Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Wroclaw, Poland - LAST TRANSFER - Płynie się dalej or Just keep swimming!

Last visit to Adams Collection Ties!
My English bro Starszy Ashworth!
Polish "TŁUSTY CZWARTEK" or Fat Thursday!
We waited in line for these Paçzki!
They try to eat as many as they can!
Starszy Haskett and his sketchy paçzki!
District paçzki binge!
Dream Beem, myself, Starszy Adriano, Starszy Einfeldt, Starszy Ashworth, Starszy Barlow
Lines to buy Paçzki start really early in the morning!
 We teach this family English!  They are so sweet!
Baptism!
It was amazing to watch this investigator change!
Starszy Barlow, investigator, Starszy Haskett
Last picture this transfer with our fish!
Another member I love!  She is from the Ukraine!
A member here I love!
I will miss these people!
Myself, Dream Beem, Starszy Barlow, Starszy Ashworth, Starszy Haskett, Starszy Einfeldt
Dream Beam and Starszy Ashworth and his new look! Haha!
Good bye dinner - I kept tearing up! 
Our fish, Starszy Barlow, Starszy Ashworth, Starszy Adriano, Starszy Haskett, myself, Dream Beem
A really sad good bye.  I got on the train and cried!
I love you Warsaw!
Cześć Family and Friends!!!!

First.....TRANSFERS!!! THIS IS MY LAST TRANSFER!  I have been transferred to Wrocław and I am serving with Sister Gheen!  Who is little and cute and positive and ready to work!  I look forward to getting to know her.  It is sad to think that this will be my last city and last transfer here in Poland! Ahhh where did the time go?! I am overwhelmed with emotion right now!!  Sad, joy, peaceful, and everything in between!

I was really blessed to have such a great last week in Warsaw! I love the people and the city!  We spent our last P-day running around and visiting our favorite spots, eats and stores! I had to go one more time to Adams Collection (ties) and as always it was so much fun to help the Elders picks out their ties! We also were able to meet with that cute young woman in the hospital! She is doing so much better! She was so happy and full of light! She has the best attitude of anyone I've seen that has had to go through such a hard situation! We were able to meet her mom as well - she is such a happy lady too! We could tell that having her mom there meant the world to her! I was so grateful I was able to see her one last time! She has forever changed my life and my mission! 

We also had TŁUSTY CZWARTEK or FAT THURSDAY!!! This is when people try to eat as many pączki (Polish donuts) as possible! We all woke up early as a district and stood in line (yes there are huge lines) to get our first pączek of the day! Elder Einfeldt had told us that for his birthday he wanted to eat five kebabs to put it into a certain case in Polish so he could say kebabów and of course Sister Beem and I decided to do the same with pączki... so we ate 5 pączków! (This language and its cases causes you to do things just to make it happen in the language!)  We were dying by the last one but when in Poland, do as the Polish do! I love this holiday and we had so much fun with it! 

We also had a baptism on Saturday! Starski Haskett and Barlow were able to see their investigator baptized! He is honestly amazing! He has changed his entire life but you could tell that it meant so much to him! It was a beautiful service! The best way possible to end the transfer!

Sunday was also so good! We had a “linger longer” after church. I was so grateful to have time to say goodbye to everyone!  I LOVE THESE PEOPLE!

I want to take a minute and write about all the incredible people there! First our fish! He changed my life! I have never seen someone so willing to change and try so hard to be a good person! He has embraced everything incredibly well! He has also become one of my closest friends here in Poland! (And if you are wondering…there is no love connection!  He has that with someone else!)  He is just a solid good person that I cherish!  It was so sad to leave him! To watch him journey through the process of accepting Christ’s gospel, become baptized and keep serving and seeking the Lord has been something so sacred and exciting and beautiful!  There are no words but it is imbedded deep in my heart forever!  I’ll never forget the first time I met him on the street!  I know incredible things are in store for him! He is the best!

Our investigators! I have never had so many opportunities to teach such amazing people in Warsaw! I have learned something different from all of them! I know their time will come when they will see the Gospel work in their life and I am so grateful I was able to be apart of the journey – such a privledge!

The members! Where do I even begin?! The members here are amazing! They truly live the gospel! They have the biggest hearts! They made me feel so loved and appreciated! I am so grateful for all the members in Warsaw - both American and Polish!  You’ve given me goals on how to conduct myself in “real life” (that is scary!) back home!

The district! It was so incredibly hard to leave my district! We have been through a lot together! We've shared spiritual experiences!  We were obedient, worked hard and played hard!  We prayed and worked together for a smooth transition in blending branches!  They’ve seen me shed a few tears and know my faults!  They are all such incredible missionaries! They helped me in so many more ways than I think they will ever know! We were all so incredibly close and we felt like family! I have never laughed so much nor been so happy! I will forever be grateful I had the opportunity to serve with them!

Sister Beem! There is a reason I call her Dream Beem! This girl changed my mission! She made me laugh more than I ever thought I could! She was always there if I needed to talk it out or sometimes even cry it out! She has a way of going for it when she feels it, and this led to more miracles than I can count! She has so much light to her and has added so much light to my life! We became incredibly close! She has become one of best friends! She has helped me in more ways than I could ever thank her! I will miss her dearly but I will forever be grateful I was able to serve with her! Our “dream team” may have been split up but there will always be Dream Beem!  I love you Siostra Beem!

There are so many things that Warsaw taught me! I struggled when I came here!  I didn’t know why!  I even had a few moments of homesickness that far into my mission!  But the Lord knew what He was doing!  I needed Warsaw and I think in many ways it needed me! I love that city and the people there! They have such a special place in my heart! I won't lie it was so very hard to leave!  I sobbed!   

However I do know that it was time to leave. I know Wrocław has wonderful things in store! I am forever learning to trust in the Lord's plan! I am ready to give it all I have! When my fish found out I was transferred and that I was sad, he started singing "just keep swimming" in Polish or "płynie się dalej!" That is what I am going to do! As much as my heart aches leaving Warsaw I know I am suppose to be in Wrocław for a reason! I am trusting in the Lord's plan and I know it will all work out!  He’ll show me the way! I am grateful for everything I learned in Warsaw and the people I met there!

And guess what? Despite my tender heart, I am ready and determined to make this last city the best one!

I’ll “płynie się dalej” until I do! 

Kocham Was!!!!


Siostra DeMordaunt

Monday, February 20, 2017

Warsaw, Poland - We can't do it alone!

Happy Valentine's!
It's all about LOVE!!!
Love me some Lerch!  I love his girl!
We finally get to see each other! I am so mad this is blurry!
(Siostra Lerch was in Raquel's MTC district. They have never served in the same zone before!)
Love me some Dekker!
It's always a good time with Dekker!
 I can't tell you how much I love my MTC District!
Street contacting!
Train ride!
Our fish takes on Siostra Beem's look!
Taco night!
New Warsaw Branch!
Warsaw I Branch Presidency

Cześć Family and Friends!!!!

How has another week already flown by?!!! The weeks go by so fast here, I wish time would slow down! This week was such a good week!!

This week we had zone conference! As always it was incredible! Sister and President Turek are incredible leaders!! We talked about what our goal is as missionaries - to invite others to come unto Christ AND what our responsibility is - teaching repentance and baptizing converts! They are connected! Having others come unto Christ is the goal Missionaries are on that path towards that goal!  Teaching repentance is a step on that path! Repentance is the center!  We discussed how repentance is something we do but it doesn't make us converted, that is where Christ comes in! If we allow Christ into our lives it means we allow the Atonement to work! This was such an amazing conference!

Repentance is something I didn't really understand until I came on my mission! I use to think of repentance as this scary process you do because you messed up and that always didn't sit right with me because that meant I couldn't turn in my 100% report card when I got to heaven! I have learned though that repentance is such a beautiful process! You are allowing the Savior to enter into your life and help you become clean and free again!

I thought of this during the conference: sometimes when you erase something it still leaves behind a smudge but with the Atonement nothing is left, no trace can be found! I feel sometimes we find it hard to give Christ the full load (speaking from experience)! I think we believe if we give him the full burden we sometimes feel we have failed or that we weren't strong enough to overcome it alone! This is the biggest realization I have had: WE CAN’T DO IT ALONE!  We need Christ on our side! We need to allow the Atonement to work and we need to give up the burden! This is what the Gospel is about: Christ! Everything in this gospel is one with Christ!

I loved this conference and being able to talk about repentance and what it allows our investigators to do! We also discussed our baptismal goal for this year: 121! Yes that is right, 121 BAPTISMS! I have complete faith we can do this! It is Poland's time!!! As president said "Nie jest liczba, jest ludzi" or "That isn't a number, those are people!" We can do this!! People want peace and happiness and there is an amazing plan where that can be achieved for each and every one of us! Isn’t God just so good?!

We met with the girl from our English class! She is so so cute! We were able to sit down and get to know her! She is a believing person and wanted to know what we believed! She couldn't believe that we were only missionaries and that this is all we do! She asked us why we decided to come on a mission so we told her why it is important to us! She asked about church and and she really wants to come! She is so cute! She wants to learn more about what we believe and she accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon! We were so excited and we can't wait to continue to meet with her!

I also was able to get a little taste of Mexico this week! We had a Mexican party with our fish because he had never had tacos! It was so much fun! He tried Tabasco sauce for the first time and was dying from the spice a little bit! We also had a Mexican dinner at an American Family's house this week! I am honestly so impressed with all the American families here! It would be hard to live in a place where the language is so hard and be able to get around everywhere! They are so incredibly kind and always introduce themselves in Polish to all the Polish members! They really want to help the branch grow here too! They are so generous to us missionaries and I am so grateful I have been able to get to know so many of the families here! They have blessed my life so much! 

I want to add a funny story that happened to Sister Beem and I this week! We teach a personal English class to this older lady! She is seriously so cute! She wants to learn so badly and she repeats everything like 10 times! She is also hilarious and so much fun to teach! After our lesson she was showing us pictures of her family and her dogs and then all of a sudden she told us she has two hamsters! She shows us a picture of them and I said they were cute.  She looked at me in the eyes and asked if I wanted them! Sister Beem and I looked at each other and died! We told her no but thank you! We almost got a pet hamster for free!  Such missionary humor but people are so generous here! 

I am so grateful to be here and to be able to teach repentance to allow others to come unto Christ! This has been the most incredible thing ever, to see someone change as they allow Christ into their life!  There is nothing like it! 

Kocham Was!!!! 

Siostra DeMordaunt

Monday, February 13, 2017

Warsaw, Poland - That’s how it needs to be, so that’s how it is!


Street contacting in the snow!

I still love seeing the kids being pulled in sleds!
Our new branch in Warsaw had a talent show on Saturday night!
These elders made a tower of Benjamin!

Benjamin's tower!
Dream and I did a rap to Ice, Ice Baby!
Here is our "fish" doing a boy band!
Elder Jones had the elders roll their ties and played a joke on them who could unroll it the quickest!
It was so funny!
February 13, 2017

Cześć Family and Friends!!!!

What a week! This week it was back to the cold temperatures again and it SNOWED, SNOWED, SNOWED!!! There was entire day where all it did was snow! It was such a good week though!

We were able to meet with some of our investigators this week! We met with that cute sparkle student! We talked about doubting our doubts before we doubt our faith! It was a pretty bold lesson but it went really well! She said she has never committed to a date before so the fact that she had one in May was huge for her! We talked about how when we receive an answer we need to be willing to act! As I mentioned she knew the Book of Mormon was scripture but now has doubts! I explained that when we receive an answer we need to act and if we don't that is when our faith begins to dwindle! She was asking questions I had never even thought about - and to be honest I didn't know how to answer! That lesson was 100% lead by the Spirit and it ended up being a really solid lesson! She is making progress krok po kroku!

We also had a lesson with our mom, who came back from Germany! We wanted to go over the Word of Wisdom and talk more about the Book of Mormon! She said that the Word of Wisdom all made sense and she committed to live by it! We also talked about the Book of Mormon and how it testifies about Christ! We asked her how she knew it was true and she said that she gets a good feeling! We asked her about Joseph Smith and she also told us that he was searching for the truth too and he found it and that she knows he was a prophet! She is honestly amazing and so sweet! She is so close to baptism! It won't happen this transfer but I am excited to see her continue to progress and grow! 

We also met with a new investigator this week! She is one of the people we talked to during finding that one week! We met with her and taught her about the restoration! She said she still believes that God still speaks to us today! When we told her about Joseph Smith we asked her if she believed it was possible that God and Jesus Christ appeared to him! She replied, "Absolutely!" We couldn't believe it! She was listening intently and when we asked her to read and pray she said that she would! We are going to meet this week! She is so ready and she accepted everything so well! Prepared people are out there! 

Also, we had the opportunity to visit a member this week! She is one of my favorite people I have met here in Poland! I remember her saying that it takes her two hours to travel from her home to the new chapel and so Sister beem and I were ready for the adventure! We took a train for 30 minutes and then walked along train tracks in snow for a while! The member was so patient as I called her a bunch of times asking for directions! After walking along the tracks she told us to look for a red path and I thought we were close, but oh no was I wrong! We ended up hiking through snow on this path for about 3 miles in the middle of no where! We finally made it to this cute town and she was waiting for us with hot mint tea and lunch! She is seriously so amazing! She has only been a member for few years but she has the most solid testimony! When I asked her about her "trek" (trust me that description fits) she makes every Sunday, she simply said, "That's how it needs to be, so that's how it is! " She doesn't complain she just does it! She has so much dedication! I was honestly so amazed by her! She inspired me so much!  “That’s how it needs to be, so that’s how it is!” – how’s that for faith?!!!

On Saturday night we had the branch talent show! Sister Beem and I couldn't just not participate so we did what we do best... RAP!!! We rapped about the restoration to Ice Ice Baby in Polish and in English! We had so much fun! The Elders did a boy band dance and the Polish members were incredible and sang, played piano, did karate, and danced! It was such a fun night and to top it all off, guess who was the host?! Our fish! He did such a good job!! 

I want to share now a miracle that is really personal for me! We had the opportunity to teach in Young Women this week! We taught about the Plan of Salvation! First I have to give a shout out about Sister Dream Beem…I spoke in Polish and she translated for me! She honestly is amazing and has made so much progress! I am so proud of her and so grateful to be her companion! I love the Plan of Salvation! It was so fun to be there with all those girls! We watched a video called "Men's Hearts Shall Fail Them!" First I need to provide a little background! My mom has sent me a calendar with pictures for each year of my mission! On the inside of the cover she talked about continuing living this year with an eternal perspective! I won't lie and say that coming home doesn't scare me and that I feel ready for it, because I DON’T FEEL READY! I AM SCARED STRAIGHT! I’ve had to figure out the logistics for summer school and I feel vulnerable once again! I have written about trusting in God's plan and that it always works out. I believe in this 100% even though it is scary to think of immerging again in my life outside of my mission! During the video President Nelson says that because of the Plan of Salvation we are able to look at life with an eternal perspective! I literally felt this overwhelming feeling of peace and love! All day long we worry about other people and each other so to have a brush of the Spirit tell me He is aware is comforting.  I picture sometimes that Heavenly Father looks down at me and chuckles as He says "See I know you are there and I know what I am doing!" I had to look up and just laugh and let a few tears out too! God is there and His plan is real! We can look at our life through an eternal perspective and find joy in this journey! Heavenly Father (and our parents) know what they are doing! I am so grateful for His plan!

Well tomorrow is Valentine's Day and I’m sending all of you lots of love! I love this country, I love these people, I love this language in all its craziness, I love those I serve with, I love this gospel, I love my Heavenly Father, I love my Savior, and I love all of you!! 

Kocham Was!!!!


Siostra DeMordaunt
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