On Monday, everything started out pretty normal. Then, when we were emailing at the chapel, I ran to the bathroom for a minute, but then someone tried to open the door of the one I was already in! Sister Ludlow and I were the only ones there, so I was really confused as to why she was trying to come into the same stall!! Then, when I was done, I went back to the computers and she was still there... I asked, "Hey, is there someone here?" Her face drops and she slowly said, "...no?....." Then, we were both kinda scared about this rando who was in the chapel!! We waited for them to come out of the bathroom... and it just turned out to be this old Babcia who needed the bathroom. XD Haha, but then a while after that, something crazier happened. I was done with the computer and the screen had gone black. I was sitting there and then all on its own, it turned on, opened Google chrome, went to family search, and started researching things! AAAHHHH!! It was SO SCARY!! After a while, I realized our computer was hacked?? And someone was using it through a sort of remote control from their own computer. I opened a new tab (knowing they could see) and typed in the search bar, "DLACZEGO?!!" (Like.. "why are you doing this?!!") And immediately after that, they moved the mouse and closed out of this program and weren't using our computer anymore. But they forgot to log out, haHA!! So I got all the information I could on them. But seriously... who hacks a computer to use FAMILY SEARCH?!?!
Anyway, later we went to this really cool museum called "Hydropolis." It was a museum all about water and everything related to it. Boats, city water systems, different cultures and their history with water, the ocean, mythical creatures, actual creatures, and even how water is important in many scriptures and religions. There was this area they had with these cool chairs. They had a huge projector that showed a beach at nighttime with a ton of stars. And they had the sounds of the ocean playing. And it just felt like you were on the beach at night! It was so nice and I tried to soak it up haha. We took some fun pictures and yeah, it was a good time!! Then, we had English class. And we debated the question: is water wet? It was pretty divided. I was on the side of: no, water is not wet. Here's why: there needs to be opposition in all things! Water cannot be dry, therefore, it cannot be wet. For something to be wet, it has to be covered in a liquid. When water drops on water, does it make it more wet? No! It simply combines with the liquid. For something to be wet, it has to be a solid object covered in a liquid. I don't know... what do you think fam? Is water wet? Let me know. XD Sorry, I went off on that, but this email is just going to the fam, so that's okay! Thought it'd be fun to talk about.
Me touching "fire" at the water museum Hydropolis.
At Hydropolis.
The water falling on the umbrella was so hard!! I could barely hold up the umbrella!
Tuesday wasn't too exciting. We did our weekly planning which always takes a long time and focus. It's kinda stressful too because there are so many little things to keep track of and schedules to coordinate and people to call (and then call again later when they don't answer.) Yeah.. Polish people are really bad at answering their phones. But on the bright side, we did it in this cool cafe. And I got really good hot chocolate! Yes, hot chocolate on July 16. It's been really cool weather haha. Later in the day, on our way to Skytower for English, we stopped and got dinner at these really cool food trucks. I got a veggie kebab. (Its It's not the kebab you're thinking of. Not on sticks.) And there were all these cute, little birds everywhere. I gave them crumbs of my bread. They would even come and take it right out of my hand!! I felt like a Disney princess! Haha!
Then, at Skytower I didn't have anyone to interested in the gospel. But Sister Ludlow talked to a guy who LOVES Jesus and just wants to do everything he can to follow him. He even said about the Book of Mormon, "Okay, I need to know about this. When can I meet with you?! I need to know if this is true!" So that was pretty cool!
A bird ate bread right out of my hand!! I'm straight out of a Disney movie haha :)
On Wednesday, we had quite a few lessons! We taught 3 new people and we now have 3 new investigators! The first one was a teenage girl named Monika. She is super religious... meaning, super Catholic. But she REALLY wanted a Book of Mormon and also to learn more about our church. So we had a meeting over Skype with her. She said she believes that there could be a living prophet on the earth today which is pretty cool. And she's excited to read the Book of Mormon as soon as we get it to her. Then we were able to do a Family History Finding Activity on the Rynek with the Elders. It was great! Apparently the Elders always do a competition to see "who can get the hottest chick" to write on the whiteboard or something. Kinda ridiculous and it actually really bothers me. Does that bother anyone else fam? Please tell me I'm not the only one annoyed by this sort of thing. And Dad.. please tell me you didn't do this sort of thing on your mission.......
Finding activity with the Elders on the Rynek.
anyway, BESIDES that we had a good time! And of course, I had to get the daily person asking me for directions haha. This time it was a German guy speaking in English. But as soon as I mentioned I spoke a bit of German, he just switched to German. XD Suprisingly, I understood him! Gift of tongues right there... that, and I'm getting used to people talking in German about directions. XD I know I always write about that sort of thing, but I just think it's crazy how I get asked for directions LITERALLY every day. Later, we had a lesson with Doni from Uzbekistan. His native language is Uzbek!! (I think that's how it's spelled.) But he speaks English really well, so it was no problem. He at first told us he was atheist because he doesn't go to church. But he's not! He believes in God! He is super open and wants to learn more. He's going to read the Book of Mormon and pray about it this week. He even prayed for us at the end. I'm pretty sure it was the first time he's ever prayed, but he really wanted to make sure he was doing and saying everything correctly. It was awesome! I'm really excited to see how things progress with him. Later in the evening, I was able to Facebook message with Brigham to get some information on people here in Wrocław. Just some members and whatnot. But I just think it's SO cool how I get to work with my very own family, my cousin!!, on the mission work here. It's such a cool experience. And I love being able to sort of pick up where he left off and continue the work.
Thursday, we had a meeting with Solomiya which was actually really sad. We've been trying to get her to read the Book of Mormon so we can keep meeting with her. She has kept telling us that she wants to read the entire Bible first and then she'll read the Book of Mormon. But she's only at the very beginning of Leviticus... after at LEAST an entire year!!! So... that's not gonna happen. She keeps pulling the card that she doesn't do things well under pressure and that now that we've told her she needs to read the Book of Mormon, she definitely won't be able to do it. But... this is coming from a very good student who is constantly under pressure to get good grades and she somehow manages to do that under pressure... Okay, so she loves to skate and goes to the skate park all the time. I even made the comparison to how she doesn't wait for the entire school year to be done before she goes to the skate park, she goes throughout. I told her that she can do the same thing with reading the Book of Mormon and Bible at the same time. But yeah, she's not going to do it. So we told her this would be our last meeting and asked her to tell us when she starts reading the Book of Mormon, because then we can meet again. We'll still see her at English and Family Night and everything, but we won't be having individual meetings. So yeah... that was way sad and a lot of tough love... Anyway, then we had District Council and today was Elders Edwards, Stewart, and Zabriskie's year mark!! They were way pumped. They've been out here 4 months longer than me... and I still go home one transfer before them. XD Weird how long those extra 6 months are... Later in the day, we went out to dinner at this crepe place before we went to the English conversation practice at Renoma. (Yes, I still LOVE crepes!!)
Me with crepes.. My favorite!!
Then, we had a meeting with Agnieszka (the less active member) and I was able to help her with Family Search, getting her set up and oriented and everything. I'm really grateful that I did Family History before my mission because now I know what I'm talking about and how to help people do their own!!
Friday morning, I had a phone call appointment with Elder Dewey (the Area mental health specialist). Since this email is just going to the family, I can actually update you a bit on that. I'm making progress. I don't know if this is something that will go away completely while on my mission or not, or even after! But I'm finding ways to feel happier faster/earlier on in the day. And I'm finding ways to deal with it. Waking up every morning is still really hard and I hate that part of the day, but it usually gets better after I play the violin. Elder Dewey told me he thinks that I kept this at bay during high school because i was so intensely involved with music and sports. So hopefully when I get home, I can get back to that. But yeah, I don't know if I was actually keeping it at bay during high school because I honestly don't think I was dealing with depression then. But who knows, maybe I was and didn't realize it. Yeah, sometimes it's really hard though because it makes me feel weak and like it's a defeat that I am dealing with this. Like, am I not strong enough to have control over my own emotions?!? It's so frustrating especially when you tell yourself to snap out of it, but you can't. It just makes me feel weak and wimpy that I'm struggling with this. And while I know that's not true and that depression doesn't mean you're weak and it's not your fault, it's still hard. But I'm figuring it out and things seem to be getting better. So there's an update for ya.
Anyway, later we just had our normal service project where we put together grocery bags of food for homeless people. And later, we taught our English class to 8 people!! I'm always so impressed by how big the classes are here and in other cities. Because sometimes in Szczecin, we wouldn't have ANYONE show up and we'd have to find something else to do. It was way annoying. But no other city seems to struggle with that, so that's really nice. Funny Kuba moment this week: we asked what his favorite book is. He says, "This one!" as he holds up the book he's been looking at. It was was was the dictionary. XD He said, "I use it every Friday!!" Kuba is a 30-ish year old man, mind you. So when you read stories about him, remember that. Also, think of like.. a sort of Polish Spencer Davies character and you'd be on the right track. XD
Saturday was exciting! First, we had a meeting, with a girl named Ola, in this BEAUTIFUL park! We had a great first lesson with her. She was super open and chill with everything. Even when we brought up baptism, she was way cool with it. She said she first wanted to read and pray and get to know the church better first, but that she could be baptized. So that was awesome! She is way nice and I'm really excited to teach her more!
With Ola in the beautiful park.
Right after that, we headed over to the chapel for the baptismal service of Michał and Gabriel!! Gabriel is from the Legnica branch and the Michał from our branch in Wrocław. He is actually our Branch President's son. Michał is their oldest, so it was their first child to get baptized. They were really excited!! And so were we! Alicja came to the baptism and was talking with the members which is fantastic!! Oh, and fun fact: for baptisms, we don't have a font, so we rent a swimming pool at a spa or fitness center and do the baptisms there. But yeah! It was a really fun and happy gathering of the Branch. We all had a good time together! :)
At the baptism! Michał and his family!
Later that night, Sister Ludlow and I watched the 2nd half of "17 Miracles." (We never have enough time to watch an entire movie in one night, haha) But it is SO GOOD! I loved the reminder of the Pioneers and how much they sacrificed and gave for us. There's a quote at the end by President Gordon B. Hinckley that says, "I hope you never get over being thankful to them." And I don't think I ever will. I am just in awe at the many sacrifices they made and terrible things they went through, all so that WE could have the blessings of the gospel in our lives today. It truly was a remarkable sacrifice of such incredible faith and love for the gospel, their children and posterity, and our Savior Jesus Christ. As I remember their trials, I know that I can get through mine, as long as I follow their example of staying strong in the gospel and truly & completely relying on Jesus Christ. "It will all be worth it."
Sunday was glorious haha. Well, we didn't have any meetings which was kinda unfortunate, but we did some other great things! So, first, a Russian lady from Provo, Utah was visiting today! She is super nice! She and her 2 youngest kids actually stopped by yesterday to meet us and find the chapel. And today I was able to translate for them and hang out with them at church. I loved it and I loved getting to know Yulia better. She's super nice. And she told me I was welcome to come visit them anytime I'm in Provo. :) Oh! Anyway, the main point of this is: her son, Jefferson, got his mission call to Poland!! He enters the MTC at the beginning of December. Which makes him part of my "shadow group." That just means that they enter the MTC the same time as you and kinda follow the same timeline (in the year and transfers and stuff) as I did. So yeah! He'll be in Poland the beginning of February which is way cool. Anyway, after church, we were able to visit Babcia. Then, Sister Ludlow and I did a Musical Finding Activity! Basically, we went to a park and I played hymns on the violin and she sang! We set up my violin case to hold a ton of brochures, Book of Mormon's, English ulotki (flyers), etc. And we put a sign that said they were free and to please take some! It was so much fun!
A lot of people stopped and looked at our stuff. Some even listened for a bit before moving on. A lot of times, little kids would become entranced by the violin and watching it and they wanted to stay and listen for a while. It was so cute! I loved seeing the interest and curiosity in the eyes of the little kids!! It was such a fun activity to do and I really felt like I was able to bear, or convey, my testimony by playing these hymns. It was a cool experience to feel the power and truthfulness as I played these hymns, thought about the words and meaning, and allowed many people to hear them for the first time ever! It was especially cool with songs that hold truths about such fundamental parts of my testimony. Specifically, "I Believe in Christ," "Joseph Smith's First Prayer," and "I am a Child of God." Those were powerful. I'm so grateful for music and the spirit that it brings!
Musical Finding Activity in the Park.
Love and miss you all!!
Siostra Shaylin Carroll
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