Trzemek

Saturday and Sunday  this week were pretty great.  We had a fun little
get together on Saturday night put together by the Reed’s and it was
super fun!  It just felt like I was back at home at a ward party and I
just loved it so, so, so much!  The power of the love of Christ was
evident in that room where everyone came together and just had a good
clean time.  Our investigator, Ewa Musiał said she had more fun than
she’s had in a long time.  I’m just grateful that people know we are
spiritual and can have fun too!  We don’t have to be nuns to do God’s
will.  I also loved Sunday because we had several people at Sacrament
Meeting, I got to meet Sister Leppannen, and Marlena’s lesson in
Relief Society went well.  I was also able to prepare the Young
Women’s lesson for Natali and that was just super fun because to my
surprise it turned out fine!

The Principle I learned was this:  It’s great to be alive, you know?
Right now is the time of our lives, it’s a great time to be breathing,
laughing, crying, highs and lows, it’s just all so good.  I’m grateful
for the perspective we have on life and that we really did want these
hard experiences and these really, really GREAT experiences too!  It's
like Pinoccio (spelling?) how he wanted to be a real boy, with a body
and feelings.  We wanted that too!  And we're getting it, so don't
complain about the hard things, at least you can FEEL, it's better
than where you were before.  The principle, I guess you could say, is
the great Plan of Salvation.  We know where we came from, and where
we’re going, and that makes it all worth it.

My companion and I are doing great.  Really.  I know Sister Folsom
cares about me and that she wants the best for me.  From her this week
I’m learning how to be bold with love.  It’s just been a good-hard
week!

The thing I really wanted to talk about today was the few people I've
met here that remind me of my sister Rachel.  The first was a Down
Syndrome older lady on a bus, I can't remember if I told this story,
so sorry if I have...BUT... There was this lady and she kept looking
at me.  So I moved up a seat to sit behind her and tried talking to
her in my broken Polish.  It was just so fun because I couldn't
understand her really...and she couldn't understand me...but it was
like I knew we were already friends, and she knew it too.

Then the second person is a Down Syndrome man who sits with probably
his mother at this tramwaj stop which we pass in the morning on our
runs.  The first time we ran past him, he just waved really big and it
was fun.  The next time he ran with us for a ways and was shouting
things at us in Polish and that was sweet too.  The next time he just
waived and we said 'Dzien Dobry, Dzien Dobry!!!"  Aw man, I love that
guy and I look for him every morning.  I haven't seen him in a few
weeks and I miss him.

Then there's Trzemek.  He's not Down Syndrome... but definitely
missing a few cards.  He was hitting on this cute Polish girl when I
got on the bus... then he saw me hand an English flier to this lady
and her son so he went over to ask her what it was.  Then he tickled
her son... they were really nice to him.  Then he came to sit by ME!
I gave him a flier, and the lady just grinned at me like she knew what
would happen next.  He must be a Poznań local that a lot of people
know... maybe...?  Haha well he sits next to me...we have a
conversation and I tell him I'm learning Polish...he tries to hold my
hand...I say no thank you. HA!  This guy was pretty much my favorite
part of the day.  Then he gave me a hug...and I didn't hug back.  Then
he went and got Sister Folsom from the other side of the bus to come
sit by us and he stood up so she could sit down.  Then he told her
that I didn't hug back.  We practiced counting, he only got to like 20
then we were BOTH stumped :).  We also covered colors for a while and
I knew how to say brown but let him think about it for a while before
saying it...  Then Trzemek followed us off the bus and a ways and kept
shaking hands and wanting us to come with him and he wanted to wear
Sister Folsom's coat so she let him!  Oh man, then Sister Folsom took
a picture and he wanted to like put his arm around me for the picture,
oh no! :) So here's the pciture we took.  But we should DEFINITELY
hook up him and RACHEL in the next life, I'm down. :)

Every soul is great in the sight of God!  And you should all read the
talk called "His Grace is Sufficient" in the New Era that you sent me.
It's so great, it says, "Grace is not a booster engine that kicks in
once our fuel supply is exhausted.  Rather it is our constant energy
source.  It is not the light at the end of the tunnel but the light
that moves us through the tunnel.  Grace is not achieved somewhere
down the road.  It is recieved right here and right now."  Look for
God's help, he'll give it to you!  God is so powerful yet so merciful.
We should be grateful every day for the Atonement of our Savior.
He's the only way to be with the ones you love forever, you know?  And
I just wish more people would listen.  These people are so beautiful
and they NEED the gospel.  I just wish they would search for truth,
honest seekers of truth, that's all we need!  Man.  The work is going
forward, one step at a time.
I love you all SO much!
-Sister Amber Allen