Miracle Skirt Story

FIRST OFF, my Miracle Skirt Story. Sorry I couldn't come up with a better and more creative title. Maybe A Skirt Full Of Miracles?

Nearing the end of my MTC visit, I packed up some things to send home. I debated over a couple skirts which where kind of riding on the Sister Missionary skirt guide line- they didn't go past my knee but ended at my knee. (It seems so silly and inconsequential I know.) Well I had decided to send a couple skirts home, afterwards though I realized I didn't have tons of clothes to being with and after I had even less!

Later on that day another Sister missionary was carrying two skirts and put them in the "free for grabs" bin. I went over and unfolded the skirts, they looked about my size. I went and tried them on and they were a perfect fit! I kept the red one because it looked warm and I thought it was fitting for Poland. 

I learned that it is true, when we do our best to live righteously we are blessed. Our Heavenly Father loves us and desires for us to be happy. He can bless us in both spiritual and temporal things. The red skirt reminds me of the commitment I made to my Father in Heaven when I decided to come to this Earth. I plan on wearing my miracle red skirt oft this Christmas season, mostly though because it is warm! 

"Christmas is not a day or a season, but a condition of heart and mind. If we love our neighbors as ourselves; if in our riches we are poor in Spirit and in our poverty we are rich in grace; if our charity vaunteth not itself, but suffereth long and is king; if when our brother asks for a loaf, we give ourselves instead; if each day dawns in opportunity and sets in achievement, however small- then every day is Christ's day and Christmas is always near." -James Wallingford (Words of Life, Charles L. Wallis Ed.)

This season Sister Grgich and I have been keeping busy by:

- teaching this little cutie in Primary

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-making and delivering ciasteczka for almost everyone

-having a wonderful ognisko Bożego Narodzenia (Christmas fireside). We read from the Bible, sang songs, listened to a talk and some testimonies, sang kolędy and stuffed ourselves with kompot and gingerbread

this is S. Grgich and I and two lovely ladies we have been privliged to have met and been able to teach! We were so happy they could come to our ognisko! (NOTE: Polish people don't really smile in photos.)

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just singing some kolędy. Most people had left, we had a few tricklers so we kept on singing.

-we attended the wedding of two of our "friends" (sounds much better than INVESTIGATORS.) We were so happy to be with them on this happy day!

​Oh they are just too cute. Maawiiiiage is what brings us together today.

-I had a fabulous exchange with ex comp S. Pierson who is serving in Szczecin. It was nice after our somewhat traumatic time in Warsaw. We were able to confirm that the emotional difficulties we went through weren't because we didn't like each other. Hopefully we will have an opportunity to serve together again. You can also get an idea of how adorable the markets are! Look at the size of that bread!!

-it is easy to enjoy the season when in such a beautiful city. Here are some of the city lights on Ul. Długa

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our giant city choinka! 

DECEMBER

D E C E M B E R is here and the air smells oh so clear. Okay so rapping/rhyming has never been a talent of mine, sue me for trying. However I will rub in the fact that I am near the Baltic Sea and sometimes the air really is so clear and fresh smelling. Also the weather has been so mild as of lately, it makes up for the awful rain we had. However I recognize the rain was necessary for helping the leaves fall off the trees in order to prepare for the Winter season. 

Along with this season comes CHRISTMAS! I have been reading through some December Liahona's from over the year's. President Monson invited us this year to, 

"Take a peaceful moment to contemplate perhaps the most serene moment in history of the world- when all of heaven rejoiced with the message 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.' " 

He then shares some words from Bishop Tutu (the Anglican archbishop in South Africa), "Yes I am learning to shut up more in the presence of God." He would approach heaven with what he called a "kind of shopping list." But now, he said, "I think I am trying to grow in just being there. Like when you sit in front of a fire, and you don't have to be smart or anything. The fire warms you." 

President Monson, invites us to sit with the Lord and to let him warm us like a fire in the winter. 

In the Spirit of Christmas we had our Zone/Christmas conference. We met as the North Zone. Missionaries from Szczeczin, Gdańsk, Poznań, and Bydgoszcz all gathered together. There were some Polish kolendy (carols) sang, some yummy apple cake eaten, spiritual thoughts shared, and gifts exchanged which we are now supposed to give to a Polish person.These are the sisters, minus Sister Sloan:

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-Presydent Edgren may have given me a box of grape nut cerael. Our love for the fibrous cereal is something we have in common.

The red skirt is one of my miracle skirts from the MTC. I don't know if I already shared the story. If not... Mum you'll have to let me know, stay tuned for next week! 

Do zobaczenia!

-Siostra Young

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STORY TIME

-we have had alot and ALOT of rain. This is the part of my dress that is not covered by my coat, it got completely soaked. Why might Sister Grgich and I be out in such conditions you might ask? 

D&C 18: 10 "Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God." 

Mother Teresa said, "What we do is nothing but a drop in the ocean. But if we didn't do it, the ocean would be one drop less [than it is]."

Even if all our labours amount to a single drop in the ocean, then we have done our part. All it takes is serving or loving one person. Whoever's life we are able to touch- it is precious. We are all children of a very loving Heavenly Father and we have infinite worth in his eyes, each and every one of us. That is why we have missionaries. That is why even in the most hopeless of circumstances where pride may close every door in your face and the people might laugh at who you are representing, it is because one drop makes a difference- that one drop has so much worth and all the wet dresses and pouring rain in the world can't stop the work from going forwards.

​-then sometimes the rain makes a light dusting of snow

​-then because it is almost that time of year, the lights start to come up

                                                                   

​-and when it is not dark out sister Grgich and I get to see the funky graffiti in the tunnels when we are on our way for some university presentations

​-and we had a movie night at the chapel! Poznaj Mormonów! (Meet the Mormons!) We invited memebers, our english classes, the university students we met earlier that day, and well anyone we thought would be interested. We had a total of maybe 18 people there including missionaries, so that would be 12 people. We topped it off with some juice and popcorn, can't go wrong there. 

And well that's all I got for this week. We have our Zone conference/ Christmas conference coming up on Friday in Poznań. 

Well dowidzenia !

POLISH FUNNIES

1. Ile zębów ma dentysta? )How many teeth does a dentist have?)

-Sto ma, to logiczna! (he has 100, this is logical!) 

So a dental place is called a Stomatologiczna which if you break it up, makes a punny Polish joke!

2. Beczka! -Barrel! What to say when laughing. You might want to try slapping you hand you your knees or something for effect.

3. Miód na serca -honey to the heart

4. Every now and again I switch inbetween English and Polish and sometimes I say weird things or make interesting comments when chattering away with Sister Grgich. (Nothing unusual.) What I forget is that when I switch into Polish, more people are likely to understand me. I am usually too preoccupied with the happy thought that I may have cased something properly to consider the effect an unfortunate person at Piotr i Paweł might have when a scattered Canadian girl is chattering away when all of the sudden they hear: 

"Dzięki Szatanowi" 

I think I am going to be a little better about thinking before speaking. I think there is a reason Heavenly Father wanted me to learn Polish, less speaking and less awkward remarks!

-when the sister's in Gdańsk go bowling (watch out! This is also our approach to missionary work.)

​-on our way to Poznań! We had zone-training. "Early morning trains are our favorite!" -said no one ever

SPIRITUAL THOUGHT:

Matthew 13: 45-46 (Bible)

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls. Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it."

Jacob 2: 18 (Book of Mormon) 

"But before ye seek for riches, seek ye first the kingdom of God."

After we do this, we will be richly blessed both in temporal and in spiritual thigns. I know that as we prioritize the Lord in our lives and commit to living righteously, he will bless us according to our needs. We will want for nothing more as our lives will feel filled up, to the rim of the glass. Remember when you were a kid and tried to put in as much milk as you could before spilling? Our Heavenly Father wants to do the same.Let him bless you, invite him into your lives. The merchant man recognized and understood the worth of the gosel in his life and gave all that he had. 

Have a great week, Sister Young

The Commonwealth Companionship part 2

JESZCZE RAZ JESTEM W G! BÓG NA PRAWDA MNIE KOCHA. 

(I am in G one more time! God really loves me.)

Let the Common Wealth companionship continue to preach the gospel. And Prezydent E put Sister Grgich and Sister Young together once more and took a step back, he nodded it head and must have said, "it is good."

Do you know what else has been good? This whole weekend. The amount of happiness oozing out of this Sister missionary is... maybe concerning. Okay so STORY TIME!

First we went to the zoo and I pet a kangaroo. Sister G got to say hello to her mates. (That was our culture night which we turned into culture day.)

​Then I went to Warsaw and was reunited with Sister C as I had to go to the Urząd for some paper work. I now have a residence card. Sister C bless her lovely heart made me pumpkin pie! Okay well she made Sister G and I pumpkin pie. FROM A PUMPKIN! Not from a can you get at Smith's grocery store but a real pretty orange pumpkin. What a domestic goddess. 

Okay then we found Joseph Smith. Kinnnnnnnd of. The Taggartmobile took us less active finding and we were looking for a member J. S. which is practically the same name. Anyways it was creepy and dark out. We used the GPS which doesn't do much when in Poland but it got us in the right area. After some knocking around and chatting with the people we found out his home is further down the road. Back in the car we go and well we start driving down the road. FINALLY after thinking we missed it we saw a sign telling us his address. We pulled up and Sister T stayed in the car, she gets the heebie-gajeebies sometimes, and got out. We're knocking on the doors, knocking on the windows. Someone is inside but not answering and it is dark so we are poking our way around with a flashlight. Then there is another house on the property and we ask the man smoking a cigarette if he knows J. J comes out and so we are able to talk with him and his creepy buddies who think they can go on dates with us. Polish people. Anyways HE was kind and very polite. Niestety (unfortunately) he does not have interest in coming back to Church at the time being. We were able to share a few things with him and he was very touched that we came out all this way to find him. It has been years since he has had contact with the Church. (Well no wonder, he lives in the middle of nowhere!) His 8 year old daughter A came out and we talked with her for a bit too. We hope to return around sometime before/around Christmas and who knows, maybe things will be different. I BELIEVE IN CHRISTMAS MAGIC, czyli miracles.

Saturday we found out we will remain together for this next transfer. BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER!

Then BOOM it was and I think yesterday was my favorite day since being in Poland. It started out with a delicious bowl of cereal and a brisk walk to the church building. The weather was on point. Then in sacrament we had another miracle! A man from Ukraine who had out of the blue called Sister G some time ago came and brought his Polish fiance. He had met with the missionaries in the Ukraine and is here hoping to stay in Poland. TWO POTENTIALS PEOPLE. A POTENTIAL COUPLE. A BEAUTIFUL HAPPY COUPLE! I love Ukrainians and my Ukrainian heritage. Thank you GRANNY! Anyways so they will be coming to English this week and we will see about setting up and learning more about them. 

Next we taught K (YW). Miałyśmy lekcę o cierpliwości. K is sharp for an almost 14 year old girl and having YW lessons is not only fun for us but it really makes a difference. She normally would be with the primary kids (aka her brother and sister + Klaudia) for the other two hours. Sometimes I see a little fist pump in the air when we tell her we have a lesson for her.

THEN IMPROMPTU PRIMARY LESSON dla K od mnie. Wienz the last hour of church some people had left so there was no one in Primary except lonely K because her mum is in RS. I see her sitting at a table playing on a tablet and was reminded of the gazillion of times I was all alone in Church (well alone in the sense that there weren't other kids) and how much it meant to me when someone would through something together for me.

-well there you have it, I had to think fast and accomadate her short attention span and mine. Oh and not to mention the language barrier, but she is always happy to correct my spelling and I mean she is one of the few people who actually understands what i am trying to say! The green letters say, "God created the earth for (the purpose of) us, we are thankful for the planet which we live." Then we drew things we are thankful for and labeled them, such as our families, stars, seasons, temples, the Book of Mormon, lego... you know, the works!

Church was great and I really worked on talking with the members, especially the ladies and finding times we could meet and ways Sister Grgich and I can help. LOVE AND SERVICE make the world go round. That and gravity and other forces but... wiecie o co mi chodzi.

Still the day is not over! Okay so then French Toast at the Taggarts, było smaczny.

THEN O. Sister G and I met O trackting a couple weeks ago but due to us being sick and busy and her being sick and busy, we were only able to meet for the first time last night. What a beautiful daughter of God. She is 23 and studying ecology and one of the many Universities. She had a short contact with some missionaries many months ago on the streets and that was it. She was surprised when we knocked on her door. (They all are.) Anyways we had a lovely lesson in the chapel, we showed her around and got to know each other a little better. She patiently listened to me as I told her about our loving Heavenly Father who reveals his gospel to prophets. Sister G would then politely clarify the things which I said. We proceeded to teach as so and then we were talking about the Book of Mormon. She asked questions like, "Where should I start reading?" And, "When can we meet again?"

WHOA I AM SORRY, who are you? Are you even real?

Happy feelings all around for O. We set to meet with her for alter in the week. Sister G and I may have skipped home...

THEN TODAY IS THE DAY! M IS GOING TO BE BAPTIZED! I have to give a talk on the Holy Ghost po polsku, we'll see how that goes. I guess you'll just have to wait to hear about it all until next week!

POZDRAWIAM!

Biscuits

the T's are the senior missionary couple here in Gdańsk. They are the greatest and I commend them for their hard work and diligence. They don't speak any Polish although President (he is the Branch President) T does his best and tries very hard. He is not bad, probably better than me! 

This week we did some detective work with the T's. We have a bunch of records for members in the Branch, funny because there are not very many members in sacrament meeting! AHA! So we are trying to go out and find some people who maybe need help or got lost. 

On our way to E z Taggartami samochódem, we were driving along and I offered the T's one of my favorite little biscuits I keep in my bag. They said, "no thanks," and we kept on driving to E.

We were out to visit A, a lady who should she still be around, would have ONE HUNDRED YEARS on Christmas day. Her neighbour informed us that she actually moved away twenty years ago to the US and that she is probably, ona prawdopodobnie nie żyje. (We didn't have a number to call before hand which is why we had to drive all the way there.) Polish people are notorious for moving around and well, finding them is impossible. Like I said, it is detective work!

On our way back to G I start eating my biscuits, they come in a pack of four. THEN ALL OF THE SUDDEN SISTER G OFFERS MY BISCUITS (MINE NOT HERS) TO THE TS! WHO DOES SHE THINK SHE IS? I was so upset, especially because the Ts said yes, I begrudgingly gave them each a biscuit with a forced smile on my face and well I kinda threw the last one at Sister G. (I am not too proud of myself here) I was mad and OCD. I really looked forward to eating the other biscuits with my tea when I got home.

Well it didn't take me too long to realize yes I can be very OCD and that I should have been grateful for the opportunity Sister G opened up for me to share and love. This experience cause me to reflect a bit about service and loving others.

How easy it is for each of us to schedule in time to go and volunteer or help someone in need. Great, that's the service for the day and CHECK! We like to serve when we want to serve.

I learned: it is the times when we are reluctant to do something good that we should do them. In my case it was sharing my biscuits with the Ts and my companion. The Saviour did not just love the people as he desired, he did not just help one person and considered his work for the day complete. He did not just atone for out sins and moved on with life. NO! It is the encompassing compassion of the Saviour that endures and touches our lives every moment of every day when we enable it to. He loves us and is ALWAYS there.

3 Nephi 27:27 "therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am."

Moroni 10: 32 "Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God."

Christ is our perfect example. As we strive to follow him in all that we do and say, we become better and we will learn- we will learn of his love for us and for others. When we try to love as the Savior loves, we will love more perfectly.

I thought I was justified in begrudging act of handing over my biscuits. It seems so silly to me now I KNOW. However instead of thinking about being a good person as a checklist and filling in a check box each day, it is the continuation of collecting check-marks that matters more. It is going out of our way and serving and loving others when maybe seems inconvenient to us that matters the MOST.

This was my lessons which I learned that made an impact on me and how I can love and serve more fully. I hope maybe it can help others and their pursuit to serve. I understand that my head can be a little thick at times and well, I get to learn some things the silliest of ways but hey hope it helps and makes sense!

LOVE YOU ALL! HAVE A GREAT WEEK. TRANSFER CALLS COME UP THIS SATURDAY! 

​-me and the pigeons (filthy animals)

Oh CANADA!

"Hey I found Canada!" This week I wanted to express my gratitude for how richly my life has been blessed. I thought I would try to keep it to 20, something for each year I have. In Polish we say, "mam dwadziescia lat," (I have twenty years.)

1. the example of my Saviour Jesus Christ and His Atonement

2. goodly parents

3. being sealed with my family for time and all eternity in the temple

4. the Book of Mormon

5. temples

6. the capabilities of the human body

7. LOVE -which sounds cheesy and even I kind of flinch at the cheesiness of it all, but it is true!

8. the different seasons

9. art which inspires and teaches

10. music that uplifts 

11. a beautiful Earth 

12. a living prophet

13. nuts- almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans (you name it, and I am thankful for it) Right now there are nuts being sold on the streets with the fruit stands. The Polish understand my needs.

14. general conference! (If you haven't already seen it, go watch it.)

15. cultures and traditions

16. Keanna Woidak

17. Benjamin Jensen (I thought they deserved there own numbers)

18. opportunities to travel

19. opportunities to learn

20. the kindness which others have shown me and which they show to others. I have been blessed with the greatest of acquaintances and I am so thankful for their examples. Thank you!

AND well I can't just stop there! I love my companion Sister G who helps me so much. I am like a lost little puppy sometimes, she helps me by not helping me but then when I get really lost she is always there. I am so thankful for such a wonderful and considerate- not to mention PATIENT and loving companion. She really has made a big difference in the lives of the people here and in mine. I want you all to meet her and not only hear her Aussie accent but to know for yourselves what a delight this girl is! (She has a blog,siostragrgich.blogspot.com -i haven't visited it myself and well I hope are feelings are mutual!)

And well we maybe had interviews with the Mission President this weekend and let's just say there may be a good chance the common wealth companions will be together a little longer! No promises though. That begin said, for anyone wondering where to send mail, just in case I am not here in the future weeks to come, the mission address is the safest!

Love you all and have a HAPPY CANADIAN THANKSGIVING! Thank you everyone for the wonderful letters, I promise I will write back soon. Enjoy the pumpkins, cinnamon, warm tea, cider- it is one of my favorite times of the year.

Siostra Młoda

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