Nathan's Going to Oregon! Spanish Speaking...

Well, family, seeing as I just spoke to you yesterday, I don't have a TON to say except for this, that you are so fun to talk to!  Thanks for the fun 40 minutes, I LOVED IT! :)  Um... and it was so EPIC!  Man, Nathan, you're going to be the best missionary that Oregon has ever SEEN.  And you're going to love it.

 

This is bits and pieces of the letter I wrote to president today:

 

Dear President,

I don't know if I've seen as many miracles in one week as I have in this one.  We came in here with nothing and God just loves us so much and poured blessings on us that I can't even count them!  We had eleven lessons!  That's amazing!  We were teaching people left and right.  One morning as we went out to street teach/ contact, we had three lessons in about 2 hours, one right after the next and gave away the two book of mormons we had and helped three pretty amazing souls come closer to Christ!  Sister Young got her feel of the first lesson just that morning in companionship study, and so it was awesome to see her put it to practice!  She's so amazing!  She has the normal trainee-frustrations of not speaking the language and adjusting to about a million things - I had forgotten how hard it was to adjust that first couple weeks... they're a bit horrible!  Haha!

What I've learned?  Well, this is from a different story, but I saw an elderly couple in the tramwaj the other day and they just looked radiant.  They were smiling from ear to ear.  So, (because it's hard to contact with my trainee on public-transportation...it's just awkward and we're working on being brave!) I walked over to them and just stated, 'The Mr. and Mrs. look very happy!  How long have you two been together?'  They said their oldest child is 60 years old and they have a 16 year old great grand daughter!  They were beaming and so kind!  I asked them what their secret is to being this old and happy and still together.  They said 'don't stress!'  and 'be healthy' and 'don't get drunk/ don't drink' and you could tell they were family people, and also the husband let the wife sit as he stood next to her, and he's not all together young, you know, so it wasn't easy for him to let her have the seat... but you could see they respected and loved one another.  We ran into them again later that night and waved at them and they blew us kisses... Aw, president, I love these people!  I love people in GENERAL!  God really does have a place for everyone in his huge heart and I'm grateful he's letting me grow mine a bit bigger!

I know God is there, he's watching out for each and every one of us!

Love where you are and what you're doing, it's the best decision you can make!

Love,

Sister Amber Allen

The Return of the Sisters...(star wars theme)

Hello Everyone, this is Ambers mother again. Sorry it has taken me so long to get this posted. Just wanted to let you know Amber's brother Nathan received his mission call on Wednesday and he is NOT going to open it until we talk to Amber or Gregg on Sunday for Mothers Day! I am soooo excited!

Oh man... you have no idea...

I just squealed...literally let out a weird sound...glad the two people next to me have head phones...

E-mail time on your mission is a crazy-exhillerating-awesome time.  It's a time for reflection on the last week of your mission and all the craziness that just went down.  I can't believe I'm here, now, doing what I'm doing, and being whom I've become.  It's a crazy realization that I'm a trainer...in Kraków, Poland, opening a new city and preaching the BEST NEWS the world has ever heard!!!  My companion is an angel, this city is like the garden of Eden it's so beautiful, and I get to talk to you guys next week!  What is this!  It's like Christmas but BETTER! :)

So it all started Tuesday night, had to have my bags packed and ready to go - what a nightmare... forgot how much I love transfers!  So not cool... and so I got rid of a ton of stuff, sent a box home, and left a box of souveniers at the Mission Home.  Last time I'll probably see the mission home like I remembered it, with President and Sister Nielson still living in it.  Makes me want to cry.  This can't be happening.  I get so excited about time, sometimes, you know - wishing things would just happen already, but then I realize that really I just want it to slow down.  I LOVE BEING ON A MISSION.  Wouldn't trade it for anything in the world right now.

Then Wednesday I went to say goodbye to Elżbieta and Czesława :(  They gave me a present!  A wooden owl, yes our family emblem...(haha dad, you crack me up)... It's cool, but I left it in Warsaw and didn't take a picture of it, sorry, i'll have to show you when I get home...  I also said good-bye to maria and wanted to say goodbye to Hania but instead just got their e-mails and told them I'd try to stay in touch.  man... Also got to go over to the Cordova's for dinner Monday night - actually they just bought me a HUGE CHOCOLATE birthday cake with hot chocolate to drink... and I absolutely LOVED the party... :)  Oh I love them.  The kids even walked down the stairs with us to say goodbye instead of just saying good bye at the door.  Oh man, going to miss them.  Agnieszka and Kinga and Marta too.  And really just about everyone!

Thursday morning we headed out to the Mission home, first picking up all the trainers at the Dworzec.  I got to see Sister Bezdjian!!! We had a good long talk, I love that girl, it's so crazy to me that she only has one more transfer, so not right!  :) but we got all caught up - well as much as you can in like an hour - and she told me about all the craziness happening in Poznań.  One of our former investegators, Bogusia, may die from internal bleeding and infection...I'm worried about her but also think that this life has given her enough hardships, she may just be ready for the other side...and if that's the case I hope I can do her temple work for her after she passes... how does that work?

We went to the mission home and had a wonderful presentation getting ready to be trainers.  President had us watch a couple videos - like mormon messages - they were so good.  The one that really stuck out to me was about the father who says that his children have no idea how much he worked for them to have a happy home.  They get hungry and they just expect food behind the cupboard doors, they don't ask how it got there, they just trust.  Man I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it... I will never know just how much my parents sacrificed to get me where I am.  And even MORE we will not at anytime in this life come to a full knowledge of just everything GOD has done for us to prepare this world for us.  Lots of work went into it.  Hard work.  And I never really thought of it before that way.  He really does love us.  He worked so hard to prepare this life for me.  And I hope I'm living it well.  I hope I'm being deeply grateful, and trying every minute to be MORE deeply grateful.  Oh how I love my Father in Heaven!

Then, Thursday night, the trainees came in and they got sorted into cities.  You've probably seen on the blog, my new companion is Sister Young!  She's actually one of the younger missionaries - 19 years old.  She's brave, speaks really good polish (even though she thinks she doesn't), she memorizes super fast and is learning super fast.  She's tall and beautiful and has one older sister and a younger sister, brother, and another sister...if I remember right.  She loves her family and her MTC group, just like I did.  I see a lot of me in her, and can't believe I'm on the other side of this now.  I just think about what I put Sister Folsom through.  Sister Young is way easy to work with, though, probably not like me, I was probably a tough one... haha... oh man. 

Anyways, thursday night we got to stay in a HOTEL!  Weird, since I was planning on sleeping at the mission home.  Then we came back the next morning for breakfast at the mission home and sent everyone on their way.  I love these people, and watching some of them go was a little hard!  Man, like Elder VanBakel, we've been in the same district for pretty much my whole mission, and I don't know if I'll even see him again because he's from Holland!  Crazy... Well we had personal study in the living room of the Mission Home because we had to stay a bit longer because I'm now part of that Missionary Counsel!  We had a great meeting and talked alot about diligence, finding, and self sacrifice.  My mission president is the best mission president in the world, I'm convinced of it.  He's so great.  We watched the video of the two boys who decide to put the silver dollars in the poor man's boots - such a good story.  Also made me cry - those Elders, who usually have this leadership meeting with just the priesthood, were probably all like, 'what the heck!  We let the girls in and then we have a sobbing mess to clean up!'  - haha... yep that's what you get when you let the women in :)  Oh well, I can't help it.  Mormon messages always make me cry!  The CHURCH IS SO TRUE!!!

So then Sister Young and I went to get on the train...with like 6 peices of luggage... man...that was an ADVENTURE!  Luckily we decided to go down early, and our train was already there, so the Elders helped us get our stuff on the train...turns out it's like some sort of HOLLIDAY in Poland, like it is pretty much every other week here!  And we have NO room for our luggage.  We decide to sit in the hall with it... and we talked to a little boy and I had the little kid give us Polish lessons.  His parents thought that was pretty cute.  His name was Kuba and he likes horses.  SO FUN!  Then the train-lady-person with the trolley comes down giving snacks and water and tells us we have to move...so we start moving our stuff and this young guy, about 25, decides to help us.  So we go into this area of the train where the two cars are hooked together, the two wagons, whatever you want to call them, and it's SUPER LOUD!  I ask sister young if she wants to introduce herself, 'no thanks...'  haha... 'here I go,'... I thought, and over the loudness of the train I started basically yelling at the guy about who I am and he yelled back.  He was way nice, Piotr was his name.  He has a girlfriend in Warsaw and was coming back to Kraków to study, he lives here... anyways we got to talking and he asked about my name tag and church...that's when I found myself yelling my testimony - pretty cool...and very awkward situation - 'YEAH WE HAVE A LIVING PROPHET!!!'  I'm saying and probably angels are rolling around laughing watching this idiot trying to share the gospel in such an awkward place.  Turns out we get to basically teach him a first lesson and offer him a book of mormon later - so cool.  I had such a good time.

here's the letter I sent to president this week...

Dear President,

An amazing thing happened this week!  After church on Sunday, we asked Brother Onken to pray for us to give away a book of mormon before we came to his house for dinner.  He said he would!  So we went out the door and started talking to people.  There was a super cute mom with two kids running around.  The blood starts pumping and  you've got to say it all right!  So we introduced ourselves and told her we have a living prophet today and asked her what she thinks a prophet is...she says 'someone who can see the future and talks for God to tell us what will happen.'  I said, 'yes, that's right!  So what would it mean to you to have a living day prophet now!?'   She says, 'that means I'd have a better future.'  WHOA!  That never happens, SUCH a good answer.  This lady was so awesome.  She was in a hurry but we gave her a quick first and a book of mormon and the Restoration Pamphlet to her kids so they could look at the pictures.  They're actually not from Kraków, they live in a far out city, so I didn't get her information, but I challeged her to read (and if I remember right, to pray about it too, of course) - she was grateful and they ran off to their bus.  President, I LOVE these Polish people, expecially the nice ones with kids!

What I learned... involve the members, even the english speaking ones can pray for us and it helps A LOT!  And then that night at dinner we were able to report back, yes we gave the book of mormon away, and to a MOM with KIDS!  They were super happy to hear about the story and I'm sure way more willing to pray for us here in Poland.  The more prayers coming our way the better!

Kraków is so thirsty for the gospel, president!  And our apartment is thirsty for sisters... haha, it's missing some things, but hopefully we have enough funds and what not to get most the stuff we need.  It's not like un-livable or anything... just... funny...

My companion and I are doing GREAT.  This girl is a star, president.  She's got the natural nervousness on contacts and is worried about her polish and says she understands, but from my point of view she understands way more than I did when I came into the country.  And she's learning SO fast and SO well.  We established open communication really early and so I'm able to ask her how she really is and she's missing home a bit but not enough to slow her down too much.  I am loving being a trainer.  It's hard.  But I love the growth we're doing together.  Sister Young is amazing and she's seriously going to grow so much.  Can't wait to meet her in a year and a half to see what kind of a woman she's let Poland help her become.

President, we're going to work hard this week.  I want to just shout from the roof tops that the Sisters are in Kraków... but know I can't do that!  So we're just going to do this one person at a time!  I love the work, President, and I'm so grateful for your support, keep praying for us out here in Kraków, we need it!

Love,
Sister Amber Allen

 

The Best Birthday Presents EVER!!!

Hello Everyone! This is Siostra Allens mother. Here is a blog by Ambers mission presidents with fun pictures and information      nielsonsinpoland.blogspot.com


1. I'm going to KRAKÓW and I'm going to TRAIN and open a NEW CITY!  Sisters haven't been there for at least three years, and I think actually a lot more. I am so excited you have no clue... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2. Ok this probably should have been first, but Tasha had her BABY!  I was thinking about her a lot this week, SO happy for her.  We share a birthday!  That's the BEST!
3. Packages from my family and friends!!! :)
4.  Good weather and an awesome branch party!

This week was pretty awesome. We set high goals and got really close to all of them! The most amazing experience was when we were about to go into an investegator's home and we were 15 minutes early and decided to make a few calls because we didn't want to be too early, and I called a girl who we've been giving a break for a while, she said to call after Easter and I wasn't sure if she was really that interested so I gave her a bigger break...But when I called her she answered 'Hey Allen! How are you?!' and we exchanged pleasentries and then she said, 'I just have to tell you, you've really made a big difference in my life, Allen. I pray morning and night now and I prayed that my boyfriend would stay in Poland instead of moving to Ireland and he's still here and, I'm closer to God and I'm just happy.' - I LOVE this girl, President, she's so awesome! I sure was excited to hear from her and that she's praying! IT DOES make a difference to PRAY! So we'll try to set up with her soon and I sure hope she READS now!

What I learned... once again PATIENCE! PATIENCE, PATIENCE, PATIENCE, I can't seem to get enough experiences with this Characteristic!

My companion and I have had a good week. I'm trying to be easier to get a long with. Sister Howells has taught me a lot and I'm definitely a different person than I was at the beginning of this transfer. Hopefully a kinder one.

I'm SO EXCITED to serve in Kraków! It's going to be the best transfer yet! I'm already praying for my trainee, I know she's going to be a great addition to our mission!

There are two punk kids next to me, probably 11 and 12 years old, they think it's pretty funny that we type so fast and that we have funny pictures we're looking at and smiling so much.  They are giggling...and until about five minutes ago didn't know we spoke Polish. They also keep swearing in English. I guess that's another reason why you keep speaking your language in the Library too, otherwise young punks will start swearing in English next to you.  Oh well, now that they know I speak they're language they automatically have more respect for me.  Cool.  :)  If only I could help them get baptized.  Maybe they'll remember that I'm nice and that I'm wearing a black name tag and five years down the road they'll talk to some missionaries and read the Book of Mormon and get baptized then! :)

Well, I'm being sort of scatter-brained.  Maybe I'll do like dad does and write about things day by day.
Monday last week we went to the Warsaw Uprising Museum.  It's a pretty cool place, and pretty sad in a lot of ways. I've heard that other museums are worse - as in they are more sad.  This museum had so much to look at we just didn't have time for all of it.  There were old guns and interactive displays and a 3D movie where they'd re-created and by computer - as if you're flying over Warsaw after it was completely destroyed.  Pretty crazy.  The film was called 'City of Ruins'  - it seriously was, a city of ruins.  I'm so glad I'm here now and not then, and that Poland is still alive and kicking.  I love these stubborn strong people.  I'm a lot like them...at least in the stubborn sort of way :)  I hope I'm becoming stronger as well, though.

Tuesday we had a lesson with Agnieszka (AG-KNEE-ESH-KAH) and she's cool, has a baptismal date.  She is really nice and bought us doughnuts. Then we did a white board with the elders on Wednesday.  Speaking of Elders...Have I even told you about the elders in my district?  I feel like I used to give you a down-low on them my first couple transfers because I only had two to explain... well now there were six... I have time, here we go:

Starszy Raines:  Well he is from Utah, and was in my MTC group, and is still super awesome. He was companions with Starszy VanBakel and they were Zone Leaders here in the Warsaw area.  Elder Raines had a birthday last Sunday (not yesterday, a week before that) and brought us all cupcakes.  He's pretty thoughtful and kind and does a lot for us as sisters.  Elder Raines loves soccer.  We're grateful for Elder Raines.

Starszy VanBakel:  He's from Holland and is pretty funny.  He's really good at getting people to look at him and follow him and so he helped a lot with the group games on Saturday.  I'm grateful for his cheeriness, always smiling.  Actually I think all of our elders this transfer were ALWAYS smiling.  They are seriously the best.  Elder VanBakel played rugby.

Starszy Garfield:  This elder is from Virginia and is oldest of a bunch of kids like me!  He's super kind and really wise and is going to be district leader here in Warsaw next transfer.  He always has good insights during District Meetings and plays the piano well.  He played some football before the mission.  He's a great Elder and super solid.

Starszy Manwill:  He was my district leader for two transfers and has changed a lot, he's an awesome elder.  He's also ALWAYS smiling and super funny.  We call in to tell him we're alive and safe every night and he's always super helpful.  He loves to talk about his twin sisters who are the apple of his eye.  It's cool how much he loves them.  They both just got mission calls.  One is going to peru, the other to pennsylvania.  Elder Manwill comes home the same time I do.  He was a wrestler.

Starszy Gibby:  He just got trained by Elder Vernon and he's so tall and SO awesome.  Elder Gibby, as Elder Vernon told us, is always super positive.  'God is good' Elder Gibby says.  He's from California and Utah... his family moved from one to the other but I always get them mixed up.  He's doing great with his polish - so cool to see their polish get better.  He didn't play much sports but he's way smart and also has really deep amazing thoughts when it comes to district meetings.

Starszy Vernon:  Also a stellar elder.  He's from Utah.  He went to a year of college before his mission at BYU.  He played lacrosse.  He's got AMAZING polish and he's just a spot-on kind of elder.  He's so nice and good at being calm and consistant.  He got transfered early because the lord needed him as a Zone Leader!  So now he's serving as a Zone Leader with Elder Wilson.  They're going to do a great job.  Elder Vernon is awesome.

One more story and then I've got to go:

A woman came into the church directly after our branch party and was asking where the entrance to the church was… um well you just came through it my dear, but if you mean the chapel…and then I showed her the chapel.  She was immediately impressed and as I started sharing with this un-expected guess I was really happy and excited to just tell her anything and everything.  We didn’t have any planned lessons that day, one fell through, and we had the ward party, and kids’ english… so anyways, this was a really splendid treat.  I LOVE teaching.  I got to tell her about what church looks like. People here are always really impressed that we don’t have pictures or crosses in our chapel.  She also loved that we had a gym.  She loved a lot of things really and I pointed out to her that she’d just said that about five times about five different topics and said ‘you know there’s a lot more things that you’ll like if you give this church a chance, can we meet with you some time?’  Then she was all like, ‘oh you guys are so smooth!’ haha she was a fun lady, but not exactly humble enough to want to change.  It was cool that she was open enough to set foot in our chapel though.  A lot of people avoid us like the plague.  Her name was Beata and seriously she was so nice.  She told us how amazing it was that we speak such good polish (haha yeah right) and in such little time.  I don’t often explain it this way, but with her I felt to, and said that we believe we have the gift of tongues and that’s just one other thing that shows how true this work is!  My companion joined in on the conversation and we ended up sharing all about Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, prophets, the apostasy, etc.  It was so great!  And so unexpected!  And she said she had to go because she was waiting for a bus but then asked so many questions and stayed like a half an hour!  Coolest birthday present ever as well! :)

The church is SO true, everyone!  I was reading about Moroni and Mormon today at the end of the Book of Mormon.  (I will finish it tomorrow along with the rest of the mission.)  And I read in vs. 21 and 22 of Moroni 9.  It's where Mormon says he'd not recommend the evil people to God, but he'll "recommend" Moroni to God... so cool.  Would Mormon recommend YOU to God?  Would he recommend ME?  I sure hope I'm doing all I can to get to that point. I love Mormon.  But more I love Jesus Christ.  He's such a great example for us all.  How did he do it?  The perfect life?  I have so much work to do.  So far to go.  But I'm loving the journey.

I hope you're all loving it too!  See you in Kraków!

Love,

Sister Amber Allen