Monday we were able to go to a castle for pday!! It's not open on Mondays, so we couldn't go inside, BUT! The outside was way pretty, so it was good to see that. And guess what?! It even had a MOAT around the castle!! A real castle with a real moat! I couldn't be more excited!! XD We wanted to feed the ducks at a lake nearby, but the moat was more exciting haha. We were feeding the few ducks and pretty soon, all these small fish start going after the bread. And not long after that, these huge fish start coming up from below too. They were kinda mean though. They would sneak up behind the ducks and then bite them on the rear end. It was hilarious to watch! XD After the castle, we went and walked along the lake for a while. It was beautiful. We also sat on the top of a 2 level pier and looked out on the lake and the castle. It was gorgeous! It was a great pday activity and we're lucky we caught a break in the rain!
Cool picture in front of the castle.
At the castle.
Looking out over the lake and the castle.
Tuesday was a crazy day! Are you comfortable? Because I've got ALL the details for you. To give you some background, let me go back to Sunday. So, Sunday, Elder Womack was acting kinda strange, the way he does when he knows something that we don't. He wouldn't spill though and just changed the subject whenever I brought it up. So, of course I knew he knew something. Fast forward to our Devotional that night, President told us how the border restrictions are being extended and there won't be any new missionaries coming in for a while. I stayed on the Zoom call after the Devotional to ask what that meant for those of us going home in June. That's when he said, "That is a great question Sister Carroll. There is a very high probability that you will be going home on Friday." Shock hit me and all I could get out was a delayed, "Oh.... um.. wow! Okay.." Of course, at that point nothing was certain yet, and so I couldn't tell anybody. I was also the only Sister going home who knew about our situation. And then on Monday, talking to my family, I couldn't tell them either. So when my Mom got excited and said they'd pick me up in 2 weeks, all I could do was be excited with them and say, "...Yeahh!!...." XD (sorry mom) And that brings us to Tuesday.
Tuesday morning we all went to Bożena's for the Elders to give her a blessing and to spend time with her for Mother's Day. (Mother's Day in Poland is May 26th.) Anyway, the blessing was really special and really helped Bożena. I always love to hear the Elders give blessings because the Spirit is so strong and the gift of tongues is flowing! In the middle of our time there, my phone started ringing: President Chandler... I already knew. I went to the other room as he delivered the news that I would be finishing my mission and returning home on Friday. It didn't feel real. My head was spinning and I barely heard anything else he said. Sister Jensen will be moving to Warsaw and Poznań will be closed to Sisters until we get more missionaries. Whoa... okay. So, of course before we left Bożena's, I had to tell her. I told her the news, and she started crying!! Now, Bożena is super tough and doesn't really let anyone see her emotions, so this meant a lot to me. We were able to get pictures and she made me promise to call every now and then. I promised her I would. And after a huge hug goodbye, we left.
Us and Bożena.
After that, we headed to the chapel. Sister Jensen and I had planned to do our "culture night" with Kasia. For culture night, we get 3 hours each transfer to do something cultural, like visit a museum or something. (Because most museums and some places are closed on Mondays, so we can never visit them on pday.) We went to Fort VII with Kasia. This was a concentration camp during WWII. I knew I needed to visit one before I left Poland. It was a good place to visit and learn more about the history that is so rich in Poland. The concentration camp was quiet, peaceful, and solemn. It was good to remember. We had a good time with Kasia too. She LOVES history, so she was able to give us a lot of information, like a personal tour guide. She had never been to Fort VII either, so it was good for all of us to go.
In the Concentration Camp.
Kasia and me at the Concentration Camp.
On the way back to the chapel, I dropped the bomb on her. She cried too, but we were able to give hugs and say goodbye. I'm going to miss these people so much!!
Us and Kasia.
In the evening, we sat down with the Elders and gave them a rundown of ALL the people we're teaching. We gave them all the information, started group chats to introduce them, and everybody has been handed off. It was a fairly smooth transition, considering how sudden this all was. Later that night, I made a last-ditch attempt at contacting Claudia. And a miracle... SHE RESPONDED!! 10 days later and she responded. It was an answer to prayers and I was so so happy. She was so sad to hear that we were leaving. But we set up to go get ice cream together the next day! So, yeah, Tuesday was just a *little* bit crazy haha. And that's how I found out I'm coming home!
Wednesday was also a good day. We spent the morning packing up and cleaning everything. After getting that done, we headed to the chapel and ended up having a meeting with the Elders with a returning member named Dominik. I had never met him before. So, it was good to meet another member in Poznań. Then, Elder Zabriskie had made pie for us!! So, we all had that together. Later, we met up with Claudia!! Yup. You read that right. We were so excited!! Basically, we just went and got ice cream and talked about life. I was really grateful to be able to meet up with her one last time to at least say goodbye. After that, we went back to the chapel. Elder Zabriskie and I recorded one last song together. We played, "For the Beauty of the Earth." It's a really pretty arrangement! Then, we headed home for the night. We had my last nightly devotional and President Chandler had us share our final testimonies with the whole mission. That was really special.
In the Poznań Rynek.
Last time in the Poznań Rynek.
Getting ice cream with Claudia.
After packing my bags Wednesday night, here is the note I wrote home:
"I can't tell you how grateful I am right now for all the prayers. I've felt almost no stress as I've been packing. And it's been so strange because every other transfer has been nothing but stress and worry. But this time I felt nothing but peace and calmness. I packed and had space to spare (haven't checked the weight yet because we don't have a scale). But with that extra space, I can shift things around as needed to adjust the weight. And extra space in EACH suitcase which has never happened. It was surprisingly easy for me to get rid of a ton of clothes and some books and things. Which also is normally hard. And on top of that, it only took 2 hours to pack everything. It normally took me 1.5ish hours for 2 to 3 nights on other transfers. I even experienced receiving guidance as I was packing and going through things. Just little thoughts of what to keep and what to get rid of. I know to others this might not be a big deal, but to me it is. I have experienced nothing but tiny miracles and tender mercies through all this. I am so blessed. I've never had packing be a spiritual experience, but this time was for me. I just wanted you to know that. Thank you for the prayers! Love you!"
Thursday morning we woke up and got ready for the day. Then, the Womack's came to pick us and our stuff up. They took it to the train station while we took a tram and met them and the Elders there. We got some last pictures together and said our goodbyes.
Saying goodbye to the Elders on the train platform.
All of us saying goodbye in Poznań.
Then, our train pulled out of Poznań Główny and we waved until we couldn't see them anymore. Sister Jensen and I made it to Warsaw. Then, I had to say goodbye to her and she went off with her new companion in Warsaw. She's going to be AWESOME!! Then, when the rest of our group got there, we went to the mission office and hung out there for a while. AND!! Get this!! The Office Elders right now are Elders Cheal and Olschewski, our MTC Elders. It was like an MTC Family Reunion!! We had so much fun sharing memories and funny inside jokes.
Our MTC group social distancing at the train station XD.
Our MTC group at the Mission Office!! :)
Then, we headed to the Mission Home and had dinner with the Chandler family. After dinner, us Sisters went on a walk and went exploring a bit. It was really fun!
Me "climbing" the gates to get to the palace!! It was closed, but thought it'd be a funny picture haha. (This was on our adventurous walk in Warsaw.)
Later, the Chandler's went on a family walk. I took the opportunity while they were gone to play on their grand piano!! It was so fun!! Sorry, Thursday was kind of a quick moving, lots of things happened sort of day.
Friday morning, we had our exit interviews with President Chandler. This was such a wonderful interview. I was so blessed to have such an incredible Mission President. We had a really good conversation, I got my temple recommend interview done by him (in Polish too!!), and he gave me a Priesthood blessing at the end. It was a very spiritual and uplifting experience. It was really, really special!
Me with President and Sister Chandler.
A bit later, we all went out to lunch at Stół Polska, this Polish restaurant. Then, we stopped by the mission office to pick up our boarding passes and things. We were able to say goodbye to our MTC Elders too, which was nice. Then, we had our last devotional and shared our testimonies with each other. It was really special too. President Chandler talked about how there's a difference between those missionaries who go through a mission, and those missionaries who let the mission go through them. I loved that!
Lunch with the Chandler's at Stół Polska.
Departing Sisters with President and Sister Chandler.
All the Departing Sisters the morning we left Poland.
Mission Accomplished victory jump!! XD
Okay, then came the tricky stuff. We loaded up and went to the Warsaw Chopin Airport!! We had some problems with our bags, apparently there was a mess up and we were only allowed 1 checked bag instead of 2 like normal. Plus, the Chandler's weren't allowed inside the airport. So, we frantically had to find wifi and call them and they paid for 5 extra bags for us. Oh, and did I mention the lady told us that we had 10 minutes before they were closing it off. AHHH!! Sister Eberting RAN over with the receipts and they quickly loaded our bags. AND mine were overweight, but MIRACLE!! They didn't charge me anything for it!! Ahh!! (For the record, we weighed them at the mission home and mine were at or under the allowed weight. So I don't even know what happened..) Then, at border control, it took me a while to get through because I never got my residency card. (Legal work is ridiculously hard in Poland.) But the other Sisters were around the corner praying and I felt so calm. Weird, right? But honestly, it was all out of my hands. It's crazy, we had so many small trials just to get to the plane, but we just kept seeing miracle after miracle. It was a very stressful, yet incredible experience.
Getting on the flight from Warsaw to Chicago.
Then, being in the plane, we all started talking to the people next to us. (Looking back, at the beginning of my mission, I'd never do that, but now it's so normal to just start talking to anyone and everyone!) And then, oh man... this was probably the hardest thing ever... taking off and leaving Poland. I don't think I've ever cried so hard. I cried through the entire takeoff process. It felt like my heart was being ripped out of my chest and it stayed in Poland. I felt bad for the poor girl who had to sit next to me haha. But at least I wasn't the only one crying. Seriously though..... that was so hard... SO HARD to leave Poland. I love it so much. I'm going to miss it so much...
Friday night, we landed in Chicago, Illinois. In the United States of America. We were on American Soil for the first time since January 21, 2019. How crazy is that?! We spent the night in a hotel there.
All of our luggage in the hotel lobby in Chicago.
Saturday morning we got up and went to the airport. We had the smoothest check-in process ever, which was so nice!
Heading to our gate in the Chicago airport.
Then, we had to say goodbye to Sister Lueck who was going straight to Las Vegas. The rest of us had a flight to Denver. We were sitting in the plane for a while and then the pilot comes on and says there's a mechanical problem. We all had to unload and they switched us to an entirely new plane an hour or so later. We were ready to go in that one. We sped off down the runway and were about to take off when suddenly... SCREECH!! The pilot SLAMMED on the brakes as hard as he could. We were all bracing against the seats in front of us. After things were under control, the pilot came on to tell us that a brake indicator had come on at the last second and so he had to abort the takeoff. I'm so grateful he didn't try to risk it. We had to completely unload that plane too and get on a new plane about 5 hours later. Needless to say, we were in the Chicago airport all day long. Thank goodness there were 4 of us all together still.
How we felt about our crazy flight situation (sarcastic thumbs up haha).
We got on the 3rd plane and it actually took off! Yay! The entire plane cheered! (I'm pretty sure there were some new people on there who were really confused why we were all cheering for a plane taking off... but they had no idea what we had been through all day! Haha!)
In Denver, we had to say our goodbyes and quickly board our next flights. Soon, I was on my final flight to Boise. And of course, just to throw a few other things in there, there was a lot of turbulence on that last flight and my luggage arrived from a different flight than the one I was on. But I was going to Boise! To home. Home. Wow... I still can't believe it.
Through all the flights home, I just kept thinking that we were a living example of Murphy's Law that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. But along with that, we experienced so many miracles! As we went through all of these crazy trials and hard experiences going home, the other Sisters and I kept remembering the last prayer we had with our Mission President, President Chandler, before we left on our journey home. We normally pray for safety in our travels, but this time, it seemed very specific. He went through, mentioned, and prayed that all the airplanes, buses, cars, and other forms of transportation would function properly. He also prayed that all the drivers, mechanics, and pilots would be guided and that they would listen to the guidance they received. I have no doubt that our pilot was receiving guidance from the Spirit and I am so glad that he listened and that we arrived home safely. I truly know that God watches over us and protects His missionaries. We all felt so blessed. I was grateful to experience so many miracles at the end of my mission. What a blessing it was to have these experiences.
Well, I guess this is the end of my emails and my adventures in Poland! Thanks for sticking with me. (I know I write a lot.. sorry.. but I hope the pictures were good if you didn't want to read.) I just wanted to end by saying that I know that Jesus is the Christ. He lives. It is only by and through Him that we can be saved and return to live with God again. I'm so grateful for the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and that through it, we can become clean, overcome our struggles, and become better people. I'm so grateful for the Book of Mormon and I know that it is true. There truly is a power that comes from it. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true and restored church of Jesus Christ. I know that God loves each and every one of His children. I was so blessed to feel a bit of that love He has for everyone as I taught them on my mission. I know that Jesus Christ is always there for us. He's waiting for us to turn to Him. We just need to ask and He'll be there. Most of all, I'm so grateful for the chance I had to serve a mission and to serve and love the Polish people. I'm so grateful I could serve God in this way.
Love and miss you all!! (Well... love you all and I still miss you, for those I haven't seen yet haha)
For the last time...
♡Siostra Shaylin Carroll
Jestem w domu!! :)
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