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| Look at the top - God's hand protecting Gdańsk! So cool! |
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| Grand Hotel in Sopot! |
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| So much fun renting bikes! |
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| Siostra Taggart! I love this lady! |
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| Relief Society Activity |
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| On of my favorite members in the Gdańsk Branch - isn't she soooo cute!? |
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| Building temples in Primary! Aren't these kids so cute!? |
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| A sad good bye to Starszy Larsen! He was an incredible missionary! |
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| One final district picture before Starszy Larsen heads to Warsaw to fly home! I love Gdansk and these people! |
This upcoming week is another milestone for me...on Thursday, July 28 I WILL OFFICIALLY BE HALF WAY thru my mission!!! Hump day!
This point comes with so many mixed emotions! I feel so incredibly blessed and happy to have come this far! I am at the same time emotional because I realize that I only have 9 months left!! This mission has meant the world to me and it is flying by!! I have been so grateful for every lesson I have learned so far while I have been out!!
This week started off incredible!! We had the best P-day ever!! We decided to go to a bunch of different museums because they are all free on Mondays!! We went to the Amber, City Hall, and the Post Office Museum!
You may ask why the post office? The post office here in Gdańsk! When the Germans invaded Gdańsk the post office workers actually defended by shutting down the post office against the Germans! They were all taken captive but were not recognized as prisoners of war. They were lined up and shot! They are considered heros here in Gdansk!! These Poles have heart, soul and courage! I love them!
Afterwards we rented bikes and rode all the way to Sopot! Sopot is the cutest beach city! It was so much fun! To quote Sister Taggart, "Who knew you could have this much fun on a mission!?" (I love the Taggarts! Couple missionaries make a huge difference in the branches and the districts they serve it!)
We also had the opportunity to teach such incredible people!!
We were able to meet with one of the referrals from last week!! This was absolutely one of those times you know the Lord is in the details!! A huge miracle in my heart!! First we started the lesson wanting to get to know her a little bit! We asked her why she wanted to meet with us and all of a sudden she said, "Well I am going to be an exchange student in IDAHO and I am going to be living with a MORMON FAMILY!!!!" I died!! Of all the places in the world and she is headed to my home state! I said, "I am from there!!" There was an instant connection! She said she wanted to meet with us to see what her family believed!
Even crazier was the way she contacted us! She saw someone on a train reading a Restoration pamphlet and so she decided to look up the website on the back and contact us!! How's that for another miracle?! We had the most incredible lesson with her! She had a time in her life where she was really religious but she felt like when she would pray God wouldn't answer her questions! We talked a lot about how God answers our prayers and how Joseph Smith received answers. We testified to her how much God loves her! My connection with her was intense! I told her that we are all children of God which means that we are all brothers and sisters, or that she and I are sisters!! We told her God turly does answer our prayers. I testified how reading the Book of Mormon has helped strengthen my relationship with my Heavenly Father!
Sister Groesbeck was incredible and promised her that the next time she would pray she would feel God's love with her! The Spirit was strong and both Sister Groesbeck and I were blown away about what was said in the lesson because it was definitely stuff we hadn't prepared but felt prompted to share! We are hoping to meet again with her!!
We also had the opportunity to teach the woman from our area book again! We focused our lesson on what happens after this life!! We started talking about everything that will happen and how we are going to be able to live with God again after this life! We then challenged her to baptism! She was like, "to jest problem" or this is the problem! She then explained that she had been raised Catholic and everything that entailed. She also asked why we always invited her to be baptism! Again the most incredible Spirit filled the room! I testified about how much Heavenly Father loves us and then I talked about how I had come to know this Gospel was true! I explained to her that I want to live in a way here on earth so that I can live with my Father in Heaven again! I told her that I couldn't describe the feeling when I pictured returning home to Him and the Savior! I started to get emotional so I turned to Siostra Groesbeck. Siostra Groesbeck identified the Spirit and how through the Spirit we can know something is true!! I also felt a connection to her! There was this huge surge of the Spirit while I spoke to her!
She told us she would be alone in being baptized. I told her that our church is a family! We help each other and love each other! I told her that we are a part of God's family and that she wasn't ever alone! It was incredible! She committed to pray about being baptized and to restart taking the lessons!! We are so excited and I know this could bless her life so much!!
Oh and the craziest thing happened to us as we went to meet with her! We were waiting outside of her apartment because she was running a little late. Suddenly this guy walks by with this scarf over his hand! He doesn't break eye contact, lifts up the scarf and there is this HUGE lizard, and then places the scarf back over it and walks away!! Chalk that one up for another crazy mission experience!
Although this week was incredible it had a melancholy moment! We had to say goodbye to Elder Larsen. He was such an incredible missionary and he really added to our district! He has an intense love for this people, missionary work and the land. We had such a fun last day all together. We went over for dinner at the Taggarts and talkeed!!
We then ended with one last district finding activity where we were able to meet the most amazing girl!! We are so excited to be able to meet with her soon!!
I loved being able to testify this week of God's plan and that He exists and loves us!!
We really are here on earth to help one other to progress so we can live with Him again!!
I am so grateful to have a Father in Heaven who loves me and that I will be able to live with him some day!!
Still can't believe it has been nine months! I hope I savor every second on the nine months ahead!
Thanks for all your love and support! I love you!
Kocham Was!
Siostra DeMordaunt
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