Grinning from Ear to Ear

Sorry folks, I am updating this today! Amber sent this May 20, 2013

 

Can I just say that you're e-mails make me grin SO MUCH!  And I'm in a library, right, so everytime I bust out laughing people are probably looking at me like 'who's the dumb blonde there laughing at nothing?'   But I don't care!  I've got a grin from ear to ear, thanks to you guys, and really you are THE BEST!  I love you all!   You all sound happy and healthy and for that I'm extremely grateful. Sister Young has told me some stories about her family, how her brother wrote her a super awesome note just before she left... how she really loves them... and I feel like I'm thinking more about you guys when she talks about her family.  Being fresh in the country I think you think about them a lot... not that I stopped thinking about you all... it's just that you're here for so long that you start... thinking a lot about other things too!  So yeah, just know I'm loving you from clear over here in Poland!  (And that Sister Young read me something from D&C that was advice to a missionary in the early church and it said that none of his family would die before he got home, I took that as a side-note to me too, so good to know none of you will die before I get home). 

 

Thanks for all of your encouraging-ness!  I re-read that book you guys made me right before my mission - it's a life saver, I tell you, I LOVE IT!  And I read luke's message, he told me to tell the people of Poland about how God saved his life.  I hadn't remembered that it said that, but actually last week we had a lesson with our baptismal date and we taught about fasting!  And of course I shared Luke's story.  It was a great lesson.  Thanks Luke for being a miracle kid!

 

Well... what else... Oh I have a quote that nathan wrote which I wrote again on a peice of paper and put it on my wall... it says the following,

 

"Take every opportunity that presents itself.  You will be EXHAUSTED I can guarantee that, but really you have the eternities to recover.  What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." - Nathan Boyd Allen

 

So basically that's my plan this week... work really hard.  Thing is I've been WAY exhausted lately.  I think it's cuz I'm walking more and hoping I'm doing everything to the best to make Kraków a strong city... and training... and going on exchanges today...and we're getting a new mission president...and we only have like 3 active members to work with who are all men...and well... there's only so much you can do - the rest is up to God... and we just trust him and he really does show us the way.  This week we saw an amazing 12 lessons. Most were street lessons. Which I actually am SO grateful for. They very well could just not happen, but they did and for that I'm so SO grateful! We prayed with almost all of them ON THE STREET. Which is an adrenaline rush in and of itself.

What I'm learning: I am so grateful that a mission teaches a person to not think about what others are thinking about him/her. I'm grateful that God lets us experience this and expecially in Poland where pretty much 90% of the people I talk to every day think I'm crazy or selling something or hate the very idea of talking about religion... You learn to rely heavily on your core - the core of your soul - the rock of your soul, or in other words, Our Redeemer! :) I love the Savior and the fact that he went through times like this too!

 Well, time really does fly. And I really am loving Kraków. I've made it one of my goals to not get frustrated or stressed out... only happiness. So far I'm doing alright! I'm hoping and praying that I'm being a good trainer and that my trainee is learning as much as she can. I'm hoping and praying that my Polish gets better because it's far from perfect. I'm hoping and praying that this exchange goes well and that I do all I'm expected to do here.  Oh yeah, I'm going to Łodż today!  So excited!  But exchanges are a bit nerve racking too - just cuz you are kind of showing off your missionary work to another missionary... and I want to do everything just right!  :)  But it will go fine.  I'm excited!  I'm also excited to let my companion have a break from me and see some other ways of doing missionary work.  This is seriously a GREAT thing that is happening to missionary work all over the world for sisters.  We get exchanges!  SWEET!  :)

 

Some really sad news, Elder Bokinski and Register from my MTC group... they hurt their knees, both of them, and they're going home.  I don't know the details, but even that was enough to make me cry... that's three of us that have gone home early. Will they be able to come back?  I don't know what to think about this and it really kinda hurts.  I hope they are okay.

Also, quick question, do we consider Peter as a prophet? People keep telling me that Christ was the last prophet. But if they believe in the Bible, I'd say we believe he was a prophet too... is that assumption correct?

Oh man, I'm all over the place, sorry!  Did I even tell you any stories about this week?  We saw a crazy homeless guy with like 8 dozen broken eggs and he had a scateboard in his plastic bag in the other hand... oh the things you see in this world... Then another drunk guy called at me from across the tramwaj just yesterday and said that my smile was making his heart thump (as he banged his hand on his chest several times) - uh... what do you do?  Smile anyways?  Haha... Smiling is great - actually a girl came up to us also yesterday on the tramwaj and said she'd seen us about four times now and that we're always so happy and maybe this isn't a coincidence and she'd like to be like us and decided to talk to us - we got her number.  Pray for her to be interested!  SO COOL!  Those are my favorite contacts, when they contact YOU and you realize you've just been doing your job and even if it looks like it's not paying of... whalla, it does!

Amber sent this May 20 , 2013

I heard that President Monson's wife passed away.  Sad.  But at the same time it's alright, he will be okay, he's the PROPHET!  I love prophets.  They're so great.

 

I've been thinking of the song 'In My Daughter's Eyes' - it's a country song... you should look it up for me if you want... and just listen to it vicariously for me.

 

Well, let me read a bit more about what you all had to say and maybe reply more individually.  But if anything, I hope you all know just how much I really do love you!  I'm so grateful to be a missionary!  I love it!  I'm excited to ride a train today and meet new people and see Łodż, I'm more excited to see the miracles the Lord has in store for the people of Poland!  I know that we belong to the true church of Christ.  I know that this organization is full of inspiration and that we are on the Lord's Side and will not fall or fail if we keep doing what is right.  God lives and loves us.  God is good.

Lots of love,

- Siostra Amber Allen