Tuesday, May 31, 2016

How adventurous can we be? :)

Dear Family and Friends, 

Hello, everyone!! I just love you all!!! :) 

Siostra Craig and I are all still SO excited about the Baptism which took place last week - it was truly a miracle. The Lord's hand is so present in this work. This week was slower, and definitely less eventful, but still absolutely wonderful!!! 

One of my favourite highlights of the week this week was when Agata got up in our sacrament meeting yesterday, and bore her testimony...
She got up, and although she was nervous, it was so so so incredible to see her - There as a MEMBER. People often say they see a "Glow" about others, after joining the church, or some spiritual significant event. Personally, I've never seen anything like that before... But I can honestly say that as Agata was up there bearing her testimony, she truly glowed in a way I had never seen her glow before. It was so beautiful. I have been sitting here for the past day, arguing with myself as to whether or not it was just a reflection of her yellow dress, but... The glow on her face was so much more than a reflection. That's all I can say. :) She got up and said since she has received the Gift of the Holy Ghost, everything has changed, and more so than she could have ever expected. She has felt this new and wonderful energy and desire to be a better person. She has felt the love of God and she said: "I feel his love now, more than ever before, like he is always with me". She expressed how in July, it will be her 5 month mark, since she first met the missionaries on the street. She said how she had truly come to learn in the last few weeks that if we just have the Faith to act, it is given us - What we need, from God. She doesn't understand everything still, and she is at peace with that. She trusts Him. Everything has changed in her life already. She laughed from the stand as she called us her family -"You are like my family... I can call you family, right?" she said. I smiled so big. Despite all the troubles she has had with her family accepting her choice, she is now on the right path - she is truly starting her journey. She now has adopted more family than she knows. I could just feel, as she stood there and bore her testimony, that God truly does know her, and love her, So so much, and He is so proud of her. She literally GLOWED. I love her so much. She is one of the most spiritually amazing people I have ever met.

So funny moments of the week! We had planned to have a "Sports Saturday" activity on Saturday... but... Mother Nature seemed to have different plans... It started POURING rain about 30 minutes before we were supposed to start!! What!! So we ran to the chapel, and were literally SOAKING wet - but it was so fun because I literally thought to myself: "I feel like I am at a water park, this is AWESOME" and so Siostra Craig and I just jumped in some puddles and got completely soaked. It was SO FUN!! So, we canceled our sports saturday, and literally 30 minutes later it stopped raining... Remind anyone of Utah? ;) Ohhh Poland... And then there were these weird Catholic riots (for what reason, I don't know) going on, and then while we were contacting, we found a GIANT beetle on the side of the street... What is this, Africa? Well, that leads me into a funny story... 

and AWESOME miracle of the week - So you may remember our African friend, Rafael, who we met on the street one day, and Siostra Craig felt like she should say hello, so she did, (SHE ROCKS!) and he turned out to be SUPER nice, and is here studying for school! He is from Nigeria, and speaks some language I cannot pronounce - but also English. He has been traveling around Europe for school for around 5 years - it has been 5 years since he has seen his family - and I thought 18 months was difficult... He recounted to the Elders how we came up to him that night, speaking Polish and how he was like: "Woah what...? I don't speak Polish". Now he said how grateful he was that he met us, and that he feels God put us in His path, here in Poland. Apparently his mom always calls him and asks him if he went to church, and now he can say YES. Because he seriously comes to church every week. It was such a cool experience. I especially like how whenever Siostra Craig calls Rafael, he always answers with "Hey girl". Classic. 

Well, Rafael has been coming to Church quite a lot lately, and each time he comes, he is brought to tears - He is SO spiritual. It is funny because he is this big tough DJ from Africa, and he is always pulling out tissues during the meeting. We have English translation (As you know form the translating stories...) and he loves being able to understand what is happening in the service. He has come 3 weeks in a row now! Well this week we had him come over to our Senior Couples home, for Dinner. Well, he brought one of his friends, Also from Nigeria, and we handed them off the our Elders, so they talked with them, and gave them both a Book of Mormon - and they both agreed to meet! It was SO awesome. Well, this past Sunday, Rafael's friend, Abraham walks into the Chapel, and has FOUR friends with him - FOUR. We had a smaller congregation, so they almost outnumbered our members - it was SO incredible though. They all come strolling into our little chapel, dishing out some high fives and some super cool "Bro shakes" (which I am still in the process of trying to master...), and sat down. We got them translation and they LOVED the meeting - During Sacrament meeting, they loved it, and at the end, Sister Tufts gave a prayer in English. The whole time they were erupting into "AMEN" 's and I could barely keep it together. Every time she said something about Jesus a few "Amens" would slip out... It was SO different from anything I have ever experienced on my mission in Poland - So so so funny. They even ran back into the chapel after the meeting to ask for some copies of the Book of Mormon... SO cool. They are such kind people. They are even coming to our weekly "Family Home Evening" tonight, along with the Aydin, the Turkish man we met!  It is going to be the BEST!!!!! A mix of people from Poland, Turkey, Canada, America, and Nigeria... (Didn't see this coming on my mission!!). it was a cool miracle this week - Wow God is so good to us!

Well, that is a brief overview of the crazy adventures that transpired this week...

I love you all so much, and hope you have had the most amazing week. :) I love this gospel, and I love being a missionary. I love it. I have never been more blessed to be anything in my life. The Lord truly is with the people here in Poland, and I am SO blessed to be able to be here with them.

I hope you all have an amazing week!!! 

Z miłością,
Siostra Kamp 


When my comp and I get a prompting to go up the tallest hill I've ever seen to find someone....

THE BUG. :O

SOAKING WET, AND LOVING IT! :) This was seriously so fun. 

* These pictures were posted by Sister Kagele in Poland.  She is like a 2nd Mom to Lexi while she serves in Poland.  Last week was Mother's Day in Poland, and this is what Sister Kagele wrote with her post...
Perk #279 of living in Poland. ..getting to celebrate Mother's twice as they celebrate it on a different day then the US. So how did I celebrate? Since it is a national holiday as well everything is closed and I have a day off from work so time to spring prune my front and side yard with my kiddo's. After 20 man hours my yard looks AMAZING! And then an had a lunch cooked for me, breakfast burritos never tasted so good after working so hard.
*




Monday, May 23, 2016

This really was a week of miracles.

Dear Family and Friends,

God truly is a God of miracles. 
I'm sure you all know exactly what my miracle was this week... :)

On Friday, May 20, 2016 our lovely friend Agata and our little Anna were baptized, and just yesterday, the 22nd, were confirmed members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I seriously don't know if my heart has ever been so full!! 

With the way my heart feels, I could honestly go on and on about all the little details of those two perfect days for HOURS! But, as much as I'm sure you would all love that (hehe), I really just want to tell you about all the wonderful miracles God put in our path to make those two perfect days possible. We experienced so many miracles, more than I can even count, and I have truly been in awe of the Lord this past week. My journal entries from those two days equal a total of 15 pages if that tells you all anything... :O

First, my dear family friend Brother Gwilliam. I know I told you all about how wonderful his visit was last week, but I left out something. As we spent some time with him, we had told him how difficult it had been to find a modest white dress for Agata to be baptized in. She wanted a special white dress for her special day, and we wanted that for her as well! But, it seemed to be impossible to find any dress in any store for her. She had asked her family friend (a seamstress) to make her one, which she had planned on. But just a week before the baptism, she told Agata she could not find any fabric for the dress. We were telling Brother Gwilliam about this, and all the sudden he just said, "Let me buy her a dress." Despite our constant "No, you can't do that. We will find one. Don't worry"'s - one week later, a beautiful baptismal dress arrived in the mail for Agata. We gave her the package, and she opened it, saw the dress, and gasped! She tried it on, and it fit perfectly! She looked so beautiful!! She was in awe, really, and so were we. She just kept saying, "Wow... It's wonderful..." :) It was the perfect cherry on the perfect cake. We will never be able to repay Brother Gwilliam's for that, but it truly was an answer to prayer, and we are SO grateful for him. 

Second, this next story is for you, Mamusz! 
My family had sent a wonderful package for me with Brother Gwilliam when he came, and inside the little package was a present for Agata. Agata had been really struggling with her famiy's unacceptance of her desire to be baptized, and was seriously questioning and doubting her decision... It was difficult to see, because as a member of this church I have been able to see the wonderful blessings my decision to be baptized has brought to my life, and as a missionary, you just want that same joy and those same blessings for your investigators so badly. But we prayed and prayed and prayed some more for her, and were able to meet with her last Tuesday, when she told us she would give us her final decision. Little Annafleur was with us, (our little friend that also got baptized on Friday), and when Agata walked in, Anna just ran up and gave her the biggest hug. :) It melted my heart, and I know it melted Agata's too! We all sat down, and Agata seemed to get sadder and sadder as she told us of her doubts about her decision to be baptized. It broke my heart.. I hated having to see her go through that... As we were listening to her, a thought came into my mind, "Give her your family's gift." I had no idea why I had brought that gift to our lesson that day, because I was sure I would give it to her on Friday at her baptism, but... Spiritual promptings! Whoo! :) So, I opened my backpack, and handed my family's gift to here. She stopped in the middle of her sentence, looked at the gift, and said, "What's this?" and I just told her it was from my family! She was in shock, and so grateful, but she just set it down beside her and continued to talk. I knew Siostra Craig and I were on the same wavelength when Sister Craig  interrupted Agata and said, "Agata, I think you should open that right now." She was a little caught off guard, but she said, "Right now? Okay!" and opened it up. Inside the package was a little handkerchief shaped into a baptismal dress, and an English Book of Mormon. She said her classic, "Oh come onnnn! :)" and smiled to herself as she thumbed her way through the Book of Mormon, finding little photos of the temple as she went. She just kept repeating, "Ohhh wow...", "Ohhh my", then she got to the back of the Mormon, and immediately tears filled her eyes as she touched the pages of the book, where my mom, dad, and sisters had each written her a little note... She read them each out loud, crying as she read, and I was bawling! (Ask me if I'm a baby!.... Yes.) As she read what my mom had written about my baptism experience, and the white dress she had gotten me for my special day, and the white dress (hankerchief) she wanted to get Agata for her's, and the words she had told me as I stepped out of the font, Agata just cried. She read, "We know that Lexi loves you, and because of that, we love you too." and she just smiled through her tears and said, "I love them too... I love them." Then we all cried together. Sometimes I wish my mission was being recorded on film so I could just show my family that moment, where even 6,000 miles away they touched Agata's heart. Everytime I have seen Agata since then, she tells me what angels my family are. That was a moment I don't think any of us will ever forget. I know I say that a lot, but that moment will truly be embedded in my heart forever. 

I feel like I've already typed a novel, and I've only told two miracles! But just really quickly, some other ones I will mention are...

*We found a last minute pool to rent for her baptism, and those who were able to come, were there.
*Little Annafleur was baptized. Almost a year and a half after her 8th birthday, she was baptized, and it was PERFECT timing. Her and Agata truly needed each other. 
*All the prayers all over the world for Agata. 
*Her testimony after she was baptized, knowing that she made the right decision. 

My goodness... There are so many more... 
This week was a week of miracles. I feel so grateful to the Lord for letting me be a little part of this special time for Agata and AnnaFleur. I love them so much. At the end of the day, everything came together. The Lord was there, and Agata and Anna just beamed... and that's what mattered most to us. Everything about those two completely perfect days, I owe to the Lord. God is so good. 

I love you all, and am so grateful for all of your prayers and support! I could feel them this week... And I know Agata could too. :) 

Thank you for everything. Have an amazing week!!
The Lord is in it. :)

Z miłością,
Siostra Kamp


*Some of these pictures this week were forwarded to me from Brother Gwilliam, from Brother Tufts.

*Agata and her boyfriend, Andziej. 

*Agata and AnnaFleur on their baptism day.


We love Agata!!! I'm so happy for her. <3

 My favourite photo of Agata and Anna <3

Agata and the Tufts!


My lovely little AnnaFleur, on her baptism day! She is the cutest. :) It was the perfect day!

Sister Craig and I with our lovelies <3 I love these three so much. This day was Perfect, just like Agata and Anna!


My beautiful friend Agata, on her baptism day. I love this woman. It was the perfect day. :)

*Agata, Siostra Craig, & Siostra Kamp

Agata and Elder Tufts :)

*Siostra Kamp making brownies at FHE

*This picture was sent to me (Lexi's Mom) in Siostra Barney's email today. She also taught Agata before Lexi was transferred to Bydgoszcz.  This is what she wrote with the picture:
Agata was Baptized and two of my most favorite sisters!!!!! 

Monday, May 16, 2016

This really is for me.

Dear Family and Friends,

Guess what today is?! My lovely parents 20th anniversary!!!!! (Awwwwe!!!) And it also marks the day that my sister's and I entered the temple, and were sealed to them forever and ever (and ever). :) Being on a mission has made me SO grateful for the knowledge we have of eternal families. The promise of being able to live with the ones you love forever is something priceless. It means the world to me. Happy Anniversary, ya love birds!! I'm so grateful I get to be with you forever. :)

Well, as far as this week goes - it was another incredible one! :) So many things happened!! We had our bi-monthly zone training, which is always a blast! I love those so much. :)

One of my little tender mercies this week was a little visit I got from one of my family's dear friends, Brother Gwilliam. He came to Poland on a business trip this past week, and he drove all the way from Warsaw to Bydgoszcz to deliver a package my family had sent him with for me, and to take my companion and I out to dinner and ice cream. As we sat at dinner, he shared stories with us of his mission, and it was so inspiring. We listened to his stories (with our eyes super wide, I'm sure!) and seriously were soaking in every moment. It was such a little miracle to me this week, and to Sister Craig as well. I don't think he even realized the impact he had on us that day, but he did more for us than he will ever know. Siostra Craig and I came home that night, and wrote some of the advice he gave us on little sticky notes, and now we see them every day. :) Meeting with Brother Gwilliam made me think of that song, "Brightly Beams Our Father's Mercy". In that song, it talks about a Lighthouse, and something called the "Lower Lights". The Lord is our Lighthouse. His light is always shining as a guide back home. But sometimes the shores are rocky, and the waves are rough. That's when we need the Lower Lights. Those are lights that are places on the shore, and when the sailor lines up the lower lights with the lighthouse, He has found the safe passage, and will make it to shore safely. I think God uses us as the lower lights for those around us more than we think. That is not just what missionary work is, it's in our every day. :) And for us, I know Brother Gwilliam was definitely our Lower Light that day.
I hope you all will find some small way this week to reach out to someone around you. As little as a service you do may seem to you, it could mean everything for someone else. :)

Well, this upcoming week is a VERY special one!! Our lovely friend Agata is going to be baptized on Friday!! :) I think I mentioned before that she had been struggling with her parents unacceptance of her decision to be baptized. That has been extremely hard for her, as I'm sure it would be for any of us. But this week we were able to have a little meeting with her, and it was amazing. The first thing she told us when she came in was how scared she was, and how many doubts she had. It was a wonderful experience just for me to be able to sit and listen to her, and be there for her. Elder Coutu and Elder Rowley were able to join us in that meeting with Agata, and it was such a little miracle that they were there. As Agata was telling us of her doubts and fears, Elder Coutu stopped her and asked if she would like a priesthood blessing. She just stopped and looked at him with big eyes and said, "Yes! Please! Every time, every where, whenever you can!" :) It was so cute! So, Elder Coutu and Elder Rowley layed their hands on Agata's head, and gave her the most beautiful priesthood blessing (in Polish) I have ever heard. It was incredible. After the blessing, Agata sat with her head in her hands for what had to have been 5 minutes. We all sat there, and just soaked in the spirit that was present, and I couldn't help but cry (of course). After those 5 minutes past, Agata looked up and said, "I love this feeling of the Holy Ghost..." That made us all smile, and Elder Coutu just looked at her and said, "Agata, can you believe that after you are baptized, you will have that forever?" I've never seen her smile so big. :) Then my favourite moment happened. She grabbed her little Book of Mormon, held it, and said, "Yeah... This really is for me." :)Agata is incredible. We pray for her every day to be able to remember the testimony she has received of the truthfulness of this gospel. She is so excited to take this step closer to her Heavenly Father, and I just cannot wait for her special day. She has a testimony of gold, and such a desire to be baptized. I love her, and I know the Lord does too.

We had so many other wonderful experiences this week, but unfortunately that's all I have time for today! I'll just leave you all with a little promise I found from my personal studies this week. :)

"I will make you this promise about reading the Book of Mormon: You will be drawn to it as you understand that the Lord has embedded in it His message for you. Nephi, Mormon, and Moroni knew that, and those who put it together put in messages for you. I hope you have confidence that this book is written for you. There are simple, direct messages for you that will tell you how to change. That is what this book is about. It is a testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Atonement, and how it may work in your life. You will experience the feeling of change that comes by the power of the Atonement because of studying this book."

I love the Book of Mormon. Every day I long for that hour I get to just sit down at my little desk and read it. It's the most amazing book, and I promise you if you open it and study it's words, you will be able to hold it just like Agata - you will realize it really is for you

I hope you all have an amazing week! Sorry for talking (writing) your ears off again! I just always have so much to say! haha!

Kocham was!

Z miłością,
Siostra Kamp

The cutest Donut truck, and the most delicious donuts. :)
Narnia? Yeah... Quit searching everyone... We found it... :)

Sister Mowes!! She's back from the US!!!! :) I love her!!


Cute little spot by our river! (Sister Craig's getting her photographer skills on!)

Elder Tufts - our very own rule bender! (I LOVE HIM.)

Family Home Evening activity - Balloon animals!!

What happens when two sister missionaries find a carnival by their apartment...​

Pierogi stand at the little local fair! :)​

Brother Gwilliam! I'm so grateful for him!!

A Canadian specialty apparently... So good!! (Tim Tams!)​


Sister Craig and I on the way to Zone Training! :) (We were both Sister Kamp that day, because she forgot her tag! ;) )

Monday, May 9, 2016

God is the Gardener here.

Dear Friends and Family,

First of all, HAPPY LATE MOTHER'S DAY to all the wonderful mother's I know!! :) I am seriously so grateful for you all, and I hope you had the best day yesterday! I was able to skype my 5 best friends, along with my amazing grandparents, and it was the best day ever. :) I love my family so much, seriously.

Well, as far as thing week goes, not too many super exciting things happened besides me loving my life! :) haha! But really, even as I sit here in this little old run-down library and look out the window and see all the Polish people with their little ice-cream cones, I am just so grateful to be here. :) I'm seriously the luckiest girl in the world! 

My favourite memory from this week was this past Saturday! I got a little taste of home that day, because we were able to go out with our lovely Agata to her little farm in the countryside of Bydgoszcz! It was amazing :) We spent the day with her, cooking, helping with her raspberry farm, and just spending time with her! Her baptism is next week!! Can you believe that?! Just as anyone would, she has been a little nervous lately about taking that step, and has had her doubts. But when Sister Craig and I went over to her home, Agata took us up to her room, and we were able to give her a little gift we had prepared for her, and read some scriptures with her. We read some wonderful scriptures about peace and comfort from the Book of Mormon, and as Agata read she got teary-eyed and said, "I forgot this feeling..." She just smiled, and hugged Sister Craig and I. As she did, I just felt so much peace, and I know she did as well. Agata told us that she had spent countless hours, even days, praying and praying to know if her being baptized was the right decision. She told us that no matter how much she doubts, each time she prays, she gets the same answer... This is true, and the Lord has a plan for her. 

As soon as she said that, I thought of my own experience with that... Being on a mission. I remember a year ago, praying and praying to know if I should go on a mission or not. Up until that point, I had never wanted an answer to a prayer so much in my life. I still remember the day I got my answer. :) But, despite how clearly the answer came to me, and how confident I felt in my decision to serve a mission at the time, doubts crept into my mind. I remember after I had submitted my papers, I doubted my decision. I was scared, but I said a prayer again, and I got the same answer - I needed to serve a mission. Then after I got my mission call, I was even more scared. I felt inadequate, I doubted my decisions, and I was really scared. But - I prayed. And I got the same answer - I needed to serve a mission. Now, even being on my mission, here I am! I'm 6,000 miles away, doing the very thing I got the answer that I was supposed to do. But sometimes, I still have those moments where I get scared, and I question that answer I got a year ago. But, each time I do, a prayer fills my heart, and I bet you all can guess what the answer I get is. :) I don't think I can count the number of prayers I have said, asking my Heavenly Father to reassure me that this is where I am meant to be. There have been countless times. But I have come to realize that God has a plan for me, and this mission is part of that plan. I prayed about it, and I got my answer.  I got my answer, and it's not going to change. God is not going to change His mind. I know now that God knows everything. He can see my life so much more than I can. He knows where I should be, but it is up to me to trust Him in that.  

It was amazing, because I was able to share that experience with Agata, and as soon as I finished, she said, "Sisters... I already got my answer. I got it, and I know I will get it again and again. It will never change. I know that, and I love it." :) She is so incredible. What did I do to get blessed with such a wonderful friend, and amazing example? I ask myself that question literally every day. I love Agata, and I just look up to her so much. Her baptism is going to be the most amazing day... :) 

Miracles are happening in Poland every day. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to be able to experience a little part of it all. :) 

Well, that was definitely the highlight of my week! There were others, of course, but I think I'll just end with a quick scripture that has been on my mind a lot recently. 

"Yea, they had been taught by their mothers, that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them. And they rehearsed unto me the words of their mothers, saying: We do not doubt our mothers knew it."
(Alma 56:47-48)

I am so lucky to have my mom like these mothers of the stripling warriors. A mom who taught me to pray, to read the scriptures, to serve my neighbor and love them as myself. A mom who taught me to love the Lord, and to trust in Him with everything I do. Who is a constant example of everything a true disciple of Christ should be. I love my mom, and I am so grateful to the Lord for letting me be her daughter. 


I hope you all have a wonderful week, everyone!! Thank you all for everything you do for me! I really can feel your prayers, and I am so grateful for you all. :)

Kocham was!!

Z miłością,
Siostra Kamp


Skyping home on Mother's Day!

Cooking Mother's Day dinner for Kelley and her family. 




My little crazies:  Annafleur and Ella


Balloon art for FHE.


Our baby trainee, with his first Kebab!  Welcome to the Bydgoszcz crew, Elder Rowley!

The world championship slack-lining competition was in Bydgoszcz this past week!!  So cool!!




Santa Claus came early to the Chapel this year!!  (Or some random person just dumped all their unwanted clothes on the stairs...in the pouring rain...) haha!


A little taste of Agata's BEAUTIFUL, HUGE, AMAZING, raspberry farm!! :)

Agate's little pond :)

I love this lady!!!!!