Transfer Calls

Hello, moja rodzina! This week was wonderful, but first, some news:

We had TRANSFER CALLS, and my, that was extremely stressful. First, if Sister Harmon were to leave, that would mean I needed to know my way around this city, which I definitely don't yet. Also, when we went on exchanges, Sister Sjodin (a transfer behind me) kept saying she thought I would train. Mostly I think she said that because she thought she was going to train (she is) and was pretty freaked out about it (because that means she needs to be able to speak Polish). But after she said that she thought I would train, I started getting lots of mini heart attacks. Because technically, I'm still being trained.

BUT, the news is, Sister Harmon and I are staying together! It's her last transfer before she goes home, so we're gonna make it the best one yet! Hee hee hee, it's gonna be fun! We said goodbye to Elder Zabriskie this morning though. He's going to Wrocław, and we will be getting an Elder Morgan later today.

The other news is WE GET SMARTPHONES!!! Yay! I knew it was coming. Our mission is one of the last missions (if not the very last haha) to get smartphones. So that is going to help our missionary work a lot.

Random stories:

On Tuesday we went to Dąbrowa Gornicza to meet with an investigator, Ania. We'd been having trouble getting in contact with her, but we finally met, and we had a member, Sylwia, with us on the lesson. They both have little kids, so I think they really connected with each other. Mom-to-mom talk has a way of doing that, I guess.

For service night, we made pasta and handed it out on the street. For some reason, it was really hard to give away. We couldn't even find very many homeless people. When we've done it in the past, we've just set up a table, but this time, we went up and down the streets and asked people. It was like street contacting, just about free food. It was so fun though, because it made some people just so happy.

On Wednesday after we made sandwiches and handed tchem out to homeless people, a homeless man gave Sister Harmon and me a rose.

On Thursday we went to Zabrze to meet with a less active member. It was a really good meeting. This member has quite a bit of stubborness, and maybe partly because of that, I felt like I was going to visit her more out of obligation than out of love. But as we started talking, I really did start to feel God's love for her, and I felt prompted, pretty clearly, to promise her that true peace is possible, and that as she prays and reads the scriptures, she can feel that peace. I felt like I should tell her that this was a promise not from us missionaries, but from God. The last time we met with her, it was an hour of small talk and really skirting around the important things we actually needed to talk about. But this time, after I gave her that promise, a change occurred. She seemed happier, and it was like we had broken through a barrier--all of us. Instead of seeing stubborness, I felt like I was starting to see her like God sees her. And I hope she started to feel that we actually care about her and that God cares about her.

So that was a really cool experience because it was the kind of thing that was a little bit scary for me to say. But after I said it, I knew it was what she needed to hear.

From Thursday evening-Saturday morning we went on exchanges to Wrocław! Exchanges are so much fun, and I definitely learn more about being a better missionary from tchem. I got some good Polish practice too (meaning, having conversations where I can't use Sister Harmon as my crutch so I'm forced to try harder to understand), so that was really good.

Sunday was just one of those days that couldn't have been better. I gave a talk again, and it was a little rough, but overall pretty good, I think. The sun was out, and we did contacting in the SUN! It was glorious. We were doing some contacting on the Rynek after church, and we found an older man on a bench. As Sister Harmon started talking to him, a guy walked by and stopped and stared at the Book of Mormon I was holding. So I walked over and asked him if he wanted one and started a conversation. Definitely a really weird conversation. He was pretty bummed when I told him our Church doesn't practice polygamy anymore. But, it was also a great conversation because I did it by myself, so I felt pretty good about it.

We also went to visit Alicja, who is travelling to Israel next week. We had a really good spiritual thought with her.

I feel like one of the things that I've really started to understand these last couple of weeks is how we missionaries aren't here just to make friends and to make people feel comfortable. We have a lot of good friendships, but when we are truly acting as representatives of Jesus Christ, we invite people to change, to become better. Because Jesus Christ loves everyone perfectly, and because he loves us, he invites us to become better people and sometimes change in really painful ways. As missionaries, sometimes extending those invitations are uncomfortable for us, sometimes uncomfortable for the people we teach. But when our missionary purpose really is our focus, God begins to pour out blessings in our work. And we become happier missionaries, too. It's the kind of thing I know in my head, but know I'm starting to feel it, too.

Love you all!

Siostra Eberting

Buddha Awaits

Cześć, my wonderful rodzina! This week has been absolutely WONDERFUL! I feel like I say that every week, but I'm just so happy to be a missionary!

On Wednesday we had interviews with President Turek. He is a phenomenal man and just makes me really excited about being a missionary here. It was so nice to be able to discuss the work here with President Turek, because he gets inspiration for his missionaries and for the work here.

Sister Harmon and I had set a goal to find 3 new potentials (that means basically exchanging numbers and hopefully setting up a meeting with someone) on Wednesday, and we were just talking to as many people as we can. I mean, we try to talk to as many people as possible every day, but sometimes you just feel a drive in you, and a confidence that you're gonna be successful. And for some reason, even though all the same people were on the streets that day, we found our three potentials! One of tchem was actually a Jehovah's Witness who was probably trying to do the exact same thing that we were, but that's beside the point. This missionary work is often half a mind game. Having the confidence to be successful is super important. This is my little motivation to y'all, whether you're a missionary or not. Sorry about my English.

On Friday we went to Kraków and got some training about a self-reliance course we're going to start teaching. It was super fun to be there with a few of the other missionaries, and I'm really excited about this.

On Thursday (I think) we were talking to people about the Book of Mormon, and a guy came over and asked us if we were talking about religion. We were like "of course!" and then he proceeded to go off on a 10-minute explanation of his beliefs, which are scattered, and, quite honestly, strange. They include the following: 1) Buddha is God. 2) Mohammed was a prophet. 3) Confucious and Jesus Christ were also prophets 4) Mormon is a prophet (he added that one to the list after we showed him a Book of Mormon). He kept trying to convince us to go to some 2-hour religious meeting with other Buddhists (?), but unfortunately (?), we did not want to cut 2 hours out of our day to go to that. After asking us repeatedly if we believed Vladmir Lenin was a prophet, he accepted a Book of Mormon, and he seemed excited to share it at his meeting that evening. As we parted ways, he proclaimed, with outstretched arms and a smile on his face, "Buddha awaits!" Well, probably still waiting, because we didn't go to that meeting.

After that strange conversation, the next person I stopped was a young teenage boy. His eyes were opened so wide, and they didn't blink. And his mouth looked like he was trying not to laugh. But I think I also misjudged him, because I'm pretty sure he didn't speak Polish. Meaning, I thought I was talking to him in Polish, and I think he thought he was answering in Polish, but we mixed up the words for "hour" and "family" somehow (rodzina and godzina). I said "Families are the center of our church" and he replied something about how "time is the center of everything." So things were getting really philisophical really fast, and I wasn't sure if my small brain could handle a conversation of that magnitude, so we said "Good day" and he said "Good day, Bye, Have a nice day" (all the pleasantries meaning goodbye). So another strange conversation to add to the book.

Remember that confidence thing I mentioned earlier? Well, one of the things Sister Harmon and I have been trying to work hard on this week is inviting people specifically to church. This past Sunday was also the anniversary of Relief Society, so our Relief Society president wanted us to have a lunch as a branch after church. So we invited people and prayed that we would have people in church on Sunday. And I just felt that confidence that we were doing the best we could, that God could see our efforts, and that He was going to bring people to church.

And then the miracle happened. We had 34 people in church. Somehow, only one of tchem was a person we had invited, but members brought friends/family/less-active members, and the elders had all five of the people they teach in church. We usually have about 12-15 people in sacrament meeting. Our little chapel was so overjoyed to be full of people. And I'm sure the smiles on our faces showed how overjoyed we were, too. I think that God answered our prayers in the best way possible, by bringing people who already have connections with our active members. Ah, what a glorious day. And the lunch afterwards was wonderful, too. We had some classic American brownies and mac 'n cheese (credits to Sister Harmon's recipe book from her sister) and ham and salads. And people just talked to each other and made friends, and I couldn't have imagined anything better.

I love you all! Keep holdin' strong to your faith in God. He's always aware of you and knows when you're going through hard times.

Love

Siostra Eberting

It's A Great Day In Katowice

Cześć, my wonderful family and friends!!!! This week was a FABULOUS week--fabulous because I get to be a missionary and share the things that bring me happiness every day! To start off, a short language lesson:

Apparently the word for potatoes is ziemiaki, not ruski. I always thought is was ruski, because potato pierogi are pierogi ruskie, but that actually means Russian. So apparently every week at the soup kitchen, when I ask people if they want more potatoes, I'm really asking if they want more Russians.

Friday was Dzień Kobiet (Women's Day), and it was a holiday on par with Valentine's Day here. Everyone was walking around with flowers/chocolate. Our branch president gave us cake, and one of our friends from English class gave us flowers! It pays to be a kobiet sometimes……. ;)

We also went to the dom pomocy and talked about our families. With pictures. Man, I just love talking to these people. Even when I don't understand it. While I was showing a lady a picture of Grace and talking about how she is nine, another lady leaned over and said "Your sister is nine? Well I'm ninety-two!" Haha, we got a good laugh out of that.

On Saturday, we had to go get some things printed at a printers shop. As we left the chapel, we were blasted with some noise from the Rynek. Some sort of feminist protest was going on (day after Dzień Kobiet). It looked like a lot of work to shout and march and chant so much. But the weather got bad pretty quickly. By the time we got back from the printers shop, all the people had blown away with their agendas.

I just love being a missionary, and Sister Harmon is such a good example to me. She is really good at noticing little things that people need help with. A couple days ago, as we were contacting, we noticed a lady with a cup of coffee in one hand and a couple of rowdy little dogs getting tangled in their leashes in the other hand. She was looking at a nicely-sized doggy present one of tchem had left. Sister Harmon ran over and asked if she needed help and held the leashes while the lady threw away the present. Little acts of service like this just make my day, and I hope they make the day of the person who receives the service as well.

I know a lot of you got hard things goin' on in your lives right now. If you don't, then you're probably actually a hamster or something. But despite whatever is going on, you have a Father in Heaven who loves you and cares deeply about you--about your fears, your weaknesses, your sadness, and the things that make you happy. It's so hard for us to see ourselves like He sees us. It's so hard to see these hard trials like Heavenly Father sees tchem. But some day, we all are going to be able to look back and see how these hard parts of our life have really been for our good, and how we've come closer to our Savior because of tchem. I love what Elder Holland said about this:

 "Even if you cannot always see that silver lining on your clouds, God can, for He is the very source of the light you seek. He does love you, and He knows your fears. He hears your prayers. He is your Heavenly Father, and surely He matches with His own the tears His children shed."

I love you all! And I'm praying for y'all too. Thanks for praying for me :)

Love,

Siostra Eberting

FAT THURSDAY

Dzień Dobry, everyone!

This week has been super, super busy. I feel like we have "run into" a lot of people this week. I'm not sure how many people are in this city, but it seems much more than a coincidence to me...….

About a month ago, I invited a lady on a tram to English class, and she came 2 Saturdays ago, and then when she came this last Saturday, she brought her friend! Yay! She's really cute, and she always says "I haf problem when I speak English," but really, she just needs confidence. A few days before Saturday, we were right outside the chapel talking to some people, and we saw her walk into a shop close by. So when she came out again, we talked to her and she tried to get us to go to a museum with her because we needed a break, she said. It didn't work in our schedule, but now we are friends. Later that day, she rang the domophone and came into the chapel and gave us tickets to the museum for tomorrow. She is really dedicated to us getting to see the museum--so much so that she made us pinky-promise that we will go to the museum. I think I'm going to start using pinky-promises when I ask people to make committments. She is really cute, and I'm glad we've started a friendship with her.

We ran into Martyna at the dworzec (train station) and set up another meeting with her, which was really good, because we had been having trouble staying in contact with her. The meeting was great. I just love how open and honest Martyna is. We are praying for her to start feeling a testimony of the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, and that she will come to church. Feel free to also pray for this.

Thursday was FAT THURSDAY! Basically, this means that pączki, or Polish doughnuts, were really really cheap, and I guess that means you need to eat a lot of tchem. Our mission had a contest to see which zone could eat the most (there are usually 4 missionaries in each district and 4-5 districts in a zone. 3 zones). Sister Harmon and I weren't taking this contest too seriously, but the Elders did. I was pretty proud of myself for eating 5 (or not proud. I can't decide.). Sister Harmon ate 5. But here's the play-by-play of the Elders:

8:40: 15

11:00: 21

2:00: 31

21:46: 59

Elder Zabriskie ate 26 and Elder Olschewski ate 33. Which brings the grand total of our district to 69. They ate 12 for each of us. Unfortunately, we lost the mission-wide contest by about 4 or 5 (I should've eaten more, Dad!). But it was a really exciting day. It was like watching a sport.

We also did a finding activity where we walked around the streets and handed out free pączki and invitations to Church. It made people so happy. Some of tchem just could not believe there eyes that someone would hand out free food.

On Friday we had a mission-wide video call with President Turek. Basically, we were reprimmanded for not taking our legal work here seriously enough. Unfortunately, we have an Elder getting deported because he didn't register in the country for a year and a half. Man, we all feel so bad about it. But, um, yeah, legal work here is really fun. Also, we talked about perfect obedience. Honestly, it is so easy to rationalize some little things that are against the rules or that are a waste of time. So. Easy. But I know the Lord blesses us as we make those little decisions to follow Him. To sum it up, we feel humbled, and we feel more motivation to try to be perfectly obedient.

Later on Friday, Sister Harmon and I were near the city center doing some street contacting. As we were heading back to the chapel, we saw a couple on a bench and started making our way toward tchem to talk, but then Sister Harmon suddenly turned around, turned me around, and started walking fast the other direction. She whispered "It's Jan!" Jan is a guy we met on the streets a few weeks ago who we've decided is kind of creepy and don't really want to run into. So we started walking fast the other way, and 5 steps later, we saw our friend from Szczecin, whom we had met last week.

Do you remember the story I told last week about the lady we talked to on the bench who is having a really hard time? Same lady. And Szczecin is about 8 hours away from Katowice. And we found her again in this ginormous city. So HOW COINCIDENTAL IS THAT!!!! (hint: it's not). She had read half of the Book of Mormon, and she said she felt like she had come closer to Christ through the words written on its pages. She doesn't really want to meet with the missionaries in Szczecin (there's some inner Polish stubbornness for you haha), but she has our number. Wow, that was such a God-given encounter. Here are the lessons we get from this story: 1) Prayer brings miracles. We had been praying for her, and we got to meet her again, and 2) God can even use slightly creepy men to accomplish His purposes here in Poland!

To end, I want to share a couple of my favorite verses this week: 

John 10:11,15 

"I am the good Shepherd: the good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep."

I love the scriptures were Christ talks about how He is the Good Shepherd. And my favorite pictures of Christ are the ones where He is holding sheep. We little woolly things don't understand much, but we can understand this: Jesus Christ loves us so much, and He suffered for our sins, our pains, and our weaknessess so that we never have to feel alone. We are His little sheep. He takes good care of us.

Love,

Siostra Eberting