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