We Are Allowed To Go Outside!

Hello peoples!

This week was pretty good, especially since we are allowed to go outside for more walks and stuff. And Spring is happening.

We are teaching some pretty dang cool people. One of the people we taught told us about how he reads the Book of Mormon as a stress reliever, and when he reads it he finds added strength to combat temptation. We are basically just waiting for him to tell us he's ready to get baptized so we can call the elders and go to the river.

Another cool guy we are teaching is Leo. We had our first lesson with him this week, and he loves learning about temples. As we were teaching him, he kept saying "Yeah, uh huh, yep" And we could tell he was getting impatient. Finally he interrupted and basically said "I know this already. I can read about it in my own time. What am I supposed to do??" So after our mouths were able to sufficiently form words again we told him to read the Book of Mormon and get baptized, and that was satisfactory to him. Now throughout the week he has been sending us pictures of temples and quotes from prophets, and he says he really wants to go to Salt Lake City. He is a good little missionary.

We finally got to take the sacrament yesterday!! It had definitely been a hot second. The elders from Legnica came and were able to bless and give it to us. I guess I didn't ever appreciate this blessing as much until now.

Yesterday John Butler talked to us during our evening devotional. He is a cool guy who has been at the forefront of the research about DNA studies and the Book of Mormon. It was fascinating.

Finally, on a somber note, my beloved Sister Berrett and Sister Anderson in Lublin have COVID19, and so they are not feeling so great. And they are also 100% stuck in their apartment which has got to be pretty rough psychologically. So keep them in your prayers!

Siostra Eberting

Squack!

Dad:

We take turns speaking in Sacrament Meeting. We have mostly been recycling old talks we have previously given. Today I'm doing one from 1994 before any of my little chickens hatched. It's about parenthood. Because of course, having no children, I was and expert. Though I was aware that I didn't know much, I had a feeling I knew a lot more than most people I observed. Now 25 years later, I can see my kids actually did all turn out just the way I planned. But I'm guessing, with their valiant little spirits, they made it easy for me. 

Part of my talk tells about when I learned I was more important than a duck. I'm sure I have told you the story before--when I was about 4 1/2, my dad found an abandoned duck nest and brought the eggs home and hatched them. The ducklings thought he was their mother, and they followed him around everywhere peeping their way along. But they did not like to go back into their box. One Sunday morning before church, we were trying to gather them up in the front yard. I was hot on the tail of one. I chased him around and around that big tree in the front by the lake. The tree that got blown down a few years back. I can picture the situation perfectly even today. I was crouched over as a ran, reaching down to scoop up the duckling. Then the little guy suddenly stopped, and I watched the toe of my black Sunday shoe flop down right where he stopped. I instantly felt terrible for killing my dad's baby duck. I thought it would be a huge deal to him. But he just said something like, "No big deal. Stuff happens." He wasn't mad. He still liked me. He never gave it another thought. I know now that to him, it was probably like leaving the gold fish outside to catch bugs. But as a kid, at the time, it left a big impression on me that I was pretty important if he liked me so much more than his little duckling.

I have all kinds of plants started for our garden. The secondary water came on yesterday. It's going to be exciting when you get here. But don't think about that yet. Just work and work. But have some fun working, and enjoy things. That's part of the work. It's hard to attract people to something that is no fun.

Love Pop

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I remember you telling me that story! Awwww that is so sweet. Little ducklings are really cute and important in God's eyes, but little boys are even more so. It is great to get lots of speaking practice too during sacrament meeting. What are Grace's talks like? Does she write then herself?

I was telling my companions and the elders in our district about our yard yesterday and about how you bought a tractor and landscaped it and built a rock wall and about the soccer field and all the apple trees. They were in awe. I may or may not have promised an apple to one of them.

Yeah, this work is fun for sure. We are literally meeting with so many people and it is the most I have ever taught on my mission by far. It's so fun to look at the calendar and have 5-8 meetings lined up for the day. Most of them are foreigners. And then when we have a few minutes we are messaging people and setting up more meetings. We met a really cool Italian guy last night. And a Nigerian on Saturday.

Also fun fact, not really for  bragging rights or anything, but our mission is the only one in the whole world that didn't send a single missionary home because of the CoVid19 stuff. And we're not just happy campers, but we are getting some really cool stuff done. We are really grateful for our mission president because he definitely had some spiritual foresight in getting us to start using technology to find 6-7 months ago, and because he can be a squeaky wheel when he needs to be.

Love,

Your own duckling

Meeting So Many New People Through Facebook!

Hi friends and fam! This is my weekly from last week, I wrote it and sent it and then watched it sit in my outbox the whole week. Technical difficulteez... I will send you another weekly as soon as I write it.

BUT these last 2 weeks have been awesome! For example, we got the phone number of our grandpa who waves at us from across the street and found out that Friday was his 90th birthday. On Friday we tried to yell "Sto lat" to him and then call him, but I don't think he heard us. We smiled and waved for a bit, though.

We have been meeting so many new people through Facebook! Most of them are foreigners, so it is fun to see the different cultures and different views on life. We met a really cool Italian dude last night who is super excited to read the Book of Mormon. During our meeting I felt impressed to warn him about all the anti church material he would come across and explain that he needs to learn to listen to the still small voice of the Holy Ghost. Satan definitely tries to drown out that voice with loud and distracting voices (especially with the people we teach during the first couple of meetings) and it takes practice to focus on the peaceful voice that testifies of truth, that leads us to be better.

I'm excited about a lot of the people we are working with, and it is so wonderful to be part of their conversion process. My companions and I get to lead people to Jesus Christ every day, and that is so fulfilling. It is so cool that we can do that through our phones as we sit at home or in the chapel.

  

It is looking like restrictions are starting to be slowly lifted. As of today, it is again legal to run or bike and be in parks or paths (haha we never stopped running...) Still gotta wear masks, but FYI it IS possible to go running in the mornings with a mask with 3 people even though only groups of 2 people are legal.

Also big news: WE GOT THE TRIPLE COMBINATION IN POLISH AND IT IS ON GOSPEL LIBRARY!!!

Members and missionaries have been waiting for years for this. The newest translation is simple, clearer, and more grammatically correct. It will help people more easily feel the Spirit. It will help us as missionaries more easily share verses with people without having to take pictures of our hard copies or typing them up! This is such a blessing! President Chandler was a missionary 30 years ago around the time of the first full translation of the Book of Mormon.

Also, last night we got to have a devotional with the first missionary called from Poland! She served in about 1989 and served in northern Washington! Didn't get the chance to ask her if she knows Grandma unfortunately but there's a chance!

Love you all! Have a wonderful week!

Wrocław Week 10 Pictures

General Conference

Hey friends and fam!

The streets are empty and the people who do walk around are usually wearing a mask and gloves. We have to wait in line at the grocery store and wear gloves while we shop for food. There are some police cars/ambulances that will slowly drive down the streets with a loud speaker playing a public service announcement saying we should stay home. It is forbidden by law to be on the streets within 6 feet of others.

We have been teaching our people through video and that has honestly worked well. God has a very specific plan for our mission that includes all of us because so far, none of our missionaries (even senior couples) have had to return to home. We are not completely sure what that plan is, but we do believe that learning to find people through technology is one of the reasons. We have been working through Facebook for about 6 months now, and I do believe our mission was prepared for a very specific purpose during this time.

Across the street from us is a window. A few times a day the window opens and a grandpa opens it and watches the street for a few minutes. Then he lifts up his dog so the dog can watch the street for a few minutes. We have become very good friends with this grandpa and his dog and we always wave at each other. Yesterday we were waving at him and then his wife joined him at the window waving at us. They left the window, but then a few minutes later they returned, this time with wine glasses for a toast. So we grabbed our water bottles and had a toast with our neighbors. I really have grown quite fond of them.

Wasn't General Conference amazing? I don't really even know what to write about it because to me it really was such an phenomenal experience. The Gospel was taught so plainly and simply, and the focus was on Jesus Christ. I stopped trying to write these emails eloquently a long time ago, but I wish I could write something beautiful right now to describe my feelings about Conference. In the middle of all this confusion and commotion, Conference was a beacon of light pointing to Jesus Christ, witnessing to us that God in fact does have all power and understanding. Christ is the one source of light, and when we focus on Him, we are filled with light. I really liked what Elder Anderson and Elder Oaks said about light. When we are shining Christ's light, especially in this confusing time, we will stand out so starkly, and other people will see that. What a prime time to share the Gospel, whether we have a name tag or not.

Love,

Sister Eberting

Pictures:

1. All masked up

2. Figure out what happened

3. River in our backyard

More Pictures