Hello friends and family! The last 2 weeks have been wonderful. I'm just loving it here in Poznań, and it's hard to believe that we're already a third of the way through the transfer.
So maybe I'll just tell some random stories from the last couple of weeks :)
First of all, I HAVE A VIOLIN (credits to Sis Godfrey)!!! Ale naprawdę bardzo tęsknię za moją altówką. The little thing has already come in handy quite a bit. I've gotten to play hymns for our religious discussions after English class, Zone Conference, and church. I also tried playing it on the streets while Sis Baldwin talked to people, but that didn't really work because there weren't very many people. And also I didn't sound very good. I was hoping to make some money off of it ;) but that didn't work either.
On Friday 2 weeks ago we went to mass because some people we met invited us to go with them. It was pretty cool, and I liked the music.
We also had a meeting with someone we found from the area book. It was super fun because she tried to convert us to a form of Catholicism for an hour. She really was an awesome lady and very clearly committed to helping others find faith, just like she had found faith. I could tell she was not taking us seriously though. It's just kind of sad when we meet such good people like her, but they are not looking for truth and they are happy with what they have and don't want more.
We had Zone Conference on Saturday 2 weeks ago. President Chandler is super awesome! He's very inspirational and really committed to coming and doing the work with us.
On Wednesday I hit 9 months! Technically halfway isn't for another 2 weeks, though. Time is a weird thing. In some ways, it feels like I just started, and in other ways, it seems like I have always been in Poland.
On Friday our mission finished the 40-day-read-the-entire-Book-
One of the things I've been thinking a lot about lately is how all of us have the ability to discern between things that come from God and things that come from Satan. When we are in a good place, doing the things God wants us to do, we will feel peaceful. But of course Satan wants to make us feel miserable and confused. I've been thinking about this so much because of 2 recent experiences
1. Last week another missionary discovered an anti-Church page that appears to be pro-Church, but really just portrays the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as extremist and full of crazy people. I saw the page and looked at it. It didn't destroy my faith or anything like that, but after a few minutes I realized I just felt kind of gloomy and depressed. So I opened the Book of Mormon and started reading my 13 pages for the day (for the challenge). And within a few minutes, that feeling was gone and completely replaced by a peaceful and content feeling. I could tell the difference between something that was designed to destroy my happiness and something that was written by prophets of God to build my happiness.
2. I have a friend who has been coming to church for a long time, and I'm pretty sure that deep down she knows the Church is true. But she also talks to me about how confused she is right now, not just regarding faith, (but that's definitely the biggest part about it). She feels so good when she goes to church, but she also often looks up anti-church articles and will talk to us about how our church can't be true. (BTW, don't trust everything you read on the internet. If you have questions, ask the missionaries first.)
She can feel the difference between how she feels when she comes to church and the general confusion she feels in her life. The Gospel offers peace and direction to everyone. We're just working on getting her to admit that to herself. :)
I love you all! I'm so grateful for this time I have to learn more about my Savior, Jesus Christ, and that I can try to follow His example in teaching others about His Gospel.
Siostra Eberting
