Stand Up!

Exchange to Bydgoszcz- Sister Larcade and I

And Ola!

I woke up sick yesterday, so I'm just going to write a small one this week :D

This week was really fun, we got to do a Skype lesson with a Young Woman in our branch, and another in a branch a few hours away from us. Kasia (our Young Woman) taught the lesson and we all got to talk about one of our favourite topics- Missionary Work! It was super cool hearing the testimonies of these 2 beautiful young ladies, and their strong desires to have integrity and stand up for truth and righteousness. It's also so cool hearing of their spiritual experiences and seeing them grow- ah I just have so much love for them and their amazing families! :') Sister Young and I are determined to find some YW-aged girls to teach so that they can all be friends and help each other out :D Hehe, of course, we're always looking for anyone who is willing to learn and accept the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, but if we can find some YWs that'd be fantastic!

This past week I got to go to Bydgoszcz for an exchange! I was there with Sister Larcade and we had such a great time! We got to teach some people on the streets (street contacting) and then had a really fun English class. I got to see an investigator that we had taught last time when I was in Bydgoszcz for 3 weeks, and Marcus was there too! (Austrian member who was baptised in my 2nd transfer). Sister Larcade and I got to talk a lot about how to plan lessons and learn the language and everything! She's such an amazing missionary and person, I was so blessed to be able to learn from her and hear her testimony. Exchanges are great because you get to learn from new people, and everyone really does have individual talents and abilities that all contribute to the work!

Miss you heaps! Enjoy the warm weather :D

Sister Grgich

Strength in Numbers

Sorry this one's blurry- me with Kasia (Young Woman in our branch) making ANZAC bikkies!

And me with Ewa (member from Bydgoszcz) in the Gdansk chapel (we had District Conference yesterday!)

Sister Young and I on Ulica (street) Długa

Marta (member from Poznan) and I

Sister Young, Magda (member in our branch from Sopot) and I

Yesterday we had our district conference! It was held at our Gdańsk chapel, and members from Bydgoszcz and Poznań came. It was such a great occasion! We prepared food with members and others beforehand, and had a lot of fun doing so! Then we got to enjoy the different talks and musical items :) It was really nice seeing the different members being so involved, and it was just such a great atmosphere being with everyone in such an uplifting and loving environment. It reminded me of how there can be strength in numbers- and it just really make me yearn for more here in Poland! The church organisation is so important, we're all needed and can all play a part. If we think we don't need church, at least we can be selfless enough to say that the church and it's members need us! Because it really does. And church is such a great place to find people to strengthen and serve. There are so many people that need our help, and being in the church gives us SO many opportunities to work and teach and love others.


This week we had a lot of wonderful experiences- one that stands out to me was when we were walking around the town just talking to people and inviting them to learn about the restored gospel, and we started talking to one girl who said she didn't believe in God. After a while, she admitted that she would like to believe that there's life after death and that she could be with her family again after this life. We told her that we know that there is a life after death and that families can be together forever, but unfortunately she had to go pretty quick back to work (she was on her break) so she just left. It made me sort of sad, because I know that her life could have so much clarity and purpose if she knew the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope that she'll one day come to learn and find out more for herself, but in the meantime, I know that God is very aware of her and her life, and I am so grateful for the knowledge that "every creature" (Mark 16:15) will have the gospel preached to them- whether that be now or in the Spirit World. I'm so grateful for the people who are using this life to learn and show their faith. This Gospel- the Plan of God isn't for us to have some type of restricted life filled with commandments that we "have" to keep and a list of "do's and don'ts", but rather when we learn and live it, we find true peace and freedom from the consequences of sin. We have purpose in life and want to help others along the way. This life is the time to prepare to meet God (Alma 34:32), and the faster we do that, the faster we'll have clarity and purpose, and we'll feel the Atonement of Jesus Christ working in us to change us for the better and best.  


I'm so grateful for the blessings of God I've seen in my life and in the lives of so many around me. I know that even when we make mistakes, God's arms are outstretched and we can see a change in our own lives and we trust in the power of Christ's Atonement, and use our agency to make good decisions from this very moment on. I love you all so much and wish you a happy, love-filled week!


Sister Grgich

Birthday!

We went to the Solidarność museum last pday- "Żeby Polska była Polską!"

Sister Smith surprised me with streamer-confetti and balloons and post-it notes put all around the flat for my birthday :) The little board is really cute, coz normally it's filled with her vocab verbs in Polish, and she'll have like example sentences of how to use the words she's learning. So she replaced them all with words and examples about me hehe :) so sweet!

So this was hilarious. We're walking this morning on our way to go email, and Sister Smith is like "oh, we need to go up to the tram platform" (we normally don't catch a tram to get to the emailing place) and when we get up there, the free-for-all advertisement boards are filled with these posters for me saying happy birthday haha. A lady was staring at the board, really confused! Sister Smith got the elders to put them up just before we got there- I wonder how long they'll stay there before getting posted over or ripped down!

I gave a presentation on Australia for our last English class :) Those 2 kids fighting are British-Poles- they have the cutest British accents!

I sent a lot of photos and stuff so now I'm going to be lazy and not write a lot haha. Well this past week was really great! Some of the highlights:

 

We got to meet with an investigator couple, they invited us over for dinner, and they're both super awesome! They have a dog named Sonya haha- I'm not sure if I've told you this before, but like everyone in Poland has a dog named Sonya (or maybe it's spelled like Sonja, I don't know how they spell it). It's so funny when people are like "SONYA, GET OVER HERE" and they're talking to their dog hehehe (of course, in Polish).

 

This week we spoke to a lot of people about modern-day prophets, and how the Church today is still led by a living prophet and apostles, like times preceding, during and after Christ. We had a lot of spare copies of the October General Conference Liahona, so we took a bunch with us to a park and offered them to people, letting them know a bit about what General Conference is and how great it is that we have living prophets. People were generally pretty open (everyone likes free stuff!), and it was good to know that these magazines weren't just getting thrown away, but rather, are being used to potentially help soften the hearts of those who'll read them. 

 

Tuesday was our 'day of miracles' (that's every day, but this day was particularly miraculous!) we met a lot of people randomly on the streets- like former investigators with whom we had lost contact, members and really friendly strangers that were so nice to us. I got to speak to a German family from Dresden, we got in touch with a German investigator who has been wanting a copy of the Liahona in English, and we just happened to have a copy with us, so we were able to give it to him before he goes to Germany for a couple of months. There were tram problems, so our original plans of going to contact at a particular park changed, and instead we had to catch a tram that we normally wouldn't have caught back to the main city, and we got in contact with an investigator who we hadn't seen in a long time (now we're back in contact). We ran into a family from our branch on a tram platform and got to talk with them. I had my guitar, and from another side of the platform a lady asked us to sing her a song, so we did, and she loved it :) There are so many more great experiences, and I've got to go now to eat birthday lunch haha, but yeah, this week was amazing!

 

I hope you all had a great week too, and may your next week be even better!

Love you so much!

Siostra Grgich

Members

I only have one photo this week! This was at church yesterday, with a man who lived in Tassie!!

This week Summer has really made itself evident- I don't think I've ever been so hot (there's not a lot of air conditioning out here, and we spend a lot of time outside, so I'm really feeling the Polish summer!) I actually don't mind it though, it's nice not to have to wear layer on layer of coats and scarves and what not (although sometimes that can be fun too!). Yesterday we got on a tram that did actually have air-con, and it was like stepping into a little piece of heaven from being outside haha.


So I just realised I have a new planner, so it doesn't have last week in it, and I have a really bad memory about what happened, so I'll just start from yesterday and see if anything else comes to mind :) Well we had church on the 4th floor (it'll probably be the last time there, because our chapel has been renovated and should be ready to move into back on the 8th floor in time for next Sunday) and it was the Shaw's last Sunday in Gdańsk :( They are a senior missionary couple that came to this city when I first got here, so I've known them for a long time, and they pretty much fed me dinner every Sunday (except for the transfer I was in Warsaw)- so I owe them a lot. Not only do they make awesome dinner, but they are also just incredible people- great examples of service and charity, and so enthusiastic and motivating to the younger missionaries in our work. We're hopefully going to play volleyball with them today at the beach for p-day (if the rain holds off) so it'll be great to spend time with them one last time. Yesterday at church, we had a guest come, he's from Colorado and is a professor at a school in Gdynia (only for a few weeks though, so he's not permanently in our branch). It was pretty random how much we had in common, so he served his mission in Germany, plays the guitar, and lived in Australia for a year! He lived in Tasmania and said he went to the Sydney temple a couple of times, you probably wouldn't remember him mum, but in case you do, his name is Bill Emery and I got a photo with him haha! Pretty cool how small the world is.


Yesterday was also really great because we got to be with the members (love them so much, and I really do love this branch) and I just love how they are so loving and charitable. They put on a little party/get-together thing to say goodbye to the Shaws and it was so sweet. They will really be missed by the members here. Yesterday was great because it was fast and testimony Sunday. I bore my testimony (I used to be pretty shy about it before my mission, but now I think I'm a pro ;) haha, so I like to get up whenever there's time) and I really felt the Spirit from fasting as well. There is a special power in fasting, and I'm really trying to make sure I have meaningful fasts- it's been working, and I've been getting help and answers to my prayers. I know that God helps us as we do our part to let him help us.


After church, Sister Smith and I went to visit a former investigator. We found her apartment the other day, and her husband (I think) answered and said she's in hospital. So he rang her up and let us talk to her, and she invited us to visit her. I'm not sure what happened, but I think it must have been a stroke or something because she's not in a good state. So he gave us her room number and the address of the care place, and we went and visited yesterday, and unfortunately she was asleep, but the husband (or however he's related) was there and we got to speak to him a bit. We were hoping to sing some songs for the former investigator, but we ended up just talking to the man. I was reminded of the times we sung as a Relief Society at elderly homes during Christmas time, and our district spoke about it afterwards and decided we'd really love to go to hospitals/elderly homes here and offer if we can just come and sing some songs for the patients. I love music and I love how it can cheer people up. Sometimes people think we're just here to get more members for our church, but I think they're really missing the point, of the fact that we want to share the gospel, because we know that their lives will always be better with the knowledge of the restored gospel, than without it. It may not be easier, but it is true, and in an eternal perspective, it will always improve the quality of people's lives if they live by the principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful for the way the Church has blessed my life (not only the teachings, but the organisation itself, which is the means by which we are taught and can live the teachings). I want to share the gospel with others because I can say with total assurance, that people are better off with having restored gospel truths in their life, than without them.

I love you very much and hope you all have a lovely week. Again I would write more ahhh but I'm running out of time, so I'll just leave it at this!

From Sister Grgich

Kangaroos at the Zoo

Elder Wright with his kangaroo coin purse... and the kangaroos...!

Kangaroos at the zoo! I tried speaking aussie to them, but they were just chilling, doing their own thing. Didn't even look at me! Haha oh well

Kaja giving us a tour at the Museum of the History of Jews in Poland (not sure if that's what it's officially called..)

My companion Sister Johnston and I with the Kosonavich family (they're Americans but with a Croatian heirtage, and they did the same thing like we did with adding an 'h' on the end of their name!)

This week will be the start of a new transfer for me in the beautiful city of Gdansk, in which I'll be serving with the magnificent and even more beautiful Sister Smith! Sister Johnston and I had just finished visiting a less-active member in our branch, and were waiting for the bus when we received our calls from President Edgren. I was so excited to learn that I'd be getting to serve with my MTC companion again, and whilst it's a little sad that I only got to be here for 1 transfer, Sister Johnston and I both feel good that we have left this area a little better than we found it :) (which is always the goal!) and we're excited for the new Sisters to come and do the same. We're both so grateful for the opporunity that was given us to work with and amongst so many different people here, and we're really going to miss it!


So I sent you some photos- including some at the zoo! I actually forgot to bring my camera, so these were taken from my companion's camera. So last week we went to the big zoo in Warsaw and got to see a lot of awesome animals! I was especially excited about the kangaroos, wallabies and emus (they unfortunately didn't have koalas), but I also really enjoyed the hippos, monkeys/baboons, seals and flamingoes :) I don't know how people think all of these incredible creations just came about by chance- they were CLEARLY created. And how grateful I am for all of God's beauty in the world :)


After the zoo, we met with an American member family and an investigator Molly for a lesson and dinner. It was really nice, but also a little sad because Molly's since gone back to the States (where she's from) and we really miss her! What's cool though, is that she might work for an Australian family who live in Utah, so I told her that they'd of course naturally be awesome because they're Australian ;)


This week we were able to have some really amazing lessons with less-active members in our branch. We were able to teach a lady and her non-member husband and son about prayer, and encouraged them to pray as a family- the lesson went so well, and they were appreciative of the songs my companion and I sung at the end :D We were able to teach a single lady about forgiveness and how freeing and enabling the Atonement really is. The Spirit was felt so strongly during our lesson with her and we have been so blessed to see so much progress in this woman's life as we have met with her this transfer. It's such a beautiful thing to hear from people, when they tell us they once had a problem with something and now, because of the gospel, it's gone. I'm so happy to have been a part of helping someone with that. We were able to teach another woman about family history and temple work (it's starting to be a favourite topic of mine!) and I'm just always so appreciative of the hospitality and kindness of the members here in Poland towards us as missionaries (and others in general!). I love teaching, and meeting people and just being a missionary :) P.S. mum and dad, I totally suggest you two going on a mission some day together. You could go to Bosnia, it'd be so awesome! Hahah ok that's just what I see in my head that would be really great!


Well I'm not sure what else to say, except that I love you and appreciate you and pray for you often! I hope you all have a wonderful week - tell Baba "volim te" (I think that's correct).


Love Sister Grgich

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

I Have Arrived at the MTC!

Goodbye Sydney! At Sydney Airport with Mum, Dad and my beautiful nieces Stevie-Lee and Madison

I'm indeed very busy here, and actually a little stressed with learning Polish and trying to plan lessons (all in Polish, of course!), but it has honestly been so worth it, and I love it here so much! I have a lot to tell you but don't have a lot of time haha, so I'll try.

So when I got here last Monday, I was DEAD tired, but 20 mins after I arrived (I was the first international missionary of the week to arrive here) I got a companion from Germany! Her name is Sister Borcherding and she's serving in Singapore, English speaking, and we actually have a common friend! Her cousin was in my Stake in Germany. Anyway, cool stuff, and I loved being able to speak German with her! AND, I met an Elder who's serving in the Philipines in the same mission as my friend Katerina (Quezon City Mission), and he lived in Austria last year as an exchange student, so we speak German to each other it's so fun being able to use the language.

That's me and my first 2 German companions (only had them for a couple days)

Tim Tam Slams!

Yes my companion is indeed shorter than me! Crazy that that's even possible, right? ;) She is super awesome, and from Pennsylvania, she's a photographer, loves Nacho Libre, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Jane Austen, and plays the piano beautifully! Actually, my class is quite musical, which I LOVE! And we've all decided that we should audition as a class for a musical item in a devotional here at the MTC. We have such talented singers for all voices/parts, so our opening hymns always sound amazing.

my polish class in front of the world map at the MTC pointing to the general Poland area haha

Ok, so I got to go to the Provo Temple today which was really nice! I did a name for one of the sisters who's in my room (there's 4 of us- my companion and I, and a Siostra Bak from Minnesota and Siostra Kuchar from Utah-all going to Poland). The temple here is SO BIG! I love it, it was a great spiritual experience. (although I was super tired)

Sisotra Bą k and I at Provo Temple

My companion and I at Provo temple!

So we've had quite a few Polish classes (the entire classes are in Polish-well at least, the teacher never speaks English, so that we get used to immersion). We've already been teaching an 'investigator' and the lessons are completely in none other than Polish! I really believe in the Gift of Tongues, it's crazy and I don't feel like I can properly explain it, but I know that this work is real, and I know that God needs me to learn Polish.

So apart from all the classes and meetings, we've been having a lot of fun too! We are constantly laughing, and it's a great stress relief! Siostra Bak always does/says the funniest things. One day, after coming out of the room after their lesson with the investigator, she was laughing so hard with her companion and we were all like "what happened?". And she apparently told the investigator, "Jesus Christ Smirnoff" instead of "smierc" or something, which means "died". So hilarious.

Oh, 2 cool Polish words!
Żart means 'joke'
Zadoscuczynienie means 'atonement' and has a kajillion accents over the letters

My companion and I in Polish class

Hmm, well I love being here (even when I get asked every 3 seconds how to say my last name... thanks Dad!) Haha, I hope I can write you more next week, because I've run out of time now!

Wiem ze Bog jest nasze Ojciec Niebieski, y ze kosciol jest prawdziwy! (I know that God is our Heavenly Father and the church is true!)

Siostra Grgich

ALSO, we had the best ever devotional from Janice Kapp Perry, and I absolutely loved how much she brought the spirit by her music, and talking about music, and getting everyone to sing a medley in the hall. It was so good :) I miss dad's guitar playing, and I miss not being able to play the guitar! (you're not allowed here). But I've just been singing to try and compensate, and my companion is a great soprano, so we go well together :)