"I love rollercoasters, but I guess it's the ups and downs that make it, huh?"
-My thoughts from this week...
Hope you all enjoyed your Taco Tuesday Cinco de Mayo!! What a day, right??
Monday we tried to make it a fun pday even though there's still nothing open... so, we played more Phase 10. And also, Elder Zabriskie and I played a bunch of Kahoot quizzes. It's surprisingly one of the approved websites on our phone, so that's exciting. XD Of course, we had to do one about the movie Cars because both of our little brothers (@Ethan) went through a phase where they watched it all day, every day. We were pretty evenly matched on that one. Then, we did a Disney one. Needless to say... I creamed him (okay, he didn't do so bad). But then we did one on the NBA because that's his thing, and oh my heck, I got schooled. Absolutely wrecked. I think I got 2 right (by chance) and he only got 2 wrong. Wow. Anyway... of course I was able to call all of you and that's always a highlight! It was so good to laugh with all of you. :) In the evening, we worked on Facebook and messaging people and had our Devotional. And later, I tried not to freak out and panic about the fact that Claudia literally has still not responded to me since Saturday..... ahhhhhh..... This is like 20 times worse than having a boy pull you on a rollercoaster... I hate this...
UPDATE: Claudia responded, but like... way later. On Tuesday around noon. 😅😭😂
Tuesday we planned out our week. Whoo!! It's always so good to have that done and have our week all figured out haha. Then, Elder Womack came in and brought a pineapple to share. Kind of random, but it it was so good! XD Then, we were able to plan out Claudia's baptism a bit more with the Elders. It was kind of just a day full of planning. Nothing too exciting, sorry! But we DID celebrate Cinco de Mayo Taco Tuesday by eating tacos that night!! 🌮🤠 (couldn't find a sombrero emoji haha)
TACO TUESDAY CINCO DE MAYOOOOOOO!!!
Wednesday was awesome!! We had District Council and it was our last one with Elder Mitchell as our District Leader! We found out at the Nightly Devotional that he would be transferred to Zgorzelec. Sad! But we get Elder Frank in Szczecin, so also exciting!! XD
On a tram heading to church. It's so weird to see everyone in masks now...
Last District Council with Elder Mitchell as our District Leader! He's heading to Zgorzelec today.
Then, Elder Zabriskie and I had fun trying out a bunch of different piano/violin duets. But there actually aren't that many that we could find, so I ended up playing melody for most.... so if you have any, please send them my way!!! But it was still fun! I guess it was his first time ever doing a violin/piano duet. So that was pretty cool.
After that, we had a meeting with Claudia! And a special guest: Blake!! It was one of the coolest meetings I have ever had! We asked Blake to share his story of how he joined the Church, his experience, the things that have changed in his life, etc. Then, Claudia was able to ask questions she had. I had been feeling for weeks that we needed to have Blake join us for a meeting with Claudia and now I know why. It was exactly what she needed. To see and hear someone else's experience of joining the Church. And a fairly similar experience too! It was so cool to see Claudia connect with Blake and his experience. Throughout the meeting, the Spirit permeated the room for each of us. Even though we were all in different locations, the Spirit was strong and so so tangible. It was incredible. Best feeling ever! I am so grateful for technology and that we can teach with friends back home. It was a really cool experience. I loved it! And I'll add, Blake is going to be an INCREDIBLE missionary. Ask him to share his testimony with you, and you'll feel it too. :)
Our meeting with Claudia and Blake!! :)
Thursday morning, President Chandler came to Poznań for Claudia's baptismal interview. It was really good to see Claudia in person again!! It's been 2 months!! The interview went well and everyone was so excited! We all ate lunch together afterwards and had a good time talking.
A bit later, we had a meeting with Kasia about the Law of Chastity. She really liked it and thought it was just a really smart thing. She definitely recognizes the blessings that come from living that law. It's so cool to see how the Gospel of Jesus Christ just lines up with so many things she already believes.
A bit of behind the scenes for ya: What our set up looks like for most meetings now. Haha! XD
That evening, we had a meeting with Aleksandra. We were able to teach her the first part of the Plan of Salvation. She's really excited to talk about the next part and says she has a lot of questions. We were also able to talk with her about her scripture study and prayers. She already has such a strong testimony of those things from her own experience. She says she opens the Book of Mormon and reads even just a short chapter and is just filled with PEACE!! She talked about how much peace she feels in her life now. She says it's so crazy to her that she feels this because a few weeks ago, she never would have thought she would be saying things like this. As for praying about the Church and the Book of Mormon, she said she prays and keeps feeling that this is good, it's right and true, and that it's from God. The coolest thing though, (that got me teary eyed..) was when she talked about praying and how when she prays, she doesn't feel lost or alone. Aleksandra said, "I know I'm not alone because God is with ME!" And she got so excited and happy as she said this. Honestly, joy just radiates from her and I know that this is because she is coming closer to Christ and Heavenly Father. I'm so grateful she recognizes this too. She is absolutely incredible!
Friday morning all the Poznań missionaries were able to go and visit Bożena. She was able to take the Sacrament too. It's been a while since she was last able to have that. It was really special to see how meaningful that was for her. After that, we went to the chapel. Elder Womack, Sister Jensen, and I were able to have a meeting with Claudia. It went well and the Spirit was very strong. Naturally I can't share details, but Claudia decided to wait another week to be baptized. She has some things she needs to think and pray about. But her testimony and faith is so strong. She's amazing. Actually, Claudia kinda just spent the rest of the day with us at the chapel. I think she's missed being around us. We still did our normal work on Facebook and things. We also had an English meeting with Zoe again. We had a cool part of our conversation where Zoe said she knows that God loves her because He created things like wolves to make her happy. It was very sweet. So, there wasn't a baptism on Saturday, but I think we all felt at peace with Claudia's decision to wait.
Saturday we were able to have a few meetings. We met with Martyna... IN PERSON!! At the chapel!! Oh my goodness, it was our first in person meeting since March. It was so good! We read and discussed the Book of Mormon together. Then, we watched a Book of Mormon video too. It was really great to talk more with her about the scriptures. There's always a sweet feeling of the spirit there. We were able to talk to her more after the meeting too. We've definitely all missed each other!
Me in a mask outside at sunset in front of a cool European building waiting for a tram. Got all that? XD
Later in the evening, we had a meeting with Kasia. We had a "watch party" on Facebook as a mission on Friday and we all invited our investigators to watch it with us. They played the Joseph Smith movie on there. Kasia watched it and she had more questions and wanted to talk about it with us. We had a good meeting with her about that. She always loves learning more about the gospel. It's really cool to see.
Our meeting with Kasia :)
Also on Saturday, Elder Zabriskie and I filmed and posted a musical number. We had to search pretty hard to find any arrangements online for violin and piano, so we were pretty excited about this haha. We played "Abide With Me." It's on my Facebook page if you want to watch it. :)
Sunday was Mother's Day! Szczęśliwego Dnia Matki!! We had a really great turnout for our church meetings over Zoom. I think we had a total of 28 people on the call!! It was awesome!! We even had 4 investigators come. It was Martyna, Ola, Aleksandra, and Kasia. They're so great! Afterwards, there were a few members (Karol and Marian) who came to have the Sacrament. And after that, we all had lunch together. It was good to have a small group together. Also, there was an investigator who showed up today for church. His name is Miłosz. I guess he's met with missionaries all over the country and has been taught everything and wants to get baptized. He's really cool! He's also a magician, and his skills are pretty impressive. It was way fun! Later in the day, I was able to call my Mom (and family) for Mother's Day! What a blessing technology is... And also, it's crazy to think that before the change was made to allow us to call home every week, TODAY would have been the FIRST time talking with my family through video since CHRISTMAS!! How crazy is that?! I'm so blessed and so grateful! ♡
Love and miss you all!!
Siostra Shaylin Carroll
Haircut time for Elder Womack!! He looks so scared. This picture makes me laugh.
And with Claudia too. We've all got scissors... but Claudia and I didn't participate in the actual haircut this time haha. (NOTE: No Womack's were harmed in the making of this picture...)
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