27 June 2016

These Geese were probably the most fun part of the zoo

We went to the Zoo! It was actually really sad, and all those documentaries that talk about animals being mistreated in zoo's were probably about the one that we went to. Also, this picture makes it look like I was hunting meese

Oh yeah (of course potty humor rules, even on a mission:)

HI!!!!

I'm still having a great time here in Bydgoszcz, and mom, it's called a "man-crush" not a "bro-crush" ugh. Get with it;)

And let me tell you about these stretchy pants- they are probably the most beautiful, genius, and attractive inventions made by mankind. Like, just bending down to tie your shoes has become a million time's easier! and who knows? If I ever need to high kick an aggresive man on the streets- I'll be able to thanks to my year of taekwondo training, and these stretchy pants! So many uses.

And we work a lot more here in the Bydgoszcz! Elder Rowley was trained by one of the hardest working missionaries here, Elder Coutu, (he actually finished his mission last transfer) and that's definitely carried over. It's like I'm back with Elder Berlin again! Speaking of which, he goes home in less than two months! WHOA! I hit my year mark in less than two months WHOA! But it's all cool. Anyway, in Bydgoszcz, there is no place to do finding activites except for the bridge that has naked nate on the tightrope. So we're there every day. I'm getting really familiar with that bridge. And travel time is very little now, and we have a lot more time to actually do things!

We're teaching four people right now- Abraham and Rafael, and Isuru and Janaka. We only ever teach them in those pairs. Abraham and Rafael are from Nigeria and are here for school, and are pretty cool. They have a baptismal date for the 9th of july, and if things go to plan, we'll totally make it! Isuru and Janaka are both from Sri Lanka! They're here for school as well, but neither of them had ever heard of Jesus Christ, and only one of them knew that there was a book that existed that was called "The Bible", so Elder Rowley and I have been able to actually teach someone who Jesus Christ is and why he's our savior! And it's been one of the coolest experiences of my life. A couple of days ago, we just watched some of the bible videos with them, so they could get a good idea of his life and the most important parts, and when we watched the video that showed His crucifixion, and ressurection, I felt the Spirit hit so hard, and I just knew that they felt Him as well. They may not have understood everything that was going on, but they understood that what they just watched was one of the most important events that has ever occured in the history of this world. Pretty cool.

The branch here is bigger, but I've already learned an important lesson- the size of a branch or ward does not determine it's functionality. It's up to the people themselves. Having a super righteous Bishop or other great leaders in the branch or ward definitely helps A TON, but if the people aren't willing to pull their part then all the branch has is one person trying their hardest. It's like a talk from Elder Holland. Can't remember when or what it's called, but he talks about a lady who told him how she's sorry that she's never been in a leadership position, and that all she's been is a helper, but then he goes on to say that the helper position is the most valuable and the most important position in the church. So if you're a not a leader, don't think that you have nothing to offer, instead, think that you have one of the most important positions in the church! Because you do!

Bydgoszcz is not really that ugly, I have no idea why they call it that...

The new apartment is pretty good, a little smelly, but we'll be able to fix that up!

Whenever Poland plays, the streets are empty, and the next morning is also eerily silent. But so far they're doing great, so that's pretty sweet! I'm just not excited for the day that they lose (if they lose) and we'll recieve a bunch of the backlash... oh well... POLSKA BIAŁO CZERWONI!!!!!

 Being district leader isn't really a huge thing. We lead District meetings every week, and we text in every night to say that we're in our homes safe and sound. I am an example, though, so that makes me want to work harder! But all the missionaries in this district are super hard workers, so it's not even hard. There's like, nothing I can say that can inspire them more than they're already inspired :D

We have an english class here, but it's kind of small, so we're working on that. 

I don't have any requests that I can think of, but one member here who's from america and is here for NATO (i think) will be going to American Fork, and says that if there's anything you can give him that's under 1 pound, he can take it, so we might just have to take him up on that offer.

Anyway, Bydgoszcz is great, and I hope you have a great time in IOWA!! YEAH! I miss Iowa, sometimes I tell people I'm from Iowa because I'm tired of the looks I get when I say I'm from Utah, so that's great! Can't wait to see some pictures!

LOVE

Starszy Liechty

OH! Also, next week, P-day is going to be on Wednesday! President Edgren is leaving, and we're getting a new mission president, President Turek on Thursday! So we're heading up to Gdańsk to have Zone training and meet the new pres! And then there will be exchanges with the sisters on Tuesday, so in order to keep things all organized, P-day's been moved to Wednesday. So don't forget and don't be sad when nothing comes next monday!