Cześć!!
This was kind of a weird week. So bear with me...
Monday we had another super chill pday. I was able to make hootenanny's which was pretty exciting actually. And we also skyped!! And we also watched Ephraim's Rescue. I haven't seen that movie in a LONG time and so I forgot how tender it is and how much it makes me almost cry haha. It's so so good! But just so real! And I think it definitely does its job of making you grateful for the Pioneers and for all the things they went through and the sacrifices they made. It just hits you right in the heart!! Later though, we had English and FHE, so things lightened up a bit haha. For part of English, we played a story game where we all started a story and then passed it around and everyone added a sentence or 2 to the story. We read them all at the end and holy smokes, they were HILARIOUS!! We had so much fun with that! It was definitely a good way to end the night.
Me and Sister Aramaki!!
Tuesday was definitely an interesting day haha. We started out normal with our studies and weekly planning. Then, we decided to take a break, go for a walk, pass out ulotki, grab something from the store, and get some fresh air. And at the store, we "happened" to be there right when this lady needed help! She was using a walker and was struggling with her groceries, so we were able to help her put them on the cashier thing.. (not sure what it's called.. like the conveyer belt??) Anyway, and then we were able to help her pack them all up in her bags and send her on her way. It was so cool to see how directly Heavenly Father places us in the lives and paths of others, so that we can help them! Later, we headed to the chapel to work on Facebook and do language study, but we didn't end up getting either of those! See? Told you it was a weird day... The senior couples were coming that night to get some things ready for Zone Conference the next day. And the kitchen was a DISASTER! Actually, everything was pretty messy. Really sad... but the members don't really take care of it, so we usually end up cleaning the entire chapel all the time. And the kitchen was especially a mess because the Branch President... well, long story short, he lets this homeless guy keep his food in the fridge and this guy does NOT clean up after himself. So I ended up washing what felt like a hundred dishes. (probably not too far off though...) Sister Aramaki dried and put them away and cleaned off the counters. And Elder Baer cleaned out the fridge, threw away all the nasty, old, rotting food, and then really cleaned the fridge. We finished our panic cleaning right as the senior couple missionaries showed up!! Yay!! We did it!! Haha, and I am SO GLAD it's all clean now!! Then, we had a planning meeting with Vova, Isabel, and Doni for a big Halloween activity they're wanting to do. They are wanting something they can invite their friends and coworkers to and something we can bring our investigators to! It was really cool of them to think of that for helping us! And it should be way fun! So we had a good time planning that. And then, we went to "this store on the Rynek" (as Vova mysteriously called it... it was actually just Flying Tiger) and we checked out some Halloween decorations. Meanwhile, a ton of Elders are just randomly showing up as we're walking along and soon we've just got like this huge group of 8 missionaries and Young Single Adults walking around hahaha. Also, Sister Aramaki and I had a really fun time talking with Isabel about everything. I seriously love Isabel so so much! She is amazing!! But anyway, that was my weird, super random day haha.
Wednesday we had Zone Conference basically all day long. We have a huge zone now that the mission only has 2 zones.
Anyway, Zone Conference was great. We talked a lot about goal setting and accountability and we also had a section on self-reliance and using that as a finding tool. Brother Mathias came and talked to us again and he is seriously such a cool guy. Later, after the hustle and bustle of Zone Conference, we did some contacting on the Rynek. Sister Aramaki and I met this super cute girl named Buse and she's from Turkey! As we walked towards her, she said hi to us before we had said anything. And she had a huge smile on her face. She is seriously so sweet! She lives in Bydgoszcz though, so we sent her information to the Sisters there. But it was a really fun contact to have!
Zone Conference.
L-R: Sister Berrett, Sis Lueck, Sis Aramaki, Sist Ludlow, Sis Hadley, Me, Sister Chandler.
It was so fun to see everyone and meet some new missionaries. The new Sister, Sister Jensen, apparently was companions with Karli Moss in the MTC!! That was such an exciting connection!! The Elders in her group are really cool too. Seriously, they had an awesome MTC group. Almost as awesome as mine! ;) Anyway, also, the Williams wanted to get a picture with all the missionaries who have served in Szczecin! So we did, and guess what?? I was the ONLY Sister!! Yep. Sounds about right.
Szczecin Family Picture!! I am the ONLY Sister in the entire mission who has served in Szczecin!! (besides Sister Williams of course) Kinda crazy!!
Sister Aramaki and I talking to Buse on the Rynek.
Thursday we didn't do anything super out of the ordinary. We did our studies and actually got to work on Facebook for a while today. We've missed doing it a few days... oops. Anyway, after that, we went contacting (talking to people on the streets) for a bit. We actually had a few good conversations. Cool story though: we stopped this girl and immediately there was just something about her that we both could see and realized that this girl was the person we needed to talk to today. We always talk about how there is always at least one person we're supposed to meet and talk to that day. And today, it was this girl. She didn't have much time, but she seemed really open and was super nice too! Sister Aramaki gave her a Book of Mormon and she said she would read it because it seemed like something really interesting. I later found out that Sister Aramaki, earlier that day, had randomly asked me what our phone number is. I told her and asked why and she just said she didn't know if she knew it. She didn't know why she asked either. Then, during language study she had the thought that "Oh, I could just write the phone number in a Book of Mormon. Oh! Why don't I just write my testimony too, that's a good thing." And so she did with no "real reasoning" behind it. But that was the copy she ended up giving to this girl. It was just so cool to recognize all these little promptings she had that led to doing something really good. We'll see what happens to this girl, but we know she needed that Book of Mormon!! Later, we were supposed to have a meeting with Wiktoria, but she kept saying she'd be later and later until she said she didn't feel like herself and couldn't meet. We're kinda worried about her, but we'll take care of her! And later that night, our film/short video about the missionaries in Poland was posted!! We were all so excited!! If you want to watch it, it's posted on my Facebook page. It's all in Polish, but it's basically just talking about who the missionaries are, why we're here in Poland, what we do here, and explains (and shows) that we are just normal people like they are!! It's really cool! So feel free to check that out if you want. It was so much fun to make. :)
Screenshot of our super legit missionary video that is up on Facebook! :D
Friday we were able to spend some time with Babcia and Wiktor which was fun! We also taught our English class, which went well. We also were able to show our new video to everyone at English! They loved it! So, I'm hoping that means it will be received well by all Polish people! Also, Lucyna added something during our discussion. She talked about the Book of Mormon videos and how much she loves them!! She said they are beautiful videos with wonderful music and it's a great way to show the stories of the Book of Mormon. She said she really recommended it to everyone because it's really good. Wow! We did NOT pay her to say that haha. And she's not even a member of the Church!! But I completely agree with her. The Book of Mormon videos are amazing!!
Saturday nothing really happened. We had another lesson with Lucyna and we're still struggling to figure out what she needs. But after the lesson, both Sister Aramaki and I had the thought that we should ask her about her family. So that's what we plan to do next time. Also, today we planned out the entire scavenger hunt for the Halloween Party we're going to have. We came up with locations and wrote all the clues. They even rhyme!! It was kinda stressful and felt like a school group project with the Elders haha. But it was still really fun!
Sunday we had some interesting and strange things happen. We went to Katowice for District Conference, and that's basically the equivalent of Stake Conference in the States. It's just a bunch of Branches together for one conference.
It was really great to see and meet so many members!! I loved it! After the meeting though, a little 5 year old boy had gone missing. So of course, all the missionaries go out combing the streets of Katowice. The Police got involved and were able to contact all the tram drivers. They quickly located him. He had gotten on a tram and had ridden off somewhere. But they found him and he made it back safe!! Whew! The 2nd weird thing today was waiting for our tram home. This drunk guy was kinda watching us and both of us got a weird feeling and just silently pulled out our phones to act like we were "busy" so he wouldn't talk to us. He still came over to us and was talking. Eventually, he said (in Polish), "Wait... you're not Polish are you?" And then immediately after, in English, he says, "What's your name?!" Thank goodness our tram arrived RIGHT then. We quickly got on and were safe. Then, the 3rd (and thankfully final) strange thing happened. We were just walking home and I kept hearing some weird noises in the distance. We kept walking, but then it got louder. We both perked up and listened. And then... we heard screaming. So what do we do? We rush over to where the sound was coming from. Across the street there was this guy beating up a lady! They were obscured by trees, so we couldn't exactly see what was going on, but we could hear both of them yelling and she was screaming. We immediately called "112" (Poland's "911") and thankfully the dispatcher spoke English. We reported what was going on and all the details we could. And then, we rushed back to our apartment and got home safely. The whole time just praying that this lady would be alright and that the Police would be able to take care of things.
On the train to Katowice featuring Elder Baer.
Anyway, crazy things happened on Sunday, but we're safe and things are good with us. We just hope everyone else is okay!!
But let me leave you with this scripture.
Ether 12:4-
4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.
I love how it gives us hope for a better world. Even if things aren't always okay right now, they will be in the end.
Love and miss you all!!
Siostra Shaylin Carroll
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