I Hadn't Had An Experience Like That Before

I spilt a whole tub of powder makeup and I felt sad. true story.

Me in front of the Wielkie Młyn (Great Mill) around the corner from the Gdansk chapel

Sister Wood and I in our winter gear (it's so cold!!)

Left to right/od lewo 

Siostra Wood, Siostra Grgich, Starszy Kimball, Arek, Starszy Platter, friend from Turkey, Kuba

This week was really nice. My companion, Sister Wood and I made plans to visit as many people from the ward (including less-actives) as possible in the week. I made ANZAC bikkies and Sister Wood made Banana Cake, then we printed out spiritual thoughts from last General Conference and put them with the treats. We got to meet some new people and see some old faces, and it felt good to just talk with these people about life and the gospel. The main message we wanted to bring was one of unity and charity, and we encouraged everyone to make a conscious effort to serve others each day, so I encourage you to do the same! I remember when I was in Germany, and the missionaries had a similar lesson with me, and gave me a commitment to seek for opportunities to do at least one act of service each day- I felt a big change in myself after doing that. I'd say nothing takes away the blues faster than lifting up someone else.

Yesterday was a really nice Sabbath. Recently the amount of people coming to Sacrament Meeting have been sort of dwindling (maybe it's the Winter, but I don't know) but yesterday we had quite a few people which was nice to see (there were a few guests). There were still of course some missing faces, but we just keep praying for them and let them know that we love them, and hopefully they'll have the desire and ability to come next time. There's a German man (not a member) who used to come every week without fail, but he hasn't come for a while now, so last week I called him but didn't get an answer. Last night he called back but we were asleep, so this morning I rang and we had a good conversation in German (he doesn't speak Polish). I told him the branch misses him and the members ask about him (which is true) and it was good to hear that he has good feelings towards the members and missionaries. Sometimes it's hard to know how we can help others, but 1 thing I know and have learnt, is that it's just important to really care about people, be their friend and continue to love them no matter what. I've definitely seen when I go through hard times, friends have been a great means of support and it's often their encouragement that motivates me to keep pushing on.

In the evening after church and having dinner with the senior missionary couple here, we decided to visit a man we met at his flat on Saturday tracting. He had told us at the time we first met him, that he was busy but that we could come back. So we did, and we ended up having a good lesson about the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ and we're going to meet with him again this week. It was pretty incredible to have someone actually listen and be fairly agreeable with what we were teaching- I hadn't had an experience like that before on my mission. He said he didn't really believe in God, basically because he's seen quite a few hardships and hasn't seen how God's been of help, so we bore our testimonies of the reality of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and we know that as he learns more, he too can find out of their reality. I hope that we can continue to teach him, and see how having the basic knowledge of who Jesus Christ is and what it means to know that He suffered and died for us, can change this man's life for the better. I'm so grateful that you, my parents, brought me up with a knowledge of God's love and how we can communicate with Him through prayer. Those basic principles are truly what's kept me grounded in life- just knowing that there is indeed a Savior Jesus Christ, we can live with our families together forever, we can be forgiven of our sins as we repent, and there is real purpose to this life that extends after the grave. Life is beautiful and meaningful :)

This week has been really cold, dark and in general, just gloomy so I hope you're having a wonderful time in that Sydney sunshine! I was showing some family photos to a member the other day, and she said you look nice mum and dad! I hope you're getting everything settled at baba's and I hope dad's not being too loud with his guitars ;). Love you so much!


Siostra Grgich