Tuesday, April 26, 2016

There is {everything} in this.

Dear Family and Friends,

I've just been feeling super blessed this week to have such wonderful friends and family, so I just want to thank you all for everything you do for me. :) I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to be a missionary, and to have such wonderful friends and family. You all mean the world to me!

I had another amazing week here in Bydgoszcz!! We got our transfer calls on Saturday, and GUESS WHAT?! Siostra Craig and I both will be staying in Bydgoszcz for another transfer!!!!!! I could not be more excited! I have just fallen in love with this place and the wonderful people here, and I feel so blessed to be able to stay here for the next 8 weeks! :)

This week was so wonderful. We had so much fun! We were able to have dinner with some of our favourite branch members (Ewa and Alicja), and our lovely red-haired friend Małgorzata, and that was so much fun :) I love them all! We watched a mormom message with them that I had never seen before called, "Mountains to Climb", and it was amazing. I got a little emotional, because I have such a strong testimony of our Heavenly Father, and the love He has for each of us. He loves you, He knows you, and He is with you every step of the way, even when it may seem like there is only one set of footprints in the sand. (If you haven't read the poem "Footprints", I really recommend it. :) I love it.)

We also had "Culture Night" this weekend, and were able to go to the beautiful (and gigantic!) Opera House here in Bydgoszcz and see an Opera called "Don Carlos"! It was AMAZING!! It was really entertaining for me, because the Opera was in Italian, so obviously I couldn't understand that! But! They did have subtitles, so that was lucky! :) The only catch was that they were in Polish, and they went a million miles an hour I swear! hahaha! So... I had a really fun time trying to keep up with what was happening! ;) But it was amazing, I loved it!!

We met with our lovely Agata again this week, and I LOVE HER. Her faith and testimony seriously touch my heart every time we meet with her. This week we were able to talk to her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ again, and it was an amazing lesson. I love listening to Agata talk about the Gospel, and read the scriptures, and pray because when she does, there is such sincerity in her voice that you just can't help but feel the Spirit. Every time we meet with her, I go into our lesson thinking, "Okay, today we are going to teach her about [this]". But I always leave those lessons having learned so much more from her than I could ever teach her. :) She is incredible. She is still as excited as ever for her baptism, and even told us during that lesson that she knows "100% that this church is where [she] belongs, and it is everything [her] heart longs for." If that doesn't make your heart swell, I don't know what will. :) Her excitement for her baptism is contagious, and I am SO happy for her!! Her aunt is even sewing her a beautiful hand-made baptism dress for her special day. My word, I just love Agata!!! My heart is so full! :)

We were also able to meet with our beautiful friend Ewa again, and talk to her more about the Book of Mormon. Sometimes as a missionary, you plan out the lesson you are planning to teach, then as soon as you walk into the meeting the Spirit says, "Whoops! Sorry Sisters, I've got something a little different planned for today!" And it's great :) As soon as that happens, you just kind of look at each other and think "PLOT TWIST!", then move on! haha. I actually love when that happens (as crazy as it is), because their is no one that knows the needs and desires of our investigators more than the Lord. So, when He tells us to teach something different, we definitely don't question it! But anyway, we had a wonderful discussion with Ewa about the Book of Mormon, and it turned out to be exactly what she needed. She talked to us about her concerns, and questions, and it was amazing just to be able to listen to her. We were able to share our testimonies with her about the Book of Mormon, and it was such a little tender mercy for me. Every time I have struggled with something on my mission, or have had a hard time understanding something, I have found that my testimony is always found in the bearing of it... It's amazing for me, because I feel like sometimes the Lord gives me the opportunity to bear my testimony not just for my investigators to hear, but also to remind me - To remind myself of what I already know, and I love that. My favourite part of our lesson with Ewa though, was at the end. Ewa grabbed the Book of Mormon and held it, and said, "There is something in this... Something in the Book. Something in this religion, that I have only dreamed could exist." That really hit me. (It really hit everyone.)... And as soon as she said that, I realized how precious my beliefs really are to me. I remembered the first time I really opened up the Book of Mormon, and read it with real intent, really longing to know if it was true... and I thought the same thing. There is something in this. Now, as I look back on my life, and everything my beliefs have helped me through, I realize... there is everything in this.

The gospel I talk about every day on the streets of Poland isn't just something I believe in anymore. It has really become who I am. I know it is true.

I love you all, and I hope you have an amazing week! I hope spring is in the air in America like it is here! :) You're in my thoughts and prayers every day!

∞,
Siostra Kamp


Sister Craig and I with some of our lovely branch members, Ewa and Alicja!! They're the BEST!! :)


Getting ice-cream with Fryderyka and Gosia! :)

The Elder's and the Tufts brought Sister Craig a birthday cake to celebrate her birthday!!! :) (even though it isn't until this Thursday, we wanted to celebrate it early just in case we got transferred!!)

All of us at the Opera!! :)

We love the Tufts!!!! Cutest Senior Couple EVER. :)

I LOVE AGATA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elder Coutu's birthday cake at English Class :) Małgorzata put a "candle" (aka a flare! I swear! haha) on his cake!

Ewa!! I love her! We walked her home from work, and the walk was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! :)

Dinner with our favourites!! :) L to R: Małgorzata, Me, Alicja, Sister Tufts, Sister Craig, and Ewa!!

My lovely "Dom Polski!"! ("Polish House!") Poland - My home away from home. :)

At the Opera!! :)

My lovely friend Wacek and the BEAUTIFUL Polish Book of Mormon he made me... He is amazing!!! Love him! 

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