Dearest Family!
Hello Hello! Wow. I can't really explain this week very well except
to say that it was one of the most beautiful and deep weeks I have had
in my whole life. This transfer has been really hard. I have struggled
with many things and the work has been slow and other things, but I
testify with all the powers of my heart that this is the work of the
Lord. " We need not ever feel that we are alone or unloved in the
Service of the Lord because we never are. He has promised angels on our
right and on our left to bear us up and He Always keeps His promises". I
can attest to this fact. All of us who are striving to live and do the
best we can are in the "work of the Lord'. I cannot well explain what
happened, but I will try, keeping back some of the things that are
personal to me to tell my family when I'm home:) I am staying in Warsaw
and will be with Sister Poklinkowska who I love! Sister Stratton is
going to kato with Sister Ott who I also love. Guess what... good and
bad.. President has taken Sisters out of Kielce because they need more priesthood there and good though is that there will be four more sisters
in our branch! Even better is that it will be sister Blake and sister Owen! yay:) I love them! I can't wait for our little branch!
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| Peeps!! Yummy!! |
As this week started off, I fasted on Tuesday to remember who I am.
I am so grateful for all of those who have prayed and fasted for me at
home. I cannot express the immediate power I have felt in response. I
read my letters from home, I read my patriarchal blessing " my real
letter from home:)" and I prayed, alot. I saw a couple of interesting
things... 1. I felt I understood better myself and who I am, was, and
can be. 2. I KNEW that I was never alone. Then to finish it off I worked
on a Family History Board. I have been working for some time on trying
to find something to bless the lives of Polish people dotyczące family
history, but I never actually did it. So I took my goals one little step
at a time and we got to work on a huge board that explains what it is,
how the church can help you do it, and why we do it! Oh how I LOVE my
family!!! I read over some of my stories and was so grateful for the
examples of my family members through the centuries. Szlachetna
historia:) As I did this I was able to listen to the conference that I
missed( all of it:)) How inspired! I pretty much just cried while I
listened to it... good thing Sister Stratton and I are so close...We may
have eaten a lot of chocolate;) ;) That day the most beautiful thing
happened!
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| Easter package!! Wonderful!!! |
Every day I look out my window during studies and see all of these
wonderful people... down the street is this building and I wanted to
tract it... that day I felt very inspired to do so. So we went over
there that night and it ended up being a super exclusive place. In
Poland you have to ring into a domofon to get into a building and this
one had a gate with a domofon and then you had to ring at the building
to get inside a klatka( building section). Someone walked right up next
to us and let us into the gate and then the building and we started to
tract. After like two houses I had the thought to tract speaking English. ( Super crazy because I LOVE to speak Polish) but we did it and
at first it was awkward but we continued on and three apartments later
this family opens. They ONLY speak English and Spanish. The dad is not
really kind to us but the mom looks at us with so much hope, so the dad
basically tells us we can come in but he won't talk to us. So we go in
and she tells us that she is believing and has two daughters ( 8 and 4)!
She says that she wants to meet and talk about the gospel because she
is searching for a way to strengthen her faith!!!! It was soooo
beautiful and meant so much to me. It was definitely just for me to know
that I am lead by the Spirit.
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| Warsaw!! |
We had a lesson with a lady who has schizophrenia(don't know how to
spell) and she is such a sweetheart! One of our members was on the
lesson and she was a lovely example of Christ-like love for me. She just
hugged her and was so kind, the next day at church when she came our
member just walked up to her and locked her arm in hers and took her
away from us! That is member-missionary work! I love how we all receive
revelation from the same source, and so we are taught things in
Conference it may have been something we have been thinking on for a
while and that is because the Lord has given us revelation to prepare. I
think that these examples of deep and pure charity have been put in my
path a lot recently and I LOVED President Monson's talk on it!
The next day none of our lessons flaked us! It was also a miracle,
and from that time forth my week got better and better. I have had so
many wonderful blessings on my mission. I know that Faith in the Savior
Jesus Christ was and is the ONLY Rock whereon if men build they cannot
fall. We have a member from Thailand who is an ANGEL! she let us in and
we talked with her and her beaming smile just brightened my day so much.
I have been looking around and loving Poland and remembering my purpose
and it has blessed me immensely. How I love my mission. There are so
many things that I love about it, and I can't believe I only have a few
transfers left. I know that on everyone's mission and in everyone's life
there are some lessons that must be learned. Because of these we can be
stronger and deeper people. Joseph Smith said that we cannot even begin
to comprehend the plan of God unless we've contemplated the darkest
abyss and also felt the most overwhelming joy. I feel that because of
this I understand others so much better. I feel humbled and so much less judgmental, I think Heavenly Father knew I needed a nice slice of
humble pie.
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| Warsaw! |
Then on Sunday we made a pie with the elders and I was able to talk
with this cutest old man at a tramwaj stop. I wished him a happy Palm
Sunday and he was just so happy and took of his green army cap and
wished me a happy sunday!!! I love Poland! Afterwards I got onto a
tramwaj and dropped my waterbottle on this ladies' foot... whoops, but
what a great opportunity to talk about the gospel! So I did. We ended up
having this lovely discussion about eternal families and I pulled out
my Księga Mormona and my family picture and showed her a picture of the
temple. She is from Russia and so we were struggling to understand each
other, but when I talked about the temple she just started crying. It
touched me so deeply. She told me that her husband was killed a few
years ago and she works all day ( 6-8) at a magazine shope and her hands
were so cut up and she had been drinking. It was such a special moment
as I could share with her the things I have been taught since birth
about how families can be together forever through Heavenly Father's
plan, and how I am a Child of God as is she. At the end I was trying to
show her that I was from the Church of Jesus Christ and she looked at my
tag and grabbed it and then crossed herself and said a prayer while
holding the tag... I know this may not sound cool to most of you but it
touched my heart so deeply! I gave her a book of mormon and told her
that it testifies of Christ and she kissed it and then put it into a
protective bag and then into her purse. These are the kind of
experiences that can be ours daily as we strive to follow the Holy Ghost
and preach by the wayside. Oh how I have felt the Love of God shed
abroad in my heart:)
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| Beautiful blossoming trees |
Sister Stratton and I have been talking and she said something
about how it is hard sometimes when we work so hard but we don't have
the results, and I think this transfer I've finally learned this lovely
lesson. When we work hard people still have their free agency, but we
are clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. I know that as a missionary
hard work, obedience and Love for the Savior and the People changes us,
it changes our very nature. For that I am so grateful.
I know that I have been so blessed by my Heavenly Father this week.
I also know that we need to struggle in our lives to be made better, He
never gives us things we can't handle if we only have faith. My Faith
in my Savior is stronger, immensely because of this experience. I know
that we live in an imperfect world, and that we are imperfect people,
but this must be because we learn on whom we rely. The scriptures are my
iron rod because they testify of the Savior who is the rock of our
salvation. I know that if we build on this rock we cannot fall, but we
can rise in a way that may appear like falling hahahaha! I know that I
will have hard weeks on my mission and in my life, but I have become
fascinated with the word "nevertheless". It is found in 2 Nephi 4, it is
found in Alma 1 and it is found in Moses 1. Always when talking about
the trials of life these strong men and women say " nevertheless" and
then excersize faith in the Savior and His atonement. I am so grateful
to say that I know that My Redeemer Lives. I am so grateful for this
because none of us can atone for ourselves. We can't try and make up the
difference by being perfect, we can only strive to love Him more
dearly. I testify of the presence of angels in all of our lives, the
talk about Family History is so important to us all. I know that we are
here for a purpose and have a divine destiny and identity. satan's guise
is ALWAYS for us to deny that. It is at the root of every temptation
and problem. But we know who we are:)
I love you all so much! Sorry this one is so long, but I thank
Heavenly Father for His answer to my prayers, and also for letting it
take some time. Love Love Love,
Siostra Ali!
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