31 July 2014

Hello everyone,  here are some pictures from last week that I couldn't download.  This first picture is all of the missionaries at zone conference.  These missionaries are from Warszawa, Kielce, Lublin, and Lodz.

Here are Sisters Petersen (playing the violin), Tobler and Elder Retallick. And Lucasz playing the piano.  It was a very beautiful song.

Here we are playing our game from Monday night FHE.  Godfrey has just made a match and reading some facts about one of the apostles. 

So that's from the week before.  Now I will tell you about this past week.  On Friday morning, we took the Roulstones to the airport.  He needed a wheel chair so that he didn't get tired.  

I know that Sister Roulstone was very happy to be going home and to be with family.  This was about 9:30 am.  Their plane was leaving at 10:10 am.  We went back to the office and started doing the things we needed to get done.  About 12:00 pm, my phone rang and it was Sister Roulstone.  She was very excited in her talking and told me that they were in another hospital.  Right here in Warsaw!!!  We found out where they were taken and went right to the hospital to be with them.   She told us that they were taxing down the runway when Elder Roulstone said he needed oxygen.  The stewardess brought a small oxygen bottle and before she could go sit down, Elder Roulstone had fainted.  By law, the plane had to turn around and go back to the gate.  They took him off the airplane by ambulance.  I felt so sorry for the both of them.  Elder Roulstone had just become too overwhelmed with the thought of flying we guess.  Anyway the hospital ran some tests and really couldn't find anything.  His blood pressure was high, but that was to be expected.  So we stayed with Sister Roulstone all day waiting for them to release him.  But he had to go back to Medicover (the first hospital he was in when this all started).  So we drove them back to the hospital.  Once Elder Roulstone was settled, we drove Sister Roulstone to her apartment.  It may be 3-4 weeks now before they can go home.  They will not be doing any "missionary" work.  Both of them just need to make plans to get home.

On Saturday, after shopping and laundry, Wayne and I decided to go to old town and see some of the things that were going on. 

Before we got there we passed the Uprising Memorial.  It is really a beautifully done piece of sculpture.

It portrays the men and others that were willing to give their lives to get out of the Warszawa Ghetto and those that kept them contained.  There's so much history here in Warsaw and throughout Poland.  Here's a couple of pictures of the memorial.  It takes up a whole city block.

 

Across the street was another church.  There was a wedding going on so we couldn't go inside.  The stained glass window that you can see, was beautiful.  Cobblestone streets are everywhere.

So here's the beginning of "Old Town"  All of the umbrellas are covering tables and chairs at little restaurants.  There were tons of people out, too.

Here's the main gate and wall to old town.  They have done an excellent job of preserving this part of town.

The bricks on the bottom are part of the wall that protected the city.

 

From old town you enter right into the Renik.  There are street vendors selling anything you want.  People are painting pictures and selling them when they are complete.  

And of course, there is a chapel in the middle.  There were weddings taking place in there also.

I think I told you before that you can see anything on the Renik.  Look who we found!

They were both trying to make some extra cash.  They would expect you to pay something if you had your picture taken with them.

It was time to leave the Renik and get over to the church.  Barbara was being baptized and we told her we would be there.  Here is Barbara with Sisters Hemming and Blake.  She is a very special lady.  She made Wayne and I some Pierogi.  And it was very, very good.

 

At FHE on Monday night, we taught a short lesson and then we taught them how to square dance.  We did the Turkey in the Straw dance.  It was hilarious.  But everyone had a blast.  They don't know what square dancing is so it was fun to see them learn something new and enjoy it.  I know the pictures are hard to see, but we couldn't get the video to work.  

  

Oh, last Thursday, we learned from the President that we had a new AP.  Elder Lanham asked the President if he could go out and contact for the last 4 weeks of his mission.  So they left him in Katowice after Zone Conference.  Our new AP is Elder Caskey.  He is going to make a wonderful AP.  He doesn't know how to drive a standard transmission, so Wayne will be out teaching him next week.  

Everything is going crazy for the YSA conference.  Patti and I are ordering T-shirts, notepads, pens, and "For the Strength of Youth" cards in 7 different languages.  Plus, I'm trying to get all of the legal work done for the 14 missionaries coming in prior to leaving for Szczyrk because they come in the Tuesday after Saturday when we get back into Warsaw.  And the President told us yesterday he was going to change the office elders too.  I told him I needed a name because I have to make up Powers of Attorney for the new missionaries.  The President told us that we could take a few days off after YSA conference and transfers on the 19th.  I think we are going to take him up on that.  If we do, we may go up to the Baltic Sea.  We'll let you know what we decide.

Well, that's it for this week.  We love you and miss you all.

24 July 2014

Well, those of you in Utah - Happy Pioneer Day!  Hope you enjoy the parades and fireworks.

I went to download some pictures so I could put them on the blog this week and it said my drop-box was full. So I will have to figure something out to get the pictures off of the camera and on this blog.  But it won't be today.  So next week.

On Saturday Sister Roulstone and I went on a little adventure to a small suburb of Warsaw.  We found a wonderful little shop that had lots of homemade things for sale.  It was wonderful.  I spent about 239 zlotys (80 dollars).  We had a wonderful day and it gave her a chance to be out from taking care of her husband for a little while.  I think she is looking forward to getting home and having family to help her and get him back to normal.

Right after church on Sunday, Wayne came quite quickly down the hall to the RS room to find me and tell me that the office elders had called him to tell him that they had just taken Elder Roulstone back to the hospital.  President and Sister Edgren were in Bydgoszcz so they wouldn't be back until really late.  So once again we ran over to the hospital to help anyway we could.  When we got there, Sister Roulstone said they doctors had ruled out that it was something with his heart so they were sending him over to the other hospital where he had the stroke.  So we followed the ambulance to the next place.  They placed Elder Roulstone in a wheelchair and while they were waiting for the doctor, he passed out.  Sister Roulstone was so tired and afraid of what was going on.  After an eternity, the doctor finally came out and told us that he wasn't having a stroke either and they were sending him back to the other hospital.  Boy I hope I don't have anything gone wrong.  This is really a joke.  So we followed the ambulance back.  We got Sister Roulstone settled in the emergency room and then came home.  I had put a roast on in the morning and had told the office elders to go over to our apartment and fix themselves some dinner.  So they were at our apartment when we got there. So Elders Smith, Meherg and Durrant ate dinner while I fixed some soup and a toasted cheese sandwich for Sister Roulstone and went back over to the hospital so that she would have something to eat.  They determined that he was just dehydrated and probably taking the wrong amount of medication.  The doctor told them that he would have to stay in the hospital until he was ready to fly out.  The church changed their flight from Wednesday to Friday.  Wayne and I will have to take them to the airport, because the President won't be here.

At FHE on Monday we talked about the prophet and how the Lord won't let him lead us astray.  We  played a matching game with the prophet and apostles pictures.  It was really fun.  Dinner was just toasted cheese sandwiches, chips and a salad.  I'll show the pictures next week.

We had Zone Conference on Wednesday.  So when we got home from the office on Tuesday all we did was cook.  From 5:30 to 10:00 pm.  I baked 3 cakes, cut up 5 heads of lettuce, cut up 10  tomatoes, and browned 6 lbs of hamburger for Soft shelled tacos.  Sister Tueller brought the cheese, some ranch dressing and a cake.  We also had bought some ice cream and salsa to take.  Oh and some watermelon.  It was a wonderful conference.  One of the members is a song writer.  He composed a song about the Savior and came to the conference and performed it along with Sister Petersen, playing the violin and Sister Tobler and Elder Retallick singing.   It was beautiful.  The president emphasized that we are not here as an "american" church, nor are we here to try and change their heritage.  We are here to have them better their Polish life and find happiness in their journey.  (Pictures next week)

The President wanted to know what it would take for Wayne and I to stay longer?  I don't think we can, but it was very flattering to  hear that.

Our YSA conference is just around the corner.  We are getting very nervous and hope that everything is going to work out as planned.  We are kind of disappointed in the number.  Only 165 have signed up.  We were hoping for 200.

So once again another week has gone by.  We have learned that one of our ward members passed away
 this week.  She was a wonderful person and I feel sad that we cannot join in the celebration of her life.

We love you and miss you all.

17 July 2014

Happy Birthday Benjamin on the 22nd and Teri on the 23rd. 

It's been raining this week.  We walked over to the hospital to see Elder Roulstone in a rain storm.  Our feet got awfully wet, but other than that it was fun.  Elder Roulstone looked a lot better.  He has to stay in the hospital until the 18th. They need to take him off of the IV's and on to oral medicine before they let him go.  But he was up and round and even cracked a joke.

On Saturday, Wayne and I went to visit the Treblinka Death Camp.  This is the countryside we drove through.  It is so beautiful here.

And here's Wayne driving.  I think he was singing.

 It was still raining and dreary which just added to the somberness of the site.  Here is the entrance to the camp.

Since the Germans destroyed everything before they left, the Polish people have tried to create the past.  Here they have put planks where the railroad cars filled with people came into the camp.

This is the memorial they built to the people that were killed here.

"Never Again"  That is the name of the memorial above.

There were over 800,000 people exterminated at this camp.  Men, women and children.  They would gas them with truck exhausts and then burn their bodies.  

These are some of the stones that were erected to symbolize each and everyone that was killed.  It was an overwhelming site.

Here is one of the burning pits.  It has been filled with rocks also.  It was huge.

The men that were in the camp built a cobble brick road through the camp which became known as the "Black Road".  It was eerie walking down the road.

Wayne and I decided to take our very first "selfie".  Probably an inappropriate time, but we were cold and wet.

On the way home, we took a drive through some beautiful countryside.  Cute little villages and of course, a huge church.  Catholic churches all over the place.

 Here are some of the homes we saw.  The colors of the homes are really fun to see.  They are very will kept also.

This one had its own little Christ Statue.

On the top of some of the telephone poles, storks have built nests.  We saw quite a few of them in this one little town called Prostyn.

Sunday when we sat down to start Sacrament Meeting, the 1st counselor came up to us and asked us if we would bear our testimonies if the assigned speaker didn't show up.  So we had the opportunity to speak on Sunday, of course, using an interpreter for us.  We also learned that one of the girls in our branch that is helping with the YSA conference, father passed away.  He was 58 and waiting for surgery on his heart.

So Monday night for FHE, we talked about faith and how we can help it to grow and stay strong.  We had a very good discussion and there were 14 members of the branch and investigators there.  It was totally awesome.  I love FHE.

Both sets of Sisters joined up also.

I sure am glad I made two pans of casserole.  Everything was gone when we went home.  The casserole, 2 loaves of long bread cut in 1 inch pieces, 2 pineapples, one watermelon, 3 dozen cookies and 2 dozen brownies.  After we ate, we played our game.  We had a watermelon seed spitting contest.  You should have heard everyone when we told them how to do it.  We had a candy bar for the winner.  Here are some of the people spitting their seeds.

Sister Blake

Investigator - Barbara

Sister Hemming

Elzbieta - I love this woman.  She is so funny.

Here's Stan - our eternal investigator.

And of course, here I am.

Andrew won the contest.  He hit the other wall on the opposite end of the room.  Everyone had a lot of fun.

Tuesday, Wayne went with the office Elders to pick out some ties from "Adam's Ties".  He got three ties for 84 zlotys.  (About 30 dollars)

I love Poland.  We have made many, many good friends.  One of the people at FHE asked what they could do to have the president keep us here.  One of the sisters gave me a lanyard and a pen to hang from it because I am always asking where my pen went to, and told me that she loved me.  After everyone had left the room, Elzbieta handed me a little sack and told me that what was inside was for me and Wayne.  At least I think that's what she said.  When we got home, there were two filled donuts in the bag.  I told them in my testimony on Sunday that they have become my second family.  And they truly have.  They are just so awesome.  And because of the small size of the branch, you know and feel you are needed. 

This is what is all about.  To love and accept as the Savior did.  It will be hard to leave this wonderful place.

Bye for now.  We love you all and miss you. 

10 July 2014

Happy Birthday Wayde on Saturday!

We love you.

Another week.  We've had some good things happen and some sad things happen.  We spent the 4th of July in the office.  They don't do anything here in Poland to celebrate for the 4th!  So we made French Toast and bacon for lunch with the office elders and we took our picture with the Statue of Liberty.

Statue of Liberty, Elder Meherg, Elder Durrant and me, and Elder Smith.  Cute, huh?

Saturday we went driving around and saw another park.  So we stopped and walked around for a little bit.  He's the person the park was named after, Jan Paderewski.  He was a famous pianist and evidently held concerts in this area.  It was very beautiful.

Here I am in one of the flowers beds they had all over.  

And of, course there was a little pond in the middle of the park.

There's only one thing bad about the parks and that's the bugs.  They don't seem to bother the Polish people, but they sure bother me.  

When we got home, we were trying to find a lightbulb that we had put away in a place where we would remember we put it and then completely forgot where that place was.  Anyway, we found a flag, so here I am showing our true colors.

Sunday we had an awesome testimony meeting.  I know I've said it before, but these people have such strong faith.  They love the Lord and know that he is with them continually.   Even when they are along in the gospel, they know they have chosen the better part.  It's wonderful!

On Monday, we had 9 members of the branch show up for FHE, our sister missionaries and us.  We talked about "who we are".  What we stand for and that the Lord is our guiding light.  Most of these people are so tender in the gospel, that we need to just talk about basic principles.  

Afterwards, I called Sister Roulstone to see if we could come over and visit with her and Elder Roulstone.  We wanted to see if he was doing better.  When we got there, Elder Roulstone surprised us all by asking us to take him back to the hospital.  He was feeling very well.  So Elder Durrant had to help walk down to the car.  I stayed with Sister Roulstone while they did some tests.  He passed out again and started throwing up.  They found another blood clot in his lungs this time.  We are praying that he gets well enough that they can fly them both home.   I'm so glad we went to their apartment when we did.

Tuesday night we were invited over to the mission home for the Jensen's last supper in Poland.  what a wonderful couple.  We hate to see them go.  But everyone pitches in to help.  

Sister Egdren, Sister Jensen and me.

Here's Elder and Sister Jensen.  They fly out of here at 6:00 am on Wednesday.

It's getting very warm here.  We walked to the office on Tuesday and went on the other side of the street to be in the shade.  And guess what we found - it's not a gnome, but almost.

He was a cute little guy.

So there's another week.  We wish Alex well as he gives a talk this Sunday and flies out to the Mexican Training Center at 1:00 am Wednesday morning.  His best two years of his life begin.

We love you and miss you all.

3 July 2014 Continued

I'm back.  On Thursday we had MLC again.  This is the meeting that I just order Subway Sandwiches.  There was a new group of Elders and Sisters this time.  The President likes to switch Zone Leaders and the Sister Training Leaders a lot.

Everyone had showed up for MLC and were waiting for the President to arrive.  They just all started singing hymns and it was beautiful.  Starting on the left is Sister Tobler, Sister Poklinkowska, Sister Ott, Elders Hardy, Hubbard, Brown and Lanham (APs), Retallick and Swicegood.

On Friday, we had two elders come in from Lublin to do their fingerprints for their legal work.  We actually had set up appointments for them so it wasn't too bad this time.  But it is really going too be a headache in August.  We have 14 Elders and Sisters coming in.  I have already started preparing their packets.  

On Saturday we had a baptism.  His name is Volodymer.  He is really a wonderful person and hopefully will be one of the strong members.  

Here are the people gathering.  It is really nice that a lot of the people from the branch support all of the baptisms.  Here is Sisters Swenson and Poklinkowska with their backs to us and Sister Petersen and Elder Smith all talking.  

So here is our baptism picture.  Elder Kimball, Volodymer, Stanislaw, and Elder Blom.  Stanislaw has only been a member since January and he was pretty scared.  But he did an awesome job.  Volodymer had to be dunked twice, but the two of them just hugged and laughed afterwards.

During the service, a group of missionaries sang, "I like to look for rainbows"  in Polish and English and Norwegian.  Sisters Swenson, Tobler and Poklinkowska, Elders Weggersen, Platter, Blom and Kimball.  Elder Weggersen sang a solo in his native Norwegian language.  It's the first time he has ever done anything like that and he did awesome.  I emailed all of their moms this picture and told them how great the kids are.

On Sunday in the combined meeting, we talked about missionary work and how the members can help the missionaries and new converts.  District President Zelewski was there and he said some things that one of the members didn't like.  I thought for a while we were going to have a fist fight.  But things cooled down after the counselor in the branch spoke up.  

Monday night we talked about the scriptures and how they direct us back to our Heavenly Father.  We also did the game where you hold a card in front of your forehead with a famous person's name on it and you have to guess who you are by asking "yes" and "no" questions.  Everyone got a big kick out of that.  I was Bruce Lee.  We served spaghetti for dinner and it was all gone.  

Tuesday was our Zone training.  I made a ham and potato casserole with bread and some fruit.  And then we had banana splits for dessert.  The training was on how we, as missionaries, can add a little knowledge  at a time to help the investigator's testimony to grow.  The Zone Leaders compared it to a staircase.  Each step you take is one more principle which leads you up to our Heavenly Father.  It was a wonderful training.  

So Wednesday was Zone Training for the other zone here in Warszawa and since Sister Roulstone was at the hospital with Elder Roulstone, I told her I would make the lunch for her zone.  I made the same casserole and everything.  Wayne had to take the lunch over by himself.  I had to stay at the office.  But it all went well.  When we got home from the office, we went right over to the hospital to spend some time with the Roulstones.  Earlier in the day, S. Roulstone had texted me and said that they had found an infection in E. Roulstone lungs.  She was pretty upset.  So I just felt like we needed to go over and give her a shoulder to cry on.  E. Roulstone was awake and able to talk with us for a while before he fell asleep.  

So that was our week.  We hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July.  We will be in the office.  Just where we need to be.  

We miss you all and love you.