Friday, March 11, 2011

Bydgoszcz Zone Leadership Meeting March 11, 2011

It was such a beautiful day, President and I woke up early and decided to walk to Leadership Meeting. Having not spent much time in Bydgoszcz, we were amazed at the wonderful sights it had to offer....
As we left the hotel, this building located across the river dominated our view.
Everywhere are stands of beautiful flowers. As we made our way to the Rynek, at first glance, it looked as though it was under construction.
It was, in fact, an ice rink that dominated the square and even at this early hour of the morning, people were enjoying it.
Continuing on our path, we were surprised at the amount of water that runs through Bydgoszcz.
The Opera House which is host to all kinds of great events. Making our way over to it to get a closer view, we came across this unique bridge....and you know how much I love bridges!
But this one is special. There are hundreds of padlocks hanging from the wire mesh fence along the bridge. Getting a closer look.....
...each lock had names of couples either painted or engraved on them. (It looks like Karolina changed her mind!) Looking across the street, we say a familiar sight...
...Manekin Restaurant...home of great Polish pancakes. This is our Elders' favorite placed to eat.

WAIT...our Elders! We were having such a great time exploring Bydgoszcz, we almost forgot why we had come......but one last sight before we rushed off to the chapel....
This is my favorite landmark in Bydogoszcz...this statue is balanced high above the river that flows through the city. It's called "Crossing the River" and was erected in 2004 to celebrate Poland's admittance into the European Union. Depicting the "perfect balancing of economy and culure".
It is facinating to watch as it sways when the wind blows. It is definitely in my "Top 10" list of favorite statues in Poland! Very unique.

Now, we better get to the chapel....PRONTO....we have a Leadership Meeting to put on!
We get to the Bydgoszcz Chapel and all looks calm........but behind the scenes.......
The Assistants have just unloaded the Skoda with boxes of Books of Mormons that will be taken to the northern branches in Poland. These trips are also to bring the "supplies" to everyone.
Assistants (Elders Tribe and Garrett) and Zone Leaders (Elders Buckner and Nielson) are getting all the media ready.
Ready to start, the leaders of the Bydgoszcz Zone get prepare for Leadership Training. L to R:
Standing:
Elders Plumb (District Leader Gdansk), Stohel (Branch President-Szczecin), Torke (Branch President-Poznan), Murphey (District Leader-Bydgoszcz). Sitting: Elders Garrett and Tribe (Assistants), Buckner and Nielson (Zone leaders-Bydogoszcz Zone).
Meanwhile, three valiant Junior Companions are getting ready to hit the streets of Bydgoszcz to go contacting. L to R: Elders Basha, Johnson, and Siebert.
Not only did they place Books of Mormons, gather phone numbers, and set up appointments with people.......they brought back lunch!
...and their Senior Companions partook! L to R: Elders Murphey, Plumb, Buckner, Garrett, Stohel, and Torke. This was dessert.
It was time for Elder Stohel the Branch President in Szczecin to catch his train. He had come prepared to take 3 cases (or 96 copies) of Books of Mormons, flyers AND mail back to his companions, Elders Tanner and Myler.
After Leadership Training came District Leaders Meeting where new goals were set for the 2nd quarter for this Zone. L to R: Elders Buckner and Nielson (Zone Leaders), Elder Torke ( Branch President and District Leader-Poznan), Elder Murphey (District Leader-Bydgoszcz) and Elder Plumb ( District Leader-Gdansk).
After meeting all day with Elders, it was nice to go out to a great dinner and visit with President Michael Isaac (Bydgoszcz Branch President) and his wife and Andrzej Wencel, newly called 2nd Councelor of the Bydgoszcz Branch. Tomorrow we head to Gdansk!

***Side note: Earlier this evening I was skyped by my 5 year old granddaughter who wanted to know where I was. I told her I was in Bydgoszcz. She said, "Big Ghost!" that's a scary name! Yes, and so is my Polish!

3 comments:

  1. Oh! We haven't been to Bydgoszcz since Greg was in the mission presidency, maybe 6 or 7 years ago!! I see they're still meeting in the same place, and I didn't know Pres. Isaak was the branch pres.! We love him and his wife!! (he was the other councelor in the mission presidency so we got to know them well.)

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  2. I finally found you! Now to read backwards about your fantastic adventures. You are well, amazing, and happy, it appears! This is an experiment.

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  3. Wow, unbelievable. Bydgoszcz was my favorite area (I was there in the summer of 1995). It's great to see Isaak and Renata (is that her name? If memory serves). And I'm sorry - is there an actual "chapel" in Bydgoszcz?!

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