HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

Hello moja piękny rodzina! Oh how I love you:)

This week went by really quickly... but so much happened, it's really hard to explain but I'm glad everyone home had a good time at Island Park! I forget that it's summer to be completely honest. I'm so grateful that dad got me that awesome umbrella... I have had to use it a TON!

We had quite a few ups and downs as this week went by... Let's see...

We taught this woman named Magda... she is a Presbyterian and currently on a mission to the Gypsies:) crazy! But she still lives and works in Krakow... we felt like we needed to teach her a little bit about the preisthood(Harmie:) and as we explained to her she was super happy and asked like a million questions in lightening fast Polish. We told her about how it is the power that seals us to families and to God. We told her that only through this power can we be sealed. She is great... but our struggle here is so many people seem to move forward and then they go on vacation and people tell them things about the church and they end up not calling back. So pray for Poland:) I know you already are. But everyone here is on vacation from school, but it's been so great!

Tuesday was my birthday, awesome:) It was good, because I got to spend my birthday teaching our favorite investigator, Ola. (not sure if I'm allowed to have favorites... but let's pretend:) and she is a spunky 23 year old who lives with her boyfriend and made us crepes and love us so much, but we knew that she was meeting only to be with us and not because she wanted to progress in the gospel. So we had to drop her. It was so sad! We committed her again to live the Law of Chastity, and she said she won't, and we told her that we couldn't meet anymore because she had to make the decisions on her own before we could really do much else. so pray for Ola:) Sister Edgren called me on my birthday, she and president are so kind! we love them! They are coming for interviews this week, which is great.

We met this young man named Michał during our contacting on Friday, he is super kind and he came to our meeting at the kaplica and we taught him about the first vision. I felt the spirit so much as we were talking with him, Oh the gospel makes so much sense!!!

On Sunday we invited Justyna and her boyfriend Daniel to church with us! They are such good people and they want to do good things. Daniel is from England and doesn't speak Polish so we teach them in English which is wierd... but we still love it:) They said that they would pray about the Book of Mormon, and since Daniel doesn't think that God is real, he said he would pray about that too! We prayed long and hard for them but we know that in the end we can only invite, the Sprit can testify and then they can choose! But we have faith in them:) Justyna came to church with us on Sunday, which was great! We had a lot of families who only spoke english so we had to have Sister Allen translate, she was a trooper! We usually get to church, talk to everyone and then begin sacrament. The Elders bless and pass it with one of the men, and our Prezydent will usually give a talk and then someone else from the congregation... not me yet but probably soon:) Prezydent Kucia is such a great guy. We had a really crazy lesson with one of our kontakts who was pretty much just there to chat about whether or not God exists. Prezydent Kucia came and he was so helpful, shared a lot of insight which I know he had to search out on his own since there are not really too many leaders or members to sit and teach each other. Super impressive. He tries very hard to share the gospel and is a great example. Then we have Sunday School, and someone from the congregation teaches it, and then we usually just go home for lunch. Then we contact:)

We do a lot of contacting especially here in Krakow because people don't love us trakting and also we don't have a very big area book yet, but it's great because I get to use my Polish a lot and it's coming along so well. I'm so grateful for the gift of tongues that I've been blessed with. I am really blessed every day with everything I need, as long as I do my best. I continue to learn how important it is to have faith. I never had to excersize it like I am on my mission, but it is blessing me so much. As I testify of Christ I feel His love, and it is amazing the power of the Atonement!

I learned a lot this week about how we have to ask for manna, and it's how the Savior and our Heavenly Father help us develop faith in them. Elder Christofferson gave a talk about how important it is to ask for manna every day, hour by hour. That it is what the Lord wants from us. I know I sometimes feel bad because I ask for so much, but it is okay, because as He gives it to me, I can use it to serve the people of Poland.

I learned the lesson of Nephi... if you think you can't stand it if your bow breaks, just got to work, pray for what to do, and have faith that the Lord will help you!

I am continually grateful for my companions! They are najlepszy:) We met some great people this week and we are having faith that the people in Poland are prepared to hear the gospel. We have made some great goals and are working on completing them, we are in the finding stage right now so it's one step at a time! I meet the most interesting people though, which is so cool!

Alright mom... questions:) What you eat? We pretty much have cereal in the mornings, and then usually eggs for lunch and then for dinner we have chicken or tortillas or coś tak jego(something like that) We live pretty far from town so we don't have a ton of time for dinner... but this week I at out for my birthday! It was delicious, and I will stick a picture of it on here... basically a dumpling with bacon and potatoes!  Where you go to email us? We go to a library in town:) It's pretty great!  How you do your laundry? we have a washer and then we hang dry our clothes. I guess that dryers are not really a thing in Europe.  All about the weather? It is super hot some days and raining others, apparently this has been a really mild summer which is such a blessing. It's so beautiful here though!  What people wear? hmm.. well they wear all sorts of things... some super cute and others that are not so much. Apparently super thick bangs are in style here...interesting:)    How your shoes are holding up? My shoes are great! I'm so glad we got those black boots because it is so helpful when it rains!  And payless is the best:) (grandma's dr. scholls are the best as well! thanks!)

That's super awesome that grandma and grandpa met some lady from Poland. It's true that the Catholic religion here is very much against our religion. But there are some who want change. I love telling people that I know we can have apersonal relationship with God through prayer and faith, because He is our Heavenly Father. That it is through Christ we can grow to be like Him. It's amazing!

 

Sorry for the super long e-mail! But I had a really cool experience on Monday... when we are on the trams we have these tram cards, and I forgot mine at home... classic:) I was on the tram and then this guy got on who checks cards and they make you pay a ton of money and take you to the police office if you dont' have it... so I start freaking out a little ( mom... you will remember this) he walks down checking everyone and then he COMPLETELY SKIPS ME! It was like he didn't even see me, and I can tell you that that never happens! I was so grateful and it was just another testimony that Heavenly Father watches out for us! We met this cute family a week ago and then yesterday we went to this dropped investigator's house and checked up on her. She didn't want to meet, but as we were traming home, this family was on the tram again. A completely different tram in a random part of town! It was a miracle to say the least. Oh how I love to see the Lord's hand in His work.

 

The men here are hillarious... yesterday we were walking and this old man came up to us and said....  śliczna śliczna! ( cute) and then he said that he was wanting to just hug us all and told us we were so cute a million times... oh my:) It's so funny. We just said... thank you and invited him to church! Also this old lady walked up to us on the street and said are you from America, we said yes. She said " are you trying to learn Polish" we said yes... she said " I think you girls are beautiful and so beautiiful like angels, and I want to say congratulations!" Okay:) Made my day! Such kind people.

 

Happy Birthday to my lovely little Harmie! I love you so much and I know the Lord will bless you in this next year of life. I can't wait to hear of your preisthood in action as you pass the sacrament! You mean so much to me and I pray for you every night. Please remember your mission every day. Live to prepare for it. And I will pray for my little Spencie who's not so little anymore!

 

I'm so glad that Morgan and Dallin are heading out, that Tanner had a great mission( the letter you sent me of his, mom, was just what I needed) that Mckenzie is sealed in the temple! What a week of miracles!Congrats Wills family on the new house, you deserve it and I'm sure it's gorgeous!

 

I love being a servant of the Lord. He blessed me every day! May the Lord bless you as I know He will. Much love,

Siostra Hemming

At the chocolate factory

Chocolate shoes

An investigator

birthday dinner