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...

22: Week 22 (13th week in Warsaw): Boom Clap

Hej!

This has been quite possibly my favorite week of my mission. And honestly, probably, my whole life. Here's why:

Funky Town...Łódź:

Sister DeMordaunt and I went on exchanges in Łódź this week. I finally got to go on a train! Now, for some reason, Łódź gets a bad rep for being "ugly" and "dirty". Whoever said any of that is a big, fat liar. It was so cute and quaint! All of the missionaries in Łódź are stellar...it was so fun to contact and teach with all of them (even if it was freeeeeeeeezing outside!). While there, we taught an English class, Sister Van and I went and taught a less active, and we had a big finding activity! Good times. And.... I ate "mexican food"...aka a 2/10 burrito. But, it was still mexican food. Count your blessings. 

When you go to teach someone and they teach you (WAY) more:

There is a member from the South that has been (REALLY) sick for months. She got so sick (can barely breathe from severe bronchitis and other complications), that she had to be brought up to Warsaw for several intensive surgeries and better care. Sister DeMordaunt and I went and visited her in the hospital on Wednesday. While we were there, we talked about JOY and read her a talk from this past conference (https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2016/10/joy-and-spiritual-survival?lang=eng). She was so happy the whole time...seriously, she was so, so smiley. We asked her why/ how she could be so happy during this horrible time. Here's what she said {paraphrased}: "Today is the first day in months that I have been able to breathe on my own. Today is the first day in months that I have eaten solid food. Today is the first day in months that I have stood up. Today is the first day in months that I've been able to talk. Doctors are starting to figure out what is wrong with me. I am able to understand the care I am getting (she speaks English and doesn't know any Polish). You want to know why all these good things are now happening? Because I am feeding myself spiritually and not asking "why me" anymore. I started reading the Book of Mormon again. Missionaries are visiting me! If I focus on God, I know He will help me...I just need to trust Him and His plan. I am allowing the Atonement to work more in my life--for ALL of my pains. There is no coincedence that all this good is happening right when I was well enough to feed myself spiritually again. It doesn't mean that the road is easy, or will be easy, or will be shorter...but I know that I can rely on God and submit my will to His. I have a lot to be grateful for." Okay paraphrase over. The tears can begin. IS SHE INCREDIBLE OR WHAT? Sister D and I literally walked out of the hospital sobbing because she is so strong and happy. We can't wait to keep meeting with her through her journey and recovery. 

*Points to Americans*...Christopher Columbus! *Jumps off the Stage*...Miley Cyrus!

We had a Relief Society activity with the Warsaw 1 and 2 sisters on Saturday. We are so excited to merge branches in a few weeks! We had so much fun and SUCH a good turn out (around 25 sisters...wahoo!). We ate chocolate, mingled around, and played charades. That's where the Christopher Columbus and Miley Cyrus caption comes into play. It was a Polish sister's turn to act out. After she paused for a second to decide how to act her slip of paper out, she just stood and pointed to the American sisters. No one really knew what she was hinting at, so we all just waited for the time to run out. She then was like, "Um, duh. Christopher Columbus. The guy who discovered YOUR land". It was so funny. Sister Chadwick (American) was up next. She kept swinging off of the stage...so we were all like, "Monkey! Tarzan!....etc etc etc"....nope. What was she acting out? Miley Cyrus. On a wrecking ball. We all died. 

Other:

-My theme for the week (for obvious reasons): "When the focus of our lives is on Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening--or not happening--in our lives". -Russell M. Nelson

-I think we are officially just down to "2-pair of tights" weather :)

​​​​​​​​​​​​-I hit 5 months this week. AH! Where is the pause button??

have a great week! kocham was!

xoxo, 

siostra talia beem

ul. Wiertnieza 135, 1 Pietro

02-952 Warszawa Poland

talia.beem@myldsmail.net

PICS: my district (bez sister d) and a weird....? on the patelnia, sister d selfies (what's new), exchanges in lodz, and the cutest watercolor my cousin made me (@watercolorsbyhannahlaine)! 

21: Week 21 (12th week in Warsaw):Padme Amidala

Hej!

How has another week already passed?

"I just felt that":

We met with Jenosam again this week to teach him about the Restoration. We focused a lot on the Holy Ghost and the Book of Mormon. At the end of our lesson, we had him read Moroni's promise (Moroni 10:3-5), "Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things". Right after we read that, he told us that he felt the Spirit as he read those words (aka the Holy Ghost was telling him that reading the Book of Mormon was GOOD and TRUE). I am going to blame the mission, but seriously, I just cry all the time now during spiritual moments. And I almost lost it in the middle of that lesson. He committed to begin reading the Book of Mormon! He will now start meeting with Elder Haskett and Elder Barlow. 

Sweetie:

Sweetie is this cute member that just moved here from Nepal. She got baptized when she was younger...but hasn't been to church for a while. BUUUT, she really wants to come back to church and learn everything over again. We will start teaching her again this week, as well as teach her Polish and help her find a job where she doesn't have to work on Sundays! 

The cutest "nun" ever:

....sister D! In Poland, if a Catholic nun walks by, people say a little Catholic phrase/prayer to them. As we were in the metro the other day...this guy came up to Sister D and said the phrase. In other words, homeboy thought she was a nun. 

Other:

-there was a free ferris wheel in downtown Warsaw this weekend (pics below!)

-sometimes when we are walking around, we just say "good day" to people. sister d said it to this old man the other day and he said "hey, good day to you, too...but i do not know you...so" and then walked away. 

-I'm no longer a trainee!!!!

-A cute Ukranian lady (we teach her son English) put my hair in rad Padme-esque braids. 

have a great week!

xoxo, 

siostra talia beem

ul. Wiertnieza 135, 1 Pietro

02-952 Warszawa Poland

talia.beem@myldsmail.net

20. Week 20 (11th week in Warsaw): Spiritual three's

Hej!

All Good Things Must Come To An End:

I'm talking about caroling, folks. Buuuut, we ended caroling on a good note. We buzzed into a building and the first person we phoned to let us in! We knocked on the door and a college-aged boy in skinny joggers and an ultra- Euro jacket answered. I thought we just walked into frat house central. Boy, was I wrong. He let us in and sat us down with his cute parents. We talked about the church, mission life, our plans after the mish, etc for about an hour. It was good to just talk about life with that family...to show them that Mormons are NORMAL people. We left them with a song and a card--we'll see what happens! 

The Name We Can't Pronounce (and the miracle that followed): 

Our mission's new focus is on family history. Sister D and I were a little hesitant to family history contact the other day because we had straight no idea how to contact people about familysearch.org. But we decided to give it a go! We started talking to a guy named Jenosam. He is from India, but he is studying here in Warsaw. He was very interested in family history work and starting his family tree. We met with him on Friday, and we made small talk while he was making his *free* (you all should do it!!) familysearch.org account. He said that he actually met with missionaries once in India, for about 15 minutes and that they gave him a Book of Mormon (miracle). We started asking him about the Book of Mormon and if he would be interested to meet with us not only for family history help, but for learning more about our religion as well. He said, "Of Course. Also, right after I met you, I called my sister in India and told her to mail my copy of the Book of Mormon to me"... but wait, it gets better. We invited him to church and we asked if he had ever been to an LDS church before. He said, "Yes, once....something was different there. It felt so good! I don't even know how to describe it though"...UM I DO. Holy Ghost. He was a blessing to us...we can't wait to continue working with him and see him progress (both in family history work and in the gospel)! 

Also, cue the "Miracles Happen" song from Princess Diaries. 

Other:

-Wise words from my brother Logan (in his email to me this week), "My city league team lost for the third time this week but it was really funny! Your boy dropped a three like steph curry so that was pretty dope to the max.!!!! It hit the net perfectly and just made that sound that makes you get that satisfying feeling! Anyways, have you been dropping some spiritual three's on anyone this week????"--Just thought it was cute. I guess I'll call a good contact a "spiritual three" now :) 

-I'm averaging 4 pairs of tights a day, 3 pair of socks a day, a pair of niiice gloves (with hand warmers inside), a hat, 5 layers up top, a scarf...you know, the necessities. 

-I think I drank half of my body weight in hot cocoa this week

-It got to -20 yesterday (-4F)

-Just to give you a quick glimpse of how cold it is: Sister D and I boiled water and then immediately chucked it off our balcony...it immediately turned into snow on the way down. 

-KFC is bomb here. #QuirritoGrande 

have a great week :)

xoxo, 

Siostra Beem

ul. Wiertnieza 135, 1 Pietro

02-952 Warszawa Poland

talia.beem@myldsmail.net