Zone Conference

At Zone Conference in Poznań with Marta (she recently returned from her mission in Chicago)

Missionaries at Zone Conference (yes, Sister Smith is the smallest!)

Sister Montesinos (my trainer!) came back to Poland with her parents for a visit, so she and her dad came to the Gdańsk branch on Sunday

It's good to hear from all of you and how you're all doing lots of travelling around the great land of Australia. This past week we were able to take the train to and from Poznań for our Zone Conference, and that was a pretty great experience getting to see the rolling fields of Poland and spend time with missionaries in the area. At the conference we learnt a lot about unity with our companions (Sister Smith and I are like best friends, so I think we're doing pretty well in that department!), of course there are always ways to improve! We also discussed the importance of planning, and we've been trying to implement what we've learnt into our work as a companionship. It was really nice about half way through the conference, a YSA member Marta who lives in Poznań came (she's a return missionary and way awesome!) so after the conference and before our train back to Gdańsk, we got to do some street contacting with her. It was really great having a native speaker with us, but not only that, she's a return missionary with experience and a beautiful testimony! It was really helpful learning from her, and I'm continuing to study and work every day to improve my teaching and finding skills.


This week we got to meet with a member and his wife for a lesson at our chapel. It was nice to see them both again (after me being away for a little over a transfer) and so we had a lesson on God's love. It was nice to hear and express our thoughts and testimonies on this topic, and it really made me step back and take a look at how God's love has been manifest in my life (especially recently with me being in such a different environment to the life that I've grown up in- it's been important for me perhaps more now than ever to recognise the hand of the Lord in my life).


Sister Montesinos (my trainer, whose name is Joann!) came up to Gdańsk for a couple of days with her dad (she lives in Salt Lake and has been off her mission for about 6 months now). We got to see them at a branch sports activity on Saturday and then again at church yesterday. I had fun speaking my broken Spanish to them (Joann's dad is native Chilean) and singing songs with Sister Montesinos like the good old days! I'm so grateful for her example to me, always being so happy and kind, softspoken and just so down-to-earth. I'm so grateful for the transfer I got to spend with her in Gdańsk last year.


Yesterday in Sacrament Meeting I gave a talk on faith (I actually gave a talk on the same general topic last transfer in Warsaw, so it was easier for me this time to prepare!). A YSA member in the branch gave a talk on testimonies, and it was nice hearing from him, especially as he is preparing to go on a mission soon. I'm so grateful for the people in our branch and all their efforts to follow the Lord. Sister Montesinos and her dad also gave their testimonies, and it was really sweet hearing from both of them. All the good feelings there helped Sister Smith and I cheer up after a meeting we had before church with an investigator fell through. We've unfortunately had a lot of things just fall through the past couple of weeks, but it's a good thing I studied up on faith, because I know that that's what we need to hold on to, if we are to stay motivated and keep our expectations high. I know that Heavenly Father is aware of all of us, just as much as He is aware of the people we try to help come closer to Christ. I'm grateful that I have such a supportive companion and that we're able to encourage each other in the work, through thick and thin. I'm also very grateful for all of your support and the kind words you send every week :)


Today we'll probably go to Westerplatte (again! I think this'll be my third time haha) and maybe see if we have time to visit some museums. It's the first day of Summer and the temperature is reflecting that! We have a meeting scheduled with an investigator today so please pray that it'll go well! We are excited for the upcoming week, I hope you all have a wonderful one!


Love Sister Grgich

Last Full Week of the Transfer

so, we all took our culture night this previous Saturday. It was a lot of fun! We all went to a handball game with the elders' investigator Dawid (far left). I discovered handball is a lot like football, soccer, basketball, and wrestling all in one haha. A prettyintense scenario, have not been to a public competitive environment in.. a while!

I got my (2nd) Christmas package hahah I'm so sorry, I just had to open it!! Full of those Aussie goodies :D You're all the best!

My companion Sister Wood and I at Westerplatte (a peninsula in Gdansk where they say World War 2 started- well, it was the first battle of the war between Poland and Germany)

Me on some fallen stairs (it was secured by poles and stuff- as in, metal poles, not the people Poles) har har stop Sister Grgich, you're too funny ;)

Selfie- me and my companion climbing the ruins

At Westerplatte- this is my district climbing amongst some ruins of an old guard building/barracks

The monument at Westerplatte (in remembrance of the Polish defenders). Don't let the blue sky decieve you- it was 2 degrees! But sunny, which was nice I've gotta say:)

so, kind of found ourselves in Warsaw for a couple days so Sister Grgich could do some legal work which was fun. Left to right are Sister Grgich, Elders Wolfley (office elder) Elder Taylor, and Elder Jaeger (office elder). There we are waiting fr the train back to Gdańsk.

so this is in the area where WWII began, in Westerplatte by all the ports. We got to walk around, see some ruins, lighthouses in distance, and see the Bałtyk :)

so here is where we spent some pday and following, enjoyed Da Grasso and an oreo pie thing :)

here is this ruin building- kind of fascinating got some legit shots inside on the various cameras, wouldn't mind returning there!

 

 

This week is our last full week together for this transfer- time goes by incredibly fast! Today for p-day our district decided to go to Westerplatte (they have a monument and a permanent outdoor exhibition to read about the history of the area) and whilst it was cold, the sun was out in full force and shone its beautiful rays on us for the majority of our time there, so all in all I'd say it was a glorious day :) This is where World War 2 had it's first European battle (so between Germany and Poland) and it also has a lot of significance in other times of history, so I'd definitely suggest googling it!

This week our district also went out to see a European Handball game, and an investigator Dawid who's getting baptised in the branch this weekend came along too (we chose this activity as our 'culture night' of the transfer). It was pretty fun to see the crowd and the teams all having a blast. Afterwards we all went to a Pierogarnia (a restaurant where they make and serve Pierogi- Polish dumplings) and spoke and just had a good time, feeling Polish and enjoying the atmosphere!

So last Monday, Sister Wood and I went down to Warsaw and back in 2 days so I could so some legal work, and we both got to stay the night with our MTC companions (so I saw Sister Smith again!!). It was pretty good, and being able to see my MTC comp again made up for the annoyance of being on a long train ride haha. Actually, on the way back, we had a great conversation with 2 people in our cabin on the train about what we're all about as mormons and missionaries (one man even took a Book of Mormon), so I would say it was an overall very successful trip! We also got to join one of the districts in Warsaw for their district missionary meeting, and we got to see President Edgren, so that was nice.

This week it's still been cold, but I feel like I'm already starting to get used to it. I still don't know if I could walk around with my ankles exposed, but maybe I don't need my gloves so much anymore ;). We've been doing a lot of tracting still (it's proven quite effective in my experience) and last week we got to have a lesson with someone in their home. It was a good experience and we got to explain a lot of simple doctrine. We also had a conversation just last night at someone's door, and even though the person was not interested in listening to our message (more wanted to tell us what Jehovah's Witnesses believe), it was a good experience for me, because it was affirmed to me yet again, why I love the gospel and the church organisation, and really reiterated the importance to me of my job as a missionary and being a representative of Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Saviour. It was sad to hear someone say that "Jesus was just a leader/guide". I believe I cringed when I heard this man's usage of the word "just". Yes indeed He is our guide, but He is also our Saviour, a part of the Godhead, one with Heavenly Father in purpose and mind, but a seperate being with an integral role to our salvation and happiness in mortal life and eternity. This man we had spoken to was so caught up on the fact that we must know God's name to be saved- it was, I must say, a sad realisation for me that people are so confused about life and God. We were able to bear our testimonies that our works and how we choose to live our lives are of more importance than anything else we do on earth. Jesus Christ indeed saved us all, and because of that, we will all live again with perfect bodies, but it's up to us to choose how we live our lives and whether or not we choose to accept the teachings of Christ, as to what type of life we want to have after this mortal one is over. I know that Jesus Christ was not merely a charismatic man, but is the focus and the reason for everything we do in life. It is ONLY through His Atonement that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father and our families in happiness after this life. Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament. He led the prophets and spoke to them through divine revelation for the wellbeing of all on Earth. He did live and die for all who would ever be born, He was resurrected that we all will one day be resurrected. I know that He did appear to people in Ancient America as a resurrected being, and taught them of His gospel. I'm so grateful for the Book of Mormon, the Bible and living, current-day prophets that lead and guide us today, and their combined witness that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ.

Yesterday we had another great experience with teaching Dawid (he's getting baptised this week and we're all so excited for him!). We taught about certain commandments like following the prophet, the 10 Commandments, (including keeping the Sabbath Day holy) and obeying the law of the land. It's just so nice to teach someone that's so open and humble, and I love seeing how he's letting the gospel change his life for the better. He's such a great example to me, and I know he's already such a great example to his friends here in Poland. I've seen that it's not the easiest thing to do- go against the grain and join a church that your friends may laugh at or ridicule. But I know that he's making the right choice, and I couldn't be happier than to see someone make that progress in life :) Experiences like this just give me hope and remind me to keep working hard in inviting people to learn. There are prepared people out there waiting for the knowledge of the gospel, and all the efforts are worth it to find those people and help them on their way to a happier more fulfilling life.

There's a great video about Christmas on mormon.org by the way,- I really encourage you to watch it! It's called "He Is the Gift" and I hope we can continually remember what Christmas is all about at this very special time of year! (Poland is looking beautiful with all the lights and Christmas markets up, hopefully I'll get some pictures of it all next week!). Be loving and kind to each other, and be happy!!

Lots of love,
Siostra Grgich

I Really Do Love This Place!

Saying goodbye to Siostra Montesinos at the Dworzec Główny (Main Station) in Gdańsk.

Saying goodbye to Starszy (Elder) Wolfley at the Dworzec Główny (Main Station) in Gdańsk.

Myself, Stanisław, Sister Monte and Elder Jourdan taking a photo of us haha

This is myself with Sister Monte, and a member Wioleta (it was her birthday yesterday!)

My companion and I with 3 awesome little ones in our branch, Kasia, Ania and Tomek

And myself with a newly-wed couple in our branch (they're so awesome!) Gosia and Marcin. They're getting married in the Stockholm Temple tomorrow :D

My companion and I with 2 members Irena and Józef

The senior couple here the Shaw's (from Idaho) with my companion and I

Sister Montesinos, myself, and 2 Polish members from our branch Marinela and Jadwiga, and a Hawaiian member Sister Harker.

This week we got to finish watching General Conference, and I absolutely loved it! There was one from Elder David A. Bednar about why we do missionary work, and it was so awesome! It made us all laugh at some points too, I hope you got to hear/watch it!

So this week is transfer week! And I'm staying in Danzig! (That's the German word for Gdańsk haha) It's super exciting to get to stay here, because I really do love this place. Unfortunately my companion is leaving to a different city, and so are both of the elders, and I will truly miss them, but I'm also super excited to get to meet 3 new missionaries, and work with them to help build up our assigned area. I'm probably getting ahead of myself here, but I'm actually especially excited to get some type of musical fireside/talent show organised for the branch, because I've heard that at least 2 of the 3 new missionaries coming here are musical, and that makes me SO happy! :D So, I'll keep you updated on what happens there! I thank Heavenly Father every day for giving me an amazing musical family who fostered my own love for music and the chance to develop my talents to bless the lives of myself and others.

On Wednesday during English class, we had a new guy come to our class, and when we introduced ourselves as missionaries and said that our main purpose is to teach others about Jesus Christ, he said he really respects that and was grateful to be in our class, and it was just such a tender mercy to have a friendly person say that to us! We also had a lady come up to us at a park the other day, and after taking a few pamphlets (she asked for them! super cool) I invited her to come to church on Sunday, but even though she said she can't because she has her own church to attend, she told us she was proud of what we're doing and wished us well. It's so nice when people say such nice things to us. Never underestimate the power of words and honest compliments!

Oh, a pretty funny thing during English- we asked if anyone had done their homework from the week before, and Stanisław (a non-member friend) pulls out a piece of paper with burnt edges, with "My Homework" and scribble written on it. It was so funny! So then my companion asked if she could keep the piece of paper, and now she's got it as a memoir! Hehehe

Yesterday we went to an American member couple's house in Sopot (a super pretty and posh city in our area) and we had two awesome other ladies (one Polish and one Russian) from our branch there as well and we had an awesome dinner together! It was so nice just getting to chat with them and it's so awesome that Sister Harker (the American member) is so willing to help out with strengthening our little branch here, and just be a good friend to the other members here. We got to learn a lot about each other and it was so nice to hear from Jadwiga and Irena's lives. It's crazy listening to all the stories from War and Communism times and it makes me so grateful that I grew up in such a peaceful country. I especially loved hearing from Jadwiga who told us of how she would play pranks on her late husband during communism time (I'll have to tell you her funny stories one day!), and it's so good to be acquainted with such strong people like her who still kept hope and had a sense of humour, even in such dire circumstances. Sister Harker also showed us a video from a couple years back, and it's got Jayden (Elder Zelezniak) doing the Haka in it hahah that was cool to see.

Well I feel like my Polish is slowly coming along! Yesterday at church, I went into Primary and translated (or tried!) for Sister Shaw (the American senior missionary who is also the Primary President in our branch, but doesn't speak Polish), and it was amazing how much I was able to say and understand! I made a lot of mistakes, but I'm getting better haha. I hope I get to do this translating in Primary more often! I also found myself understanding a lot more of conversations that I had with the members, so I'm excited to continue to make progress and get to know the members more in depth.

Well, know that I love you so much, and I'm excited to hear how things continue to progress at home!

Lots of love,

Siostra Grgich

New Experiences

Just Claiming My Territory

Sister Montesinos and I outside of our apartment building

Dearest Family!

How are you all? Hope you're doing splendid :) Is it cold there? I've had the longest Summer this year- from January to now it's still quite warm, so for one of the first times in my life I think I'm ready for Winter! Anyway, this week was filled with a lot of new experiences for me! So my companion and I aren't super pumped about going tracting and it's generally a 'last-resort' type of thing, but we went this last week, and got quite a few door slams, but finally I mustered up the courage to do the initial greeting at the door (instead of my companion doing the talking) and so I did it all in Polish and all by myself! Mind you, we got scoffed at, rolled-eyes and a slammed door before I was even able to say "...Latter-day Saints" but hey, I did it myself! It gets hard sometimes having to deal with the rejection, but I've been carrying around a big picture of Jesus Christ in my Ksiega Mormona (Book of Mormon) and my companion always reminds me that He's with us always as long as we are doing his work and trying our best. I love all the time that we get for spiritual studies in the morning, because it means I get to learn more about what Jesus Christ is like and what His disciples are like, and that consequently has been helping me a lot with loving people and seeing their worth the way that He does.

This week I also had a pretty good experience with speaking to a man sitting on a park bench. I've been praying so hard for courage these past few weeks, and God has definitely been helping me out. So I went and made the initial contact, I explained who we were and then he said "Please sit down" (in Polish). I was so taken aback at the invitation I almost didn't believe I had heard him correctly! We were able to teach a short lesson and hopefully give this man hope about having purpose in life (he said he didn't believe in God and had accepted the fact that his life doesn't have a purpose). While I didn't understand much of what he saying, I was able to bear simple testimony about how I know that God exists and has a purpose for me, and knows everyone on the Earth individually and loves them. My companion did a really great job of teaching some other basic restored truths of the gospel, and even though we probably won't see that man again, I have hope that he was left with a better understanding of his own great worth, and I'm glad that the Lord let me be led to that encounter.

Yesterday at church was really great. My listening skills are slowly picking up, which is helping me build more meaningful relationships with the members of the ward. It's also giving me more courage to just speak for the sake of trying, because I know that's how I'm going to learn best.

The other day, the Elders and us went to a park and set up a 'free table', where we have DVDs, pamphlets and Ksiega Mormonas free for people to take. One man came up to our table and said he's heard about us before when he was in the States, and he satyed in a Marriot Hotel and got a Book of Mormon there. We were like great, what do you know about the church? He said he knows everything already but wished us good luck and was quite friendly. He walked away and the Elder and I were a little sad because one of our least favourite responses as missionaries, is "I know everything already". It's such a shame to hear that, because we know that really, if they knew everything already, they would give our message a chance, pray about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, read Moroni's promise about knowing the truth of the Book of Mormon, and find out for themselves about why our message truly is so important. It's also a principle that we as members should always remember- we never know everything. I seriously love reading the scriptures (I've been reading a lot from the New Testament lately) because every time I read through, I learn something different, and I feel closer to Christ. It's super important to remember that Christ's gospel as told by Himself, includes the final principle of enduring to the end. We need to constantly improve and learn, and none of us can ever reach a limit of knowledge or spiritual understanding on this earth. Well back to the park, a few minutes later, the same man came back to us at the table. He was curious about why we were in Poland and asked us if we have Polish backgrounds. He was super surprised when we said that we didn't, and he seemed a little confused as to why we would be doing missionary work in Poland. (I've noticed that we get this question quite a bit). Well it's a good opportunity to bear testimony, and I hope that this man could feel of our sincerity when we told him that we truly believe that Christ's true church has been restored with His authority on the earth.

I love being a missionary in Poland, and I truly wouldn't be out here telling people the things I do, if I wasn't 100% sure of it. I know more than anything, that the things we teach honestly matter more than any material thing in this world. "Men are that they might have joy". I love life, and I love you all so much I can't explain :)

Be happy and have a super awesome week,

love Siostra Grgich