hey momma,
im glad that you were able to translate my testimony haha, i love writing and speaking in my language, but i am keeping my journal in english so you can read it when i get home, just a little gift for you from me. i am worried a little bit about it, but not too bad, all i have to do is listen and open my mouth and practice practice practice and i'll understand them eventually. we have meetings with members in poland every wednesday for 40 minutes, so i kinda already know what i am getting into with the speed that they speak and how they speak. thank you so much for sending shirts, as of right now i do not have them, but thank you so much, it is way too hot here to wear long sleeves ever, and it will be hot in poland too, its been like 85-90 every day in poland for the last month, so i will be in hot weather. im glad that you are working on listening to the spirit, im trying to work on that too haha, and its getting easier the more i do it, during lessons and prayers and even class i will just have a bang! in my head, and all i can think about is what i am supposed to say next, or a question that i need to ask. its amazing how the spirit talks to us through our thoughts and feelings, but it is so awesome when you know that it comes from the spirit. i am doing great, i am still learning in the language, and we are at the point right now where our teachers can teach us concepts in like 5 minutes, we understand them, and then we practice and get the hang of them, its so cool. its amazing when you start learning something how slow you go, and then when you have a good foundation, your learning increases exponentially because things make connections all over and all you can say is, that makes sense. all polish has taught me so far is how weird english is haha, i have no idea what was happening, the english speakers at the tower of babel must have been extremely wicked, because we got a weird, nonsensical language, but polish makes sense. so this week i guess that i have learned that this MTC is really a special place, my comprehension of the scriptures is sky-rocketing, i was reading in alma 40-50, where captain moroni gets introduced and so does amalickiah, and i loved what the scriptures said about what captain moroni did. he constantly fortified cities and sent out spies to watch the lamanites, so when they came, their defenses were so strong and they were so ready that the lamanites were like, oh crap, what do we do now? and we can liken that to ourselves by replacing the lamanites with satan, and captain moroni with ourselves, we must be vigilant, and be aware of satans tricks, then once we know them, fortify our souls accordingly, so when he comes, we will have the power to destroy him and drive him back into the darkness that he came from, never to tempt us again. and i know that if we do that, and we put on the proper armor, that satan will have no chance against us. i love the scriptures so much, every chapter i read brings me peace, and i always learn something new. be safe and keep having fun in your lives, and ill be home soon.
love,
elder summers
hey dad,
that is one of the coolest stories that i have ever heard, and i think that it is 100% true what you said. i know that animals can feel the spirit, they have to be able to, because they were created by heavenly father and sent here just like us, i think thats one reason why smitty is so excited for prayer, because he feels the spirit and it makes him so happy. the cliffhanger that you left me during my last e-mail was well worth it. as for me here, life is good, but cabin fever is getting to be real, ive been here too long and i want to leave and have my real work start. we get our travel plans tomorrow, so next time ill tell you where i will be flying, and then my next e-mail will be from some internet cafe or library in some city somewhere in poland with my trainer, IM SO EXCITED!!!! one cool thing that we have been able to do hear is skype with members in poland, we get to do it once a week for 40 minutes, so i kinda already know how fast they speak and what it sounds like, when they talk full speed i can understand about every 10th word, and i usually know the idea of what they are talking about, just not the details, and it is so cool, it used to scare me like in week 2 or 3, and after i would hear a polish speaker i would feel so low and i would think that i haven't learned anything at all. but then my companion told me the parable of the current bush from hugh b. brown, it is about a farmer that sees a massive current bush with no fruit, so he cuts in down drastically, then after that he sees drops of water at the end of the stumps, like the bush was saying how could you do this to me? i was making such wonderful growth and you've cut me down. then the farmer says look little current bush, i am the gardener here, and i know what i want you to be, i dont want you to be a shade tree, i want you to be a current bush, and one day when you are laden with fruit you will say, thank you gardener, for cutting me down, for loving me enough to hurt me. and when i heard that i teared up, and wept, because i was the current bush. i had been cut down drastically, i had failed, but i was okay, because the lord knows what we are to become, and he loves us enough to hurt us, so since then, i am glad to be "current bushed", to be cut down and made to restart, because i know i will grow back in the way that heavenly father wants me to grow, and i will be what he wants me to be. anyway thats just something that i learned here, that the lord loves us enough to hurt us, but it is always for our benefit, he will never do anything to hurt us. keep doing what you are doing dad, and just know that i am proud to be your son.
love,
elder summers
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