Katowice Week 4
Cześć!!!!
Our week began wonderfully. It started with exchanges in Wrocław. So far, I'd only been in Warsaw and Katowice, so it was so fun to do missionary work in Wrocław (Vroe-tswav) with our Sister Training Leaders (sister missionaries who are leaders in the mission), Sisters Sjodin (spelled wrong) and Gornichec. They are both so cute! And Wrocław is just beautiful!! President Turek says Wrocław is the most beautiful city in Poland, but maybe he says that because he was raised in Wrocław. It was beautiful for sure, though. On Tuesday we went over by a bridge where there was a good walking path, and we drew chalk about how everyone has deep questions and how we can find answers in the Book o Mormon. There weren't a lot of people walking because it was a little cold, but that ended up being good because we were able to try to stop everyone who came by, instead of just one in every 15 or so. Sister Gornichec is good at chasing down people on bikes.
I've started trying to have a Book of Mormon out every time we're walking places, and it's already started a few conversations. When we were getting off a tram a few days ago, a girl was looking at it, so we started talking to her. She was really nice. She was trying to convert us to Catholicism, and she told us she would pray to Mary for us. That is very kind of her.
For Valentine's Day (oh, happy Valentine's Day last week, everyone!) we cut out hearts with Ether 12:33-34 on tchem and asked people what the evidence of God's love in their lives was. I am proud to say I had 2 extended conversations with people--in Polish--by myself. Hold your applause, ladies and gentlemen. No really. Hold your applause, because whatever gibberish that comes out of my mouth and actually makes sense to people--that wasn't me, ladies and gentlemen. That is called the gift of tongues, and that is a gift from God. Naprawdę, I have felt it after being here for a month.
On Wednesday evening, we made sandwiches at a Catholic church (we do this every week) and went to a park to hand tchem out. There were a lot left over, so Sister Harmon and I volunteered to go and find more homeless people on our way back to the apartment and give tchem sandwiches. We gave away all but one, but then it was almost 9'o clock. So we were running around, trying to find more homeless people, but all the people we stopped wouldn't take a sandwich. I hope they weren't offended that we thought they were homeless. So we took it back and put it in our fridge. And then the next day, I was hungry. And so I ate it.
On Friday, we had Zone Conference, and I got to see Elder Cheal and my beloved Sister Webber, both from the district at the MTC.
Saturday was a miracle day! It all started with our planning session at 8:30. We were going through the day and writing things down in a way that made sense, and Sister Harmon looked at me and said "Do you feel good about this plan?" And I didn't. She didn't either. So we switched around our plans, but still, nothing really felt right. So we asked the elders to teach English and looked up the addresses of less-active members. And still, nothing felt right, but we decided to take a train to Będzin to visit a promising less-active member. We barely made the train (us running to tram/bus/train stations is a pretty common occurrence). When we got there, it was so sunny outside; it was glorious, and we decided to just talk to people on the street as we made our way to the address.
We gave a Book of Mormon to a guy who was maybe a little muddled in the head, but he still needed the gospel. Another guy was walking by with earbuds in his ears, but Sister Harmon stopped him. He glanced at the Book of Mormon I was holding and asked "Can I have that?" so we were like "YES PLEASE!!!" And the next guy stopped us as we were hurrying to the member's apartment, and he was super interested, too. And when we finally got to the member's apartment, she didn't live there anymore, but the lady who did was super interested and already had a Book of Mormon (which the member had left behind. So a bad thing, but also a good thing.) So we're going back to visit her. And then, on our way back to our train station, we talked to another man and gave him a Book of Mormon. Wow, Będzin is the promised land.
And, that night in Katowice, we gave 2 more copies of the Book of Mormon to people!
So here's the question: did we have such a wonderful day because God only has plans for his missionaries on 1 Saturday out of every month, or did we have such a wonderful day because we knew God had a plan for us, and we worked hard to try to figure out what that plan was/ worked in the way we knew how to work? Actually, that's a rhetorical question. You don't need to answer it, because God always has a plan for His children--missionaries and non-missionaries. If we put God first in our lives, if we are working hard and making the best decisions we know how, He will guide us through His plan. We can TRUST that God has a plan for us. Sometimes that's the hardest part. But eventually, we will be able to look back and see how we were guided by the Spirit. I know that because I experienced it this week. God loves you, and He has a plan for you!
Love you all!
Siostra Eberting
First picture is calling home with the new communication guidelines for missionaries!
