Monday, February 24, 2020

Fat Thursday

Hello family! We have had a great week. Most notably, we have now made it through FAT THURSDAY! Fat Thursday is a day where everyone eats a lot of doughnuts (pączki). Our mission takes this fine tradition quite seriously with a competition between the north zone and south zone to see which zone can stuff more doughnuts down their throats.


Unfortunately Sis Aramaki and I missed out on a lot of the drama because we don't have elders here and neither of us felt like eating any pączki. But just by reading our zone chat, we vicariously ate many pączki.


Our zone ate 330.5 pączki, which is an average of more than 13 pączki per missionary. Our own Elder Draschill broke the record by eating 44. Some people (*cough cough* Elder Chugg) were mad we didn't eat any though.


We also had zone conference this week! We talked a lot about doing family history and it was really fun. We have been meeting with people and showing them how to create their family tree on Family Search and record memories about ancestors. Some people have been indifferent to it and some have been really excited, but regardless of the attitude they start out with, as long as they start doing something to find out about their family or record information, there are a lot of blessings God has promised. We met this guy from Korea on the streets this week and he said that in Korea families have books of remembrance for their ancestors that go back centuries and centuries. So cool.


We got another set of sisters here in Wrocław on Friday! It is gonna be so fun to have 4 of us in Wrocław all together! I think this is the first time during my mission that 2 sets of sisters have been in 1 city so we are making history. And Sis Honn and Lueck are the best. I just LOVE Sister Lueck so much. She brings so much life and energy to missionary work.


To me doing family history literally just means learning about my family in any way shape or form, recording that in any way shape or form, and finding relatives or ancestors who haven't had the blessing of baptism or other ordinances yet. It is so cool how learning about my family has brought me closer to them.


Do you want any of the blessings below (or more) listed by an apostle of the Lord? Learn about your family!


"Increased understanding of the Savior and His atoning sacrifice;
              
                                                  
Increased influence of the Holy Ghost to feel strength and direction for our own lives;
         
                                                       
Increased faith, so that conversion to the Savior becomes deep and abiding;
            
                                                    
Increased ability and motivation to learn and repent because of an understanding of who we are, where we come from, and a clearer vision of where we are going"


Sister Eberting


Pictures:
1-4. zone chat on Fat Thursday
5. love my comp
More Pictures




































Monday, February 17, 2020

Family History Is So Much Fun!

Hello the Fam! This week has been so much fun!


Some of my favorite parts of this week were the service we got to do. On Friday we went to a place called Weź Pomóź and helped pack and sort groceries for homeless people/people who don't have food. It was so much fun and we met some cool people. I had been to this place a year ago when I was in Wrocław for exchanges, and so it was cool to go back.


Yesterday evening we helped clean up after an organization passed out food to homeless people. So we washed big pots and stuff in a shower while reminiscing about Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor dreamcoat.


We had some really cool lessons with people this week. There are a few less active families we are working with that could really use some prayers! So if you could pray for Agnieszka and Grażyna and their families, that would be much appreciated. God has some good plans for this branch.


FAMILY HISTORY IS SO MUCH FUN I NEVER REALIZED THAT BEFORE.
President Chandler has been emphasizing how important it is for us to learn about our families. I've been working on filling out a booklet about my family and it has been so much fun. Also, the last 2 weeks we have had so many conversations with people that turned to conversations about family history.


Also, Sister Aramaki is so awesome and so supportive. I'm so excited for us to work together the rest of this transfer.


There was a really cute lady on a tram a couple of days ago. She looked really really sad, but then when we started talking to her, her face just lit up. It was the sweetest thing.


 I wanted to end with a quote by Elder Bednar about family history work:
"Preaching the gospel and seeking after our dead are complementary parts of one great work—a labor of love intended to change, turn, and purify the hearts of honest seekers of truth. The artificial boundary line we so often place between missionary work and temple and family history work is being erased; this is one great work of salvation."


Love,
Sister Eberting


Pictures:
1. Taking a tram in the Fat direction
2. The food place
3. Selfie
More Pictures