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
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