7 Nov 2016

Candles at the graveyard!!

Elder Rowley!!

This is the Błonia. It's a huge field where the Pope came and talked to all the youth in Poland, and now it's just empty and people roller blade around it with their dogs. Good place for talking to people

Service

Graveyard

Graveyard

HI FAMILY AND FRIENDS!

How are you?

This week was very good, and there were many high points, so I will give one now, and the other later on, because it relates with one of your questions! On Friday, we had Zone Training, and guess who was there!? ELDER ROWLEY!!! I love that man so much. We spent some good time catching up and talking about what happened over the last 2 months. He's really such a great guy! At the Zone Training we talked about being more effective with our time, and doing more with what the Lord has given us. Which is definetly soething that I need to work on, but something that Elder Curtis is very good at, so it works.

We did do an escape room last week, and were doing another one today! Last week was pretty easy, and we actually set the record (don't tell anyone, but it's because I had been in one that had all the exact same puzzles as this one, so I knew what I was doing the whole time...) But this time we're tying out what they say is the hardest one, so let's hope I havn't already done this one as well. I also bought some pants (stretchy, of course) because all of my other ones are wearing out. It's become a serious problem.

If all goes to plan, Jan is going to be baptized this Wednesday! hold your thumbs! (that's what they do in Poland instead of crossing their fingers) Pleas please please continue to pray for him and thank you for all that you've done already!

This is where the other high point of the week comes in. Our game plan for the most part has remained the same, just trying to talk to everyone that passes us. But in addition, we're doing what all the other missionaries in the country are calling us either legends or fools for doing- we're setting up interviews and meetings with the Priests and Parishes of the churches in Kraków (which are many) and presenting them the message of the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with the underlying statement that any person claiming to be a seeker of truth will find it in this message. And before you think I'm a fool for doing this, we asked the Mission President what he thinks about it, and he was all for it! He even called the other day to see how it went! We're not doing this to argue with anybody, nor to discredit anyone's faith, but to simply present our message and find those who are willing to consider it. The day we were going to try it out for the first time, it was hailing and very cold, then as we approched the church that we were going to enter, the hail became like, twice as hard, then we entered the church and there was organ music playing because mass just finished, and it was all just a very eery scene... Then we couldn't find anyone. So we walked out, and I called all my Catholic friends or members who used to be Catholic, and asked what we needed to to do find these people, and after that we found one Proboszcz (Parish priest) and started talking. unfortunately, he only had about 15 minutes, so we're going to now have to call in advance to set up meetings to do this, but we gave a quick overview of the Restoration. The first thing he said was "there are many ways to God. It could be with the Mormons, or it could be with the Catholics". then we went on to talk about the First Vision and then he said that everyone has the tendency to say that they're the only correct church and that again, there are many roads to God. Then we told him how we knew we were right, which was the Book of Mormon, and when we talked about the Book of Mormon, he said that the Bible was enough for him, then we quoted 2 Nephi 29 where it says something along the lines of "do ye murmur that you have more words of God? Do you not know that there are mor nations than one, and that god loves all of his children and speaks to them?" Then he got a little more defensive, and repeated that the Bible was enough for him, and then we had to leave. All in all, a very interesting incounter. He was open and kind, and you could see that he really did study and love the scriptures.

There does need to be a bigger emphasis on the Book of Mormon, though. Sometimes I get caught up in stuyding the New and old Testaments, that I don't read the Book of Mormon. When that happens, I can actually feel the strenght of my testimony weaken when I'm talking with people about it. So I've been reading it every day for the last month, and it's helped a ton!

AAAND we finally did some service!!! It was a one time thing, though... The 1 of Novermber in Poalnd is called All Saints Day, wehre people put candles on the graves of their ancestors to help them out of Purgatory. I think. I really need to find out. for sure.  So we went and helped clean off the old graves that no one cared about because they had no family left in Kraków. It was nice to finally be able to do something like that! Also, the graveyard is beautiful at night with all the candles lit, and the pictures don't do it justice, but it's a really cool holiday!

The things i would like most in the package, are pictures, like always, and the Chills on Wheels T-shirt that I got working with Brother Anderson. He wants me to get a picture wearing in it Poland for his facebook page. It'd be awesome!

Have a great week!

Love,

リクティ長老