Monday, August 8, 2016

Gdańsk, Poland - Gingerbread, Hope...Hard Things...Love!



We went to Toruń for Pday!
It is one of Poland's oldest cities and where Nicolaus Copernicus was born!
The also have amazing gingerbread!
So many flavors...plum, raspberry, currant, blueberry, cherry...and more!
...and shaped like a heart!
Look at that sky?  It changes all the time!
Siostra Groesbeck!
A sister with the sisters (nuns!)!
Bydgoszcz Zone Conference Siostry Selfie!
Back row:  Siostra Sloan, Siostra Stahl, Siostra Butler, Siostra Craig
Siostra Groesbeck, myself, Siostra Turek (President's wife! - isn't she cute!?)
Sloandaunt reunties again!  I love this girl!
Starszi!
We were all in such a hurry to catch trains that I couldn't get that many pictures!
Starszy Liechty
(Mom - pass this to his mom! - This is for you Beth Liechty!)
Train ride!
Myself, Siostra Groesbeck, Elder Furhman, Elder Musgraves
 I am so blessed to serve with this girl!
It'll be a sad day when we are transfered from each other!
On Fast Sundays the Taggarts have us over for dinner after church!
They always treat us so well!
This week they taught us how to make sushi and Siostra Taggart even provided hats!
Master Chef Siostra Taggart!
I know I keep saying this...but seriously she is the best!
My masterpiece!!

Cześć Family and Friends!!!!

Well this transfer is coming to a close and it is has been one of my favorite transfers from my mission! I have learned so much! 

I definitely needed the push to train this transfer! I have never felt alone though with every step of the way! I have felt guided the entire way! 

I have been blessed with the most incredible companion, Sister Groesbeck! She rolls her eyes every time I say it but she has been the biggest blessing of this transfer! She has taught me so much more than I could have ever taught her! 

I wrote at the beginning of this transfer that I felt miracles were going to happen and there has not been a day this transfer where we haven't seen miracles! I am so grateful for everything that has happened this transfer both the incredible moments and the hard moments! I have had to cry it out and get down on my knees but it has been so worth it! We are ready to finish srong and I can't wait to see what this next week brings!

We started off the week by going to Toruń! It is the cutest old town that is known for its gingerbread! Needless to say we definitely bought some! Oh my goodness it was amazing! There were all different kinds but my favorite was the gingerbread bars with bluberries! Wew ere also able to spend the whole day with the Taggarts! 

I want to take a moment and write about them! The Taggarts have been such a big blessing to me! We always have so much fun when we are with them! They have truly opened up their hearts to these people and they love them fully! I know they have sacrificed so much but I feel so grateful to have had the opporutnity to serve with them! The inspire me to adhere to this Gospel even more so that I can be like them!  It was such a fun Pday! 

This week we weren't able to meet with a lot of people we have been working with but we still were able to be part of some neat experiences! We meet with one lady we found in our area book! She was so cute and she had such a sweet home! Sadly however she just isn't ready! We talked a lot about the Plan of Salvation and how we can live with families forever!

She didn't quite understand that concept! She believed we just have love on this earth and that is it! We tried explaining it to her and we brought it back to the Book of Mormon! She went back to saying how we already have the Bible so we don't need a Book of Mormon! We were able to testify to her about the Book of Mormon and how God's plan is in it and how it works with the Bible.  Through the Book of Mormon we truly know the Savior appeared to the people living in America!  Heavenly Father and Christ will never leave anyone behind!  Sister Groesbeck and I both felt the spirit so strongly! Sometimes it is frustrating when others you know feel it but don't acknowledge it! She committed though to read the Book of Mormon and doing it with an open heart! 

We also had zone confernce this week! I really love these meetings!  It makes me so happy to see all the missionaries that are in the zone and to know we are all in this together! This zone Comfernce was the first one with President Turek and his wife! 

Siostra Turek started off the conference talking about faith! She tied it all back to Ether 12:12, which states, "For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith." We had discussed miracles before and she explained how we cannot perform miracles without having faith! She then asked us the question, "What do you really believe the Lord can do through you?" 

Sister Groesbeck and I have been thinking about that question! During our weekly planning we set some goals according to our faith and we are excited to see what the Lord has in store for us this last week! President Turek then focused his portion on gratitude and why it is important to show gratitude! 

Sometimes I think we forget to count our blessings! We get into the routine of saying the usual ones but do we thank our Heavenly Father for the specific things we saw day by day!?
When we are grateful it shows Heavenly Father how much we love him and allows us as well to recognize all the blessings in our life! 

The conference ended by us finishing the sentence "In this mission we..."  It was so amazing to hear all the answers! The two we focused on were "We hope to be able to do hard things" and "We love!" We discussed why we sometimes do have to do hard things and how hope can help with that! 

My mission has not been easy but every time I feel close to defeat I feel that hope and it keeps me going! 

Love as well becomes a motivator...love for God, the people, and the Gospel! 

This confernce was also so special because it was in Polish! I have loved how much Polish is now emphasised! I am grateful it will continue in every conference forth coming!

We also saw so many miracles this week! The one that stood out the most to me though happened when we were buying groceries! Our train came home late from zone conference and we ran in to grab some things! We were in line and I was holding a bunch of stuff and couldn't set it down when all of a sudden I see that couple Sister Young and I had been working with! They hadn't been responding so I figured they weren't interested anymore but I just felt like I needed to talk to them! I ran up to them and she gave me the biggest hug! They said they had been out of town and their friends had just came to visit them! They told me they are still interested in meeting! I couldn't believe it! They were just as happy to see me as I was to see them! Their friends were with them and she even showed them my tag and explained who I was! It was so incredible! Everything with the timing of the train worked out so we could see them! The Lord's timing is so evident in our lives!

President Turek came as well and gave a fireside to the Gdańsk members! You could tell how much it meant to them to hear it all in Polish! This is so big for Poland! I know this church is going to grow here and President and Sister Turek are going to help it do so!! I am so grateful to be here for the timing of it all!!  The Lord is in the details including the timing of all things!

Kocham Was!!!!
Siostra DeMordaunt

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