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