21 August 2017 LAST EMAIL FROM POLAND!

First things first: The milk I bought today expires after I do.

Second things second: Hi, Jan!

Third things third: ... I'm going home.

It's been a wierd experiece today. I'm beginning to experience all of my 'lasts'. For example, yesterday was my last day in church in Poland. Today is my last P-day. Saturday was the last time I'll probably have to talk to a false prophet.

Oh, let me tell you about him! We were having a grill on Saturday and then this guy walks in, and he says that he's going around and talking to all the churches trying to warn them of the second coming of Jesus Christ. It's going to be the 28th of November this year, so mark your calendars! (This is all according to Daniel 9:2, by the way). He's also the prophet Elias reincarnate. It's actually been the third time that he was reincarnated, because John the Baptist was also Elias reincarnate.

I now understand why some people think we're a little strange for believing in modern day prophets, if that's what most people think of when they think of prophets. It's nice to know that we don't have to rely on our own knowledge and reasoning and can just listen to the Lord's authorized servants.

Also, I forgot to mention this last week, we do service at a place called Dom Aniołów Stróżów, and this last week I gave a presentation about space (because of course they assume I know everything about space because I said I want to study it in the future). But at the end a boy came up to me and said "you're the master". Yes... I am the Space Master

We also had not a mission conference, but a conference where one of the Area Presidency came, and half the mission met in Wrocław, and the other half in Warsaw. I got to see a ton of old friends and it was a good way to say goodbye to them. But the main part of this story is that the Seventy, Elder Sabin, gave an incredible lesson about what we do as missionaries, and how the pure simple truths of the Gospel give us reason to live and to rejoice and to try to share it with as many people as possible. I changed that day, I began to think how I feel when I testify of the Restoration, and of Jesus Christ, and I realized that I didn't alway rejoice. That sometimes I was aruging with people and I was angry and I was trying to force my belief onto someone by saying it really loud and forcfully. That doesn't work. Now I focus on how happy the gospel makes me, and while I'm testifying I just rejoice! I love it so much! And I just want to rejoice with other people with the knowledge that we have that we know where we're from where we're going and why all the trials and troubles of this life! It makes it all so clear and beautiful! The Gospel is simple.

I gave a talk in Sunday yesterday about prayer, and I really emphasized the simplicity of it all. We all try to make our lessons or our talks so interesting that we Begin to talk about things we don't understand or make something try to seem grander or bigger than it actually is. The Gospel is amazingly simple! So simple a child can understand it and be saved. We don't need more than what is plainly and wonderfully put forth by the Prophets, both ancient and modern.

I can't think of a less trite way to say that this has been the best two years, so there you have it. It's been so unbelievably great and filled with more blessings, trials, tears, laughs, and whatever else you can think of than I could have expected! I can't fit everything I learned into one email, but one thing that I have learned that is irreplaceable is my witness of the power of Jesus Christ to change. We can not be a witness until we have witnessed his grace, and I have been given that witness. I have seen so many lives changed, my own included, and I have found true purpose and reason to be here and to hope love and work despite all the things that seem to work against us! I rejoice in Christ and I teach of Christ and I know of no other thing that brings greater joy, for he is the light and life of the world, and without him we would have no place to find a remission of our sins and live in our guilt forever. But there is a Redeemer, and He is Jesus Christ and He is our brother. I will share that message with people for the rest of my life, because I know it's true!

I love you SO MUCH.

SO MUCH.

See you in one week!

Elder Liechty

14 August 2017

HI fam!

Don't you worry, I'm getting enough calls from people wanting to talk to me before I go that I'm painfully aware that I have just about zero time left. Also that countdown timer that's been going on since i had 120 days left is now below 10 days, (I leave 4 days after it ends) and yeah... Yeah... I don't know the exact schedule for when I get home if you're chodzin' at the train schedule, but I do have the flight plans, and I also figured out that I'll be in Salt Lake at about 12 or 13, which means that I could go to BYU and go to that class and go to college even before I've been released from being a missionary! Now, I'm not saying that this is a good idea, or even that it's a survivable plan, BUT the story I could tell a few years down the road would be pretty amazing! Just think on that for a bit.

The week was too fast. This next week will be even faster because we're going to go to Wrocław for a mission conference, then we have exchanges on Thursday,and a grill on Saturday (invite your friends) and then there will be even less time. I don't know if I'll be able to see Michał again, but I really want to! Problem is is that I'd have to go to Kraków just to see him, and I don't think that anyone else really thinks that's a good enough reason to leave Kato. Either way, I realized that I'll have Facebook, and I'll actually have even more contact with him and everyone else than I do now!

I have done my shopping, so don't worry about that! You will be suprised to see that I actually have learned how to wear more than t-shirts and kakhi cargo shorts. Also, we're supposed to pay a fast offering while we're here, and we normally do, but sometimes forget. It's hard when there's no deacons knocking on your door to remind you ;)

I really have learned a TON of lessons about myself and about God while on my mission. The depth of my life is just so much greater and everything is so much more real. IT'S AMAZING! Hopefully I don't forget it when I'm not doing this work like I do now. Speaking of things being more real, guess where we went again today? Auschwitz. It was a different experience the second time, but still just the same amount of sadness and solemnity. This time we went to a part that I wasn't able to go to last time because we didn't have time, and it was the remains of one of the old gas chambers, and right next to it was a little divit in the ground, and a plaque next to it that said something like "here died thousands of men, woman, and children // here lie their ashes // may they rest in peace". As I stood there looking at that little pit, I couldn't help but think about the Resurrection, and how it really does take away the sting of that awful monster, death. I thought about how glorious a day it will be when all those people will rise again with their bodies in a glorified state, and I couldn't help but shed a few tears of joy, knowing that those people will again rise and be free from the pains of this world.

I love it here, but the time to go has nearly come... I'm going to make the most of these last two weeks, though, don't you worry!~

Love,

Elder Liechty

7 August 2017

guess who I saw on Sunday! He and Lukas from Kraków came to do a training on how to run a sacrament meeting and seeing Michał again was so great! He is one of my best friends

It was really hot this week

Giant Jenga

a ginormous dog that we found while tracting

HHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII,

Sorry about last week, we went to the zoo, and when we went to go email, it turned out that the library we normally go to was closed, and then we went to another library, and that one was closed, too, so all of us (seven missionaries) had to use the single computer in the chapel in the last 2 hours of P-day, and that only gave us about 20 minutes each to do emails.

Today for P-day we had to stay inside a lot, because a member from Warsaw is going around to all the apartments to find out everything that's wrong with them and fix them, and he's really difficult to coordinate times with, so he was about three hours late.

100 MILES!? I barely did 6 miles on a bike one day and I felt pretty proud of myself! Good luck! I have absolutely no idea where I want to go for my first week... either our home ward or the YSA ward. I don't know anyone at BYU. I totally still play piano here. You're going to be so impressed that I've actually learned how to play hymns now! I don't know how to play anything else, so don't get to impressed ;) And yeah, Jacob's been home now for a week or two, so you'll be able to talk to him.

I think one of the greatest things that I've learned about myself here is that I'm actually capapable of building real relationships with people. Before I left, I had friends and some of them were really close, and I considered them real friends, but for the most part, I couldn't get over the barrier of actually connecting with people on a level deeper than small talk during school classes. That was actually one of the biggest worries that I had coming out here that I wouldn't be able to open my heart to the people here, but as time has gone by and as I've made relationships with even the most unlikely of people, I've found out that it's possible! Sometimes the expression of love is returned back with snotty comments and broken promises, and obviously that stings, but we all need a broken heart and contrite spirit somehow. 

We've been working really hard this last week, and making sure that we don't waste any time, and I think that's from earlier this week when I was reading in the Book of Jacob, right after he quotes the olive tree parable, he says this "And the day that he shall set his hand again the second time to recover his people, is the day, yea, even the last time, that the servants of the Lord shall go forth in his power, to nourish and prune his vineyard; and after that the end soon cometh. And how blessed are they who have labored diligently in his vineyard." (Jacob 6:2-3). I just realized that this is the time before the Second Coming of Christ, and that we have a part in gathering the saints and that it's the most important work that exists! And I don't have much more time in it! I'm going to be sad to leave it.

One of the people we talked with on the streets went onto Mormon.org and referred himself to the missionaries, and we're going to start teaching him. He seems like he has a lot of potential, and I'm very excited to teach him! He's certainly a blessing for all the hard work we put in in this last week!

Love you!

Elder Liechty

24 July 2017

HELLOLOOOOOO

You better make some DELICIOUS pizza for me then! Five Guys Burgers and Fries HAS to be where we go first, and as far as homemade meals, probably steak. It's been a looooong time since I've had that. Also if there could be a box of Cheezits waiting for me on the counter, that would just be amazing! My favorite hymn is either "I Believe in Christ" or "A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief", or "How Firm a Foundation", or "Lead Kindly Light".

I've done a little bit of birthday shopping, and I guess you could say I'm having a pretty good time! It's nice, but it also just leaves my companion sitting there with a bunch of bags and standing around awkwardly in the middle of a store. BUT he's going to have to get used to it when his wife goes shopping, so I guess he gets to learn early. We havn't done many fun things for P-day lately, but I think everyone want to go to Auschwitz, so I might have to go there again. The fruit fly battle is going well, but we tried the fruit in the bowl thing, but we didn't have plastic wrap, so we used tinfoil, but that didn't work, so Elder Rasmussen just took the fruit and threw it onto this little balcony thing outside the kitchen window where it's not just sitting and getting grose, BUT it does draw all the fruit flies away from our house. So as long as we have the curtains drawn, it's a pretty good solution!  

There's an investigator we're working with, and he's about 19 but he's pretty small, and so I kind of feel like he's my younger brother. He also acts like he's a lot younger than he his. But we can all tell that he's secretly a good kid but doesn't know how to act like it, and we've been teaching him. He also hands out fliers where we do a lot of finding activites, so we see him a lot! We also helped him stop smoking, and he said that within that week that we worked with him on that, he started to believe in God! It was such a cool experience and we're definitly going to have to keep on helping him out. I really feel like he's my younger brother I never had!

From all the missionaries here, there's 5 investigators with baptismal dates, and two of them were in church yesterday. The missionaries were assigend all the lessons so the lessons were really good and solid. It was good! We've also got three new investigators from this last week, that we're going to meet with. Somehow we've set up a lot of lessons with people from a lot of sources and I'm really excited for this week! There's finally some success!

We also had Zone Conference (MY LAST ONE) and there I said goodbye to Elders Einfeldt and Alvarez because they leave a bit before I do. It was sad, BUT, we'll all see each other really soon anyway, so it wasn't that bad:)

I love you all so much! 

Elder Liechty

17 July 2017

Golly, thanks for the birthday wishes everyone!

Sister Turek and her kids actually sang to me, too, but what's funny is that Sister Turek's birthday is July 16th TOO. So we were able to wish each other a happy birthday and laugh about what a great day it is to be born.

I seriously can't believe that I'm twenty, though. I'm no longer a teenager! WOW. For those who know Spongebob, think of the episode where he lifts up his razor, and says "I... am a MAN". That's how I feel right now.

Also thanks for the tips on the fruit flies. They're EVERYWHERE.

I am definitely going to have to go and get some new clothes These chinos they sell here fade so fast! Also I'm debating if I should wear glasses or contacts when I get home, because I know that all of you remember me without glasses, and that picture of my face you have doesn't have glasses, but I'm also going to be on a plane for 15 hours or so and that's going to be quite the time if I have contacts in. These details matter.

I AM SO JEALOUS that all of you get to see Henry all the time! I hope that we'll be able to find time when I get back. I'm going to have a ton of work to do! All I really care about is Henry though, and I want to see if he's really as cute as you all are making him out to be!

As you know John got home a bit ago, and we've been emailing, and he's making being home sound like the worst thing in the world, and I'm getting a little scared for it now! I used to be all excited that I could go home, but he's making it sound like it's one of the hardest things in the world! He mentioned how he just doesn't really understand his purpose as much as he did now that he's not a missionary, and I hadn't really thought of that, but it's true! There's going to be so much to do that I won't know what to do at all! AHH. Also, the missionaries from my group call me every once in a while, and we all talk about going home all the time, and I still don't really believe that it's actually happening

We're starting to see more success here! In Warsaw there was a baptism, and as a side note, since the Elder Andersen meeting, there hasn't been a week without a baptism! Here in Kato, the other elders have two people they're teaching who are considering baptism, and we're still trying to find people to teach. But last week we focused a lot on our English class, and a lot more people are coming! Two of them actually came to church yesterday! We're also going to help a guy stop smoking, and it's really great, because I feel like he's my younger brother. Hes as old as me, though, but it's really fun to be around him, and he needs some good examples in his life, so that's what we'll be for him!

Next week we'll have my final Zone Conference, and I'll see missionaries from my group for the last time, and it will be so sad. Tears will be shed!~

Love you all!

Elder Liechty

(Birthday Pancake, and trying to keep ourselves sane while tracting

10 July 2017

There was a baptism in Warsaw (actually he was baptised in Idaho, but heck, he'll be confirmed here)! Someone that Elder Sommerfeldt taught!

Mommy!

Well I love you, too! And I'd like to say that I think about you and the fam all the time, but that actually makes me really trunky, so I kind of avoid that.

Nuts, everyone's still getting married. It never ends!

I KNOW. JOHN IS JUST STRAIGHT HOME RIGHT NOW. I can't believe it. I remember thinking about how before I left, I went to visit John's parents, and I was like "dang, the time between now and when John left is so small. When he goes I'm practically there!"... And here we are... There's just going to be a constant stream of missionaries coming home for like, three months, and it's going to be awesome! Also, I saw the class schedule and I'm so excited! I've made plans on how I'm going to get all my work done and stay on top of everything, so basically this whole college thing is going to be a piece of cake!

Alright, I've been saving up and not buying too many clothes because I figured that they'd all get ruined before I get back (and they have) but now is the time. I was talking with Michał from Kraków and I asked if I should get a suit before I go home, and he just looked at me like that was the dumbest question I could have asked and said "have you seen those american suits? Why would you even think of not getting one here!?" Hahaha... fashon. And no, I've kept myself back from opening that card, and I put it inside of a version of a bible that we have that's translated into modern Polish, and sounds a little bit like a child wrote it so I'm not even tempted to get near it!

The new apartment is really good! It's more like quantity over quality, but I'm fine with that! The beds are good, the appliances work, and all those good things. We have a ton of fruit flies, though, so we're declaring war on them and we're going to figure out how to get them away. We've also got a lot of june bugs that fly in, but they're really slow and easy to karate kick out of the air.

Elder Rasmussen is awesome! We're having a great time together! We're both working super hard, and willing to give our all for the work! He's from Sandy (I think) and we already get along so well. It's like another Elder Rowley transfer! We're both painfully aware that I only have 7 weeks left (AHH!) and so we're just going to sprint together to the finish! And I actually really like not being Zone Leader anymore! Sometimes it's hard because I don't always know what's going on, or I don't have that much more of an influence on people, but I think it's a good step down so when I get home I'm not going to by trying to take control of literally everything that's going on ;)

We don't really have any progressing investigators yet. We have had a few lessons in the past week, but nothing huge yet. Do you remember the guy from Ukraine that I talked about a month and a half ago who just suddenly disappeared? He's back! Elders Sommerfeldt and Huffman are going to start teaching him again! Hopfully he doesn't disappear this time! We spent a lot of time visiting with less active members this week, and had a couple of lessons with them! One seems really willing to come back to church, but seems a little ashamed that they've been gone for so long. And we WERE going to have a lesson with a member but there was a bit of a mix up in planning. This member is known for hating the missionaries. We set up with them, and whatever day we actually set up on, they thought Wednesday, and I thought Thursday, so basically this member came all the way to the chapel and no one was there and when we found out on Thursday that that had happened, my heart just dropped! I was preparing for the next few days to face the wrath of this member and preparing myself to just be the most apologetic I could be. When I saw them on Sunday, they looked at me with a glare that could pierce souls, but I just started out by saying how sorry I was and how dumb I was for getting the day wrong, and what do ya know!? They accepted my apology! Look at that! It turns out that actually doing the things the Prophets and scriptures say to do help you out in life and make your situations less terrible! Who woulda thunk!?

I'm just gonna keep going, and keep pushing, and we'll see what miracles come our way!

Love

Elder Liechty

 Celebrating the 4th of july with handdrawn fireworks - looks fun:)

3 July 2017

Mooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmmm

I said last week that I'd be writing on Monday this time! I thought he was writing tonight:( But at least I had sent a quick I love you note:)

Oh well...

GUESS WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK!?!?!!?!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?! ??!?!?!?

yep. Final transfer calls! Now it's my turn to get the other missionaries who might be reading this trunky! HA. I'm talkin' to you, Elder Hadfield!

So I'm staying in Katowice this time around. Elder Sommerfeldt is also staying in Katowice, BUT we're not companions! I'm moving apartements and I'm going to serve with Elder Rasmussen! He's AWESOME. He was in our district this last transfer, but he was serving with Elder Zamora, but Elder Zamora's gone off to Poznań to serve with Elder Pettit! This is going to be an awesome last transfer! I also learned, that the most efficient way to pack is just to throw everything hapazardly in and not even bother about organizing. That's what I did all my mission, but this time I needed to pack in about 40 minutes, and it went much better than other times! I can iron my clothes later. I also don't have any leadership positions this time! I'm like a trainee again!

OH! The priest stories JUST KEEP COMING! This last week, right after P-day ended, we went tracting, and we knocked on one house that turned out to be a monestary! (There was nothing on the front, we were Innocent), and a Catholic priest opens the door, and he sees us, and he just starts laughing! He thinks it's the most hilarious thing that two mormon missionaries just walked up to his door! We laugh a little bit with him, but it's just awkward for us, and he's just still laughing after we've stopped. After a couple of minutes, things have settled down, and our new priest friend says "Hey! we're having a grill, you want to come?" and confused out of our minds, we say "Sure!" And it's this group of youth, probably 15-20 of them are all getting ready for a grill that they're about to have to end these group meetings they've been having, kind of like mutual. We stay there for an hour or so, and the whole time they're all asking us about our church and we're able to teach them all about the Restoration of the Gospel! We don't invite them all to learn more about our church (because imagine if a Catholic Priest or anyone else walks into a young mens or womens activity and is like "Hey, guys, you're all wrong and I'm right, so why don't you come learn more about the true church of God!" Like, no, that just wouldn't be very polite. So we just invited them all to our English class BUT THEN one of the youth comes late, and get this- He's already one of our English class students! Last week I translated an interview between some guy and a Christian Reggae band for him (don't ask) and he walked up and when he saw us, he was like "oh yeah, these are the guys that translated that video!". One of the people came to our English class in the end, and she's getting interested in the Gospel now. Just a whole big ball of miracles happened that night!

On Saturday, a returned missionary named Drake Allen came to Poland with a few people who hired him to help out with a big ol' family history event that was going to take place in our chapel. There were about 30 people there, and it was a really good opportunity to meet a lot of people and talk with them! Family History really does open people up, and I've said it a ton of times already, but I really need to get working on it! They also bought a ton of pizza, and gave the leftovers to the Elders, so I think we all know what my diet is going to consist of for the next couple of days!

We had culture night, but we did not plan anything, so we just walked around the city and looked at the chaples and such. We also took of picture of us trying to do the abbey road picture from the beatles, but it didn't turn out very well, so we'll have to try that again. We also ate a nice thai restaurant, but it was actually not that good, and I don't know why I still try to eat asian food in this country because it never tastes good!

Now that we're in July, and I've gotten my transfer call, the end of my mission is a lot more real. When the missionaries left to other cities yesterday we played "God be with you till we meet again" In sacrament meeting, and I realized that in a little bit I'll be hearing that song and they'll be playing it for me... And I really won't be able to do full-time missionary work for a long time. Dad always said that this time is a very special time, and now I'm really starting to understand that. I'm getting a little worried! I'm not going to be able to see or talk with a lot of people I've met and I'm just not going to be a part of the miracle that is missionary work! I'm starting to freak out!

I think that is all for this week! I love you all, pray for you, and tell my companions funny stories about all of you!

Love,

Elder Liechty