Monday morning, I had a brilliant idea of something we could do for pday, even though things are still closed. So... I got Elder Womack to create a picture scavenger hunt for us and the Elders to do. It was gonna be EPIC!! But... PLOT TWIST!! It was wayyyyy rainy and windy and cold, so that added an interesting challenge to the scavenger hunt. It was still epic though. I learned quickly that asking to take pictures with random people or their pets is a very American thing. But here in Poland, you ask them for a simple picture and suddenly they're questioning all your motives and intentions, doing background checks and even questioning their own position in the universe. Yup. Sorry meter maid, it's just on the list, can I just get a picture with you and I'll be on my way?? XD Haha, yeah we had a good time with that!
We did a scavenger hunt on Monday for pday!! Us with the meter maid! (We asked her first, don't worry!)
A giant puddle on our scavenger hunt.
A picture of me with this random guy's dog.
Some grapefruit.
Us eating ice cream, and yes, all this was done in the wind and rain. XD
Tuesday we got a lot done with weekly planning, I did my next section of the "My Plan" program, we set up a lot of meetings for the week, and of course we messaged people on Facebook. I'm teaching this awesome girl through Facebook messenger (she doesn't have enough internet for video calls), whose name is Shumirai. She is so faithful! She's been reading the Book of Mormon for a while now. I'm slowly teaching her about the Restoration. It was really cool when I talked to her about prophets and how we have a prophet even today. She said that it's hard to know who a true prophet is and who isn't. I talked with her about prayer and how we can ask God questions. She said, "Wow I didn't know we could do that!" (Ah! I love teaching people these simple truths!!) I shared Moroni's promise with her and asked her to read and pray about the Book of Mormon. She said, "I will pray and I believe God will answer." Such faith.. wow!!
Later, we had a meeting with Kasia! We talked with her about Eternal Marriage and about families. She read the entire proclamation, "The Family" (which I sent her last time) and she LOVED it! She also told us how she had a rough day on Monday and she just prayed and read her scriptures to feel better. She said she loves to read the Book of Mormon because it brings her so much peace! She said she finds answers, goodness, joy, and happiness in it. She also writes down some of her favorite verses from it in her journal. We asked her to pray about the Book of Mormon again and ask God if it's true. She said she knows that it's definitely a good book, but she would pray to find out if it's true. Kasia is awesome!
Wednesday morning, Elder Womack had a meeting with Claudia. She had thought and prayed A LOT over the past 5 days. She finally made the decision to commit and live a life completely following the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Claudia really feels like this is the path she needs to take. And this is the right decision. We couldn't be more proud of and happy for her. We were soooo excited for her to get baptized later in the week! :) Claudia spent the day with us at the chapel and it was really good to have her there while we worked. She loves being there with us and we love having her there. :)
A bit later, we had a meeting with Aleksandra, which also was really good! We talked about the 2nd half of the Plan of Salvation. She talked more about her prayer and scripture study. She said this is something she wants to continue in because it makes her so happy. She can see that this church makes its members better people and that this is a better life!! She was also looking back on her life and seeing all the things that have happened, the people she's met, and the way things have lined up for her to be at this point. She says she feels so lucky! Aleksandra told us about how when she sent in her self-referral, she felt SO HAPPY and was actually jumping up and down when she clicked the button!! I love how she really enjoys learning about the gospel and just LOVES everything about it! She even plays the hymns on her viola. My goodness, she's the best!!
Thursday morning we headed to the chapel to meet with Kasia! She had her graduation/official ending of high school, so she decided to come see us in person! It was so good to see her and spend some time talking with her. Who knows if it was the last time in person or not. Either way, I got a hug!!
Us and Kasia!! IN PERSON!!
We spent the day working on Facebook, messaging people, creating posts, studying, and practicing music. We also had a meeting with Zoe to help her with English! Yay! She said she has been praying every day, which is awesome! She said this week she would pray to feel happy so that she knows God loves her. We were able to play some games to practice English together. We also read a story about forgiveness and we talked about that for a while. It was a simple, but good day. It was also my 18 month mark!! Hard to believe that I've been gone that long... holy smokes, folks... jest naprawdÄ™ szalony!!!
I hit 18 months! Yay!!
More cool 18 month pictures in the SUN!!
Friday we had a pretty busy day! First, we had a meeting with a returning member named, Karolina. We've been in pretty regular contact with her through Facebook. She can be pretty up and down, but she finally agreed to have a meeting with us. We were able to do a video call and just talk for a while. This was the first time I've ever seen her, so it was pretty exciting! We had a really great conversation with her.
After that, we went with Sister Womack to check out the lake again. We found an even better spot for Claudia's baptism. Just really private and peaceful. And oh my goodness, the lake was just BEAUTIFUL!! It felt like I walked into summer... with the forest so lush, and green, and ALIVE!! And then the lake with the sunshine reflecting off of its slow ripples. Just beautiful. It was good to be in nature again.
That evening we had 2 more meetings. First, we had a meeting with Martyna. We read Elder Uchtdorf's talk "Your Great Adventure." She really liked it. We were able to talk about it too. We ended up talking about the Holy Ghost and Baptism. And wound up asking Martyna if she would ask her Mom if she could be baptized. She said she would!! Now we're just praying that her mom's heart will be softened. Martyna has been waiting over a year now! She is so faithful!! Such an amazing girl.
Right after that, we had a meeting with Ola. We talked about 3 Nephi 17-19 together for a while. And then, we also ended up talking about Baptism. She said that lately she hasn't really been feeling the Holy Ghost as much. The thought came to me that there is only so far we can progress and grow without the gift of the Holy Ghost. I shared that with her. We talked about how she needs to make a goal of a specific date to be baptized, and move forward with that goal to show her faith and THEN she will feel the confirmation of the Spirit telling her this is right. She thought really deeply about this and agreed to pray about a specific date. This is a good step for her! :) I'm so grateful to be working with so many amazing people here!
Saturday was kinda rough to be honest. 😅 I mean, all things considered, it wasn't too bad. But having a canceled baptism is never fun. And on top of that, both of our lessons for the day canceled on us. (The Elders told us we needed to get "flake shakes." Haha I guess that's a thing.) We were still able to work on Facebook and message people. Also, Elder Zabriskie and I made another musical number recording. This time it was "Nearer, My God, to Thee." So that was definitely a highlight. I've really enjoyed working on these musical numbers and trying to share my talents (in the ways I can) while I'm still a missionary in Poland!!
Well.. I guess this is the real Elder Zabriskie! It just reminded me of all the goofy things my brothers do when playing the piano (You're not alone Zach!) XD
Sunday we had good church meetings. We had 3 investigators there, which was great! We talked a lot about baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. It was perfect because that's exactly what I've been saying to all our investigators this week! It was good for them to get it another time from a different source. Afterward, we were able to partake of the Sacrament. I know I say this probably every week, but it seriously is a huge blessing. There are some Sisters in the mission who don't have Elders in their cities to do it with them every week! I'm very grateful for the priesthood and for worthy priesthood holders!
Love and miss you all!!
Siostra Shaylin Carroll
*BONUS!! Funny quote from this week:*
(and it's true!!) XD
"Ukrainian is like when you take Polish and run it through the cyrillic alphabet!"
-Elder Draschil
Sister Jensen wanted a picture of me to use for a Facebook post. Yes, it was raining.
Found butterflies!! (Our family's symbol for my little sister, Candace!) :)
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