderful people, including General Authorities, so it truly is a wonderful atmosphere to be in here at the MTC. It's sort of funny actually, every now and then I'll see 2 elders walking fast-paced with side bags, and I think "ooh, it's the missionaries!" but then it only takes me a millisecond to remember that we're almost ALL missionaries here. I'm sure I'll notice the stares when I get to Poland, but as for now, I enjoy blending in with everybody- In a good way, I might add! we are all so united and have the same purpose, and while at times we all just look the same, it's wonderful how loving and caring everyone is to each other, and we all use our unique talents, personalities and humour to uplift each other, and our individuality shines through.

Well we have a lot of laughs here! (I think it's because it's our way of handling with the stress of learning this crazy language haha). 2 days ago in our lesson with Jacek our investigator, I was trying to say "That's why we needed a restoration of the gospel" but instead, I kept saying "That's why we need a conversion of the gospel" and poor Jacek looked so confused, and then my companion was like "Przywrocenia" haha glad she had my back. I was saying "Nawrocenia". There are heaps of very similar Polish words. I think I'm figuring it out though :) Ah, but if POLISH isn't enough, I must tell you that I have so many misunderstandings with the Americans hahaha. Just simple things like when I say "torch" they think I'm talking about the medieval-type wooden pole with a flame on top. Or the way I say 'water' (or anything ending with an 'er' for that matter) they all make me repeat it because it sounds so funny. I actually don't mind it though, it's nice to be different sometimes!

That reminds me! Kate no I didn't bring my kangaroo scripture case because I figured I wouldn't be using it because of the size of the Polish scriptures, but now I sort of regret that and wish I has it. Well, mum, if it's not too much trouble, it would be SO cool if you could send it to me :D (and it's cheaper to send it here than to Poland!) all good if you don't though haha it's just cute and nice to have to remind me of home.

Ah and Kate, Zadoscuczynienie only has 2 accents that's right, but it doesn't mean satisfaction (well maybe it does as well, but not in this context!). We don't use the word pokuta, I'm not sure what that is..? Ah, say hi to Aaron in Denmark! Tell him I said thanks for talking to me via you! haha ok and kate please dear elder me as much as possible! it seriously makes me so happy to get stuff throughout the week :) and i liked your fake goodbye, it was beautiful haha. oh and if you can find sheet music (an arrangement, not the hymn book version) for The Lord is My Shepherd? (anything you could find and send me would be SOO appreciated, coz I'd love to audition for that song, but we're only allowed to do arrangements with accompaniment- no acapella and no straight from the hymnbook songs.

Okie doke, I've got to get off the computer soon. I love you so much, and I hope all is well Down Under. Thanks for all that you do for me.

Much love,

Siostra Grgich

Photos!

My companion and I, with the beautiful mountains all around Provo (it certainly helps to have the nice view when I've been studying for 8 hours)

This is me today on the field next to the MTC today writing some letters and reading emails that I printed off (my companion is an amazing photographer and sneakily took this shot)

My companion's amazing photography skills

Siostra Bą k and I

Siostra Bą k (the 'a' is actually Polish with an accent underneath, which we call "'a' funky") doing her very typical 'wall sits'- this time, on a tree trunk!

My companion Siostra Smith and I today in our residence hall room (we share the room with 2 other sisters going to the same mission)