Siostra Talia Beem: 40. 5/29/2017 Week 40 (4th week in Gdansk): HALFWAY

Dzień Dobry!

Special Surpise

On Wednesday, our whole mission met in Warsaw for a special conference from Elder Anderson (of the Quorum of the 12) and his wife! It was everything our mission needed to hear! Our whole mission also unexpectedly spent the night in Warsaw so we could all stay for the member fireside later that night. Sister Munyan and I got to spend the night with the Hansen's (the senior office couple)--Sister Hansen is my favorite person ever, so it was good to catch up with her!

Anyways, some notes I took from both the missionary and member conference:

-"If we have faith and believing hearts, we WILL see that God of miracles"

-"We will never see the church grow here if we do not have an enormous amount of faith"

-"Enormous amounts of faith and miracles...start with us missionaries"

-Immerse yourself in faith and belief: Alma 26:27, 2 Nephi 27:23, Moroni 7:33, Ether 12: 6,11-12, John 9:5, Mark 9:21, 1 Nephi 17, Hebrews 11, Mormon 9.

-"There are angels around you, you have heavenly help!"

-To understand faith...we must: understand the nature of God and know that our path is pleasing to Him.

-"Don't pray and hope...pray and work hard!!"

-Miracles start with honesty

-"Once you set a goal...you go after it"

-Testifying of the Savior is a blessing

-Uncertainty? Settle it. Pray and read.

-"You are not just a believer...you are a deciple!"

-"Don't fear, just live right" -Elder Niel A. Maxwell

-Be unselfish, forgiving, and kind--->unity!

-What will protect us? Our testimonies! Firm up our devotion! How? Through the Book of Mormon!

-There is nothing better we can do than taking upon His name.

During the member fireside, I sat next to a YSA from Warsaw and a kind-of eternal investigator from Warsaw. We were singing the opening song (The Spirit of God) and I noticed the kind-of eternal investigator wasn't singing. During the 3rd verse, I noticed she was all teary. Right as I was going to ask her what was wrong, she began to sing the beginning of the fourth verse. The spirit was so strong! I could feel that she was feeling something. It reminded me a lot of that scene at the end of Elf when everybody is singing the Christmas carol except for the Scrooge-y Dad...and then he starts singing and santa's sleigh could finally fly. One of my favorite things to see as a missionary is the Spirit working through people and touching people. And that is exactly what happened during that opening song!

We can, we will, and we want to:

Sister Munyan and I have had the chance the past few weeks to meet with an active member here in Gdansk. Last week, we found out she has a smoking problem, and has had one for 12 years (keeping her from going to the temple--her #1 goal!). We told her that we can help her, we will help her, and we want to help her. She kept saying, "But why??? I am old and sick!!! I can't do this right now". I had a bold as heck lesson with her (it was obviously the spirit talking, because there is no way in a million years I would have ever said some of the things I did), but now our trust is there and we will start the program next week! CUD!

Remember: our goal is to see our investigators in white, twice (even if it is years and years later!!!).

happy memorial day weekend! do something really american for me! [?]