The Waters of Wrocław/DONI GOT BAPTIZED!!! FIRST BAPTISM!! :D (8/26/19)

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Monday, we went bowling with the Elders which was pretty fun!

Went bowling for pday.

Then, Sister Ludlow and I went to lunch at this Greek restaurant on the Rynek. And you all know how much I love Greek food!!

Ate at an awesome Greek restaurant on the Rynek.

And of course, then I skyped all of you, which was wonderful. And then, I had some fun figuring out this while pool fiasco. I had to make a ton of calls and send a bunch of emails to reserve the swimming pool for the baptism on Saturday. And then we'll be able to make a schedule (which a bunch of people, including President, are waiting on to make other plans as well). So that was insane. And then I was able to join everyone else for a fun charade-type game that was HILARIOUS! And on the way home, I saw the drunkest man I've ever seen in my life. It was honestly just so sad and so scary how someone can be so completely out of control!! Ahh! I was so sad for him. But man, yeah, I've seen a lot of drunk people here, but this guy was just COMPLETELY gone! Never do that.. ever!!

Well... Tuesday was kinda good. I guess. We did our weekly planning and tried to figure out the pool reservation. Basically it was just a mess, but we got it figured out finally. After many many MANY phone calls and emails and 3 people working on it and not communicating... yeah it was not good. But hey, we got the pool reserved. Tuesday was already hard, and then on top of that I had a bad headache, I just wanted to cry, and my back was killing me. I guess the one highlight I had was when we went to Skytower. I talked to this guy and the conversation went something like this:

Paweł: The gym isn't really my thing.

Me: Do you like working out on your own? Or do you like sports?

Him: No.

Me: .....

Him: .....

Him: ...My favorite sport is drinking beer.

It was the one thing that made me laugh and lifted my spirits today. And then what carried me on the way home through a suddenly rainy evening was the thought of finally going to bed and escaping the world for a bit. Yeah, Tuesday was rough. But I guess we all have to have bad days sometimes huh?

Wednesday, we ended up giving out 6 copies of the Book of Mormon and we got 4 potentials! Kinda crazy. We also had a good District Council. Oh and I tricked Elder Stewart by telling him that Doni had canceled his meeting with us. I quickly told him I was kidding! But he totally believed me and said that was good acting. XD Anyway, we also found out that Elder Wheatley came back to Poland today! (He was one of the missionaries who had to leave the country due to legal problems. So he had been hanging out in Chicago, but now he's back. And we have all the "deported" missionaries back now!!) And now, Wrocław is going to have a trio of Elders because Elder Moody is coming to Wrocław!! It'll be fun to serve with him again! After that, we had a lesson with Konstancja. The first one in probably around 6 weeks!!! It was good to see her again. We really emphasized the importance of praying to know if something is true. So this week, she is going to pray every single day to know if the Church of Jesus Christ is true. After that, we had a meeting with another guy named Mariusz. He had contacted us wanting to talk about the Word of Wisdom! So of course we talked to him about that over ice cream and McFlurry's from McDonald's! Because HOW ELSE would you teach the Word of Wisdom. XD Haha, but it was really good! He says he thinks we might be on to something. He said, "You guys might be right about this. I think the Word of Wisdom is right and it really works." I'm glad that I've really been living the Word of Wisdom so that I can teach him about it and tell him things that have worked for me. He also seems interested in learning more about the Church too! So that'll be awesome! After that nice meeting with Mariusz, we had our lesson with Doni. And right after that, Elder Stewart gave Doni the Baptismal Interview!! Aaaaannnnddd... DONI IS GETTING BAPTIZED!!!!!!! YAYYY!!! So that was a nice ending to the day. (Especially because the day started out a lot like Tuesday had been going. So I was honestly scared to death... But it turned out a LOT better.)

Thursday, we did a chalk finding activity. I had written 2 words when a guy on his bike stopped and started talking to me. I always love when people stop ME! Anyway, turns out he's been to our church and has talked to members of our church before. But he didn't have a Book of Mormon, so I gave that to him and he wants to read it. He also wants to come to church, which is awesome! We ended up talking for a quite a while. He tried to guess where I was from. He guessed Germany. And England. And Norway, Sweden, Scotland, and Ireland. XD He never guessed the United States! But when I told him that's where I was from, he was so happy! He started talking about all the Presidents. He LOVES Ronald Reagan, as most Poles do. And he also loves Donald Trump, which I'm finding a lot of Poles like him as well. He wasn't too fond of George W. Bush though. Anyway, it was fun to talk with him about things and hopefully we'll be able to teach him. Also on Thursday, we basically just finished planning out Doni's baptism and made the programs and everything. Then, we went to Renoma for English. I talked to this really nice, cool girl named Aleksandra. She was so fun and nice to talk to! And she sees the missionaries a lot at both Renoma and Skytower. So we'll see her again. Later we did some tracting, but nothing much happened besides that.

Friday was better. We were really busy with things all day. First, we had lunch with Babcia and she decided she wanted to go on an adventure! We first went to a Milk Bar (cheap traditional Polish food, think like.. a cafeteria style set up where you pick which food you want and pay at the end). The Milk Bar was at Hala Targowa (the really cool market with a bunch of Greek and Turkish shops, where I get my good olives!) Then, we walked along the river with Babcia and also, she bought us all a "Wrocław" touristy mug!! She is the SWEETEST EVER!! I love her so much! She just goes all out for her missionary grandchildren. :) 

Me and Babcia by the river!! :)

Babcia is just the Polish word for "Grandma." You pronounce it as "bob-cha". 
Her name is Danuta.

Then, we went to service and after that, we had to run some errands. We printed off Doni's baptismal program, picked up some Family History Center mail, and hurried back to the chapel for our meeting with Doni! Our last meeting with him before he gets baptized and we officially hand him off to the Elders! It's crazy!! It was kinda bittersweet haha. We got his white baptismal clothes figured out and he's all set for tomorrow! He is so excited! After Doni, we taught a first lesson with Jan (the work continues). Jan stopped and talked to me during our chalk finding activity last week. He wasn't arguing with us... but he wasn't really agreeing either. He seems interested and wants to meet again though. Then, we had our English class and holy smokes I think this is the biggest one I've ever seen on my mission! There were 13 people there!! And a ton of them were brand new! It was so awesome! And even more exciting than that, THEY ALL STAYED for religious discussion afterwards!! And 3 of those people kept copies of the Book of Mormon to read! It was AWESOME!! Oh and one of those who kept a copy was Konrad! He was the guy we tracted into and had a first lesson with him, and then he came to church! But he didn't keep a Book of Mormon whenever we asked him. But he randomly showed up at English tonight and wanted the Book of Mormon now!! We'll see what happens. :) 

Our huge English class!! (2 pictures to fit everyone!)

After that, our Wrocław missionary group (I don't know what to call it because it's not the whole district haha). Anyway, we went out to ice cream and hung out on the Rynek for a bit. Let me tell ya, Friday nights on the Rynek are AMAZING!! So many people, lights, street performers, so much music... just the ambiance is so fun and ahh it's such a cool feeling. I love it.

Saturday was by far the best day of the week! For starters, I was able to talk with President and Sister Chandler before the baptism. Sister Chandler and I talked for quite some time and just had a real heart to heart. She gave me some good advice and counsel. (Because things have been really rough in my companionship...) We talked together, cried together, and man we feel like family to each other. Right after a huge hug, she sent me in for my interview with President Chandler. And it was the same experience. He opened with a beautiful heartfelt prayer and then we talked about what's going on. He said he had thought through all the other options and just felt really bad about them and about transferring me. He said I'm exactly where I need to be. He also proceeded to give me so much praise for what a wonderful missionary I am, the good work I'm doing, and telling me what an example I am to the rest of the mission. I was so humbled by that!! I had no idea how highly they thought of me. He also gave me advice and instructions that I need to have a "companionship inventory" (where you talk with your companion and fix things in your companionship) in between now and Monday. And he wants to hear about that in my weekly email to him. I feel so much better after talking with them both and hope that this solution will fix my problems!

After those wonderful meetings, we had Doni's Baptismal Service!! The meeting was really nice! Sister Chandler and I did our "Beautiful Savior" musical number again, which was fun. In the meeting, the Spirit was so strong!! Just so sweet and tender. It really was a special feeling at that meeting. And I was just trying to soak it all up! After the service, we all walked over to the pool together and Elder Stewart and Doni went and got changed. Then, they entered the pool and Elder Stewart baptized Doni!!! I was so so excited!! Doni had joined the true Church of Jesus Christ! And it was so cool to have been through and experienced the entire missionary process with him. From finding him, to baptizing him. Amazing! And he is so amazing!! I was so excited for him. We all were and are!! And Doni was super excited the whole time too! He just couldn't wait to get into the water. :) President Chandler told him that today Doni would feel something special. Doni replied that he had felt that feeling since the first time he came here!! That was so cool to hear! That he really does recognize feeling the Holy Ghost and that he feels it with us and in our church. Saturday was just such a great day!!

Doni's Baptism at the pool.

Another picture of us before Doni's baptism. We were WAY pumped!!

Sunday was great! So, as it turns out... Doni has a middle name!! And we didn't know that yesterday... so we had an impromptu baptism Sunday morning. Luckily, we knew of a spot where the river was clear, clean and it was a perfect spot! It was private, peaceful, quiet, and just really beautiful! We officially named the place, "The Waters of Wrocław." And it was just the 5 of us missionaries and Doni! It was a way cool experience actually. And the same Spirit we felt on Saturday was there on Sunday morning as well. 

Doni's Baptism at the "Waters of Wrocław".

Then at church, Doni recieved the gift of the Holy Ghost and was confirmed as a member of the true Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!! Again, the Spirit was very strong and I just felt so happy! That was pretty much the huge highlight of Sunday of course. 

Missionaries and Doni at the Branch Lunch on Sunday.

Later in the day, Sister Ludlow and I had that big companionship inventory like President Chandler had asked me to have. Turns out, she didn't even know what companionship inventory was because she had never done it before!! I did it every week with Sister Godfrey, but we hadn't really been doing it here. Let me tell ya, I don't know if I've been more nervous or scared for a confrontation than this. You know, it's just so hard to break down those walls around ourselves when we feel like those walls are the only things that are protecting us. It turned out good and I think things will be a little better from now on. A lot got brought up and cleared up. Turns out, I wasn't the only one not being open. So it's good we've established it. I still feel scared to open up though. But at least I did this for now. And after an hour and a half of that, I think both of us were just so emotionally exhausted that we just kinda laid on our beds for a while before getting ready for bed and stuff. Anyway, so Sunday happened. But Doni is now baptized!! And I'm way pumped about that!! :D

Love and miss you all!!

Siostra Shaylin Carroll

I finished the 40 Day Book of Mormon Challenge in my 40th Week on the Mission!!!/I hit 9 months, but I'm still not halfway!! (8/19/19)

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Monday, we went to GOJump, which is a trampoline park here in Wrocław! It's really similar to JumpTime back home. You know, it's kinda crazy because normally when we think of living in or visiting another country or part of the world, we think of doing all these crazy touristy things. But now I'm to the point where.. I live here! And while I still really love the touristy things, I've also started doing things as though I live here haha! Like... I never would have thought I would be going to a trampoline park in Poland. XD It just makes me feel a bit more at home. Kinda weird, but it does! Oh, and also, you all will be proud to hear that I am the only one who can do a backflip out of us 6 missionaries here in Wrocław and Legnica right now!! And that includes Elder Stewart who would be a "body double" and did some stunts for the movies he acted in. Haha, y'all should be proud. ;) XD

Tuesday, we didn't have a lot happen in the morning, but things picked up in the last bit of the day. We met with Doni and we taught the Word of Wisdom. Part of the conversation went something like this:

Me: You want to get baptized right?

Doni: Yes! Definitely! I really do!

Me: Then this is what you have to do to be able to get baptized.

Doni: Okay, I'll do it. I will do that!

I love it! He is just SO willing to give it up even though he still REALLY wants to drink certain things. He is willing to stop! And that willingness he has just impresses me SO MUCH!! He is sooo prepared and ready. He truly is repenting! And it's just so incredible to see him growing and improving every time. He said that every time he prays, he feels a step closer to God. And he notices a difference when he forgets to pray. He is really feeling it and noticing what these changes are doing in his life!

After that, we went and delivered more cookies! (Haha yeah, it's a long process..) But we met some awesome neighbors! A really fun couple, Grzegorz and Patrycja, were really excited about the cookies and thought our Polish was great! We also finally met our nextdoor neighbor!! His name is Piotr (but he introduced himself as Peter). He speaks really well in English! One of the first things he asked us was, "Okay.. Which one plays the violin??" Haha, I got caught! I admitted that it was me. He said, "It's really good! Keep playing the violin. Play lots for me!" I was a bit surprised, thinking that he would be annoyed with it. Especially because he's into rock and roll. Oh and he is also an AMAZING guitarist. I hear him play on the balcony a lot and I LOVE it! But about my violin playing, he said, "Sometimes I wake up in the morning and I hear it and I'm like, oh that's really nice!" So that's good to hear!

Wednesday was 9 months since I left home and came on my mission! So so crazy!

Me studying the Book of Mormon and eating oatmeal (my favorite) on my 9 month mark!! Just normal missionary life for ya!

We were able to do a Book of Mormon finding activity with the Elders today. We drew some chalk things on Plac Wolności (this big empty plaza). And wrote scriptures and our contact info.

Same day, but at our Book of Mormon "chalk talk".

While I was writing something, a man actually started talking to me! He told me he had a Book of Mormon at home and that he's read the whole thing! I asked him if he was a "believing person" (it makes more sense in Polish.) Basically, it's our way of asking if they're religious. He said, "not really" and that he doesn't really go to church, but he is a "searching" person. So he definitely wants to meet up and talk with us. Should be interesting! After that, we met up with Mariusz at a cafe. We talked about what he thought about church on Sunday. He really liked it. He really wants to come again and also really wants to read the Book of Mormon. He wants to keep searching and learning about our church. He's really faithful! But he doesn't agree with everything the Catholic church teaches or that the priests do, so he doesn't really go to that church or follow it. He has his own individual faith. He's taking it as a sign from God that he met us and he says "time will tell" about what will happen next. So we'll see! Later, we met a few more of our neighbors. Barbara was super nice! She really wanted to read the Book of Mormon and to meet with us in September!! She is SO NICE and super fun! We also met Maciek and Deborah, this couple who speaks practically fluent English.  They were really funny! We had a good time talking with them. And they even gave us homemade bread!! It was SO GOOD!

Took some pictures for my 9 month mark!

I look way too excited haha.

Thursday, we had District Council and then we went out and handed out a ton of English fliers to people. There was a big military event going on at the Rynek and also today was a big Catholic holiday and so there were a million people outside! It was kinda crazy! But we handed out lots of ulotki! (Fliers) I even had one lady stop me and ask me which church we were from. We had a decent conversation and she was way nice! (Even gave me 2 hugs throughout our time talking.) She asked me who Jesus is to me. And I told her that he was the redeemer of the world! She was so pleased with that, she gave me a hug haha! But it ended with her saying that the Catholic church was the only right way and the Bible is the only word of God. She didn't seem too open to the idea that there is continuing revelation from God today. I'm always sad when people don't even want to test it out! Anyway, we had a meeting with Doni today! We taught some more commandments and he is still really excited to get baptized! He seems happier about it every time we meet. :) And that always makes me happy!

Friday, we had a meeting with a lady we met a while ago named, Magda. She has 2 young girls who were kinda crazy the whole time, but it's good. Basically, she believes in God, but doesn't go to church. She believes that there are also other scriptures besides the Bible that we don't have. Of course, I went off of that and introduced the Book of Mormon to her. She seemed interested in it and wants to read, but doesn't really have time to meet with us right now. So hopefully in a month or so! (Also, while we were there, her daughters were watching "Lilo & Stitch" and "Toy Story" the whole time!! Let me tell ya... I've never had to try so hard not to look at a screen!! My goodness... the things you love can be so distracting!!) Anyway, later in the day, we had another great meeting with Doni! We basically just taught him a ton of the commandments and he agreed to live all of them!! It's so great! He's so excited to get baptized, already refers to the church as "our church" including himself, and is so humble as he really tries to do what we ask him to do!! Today, I was also able to finish reading the Book of Mormon!! I did it! And in 40 days! It was such a great experience to do that and to feel the power that came into my life. I truly love the Book of Mormon!! And I'm so grateful to have it in my life!

Some pictures for finishing the 40 Day Book of Mormon challenge we've been doing!

An accurate picture of what it looks like to take pictures with me! Haha! XD

Saturday, we had a fun time with Sports Saturday and going to Babcia's. She seriously has the best stories! They're so interesting! This time she told me about this American radio station they would listen to at midnight. This was still during communist times, so they had to be really careful and not let the neighbors hear otherwise, they would get reported to the police. It's so sad how much they couldn't trust people.. or didn't know who they could trust. But Babcia said that radio station gave them a lot of hope during those difficult times and I thought that was really cool. Later, we had another meeting with Doni and again it went well! He's just ready to be baptized already and next week can't come soon enough! He said he just feels more confident day by day. He described it as a "peaceful confidence" and I love that! The Holy Ghost really does help us to feel calm and peaceful. That is how he tells us that we are making the correct decision.

Sunday we had a fun day. First, Elder Asendrych came to church in Wrocław. Well, I guess he's not Elder anymore since he's home from his mission haha. But yeah.. it would be weird to call him James... so I didn't. Anyway, we also had a meeting with Lisa. She's still trying to figure her life out, but hey, she said that she's really thinking about joining this church! So that's pretty cool!! After that, we had a meeting with Doni. It was our last meeting with him where we were teaching him new things! He had a meeting with the Branch President today too. Doni said he's a really good man and Doni feels "2 times more confident about baptism." It seems like every time we meet with him, he is more confident and more excited. And I know I say this all the time but... that just makes me so happy!

Love and miss you all!!

Siostra Shaylin Carroll

At service... "But I've got all the bananas!" (a favorite quote of my Dad's... bonus points to the rest of you if you get it, but you probably won't haha...)

A picture from a different finding activity we did a few weeks ago! (with the missionaries here in Wrocław. Elder Stewart and Elder Baer.)

We helped some old guy push his dead car to the auto shop, so that was fun!!

I Finished Reading the Book of Mormon in 40 Days! (8/17/19)

W Polskiej Warszawskiej Misji, wszyscy misjonarze czytają Księgę Mormona w ciągu 40 dni! Tak! Cała księga w 40 dni! I skończyłam ją wczoraj, dokładnie na czas. 😄🎉 Nigdy nie czytałam tej Księgi tak szybko, ale było to cudowne doświadczenie. Najlepsze słowo, jakie mogę wymyślić, aby opisać Księgę Mormona, to: moc.

Prezydent Ezra Taft Benson nauczał, „W księdze tej tkwi moc, która będzie przenikać do waszego życia, gdy tylko zaczniecie ją uważnie studiować. Znajdziecie większą siłę, by oprzeć się pokusie. Znajdziecie siłę, by uniknąć podstępu. Znajdziecie siłę, by pozostać na prostej i wąskiej ścieżce."

I właśnie to zrobiło dla mnie czytanie Księgi Mormona. Czuję wzrost mocy wpływający do każdego aspektu mojego życia. Czuję większą moc, kiedy świadczę o Księdze Mormona i o Jezusie Chrystusie. Czuję większą moc fizyczną, psychiczną,
i wiedząc, że naprawdę jestem Dzieckiem Bożym i On mnie kocha. Czuję więcej mocy emocjonalnie, ponieważ rano daje mi takie szczęście. Księga Mormona daje mi siłę i moc, aby wytrzymać pokusy i wytrwać ciężkie czasy. Naprawdę kocham Księgę Mormona i kocham czytać z jej stron każdego dnia. Nie mam wątpliwości, że to prawda. Jaka inna książka może wnieść do twojego życia taką moc jak ta książka? Nie ma żadnej. 📖❤🇵🇱
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English:

In the Poland Warsaw Mission, all of the missionaries have been reading the Book of Mormon in 40 days! Yes! The entire thing in 40 days! And I finished it yesterday, right on schedule. 😄🎉 I had never read it so quickly before, but it was such a wonderful experience. The best word I can think of to describe the Book of Mormon is: power.

President Ezra Taft Benson said, “There is a power in the book which will begin to flow into your lives the moment you begin a serious study of the book. You will find greater power to resist temptation. You will find the power to avoid deception. You will find the power to stay on the strait and narrow path.”

And that is exactly what reading the Book of Mormon has done for me. I feel an increase of power flowing into every aspect of my life. I feel more power as I testify of the Book of Mormon and of Jesus Christ. I feel more power physically, mentally, and in my knowledge that I truly am a Child of God and He loves me. I feel more power emotionally, as it gives me such a boost in the morning. The Book of Mormon gives me strength and power to withstand temptation and to get through the hard times. I truly love the Book of Mormon and I love reading from its pages each day. I have no doubt it's true. What other book can bring such power into your life as this book? There is none. 📖❤🇵🇱

Blessed to Be Busy/The secret to Missionary Work is.... COOKIES!!! (8/12/19)

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Hello family! So Monday nothing much really happened. We did go to this cool market and I got some really good Greek olives. Later that evening, we were supposed to be helping the Elders teach English. But I couldn't go in there, I had an absolute emotional breakdown and it was just terrible. I hid out in a back room and just cried for a LONG time. Praying the entire time, I finally asked Heavenly Father to send someone. And a few minutes later, Sister Ludlow knocked on the door and came to the rescue. She asked if she could come in and if there was anything she could do. I asked for more tissues. She brought them, and I broke down again while explaining that I didn't know why I was breaking down. She immediately just started playing with my hair and scratching my back. Which immediately helped me calm down. It was a definite answer to prayers again. And I'm so grateful for that.

On Tuesday, we had Zone Conference in Katowice. It was really good! I was able to do a musical number with Sister Chandler. We did Sally DeFord's "Beautiful Savior." And I played the violin. It was fun! Kinda nerve wracking, but fun! And everyone seemed to really enjoy it.

 Me playing Beautiful Savior.

Also, the whole conference was just way good. President talked a lot about the Book of Mormon challenge and how it helps us in our missionary work. He seemed very pleased with a comment I made about how it brings a literal power into my testifying of it and of Jesus Christ. He continued to talk a lot about power throughout the rest of that segment. Funny thing: He says he has little "President Chandler-isms" that he'll say. It made me think of Mom's "Krista-isms." Haha it's actually really cool though because I feel like the Chandler's have very similar views on the gospel and things like that as our family does. It's nice because everything just feels familiar in the things they teach, say, and the way they do it. I love being with them, and I was very sad to leave them again. 

Missionaries at Zone Conference.

About to leave Zone Conference.

Me with Sister Berrett and Sister Lueck from my MTC group!! :)

On the train ride home, we met a super nice girl named Karolina. She's been to Portland and the Rose Garden and to Rockaway Beach (which she said was really sunny when she went and she liked it better than the beaches in California). But she was really excited to hear that I lived there. We all (all 6 missionaries haha) talked with her for the 2 hour train ride. She comes back to Wrocław in October for school and she really wants to hang out then. So that'll be awesome! (Fingers crossed that I'm still here!!)

We did a really fun Finding Activity where we did a "chalk talk." Basically, we drew out the entire Plan of Salvation on a path in this park. We also put some questions and wrote out scriptures for the answers (What is the purpose of life? Why is Jesus Christ so important? Why am I here?) And we even had some people stop and read the scriptures I had written!! So cool! And one of those ladies, Sister Ludlow was able to catch and give a Book of Mormon to her! And after that, Elder Stewart and I even had a quick, impromptu performance of a 2 second version of the Gallant Ship. We just did one set of the hook things haha! It was awesome. XD Okay.. onward! Funny thing: There are all these gypsies who go around trying to make you take these roses from them and then make you pay. We knew that if we stood in this one place long enough that one of them would try to give us a rose, so we waited. And then we handed the gypsy guy an ulotki and invited him to church instead!! HAHAHA!! And one more funny thing: Yesterday at Zone Conference, I lost the sole to my shoe. (Don't worry, they were hand-me-downs from another Sister.) So I told a few people that "I lost my sole." And pretty soon there were a whole spur of jokes about that. It was way funny! XD

Thursday, we had a great meeting with Doni. We kinda went over the baptismal interview questions, so he has an idea of how he needs to be ready for that. He said he feels really good about Jesus Christ. He believes that everything he's heard about Him is true. He said something like, "I just know and feel in my heart that it's true." He also said that he feels really good about baptism and wants to keep that good feeling! He is really excited to get baptized and doesn't want to wait super long. It's awesome!! I asked him if he's noticed a difference in his life from when he started to meet with us. He said he feels different since he's been meeting with us. He said he feels really good and feels like good things have been happening in his life. And he said that he's happier!! Yay!! :) So stay tuned the next few weeks to hear about his baptism!! :D Later, we had a skype meeting with Monika who is very Catholic and knows that we are not Catholic. But she has a Book of Mormon and loves it! She said she knows it's true! We're not exactly sure why she's wanting to meet with us though. We're trying to figure that out haha. And then, we met with Alicja. We can never have a normal "sit down meeting" with her. With her son, we're ALWAYS moving around and talking on the go... so lessons with her are kinda crazy and always unpredictable. But we reestablished a baptismal date for her since she's not going to be at church on Sunday and won't hit the required 3 times before August 31... so we set a new date for September 7th! So we'll keep praying for that!

Friday, wow... Friday was a day full of MIRACLES!! First, I had a really good phone call with Elder Dewey. He shared an interesting scripture with me in 2 Nephi 4:17-30. And he told me that in this section, Nephi was dealing with some depression. It was so crazy because I've read those verses SO MANY TIMES!! And I always thought he was just being humble by saying he had sinned even though God had done so much for him and things like that... but reading it under this new light... Holy smokes! Nephi was definitely dealing with some depression. And I can really relate to him. It was so cool to read those scriptures. I mean, he's basically saying, "If all these good things are happening to me, why do I still feel sad? Why do I feel the way I do?!" And I've definitely felt that as well. It's just nice to know that even a mighty man and prophet of God had some of the same trials that I have. It's almost reassuring too. Like, maybe God trusts me with this trial. And maybe I can be as mighty and faithful and courageous as Nephi.

Anyway, we ended up giving out 3 copies of the Book of Mormon today and getting 3 potential investigators! The first one was a really chill guy we met on the street. The second one, we were actually talking to other people who weren't super interested. His name is Mariusz. He stopped us and said, "I'll listen! I want to listen!" And he did listen! And now he has a Book of Mormon which he was very grateful for and wants to read, we have his number, and he will come to church on Sunday!

And then here's a story that I will try to make short: The Elders met Lisa in a park. She's from New York and trying to get a job here. In meeting us, she saw a lot of things which she referred to as "manifestations of faith." Meaning, that she had faith and the universe delivered. She was really big on faith and doing things and asking for things with faith instead of fear! I thought that was awesome! At first, she wasn't super interested in religion, but by the end of the night, I think that kinda changed. So, long story short, she didn't have a place to stay for the night and her phone was dead. Luckily, I just "happened" to remember a free phone charging station in Renoma. I had seen it once, but I'm glad I remembered it! (The Holy Ghost will bring all things to your remembrance!!) So, we got her phone charging and I made a few calls to see if we could find a cheap hostel or someone willing to let her stay the night. I called Isabel and she said that Lisa could stay with her!! Isabel is AMAZING!! So, we got them connected and everything is good! By the end, we gave Lisa a Book of Mormon. She was so grateful for that and for our help. She told us that normally she would probably be freaking out a bit, but with us she just felt really calm and peaceful! (YES!!) So basically with us and everything that happened, she sees a lot of "coincidences" that she doesn't think are just coincidences. Like I said... so many things lined up. We had so many miracles today!!

Saturday, we had quite a good turnout for Sports Saturday and then we had a great lunch with Babcia! She even made this super good Apple Pie thing. And later, we had a lesson with Lisa!! It was SO GOOD! There are some lessons I pray that we get to rewatch them in Heaven... this was definitely one of them. She is SO PREPARED!! She has one hundred percent felt the Holy Ghost in her life. She described it as feeling this energy, or as a warm feeling in her heart, where she doesn't feel scared and feels really good,  and it's almost like it's a cloud or fluffy. It feels comfortable. She kept talking about how she feels like it's a sign that we came into her life and that our religion resonates so well with what she already believes. She was really grateful for "the beautiful words" we shared with her (Moroni 10:3-5). She marked it and said it really resonated with her and matches everything she believes. She said she would pray about baptism. She asked if we could meet tomorrow after church and talk about what she felt when she prayed. Amazing. She really wants to read the Book of Mormon and also she prayed for us at the end! She's just had so many experiences and beliefs about life that have prepared her to meet us and hear our message. It's incredible!! I'm way excited about her! Anyway, later, we went visited some of our neighbors. So I guess the only truly consistent way you can get let in to people's apartments is by being their neighbor and talking normally with them. That's what we did! We had made some snickerdoodle cookies and then delivered them to our neighbors and had fun meeting them. Apparently we're the first missionaries who have stopped by to say hello!! So I'm really glad we went!

Sunday, we had 4 people who came to church! (People we're working with anyway. Meaning nonmembers.) It was fantastic! And after church, we had a great meeting with Lisa. She didn't have the chance to pray because things got crazy and she really wants to take time to sincerely pray about things, which I like. She really liked church and said that everything resonated with her. She feels like our church really lines up with everything she believes. She really liked the Liahona with the conference talks. She really likes the stories and messages they share. She said she's really excited to read that and the Book of Mormon. Yay! She's waiting to hear back about a job and then she'll know if she's staying in Poland or not. Gosh, I hope she stays!! Anyway, later, Sister Ludlow and I went to a park. I played violin and she talked to people who stopped to listen! I don't think we've had so much consistency with people taking ulotki (fliers) from us. And we even got a really solid potential from it! A lady took a copy of the Book of Mormon and wants to meet! Later in the evening, we visited more of our neighbors. And we've heard the saying "the secret to missionary work is work." Which is true! But what's also true? "The secret to missionary work... is cookies!!" Everyone is happy to see us and invite us in when we're their neighbors and we have cookies. ;)

A pretty cool thing I've noticed this week is that I've been pretty busy my whole mission. Which.. I guess is a rarity? Because everyone always talks about all the long days they have of just going contacting. And the days where I've had that have been very few. I feel really blessed to be busy and have a lot of work to do! And it makes me feel like I am actually doing a good job here. And it also makes me feel like Heavenly Father really trusts me because He keeps sending me lots of people to help, serve, love, and teach. I've just been really grateful for that. And I think by working hard and showing that I'm not gonna let those blessings go to waste, that Heavenly Father will continue sending me those people. And I plan to be busy like this for my entire mission. Just helping and serving and preaching and working and teaching as much as I can.

Love and miss you all!!

Siostra Shaylin Carroll

A picture of me with some delicious ice cream in the coolest/cutest ice cream shop on the Rynek. (sorry I always send pictures of me with ice cream haha, but it's the BEST!!)

Sleepy Security Guard :)

A brand new/renovated/remodeled Żabka!! We don't actually really go there that much.. but hey, there were balloons so that's fun.

I didn't run away to the circus.... I ran away to join the best Gnome Band in Wrocław!! ;) XD haha sorry, I couldn't come up with anything funnier than that.

Took a spontaneous trip to Warsaw.../If a crazy lady begged you for a copy of the Book of Mormon and offered you hot chocolate.. what would you do?! (8/5/19)

Cześć!!

Monday I was able to Skype all of you!! And see Nauvoo and the stage and everyone there!! And that was wonderful! I loved feeling like I was a part of the Pageant, even just for a short little while. So thank you for doing that. I loved it.

Tuesday I'm pretty sure you already know was a rough day. But we still did weekly planning and went to Skytower and talked to people in English.

Wednesday was also really rough. But some good things definitely happened. We had a meeting with a less active member named Agnieszka. And I think she's finally starting to realize that her inactivity at church actually has an effect on more people than just herself. She's been wanting her son Daniel to get baptized, but recently she said he doesn't seem interested anymore. I explained that it's probably because he has no idea what the church really is because he's never been there! So we made a goal with her to be back in church on September 1st. It would be a straight miracle if she came because she hasn't been to church in 8-10 YEARS!! I'm praying that she'll come. Right after that, we did some tracting in the area and found a lady named Alina. She invited us in for hot chocolate. Took 2 steps into her house... MISTAKE!! It was an absolute disaster. She claimed she was in the middle of cleaning the whole apartment... yeah... no... She was pretty crazy and was running around getting stuff for us and I don't even know what. But whenever she wasn't in the room, we'd dump our hot chocolate down the drain (her dishes were filthy too.. so it was a safety thing haha). To sum it up, this was my experience with Alina: She's running around being crazy, while we're in there dumping out our hot chocolate while Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" is playing... weirdest thing of my life... XD But hey, she practically begged us for a copy of the Book of Mormon and made us write down her number and told us to come back in a week! So we'll see. XD 

After that, we had a really good meeting with Doni! He said that he prayed one time this week and he's still trying to figure out how to do it the right way. But he said he felt refreshed and good after he prayed: like a new person, or renewed. He felt really good. Which was exciting to hear! We taught the "Gospel of Jesus Christ" today and so we committed him to baptism. We suggested August 24th as the date to be ready for baptism and he said, "Sure, what time?" WHAT?! Yeah, so he definitely wants to be baptized. It probably won't be on August 24. Just because we want to make sure he's ready, he understands really everything, and that he really has a testimony of things. But we're on the right track with him!! He's going to pray about it this week to see if he feels like it's the right thing for him to do. Then, that night, we went tracting and were let in by a very nice man named Konrad. We talked about our religion and God and our experiences and things. He got very emotional talking about a hard time in his life and how God helped him through it. He's not super interested in our church. But we still invited him to sacrament meeting and he did the whole "I'll come to yours, if you come to mine" sort of thing. So it looks like we'll be going to Catholic Mass on Saturday night!! XD That'll be a first.

Despite my extreme challenges on Wednesday, there were a TON of blessings. In missionary work and with getting the help I need. I was very grateful for those. They were VERY needed. When I got home Wednesday night, President Chandler called me and like I already told you, he was very caring. I just felt SO much love from him. They truly do love and care about the missionaries so much!! He was totally non judgmental and just so kind and loving. He was really glad I reached out and really wants to help me as much as he can. I am so SO grateful to have him as my Mission President. I'm definitely being loved and taken care of over here.

On Thursday, we had our first District Council of the transfer. We now have 3 cities in our District. We've got Legnica, Katowice, and Wrocław. And we have 10 missionaries!! That's about.. A little under 1/3 of the entire mission!! Kinda cool. Anyway, nothing too much happened today missionary work wise. We did have a meeting with Alicja, but only about half of what we had planned because she was feeling kinda sick. But a LOT happened health wise. I had a phone call appointment with Elder Dewey, which went well. On Wednesday, he had me fill out a health questionnaire. And then we talked about it, clarified some answers, and he's sure that I'm dealing with depression. Shortly after that appointment, probably about 2 hours later, I got a call from Sister Chandler (which I had been expecting), but I wasn't expecting what would come of that phone call. She asked us if we had anything going on Friday or Saturday, and asked us if we could come to Warsaw. We didn't have any lessons planned with people. Normally, we have about 2 or 3, but this week nobody had been scheduled for those days. That was a definite blessing/miracle. Sister Chandler said they wanted me to come and visit them, stay at the mission home, and spend some time with their family! And of course, I'll be talking and making a plan with President and Sister Chandler. It's kinda crazy because just the previous day, I had been thinking about how nice it would be to spend time with President and Sister Chandler as sort of parents. Because that's what they were starting to feel like to me. This was such an answer to prayers, but I was not expecting things to happen this nicely. I'm feeling such an outpouring of love from my Mission President and his wife. And my Heavenly Father. And it's reminding me that, I am not forgotten!!

Friday morning, we hopped on an insanely nice train and headed to Warsaw. Seriously... it was the nicest train I've been on here in Poland. Playing classical music, providing drinks, the train crew coming through the cabins... felt like an airplane, but wow. Kinda crazy!

Me and Sister Ludlow on a train.

On the train to Warsaw (this is my face when I realize I have no idea what we'll be doing when we actually get there. XD)

So that was a fun start to the day! :) We spent the day with President and his family. They are incredible! We basically just took the day off and took a break from things. President just wanted to get me out of my environment for a bit and relax. He told me he really wants to make sure I'm happy and that I enjoy my mission. We were able to go to the Warsaw Uprising Museum, which was really interesting and really cool. Then we went out to dinner at a really good Polish restaurant and explored Old Town Warsaw. It was beautiful. And we finished the night with super good ice cream. It felt like I was with a family again. And I've really missed having that feeling.

A selfie we took in Warsaw at dinner with the Chandler's!! (obviously I couldn't put it on the group email because President has asked me to keep this on the down low, so that's what I'm doing.)

With the Chandlers in Old Town Warsaw.

That night, I met with President Chandler and his wife. We talked about a plan and how the priority is definitely my health and emotional well-being. He gave me a wonderful priesthood blessing and they both expressed their love for me. I really feel it. I expressed my gratitude to them for everything they've done and are doing for me!! They said they were happy to and also that they loved having me visit them and their family. They said they loved seeing me interact with their kids and how good that was for them. They said it's been good for all of us for me to come visit. Honestly, it felt like my adopted family and it was nice to have some siblings to hang out with for the day. I'm just so grateful for everything and I really feel their love for me.

I feel so blessed because they took an ENTIRE day!! Just for me!! And spent it taking care of me!! I feel so loved and blessed and grateful. I am SO LUCKY!! It was so nice to feel like a part of their family. And it was so nice just to relax and take my mind off things for a while. I loved being able to spend time with them and talk with them. It was exactly what I needed. This was a literal answer to my prayers.

Saturday morning, we got up and exercised with Sister Chandler and Ellie (their 17 year old daughter). It was really fun! I was able to go on a run with Sister Chandler and we were able to just talk for a while. It was really nice. I wish I could run with her every day. Then, we had waffles for breakfast (which I haven't had those in FOREVER!!). And after that, the Office Elders were there to pick us up and take us to the train station. So, we said our goodbyes to everyone. Hugs from Ellie, Emily, and Sister Chandler and a handshake from Sam. (President had left earlier in the morning to go to Szczecin!!) And we were off back to Wrocław with me feeling refreshed from that little summer trip and from having some good family time. I'm so glad I still have a long time to be with the Chandlers. I love them so much.

Sunday was pretty good. We had 3 people in church! Lucyna, Doni, and Konrad. Konrad stayed the entire time!! And for Sunday School, he originally said he could only stay for another 30 minutes, but then he stayed another hour and a half! (Sunday School went late) And then after that, he talked to the Branch President for a while and seemed to really like him. And Doni is just super solid! He really liked church! (It was his first time going to church EVER!!) And he wants to keep coming. He's really involved with all the activities we do and it's so awesome!! After church, we went tracting out in a town called Biskupin. They had SO many cute little houses and everyone was so nice!!

Super pretty houses and gardens we saw while tracting in Biskupin.

I had some really good conversations with people. I talked to this super cute old man about his beautiful garden and his family. And I had so many people tell me that I speak Polish beautifully haha. Later, we went over to the Branch President's house for dinner, banana bread, and a game of Yenga! (That's how they pronounce Jenga here haha) It was so fun to be with their family. They are awesome!!

The Branch President's kids! Michał and Mira!

This street in Biskupin totally reminded me of G'ma and G'pa Carroll's neighborhood in Beaverton, Oregon. What do you think?

This week, I've been thinking a lot about prayer. More specifically, answers to prayer. I definitely received direct answers to my prayers this week. I know that. I know that God does hear and answer our prayers because I have experienced it in a very real way. I was reading the talk "Answers to Prayer" by Brook P. Hales which I highly recommend. I really liked this part of his talk:

"The Father is very aware of us, knows our needs, and will help us perfectly. Sometimes that help is given in the very moment or at least soon after we ask for divine help. Sometimes our most earnest and worthy desires are not answered in the way we hope, but we find that God has greater blessings in store."

I know that God is aware of us and He wants to help us. Sometimes we don't always see His hand in our lives, but it's always there. I've felt Him very close to me this week and I am so grateful for that. I'm grateful for His love and care and that He allowed me to feel that this week.

Love and miss you all!!

Siostra Shaylin Carroll

Me and Sister Ludlow with our Chimney Cakes!! (we've been eyeing them for a whole transfer and it was time...)

I guess I really like banana things?? (please excuse the fresh out of the shower hair haha) XD