District Meeting in Lodz March 22, 2011

Elder Augustyn, the District Leader, conducts District Meeting. The lesson today was #6 Teach People, Not Lessons. The district members did "role play" with bold short statements of truth. They practiced asking inspired questions and then testified, promised and asked the investigator to do something. They also reviewed the Four Points we follow- 1) Teach to Find and Find to Teach. 2) Investigators pray on the first lesson. 3) Members attend lessons after the 1st lesson. 4) ASK EVERYONE FOR A REFERRAL.

Sisters Marshall, Garcia and Steadman. These are wonderful Sisters. Lodz had 55 in attendance last Sunday in Sacrament Meeting. This branch has seen great success lately, averaging around 48 in the past few months in Sacrament Meeting. This coming Saturday we have baptisms scheduled in Katowice (2), Kielce (1) and Bydgoszcz (1). We hope to meet our goal of 18 for the Quarter.

The Weekend in Warsaw....

Wow!!! We got to spend the whole weekend in Warsaw which means that we were able to attend our home Branch...WarsawII..for the first time since the end of December! Even though we were home, lots of events were happening. Here's how the weekend started...

Friday night the Pawliks came to the mission home because President Pawlik is involved in the Quarterly CCM (coordinating council meeting) on Saturday. It was great to have kids in the mission home and the Pawlik kids are always fun to be around. They keep my 'grandmothering skills' from becoming too rusty!

The next morning, the Pawliks headed to a museum, President Pawlik headed to his meeting, and I loaded up my little Skoda with food and frills for the lunch I was to serve to the men who attended the CCM meeting.

The tables were ready...sporting a Polish theme! The food was fixed and displayed...

...and my great 'event helper', Sister Austin, was at my side. A big THANK YOU to Sister Austin for coming to my rescue (again!) and helping me. This good sister is getting transferred to Katowice to be the Young Single Adult Coordinator there. I will miss her, but Katowice is in for a real treat!

Those in attendance at the CCM meeting were: Standing L to R: President Holy(District President in Czech Republic), President Zelewski (District President of the Warsaw District), another District President in Czech Republic- we need his name... sorry, President Pawlik (District President of the Katowice District), President Richard Nabozny (1st Counselor Poland Warsaw Mission Presidency), and President Irwin (Mission President Czech Republic). Sitting L to R: President Nielson, Elder Schutze (Area Seventy), and Brother Jens Wachter (Europe EFY Coordinator). Elder Schutze has been one of my favorite people since I got to Poland. We first met him at the Regional YSA Conference last summer. (You can read about him in President Monson's Biography, To the Rescue, on pages 331 and 339.) He is truly delightful! Always the gentlemen, here he is thanking us for the nice lunch!

With just a couple of hours to clean everything up at the Wolska chapel...

...I headed to the Warsaw II Branch to speak at the Relief Society Birthday Party commemorating the 169th birthday of the organization of the Relief Society for the women of the church. (We are now 5.5+ million strong....the largest women's organization in the world! It was a great event.)

Women of the Warsaw II Branch---a great group of sisters and it was good to be among them!

That night at the event, President came to pick me up; and we found out that we were to be the speakers in church the next day. So we hurried home to get some thoughts together.

Sunday in church, we met Brother Pickett...who had moved in several weeks ago. He is from Houston, Texas and his wife will be moving here in June. They will be another great addition to our Branch and to the Church in Poland. Here we are with him (Center) and Brother Neto and Elder Harding....who are the 1st Counselor and Branch President of the Warsaw II Branch.

Another change in the Warsaw II Branch was that the Relief Society Presidency was re-organized. Above is the new Presidency. L to R: Sister Kulan (2nd Counselor), Maja (President) and Maria (1st Counselor). These women are great and we appreciate all they do to love and support the sisters of our branch!

Also at church from Rigby, Idaho, was Brad Davis. He and his family will be moving to Poland in a few months and will be living in the Lublin area. We are anxious to meet them all and become acquainted. The Warsaw ll missionaries- Elders Garrett, Hancock, Darowski, Taylor, Lundin and Tribe with Brother Davis at the entrance to the Warsaw ll chapel.

Siostra Thacker i Starszy Kuhle

Congratulations to two of our MTC Polish instructors. If you will remember back in the early stages of this blog, we had pictures of these two, together and not together. Sister Alyson Thacker and Brother Michael Kuhle have decided to be eternally sealed on April 9, 2011 in the Newport Beach California Temple.

If you have been involved with the Poland Warsaw Mission in the past few years, you know both of these great young people. The missionaries, while in the MTC, were taught by Brother Kuhle and Sister Thacker worked with the senior couples. Both served as missionaries here in Poland. We enjoyed both of them while visiting the MTC. Alyson was so patient, kind, understanding and forgiving- to us and more so to agentkuhleman.

Great to see that Michael finally saw what everyone else did. Congratulations and hope to see you at the Euro Cup 2012.

Elder Gladun arrives from the MTC in Preston, England!

Elder Czarek Gladun arrived today in Warsaw to serve in the Poland Warsaw Mission. He has been in Preston, England at the Mission Training Center for the last 3 weeks learning how to preach the gospel most effectively. He had a great experience and is ready to work!

How exited we are to have this great young man in our mission!

After picking him up from the airport and driving through bad traffic, we reached the Warsaw Zone Leaders' apartment where Elders Eastman and Hillyard have been anxiously waiting for him. We offered to take them dinner, but they turned us down.....they had work to do!

Elder Gladun will only be spending one night in Warsaw. He has been assigned to Gdansk where Elder Seibert will be his trainer. Elders Eastman and Hillyard will take him to the train station in the morning and off he will go!

Thank you Brother and Sister Gladun for raising such a fine son. We will love him and take care of him for these next two years. He is on the Lord's mission and he is ready to serve!

Sunday in Gdansk

Driving up to the chapel, we noticed something new right away....We have a big sign!

A few weeks ago, Elder Zatylny and Elders Plumb and Seibert got busy and hung a new sign so all could see as they walked past.

Much care was taken to make sure it was hung straight and would not come down. It looks great! Once inside, we were greeted by the members (and Investigators) of the Gdansk Branch.

L to R: Mazena, Kazimierz, Karolina, Arek, Jadwiga, Marinela, Halina, Sister and Elder Zatylny, Wioletta and Claudia, and Marta. Elders Plumb and Seibert are in front. What a great group of people!

Not having gotten a good picture of the Kempas when we were 'amber shopping', we took the opportunity to do so now. Thank you, dear friends, for a great afternoon!

Elder Seibert and Plumb with Investigators, Karolina and Arek.....and Arek's mom, Jadwiga, who has been a long time member. This is a wonderful family.

On our Way to GDANSK!!!

After a whirlwind week of Leadership Training which spanned the entire country, we headed for Gdansk (at the top of the country) to attend Sacrament Meeting with the great members of that branch.If you have been following the blog, you know we drive a ton(!) and the roads in Poland are usually 2-lane, windy roads through a beautiful countryside. We most often find ourselves looking into the back of a big truck! What a surprise we had in store for us....driving from Bydgoszcz to Gdansk!

LOOK AT THIS SUPER HIGHWAY!!!! We weren't sure we were still in Poland. Not only was it a great road, but look!

Could this be a sign for a Rest Area in the middle of nowhere?

What a great Rest Stop it was! It even had vending machines. This was too good to be true, so President Nielson decided to try out the facilities.

True to form, someone was cleaning the restroom (notice the red bucket by the door) and he would have to wait 10 minutes until she was done! Being an impatient American he came back to the car....taking off his coat to assume the 'driving position' again.

We traveled a heavenly 100 km on this great road to come to this Toll Booth, and then we realized why the road was so nice. It cost us 17.60 Zt. (almost $6) to be on it.....but it was worth every penny! It took us straight into Gdansk!

Before we show you how beautiful Gdansk is, I thought I would show you what the buildings looked like after WWII. After much restoration, this is the Gdansk you see today....

This is a view of Dlugi street...a long beautiful place to stroll.At the end of this street is the building for Military operations. The centrum area in Gdansk is such a beautiful and fun place to see, visit and just spend time walking around. Most of the area is like this street.

This is 'Amber Alley' where there are countless little amber shops on both sides of the road. It is 'off season' now so it was not very crowded. In the summer months, it is packed with people looking for just the right piece of jewelry.

The glass cases showing what each store has to offer. If you like what you see, you enter the shop!

Our friends, the Kempas, took us to one of their favorite shops. The owner is very reputable (on the right) and he will negociate prices! I ended up doing some Christmas shopping for my girls...Avery, Devin, and Emily! (The first time I have ever bought anything this early for Christmas!) I'm not telling what I bought, but you will love them!

Gdansk has a beautiful cathedral, that we have been told is the tallest brick cathedral in Europe. This is the house of the priest who decided that he needed a nice place to stay that was close to his work (cathedral is behind this). Apparently this house was on national TV as one of the fancier homes in the country.

The large stained glass in the cathedral.

The way you could tell if a person is well off was not by the height of his home but by how many windows across the front of their house they had. This person was well-to-do because he had 3 windows across.

This person was very wealthy because he had 4 windows across.

It was getting late, and we were meeting the missionaries for dinner....But I couldn't resist putting some coins in this mime's bucket.....an old fisherman.....a great choice for a sea port city!

Speaking of fisherman.....here are the 'real' fisherman patiently ice fishing as it turns dusk. The ice didn't look that thick!

Another mime...this one with a real talent. The missionaries of Gdansk...Elders Siebert, Plumb, and Elder and Sister Zatylny.

We decided to break the 'Pizza Hut' or "Sphinx" tradition and tried this oriental restaurant. It was fabulous....and so nice for a change! Tomorrow we head to church in the Gdansk Branch.

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!