. Lexi in Poland .: Jestem bardzo blogoslawiony { I am very blessed }

Dear Friends & Family,

I have SO much to tell this week!! Holy cow!

Well, this week has been kind of a roller coaster for us Poles. I'll start with our not so good story first.

I'm sure you remember how I talked about the Priesthood blessing Starzsy gave to one of our Sister's that was very sick. Well, that Siostra was our Siostra Yochim, and she has been very very ill... I won't go into detail about her illness, but this Sunday we were informed by our Branch Presidency (after many visits to the hospital) that God had a little bit of a change of plans for our Siostra Yochim. She returned to California yesterday afternoon, and will be able to get the medical attention she needs. This was very hard for us as a district, because we have just grown to love Siostra Yochim sooo much. But after all is said and done, our testimonies have grown so much, and we know that the Lord has a plan for Siostra Yochim. He loves her so much. She touched our hearts in the way she needed to, and I have no doubt the Lord knows exactly what He is doing. She will touch the hearts of everyone she meets, and I know without a doubt that she will walk the streets of Poland. She is absolutely amazing. Kochamy cię bardzo, Siostra!!

So, that was our little bump in the road, but we love her with all our hearts!

This past week we had THANKSGIVING! Whoo!! It was the most wonderful day, and a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget. I absolutely loved it! I told you all that we would be able to hear from an Apostle from the Quorum of the Twelve, and you will nevvver guess who it was!! Okay, maybe you will, but I will tell you anyway. ELDER DALLIN H. OAKS!!! Oh my goodness, I was jumping up and down! He is my favorite! :) His talk was so amazing, and the spirit was incredible in that room. I look up to Elder Oaks and the other General Authorities so much. They are such Christ-like examples in all they do. Elder Oaks made us feel so wonderful about ourselves when he said, "I'm an Apostle with an uppercase A. You're an apostle with a lowercase a! You are an extension of the hand of the Lord in all you do. Never forget that!" How amazing is that? It made my want to be the best missionary I can be.

One other special surprise that we had on Thanksgiving was... AMAZING. Okay. MOM! (and everyone else) GUESS WHO CAME TO OUR DEVOTIONAL?! JENNY OAKS BAKER!!!!!!!!!! Oh my goodness... I was fan-girling soooo badly!! For those of you who don't know who she is, she is my IDOL violinist. I have an autographed CD of hers, have gone to her concerts, and have basically just fan-girled over her forever. As previously stated! :) But did you know that she is Elder Oaks daughter?! Yeah, me either!!! So she played her violin in the devotional and I was almost in tears! From both excitement, and the spirit that it brought. Elder Oaks and Jenny Oaks Baker- I couldn't imagine a better devotional!

After the devotional, we had the opportunity to watch the movie 17 miracles, and that was incredible!! I don't think I have ever been more touched by a movie in my life. I highly recommend watching that! Then after, we were able to participate in the most amazing humanitarian project! I've heard from several of you that you were able to read about it in the paper! It was amazing! :) We were able to make over 357,000 meals for families in need. It was INCREDIBLE. We made over 357,000 meal bags, and each meal bag can feed up to 8 people! It was amazing. I felt so blessed to have the opportunity to be such a helping hand in the lives of my brothers and sisters in need.

And the cherry on top of the ice cream of thanksgiving was... THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS! They finally turned on the Christmas lights, and it looks like we have our own little temple square right outside. :) We couldn't help but be so happy! :) We also have our "dom" (apartment... but we just call it "house" in polish!) decorated for Christmas! It is the best room on the entire campus. I love it so much! I will send pictures!

Now, onto a more spiritual side of things! One of our investigators, Karina, committed to be baptized next month!! Oh my goodness, the spirit in our lesson when she committed to act on her faith in Jesus Christ and be baptized as he was... it was amazing. I was so teary! I know that the Karina we are teaching is just my teacher acting as Karina, but Karina was a real person that my teacher taught while on her mission in Poland. It doesn't feel like I am teaching my teacher, it feels like I am really teaching Karina, and I have grown to love the Karina in Poland so much. I can't wait to meet her. I know that this gospel is true. It touches people in a way, and helps them in a way that nothing else can. And I KNOW that it is true.

How incredible is this gospel? How lucky am I to be in such an amazing place, learning more about the gospel that I love with my whole heart, preparing to go to a place that I have never been to but am already homesick for? I'm the luckiest girl in the world. I really am! I love this gospel so much, and my testimony of it is so strong. I know that if we even have the desire to believe, and we act on that, the Lord will bless us with a knowledge of the truthfulness of this gospel. This gospel is true, and I love you! All of you! :)

I'll talk to you more next week!

Kocham was!

∞,

Siostra Kamp

Our humanitarian project outfits- aren't we stylish? :)