The Light of CHRISTmas

Dear Family and Friends,

Dzień Dobry, wam!! :)

How are you all?! I hope you all are having the most wonderful Christmas season!! 

So many amazing wonderful things happened this week!! The Lord continually amazes me with all of the wonderful miracles He gives us every day. 

We were able to spend the first part of this week on exchanges with our lovely Sister's Dekker and Anderson! It was so wonderful to be able to serve with them here in Łódź for a couple days, and I learned so much from them! We were able to do so many wonderful things, but I think my favourite was being able to talk with people on the streets about this amazing "Light the World" program the church is doing this season. I was amazed at how many wonderful conversations we were able to have, and the light that came into the eyes of those we talked with. There is a light that comes out in everyone during the Christmas season... The Light of Christ. :) And how wonderfully fitting it is for this time of year! We are surrounded by so many lights during the Christmas season! Everywhere we look there are Christmas lights! But how wonderful it is, that those lights are there to remind us of something so much bigger. :) Our Lord and Saviour - the Light of the World. 

Siostra Van and I also went to see our lovely friends Edyta and Łukasz this week - and I. just. LOVE THEM. They are the most amazing people! Unfortunately we weren't able to meet with them, because they have a bad case of the Chicken Pox! But it was so wonderful to be able to talk and laugh with them for a few short minutes. I have never heard anyone laugh the way our friend Łukasz did when he found out we call them "Chicken Pox" in english! He was just dying laughing, and it made Sister Van and I laugh so hard! :) I love that little family so much, and am praying for them every day. 

The members of our little branch are so excited for our "Christmas Eve" party this week, and I just love seeing them so excited! In Poland, Christmas Eve or "Wigilia" is such a big tradition, and I cannot wait to experience it with them! :) The members here are the most wonderful people, and I have fallen in love with them. I don't know what I would do without them! They are incredible examples to me, and I admire them in every way. Their testimonies are so evident in all they do, and they have the biggest desire to share the happiness of this gospel with everyone they meet. It is something amazing, truly, and I am so grateful for them! :) They have fallen in love with this "Light the World" campaign just like I have, and each Sunday they come up to us and ask us for more pass-along cards to give to friends! The joy of Christmas, and the joy of this gospel is so contagious. :) 

You guys... I know this church is true, with everything I am. I owe everything I have to the Lord, and His perfect gospel - and I just can't express enough how lucky I feel to be a part of this all. :) How lucky we are to have His perfect example to follow, and His constant hand to help us as we stumble.   

A small scripture from this morning's scripture study:

"Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God."

Ether 12:4

May our faith lead us to good works that glorify our God and make our world a little better, is my prayer :) 

I apologize for this email being a little all over the place today, but I love you all, and wish you the happiest week!! :)

Z miłością, 

Siostra Kamp

The Christmas Market!

The cutest little Christmas shacks line the streets of Łódź during this time of year, and I love it so much :)

The giant Christmas tree by the Christmas market :) I'm in love!

Coming home from zone training! They keep us laughing. 

Our cute Warsaw Sister's came home to Łódź with us for a couple days! :) I love them!!

Sister Dekker loves her snowball candies! 

The adventure behind this photo... Priceless. When someone steals your whiteboard and chair...

Sister Anderson and Sister Dekker!! So grateful for them!!

My mom sent us the cutest ever Christmas countdown package!!! I'm so lucky. :)

The Elder's with the bread they bought that is as big as them. They were so proud!

Our cute new friend Viktoria just moved her from Hungary!! She is amazing!! :)

*Pictures from SiostraVan's email :)

*On the train with the Warsaw Sisters

*The elders  getting ready for street contacting

*Sister Kamp in her natural habitat – ordering pierogi and bigos

*Elder Byrd talking to a man that always talks to us at our whiteboards and is consistently drunk, but I like this pic of them chatting heart to heart.

*Christmas lights we found in a cupboard! And stockings from Mama Kamp

*Our little baby Christmas tree

*My favorite Christmas decoration we found that the senior couple left in the apartment. It’s a porcelain angel, but I just love how sassy it looks. #goals

Elder Alvarez and Byrd!

Never bringing a pen anywhere ever again... :)

Dear Family and Friends, 

Wesołych Świąt!!! 

I cannot believe that it is already December. It's the most wonderful time of the year! :) 

This week was a wonderful one! Siostra Van and I were able to spend a few days in the BEAUTIFUL city of Warsaw with our lovely Sisters, Siostra DeMordaunt and Siostra Beem! I love them so much! We had all been so excited for them to come to Łódź this past week for exchanges, but there was a little plot twist, and long story's short... It started with a "You are only allowed to take a plastic bag with an extra shirt and skirt out of your apartment... nothing else." and ended with two Łódź sister's on a train to Warsaw! Crazy? Yes... and it was the biggest blessing! 

This last minute crazy plot twist of events, living out of a plastic bag with one outfit, not even having our calendar planners or side bags, or anything but the coats on our back... It was the BEST exchange I've ever had, and just the biggest blessing in the world. :) The Lord provides a way :) We were able to do so many absolutely wonderful things with the Sister's in Warsaw, and the miracles we saw there were incredible. 

My time is short, but I'll share one experience! :) 

Siostra DeMordaunt (my lovely MTC companion!) and I were on the street talking to people one evening, and had the most amazing experience! We saw a woman walking toward us, and as we went up to go talk with her, she greeted us with the absolute biggest smile and "Dobry Wieczór!" (which was a little tender mercy in and of itself :) ) We began talking with her, and ended up talking about the Restoration of the Gospel, and some of our main beliefs, and it was wonderful. It is an indescribable feeling being able to feel the spirit constantly as you testify of the truths of this gospel, but sometimes... The spirit is so strong that you can't help but look at the person you are talking with and think, "Are they feeling this?!" :) And I will tell you what - This was one of those times. As Sister DeMordaunt and I bore testimony to our new friend, Ania, we couldn't help but smile so big as the spirit bore witness to both us and Ania of the truthfulness of our words. She didn't have much time to talk - but it didn't matter, because it was just enough :) She told us how wonderful what we had said was, and how much it meant to her - and when we asked if we could meet with her again and talk about it more, she said "Absolutely!!" :) Well, the miracle continues! At the end of our conversation, we gave her a card for the #LightTheWorld campaign I talked about last week, and she asked if we could write our number on it, which gladly we agreed to!! All three of us looked for a pen, but none of us could find one, so... What was there left to do? ELDER'S! Long story's short - they always have pens! So, we called them over and they gave us a pen. Saved the day! 

But anyway, as Sister DeMordaunt was writing on the card, Ania saw the Book of Mormon in one of the Elder's hands and got very quiet. She looked at us and said, "Wait... You are Mormons?" (We had only said that we were missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints before.) Inside, I'm sure both of us were thinking, "Ohhhh boy..." but we just smiled and said, "Yes ma'am!" :) She stayed quiet for a couple more seconds, then got the biggest smile on her face and said, "I LOVE MORMONS!!!!!!!" 

It was the cutest thing in the world, and completely made Sister D and I's day! :) She talked our ears off about her love for Mormons for a while after that, and by the end of our conversation, Sister D and I's cheeks hurt from smiling so much! haha! 

But, it was the sweetest tender mercy, and Ania just brought the biggest smile to my face. :) I love her! Sister DeMordaunt and I talked this morning, and she told me they have a meeting with Ania today!! The good news continues!!! :) I cannot wait to see what other miracles come! 

The Lord is so good. 

Well, that's about all I have time for today, but I love you all so much!! I hope you have a wonderful week of snow, service, and smiles! :) 

You are all in my thoughts and prayers! 

Z miłością,

Siostra Kamp

Warsaw Old Town with my lovely Siostra Van!! :)​

Siostra DeMordaunt!! (My MTC comp) I love this girl so much! She is so wonderful. :)

Siostra Beem!! She is such a doll! :)

Warsaw Selfie! 

When your investigator gives you a chocolate Christmas countdown, and you eat it all before it is even December...

Light the World

Droga Rodzina i Drodzy Przyjaciele,

Dzień dobry, wam!!

I hope you all had such a wonderful thanksgiving! :) 

I've been spending this whole week counting my blessings, and I know I say this every week - but I really am the luckiest girl in the world. In the spending of the past two Thanksgiving's in the service of my God, I have come to realize how evident the Lord's hand really is in our lives. I will never be able to explain how grateful I am for this opportunity to serve, and for the wonderful relationship I have developed with my Father in Heaven and my Saviour, Jesus Christ. ​I have so much to be grateful for!!

I cannot believe that this week will be December! The streets of Łódź are completely decorated for the Christmas season, snow completely covers the ground, and the Polish Carols have officially started playing! It's the most wonderful time of the year! :) 

I don't know if all of you know about this, but every year the church comes out with a special Christmas video for the Christmas season, and something we can all do to remember the Lord Jesus Christ during this special time of year :) If you have not seen the video yet, please watch it!! :) It is wonderful! You can watch it on: mormon.org :)

I have completely fallen in love with this years theme of, "Light the World". As we go around the streets of Łódź sharing this message of Christ, my heart just swells every time! I love my Saviour so much, and being able to talk to everyone about Him is the biggest blessing in the world! On the website, there is a "25 day Countdown" until Christmas of something we can do each day to remember the Saviour, and "Light the World" :) Siostra Van Woerkom and I cannot WAIT to do it, and I encourage you all to do it to! It is going to be wonderful!! 

As far as everything here, it is still going well! I am still in love with being a missionary, and still more in love every day with this gospel. Our investigators are doing well as well, and so are the members :) Unfortunately the flu bug has been going around lately, so we haven't had as many meetings as we would like... But the work will go on! :) We missionaries are starting to be taught by our members how to sing some Polish carols in preparation for our branch Christmas party, and we are all loving that! I've been able to play my violin during some of the songs, and it is the most wonderful experience!!! 

I'm so sorry I don't have much to tell this week, but I am so grateful for you all, and all the prayers that you send on our behalf! You have no idea the impact they make, not only on us, but the people we talk with each day :) I am so grateful for you all! 

Have a wonderful week, and a merry beggining to December! :) 

Kocham was bardzo! 

Z miłością,

Siostra Kamp

Watching the cheesecake bake for Thanksgiving... We were so impatient! :)

Our little Thanksgiving feast - Polish style! :)

The district together for Thanksgiving dinner!

Elder Reid after he learned how bad of an idea it is to use a rag as a whip...

Our district!! :) I love them all so much!

Goldfish from Sister Van's mom! They are inexistent in Poland! But we let one of our english students, try a few and he was in love! :)

My wonderful family send us a fruit basket and flowers for Thanksgiving! I am the luckiest girl in the WORLD!! I love them!! We were so spoiled!

My favourite missionaries! :) *as I crouched next to them* "Sister Kamp, don't be silly, come sit on Grandma's lap!" What would I do without these two? :)

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

Dear Family and Friends, 

How are you all? :) It's crazy how much I've thought about you all this week! I hope you are doing well! 

This week I don't have a lot of time, but I just wanted to tell you all how incredibly grateful I am for you all! I will write so much more next week, but until then... 

I am so grateful for every single one of you! For the love, support, and prayers that you send my way every single day. I really can feel your prayers, and they are such a strength to me. I cannot thank you all enough! I am grateful for the most wonderful family, and for all they have given me these past 20 years. I could not ever be able to describe how much I love them, but I am so grateful for the eternity I have with them. <3 I am grateful for this gospel, and the Lord. For everything that they have given me. Everything I have, I owe to my Saviour and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to be able to serve Him. 

There will be more to come next week, but I am just so grateful!! My heart fills to the brim every time I start to think of all my blessings. I am so lucky. :) 

I hope you all have the most WONDERFUL Thanksgiving holiday spent with those you love! We are blessed beyond measure. 

Do przyszłego tygodnia!

Kocham was z całego serca!

Z miłością,

Siostra Kamp

Elder Dooley, Elder Musgrave, and Elder Byrd!

Some of the Elder's in our zone

It's always the best to see these crazies!

Ania and Iza! I love them so much!

Ania's new puppy... Yes, I was in love...

Zone conference - My favourite Elder and Sister Tufts from Bydgoszcz were there!!! Yes, tears were shed when I saw them.

From Siostra Van "Siostra Kamp getting excited about food."

 Our cute little choir with their hymnbooks

Pics with my favorite little babcia, Zosia

"Never in my life!!" :)

Dear Friends and Family,

How is it already the middle of November?! Time flies way too quickly. 

I hope you all had an amazing week! :) 

This week was wonderful, of course! It's impossible to have a bad week when you are so blessed!! 

This week the miracle that is on my mind is something so small, but it just makes me smile so big everytime I think of it :) So, although of course there are others, that's the one I'll share with you all this week! 

We met with our lovely friend Edyta this week, and her cutest baby ever - little Lila! :) Unfortunately, the lesson didn't exactly go as planned, because Lila was a little restless and Łukasz had been called in to work. But, it was still wonderful to see Edyta and Lila :) I just love them so much!! Small extra side note: We had made some brownies this past week and dropped them off at Edyta's with a little note because they had all been sick, and when we came to her house this week we were all sitting on the little couch and out of the blue she just smiled and said, "Oh, look!" We looked, and hanging on the wall in the corner of a little picture frame of their family was the little note we had written them :) We all laughed, and Edyta said, "Łukasz even put it there!" It was the cutest thing ever. :) I LOVE THEM. 

Well, after our meeting with Edyta, we were on the way home and I was feeling a little down in the dumps. I'm not sure exactly why, but before I could think too much about it, Siostra Van and I saw this cute little lady walking down the sidewalk carrying some grocery bags. We walked up to her, and asked if we could help her with her bags - it was cold, and wet, and pitch-black outside - and she just lit up like we had asked if we could give her a million dollars! :) It was the cutest thing! She happily agreed, and we set off toward her house - ""her bags in one hand, her arms in the other, and talked to her all the way home :) She even asked us all about our church! It was so wonderful, and she just kept saying, "Never in my life have I met such beautiful, kind, loveable girls. Never in my life." hahaha! It was the cutest thing! I was so grateful that we had that little opportunity to serve her :) I didn't think my mood could get any better after that, but as we were walking away from her house we heard her call out, "You know what, girls? It's a shame you didn't give me your phone number! I was looking forward to talking more about your faith and Jesus Christ!" 

WHAT. 

I KNOW. 

I couldn't help but think, "Is this real life?!" :) So, obviously we quickly ran back and gave her our number, and the address to our chapel! She was so excited, and told us she would call us sometime this week :) I am so excited to meet with her again, and I am just so grateful for the little miracles like that the Lord gives us every day. I am SO BLESSED. :)

I stumbled across one of my favourite verses in the Book of Mormon this week, and wanted to share that with you all to end :) It is found in 2 Nefi 25:25-26.

"We are made alive in Christ because of our faith... We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."

Christ is the center of everything we do, and I am so grateful for him. This verse says it all. :) I know that my Reedemer lives. He loves you all so much, and I can feel that every time I talk with you :) As we go into this Christmas season (it's never too early ;) ), I pray that we will remember the reason for the season :) Because He lives... We are made alive. 

I love you all, and pray for you every day! Have an amazing week!!

KSOKSO! (XOXO)

Z miłością,

Siostra Kamp

I was really excited when I took this photo, because we woke up to snow!! But then later that day, it snowed sooo much!! Unfortunately by that point, I was too excited to even think about taking a photo :)

Our beautiful friend Viola took us out took lunch this week! :) I love her so much!! 

We are made of the things of eternity...

Dear Family and Friends,  

Cześć, wam!! :) 

Oh man, I have so much to tell you all - and just no time to do it! 

This week was amazing! I fell in love with Poland even more this week (I know... I didn't think it was possible either...) as we were able to celebrate "All Saints Day" and "The Day of the Dead" with the wonderful people here. I got a new little taste of the Polish culture, their history, their traditions... It was amazing to be able to serve them this week in a day that they hold so dear to them! Serving them on their cmentaries, helping them clean the graves and light their candles that go on for miles and miles, getting to know them and their stories... My testimony of the wonderful plan our Heavenly Father has for us - the Plan of Salvation - was strengthened so much as we were able to look into the eyes of these wonderful people who we love, and tell them with 100% certainty that they will see their loved ones again. I will never be able to describe to you all those moments that I had... Sometimes I wonder why my Father in Heaven sent me here to Poland, out of anywhere in the world I could have gone... And maybe that is a question to which I will never know the answer. But, it's in those little every day moments like that, that I am overwhelmed with gratitude to Him, for letting me come here. I will never be able to thank Him enough for letting Poland -these people, this culture, this history, this country, just everything - become a piece of me. It is an experience that somehow I can never find the words to describe, but one that will be written on my heart forever. 

How wonderful is the Plan of our God.

"We are made of the things of eternity... Endings are not our destiny."

-President Deiter F. Uchtdorf

I don't have much time for anything else today, but I hope you all know how much I love you! Thank you all for all you do for me. I am the luckiest missionary in the world! 

Have a wonderful week!! 

Kocham was z całego serca! 

Z miłością,

Siostra Kamp

We made J some Taco Soup, and he loved it! "AMERICAN FOOD! WHOA!!" haha :)

Celebrating Halloween - Carving... things.

Year Mark!

Year Mark with my MTC Siostry!! Warsaw Oct 28th! ​

Elder Dickson with his carved... something! He's a doll!

Saw my favourite Sister D!!!!! Our typical MTC comp selfie. :) I love her so much!

My two favourite people in one photo. Elder Einfeldt and Sister D! Love them!

The masterpieces!! 

In Mama Kamp's email:

This week was the holiday "All Saints Day" and "Day of the Dead" which are SUCH big holidays here. It was wonderful to be able to spend the day serving on the cmentaries helping others clean the graves and set up all the MILLIONS of lanterns :) I didn't think it was possible to fall more in love with Poland, but the more I learn about these people, their traditions, their culture, their history... I just love this place SO much, mom... I can't even describe it. T invited us missionaries to come with him to the cementary where his family is buried, and he told us so much about the tradition of all saints day, the history, so many stories, and so much more. And we were able to serve him, so it was an incredible day. I loved it. 

We also met with T this week, with Elder Reid and Elder Dickson! It was an amazing lesson :) Prezydent asked us missionaries to only teach people of the same gender, and that was really hard for me to hear because I just love T so much... I've taught him for 5 months now! But... I prayed about it, and I agreed with Prezydent - that's what we needed to do. So, us and the Elder's met with him, and from now on T will be meeting with them. :) It was hard, but I know as long as we are obedient we will be blessed so much. 

(pictures from Siostra Barney)