Experience

Waiting for a delivery that has missed us four times while my companion is setting up the zone conference food without me (in trouble), after the most pressing payments to missionaries, the bills, the report of car damage, the broken printer, now I have one moment, then I'll run (of course not "run") across town to the chapel. This writing is the result of that spare time.

***

For some reason it's simpler to speak to a sacrament meeting of 10 than 100. Maybe because you are trying to reach one person as you prepare your thoughts and it's easier to pick your intent.

Jean highlighted the immediate effects of the atonement. "We can do this!" in the deific "we" provides the hope and the power to press on. Experiences taught us that.

Despite the mundane important unending busy work, we get blessed with new experiences with new people all the time. We were with the elders this week when a lady chose to follow Christ. We got to pray in Finnish with her.

Baptism is a once in a lifetime choice, other major events happen a few times in life that compel us to make a choice, we're reminded every six months how to correct our path, we reflect once a week on Christ's sacrifice and its purpose to improve our lives, we read daily for direction from the words of those who knew, we pray more than daily to know how to proceed, in each moment we choose to follow the good vs the bad.

If we ever get that figured out, I think we'll be OK.

***

 Just an interesting old building

The view from our front room window. 

The person walking outside the fence and the steps leading to it hopefully give its scale.

I think they were going for Lothal Jedi temple, maybe in the Socialist Realism genre.

Rainbow bridge

Reminders

To you:

Thanks for showing up. 

Thanks for doing what you can and a little more. 

Thanks for caring.

Thanks for feeling bad after your emotions get the best of you.

Thanks for waiting your turn.

To me:

Remember this wisdom from one who lived it:

"We can do no great things, only small things with great love."

— Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu (Mother Teresa)

***

We orientationated, no, orientated, no, oriented our first new missionaries this week on our own. The Johnsons (Parowan, UT) arrived Tuesday and got the benefit of our overloading them with a bunch of (probably wrong) information. They're now settled in the lovely Gdańsk and it appears they made it through their first week. On Tuesday we'll meet six more exceptional young people beginning their service in Poland and they'll meet their trainers who are as excited as expectant parents.

***

A lady from Finland living here accepted the missionaries' invitation to attend church today. We remembered a few words of Finnish, but as luck, or the Lord would have it, there happened to be another Finnish lady, a member, passing through Warsaw, attending today also. What are the odds?

***

We hope you remember that we know the Church is true, the Book is blue, and we Love you.

 A pretty little city we happened upon where we stopped for fuel

Christmas lights are still on

In case you forgot what a bridge looks like