It Was So Amazing To Be Part of This.....

hey momma bear!

The study time that we get is really awesome, and it something that i really dont want to lose when i get home, just the personal time i get every morning with me and my heavenly father is worth more to me than almost anything. it seems the house is testing you two pretty hard, and it could even be something you could use as an example in your teaching, that is one thing you could say about Christ, he was incredible at making examples of things, and making and using parables, it is something that i have been trying to do lately, and it is pretty tough, so i am glad that i have a great example like christ to follow behind.

So this past week, our investigator got to enter the waters of baptism, and my companion got to perform the ordinance, and it was quite a long day to get him baptised. The day started off with our usual studies, and then after our Personal Study my companion texted him about the baptism, and he said to cancel it because he wouldn't be able to make it through the snow on his wheelchair. Immediately we got ready and left to catch a bus or a train or something to get to his house in Skarżysko, a little town about 40 minutes outside of Kielce. So we get to his town, and we start walking towards his house, not knowing where to go exactly, only walking in the direction we knew it was. We got to a crossroads and turned and kept walking, but we felt a little weird about it, so in our minds as we were walking we said a prayer to Heavenly Father, pleading for help. And literally seconds after we finished our prayers, a man came up and was nice enough to direct us exactly where we had to go. So we arrived at his house and got him to the train station, we had missed a train and had to wait for a while, but eventually we got on the train heading to Kielce. And when we arrived, his baptism was set and performed. We were both in the water in order to help him in and out of the water, and after the baptism was completed we got to hear him share his testimony with us. It was so simple and so sweet, and after this we sent him on a train back home to Skarżysko, we were going to go with him to help him out, but there wouldn't be a returning train that day, so we had to let him go by himself unfortunately. And the next day, he got to receive his baptism of fire by the means of the Holy Ghost, now another one of God's children can and will enjoy the constant companionship of the third member of the Godhead for the rest of his life. It was so amazing to be a part of his experience.

Love,
Elder Summers

hey dad!

 This last week in church we had 17 people including missionaries, and it was awesome, it seemed like with each person that walked in the spirit got a little stronger, it was amazing. and i cant wait to help you out on lessons haha, it will be weird for me to teach in english to be honest, i dont know if ill be able to do it, polish might just come right out of my mouth for all i know, but nevertheless it would be fun to be your companion on a lesson. thank you for the happy birthday wish, im hoping it will be a good day, im going to make some cookies and we are going to have a little party as missionaries and go tracking in some commi blocks. it will be a good day, and its weird to think that ill be 19. i love you too dad, so much, thank you for everything.

love,

elder summers

Faith Gets Us Going...Hope Keeps Us Going....

hey momma!

so its spelled starszy, you got really close haha i dont blame you, i love hearing you guys say polish words :). yeah that phone call was the best, but your happy smiling faces made everything better for me. im so relieved that you got my package, i really didn't think that it was going to get there, just because i've heard stories of missionaries sending packages and when they arrive, nothing is in them because someone stole it. but anyway you got it, and you enjoyed the chocolate, so im happy. yeah on the subject of hope i have done some studying on it, because i wanted to know the difference as well. and pretty much i learned that faith and hope are connected, that faith is the first step, every little thing we do is on the basis of faith, we have faith the sun will rise, we have faith that we will have food, that we will be paid. we also have faith that we will be forgiven, that heavenly father is proud of us for what we are doing here on earth, all these things build upon our foundation of faith. but we cant just have a foundation, we have to build on that foundation, and the building blocks are hope. faith gets us going, but hope keeps us going. i am thankful for you too mom, you are amazing, and thank you for complimenting my polish, i was a little nervous to do it, but im glad i sounded good to you, thanks for everything momma.  So this week because of the Christmas season and traveling, we worked a little bit less than normal, but nevertheless we had some really good experiences which we learned a lot from. The first was with a man named Mirek, as me and my companion were walking down the street we started talking to him, and he asked us to follow him and talk to him. We introduced ourselves as the Missionaries, and we began talking about religion with him, and why our church is so different from other churches on Earth today. He was a bit scatter-brained, and changed the subject frequently, but we were always able to tie it back into a gospel topic we wanted to discuss. At the end of the meeting we said that we wanted to meet with him again, and he agreed. The next day we had a lesson with him, and unfortunately, after we talked about the entire Restoration and why it was needed, he wasn't really interested in learning more, it was really sad for us, but we did all that we could do, so I have no reason to be upset. Another experience came while we were tracting, we were in a building, knocking on doors trying to find someone that was ready for the gospel. We knocked on one door and a man named Paweł came out and began to talk with us. He said that he believed in God, but didn't like how his church was being ran, he felt that it wasn't in harmony with what God wanted. So we bore testimony that our church was run differently, that we know our church is the restored church of Jesus Christ. After we said this, he didn't really react at all to it, but when we asked if we could come back later, he warmly invited us back over to his house. It felt so good, and it was amazing, I have for sure learned from this to just listen to what people say, because when we listen, people tell us what they need to hear.

love,elder summers

I Testify Of What I Know Is True....

hey momma!
yeah its pretty cool the difference that you can make in someones life just by loving them and inviting them back, or just by offering a hand of support for them, it was really cool to be apart of wojtek's change during this last transfer. so, speaking of transfers, we got our calls a few days ago, and i am moving cities again, this next transfer i will be in kielce with my companion, who was born in austria, and knows german and english, he has been out just over a year, so it will be a really fun transfer, oh and kielce is in the south of poland, so i am heading back to where i was born.  so on the subject of weather, the grass is still green, and it has been warm enough that i really dont need to even wear a jacket anymore outside, its very very strange, i wont have a white christmas this year, but hey its no big deal, im outside all day so its nice to have warm weather. So my companion and I had one experience this week. It was when we were contacting with another Elder, and we were just walking along the street and contacting like normal, and we were coming up behind this lady. Usually we don't contact people coming from behind them, but this time the Elder contacted her and began to teach her about faith. After he was done, my companion took over and taught about Jesus Christ and what he did when he was on Earth, and what we need to do in order to follow him. And then after that I taught about Joseph Smith, and I completely butchered my Polish, I know that it sounded terrible, and honestly I'm surprised it made sense at all. But nevertheless, I got through it and afterward, she said that she would be interested in meeting with us and discussing more about what we said, so we exchanged numbers and left. After this, what I learned was that no matter if I butcher my Polish, no matter if it really doesn't make sense at all, as long as I testify of what I know is true, the people will understand it, they will feel different, an they will want to learn more about our church and our message to the world. The Spirit truly speaks all languages, and Heavenly Father really does make up the differences in our weaknesses.

love,

Answers to Life's Big Questions.....

hey momma!!

yeah i guess i am a chef now haha, but i have to be,  i guess i have to be my own mother for two years haha. the members in Łódź are really cool, they are strong members with great spirits, it is really difficult to understand them when they talk though, because during church they use a lot of biblical speech, and a lot of idioms, which just fly over my head, i try to translate it and it makes no sense at all, but hey i can get the basic idea of what they are saying to me at 100 mph so im happy with it. but they are good, we have about 15 every week that are strong members, and my companion and i just helped a less-active see the light of the gospel again, and he has made the decision to begin his spiritual journey once again. so my favorite treat right now in poland, is something that you will find out about later, because i just sent you some today, its the christmas package i promised to send, it will hopefully get there before new years, if not oh well, i am just going to pray that it gets there safe and sound. Iit makes me so happy to hear that you are all doing good, you are moved in and making the house your own. yeah i know we watched our savior descend and be born, and i know that we were singing together as one big happy family, i bet it was awesome.
So my companion and I had some pretty cool experiences this week: The first happened on Tuesday. We were teaching a less-active named Wojtek about the enabling power of the Atonement, and it went really well, Wojtek is doing really great, he was a less-active when I arrived here, and now he has come to church for two weeks, and is on the path to receive the priesthood. It has been such an honor to work with him, and see the things that have changed with him, even in these last two weeks, it is amazing what this church will do to people when they submit their will to Heavenly Father's will, it will always change people, and always for the better. So after our lesson on Tuesday with Wojtek we were waiting in the chapel for an investigator that the other Elders had a lesson planned with, but we waited for almost an hour and didn't show, so my companion and I were heading out to find a different less-active, and we were walking by the chapel and saw someone walking near it, and it was the investigator,  he is from Africa. He has been in Poland for 8 months and can speak very well, and very confidently. So we had a lesson with him, all about the Restoration, and it was incredible, we went through the entire lesson, which lasted about an hour. And after ward he said that this was crazy, about Joseph Smith and angels, and God and Jesus Christ appearing to him, but then he said that if it is true, it would be very important, so he wants to find out if it is true. When I heard that I was so happy, because I know that if he truly wants to find out if it is true, he will receive an answer, and that answer will be yes, and it will change his life. The peace that I have found in this gospel can not be described by any words at all. Answers to life's big questions will always be answered by this gospel, always. This gospel is the way to pure knowledge and peace, it is the gateway to never-ending happiness and security, it is the strait, narrow, and safe path through our lives, and the path back to our Heavenly Father. 

love,

elder summers 

Prophets Are So Important.....

hey momma!

i am so happy here, my comp is awesome and a really funny elder, he is pushing me really hard with teaching and with the language and such, he is encouraging me to change my subject of my contacting every week or so, so by the end of the transfer i will be able to teach a variety of different subjects, and im so excited that i am growing! and yeah i have lost about 30 pounds so far and they keep coming off haha, so eventually i will have to start buying new clothes that will fit me, which i am excited about but i still dont want to spend money while i am here, so the only thing i am scared of is just spending money. so for some good experiences that we had this week: first, we taught a few more lessons to thomas, and he is very smart, but is getting worried about a few things, specifically the word of wisdom, and he is having difficulty reading the book of mormon because it is a little bit to complicated for him to understand, and sometimes he takes things a little bit too literally. so my companion and i, for the word of wisdom question, directed him to lds.org, and asked him to look up some talks from our prophets about the word of wisdom and how it is interpreted in our day, for our day. it made me feel so grateful to have a prophet on earth today, and that when questions come up an any point of doctrine, we can seek and find an answer or an interpretation that will always answer our question, prophets are so important, they are the men that bring us the words of god, nothing has happened on this earth spiritually without a prophet, and im so glad that i came to realize that during our lesson with thomas. he is such an amazing man, and he is keeping his commitments, it is so amazing to finally be able to see an example here in poland, of the lord changing someones life. second, we taught another one of our investigators, named sylvek, who is progressing very well, and we taught him about the keeping the sabbath day holy and fasting. i led the section on keeping the sabbath day holy, it went so well, i love being able to explain things to people, and i love being able to see the look in their eyes when it clicks for them and they understand, it just brings pure joy into my heart whenever i see it happen, and its only been a few times but i know that it will happen more often the longer i am here. i am so happy to be here right now, i am growing and learning, and by the hand of the lord in my life, i am being changed into the man that he needs me to be, and i know that change can only happen here, and i am so grateful for it. l

love, elder summers

 im glad that life is working out well for you, you are happy, visiting family, living life, and everthing is working out perfectly, which is such a blessing, because every day i talk to people who don't have that great blessing in their lives, its sad to see, and then they sadly choose to not listen to something that may not be able to bring wealth and prosperity into their lives, but it will bring peace, knowing that you are okay, there is a plan for them, and god has not forgotten them. 

I Really Couldn't Be Happier Here....

hey dad!

the house thing will work out, just the fact that you feel happy there is a testimony enough to let you know that you are doing the right things, so you will be fine no matter what. everything is so awesome for me right now, and its just getting better and better. i am getting the language but i have so much to learn it makes my head hurt just thinking about it. but i have a long time here, and i know that i will learn it slowly but surely. first, we taught a lesson to a man named thomas, who is from korea and doesnt speak polish, but he does speak english, so my companion and i taught him in english about the plan of salvation, and it was so cool. we bore testimony, he asked some really good questions, and we were able to answer all of them with the spirit. he is a very intelligent man, and loves reading the book of mormon, he is through 1 nephi and got a little confused during lehi's vision, so we talked about that and cleared up all the confusion that he had. it was really good, really spiritual and just a good lesson. the lord truly helps us all in our lives, and i think that most of the time we dont notice it until afterward when we are thinking about the experience, because during this lesson thoughts were coming to my mind that had never come before, different things and different ways to explain things, that now i couldnt explain again. when we live righteously, and fulfill all we can do, the lord supports us, in such a quiet way that we dont even know that it happened until afterward. second, yesterday we contacted down a street named Piotrowska, it is this huge street in the middle of łódź, and there i contacted with a trainee, who had been in the country for 5 days, and it was exactly what i needed. i had been feeling a little scared that i wasnt progressing in the language of polish, until i contacted with the trainee. we, together, were able to stop and talk to people, teach people, and we were able to speak together in unity, it was perfect and exactly what i needed to have happen to give me some more confidence. sometimes i know the lord gives us experiences just to let us know that we are okay, a feeling of peace, or an experience like i had, in his own way, he lets us know that everything will be fine, he loves us, he is with us when we choose to be with him, and he will never leave or abandon us.  

hey momma!

yeah on p-day we can play settlers of catan, we can pretty much playany board game i think, and usually on p-day we kinda just walk around the town, maybe go to a restaurant to eat, and just kinda experience the city a little bit more, without contacting people and trying to get them to listen to our message. yes we do our own laundry, and yes i am doing laundry just fine, but there aren't any dryers in this country, so we all have fans and drying racks in the apartments. so how to say łódź, it is just like this (woo-j) the ł is a w sound, the ó is an oo like in cool, and the dź is a letter combination that makes a j sound. my companion has polish ancestors but he was born in the states and raised there, he grew up in arizona. maybe dad wants a big house like for the same reason that bishop gray wanted a big one, so his family could come over and come back eventually haha. im glad that all is well, smitty is happy, you are all happy, and im happy, i really couldnt be happier here. 

elder summers

We Will Recieve Help....Because He Loves Us

Saying goodbye to his first companion and trainer.....thanks Elder

hey!

wow, you sound like you are doing so good! the Lord is guiding your path so you have nothing to worry about, and Smitty will be fine, he is the toughest dog in the world. The change will be good, you are already seeing family more it sounds like, and since we will be with them for eternity, it wouldn't be a bad thing to be around them haha. yes I loved conference, it was so amazing to be edified by our Prophets, so I am getting transfered to Łódź, Yes I got the travel wods and they are being put to use. and I will keep putting on pictures of my adventures. So I had two experiences that I would like to share with you about what happened this week. The first is about a man named Mirek, who we first met at our English Class two weeks ago, when he came in he had a different, sad spirit about him, he sat through the lesson and he was very willing to participate in everything that we had our English students do. After English he stayed behind and wanted us to sign the Book of Mormon that we gave him for our spiritual thought at the beginning of the lesson. As we wrote down our testimonies in the book my companion talked to him, and sadly he is separating from his wife, and wanted to learn English so he could leave Poland. He showed up to English the next week as well, and after we taught him a little bit about baptism, nothing formal, but we explained what we believe on the subject. We then invited him to church and on Sunday he came and participated in all three meetings, he was already starting to look different, to look happier. This gospel builds people back up after a hard trial, because this religion was restored by Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and they direct this church, the only thing that this church and its teaching will do is edify us. So no matter what situation you are in in your life, this church can build you up, and I know that is what will happen with Mirek, he is an amazing man and this gospel will strengthen him, and he will find peace in this church.

The second experience happened right after we dropped off my companion to head into Warsaw. We were doing some street contacting, I was by myself, and I manager to stop a man named Marcin. And for the first time, I was able to teach him in Polish, and understand what he was saying, it was the most amazing thing I have ever experienced, and I know that it was through the Lord and his hand in my life that I was able to do that. I taught him about faith, repentance, baptism, and the example that Jesus Christ put forth for us to follow, it was just incredible. This made me think of another aspect of the gospel, which is that when we are doing what we are supposed to do, following the commandments and the plan that our Heavenly Father has put forth, we will receive help, because he loves us, and he wants to help us, but we have to work hard, and after all we can do, after all of our courage and diligence, the Lord will make up the difference, always, I know that he loves each and every one of us, and every person on this Earth needs help at some point, and when we are willing to work for it, our Heavenly Father will help us.

love,

elder summers