Poland's Young Single Adults at the Freiberg Temple in Germany

Last week, a number of members from Poland went to the temple. Among them were this group of YSA's: Back row L to R: Marta (Warsaw), Lukasz (Szczecin), Karolina (Warsaw), Dorota (Warsaw), Katarzyna (Warsaw), Sebastian (Austria), Odyseusz (Bydgoszcz), Kamil (Warsaw), Ewa (Bydgoszcz), Dominika (Lodz), Wiktor (Poznan), Aleksandra (Katowice); Front row Lto R: Oliwier (Bydgoszcz), Nasa (Warsaw), Olimpia (Bydgoszcz)---she is 11 so she was given a special tour of the temple by President Apel, the Temple President, while the others were doing baptisms for the dead.

Leadership Training Meetings...held every other month.

It's already time for ANOTHER Leadership Training Meeting. These meetings include Assistants, Zone Leaders, District Leaders and Trainers and last for 2 days. Above is the Warsaw and Bydgoszcz Zones. Starting around the table (from the left): Sister Spear, Elders: Lewis, Plumb, Augustyn, Tribe, Garrett, Stohel, Darowski, Eastman, Contor, Dabrowski, and President Nielson.

  Training time with Bydgoszcz Zone Leader, Elder Eastman and the Warsaw Zone Leader, Elder Garrett. They are explaining the importance of keeping a clean, updated Area Book. (At least Sister Spear is paying attention! I love our Sisters!)

The next day we headed for Katowice to have the Leadership Training Meeting with the Katowice Zone. And as always.......there was something interesting to see on the road....

This is the first horse trailer I have seen in Poland. But as we got closer and we were about to pass, I spotted this..........

This horse trailer was being pulled by this tiny little red car!!! My dad would have laughed seeing as he was a horse and cattle man himself but always drove a big dually Dodge Ram truck...and it was red, too!
We got to Katowice and were greeted by the Sisters there....Sisters Brown, Pritchett (serving in Lodz), Smith and Neiman.

And the training started........

The Assistants role-played Daily and Weekly Planning Sessions to the Katowice Zone. L to R: Elders Tribe, Stohel, Loosli, Leimer, Sister Pritchett, Elders Buckner, Nielson, Turley, and Allred.

More role-plays....Elder Buckner and Elder Nielson.
After all this instruction, it was time for lunch, and what better place to eat in Poland than a great 'Milk Bar'!

It seems we weren't the only ones with this idea! This place was packed...the people kept streaming in....Not only was the food great.....

  ...but there was a great variety and cheap, too! Our whole group was fed for around $30 USD! You can't go many places and feed this many young men on that amount of money!

The Katowice Zone Leaders were spiritually AND physically fed this day! From Right to Left- Elders Leimer, Allred, Murphy, Buckner, Turley, Loosli, Nielson, Tribe, Hannemann, Stohel and Sister Pritchett.

Life goes on at home....

Leadership Training meetings have been going on all week, and we have been traveling throughout Poland. While in Katowice, we received this 'emergency' e-mail from our grandson, TY-age 6. He had just lost another tooth, and he is excited that the Tooth Fairy will be dropping by tonight to leave a little cash in exchange for it. Even though we are here, because of the "tender mercies" we can be a part of things- there.

YSA Fireside and a Good-bye...

Last Sunday we held a YSA Fireside at the Mission Home. L to R: Tomek, Paola, Camilla, Dominik, Ada, and Nasa. Elder and Sister Richards, our Mission Office couple, are also the YSA leaders in the Warsaw area. They told these great young people their conversion stories. We also had a special visitor at the fireside...

Sister Marshall, who was serving in Bydgoszcz, has been transferred to the Canada Toronto East Mission and was flying out in the morning. She was able to bear her testimony to the group and (of course) leave a little something behind in Poland!

We will miss you, Sister Marshall! Always remember you have people who love you in Poland!

New Senior Missionaries Arrive!!!

 Just a few hours after we dropped off our daughter and son-in-law at the airport, I was back at the airport to pickup a senior missionary couple from Las Vegas and some good friends of ours....The Harbers!!! We are all from the Palmyra Ward. Here is Sister Harber coming into the Passenger Pickup waiting area.

Some pictures are truly "worth a thousand words". Now here is a 'confident looking, well-rested and knows-where-he-is-going' Elder Harber. We're going to call it 'jet-lag'! We love you Paul! I love his expression!!!

A big WELCOME to our friends, Elder and Sister Harber. Thanks for coming to one great country. Now....where is President Nielson, you might ask? Again....life is busy here and we had to split up. While I was greeting the Harbers at the airport......

 ...President Nielson was holding Zone Council Meeting. Here he is with our 3 new Zone Leaders, Elders Leimer, Eastman, and Garrett....and our Assistants, Elders Stohel and Tribe. Great things were happening at this meeting. New goals, standards and plans are being established by our leaders. Our first meeting in the New Mission Office- even if there are boxes all over in the other rooms.

So much was being accomplished that even lunch was spent around the conference table while the training continued.

The next morning, the Harbers were given a phone, a car (with a GPS), and an assignment.....They will be the YSA Adult Representatives for Lodz. Its great to have wonderful Senior Couples in the mission field. They bring so much and make a tremendous difference.

A tearful good-bye.....

Finally....a picture of all of us together even if it had to be at the airport just before Devin and Scott left to go home to Vegas. It has been so fun having them here with us and letting them see what mission life is all about. Thanks for visiting and A BIG THANK YOU to Scott's mom, Sally, for tending the kids so they could come.

Here we are saying our final good-byes.....hummmmm ... someone looks like she might be back!

Days 3 & 4 with Devin and Scott

Wednesday morning District Meetings are held throughout the mission. Here we are attending the Warsaw I District Meeting with Elders Berry, Garrett, Crittendon, Augustyn, and Sisters Marshall, Spear, Briggs, and Sheets. (Elder Crittendon's crutches are a result of finding a pot-hole during yesterday's P-Day activity!)

Today we decided to take Devin and Scott to the Warsaw Uprising Museum. The history of Poland is amazing and telling. Across the street, they are doing some major demolition to one very old building.

Inside the Museum.....which is wonderful, informative, and very 'hands on'. Scott and the President taking advantage of some of the 'hands on' displays.

Outside the Museum ...the Wall
This Museum is a MUST for anyone who visits Warsaw. Very well done....very informative. To see what this nation went through is amazing and then to think that Warsaw has been rebuilt is incredible. Now, on a lighter note.....

No trip to Warsaw would be complete without visiting Adam's Tie Factory. Devin and Scott picking out ties for Christmas gifts for some very lucky family and friends.

On to the Rynek....beautiful weather and not crowded. You couldn't ask for anything better!

While walking through the narrow streets to get to the main square, the President was 'arrested' by the Shoe Police for having dusty shoes. It happened so fast that before we knew it, he had shined the shoes, put them on a ledge to dry, held out his hat for money and wasn't going to give them back until he was paid. Quite the Scam!

On top of the look-out tower near the Rynek.

While up on the tower, we spotted this guy who was on the roof of a 6-story building making some repairs. All of a sudden, he whipped out his cell phone and started taking pictures of himself. There was no safety net, he wasn't wearing a safety restraint, there was no one 'spotting' for him..................obviously OSHA doesn't exist in Poland! Click this picture and blow it up to see the details. He is up high, no safety ropes and just "messing" around.

The highlight of the night! As we entered the square leading to Nowy Swiat, we heard this fabulous music. It sounded like there was a full-scale band playing for a party. As we looked closer, it was a lone man sitting on a very good sound system playing a tuba that shot fire out of the horn. The photo doesn't do the fire shooting tuba justice. The flame that came out of the tuba (everytime he played a note) at times was 24 inches tall. It was fascinating....yes, we put money in the pot! ( and he deserved it!) Again, click this picture and look at this guy.