I'M IN POLAND!!!!

      Well, everyone, I'm in POLAND!  It's taken me 21 years and some change to get here, but here I am, and it's so... EUROPE!  I've never been to Europe before!  There are pigeons, and cobblestone sidewalks, and old ruins and run-down buildings and lots of communist blocks and tiny apartments and street lamps and gorgeous green parks and old ladies and little kids.  Everyone smokes...okay not everyone...but really... so many people smoke, it's sad.  K. but first I have to tell you about getting here!

      We had a flight to Texas, then one hour before the next flight took off, a NINE HOUR flight from Texas to London, England.  We would be arriving in England in the morning... London's morning that is, in your time, the middle of the night!  So this nine hour flight...I didn't know what to expect, never done this before, so I was nervous, about if the person next to me would be boring, weird, an old man who hates the church perhaps... BUT luckily I sat by this cool 26 year old red head who loves Botanical Gardens and studies Art History in Texas.  She was so cool!  And there was an old man next to her, but then his son switched him spots and we had another friend - a 26 year old guy from INDIA.  The three of us knew pretty much everything about eachother by the end of the flight...AND they got probably all three of the Preach My Gospel Lessons somewhere in there.  We didn't talk for nine hours straight or anything, but off and on, and let me tell you it was just so FUN!  I will need someone to send them a picture I took of the three of us later because I am not allowed to e-mail anyone but ONE e-mail to the President per week and ONE e-mail to my immediate family per week.  It's pretty strict, I hear, but I'm cool with it!

     O.k. so we get to London and all 9 of us were pretty beat.  We were tired, I was super tired, and pretty grumpy, I think.  I didn't really want to talk to anyone, and just wanted to sleep.  It was a weird six hour lay-over.  Finally we got to get on the plane to come to Warsaw!   On the plane into Warsaw, Sister Ostler and Elder Jespersen talked up a storm with this Polish guy in English and Polish - he knew both - about the gospel and it was SO SWEET!  Missionary work ROCKS!  Anyways, then we met PRESIDENT NIELSON at the airport and his wife, SISTER NIELSON.  Then we went to eat dinner at their house and go to BED!  That was THE BEST sleep I've had my ENTIRE mission, perhaps my entire life!  Haha, na, but it was sweet.

      Next morning, we ate a delicious breakfast, headed out to see the Rynek - center of Warsaw.  That was my first real taste of Europe, tall buildings, crazy cool looking churches, weird statues... yeah... oh and a TON OF PEOPLE!  We ate at a restaraunt - we ate pierrogies - for lunch, and it was SO yummy.  They are these little noodle things filled with different kinds of fillings, then deep fried or boiled.  My favorites were the potato ones and the spinnach ones!  They have this cool BACON sauce that was pretty fun too. 

     Then, time for the real stuff... my first time doing missionary work in Poland...contacting on the streets of the Rynek.  It was so SO scary.  I was nervous beyond belief, like really, I barely know Polish, or at least that's how I feel...and I have to STOP someone, who probably has somewhere to be, who doesn't normally stop and talk to random strangers, and tell them about my beliefs to see if they'll listen!  WHAT!  Haha... yeah...so I got a new companion for like an hour, Sister Mann, and we went around contacting people.  I would stop someone and say something like, "Dzien Dobry, jestem misionarka i ma...przeslania o..." and then I'd kind of fade off and freak out and Sister Mann would have to back me up.  BUT THE COOLEST THING HAPPENED!  I think it was the second person I tried talking to, was this young girl, 16, and she LISTENED!  Ha, it really was that exciting - she listened to me!  She was really sweet about it and she took a BOOK OF MORMON!  And we got her number.  And Sister Mann is leaving this week, so I really hope someone has her number.  I think about this girl every once and a while and how COOL would it be if she got baptized, because some crazy American girl randomly ran into her on the Rynek her first day in Poland and gave her a book, the BEST book EVER!

     Well, that was crazy, most everyone else said no, of course, but I got my first taste of success, not just my first taste of rejection :)  One lady said in English to us, 'Stay away from me!' and shooed us away with her hand motion, you know.  Haha, I just have to laugh it off.  Then, that night, we were assigned our Trainers!  It was crazy, getting to know where I'd go, and who would be my new companion.  Sister Folsom is my new companion, trainer, and idol.  This woman is the BEST missionary, she's so talented, knows Polish so well, plays the harp, has a big family, is from Oregon, and she's just so good.  I look at her and just wish I could do everything she does.  It's really hard sometimes to be around her just because of how much I want to do what she's doing, but can't.  I feel for people who maybe can't run, or have some other disability, it's like...there's nothing I can do about it - - at least not right away.  I'm trying to learn polish!  And it's getting better, I just need to speak more to my companion, really try...and just mess up!  REALLY that's how I'm going to become good, is by MESSING UP over and over and over again.  It's crazy, but I've come to that realization, might as well mess up a ton now, then feel the sting and learn from it and pick myself back up and do it again, correctly this time.  Seriously, it's going to be hard...SO hard.  But I'll get there.  Cool thing is, people like to hear that you are trying to speak Polish!  Some people, that is.  If you want to get a good view of missionary work here, it's like this: 95% of the people ignore you, cut you off, slam doors in your face, or tell you the following, "Do you think you are ready to have an intelligent conversation with me about this, I think not, Good-bye" (yeah we got that one once).  The other 5% are my FAVORITE!  They love to smile at you and try to help you with your Polish.  The at least SMILE!  Please don't reject anyone this week, would you?  Would you just be nice, and if someone tries to sell you something, at least give him/her the time of day and a cookie or something?  Like really, I don't think I'll ever reject anyone again...

      Two more quick things:

      I saw a man with his buddies, and he also had his son with him, a little blonde boy, SO CUTE.  But the dad came out of this corner store with a bunch of beers and a little juice bottle.  It made me cry.  I see these kids and all thats going on around them and it's just so not fair!  I wish I could take that kid home.  I waved at him and his dad had him wave back...but it was just so sad.  DO NOT disobey the word of wisdom!  PLEASE!  Just don't do it.

      Old Ladies.  I LOVE THEM.  Especially the really nice ones, like Pani Zofia who was so lonely and just wanted to talk.  She walked past us twice before asking us to talk with her because she was lonely - how CUTE!  She was like half my size - they're so SHORT and there are so many of them!  She took out her teeth while she was talking to us and held her dentures there in her hand as we walked.  It was so funny and cute.  So, my challenge, find someone who is lonely this week and just talk to them.  I don't care what you talk about.  Send someone a letter, go visit, take them cookies, just make someone un-lonely for a while!

     Aaah!  Church!  I've got to hurry and tell you about church.  The chapel is half the size of our Relief Society room at home.  We had like 20 people at church, if that, maybe only 17 or 18...  Only one young woman, and we taught her the lesson.  There are four of us missionaries in Poznan - two elders, two sisters, we don't live close to eachother.  We walk and ride busses and trains, it's SWEET.  I'm going to go get a card for that right after this.  I'm e-mailing at a library.  My address...aaah... I don't know...I'll send it to you next week...or write you today - not sure how fast it'll get to you though! 

    WELL time is up!  I have so much more to say.  The work is going forward.  WE ARE teaching lessons, we ARE giving out book of mormons, and we ARE making people's days just by SMILING at them, I've seen their faces light up and I love it.  I've felt the Spirit so many times.  God LOVES YOU.  I pray for a lot of you every night, Tasha, Tavia, Tiffany, Shayla, Shon, Cheris, my family, Jenny, Bobby, Laura, all my missionary friends...and many more of you, just know that I love ya!  The church is true!

- Siostra Amber Allen

Avatar, Krszystoff, and The Hebrews

 

HELLO!  It's my last time e-mailing from the MTC, so if you want a reply to something you send this week, I may not get back to you for quite some time.  We leave for Poland on Monday morning, leaving the MTC around 8:00 and leaving the SLC airport around noon.  We got our travel plans on Friday, the 8th, and we were SO EXCITED.  It's going to be hard to leave Elder DeShazer and Elder Ressler behind.  We've become pretty tight with them and it's just going to be so weird without them.  Gregg sent me a letter saying to be sure to be ready for the change from MTC to out in the field.  Believe me, I'm nervous and worried and scared... BUT I know that this is the reason I CAME on a mission, not to go to the MTC, but to go to POLAND.  So I'm STOKED!  Please pray for me to stay stoked, that I won't get too nervous.  I'm the "Travel Leader" for our group so that will be fun, I get to keep some missionaries in line for a good 24 hours...but it won't be too hard, we have good Elders and Sisters in our group, so I'm not worried.

     Some fun things that happened this week:  Sister Howells ran in the sprinklers one morning during gym  time and the MTC cops came over in their little go-cart thingy and told her she couldn't do that... We all laughed, and I wished I'd have done it with her, but was wearing a white shirt that morning and didn't think it'd be a good idea.  Haha, MTC cops, who would have thunk...

     We missed breakfast this morning because I couldn't find my temple recommend and once I finally found it we were late to the earliest session at the Temple.  When we got back to the MTC, breakfast was over.  Oh well, I'll just wait till lunch!

     Elder Jesperson, from Provo, knows Avatar pretty well - the Airbender one :) and we talked about some of the characters the other day.  I couldn't remember all of their names and it was really weird because I had to dig deep to find them.  Maybe it's cuz I'm learning POLISH!  Haha, kinda fun, though, to talk about Avatar.  Watch an episode for me, will you? :) 

    I met Simon Dewey's son this week!  Elder Dewey is in our Branch, I think he's from England originally but now lives in Canada.  Simon Dewey is the painter that does a lot of church paintings and they're all over in Preach My Gospel and really just everywhere.  It was cool to make that connection.  I don't like a whole lot of paintings of the Savior, but Simon Dewey's work is probably some of my favorite, because it's so realistic and doesn't make Christ look weird. 

    We hosted again this week, and I got to host companions who are going to the Phillipines.  They are speaking Tagalog (spelling?) and it was fun to take them both, randomly and at different times, to their residence and classrooms.  They both seem like they'll be great missionaries!

    This week was our last time teaching our "investegator" Krszystoff, who is really our teacher, Brat Broadbent.  It was so weird to think we won't get to practice with him again.  He's moving to Idaho with his little family this week.  We will miss him alot.  He is just one of those men that you look up to a lot and know the world is a better place because of him.  I hope I can be as good of a missionary as he was.  He's got so many amazing stories and I can feel the spirit when he speaks.  He's also just a great teacher and I learn so much Polish from him.  I had a "Coaching Missionary Study" with him this last week (he takes us each out individually - kinda felt like a P.P.I. kind of deal) and he was just so nice and so helpful and made me feel like I could conquer the world.  I hope that I can make people feel like that, too.

     Also, our investigator, "Ola" - our other teacher, Siostra Stay, wrote us a note saying she couldn't meet with us anymore because her mom wouldn't let her.  She was acting as an 18 year old girl who had really gotten into the lessons.  I was so excited for her to be babptized!  And then that note, it was really crazy how real it felt, the let down.  I know it's going to prepare us though, I know feeling that will just be a fraction of what it's like when we have a real investegator who you think will make it, and they don't.  How sad!  And how IMPORTANT this work is!  I know it!

     The other day in class, Sister Stay wanted us to have a gospel discussion as a district.  Alot of people hadn't really understood what she said (in Polish) and alot just didn't have any ideas as to what we should discuss, so I suggested Hebrews 11.  Hebrews 11 has always been a favorite chapter of mine, but I hadn't read it for a while and read it earlier in the week and LOVED IT like 100 times MORE this time!  So I really wanted to share it.  We had the COOLEST discussion on faith EVER in our district meeting.  I challenge you all to go read Hebrews 11 this week, it will seriously get you pumped up!

      Also, I read the Home Teaching message - the First Presidency Message, rather - this week and you should read it during FHE sometime and do the little suggested activity at the end.  The lesson made me feel the Spirit and I loved it.  Every family should have a good Home Teacher to bring that message to them this month, just cuz I personally liked it alot!

     I got to read the talk that President Monson gave in Priesthood this last General Conference and it was so good, as well, about the Priesthood power and the wounded soldiers, SO COOL!  Also, yesterday, the man who gave us the devotional showed us a whole bunch of old Mormon Ad's - remember when we looked for a bunch of those on YouTube as a family?  That was fun, and you should look a few up again and watch them.  One of them said, "It's not who you aren't, it's who you are and being yourself is BEING GREAT!" - so just be yourself, because all of you - (my family AND friends) have something to offer and I love ya!

     Well, it's time to say goodbye.  Know that the Church is true, and I'm so excited to be in Poland!  My Polish really isn't up to par yet, but I know that being immersed in it will help SO MUCH, even if I do have a head ache for the first 3 months in-country :)  Prayers work, the spirit is REAL, and I LOVE the Book of Mormon.

     Hugs and smiles from me to you!

- Siostra Amber Allen

   

Breaks, Birds, and Blessings

     Sorry everyone this is late. This is Ambers mother. I was out of town and couldn't remember Ambers silly email to set this up!    

 WAIT!  So is the Allen Family reunion still going on right now!?  If it is, HELLO everyone!  I wrote a letter for you to read at the family reunion because I thought it was this weekend and then this week, and that you'd get the letter I gave to Sister Lamb last Tuesday...but sounds like you didn't get it because I ran into Sister Nanette Lamb this morning up by the temple!  That was fun, gave her a hug and got some news about the family and stuff.  So dad, you have to fly back out to MA?  No good, I'm sorry!  I prayed that your poles would come, I guess it was supposed to happen for some reason, right?  Share the gospel when you go back out there, maybe someone on the plane needs to hear from you! :)

       Alright, so Allen Family, I see these pictures and get a tiny bit jealous!  Looks like a blast!  I'm glad we have a fun family, and that we all know eachother and that we can smile and throw...mud?...pudding?  at eachother and still be friends!  Haha... Nella, so you got baptized this last weekend, right?!  I love you and I'm so proud of you!  And thanks for doing your school report on Poland, I'd love to hear about it!   Teancum, thanks for your message about the food, I've heard SO much about the food, and I'm excited to taste it for myself!  Goldie!  I am so glad you love books!  I love you too!  Syd, haha, no I think Archuletta left the week before I came in, or he was here for only a few days that I was here, because I never saw him, and I know he's out in the field now.  Hey and I love you TONZ too!  Katherine and Nephi, thanks for saying hi!  Nephi, no haven't had to put my companions in head locks yet.  One of them says she's put me in a head lock a few times, though... haha...These sisters are really the best, though!

        Last week in the subject line I talked about purple keys and didn't share the story...SO funny story times:  I was going to the bathroom...and saw this key in the bottom of the toilet...haha...oh, we are so weird... so I told Sister Ostler it was in there after I had finished my business.  She then we decided one of us should get the key out of the toilet.  Sister Ostler did it...with her bare hands...haha the key was probably in there for a long time, cuz it's purple.  Don't worry, we sanitized it... and I want to find the door it unlocks, that'd be SO COOL!

        Next funny story... so last night at Devotional, I was sitting there writing in my notes.  The opening musical number was 'Come Thou Fount' and I love the part where it says 'Take my heart, oh take and seal it, seal it for thy courts on high.'  So I just wrote 'TAKE MY HEART' in really big letters and decorated around it and was coloring it in with some colored pencils.  Well...this elder behind me apparently saw that message, 'take my heart' and took it upon himself to write a note back to me... even though I wasn't writing to him in the first place...He took out his planner and wrote, 'OKAY :)' then tapped me on the shoulder to show me his message!  I didn't really get it at first, but then made the connection and kind of chuckled awkwardly and turned back around to listen to the speaker as he and his buddies just laughed behind me...  WHAT!  And then later, after the devotional, one of them "dropped" a piece of paper and asked me if it was mine... I couldn't believe this was happening... I opened it and it said, "Write me maybe?" then it had the elder's e-mail address and hearts and lips drawn on the paper.  Um weirdo!  Yeah, so I showed our elders and they asked if they needed to go rough the kid up for me.  I feel protected, thanks Elders :) 

       Not so funny story...but it sticks out in my mind...on Saturday, the three of us went outside after a lesson because we were pretty excited about just teaching in Polish and that it went well.  We were so excited that we were giddy and being loud and so we decided to be loud outside instead of inturrupting our elders.  Well we were walking and all of a sudden we hear this huge BANG!  We look over and this guy had ran straight into the fence infront of the MTC on his BIKE.   Like head on, full speed, his bike broke, one wheel was further away from the bike, and he was crumpled on the ground.  Our mouths dropped open and our eyes got wide and we hurried and said a little group prayer.  It was frightening, and he was moaning...then we realized he'd broken a BENCH in half too!  Just yesterday we asked the security guys in the front of the MTC if they knew what happened to the guy.  They said they think he was okay - we saw he WAS wearing a helmet, so that was good - and that he'd disengaged his breaks earlier so that no one would steal his bike, and had forgotten to put them back together.  So he came down that hill, from up by the temple, and couldn't stop.  Crazy!

        One more funny story: We were playing volleyball and I was sort of wrestling the ball away from Sister Ostler on the sand and all of a sudden Sister Howells came out of nowhere and dogpiled us.  My face went STRAIGHT into the sand.  I came up with a mouth and nose full of sand.  It was the weirdest sensation, I really don't think it's ever happened to me before.  I was spitting for a good five minutes, went and washed my mouth out...and had sand in my nose for the next day and a half - haha, it was just fun :) and everyone had a good laugh!

        O.k. well, Saturday was really REALLY great.  We all promised to try to speak ONLY POLISH ALL DAY!  It was AWESOME, let me tell you.  I was more focused, I remembered more words, our lesson went better, and I felt SO exhausted and my head hurt pretty bad at the end of the day.  But I'm pretty sure that I only spoke about 40 words or less in English for 24 hours... how cool is that!  Also, I feel pretty excited that I have the First Vision memorized in Polish.  I got to recite it infront of our whole class because I was the only one who had it memorized.  I really didn't think I could do it, for some reason, and I was sure someone else would get to it before me, but I did it!  Awesome...

        So, basically I feel really blessed, with a lot of things!  There are lots of birds on MTC grounds, and I love to watch them.  The trees here are gorgeous.  It's just pretty and I can see the blessings all around me!  I'm grateful for my family and friends that sent me letters this week, as well as all of you praying for me!  I'm so, SO grateful and I feel your love.

       I felt blessed to be able to be a 'HOST' this week.  A host gets to spend about 3 hours on Wednesday helping new missionaries find their rooms and get their books, etc.  I knew that Hannah Belnap would be coming in that day and was hoping I could host her.  Then when the man in charge of us hosts told us to grab someone if we knew them, I was super excited.  I got to host Sister Belnap!  She was so happy, wearing high heals, and a big smile!  It was fun to see her.  Rachiel Asay is also here with us, and it's pretty cool to be here at the same time as them!

       I want to tell you that I pray for you and that I love ya!  I feel like my prayers are more specific here on a mission, that I really mean it...not that I didn't before, but now that I'm away from you all, I pray with...more intent maybe?  I challenge you to pray with full intent, really mean it, and pray for people by name and ask for something specific.  I've been studying the hymns lately and really liked #191, look it up.  Our Savior is amazing, He truly lived and will come again!  Aaah!  So much more I want to say, but time is up!

 

Love you, love you, love you!

- Siostra Amber Allen -

P.S. did I tell you that I love you?  I LOVE YOU!