Sczcecin, Poland - God's hand, Worldwide Missionary Conference, Speaking Polish and the Atonement

Stanowisko!
One of my favorite things for contacting people!

I tried to contact people all by myself - speaking Polish!
The Poles were so kind and listened to me while smiling
as I botched their language!  I want to speak well so badly!
 Thank goodness the Spirit testifies!

Hard to contact people when we are the only ones on the tram!  :(

For all you Mama Mia fans!
(Shout out to Brynnlee and Mel!) 

SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!

Massive Polish snowflakes!

Creating the Book of Mormon timeline for an event we'll be hosting!

Elder Platter & Elder Liechty

Lining up the timeline dates!  It is interesting!

Almost done!

Sunday companionship dinner!

Smacznego!
(Bon Apetit!)

Cześć Family and Friends!!!! 

I can't believe that I have been in Poland for almost a month now and that I am half way through this transfer! Ahhhh……where has the time gone!! 

This week was incredible!! We talked to and met so many amazing people, some were interested and some were not but I just love talking to everyone here! They are always so patient when I speak and even when I mess up they get what I am saying!! 

We did a lot of tracting and contacting this week! We went back to our tracting area and seriously it is still so cute! When we contact we usually like to go towards the city center or around big parks! There are always people there and a lot of people stay and talk to us for a while! I am always amazed when we really have a conversation with someone about the gospel and that they have stayed that entire time to talk to two young girls from America! I can see God's hand in those experiences so much! 

Something fun we did this week was another stanowisko! It was honestly the best! We decided to just split up and talk to as many people in our area as possible! We each were talking to people, which means I talked to people....BY MYSELF...IN POLISH!!! Oh my heck it was amazing! I know I messed up so much but I was so happy to just bare a simple testimony about the gospel to them!! It felt so good!!! Elder Liechty and I also teamed up! He just got here the transfer before me so we are both pretty new! He speaks incredible Polish though and so it was fun to go talk to people as trainees. Talk about trainee power!!! 

This week we also were able to have a missionary broadcast from the apostles – Elder Bednar and Elder Oaks! This is the first one to happen in over a decade!! We all gathered as a district and watched it in the chapel!! 

The topic for the conference was "We Teach Repentance and Baptize Converts!" It was honestly so incredible! It made me excited to be a missionary and to be serving with other missionaries around the world! I’m so grateful for all my friends out there dotting the globe from the USA to Japan to Portugal to Brazil to everywhere…we are all working for the same thing! You give me strength! Love you! 

One thing I really took away from the conference was to testify of Christ! When I came to Poland I was frustrated I couldn't speak or say what I wanted to and that still sometimes happens but I realized during the broadcast that the one thing I know I can say in Polish is "Jezus jest Chrystusem i wiem ze On jest naszym zbawicielem i naszym bratem," or, "Jesus is the Christ and I know He is our Savior and our brother!" If I can testify of Christ and say even the simplest of testimonies I know it will bring the Spirit into the hearts of people!! 

Another thing I loved is thinking about the Atonement! I have come to love the Atonement so 
much more! I had an understanding of what the atonement was before my mission but I didn't understand the enabling power of it! It is incredible to me and I still can't comprehend the overwhelming love Christ has for all of us that he would be willing to come and preform the most amazing sign of love! I just could go on and on about the broadcast! It was what I needed to hear and reminded me of and anchored me even more in my purpose!! 

We had such an amazing week and we really focused on teaching about Christ and the Book of Mormon this week! As a companionship we have really been trying to truly listen to the people we come into contact with and discern their needs! We have been praying incredibly hard to find people who are prepared and that when we meet them we will know what to say! 

We were able to do that last night with some people we talked to on the streets! There was one man who we talked with about how God has a plan for us and we can receive answers through the Book of Mormon! I haven't never felt such a strong impression that he needed to hear that last night!! 

We were also able to teach our first lesson to a family last night!! It was incredible! As we were teaching the restoration I felt this enormous joy come over me that the Spirit was there and that they understood our message!! 

I still continue to be amazed at how much I see God's hand in my life and how amazing this Gospel truly is! 

I am grateful for my Savior and the opportunity to testify of him! I know there are times when I am low and if I turn to him he always lifts me back up!! 

Kocham Was!! 

Siostra DeMordaunt

Szczecin, Poland - Fast, Find, First talk and Fine miracles!

New tracking area!  Isn't it beautiful!?!? 

In Szczecin it is a "wet cold" we are a "port city" 
from the Oder River that leads to the Baltic Sea!

"The Twins!"  Nick & Ola!  They are the best!
Future leaders in Poland!  I love them so much!

Paczki stop!

Crazy bus rides!

Heading out for a run!

Running Partners!

Siostra Pierson!  She is so, so, so great!

One of Poland's gems: Park Kasprowicza!

We run in ALL the exercise clothes we own!
Lovely layers! 

Behind me is one of Poland's most famous monuments:
Pomnik Czynu Plaków or The Three Eagles Monument.

Pomnik Czynu Polaków - the monument of Polish endeavor.
Three bronze eagles rising representing three generations:
 (1) the Pre-War Poles, (2) the Poles who rebuilt Poland after WWII
and (3) the modern generation Poles.
Poland has an amazing history!  These are strong people!

Seriously the cutest thing ever - when it snows everyone pulls their kids on legit sleighs!

Sound words of advice from President Edgren!
Let's all be diligent even when it gets tough!

Cześć Family and Friends!!!!

This week was busy, busy, busy!!! 

As I mentioned last week we had to let go some of our investigators and so this week all we did was find, find, find!!! We started the week by fasting to find new investigators as a district!! 

On Monday we had FHE and this one girl named Ewa (Eva) came! She is seriously so awesome and loved just sitting and talking with everyone! We are hoping to meet with her again this week!! 

We did so much tracting this week! We finally chose an area to tract and I absolutely love it! It is right next to a university building and it is a mixture of apartments and houses! 

One thing the Polish people are is honest, if they aren't interested they will let you know! However, it isn't rude here! Most responses we get are:  "We will not be discussing that topic,"  "Never come back," and "No thank you," all of these are said with a smile on their faces and then a forever long goodbye!  In Poland it is common to say goodbye for a long time such as good night, see you later, until the next seeing, good luck, and thank you!  The Polish people are just the absolute best!!  

One funny thing that happened while we were tracting:  During January the Priest comes and blesses all the houses! We were doing domafones and someone answered and said they actually had the Priest there and hung up! Someone then let us into the building and we ran right into the Priest! He was so nice but it was a little awkward!!

We also did one of my favorite things, a "stanowiska!"  This is where we either set up a poster or a table on a street and just talk to people!  However, this time instead we stood and sang!  It was so amazing to just be standing in the middle of downtown Szczecin and to be singing hymns...in Polish!!  It was honestly the absolute best thing ever!! Even though people wouldn't always stop they smiled as they passed us and I could tell they were feeling the Spirit!!

We also contacted a lot this week! We talked to anybody and everybody! We were feeling a little discouraged because as the week was coming to a close we hadn't found anyone yet! We decided to go back to our tracting area and do houses that hadn't answered on Saturday!  We continued to be rejected until we came to this one house, we knocked on the door and a young girl named Weronika answered!  She was so interested and talked to us forever!  She said her family wasn't home but they would be interested in hearing our message as well!  Then on Sunday she came with her friend Nikola (Nicole) and they stayed the entire time! 

We talked about the Book of Mormon in Sunday School and Nick and Ola (twins I talked about last week - see the picture) were bearing their testimonies and explaing what the Book of Mormon was, ahhhhh it was incredible!!  They are coming to FHE tonight and we are teaching her family this week!!!  

We also met others who we are hoping to set up with as well!  Along with this we are meeting with Piotrek and his family this week! 

Our prayers were answered in the biggest way!!  My testimony of prayer and fasting just skyrocketed and I could not feel more blessed!!!  I know if we really truly pray and fast we will recieve answers!!

I also had the opportunity to give a twenty minute talk in sacrament meeting in POLISH!!!  I talked about turning to Christ and answers will come!!  I was so so nervous but all the members were so sweet and even when I messed up they patiently waited for me to pronounce the word correctly!! 

I also was able to sing with Elder Platter in church!!  We sang Abide with Me tis Eventide!!  I felt the Spirit so strongly and even though I don't understand all of it in Polish I realized that the Spirit speaks the same way no matter the language!!!

It was a week of miracles and I feel so incredibly grateful and blessed!! 

I love Poland and EVERYTHING about it!!  

I love being a missionary and I love, love, love this Gospel!!!

Kocham Was!!

Siostra DeMordaunt

Salt Lake City, Utah - Deseret News: New Mission Presidents

Mateusz Zbigniew Turek, 36, and Adrienne Turek, three children, Dortmund Ward, Dortmund Germany Stake: Poland Warsaw Mission, succeeding President Steven C Edgren and Sister Martha Susan Edgren.  Brother Turek serves as a stake presidency counselor and is a former high councilor, branch president, ward Sunday School president, elders quorum president and missionary in the England London South Mission. Coordinator, Seminaries and Institutes. Born in Jelenia Góra, Poland, to Zbigniew Turek and Elżbieta Jolanta Kaźmierczak.

Sister Turek serves as a ward Primary president and is a former ward Relief Society and Primary presidency counselor, ward Relief Society secretary and Relief Society and Primary teacher. Born in Räckelwitz, Germany, to Matthias Rudolf Hammer and Marion Marianne Hammer.

LDS Church News - January 14, 2016 - Deseret News

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865645452/New-mission-presidents.html?pg=all

Szczecin, Poland - Settling in, Branch callings, Tracting

Siostra Pierson and I
(In her personal email to us Raquel wrote this about Siostra Pierson:
"She is so amazing!
I honestly was so blessed with who I have as a trainer!
We work so hard but we also have so much fun!")

Our kitchen!

My bed!

Our "Great Room" & Office!

Elder Liechty & Elder Platter

Church door inside - it is small but does the job!  

Church building from outside
- the church rents space in an office building.

Elder Nathan Garrison from Boise, Idaho!  From Boise to Bydgoszcz!  
He was in the same MTC sister as my comp!
His mom, Amy, reached out to me when I received my call!
(There is also another Boise missionary - Parker Burdwell - who is currently in the MTC!)

Kabab:  kinda like a pita but with cabbage, lamb, vegetables, and sauce.

Planning session with the biggest, burger ever!  Yea!

Cześć Family and Friends!!!!

This week has gone by so quickly!! I am officially not jet lagged anymore so I am accustomed now to Poland time, which is crazy!  It gets dark here at 4 in the afternoon and everyone goes to bed at like 7:30-8!  I love it here so so much!  IT SNOWED!  However, it only lasted for a day and now it has turned to ice, neeedless to say it has been an adventure getting everywhere!

I can't believe how much happens in a week when you are a missionary!  I failed to mention my callings last week.  Because our branch is so small each missionary has a couple of callings!  I am family home evening co-coordinator, seminary teacher, youth leader, music director and chorister for the branch!!  I love each one of those callings because they have helped me get to know the branch so much better!

For this week I want ot share a couple of experiences I have had already!  It has kinda of been a little bit of a rough adjustment getting use to missionary life!  There have been a couple of times where I have had to get on my knees and let it out!  However, my motto on my mission has been "forget yourself and go to work!" - so I let myself, feel it, let it out, then move on and get to work!  

This week has also taught me so much already, so here are some of the top things from this week:

1. Following promptings!  One of the hardest things so far has been not being able to speak the language!  I just want to share the Gospel with everyone but it is difficult when I don't understand them!  However, I learned to open my mouth and that it would be filled!  We were waiting to grab a tram and I just had this feeling to go talk to this guy, but I was freaked out because I didn't know what I would say so I ignored it!  Again I felt I needed to go talk to him and again I ignored it!  Finally our tram came and he got on the same tram!  Again came the prompting to talk to him, so finally I went over and introduced myself!  We ended up having a great conversation and gave him the address and number of our church!  I don't know if anything will come of it right now but I learned how much I need to listen and obey promptings like that!

2. Ola and Nick are recent converts to the church!  They are 15 year old twins who have fire testimonies!  Sister Pierson and I have been called as seminary teachers!  This year in seminary we are studying the Old Testament!  We were a little nervous for our lesson and how it would be received but the twins were amazing!  They were excited to learn more and their comments made me stop and think about how I could have more of a fire testimony like them!!  It reminded me of simple ways I could improve myself!

3. I was able to go tracting to my first time this week!  It is crazy to tract here because we have to use the doma-phone for apartments, but luckily sometimes people leave the door open!  We had been rejected over and over again until we got to this one door and this lady opens it and says her daughter heard about us and she is interested and wants to meet, ahhhh!!!!  Then we met this incredible dad that we are meeting with the Wednesday, and finally we met this other dad in between apartments that is going to bring his sons on Sunday to our church!! We could not be more excited!  This week we had to let go of most of  our investigators because they weren't progressing so this was huge for us!! I can't wait to see where it all goes!!

This week we also had zone training and it was the best thing ever!  I absolutely love my zone and I was able to see Sister Dekker and Sister Barney again!

Many of you have been asking about the food here so I thought I would answer a few questions!  The food so far has been so good!  I had my first kebab which is kind of like a pita but with cabbage, lamb, vegetables and this sauce!  

I also had a paczek!  It is like a stuffed doughnut!  I tried the one with white chocolate on the inside and coconut on the outside, so so so good!!!  I am excited to continue to try more Polish foods!!

Poland is incredible and I am so blessed to be able to serve here!  I am sorry my time is so limited to write you all back! I am so grateful for everything I have learned so far and the experiences I have had!

I know the Gospel is true and that it really does provide happiness!

Kocham Was!

Siostra DeMordaunt

Bydgoszcz, Poland - First Zone Conference

(Grateful for our mission mom:  Sister Martha Edgren for posting these on InstaGram!
What a surprise to see when least expected!
I think we looked at them a thousand times today!
We think Raquel took a 4 1/2 hour train ride from Szczecin to Bydgoszcz.
Two sisters (Barney & Dekker) from her MTC districts were there - I'm sure it was a happy reunion!)

 (Sister Edgren also posts sweet pictures like these baptisms that took place these past few month in Poland.

I believe Warsaw has the only official baptism font - other baptisms are done in public pools, lakes or rivers.)

Warsaw Poland - January 2016

Salt Lake City, Utah - New Mission President Announced for the Poland Warsaw Mission in LDS Church News

Mateusz Turek will be president
of the Poland Warsaw Mission beginning  July 1996!

He presently resides in Germany
with his wife,  Adrienne, and their three small children!
He grew up in Wroclaw, served a mission in England,
and has worked in the Church Education System!
His is 36 years old!

Following is a letter from Raquel's mission president sent on January 4th's P-day to their missionaries:

Dear Elders and Sisters,

It is an exciting time of year for many missions throughout the world.  It is expected that announcements of new mission presidents will be pulished in the Church News on January 9th.

I am please to tell you that for the first time in its history, the Poland Warsaw Mission will have  Polish mission president!  It is a sign of a maturing church here in Poland to be able to call a president who grew up as a member of the Church in Poland.

Brother Mateusz Turek and Sister Adrienne Turek have been called to serve as mision president and wife beginning around July 1, 2016.  some of you already know Brother Turek from his previous responsibilities with the Church Education System in Poland.  Many of you know his sister and her family from the Wroclaw Branch - President and Sister Celeński.

Brother Turek was born June 28, 1979.  His parents joined the Church when he was a young boy.  They were members of the branch in Wroclaw.  He served a mision in England and he has been working for CES for a number of years while living in Germany.  Sister Turek is from Germany.  They are parents of three young children.

The Church in Poland is moving forward.  The work you are doing is essential for the future.  Brother Turek is ready to serve today because of the efforts made by missionaries years ago.  This announcement underscores why it is so imporatant to find and teach families and YSA here in Poland. It is from them that future leaders of the Church will be found.

The official announcement will have more information and a picture.  I will include that in next week's email if it is available.

We love serving with you in such a great casue in this special country.

We love you,

President and Sister Edgren

Szczecin, Poland - First email from the field! New comp! First city!

Szczecin! I thought it would be like "Boise cold" but it is way different ha ha!
We will turn a corner and hit the wind!
We both can't breathe or speak for a moment!

Siostra Brooke Pierson and I!  She is the best!
There are cathedrals all over the city!

View from our apartment window!  

So we bought a bunch of eggs (Siostra Pierson is obsessed with them) because they were super cheap!
We were so excited and then we looked at the date that night and they expired the next day
...so she made a bunch of scrambled eggs and boiled eggs!
We were laughing so hard!!

Cześć Family and Friends!!!!

I CANT BELIEVE IT!!! I AM IN POLAND!!!! 

It has been a crazy week getting here!! 

We traveled a total of twenty seven hours to get to Poland from Provo!! All travel went smoothly until we were on our last flight from Munich to Poland - we were half way there when the pilot says we are turning the plane around because there was some sort of problem and that the flight might not even happen that day! We were all panicking but luckily they had another plane and off we went to Poland!! 

We arrived and immediately went to do paperwork and finally went to the mission home! We met the Mission Presidents, President and Sister Edgren. They were so incredibly sweet and had an entire meal ready for us! 

We spent the night and in the morning we had breakfast and we were off! We had some more legal work to do and then we went street contacting....in POLISH!! It was crazy but also so much fun!! 

We then finally went and met the trainers! I found out I will be serving in Szczecin with Siostra Pierson!! 

I had to say goodbye to my incredible district! We all cried and hugged! It was so hard to say goodbye to my companions, Sister Dekker and Sister Kamp but I can't wait to be reunited with them during the mission! 

Siostra Pierson and I hopped on a train and off we went for 6 hours to Szczecin!! Siostra Pierson and I just sat talked and got to know each other!! 

She is so cute!! She is from Ogden, Utah and has been on her mission for 8 months now!! 

We arrived in Szczecin and met the Elders in our district, Elder Platter and Elder Liechty!! We came straight to our apartment and after unpacking I went straight to bed!! 

This week has been absolutely incredible!! 

To give you a run down of our schedule we wake up every morning and go running right by the river!! (Our apartment is adorable and overlooks the river!!) We then come back, get ready and study, study, study!! I absolutely love it because I learn so much form Sister Pierson!! She is so incredibly diligent and has the most amazing spirit to her! We have so so much fun together!! 

After study we get bundled up, and I really do mean bundled, and get out the door! Through out the day we are street contacting, bus contacting, tram contacting and just talking to everyone we meet in POLISH!! 

Oh my heck this is one of my favorite things we do!! I love just talking to people about what I believe and how it can help them!! 

I realized I don't know Polish, but I just love listening to it and often I can figure out what they are getting!! 

We then have meetings with investigators and with less active members through out the day!! 

With the holidays, we haven't been able to meet with our investigators but we have meetings set up for this week! 

It is crazy to walk the streets of Poland and wear my name tag and just to be a missionary!!  I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!! 

I want to write a little bit about Szczecin because it is so incredible!! It is right by the river and has cobble stone streets everywhere with different color painted houses!! Also by our apartment there is a chocolate factory so it smells like chocolate, can you say perfect?! 

There are Cathedrals everywhere, like huge ones!! Szczecin is also so so cold!! It is a different kind of cold then I have ever experienced before so we have become really good at bus and tram contacting!! 

The people here are so sweet too! Even though we are rejected a lot they always are polite and smile! A lot of people here are excited we are learning the language so they always comment on our Polish!!

I honestly feel so blessed to be serving here and I already love it so much!!

Our district is made up of just Siostra Pierson, Elder Platter, Elder Liechty, the most amazing senior couple ever the Cuttings, and me!! We have a tiny Branch but the members are so great and so strong!! I was able to bear my testimony to them on Sunday, in Polish, and they all came and shook my hand and hugged me and welcomed me to the Branch!!!

I am so incredibly grateful to be in Poland serving a mission and to have my first area be Szczecin!! I am so excited to see everything Poland has to offer!! I love this gospel and I know it is true and I am so excited to share my testimony with the people in Poland!!

Kocham Was!!

Siostra DeMordaunt

P.S. I am so grateful for everyone who wrote me! I have no time to write back this week but please know I love you and your emails make my entire week!!