April Interview Trip...WROCLAW!

After spending Easter Day in Poznan, we traveled to Wroclaw and arrived that night to find NO ONE on the streets. It was as if the city was deserted. Walking around, we came across my favorite statue(s) in all of Poland. (You can read about them in the Nov. 23, 2010 blog post.) Since this corner is always bustling with people, I took the opportunity to pose with my favorite figure...the woman with the baby carriage.

A tram flew by (why not, no traffic!) with a few people inside. Another unusual sight. Usually the trams are crammed full of people. It was time to get back to the hotel to rest up for District Meeting tomorrow.

Monday Morning. As we pulled up to the Wroclaw chapel, we were met by these smiling faces...

Sister Young and Sister Folsom are ready to put in a full day of missionary work. The Sisters still call Wroclaw "the Disneyland of Missionary Work"! They are teaching some amazing people right now. Future baptisms to come, for sure!

The man who sits at the information desk on the ground floor could see that President was struggling with the supplies that needed to be taken up to the chapel, so he brought over a 'dolly'. A dolly + an elevator makes transporting supplies a dream!

The Wroclaw Elders: Elder Hannemann and Elder Hayes. Elder Hannemann is a great leader and wonderful companion to have. Elder Hayes is doing great with the language; and with 18 new Elders arriving over the next four months, he realizes he will soon be called on as a senior companion (he is ready).

The Wroclaw District being instructed about 'Real Growth' and what it means for the Church in Poland: Not just baptizing people, but helping them become strong active members forever and supporting the Branches in all ways. They also discussed Lesson #5 'Revelation through Church Attendance'.

After District Meeting, it was time to be instructed on how to use the pesticide 'Permithrin'. This chemical has been distributed world-wide throughout all the missions to help with problems like fleas, bed bugs, ants, etc. Unfortunately, Poland has very strict laws, so it took FOREVER to get these 'sketchy looking' little brown bottles (and a lot of $) out of customs. Use it wisely, my dear Missionaries...we may never get it again!

One of our most favorite parts of our interview trips is to be able to visit with our Missionaries over lunch. These great Missionaries are working hard and finding great people to teach. The wonderful thing about teaching people in Wroclaw is that when they come to church, they meet great families like the one below.

The Zan family! The Zans had invited us to their home for dinner and Family Home Evening. It was a delicious meal...Sister Zan is an awesome cook! But the highlight of the night was joining them for Family night! Sister Zan had a great lesson prepared about Easter. It started with telling the Easter story....

...having an activity to see if Damian and Samuel could remember the sequence of the story to...

...ending with a game. Everything was found in the children's section of the Liahona...a magazine put out by our church. Having consistant Family Home Evenings, family scripture study and family prayer will fortify families against the evils of the world. I have a testimony of this, because I have seen it in my own family. Even when you don't think your children are listening, they are.

We love and appreciate this great family. The Lord will bless families (and individuals) as they obey his commandments. Thank you Brother and Sister Zan, Samuel, Damian and Kuba for letting us be a part of your family tonight. We will always remember the spirit we felt there.

It was late, but we needed to get to our next city. Two and 1/2 hours later, we saw this familiar sight...

Do you know where we are? KATOWICE! Tomorrow we meet with our Missionaries and some great members there! For now, it's time for bed!