Hey, everyone! I got a lot to tell this week, so buckle up for some good ole' mind vomit. Hopefully you will find it entertaining. First of all, on Tuesday we went to Bytom, to meet with an interested lady there. We've met with her a few times, and she is one of the nicest ladies I've ever met. She found out about the church in Germany and had met with the missionaries there a couple times, I think. She likes the doctrine of the church, and she said she is going to read the Book of Mormon and find out if it's from God or from the devil. So, we will see what happens.....
After the meeting ended, we had to run to catch our 820 bus back to Kato (about a 30-minute ride). So we got on the bus, and I pulled out some flashcards and started working through them. About a half hour later, I looked up and we were nowhere near Katowice. With a little dread, I realized that instead of taking an 820 from Bytom to Katowice, we were on an 820 headed to Tarnowskie Gory. Which is the exact opposite direction. So we got off at the bus station at Tarnowskie Gory and waited another 20 minutes for the 820 that would take us the hour-long bus ride back to Katowice. Fun times. Fun times. So that, my friends, is the story of how we accidentally spent an extra hour on a bus.
On Wednesday, we went to visit a lady we had met a few times. We'd been cleaning her house every week, but we only had a few minutes and so decided to just talk to her.
It was the most entertaining conversation I have ever had with a crazy person.
Among other things, she explained that 1) most policemen are vampires, 2) she has some holy water in a water bottle that she uses to wash her neck with to ward off vampires, cause if they bite your neck, you turn into a vampire, 3) this water was blessed by Darek, whom she had married through magic. And on, and on. We may have been egging it on a little. I'm sparing you all a lot of details in respect for the more faint-hearted members of our audience, but simply put, this poor woman does not have a sense of reality.
On Thursday we had our first zone conference with the new mission president and his family!! They are super awesome. They've got 3 young kids, and both President and Sister Chandler served missions in Poland 30 years ago right when it opened up. They have given up a LOT to be able to serve here. President Chandler is an anesthesiologist. They had a beautiful home in North Carolina, some really nice cars, and the kids have friends at home. But they sold their home, their furniture, and also left three of their older kids who are at BYU right now. President Chandler gave up his work, which he loves. They are a great example of leaving everything behind when the Lord calls.
Another funny thing: When Sis. Chandler was a missionary, she served in Wroclaw, which is where Pres. Turek grew up. So she showed us a few pictures of her with the Turek family, including a little 8 or 9-year-old President Turek.
Saturday night, while we were getting ready for bed, our friend Agnieszka texted.
ANNNNNNNNDDDD she wants to be baptized!!!!!!!!!! This came out of the blue. We were friends and she would come to English and Service night, but we hadn't been meeting with her. So we are way excited!!!! Okay, I realize this is the shortest story yet, but by far the highlight of this week.
Okay, and last bit of news. So much is happening here, including the departure of my beloved Sister Jenkins to the distant Americas tomorrrow. She has taught me many things, including putting lemon pepper on cucumbers and eating yogurt right out of the container instead of putting it in a bowl first. She has also taught me to take more time to be quiet and peaceful, which is something I've definitely needed to learn (and still working on). Needless to say, I'm going to miss her.
But, for me this means that I will be going to Krakow for at least 3 weeks. Haha, and in 3 weeks I'm going to send my 3rd companion home. I get to be companions with Sister Miller and Sister Christensen. What's more, we have permission to come back to Katowice once a week to meet with people!!!
Siostra Eberting
Pictures:
1. We were in charge of setting up for Zone Conference. Originally, a fire hydrant was also part of the centerpiece, but that got taken out.
2.A train we found while waiting for our bus in Tarnowskie Gory
3. We went to visit a castle in Bedzin. It's on the left side.
4. The Katowice Zone and Chandler family.
