26: Week 26 (17th week in Warsaw): Hello, Princess

Ukranian Pioneer:

Yesterday in Relief Society, everyone had the opprotunity to share their conversion stories. This one particular Ukranian sister's story really hit me. She said that in 1998 (she was 18 then), on a warm Saturday morning, she was walking through an outdoor market with her boyfriend and saw missionaries with a table and whiteboard across the street. She said her heart just "fluttered"....but then got carried away with other things in the moment and didn't have the opprotunity to go over to the table. She went home that night, after spending the day with her boyfriend, and couldn't seem to escape that feeling. She decided that she was going to go back the next day to see if they were there with their table again. But this time: no table. She was heartbroken (although she now understands why....they were at church, of course!). Time passed...but she always kept thinking about those missionaries. 2 weeks later, her and her boyfriend were at the market again...and so were the missionaries! She was nervous to talk to them (especially because her boyfriend was a Seventh Day Adventist)...and wanted them to approach her (but they were busy talking to other people)...so she wrote down the chapel address that was on the whiteboard and went on her way. She showed up to church the next Sunday with over 70 questions written down for the missionaries (missionary jackpot!!). In that part of Ukraine at the time, there were only 7 members. Within a month, ALL of her questions were answered and she was baptized. She said that the church MADE SENSE to her. Her questions were answered. She felt DIFFERENT (constant companionship of the Holy Ghost). She served a mission exactly a year from her baptism date...and that is where she met her husband. They now have 5 kids. She went on about all the blessings she has recieved since being a member of this church. 

Now, from a missionary perspective...this hit me hard. It made me think how many people look at our table, or our whiteboards and on the inside are screaming, "talk to me, talk to me!". There are prepared people all around--we, as missionaries (and members!)...just have to do our part and OPEN our mouths. Don't be afraid...don't be ashamed.

Legia Warsaw:

...aka the soccer team here in Warsaw. 

Yesterday, our district was handing out flyers for our free English class. 

Yesterday was also game day. 

Game days are  nuts. 

Elder Barlow and I handed some flyers to 3 crazy (drunk) fans who started talking to us.They had so many questions about America, Trump, American soccer, our missions, California, Disneyland, fat people, and the Statue of Liberty. You know, the usual things that get brought up when they hear your accent.

I don't know how much of the conversation they'll remember, but I sent them off with a plan of salvation brochure...so we'll see what happens. 

Go Legia! 

Other:

-Sister D and I got offered a pet hampster by a lady we teach English to. 

-We had dinner with the coolest American family last night. They have an almost 2 year old daughter who is the cutest thing in the entire world. I came in the dining room from the kitchen last night, and the little girl looked at me and said, "Well, hello princess!". It made my heart smile. She then proceeded to cover me in stickers. 

My challenge to you: use technology to share the gospel at least once this week. Share a picture, post a quote, send a text with a link to your favorite talk, retweet from an apostle, etc. :) 

I hit my 6 months on Friday! Where is the pause button? Transfers are next week--we'll see what happens. I don't want to leave Warsaw...and I especially don't want to leave Sister DeMordaunt...but I know that He has a plan...and I need to learn to trust it a little bit more. 

So, see you in a year. Love you all.

xoxo, 

siostra talia beem

talia.beem@myldsmail.net

Happy Polska Valentine's Day!

It looks like 4 out of the 10 MTC District is back together...

25: Week 25 (16th week in Warsaw): Chrzest, Chrzest Kochanie

Cześć Wam! Not a whole lot of time to email today (we're going to the zoo :) :) :) :) ) ...but here we go!!

Through the....:

..."seven layers of the candy cane forest and through the sea of whirly, twirly gumdrops"....we made it to Siostra Dyba's home. We had the opportunity of visiting a cute little member on Saturday. She often says that the journey from her home to our chapel is about two hours. Boy, was she right. We took a train for about 30 minutes and then trudged through snowy, Polish countryside for the other hour and a half. SHE DOES THIS EVERY WEEK. She doesn't have a car! Her dedication amazes me. Polish members are so solid. 

Moving Our Way Up:

Yesterday, we moved our way up to Young Womens. Sister D taught about the Plan of Salvation and I translated. We talked about the three main questions in life: Why are we here? Where are we going? And where did we come from? We had a really good discussion and talked about how personal His plan can be. Here is the link to a video that really hit me with the feels: https://www.lds.org/youth/learn/yw/plan-of-salvation/what?lang=eng#video=mens-hearts-shall-fail-them 

"Talent" show:

Honestly, I wouldn't say rapping is my talent...or Sister D's...but we went for it and did a hybrid Polish/English rap about the Restoration:

Alright, stop, collaborate and listen. 

We are the Poland Warsaw mission. 

Jesteśmy powołanie żeby głosić

O nasze przysłanie możesz prosić

Who would ever deny? Yo, I don't know

Let's start at Lesson 1...Yeah, Let's go

Bóg jest naszym Ojcem Niebieskim

i my jesteśmy jego dziećmi

PREACH!

Like the prophets of old, sometimes people didn't do what they were told

Odstępstwo!    

Niestety się stało

aż Józef Smith zapytał dlaczego? 

God and Jesus

się ukazali 

We've got the Book of Mormon 

słowa moroniego mówili

You can pray to know that it is true, and when you do, this will all lead to:

Chrzest, Chrzest Kochanie (do do do do do do *to prawda*)x4 

Say nice words to yo mothers. 

So yeah. Maybe I'll get the guts to attach the video next week. Maybe.

Fun fact: "Chrzest, Chrzest Kochanie" means "Baptism, Baptism, Darling". 

happy valentine's day. remember who loves you most (Heavenly Father)! and second most (me)!

xoxo, 

siostra talia beem

talia.beem@myldsmail.net

Snowy Warsaw.  Hading out cards with Stalin's Tower in the background.  

Finding activities with "Polska Idol" advertisement in the background.

"I know this street says "dulag"...but it sounded like "duloc" from
Shrek so I had to take a picture."

The Polish countryside.

Metro selfies!

24: Week 24 (15th week in Warsaw): Dragon Tales

Hej!

Miracles on miracles on miracles:

1. We contacted this super cute, college-aged girl on the patelnia the other day. We gave her a flyer for our free English class...and off she went. However, on Wednesday, SHE CAME to English! She showed up and was like, "what do you guys even do here in Poland, anyways?!"....we told her we were missionaries and she said she would love to meet with us! We have a meeting with her this upcoming week. We can't wait! 

2. An investigator who has been investigating for 2 years told us that she felt a "sparkle of light" (cough cough Holy Ghost) like she had never felt during our meeting. She is so close!

3. Our cute little investigator that has been working in Germany for the past 2 months is finally back! While she was gone, she continued to: read, pray, and study. We love seeing those we teach progress (especially on their own)! 

4. We followed Sister Turek's advice...we did a Book of Mormon scripture study with our investigator. We weren't quite sure what she needed, so we went with 1 Nephi 8...czyli the Tree of Life. Sister D and her switched off reading while I drew what was happening on the whiteboard. At one point she stopped the reading and was like, "Sister Beem, that tree you drew is beautiful"....that was a compliment I have NEVER gotten before (my artistic ability is limited to stick figure people). Granted, it isn't that hard to mess up a tree and an iron rod, but still. Confidence boost. 

Narnia:

This past week, we were moving stuff from one chapel to the other (getting prepped for the BIG branch merge!). One Elder was like, "I guess if the sisters stay and help, they can take the light stuff". Sister D was like, "UM LIGHT STUFF? We can take the heavy stuff, too. Ugh". Next thing I know, Sister D and I are carrying a full-on wardrobe on our own. Sister D's words, not mine, "We are women, hear us roar". Flip, she's my favorite. 

When Two Become One:

I love seeing the church grow here, espeically in Warsaw. Our branch just merged with the Warsaw 1 branch yesterday. Now, we meet in an ACTUAL chapel. We had ORGAN prelude music. We OPENED (and almost FILLED) the overflow. Exciting times for our branch, mission, and church :)

Part-Dragon:

Sister D and I translated senior primary yesterday. Don't let the word senior fool you. These kids were nuts. There were about 15 kids in an 8x10 classroom learning about the Urim and Thummim. Things were bound to get a little crazy. Anyways, the lesson ended by a girl saying that she was part-dragon and that she could communicate through her rainbow scales and then a boy telling her off. Hopefully this becomes our weekly calling...it keeps things exciting. 

Thought of the Week:

Jesus Christ's #1 invitation? "Come Unto Me". (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/come-unto-me?lang=eng). He showed us the way through His words and His example. 

have a great week. choose the right. remember who you are. 

xoxo, 

siostra talia beem

talia.beem@myldsmail.net

Eating at Manekin is a favorite for missionaries.
 By the looks of it, they have some crazy breakfast plates.

23: Week 23 (14th week in Warsaw): Eye Can Bee A Friend

Hej!

Teaching on Teaching:

Boy, did we teach a bunch this week!

1. The Cute, Little Ukranian Student:

-Because we are the only sisters in Warsaw now, we got all of the Warsaw 1 sister's investigators. This was our first time meeting with her. After reading her teaching record, we talked about fear vs. faith. This is exactly what she needed. She is so great and is progressing towards baptism! I also butchered a line in Polish and she died laughing and so I think that made us friends right off of the bat. 

2. The Hip Mom Who Is So So So So Close: 

-Sometimes I just want to pick up an investigator and shake them because YOU KNOW THAT THEY KNOW IT'S TRUE. Buuuut---everything in the Lord's timing. We are going to start reading the Book of Mormon with her by topic (advice from Sister Turek--our mission president's wife, who often gets mistaken as a young sister missionary when she comes on lessons with us). She is an extremely inspired woman, so we can't wait to give it a shot!

Ups and Downs:

We got to visit the cute lady from the South again! She is so special to us now. She makes our week! It was an extremely hard week for her, though. One of those, "two steps forward, three steps back" kind of weeks. She just looked tired... in every sense of the word. We were able to visit her on Friday and share a cute little story with her from the January Liahona. The story was about how we measure up to Christ and how He sees us. She told us that she couldn't do any of this without Him and His help and Atonement. When all three of us are together talking about the Gospel, I feel the Spirit in a way I never have before! I know that Christ is holding her hand through these hard times...I can literally feel His presence and Spirit when we visit her. 

Other:

-thought of the week (Jeffrey R. Holland...killin' it again): "However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don't have, or distance from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinate light of Christ's Atonement shines". 

-Sister D and I witnessed a car jacking. 

-We went and had lunch with a member yesterday after church. Their little daughter handed me a coloring sheet and was like, "I don't get it"...There was an eye, a can, a bee, the letter a, and a group of people. I told her it meant "I can be a friend"...She said, "Well, that's silly...why didn't they just say that". Hahah I died. 

-I'm eatin' sketchy meat day in and day out. Gift of tongues is not just for language everybody, it is for tastebuds, too. 

xoxo, 

siostra talia beem

talia.beem@myldsmail.net

This is the only LDS church building in all of Poland.  All other branches meet
in office buildings, basements of apartment building, etc...