I Was The Current Bush.......

Fable.....Food/Table






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

Without Christ's Example......

hi momma,

it is amazing knowing that i have so many friends here, it feels so good, because at home, even though i had you and maddie, i still felt alone at school, and in my life i felt pretty alone, but day one here i felt so good, all of the elders in my district are amazing righteous men that i consider my best friends, and it has helped me a lot, and helped my confidence a lot. it truly is amazing what heavenly father does, i dont think he puts much thought into it, considering he knows everything, but im glad all we have to worry about is following his beloved son jesus christ. and that is something that this week i have really tried to do, we have 3 hours of study a day, 1 hour for personal, companion, and language study, and i love it so much. but this week i have really been studying in chapter six of preach my gospel, which is Christlike Attributes, and it has opened my eyes. Christ was so amazing, and we can never live up to him, but that wasn't the purpose of his life. ive been thinking about that as well, and i thought that christ didn't have to preach, all he needed to do was establish a church and perform the atonement, but he had his 3 year earthly ministry for a reason, to give us an example. without christ's example we wouldnt know how to live, how to pray, how to teach, how to bless the sacrament, how to administer the priesthood, we wouldn't know how to do anything, and that's why he did what he did, so we could follow him. so why wouldn't we? so ive been studying christlike attributes to find out how to follow him and become more like him, and all is boils down to is just forgetting about yourself and serving, offering thanks to god at all times for everything, and not complaining. its that simple, if we do those things, our lives fall into place immediately, and we will be blessed, so i have made goals to stop being negative, and to serve in every opportunity i can, and i know that if i do that i will be blessed and helped through my mission. so my plaque scripture i would like to be Alma 7:23-25. and i cant wait to be able to really speak polish haha, i am improving slowly and it is coming, and i know i will learn it, because i have the lord on my side, so i cant fail.  other than that ill leave you with my testimony: wiem że modlitwa jest nieźbędnym działaniem dla nasze zbawienie, poprzez modlitwa możemy utrzymywać milośćą boga, wiem że modlitwa jest bardso ważnym, kocham modlitwa bo modlitwa przynosił dobry czuć i dobry doświadczenie do moje życie, ja nie zobaczę bog, ale poprzez modlitwa i duch swięte wiem że bog i jezus chrystus jest zycienie. I probably spelled things wrong so good luck haha. love,elder summers

hey dad,

its good to know that life hasn't changed for you at all haha, im glad to see that you are still fishing and having fun and catching big fish.  my week was good, it will always be good when i am in the service of my fellow beings, and i love this work so much, i've never been happier than i am right now, it feels amazing to have the spirit with me so often, it has truly transformed me. this week our two devotionals were by stephen b allen, and elder groberg, both of which are very powerful men. i learned from the spirit of stephen b allen's address that when we truly love this gospel we share it in any way that we can, that one duty of being a Latter Day Saint is missionary work, and that missionary work is one of the most amazing things that you can do, for the worth of souls is great in the sight of god. and then elder groberg, he is the man that the movie The Other Side Of Heaven is based off of. And he taught about the importance of bearing testimony, and that no matter where we are we should bear testimony. we bear testimony by how we speak, we bear testimony by how we act, and we bear testimony by how we treat our fellow man. and when we bear testimony like that, it isn't normal, and people will see the difference in our countenances and want to know why we are so happy, and so peaceful. I love the devotionals here, i dont learn much from the speakers, but when i intently listen to the spirit during meetings is when i am taught the most. 

All We Do Is Invite The Spirit.....

hey momma,

I already have less than 700 days and less than 100 weeks, my time here truly is short, and i plan to make the most of it. i am so happy for angie, it is amazing what is happening back in alaska. and it isnt because of me, it is because of the holy ghost, the holy ghost entered maddie's life and she accepted it and allowed him to work his magic and convert her to the everlasting gospel. missionaries dont convert, and members dont convert, all we do is invite the spirit into the teaching situation and hopefully the child of heavenly father accepts that spirit and allows it to change them, yes i got the pictures and loved them so much, everyone looks so great, and cache looks like he has an ecosystem on his face, it sounds like everything is good and you are doing fine. now i want to end with something i learned this week from T.C. Christensen, the man who directed 17 miracles and ephraims rescue. he was the speaker for our devotional last sunday and he told us the importance of journals, so far i have written a page a day in my journal, and i plan on doing that for the rest of my mission, and when i do, i will have 3 1/2 composition notebooks full of my history. and journaling is so amazing, i understand now why the lord wants us to journal, when i journal it makes me think of my day, and it makes me think of the spiritual experiences that i had, and i see how my testimony is growing each day, so please journal, it is so amazing and has blessed my life so much already. i love you mom.

love.

elder summers

The Gift of Tongues Is True.......

Dear momma bear,
My week was awesome, my comp and i taught more lessons and we are getting to the point where we can expound on gospel points without having to write them down, it isnt conjugated (verbs) or cased (adjectives and nouns) very correctly, its broken but the words are coming to our minds. the gift of tongues is so true, and someone said something very interesting in a devotional, he said that once we recognize a gift in our lives, that we should immediately return thanks to heavenly father in prayer, and when we recognize to him that we have that gift, the gift will become stronger, so that is what i am doing with the gift of tongues, whenever i use it i immediately thank heavenly father through prayer, and i have faith that he will answer those prayers and strengthen my gift. i also had a revelation come to me during a language study, i was memorizing some difficult words and i was getting slightly frustrated at myself, and i just decided to sit and think and ponder for a little bit to give my brain a rest, and words came to my head, and they were, keep studying, you already know this language, you are just re-learning it in mortality. i know that was the spirit talking to me, our branch presidency here has told us that we prepared for 1000's of years for this mission, and i know during that time i learned the polish language, and through prayer that language can be unlocked and given to me again. i like working out, i have lost 10 pounds so far just because it is ball-firing hot as cache would say, and i have been going to the fitness center mostly and doing like a 15 minute crossfit style workout then running on an elliptical for 3 miles, it is good, i like it. about the polish dreams, when im dreaming, about every 30th word is polish, but the words dont make sense where they are, i will say like: oh of course i will help with that tomorrow wiara (faith) but they are coming. all 3 of our teacher have said we are learning fast, one, brother smalley, seriously said the words, its retarded how fast you are learning this language. the lord is helping me, and i have realized that i am nothing, i came from dust and will return to dust, i am all that i am because of my wonderful earthly parents, and my father in heaven. i love you mom.
love,
starszy summers

Music And The Holy Ghost.......

hi momma,

 so idk if i have told you about my zone at all, but in my zone all of the languages we have are polish, bulgarian, croatian, czech, and turkish, so we are all eastern europe and a few are headed farther south, so thats all for language. im sure that the house is quiet, but just think, you are going to blink and there i will be again,  im already in month 2 and i have less than 100 weeks left already.  I know that i am loved by everyone in the family, thank you for telling me that, it is very comforting to know that i am so loved, by my earthly family and my heavenly family. Strangely i am losing weight. ive already had to tighten my belt up a notch, so i have that going for me, which is nice (movie quote). yes i received both packages and i shared my manna from heaven (bible quote) with my wonderful zone and they were very happy that i shared my spoils. Our sisters are getting better and better, we are becoming friends as a district now it is so nice. well i want to share something with you momma kinda like my testimony, in english this time. the last two devotionals we have had have grown my testimony. On sunday we had Josh Wright who is an insanely good piano player, he has played at carnegie hall and a few other prestigious places, and what he was playing just taught me that music is a sure fire thing that will always be with you, you can always sing in your head and that hymn will drive away bad thoughts instantly and fill your heart with the spirit. the tuesday night devotional was taught by Elder Andersen of the 12. he taught on nothing but the Holy Ghost and it was incredible. it just proved to me that the most important thing we can have with us is the spirit of the lord, it doesn't matter our level of knowledge or spiritual experiences, if you have the spirit, people will feel it and see it.   Thank you for everything you have done for me Momma, i love you.

love,

starszy summers

hey dad,

well im glad to hear that the world is still spinning on without me knowing haha.  i love it here so much, i really thought that i knew how to teach before i got here, but i had no idea whatsoever, everyday i am learning so much about how important the little things are, and its amazing how putting together all those little things will lead people into this amazing church forever. my testimony has grown exponentially everyday that i am here, but the most growth has happened in two specific areas: the Holy Ghost and music. everyone here seems to be learning something that is going to change their lives forever, and mine so far has been what i just mentioned. All our teachers have really talked about has been teaching by the spirit, that it doesnt matter what we say at all, our words don't do anything for the investigator, all we are are vessels of the spirit, that it is much more important for us to always have the spirit than anything else at all. and about music, that music instantly invites the spirit, no matter where you are or what you are doing, a hymn in your head will calm you down and the spirit will reside in your heart. well i dont mean to sound preachy haha but i just love this work so much and i want to share it with everyone. i know that when cache and hayden went into the MTC they tried to convert us and we made fun of it, but none of us are truly converted yet, and all of us are working on it still, and the most important convert that you can have is yourself. i love you dad, i promise when i get home i will mow the lawn for you again.

love,

starszy summers

We Decide Everyday......

Momma,

Well its funny that you ask about the laundry, i am doing fine with it, i can fold everything so it doesn't look like an ape did it.  speaking of my district i haven't told you about it, it consists of 4 elders and 3 sisters. the first elder is from maryland and is studying trumpet performance at BYU, another is studying acting at BYU, and my companion is studying chemical engineering, all of the sisters went to BYU, one is from lehi utah, another is from Alpine and went to Lone Peak High, the school who's basketball team won the national title two years ago. the elders are amazing and funny, its so nice to be around friends, true friends that love me, are respectful, and just amazing men, the sisters are helping me to learn patience so i guess it is a good thing this is happening. we got to hear two devotionals, one from Stephen B. Allen who said that we decide every day what kind of day it is, and on tuesday we listened to Lowell M. Snow a former seventy, who talked about becoming truly converted to the gospel. but the powerhouse lesson we got was on sunday night we watched Character of Christ by David A. Bednar, i wont say anything about it, but go and watch it, it is amazing. ja mam świadectwo z Bóg jest Ojcem Niebieskim i Jezus Chrystus jest sbawicelem, wiem że Józef Smith jest prorok z Bóg i Księga Mormona jest prawde, my potrzebowamy wiara i swiatło ż szczęsliwe, w imię Jezusa Chrystusa, amen. Good luck translating i may have spelled some things wrong :)

love,

starszy summers 

Hey Dad,

 The priesthood may have been past down, but after all of the apostles died the right to give that priesthood to anyone not ordained to the priesthood left, so in essence the keys were taken from the earth. i don't hold keys, it would be like the apostles, the prophet, and every stake president, mission president, bishop, and elders quorum president instantly dying, i still have the priesthood and you would still have the priesthood, but the keys would be gone, so we could not pass our priesthood on to anyone else, what it means by the priesthood left the earth is the KEYS left the earth, so no one had the right to receive revelation for anyone else, and no one had the right to bestow the priesthood on anyone, the KEYS are the government of the priesthood, and the government of the priesthood dissolved with the apostles,  i just want to share with you one thing that i have learned that has been the biggest thing to hit me, that people are not ever taught by another mortal being, the only true teacher is the Holy Ghost, so when we teach anyone we must do one thing, and that one thing is invite the spirit through simple doctrine, we have been taught here that you do that through modlitwa (prayer) and świadectwo (testimony). so when you talk to someone start by bearing sincere testimony and all that you know, then teach as simply as you possibly can, the Holy Ghost will enter, and the Light of Christ  will come alive and they will know that what you are saying is true. i love you dad, 

love,

starszy summers

And Ray Lewis Hits You Into The Water......

hi parents!

im sorry to hear that barrow was frozen haha but it seems typical. well how is it going do you ask? i can tell you. it is amazing, the spirit here is a constant feeling and everyone here is an amazing person, i have never been surrounded by this many amazing people in my life, i am so glad i am here. addressing the language statement that you had. they have changed the teaching style since hayden learned spanish, there is no longer any getting your feet wet section of learning, its more like you are standing at the edge of a dock and ray lewis hits you into the water. my teacher has not spoken a single english word to us haha, it is kinda overwhelming but i love it so much. i can pray, bear my testimony, and recite our missionary purpose in polish now and ive only been here one little week. my kolega (companion) is not exactly like me, he sings a lot and hasnt ever played sports, but we have a wonderful friendship already and we compliment each other well. we have already taught 4 lessons in full polish to an investigator, our investigators are members that know the language and are just role playing for us, but nevertheless they are speaking in only polish. the spirit knows all languages, and we actually brought him to tears in our last lesson about the restoration of the gospel. i have participated in the choir even though i cant sing worth crap, but my kolega can so its okay, he can drown out my horrible voice. we have had two devotionals, one was taught by janice kapp perry and the other was taught by Elder D. Todd Christofferson. sister perry was in the motab choir and has written songs in the childrens hymn book. she taught on the power of music, and now i know that music is laced with simple doctrine and testimony that helps us build a better foundation for faith. Elder Christofferson taught about satan and his power, he said that the most awful power that satan has is the ability to make us feel worthless and that we can not repent. so it strengthened my testimony of repentance that no matter how much we sin the path to return never gets broken it just gets longer. now to address some questions, the language is coming along well for a week into it, i love my kolega starszy (elder) jeffs, he is an amazing and spiritual man, yes i have seen levi and i have pictures with him at the temple, i would like those small notebooks that you bought for me, i think that is about it,they have plenty of food at the MTC so please dont send me food, i love you so very much and i am proud to call you my parents, and i am so thankful that you raised me righteously enough to go on this amazing mission, this week has been the BEST of my life and i know that every week will be just as good or better.

love,

starszy summers

ps. i learned that poland has 9 week transfers so i only have 12 not 16