Katowice District Conference November 5-6th

Starting Saturday afternoon, we were able to attend the Katowice District Conference. It was truly amazing to see all the saints gathering this weekend in this District to be instructed and edified by their priesthood and relief society leaders. Above: The Katowice District Presidency. (L to R): Brother Zan (District Clerk), Andrzej Kucia (1st Counselor), President Pawlik, President Krykawski (2nd Counselor), Elder Jensen (District Council).

Attending the conference were our great Branch Presidents of the Katowice District: (L ro R) President Najberg(Kielce), President Dzubla (Krakow), President Cielenski (Wroclaw) and Elder McGrath (Katowice). We appreciate all the hard work and long hours these good men put in to further the kingdom in their branches.

While the men were holding a Priesthood Leadership Meeting, the women of the Relief Society gathered for a leadership meeting of their own. The need to be unified and to do our Visiting Teaching were the main themes. Besides receiving some great instruction, we were edified by a wonderful slide presentation (thank you, Gosia!) that brought the spirit quickly into the meeting, a 'reader's theater' on the kind of Visiting Teacher we should be and a real-life demonstration on "HOW to Visit Teach" one another. It was a great meeting. I love these Sisters!

Waiting for the Adult meeting to start, Sister Malinowska (Wroclaw) and Krystyna (Katowice) keep Isaac Jagard entertained!

We had a great 'Buki Break' between meetings that was enjoyed by all. Andrzej (Krakow), Gosia (Katowice) and Adam (Wroclaw) take some time out to visit and catch up on what's happening in their lives.

Karol (Kielce) and Cindy (Wroclaw) in the YSA Center trying thier hand at 'Fooseball'....this was a very popular place to be! Karol is one of the great new members of the Church. He is looking forward to serving a mission next year. A want to personally thank Cindy for being my translator for the weekend. This young woman did a fabulous job!

More visiting between meetings: Sister Marshall, Barbara (Wroclaw), Sister Folsom and Marta. Below us...Marek, Wojczek and Adam.

On P-Days, Sisters Marshall and Folsom (serving in Katowice) visit the mother of one of our members and are learning how to do needlework. This sweet 82 year old sister patiently works with our young sisters to teach them a skill that was taught to her by HER grandmother! I see some family Christmas gifts in the works!

By the end of the night, these three were ready to go back to the hotel to go to bed.....even if they had to get there themselves! Luckily, Spencer, Ania and Isaac's parents came to their rescue! Don't worry, they will be back tomorrow morning...full of energy!

Sunday Morning..ready for District Conference. We got to the chapel early, because there was much to do. It was going to be a great day....we could just feel it!

As is our tradition, all members who have been baptized since the last District Conference receive a special corsage to welcome them (next photo). It also lets the other members know that these people are new and to make a special effort to go and meet them. Here I am pinning on our first corsage of the day....Tadeusz! Tadeusz is a wonderful member in Katowice.

Almost ALL the converts in the Katowice District since last conference were able to be in attendance today. It was really exciting to see these new members mingle with the other saints in Poland. Their testimonies bring much strength to the church here. Thank you ALL for making the special effort to be here, AND thank you for all you add to your branches. WE LOVE YOU! Top Row:

(L to R) Patrik, Rafal, Tadeusz (all from Katowice), Karol (Kielce), Adrian, Arek (both from Katowice). Middle Row: Dominika (Katowice), Barbara, Jolanta (both from Wroclaw). Front Row: Daria, Wiktoria, Weronika (all from Wroclaw) and Julia (Krakow). Not shown but was in Attendance: Jolanta (Krakow).

I was also able to catch these sisters practicing for their musical number that would be presented during the meeting: Sister Folsom (piano); Sister Marshall, Gosia, Wiktoria, Dorota and Sister Jensen. It was beautiful, by the way! Thank you, Sisters, for sharing your talent!

We had many investigators at the Conference including Adam who is being baptized this month. Here he shown with Elders Siebert and Davis (serving in Katowice) who are teaching him. Another great individual that will add to the spirit of this great branch.

We were excited to see so many members and investigators coming from Krakow! Top Row: Elder Klosowiak, President Dzubla, Elder Kalinowski. Middle Row: Teresa, Barbara, Andrzej and Jan. Front Row: Julia and Oskar.

But wait! Pawel, Hania and Tybek are also from Krakow.....and Pawel is a professional knight! Now, that's a cool job! It was great to see Pawel again and to meet his wife and son. A great family!

(Part) of the Zan family. This couple and their 3 boys are from Wroclaw and add so much to the branch there. Sister Zan gave a great talk today on the blessings of serving in the church. She and her husband lead by example. She is the branch Relief Society President, and Bro. Zan is the District Secretary and assists the branch president with finances. Thank you for all you do!

You can't have a blog entry about Katowice without these three guys in it! Patryk, Arek (brothers) and Adrian are all at the 'hub' of the YSA program there. They are great about bringing investigators to everything.....even the meeting today!

Barbara (who has been called to work with the Young Women) and Jolanta (who teaches the 'Gospel Principles' class) are both from Wroclaw. These two new converts have already learned the joy of serving in the church! (and the blessings it can bring!). What a blessing they are to the Wroclaw branch.

Dorota (Katowice) and Teresa (Krakow) catch up with each other. Thank you, Teresa, for the great chocolate! It was wonderful and so thoughtful of you! Dorota is the YSA Representative for the Katowice District and does a great job planning and carrying out activities.

What are the Jagard's doing in Katowice? Both were speaking at District Conference this weekend! Both of these great members are former Poland Warsaw Missionaries. Both continue to serve in this great country as the Young Women's President in Warsaw I and in the Mission Presidency. Thank you for all you do.

The Pawlik family is growing up! District President Pawlik and his wife, Lisa, serve so faithfully. Many are blessed by their efforts. Ewi and David also did a great job helping with all the younger kids that were there at the conference. Poland is truly blessed by the Pawlik family.

These three great men received the Melchizedek Priesthood and were ordained Elders. Adam (Wroclaw), Adrian and Rafal (Katowice) are great men who will do nothing but strengthen the Church. It was so wonderful to see them stand at conference and be sustained in this great action.

Sister Jensen (serving in Wroclaw) is always willing to share her talent. As interviews and setting aparts were going on after the Conference ended, an 'instant choir' formed and these 'angels' enjoyed singing together! (L toR): Dorota, Cindy, Ewi, Cynthia, Weronika.

As we were catching our train back to Warsaw on the next track over were brethren heading back to their cities. Karol, Elders Hancock and Gudnason along with Presiden Najberg were traveling back to Kielce. Also Pawel was heading home. There was a great exitement at the train station with members seeing each other off.

We are on the way home. A great Katowice District conference. There were 98 in attendance. There weren't any empty seats in the chapel. What a great time had by all. This was one of the best meetings we have been to. The Church is growing and wonderful people are joining and becoming involved in the gospel. A special thanks to Elder and Sister McGrath who helped in so many ways.

Here we join the Assistants and the Jagards in boarding the train and heading home to Warsaw.

Now to get ready for arriving missionaries, then Transfer Week, followed by Zone Leader Council. Next week we are on the road for Zone Conferences. This is a GREAT LIFE. I hope I make it! :))

Day of the Dead Open House at the Wolska Chapel

Bright and early this morning (November 1st--Day of the Dead) things were happening at the Wolska chapel. We were ready to greet passers-by that wanted to tour our chapel and have some fruit tea and cookies. Some only asked to use the restroom facilities and once they got through the door, were interested in looking around. Vojtek and Slawik (from Warsaw I Branch)were some of our first greeters, and they did a great job.

Inside the building the 'break room' was being set up by Sister Briggs (who manned it all day long!). This was a place were our volunteers could sit down, rest and have a bite to eat. It was going to be a long day 9 am to 7 pm. and we didn't want anyone to go hungry!

Outside one of best 'greeters' was Godfrey. Everytime I looked around he was talking to a small crowd of people. Here is a rare moment when he was only talking to one.

Singing hymns in Polish and English brought a nice spirit as people were walking back and forth taking flowers and candles to decorate the graves of loved ones. Our chapel sits between two large cemetaries so people are going from one to the other all day long. (L to R): Sisters Ellis and Mann; Elders Vreeken, and Bode. Elders Basha and Marsing serving in Lublin came and helped out. They had been in Warsaw for their District Meeting and had short time to wait until their bus left to take them back to their city.

A new convert, Jerzy, offering fruit tea and a tour. He was talking to everyone that passed by.

Elders Curtis and Sorn and Sisters Jones and Bailey singing as Elder Dabrowski talks to a couple about our beliefs.

We had 'set up' a Family History Center in the cultural hall. People were able to view microfilms and see how finding your ancestors is done. Some of our member volunteers who helped take people on tours were (L toR): Agnieszka and Rafal--(baby Maria due on December 25!); The Dreslers, Magda and President (at the monitor) and Malgozata and Zbigniew (whose daughter, Aleks, is getting married next week!) We are grateful for all the members of the Warsaw I Branch who came and helped with the open house. They are great missionaries and do a wonderful job telling others about the church. Thank you! and we love you! We had many people take tours today. I wish we had kept a count. It was a successful day.

President and I decided to walk over to one of the cemetaries near by. What a beautiful sight...tons of candles at this memorial honoring those who died in the 1944 Uprising.

A beautiful little girl lighting a candle to remember those who have fought for freedom.

While at the statue, we ran into Brother Pew (Warsaw II Branch) who had come to see this beautiful cemetary. This good brother is here studying and helps the Church in many ways.

Back at the Open House.......Look who just got a Baptismal Date from taking someone on a tour, then they wanted a lesson, and then..........you know the rest of the story. Many great contacts were made today. The missionaries were able to set up appointments with families that had been walking by, saw the sign and decided to come and see what was inside. It was a good day for missionary work.

As it is getting dark, people are still walking by. Elder Curtis talking to a couple as they partake of some refreshments.

Sister Bailey and Sister Jones taking a mother and daughter into the building for a tour.

The singing was so inspiring that I had to jump in and join our Missionaries. It is amazing how good you sound when you sing next to a good singer! (L to R): Elders Sorn, Myler, Sisters Ellis, Mann and Elder Johnson.

A typical scene of the day- a family walking by and the missionaries visiting with them, offering some cookies, handing out pamphlets and inviting them to take a tour of the Chapel. Here Jerzy, Elders Sheridan, Hillyard and Curtis are talking with people as the singers are having others stop and listen.

This holiday is one of the biggest in Poland. Flower and candle stands line the streets way into the night. One Polish person told me it is like Thanksgiving in America....It's a holiday you spend with family, you eat alot and you remember the loved ones that have gone on by cleaning, visiting and decorating their graves.

Having left the Open House, President and I decided to check out the cemetary that is very near to the Mission Home.

It was beautiful! It was so lit up with candles, that you could easily see where you were going. What a wonderful holiday! What a great day to tell people you can be with these loved ones forever! And we were able to do that today as we took many people through our chapel and explained the Plan of Salvation to them. God loves us. How do I know this? Why else would he have such a wonderful Plan for his children to be together and return to Him someday? I love this church!

Getting Ready the night before the Open House (Oct. 31, 2011)

Tonight I opened the door to this surprise! Our Assistants, Elders Hillyard and Dabrowski, had taken some time out of their P-DAY to carve these fun pumpkins. (L TO R): "Poland Loves Baptisms" (and we do!) and "Wybierz Sprawiedliwosc" (Choose Justice=Choose the Right). We knew these Assistants had great leadership ablility, but we had no idea they were so artistic! After their weekly meeting with the President, we all headed over to the Wolska Chapel to get ready for out "All Saints Day" open house tomorrow.....there was much to do!

We pulled up to the parking lot and found President Dresler finishing up hanging the "Zapraszamy" (We Welcome) sign. As our new District President, he is very busy. We appreciated his help and efforts. Inside, the building was 'buzzing' with all kinds of activity...

The cultural hall is being set up with chairs, refreshment table, a family history corner and this great picture collage. It will be a nice place to visit and ask questions about anything the investigators have seen or heard.

Guess who got 'vacuum duty'? Elder Johnson, one of our Office Elders, ...

... and Elder Sheridan the other Office Elder. Both diligently vacuumed every corner of the foyer as furniture was moved to make room for our guests.

Another pumpkin surprise! Sisters Ellis and Mann had also taken some time from their P-Day to carve this masterpiece...a portrait of President Nielson! He has received several 'honors' in his life, but this is a first! A Pumpkin Portrait! It was quite good....the picture doesn't do it justice.

These missionaries are ready to share the gospel with those who will tour the Wolska Chapel tomorrow. A great group....and we love each of them! (L to R): Elders Sorn, Johnson, Hillyard, Sheridan, Curtis, and Dominik (Chair person of the event); Elder Dabrowski and Sisters Mann and Ellis.

And below, how the Chapel is more visible after the tree was trimmed (earlier in the day) and the bush was cut down. See how beautiful our Chapel is.

We are open for business! We are ready and waiting for a great Open House tomorrow. Hundreds of people will walk by the Chapel tomorrow as they head to the cemetry next door. We look for to a successful day. This Church is true. It will change lives. It is the way to serve others and come unto Christ.