Life is great in Katowice except for maybe the weather. My Companion keeps on saying, "So in the summer we can do more white boards or go to the park on P-day etc." and then she realizes it's the middle of July and this is summer. I think there's only been one day in the last week that it didn't pour rain non-stop. I personally like this kind of weather, but it does make it hard to do good missionary work in Poland where the majority of our finding is contacting people on the streets. Oh well, there must be some amazing people that need to be found by tracting.

Kato update: What's new here besides the weather... 

We met with the coolest family this week. This couple has two cute teenage daughters. They came to our concert last month and after wards we were talking and they invited us on a "driving tour" of the area so they could show us some of the original towns that haven't been changed by all the wars. We did that last P-day and it was so cool to see these little pieces of history and culture. One town was created to house the workers at a mine nearby and it was just really cool to see that everything was constructed to center around family and community. 

The even cooler part of this story is that when they dropped us off we asked if we could visit them and share what we believe with them and they said yes. I was a little worried that they were just being nice, but it was a fantastic meeting and they invited us back. We can't wait to meet with them again. 

Dorota planned a really fun event for Pioneer day and it was a blast. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, pioneer day was celebrated even in Poland, but probably slightly differently than they do it in Utah. There weren't any handcarts. Just eating contests and potato sack races-- and everything was inside because of the weather. Then after wards we sang hymns for a while which was really cool because one of our investigators who was there loves to sing and it was a great way to share with her what kind of music we have. 

This investigator is a cute 20 year old linguistics major who met missionaries in December; she randomly called us to know if there were still English lessons going on. She is really active in her own church, but we had a great lesson with her.  She reads and prays about the Book of Mormon so she can know for herself that it's true. That's the great thing about missionary work, we don't have to convince anyone of anything, just invite them to find out for themselves and every person that studies it out and prays about it can know. 

Gosia, the relief society president, is working really hard to get the women in church visiting teaching and so we've been helping her out. If there are sisters that can't go with their companion we volunteer to go with them so that they can do it. I have such a testimony of the power of visiting teaching. I know it uplifts and strengths both the teachee and teacher and that branches that do it well, are more unified and happy so I am excited to help Gosia out with this project. 

Dominika never ceases to be amazing. She's almost done with her second reading of the Book of Mormon and is so solid that sometimes I forget that she is only 18. 

That's about it on this side of the world. Hope you're doing well over there too. 

Siostra Allen

Hey,

We're working hard here in Katowice. As every missionary knows there are some times when you have a ton of investigators and you are rushing from one lesson to the next and then there are sometimes when you feel like you're starting from scratch. We're at one of those points where we have one great progressing investigator that we meet with every couple days, and the rest of our time is spent contacting on the street and in the parks trying to find new people. However, for all the street contacting time we've had, some of our most successful contacts were just conversations we struck up on a tramwej or bus or randomly walking from one park to the next.

A short picture of missionary life:
Sometimes contacting can be difficult. For every 100 people that you try to stop, maybe only 15 will even listen your second sentence. Most of those 15 are going to tell you that they aren't really interested, a couple might take a Book of Mormon, and maybe only 1 will be willing to meet with you. It takes a lot of patience to stay happy and optimistic, but something I've learned is that as I do, the Lord always blesses me. And that one person that is willing to talk fills me with so much joy that talking to all of the people that were less than kind is some how worth it.

Two of my favorite examples are from last week:

One woman we contacted is a practicing Catholic and when we first offered her the Book of Mormon she wouldn't take it. But then we talked about life and how faith can help us over come difficult times and read in 2 Nephi 2 how trials help us understand our blessings and learn and grow from them. At the end when she gladly took a Book of Mormon she said, “I hope this book can help bring me some of the hope and peace I've really been looking for lately”!

Another woman was found in the middle of nowhere walking her dog. When we asked “what meaning would this have in your life” she said, “None. I'm atheist”. But then we asked her what had made her choose that path and she said that she had never thought about God much, and then got out of the habit of going to church when she went to college. She was concerned that so many Christian people say one thing and do another. But we talked to her about how God really does exist, but if we do nothing to build a relationship with him, he will not force us. Then we talked about how real faith is shown through actions and all of the sudden she was a open and gave contact information so we could meet when she gets back from vacation.

It is when I meet people- who all of the sudden are thinking about how faith can bless their life and what they can do to come closer to Christ and they want to read the Book of Mormon in hopes that it will help them do that- that I remember, "This is what I'm here to do". This is AMAZING.

I know that this is the restored church of Jesus Christ and that the Book of Mormon really does contain the writings of prophets in Ancient America whose sole purpose was to help people believe in Christ. I know that prayer works. God listens to us, loves us, and blesses us when we qualify for those blessings through obedience and diligence. I love this work and am so grateful for my chance to be apart of it. My heart literally aches when I think of how little time I have left. I want to make the most of it and serve every day with all my heart, might, mind, and strength. I love you all and thank you for your support and encouragement.

Kocham was!

Siostra Allen

So Poland has a TON of holidays. And when Poland celebrates, it celebrates. Nothing is open and everyone takes it easy with their family. Today happens to be one of those, we were really grateful that the internet cafe we normally use is open and also this cute bike rental place. As a missionary we see a ton of the cities that we serve in, but we don't really get a ton of time to explore. So today we're going to rent bikes and ride all around taking pictures and having a grand old time being a little touristy. It'll be fun. Our own little way to celebrate.

What else is new here?  We're working really hard talking to so many people and teaching a decent amount. A lot of our investigators have really interesting backgrounds, we are teaching several Christians, but also an Atheist and a Pagan. It's very different to teach someone without a Christan background. They will read, but prayer, the only way for them to gain a testimony about our message, is another thing. I never realized how important it is, or desired so much for others to do it. I just love all the people we're teaching. Every one of them is such a nice, interesting, fun person. Even if their choices to reject the gospel break my heart, I hope and pray that maybe sometime in the future they will. Either way, I love them to death and will have way too many people to stay in contact with after my mission. The list just keeps getting longer and longer.

I have also officially decided that pond/ lake baptisms are the best. We had one on Saturday and it was gorgeous. Of course you cant' always count on the weather which is why they probably prefer something like a font or a pool. We learned that first hand, after the ceremony I was giving a talk on the Holy Ghost and it started pouring rain all over everyone. Oh well, it was an adventure and my scriptures dried out.

Love you all tons. Have a great week.

Siostra Allen

Cze뜻 wam

Cze뜻 wam!

Transfer weeks are always crazy because half the week you're trying to do missionary work as well as prepare for someone to move and then the next half of the week you're trying to do missionary work as well as getting adjusted. It's been a big change for Katowice- we had three from our district get transferred to Warszawa, 3 remain, and 3 people get transferred here. However,  I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone new.

 

My new companion is studying Neuroscience, wants to be a doctor, plays the harp, has made a couple wedding cakes, swims, and runs marathons/triathalons! She's my first companion that's taller than me, which is fun. She does really well with the language and is ready to work hard.  She's great.

You asked:

What's new in Kato?
Besides transfers it's pretty much the same. The YSA's are getting ready to go to Romania for the YSA Conference. And then 4 young men are going to serve mini-missions for a few weeks at the end of August which is going to be amazing! even though it's going to be slow for the branch getting member lessons and recent convert lessons. They really are a lot of the life blood of the branch right now. Oh well. It's going to be such a great experience.

What do we do on P-day?
Normal study, e-mail, run errands, grocery shop, clean and then it's about 2 or 3. Then we usually just listen to Mormon Tabranacle Choir and write letters. Lately everyone in our district has gone over to a Ward Sister's home and we hang out and play games etc. It's been really nice and relaxing recently.

Say hi to everyone for me, Love,
Siostra Allen

District Conference

working on teaching skills

Southern Poland's District Conference Lunchtime

Hey!

It's strange to think of summer as scorching as I know Las Vegas is this time of year. Poland gets unbearably hot as well; however, the last few days have turned grey, cold, and rainy. Last Monday I decided to buy a rain jacket because I don't have one and right now they're on sale. It was sunny then and I had no idea I would need to use it so much so soon. But as you know I love Fall weather, so while everyone else is complaining about the sudden cold stroke, I'm secretly reveling in the beautiful gloomy sky and being able to wear my cute new jacket.

You asked about my language skills. I'm doing well, at least I can communicate. There are still so many words to learn and so many grammatical mistakes that I make, but I understand the most part of what everyone says and when I don't it makes for a really good story. Like a few weeks ago I was talking to an investigator who has really bad phone reception. So you have a language barrier, he talks really fast, and I'm not able to hear everything. Well he told me that he hadn't done very well on one of his exams and I thought he said he was waiting for the grades on his exam. My reply wasn't exactly what it might have been had I understood correctly. So even a year into the mission and there are still lots of language blunders to be made.

On Thursday we had a missionary musical concert for us to invite investigators, and members to invite their family members. We were a little worried that there wouldn't be that many people and we were wasting time getting everything ready for it, but over 20 investigators showed up. It helped that we planned it right after English class so a lot of people stayed from that! We were thrilled that it went so well and now we're trying to think of other ways we can use music to find people.

The baptisms went very well. Because we don't have a real chapel we have to rent a pool about 15 minutes away, travel to it to perform the baptism and then travel back. It's hard to make this go smoothly, but everything worked out great.

Oh and you're probably wondering about transfers. So I'm staying in Katowice! I'm so excited to be staying and continue working with the people here. I'll be sad to see my companion go though. We've had a GREAT 3 months finding and teaching some fajnie people. I've learned so much in so many dimensions of my life. Language, teaching, building friendships, planning... she is a bomb missionary and must have trained me well because I'm going to be a trainer again next transfer! I'm so excited about the new things I'm going to learn with this new missionary. I'll have to tell you all about her next week after I've met her.

New transfers are great because they allow you to have new beginnings. To hold on to the positive things that you are doing and make needed changes that will help you progress and become the best missionary you can be. I'm so excited for this great opportunity and hope you all are embracing your new beginnings back home too.

I love you and pray for you often.

Siostra Allen

A big week

As far as my life goes, we're really busy.
This coming week is the last full one before transfers so next week I'll have news on what's changing!
We're getting ready for Dominika's baptism next weekend. She is so ready!
We're planning a musical fireside that members can invite their friends and family to. I'll tell you how that goes.

We have this one really cool investigator named Adrian that decided to go with the YSAs to Romania for the European YSA conference (basically an older version of EFY). We are so excited for him. He came to church yesterday for the first time. and there are some great members that are about his age and they really like him. Our investigator will even text them questions he has about the church! He's seriously one of our miracles.
We had a funny encounter with a couple of drunk men. Sister Mann tried to contact them not knowing they were drunk and one of them, put his hands on her shoulders to talk to her. He wasn't threatning, it was just a little invasive. I pulled her away and we were endeavoring to say goodbye, but he kept on asking us questions. Just then one of our investigators shows up out of nowhere. He'd been on the other side of the street and came over to assist. Heavenly Father was looking out for us and we were very grateful. We also can testify about the Word of Wisdom and how much benefit it has. Drunk people just act really stupid.
Well that's our update. Love ya and talk to you next week.

You asked about Auchwitz. It was really hard to emotionally take it in. You see all the pictures and evidence and read the accounts of prisoners, but it's impossible to really comprehend what happened there.I took some pictures, but in my opinion it was too sunny and pretty the day we went. It didn't really agree with the mood of the place that we were.

Something that is interesting about missionary work is that each person you teach has such different concerns. Even though a lot of people in Poland come from a similar background, every one is working to overcome a different concern before they can be baptized. For one, they first have to believe that God exists despite the horrible things that happen in this world. For another, they are learning why a church is necessary and it's not sufficient to just study and believe on your own. Another person admits that God probably exists, but they don't know that the Bible or anything/ anyone else can express God's teachings and commandments. And those are just a few. Each person that you sit down with has a different life and different questions, and yet, amazingly the Gospel of Jesus Christ in it's simple and perfect way helps us understand all of them. It meets every person's needs. How is that possible? I'm not exactly sure. But the scriptures talk about the need for an infinite atonement and I believe that holds the answer.

I know that Christ's atonement is real. I have felt it heal me. When I have felt hopeless, as I turned to him I received hope and peace. This is a living gospel that helps people with todays problems. It is beautiful. It is powerful.

I wish you all a wonderful week.

Siostra Allen

End of June 2011

As far as my life goes, we're really busy.
This coming week is the last full one before transfers so next week I'll have news on what's changing!
We're getting ready for our investigator's baptism next weekend. She is so ready and wonderful!
We're planning a musical fireside that members can invite their friends and family to. I'll tell you how that goes.
We have this one new really cool investigator that decided to go with the YSAs to Romania for the European YSA conference (basically an older version of EFY). We are so excited for him. He came to church yesterday for the first time. and there are some great members that are about his age and they really like him. Our investigator will even text them questions he has about the church! He's seriously one of our miracles.
We had a funny encounter with a couple of drunk men. My companion tried to contact them not knowing they were drunk and one of them, put his hands on her shoulders to talk to her. He wasn't threatening, it was just a little invasive.  I pulled her away and we were endeavoring to say goodbye, but he kept on asking us questions. Just then one of our investigators shows up out of nowhere. He'd been on the other side of the street and came over to assist. Heavenly Father was looking out for us and we were very grateful. We also can testify about the Word of Wisdom and how much benefit it has.   Drunk people just act really dumb.
Well that's our update. Love ya and talk to you next week.

Auchwitz

You asked about Auchwitz. It was really hard to emotionally take it in. You see all the pictures and evidence and read the accounts of prisoners, but it's impossible to really comprehend what happened there.I took some pictures, but in my opinion it was too sunny and pretty the day we went. It didn't really agree with the mood of the place that we were.

Something that is interesting about missionary work is that each person you teach has such different concerns. Even though a lot of people in Poland come from a similar background, every one is working to overcome a different concern before they can be baptized. For one, they first have to believe that God exists despite the horrible things that happen in this world. For another, they are learning why a church is necessary and it's not sufficient to just study and believe on your own. Another person admits that God probably exists, but they don't know that the Bible or anything/ anyone else can express God's teachings and commandments. And those are just a few. Each person that you sit down with has a different life and different questions, and yet, amazingly the Gospel of Jesus Christ in it's simple and perfect way helps us understand all of them. It meets every person's needs. How is that possible? I'm not exactly sure. But the scriptures talk about the need for an infinite atonement and I believe that holds the answer.

I know that Christ's atonement is real. I have felt it heal me. When I have felt hopeless, as I turned to him I received hope and peace. This is a living gospel that helps people with todays problems. It is beautiful. It is powerful.

I wish you all a wonderful week.

Siostra Allen

Summer Sun is up at 3am

I think I mentioned that in the winter it gets dark really soon. The sun was set at 3 in the afternoon. Well the inverse of that is the summer when the sun rises at 3 am. Our apartment is on the east side of the building so at 3:30 or 4 am we have full daylight. For the last week, I've woken up really drowsy gotten out of bed to pray and then when I finished, looked at the clock and realized that I had a few more hours of sleep. This morning my companion got up, prayed and took a shower, only to discover when she returned to our bedroom that it was only 4:30. So funny. We'll get used to it, but until then I feel like I'm sleeping in, because only when I sleep in do I sleep during so much daylight.

I'm thinking about how I would describe the last week. It was a good week, because we were working hard. We did a lot of contacting, but it was a lot more positive than last week. We talked to some really cool people and really got to teach and testify. It's funny the more you're here, the more you can do and say, but you want to do more and say more. I'm learning a lot of patience and the value of good planning and preparation. 

We went out to visit our investigator last Monday- she lives a 45 minute train ride away from Katowice. We got to meet her sister and hang out with them and two other new members all afternoon since it was P-day! It was really fun. This P-day the YSAs are having a Grill which they planned on Monday so the missionaries could come. The last 5 converts from Katowice are younger than me which is crazy and really fun, it means we have a very young branch. But it's great to do stuff like this because we can build relationships with the members and help support them and so they can invite friends and family to meet us.

By the way, I got both your letter and package. Thank you so much! It was great to hear from you. I'm glad to see that Josh's graduation went well and that everyone is healthy. I keep a couple pictures of the family in my Book of Mormon because a lot of people want to see you all. So now I have a few more to add to it. Also, thank you thank you thank you for the conference ensign. We are loving finally hearing what was said in conference.