Warsaw!

Sister Johnston and I at the Israeli restaurant/cafe in Warsaw with our 6 selections of hummus!

My companion Sister Johnston and I with Róża and Kaja at the Warsaw 1 chapel

Us on Sunday with Ola (member from Wrocław)

This week I arrived in my new area- Warsaw! I caught the train down from Bydgoszcz (not too long of a trip, and the views were great) with all my belongings (2 suitcases, my guitar, handbag and a duffle bag) and was greeted at Warsaw Central Station by my new companion Sister Johnston and some other sisters serving in the Warsaw 1 branch. We then carried all my belongings up and down stairs, on some trams and walked across cobblestone to finally reach my new flat! It's almost been a week and I already feel at home here- the city is big and busy, the branch is full of wonderful members, we have some incredible investigators with whom we're working and the missionaries in our district are fantastic (there's an Elder who was in my MTC district and a new trainee-Elder straight out of high school (pretty much haha)- I love his fresh enthusiasm!).


This week I got to meet a recent-convert family, whom I actually taught with the sisters here in Warsaw way back in my first transfer (before they were members), and they remembered me which is cool! So I feel so blessed to be able to continue to teach them and help them on their way to deepening their faith and knowledge of the restored gospel. We also got to meet up with a current investigator Kaja- the coolest girl ever! She works at the Jewish Museum as a tour guide (haha she wonders why everyone seems to know that about her even before they meet her (rumours spread ;)), but I gotta say it's a pretty cool job!) and she speaks English incredibly and she has awesome short hair, and has a way cool fashion sense, and she's way smart and most importantly, has an incredible testimony of the gospel! We ate lunch with her at a vegetarian Israeli cafe (my first time eating hummus!) and a YSA member from Wrocław was there too (she just so happens to be a friend of Kaja's roommate! small world.) so we had a good time together and took photos of our lunch (as all good hipsters do :p). After that we went to do a 'whiteboard' (where we contact people on the street, have a question written up on the whiteboard and try and get people's attention so we can talk to them) with the Elders, and Kaja and a YW member from our branch Roza came along and helped us find people to teach. I got to teach a few people with Róźa (native Polish speaker!!) and I was so impressed at what a good missionary she is. She's actually preparing to go on a 'mini-mission' soon in Łódż with the Sisters there for a week, and I'm so excited for her! Seriously Poland has the coolest people! That same day, there was a baptism in the Warsaw 1 branch, so we got to go to the chapel and see someone get baptised- it was so special! The service was beautiful and I was just filled with joy thinking about how wonderful it is to have the church here in Poland. I've already seen how so many individuals and families have been greatly blessed by this gospel. I know it changes lives for the better, and that's what life's all about! Oh, speaking of life, Kaja also taught a lesson for YW on Sunday about the purpose of life, and it was so good! We looked up a bunch of scriptures from the Book of Mormon, New Testament and Doctrine and Covenants, and my companion and I felt the spirit so strongly during her lesson. Ah I seriously want to cry from how happy I am! I just love the goodness of people. I've been so blessed to have met so many great examples on my mission. People that just make me want to be more like Christ, because of how Christlike they are. The world is is a good place! Cherish it, and especially the people within :)


This week we also got to teach an American investigator Molly. She actually is traveling around Europe now (she sort of reminds me of myself a couple years ago haha) and having a load of fun I bet hehe, but she's actually been living in Poland for a bit, so the Sisters have been teaching her, and she's just another amazing soul! She's so friendly and is so open to learning, so I look forward to continuing teaching her before she goes back to the States! I just love it how the church is in so many countries, and there are missionaries almost everywhere around the world. I remember when I would travel around Europe and find missionaries in different cities, I was just so excited to talk to them, because I automatically felt like they were family (just another plus side of having a church organisation!).


Well I've still got plenty of people to meet (less-actives, members and hopefully some new people that want to learn about the gospel) but I'll be here for at least 8 more weeks so I'm excited for that! This transfer we're really working hard on inviting people to come to church (whether they be members or visitors) and helping people make the choice to be baptised. I'm so excited to be working with Sister Johnston, and I know we can make a difference in this area for the gospel to be spread to more people. I'm so grateful I have this opportunity in my life to be a missionary, and I wouldn't trade this time and these experiences for any other!


All my love,
Siostra Grgich