I love Bydgoszcz - version 1.0

Dear Family and Friends, 

Oh my word, I fall more in love with Bydgoszcz every day! :) We did sooo much this past week, that there is just no possible way I can fit it into one email! :) I'll share a couple of the highlights though!!

First, we met with several of our investigators this week, and they are wonderful! One of our investigators is named Patrik! He is a Jehovah's witness, and is very firm in his belief in the Bible which is awesome!! Because, hello, I love the Bible too!! :) But, this last lesson we gave him a Book of Mormon, and talked with him a little bit about it. He was very hesitant to even take it, because he says the Bible is the only word of God. But, by the end of the lesson, he was willing to take it and read the introduction before our next lesson. We told him we believe in the Bible as well, and that the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ. The Bible and the Book of Mormon work hand in hand, and the only way he could know for himself if the Book of Mormon was the word of God, is if he read it and prayed about it. We promised him that if he asked God about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, he would receive an answer. He told us he knew that God would answer his prayer, and that he would read the Book of Mormon. :) I can't wait to meet with him again! He is so wonderful, and it is so obvious that he is searching for the truth. A year ago, he was Catholic, then he found the Jehovah's witness church, and now... He found us. :) I know that it was no coincidence that we met him on the street- and he knows that as well. Each time we give him a little pamphlet or something, he does not put it down until he reads the whole thing! He is such a spiritual man, and I just know that the Lord put him in our path for a reason. 

Another of our investigators is named Ada. She is absolutely wonderful! She is 17, and is such an incredible girl! We taught her about the Plan of Salvation this past week, and it was a wonderful lesson. The Plan of Salvation is incredible, and I can just see the hope it brings to those we teach. :) Their faces light up and even the thought of it! It makes me so happy, and each time I bear testimony of the Plan of Salvation, the spirit testifies to me that the words I'm saying are true. Ada is so wonderful! She is incredibly spiritual, and I can truly feel how much the Lord loves her each time we are with her. :) 

We were also able to meet with some members of our branch this week. :) They are so wonderful!! We were able to go over to the home of Elder and Sister Tufts (the cutest seniour couple everrrr!) and have dinner and a game night with one of our members named Armine, and her family! She is so cute!! She is from Georgia (the country), and her husband Alex is from Russia! Then they have a 12 year old son named David :) They are the cutest family ever, and I am so grateful to have gotten to know them! By the end of the night, Armine was teasing me, trash-talking my board game skills, and treating me like a daughter! It made me so happy, and I just love her so much! :) They are the most wonderful family!! 

We also were able to go over to our friend Anna's house! Oh my goodness... This lady... She is SO WONDERFUL!!! :) We went over to see her yesterday, and while we were walking there (side note: we walk everywhere here! No trams or buses! I love it! :) I definitely get my excercise in! :) ) Anyway, it is about a 40 minute walk to Anna's house, and while we were walking there, it just started pouring rain!! We didn't have hats or anything! So, we ran, and by the time we got their, our hair was pretty soaked! :) It was so much fun though! Anna opened the door for us, and as soon as she saw us she pulled us inside, got mad at us for not wearing hats, and ran to the bathroom to get towels for us to dry our hair!! ha ha! But, we didn't dry our hair... She did it for us!! ha ha! She wouldn't let us do it! It was so funny. :) The whole time she was drying our hair she just kept say, "Oh my lovely girls... Oh my lovely daughters... Your hair is so wet... You must never do this again... What were you thinking? Oh my goodness... I love you. How are you doing?" and she would just go on and on! She is the cutest old lady EVER! :) I seriously love her! I've only visited her/talked to her three times, and she has already adopted me as her granddaughter! (And I've definitely claimed her as my grandma here in Poland!) CUTEST LADY EVER! :) So anyway, when we left she made sure to bundle us up! :)

Oh man, side note!! Everyone in Poland wears "house slippers" :) You never walk around the house bare footed! So, when Anna asked us if we wore house slippers, and we told her no, she was appaulled!! It was so funny! :) She said that needs to be fixed, and she will have a present for us soon! Oh my goodness... Could she get any sweeter? :) I love her!

So... I'm pretty much out of time! But holy cow, I have so many more wonderful people I could mention!! The Mowes family, Ewa, Trae, Alicia... There's so many! :) So many miracles happened this week. I wish I could tell you them all! I will tell you more next week! I absolutely love it here, and am so blessed to be here!! :) 

There are no coincidences :) The Lord knows EXACTLY what He is doing. I have the biggest testimony of that. :) 

I love you all and hope you have an amazing week!! 

∞,

Siostra Kamp

Note from Mom:  My tender mercy photo came today, Tuesday!  Thank you to President Edgren for posting this perfect moment!  MTC sisters back together again at Zone Conference!  I bet there were LOTS of hugs going on!

Trusting in the Lord.

Dear Friends and Family,

Okay, I know I say this every single week... but I mean it! I HAVE SO MUCH TO TELL YOU!!! :)

So, first things first! The biggest change of my week... Wait for it....

I'M IN BYDGOSZCZ!!!!!! I got transferred from good ol' southern Katowice, to the good ol' northern Bydgoszcz!! As you all know, I absolutely loved Katowice, Siostra Johnston, my investigators, the branch there, the city, the people, the stars (they're incredible)... Katowice is so wonderful! So, when I received a call from President, and he told me I was leaving, I didn't understand. I was so confused, and so sad. But... that is where faith and trust in the Lord came in to my week. :) I was struggling, I really was. So, a prayer filled my heart, and I kneeled down (more than once), and prayed to the Lord to comfort me, and to help me remember the trust I had in Him. I know He knows much more than I do, and I know He has a plan. I was reminded of the incredible trust that I have for Him as I knelt there, and that was such a comfort to me. Just to know that if I trusted Him, that He would never let me down. :) Prayer is a miracle, and such a blessing. I can promise you all, from many personal experiences, that not only are prayers heard, they are answered. Always. So, I put my trust in Him, boarded my train, and arrived here in Bydgoszcz 7.5 hours later!! And oh my goodness, everyone! Bydgoszcz is BEAUTIFUL!! It is just absolutely beautiful here. I have so many pictures to show you all! My new companion is Siostra Craig, and she is the cutest thing! I was extremely nervous to come here, but as soon as I got off the train she welcomed me with open arms! She is so sweet, and so contagiously happy, and she has just been the biggest blessing to me already! I am so grateful to be here in Bydgoszcz with her, and I just know the Lord has so much in store for us here! :) I can't wait for everything He has planned for us!

Trust in the Lord. He has a plan. If we give our complete trust to Him, I can promise you that He will never let you down.

So, here I am, in Bydgoszcz, as happy as ever!!! :) I have already had such wonderful experiences, and the longer I am here, the more I realize this is where I need to be. :)

I have to tell you all an experience I had from this past week! So, Siostra Johnston and I were out on the streets talking to people with the Elder's in a little town called Dabrowa Gornicza. (The same place we met that cute old man, Marion, at!) We were contacting, and for those of you who don't know what that is, let me explain! In Poland, we contact a little differently. :) We have a big whiteboard with a question on it that we set up on the street, and then we walk around and direct people's attention to the whiteboard, ask them the question, and talk to them about our beliefs!! It's amazing!!... If you can get people to stop! haha :) Everyone that knows me knows how extremely introverted I am. So, going up to random people on the street, and talking to them? Yeah... I am always nervous about that! haha! (And it's in Polish, which makes things even funner, right? ;) ) So anyway, on this particular day, I had told Siostra Johnston how nervous I was, and I was determined just to hide behind her the entire time! But, being the amazing missionary she is- she turned to me, and gave me this advice. "Sister, when you don't feel like doing something, that's when you need to do it the most." That has stuck with me every day since then. So, again trusting in the Lord, I said a little prayer to help me have the courage to stop people. And guess what? We stopped and talked to more people that day than we ever have! We got people's numbers, we gave out Book of Mormons, and we set up appointments to teach! That has never happened as much as it did that day.

We talked to a woman named Ania that day, and it was incredible. She was very curious about what 2 American girls were doing in Poland, and we were able to tell her "Well, this is why we're here!" We began talking about who we are, and why we are here, and all of the sudden she asked us the question, "What do you believe about life after death?" So, we told her! :) We told her what we believe, and briefly mentioned our belief in eternal families, and she just started to cry... She opened right up to us and told us that her mother had passed away a few weeks before, and she had just been praying for the Lord to give her something to comfort her. Then she told us that just the little ounce of hope that we had given her that she would she her mom again, was enough to bring her to tears. Then Siostra Johnston held her hand, and told her that it was not just a hope we had, we KNOW that she will see her mom again. That brought even more tears, and it was just such a special meeting. The Lord really puts people in our paths for a reason. I realized that day, that if I had not trusted in the Lord, and acted on the advice Siostra Johnston told me, we would never had met Ania. She would not have that comfort that we were able to give her. I can truly testify that everything happens for a reason.

So, as you all go about this week, I challenge you to keep Sister Johnston's advice in your mind. Never surpress a spiritual prompting. If you have a thought to do something good, do it! Nothing bad will ever come from trusting in the Lord. :) He has more blessings waiting for you than you could ever imagine. I can promise you that.

Anyway, I have to go! But I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's day!! I know we did! :) I love you all, and pray for you every day!

Have an amazing week!!

∞,

Siostra Kamp

Siostra Craig and I

How cute is Bydgoszcz?!?!

The lock bridge!! :) 

Cutest ever bike mural in Bydgoszcz! :)

The first thing I saw when I walked into my new apartment in Bydgoszcz!! Siostra Craig is SO CUTE!!

My district (and Siostra J's new companion, Siostra Gustafson!!) sending me off to Bydgoszcz! I'm so blessed to have served with them!!

"Bye, Katowice apartment!!"

Saying "see you soon" to my two favorite people, Beata and Yazminka! Man, the love I have for them is more than I can say. I. love. them!

Our beautiful friend Priscilla!! :) She's incredible.

Rysiek gave us roses... How cute is he?!? (AND SURPRISE!!!!!!!!! I CUT MY HAIR!!!!!!!)

Being monkey emoji's with Sis. J and Khumo! :) I love them.

In rained, snowed, sleeted, and everything else possible on this day! :)

Adventure in Krakow!!

Wawel Castle!! So beautiful!!

Adventure in Krakow!!

Siostra Johnston and I :)

I have the best district ever :)

Adventures in Krakow!!!

Adventure in Krakow!! (Yes, those are tons of horse drawn carriages!)

I love Poland!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

I have so much to tell you and no time! Ahhh!! :) We are going to visit the beautiful city of KRAKOW for our Preparation Day today, and I'm so excited! We will be visiting Wawel Castle, the Rynek, some different museums and cathedrals, and I can't wait to send you all pictures next week! :) So... We will be leaving to Krakow soon, so I have to do this email speedy fast! Lightning fingers! Here we go! :)

This week was AMAZING!!! There are so many highlights that I could talk about! We'll see how many I have time to mention :)

So, first! Our investigator Priscilla, and her boyfriend Mickey. They are wonderful, oh my goodness. I absolutely love them, and I love teaching them. They are so spiritual, AND the lessons are in English (they are from America, they are just here for Med. School!) so I can actually understand what they say! It is wonderful for me, because I have a personal relationship that is difficult for me to have with our Polish investigators because of the language barier. But hey, I will get there. :) But anyway, this week we taught Priscilla and Mickey about Tithing and Fasting. It was the most wonderful lesson! We spent the first little bit of the lesson just talking to Priscilla about her feelings, and she shared with us many thoughts and experiences she has been having recently. I was very humbled to know that she trusts Siostra Johnston and I to confide in us the way she did, and we had a wonderful conversation about faith at the beginning. :) So, the lesson went very well, and Siostra Johnston and I were able to share some personal experiences we have with the blessing of tithing, and Mickey even shared an experience! (he is a member! Just in case I forgot to mention that! He just hasn't been active for a while.) His experience was so special. Then, we asked Priscilla if she would pray to end our lesson, and she said yes, even though she was very nervous. But man, that woman is so amazing! Her prayers are so personal, and she is such an example to me. Every time she prays it is like she is having a conversation with God. I love it so much. But, I will never forget what she said in this prayer. She said, "Thank you very much for these wonderful meetings. I always feel so warm. And, Father..." then she paused for a while and said really timidly, "Father, I think I do know that this church is true." And I was a bit embarrassed afterwards because as soon as she said that, the tears just started comin'!! The spirit was so strong, and I couldn't hold them back. After her prayer, she looked at me and smiled, and I just gave her the biggest hug. The love Heavenly Father has for her is incredible, and I can feel it every time I am with her. If only I could bottle up the spirit we all felt when she said those 10 words... :) The Church is true, and nothing brings me more joy than seeing the people I love come to know that for themselves. :)

Okay, I don't have much time left, but I'll just share a quick funny story! So, we were doing a little contacting activity with our Elder's, and Siostra Johnston and I had just finished talking to a very nice lady. She walked away, and all the sudden this old man practically ran over to us! We greeted him, and he just kept saying, "Wow, you two are beautiful! Beautiful hair, beautiful eyes, beautiful face, and cute matching hats!!" (We have matching beanies :) ) And so Siostra Johnston and I just looked at each other like, "Oh great, we caught another frog." (That's what we call the creepy men here in Poland ;) ) But oh man... He turned out to be the BEST MAN EVER! I'll have to just tell you all the short version, but basically he made us guess how old he was, so of course we said 45 because he looked 70! But he told us he owns a kind of "cultural center" where he teaches a dance class, they do acting classes, you know things like that! Then, he told us his students always think he is 18 or 20, and he told us he is 90!! NINETY! And here he is running around, dancing, wearing this nice suit... That is one awesome 90 year old. ha ha! Then he stuck his hand out to me, so I went to shake his hand, and he just grabbed my hand and spun me right around in the middle of the street! ha ha ha! I was cracking up... Oh my goodness, he completely made my day! And he just kept calling Siostra Johnston and I "My beloved" (in Polish of course. That is what all the old people call us... It's so cute!! :) ) And he gave us candy, and invited us to tea and his dancing class, and it just made my whole day. :)

So, there's a little funny story for you! This week was also "Fat Thursday"! (Quite possibly my new favorite holiday... ha ha!) Basically Polish donuts (paczki) go on sale for super cheap, and everyone just eats as many Paczki as they can!! It's great!! So, us and the Elder's had an awesome time with that :) There really is an amazing story to why the Poles celebrate this, but I don't have any time to tell you all...

I'm sorry I have like no time today... But this week was incredible. I have so many amazing spiritual experiences to tell you all, and no time to do it... But I'll just have to tell you all when I get home!

I love you all, and hope you have the most amazing week!!

Zawsze,

Siostra Kamp

Katowice has the most beautiful sunsets...and stars.  Don't even get me started on the stars!

There are Catholic churches like this around every bend! Poland is the Catholic version of Utah! :) (LDS Church buildings everywhere you look! haha!)​

FAT THURSDAY!!!

Siostra Johnston's sandwhich was the size of her face!! :)

Poland has amazing history, and so many statues of rememberance. This is one in our town square, dedicated to the soldiers who died defending the city of Katowice from Hitler and his armies... ​

  I got a packaggggggge :) I love my family!!!!!

I am God's Investigator.

Dear Friends and Family,

Another wonderful week in the best place ever! :) Have I mentioned how much I love Poland? Not today? Well... I LOVE POLAND SO MUCH!

This week was AMAZING. We met again with our recent convert Anna, and her son Adam, who is now investigating the church! It was a wonderful meeting, and we talked to them about enduring to the end. :) Personally, I absolutely love this subject. When we think about "enduring", we normally think of really negative words like "trials, hardships, uphill battles", things like that! But I love talking to people about what "enduring to the end" really means :) The Lord does not want our lives to be something we have to ENDURE. He loves us! He wants us to be happy! He has given us this gospel, the scriptures, our families, fuzzy socks and hot chocolate, popcorn... You know, SO MANY things that make life great! :) Life shouldn't be something we endure, it should be something we enjoy. :) It was such a good lesson! Adam's baptism is coming up so quickly, and he is just getting more and more excited as the days go on! I am SO excited for him!!!!

We also met with our cute friends Beata, Marysia, and little Yazminka this week! They are my faaaavourite!! I love them so much! Whenever I am with them, I feel like I am with family. I have a story for you all about them! This is definitely my biggest miracle for the week. :)​ So, Beata's husband works in Norway, so he is only able to come home to Poland for about 2 weeks every 4 or so months. We haven't met him yet, but Beata has told us that he is Muslim, and he is not fond of Mormon's. She has always been so scared to tell him about her interest in our church because of that. BUT! When we went over to visit her this week, she was just smiling from ear to ear, and told us that not only had her husband met Mormon missionaries in Norway... He had met with them twice, and had been going to church for two weeks!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my goodness, it was so wonderful to hear!!!!! Can you believe that? :) Siostra Johnston and I had been praying for a miracle for Beata. You can't tell me that that is not the biggest miracle, and complete answer to our prayers. :) We were also able to talk to her husband on the phone while we were there, and he said he will be coming home to visit later this week, and would love to meet with us so we can tell him more about the Book of Mormon! Oh my goodness, we were (and still are) ecstatic! :) (Special thank you to the amazing missionaries in Norway that helped answer the prayers of two sister missionary's in Poland that they don't even know exist. The Lord is so mindful of us. He has a plan for everything, and no matter what, it always works out. :) )

Also, Siostra Johnston and I were singing little lullaby's and primary songs to Yazminka to put her to sleep, and somehow us playing a musical number in Sacrament got brought up! So we told Beata that we would be playing in Sacrament meeting, and she turned to Marysia and said, "We must go!!" Siostra Johnston and I were in shock!! We had planned that night to invite her to come to church with us, but there we were just sitting there, and she invited herself!! And guess what? Beata, Marysia, and little Yazminka were in church yesterday for the first time!! :) I am completely overwhelmed with joy just thinking about it. :) They were my miracles this week. :) The Lord's hand was so present in our lives, as it always is.

I've really been thinking a lot this week about my investigators. It is hard to explain the love I have for them, because it's a different love than I have ever felt before... I imagine it's kind of like the way God loves us. Not exactly, because we can't even imagine that kind of love! But, I imagine it's similar. :) As a missionary, I have developed a love for my investigators that I can't even describe. You love them so much, that seeing them stop keeping their commitments, stop reading the Book of Mormon, stop praying... it devastates you. It really does. But no matter what, you love them, and you are there to help them get back on the right track when they need you. On the other hand... When you see your investigators reading the Book of Mormon, praying, coming to church, and just coming closer to Christ- your are overwhelmed with joy :) While I've been noticing that this week, I've realized that that is probably the way God feels about us. I imagine that He is devastated when we distance ourselves from Him. That must crush Him.. But, He loves us anyway, and He is always there for us, even when we don't see Him. Then on the other hand, when we bring ourselves closer to Him, He is probably overwhelmed with joy! :) I am God's investigator. We all are! These past few months have opened my eyes to the love of God so much. :)

I want you all to know that I love my Heavenly Father. I love my Saviour, Jesus Christ. I love this gospel, and I love the peace and happiness I see it bring. Not only to myself and my family, but also to the wonderful people I teach. I am so grateful for this gospel, and I am so grateful for the opportunity I have every day to put on my little black tag, and testify of Jesus Christ. :) This gospel is true. Everything we believe in... It's true!

I love you all so much, and I am so grateful for you all! Have an amazing week everyone! Do something this week to bring you closer to the Lord. I know that whenever you do, He looks down and smiles, because of the joy He feels :) And I can promise you that you will feel that same joy. :)

∞,

Siostra Kamp

A note from Mama Kamp:

Mondays are my favorite day, as I'm sure you all can guess why!  I love hearing all the stories Lexi tells us about her mission.  I love hearing all the answered prayers and people's lives changing for the better as they learn of their divine heritage and Savior!  But I must tell you something, I LOVE THE PICTURES!  Maybe it is the photographer in me, but pictures speak to my soul...I know that sounds cheesy!  But they do!  When I get an email without pictures...it is hard for me to wait until the next Monday.  My heart hurts to see her.  BUT, last time that happened, I received a picture from the Mission Presidents wife of Lexi!  They had decided to take a train down and have lunch with her and her companion.  She took just one picture of them at lunch and sent it to me.  It was a tender mercy from my Heavenly Father!  So today, when she told me she didn't have any pictures she was able to send today, my heart kind of dropped!  I was again, a little sad, and was already counting down until next week when I would get pictures.  Then I saw a text on my phone from one of Lexi's friends, Garrett.  He told me to follow a link to see the MOST VIEWED IMAGES IN THE WORLD ON FLICKR!  So I clicked on the link:  click here and it took me to a picture of Lexi taken by a famous photographer at a bus stop in Poland!  Thank you, Heavenly Father!  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the tender mercies you show me every day!  I love you!

Miracles & Tender Mercies

Dear Friends and Family,

If I could desribe this week in two words, it would be "Miracles & Tender Mercies"​. This week was so full of them! I have so much to tell you all. :) (But, what else is knew, right? ;) )

First of all, exchanges in Krakow!!! Siostra Johnston and I were able to travel to Krakow for a day this past week, and it was amazing to see! The architecture there is beautiful, and there are so many big cathedrals and statues! It was amazing to see a different city, but it sure felt good to come back home to Katowice, too. :) I had a couple miracles happen in Krakow, so I'll tell you those first!

While I was there, we had a meeting with a woman named Iwona. We had heard from previous missionaries that she was a little... I'll just say, crazy! But, nonetheless, we went into the lesson with an open heart! Well, the lesson was wonderful!! We taught Iwona the Restoration. :) I am still working on my Polish (I've got a long way to go!) so, normally in lessons I don't say much, then at the end I bear a little testimony in the best Polish I can! Well, this lesson was different. The Sister's in Krakow had heard that I had been working on memorizing the account of Joseph Smith that we call "The First Vision", so, during the lesson, Sister Anczak had been talking about how Joseph Smith had been confused about which church to join. She talked about how he read James 1:5 in the Bible, then after she had finished saying that, all three of the sister's (including Sister Johnston my companion) turned and looked at me with that look like, "Alright, Siostra! Take it away!" and inside I was saying, "WHAT?! Ahh!" But, I took a deep breath, and as soon as I opened my mouth, the words just came. I was able to talk about how Joseph Smith took that verse to heart, and he knelt in a grove of trees and inquired of the Lord to know which church he should join. I then talked about how his prayer was answered, and he was visited by our Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ, and quoted the words written by Joseph Smith about his experience that we call "The First Vision". When I was finished, I looked at my companion and Iwona, and they both had tears in their eyes! The spirit was so strong in that room from the words of Joseph Smith, and the spirit bore witness to me so strongly as I spoke, that the words I was saying were true. Joseph Smith was a prophet of the Lord. The same church that Christ established while on the earth was restored through Joseph Smith. It is on earth today. And everything I believe in, everything I testify and teach of each day... It's true. All of it.

I have tried since then to say what I said in that lesson, but I can't do it. I don't even know how the words came...  Don't overestimate my language skills, y'all... I can barely order a hamburger from McDonald's! :) It was a miracle, and a little tender mercy. That was all the Lord, and the spirit of the Holy Ghost.

I also had the opportunity to visit a member of the Krakow branch while I was there, and that meeting had to have been one of the most humbling experiences I have ever had. The Krakow sister's had told us before we went over, that Romek is very poor. His apartment has no heat, no running water, and it is a very humble environment. We stopped by a small bakery on the way there, to pick up some warm Rolls to give him, and then went over to his apartment. When we arrived, Romek welcomed us in, helped us take off our coats (Polish people are so hospitable. I love them.), and welcomed us into the living room. His home was very humbling to me. There was almost nothing in his home, except he did have a wall of just books upon books. He told us he loves to read, and make models of little ships and things. :) But anyway, so, we sat down, and he walked over to a little backpack he had on the ground, and pulled out five little packets of hot cocoa, a water bottle, and a little box of chocolate cookies. He looked at us and said, "I know it's not much, but..." then he walked to the kitchen, made us our hot cocoa, and came back in. I have never been more humbled... Here was a man with almost nothing, and he had gone out of his way to make sure he had something to give us when we came. If you ever here me say, "Polish people will give you the coat off their back, even if it is all they have.", I'm not exaggerating. They are wonderful people. I am so humbled and blessed to be serving such wonderful people, in such a wonderful place.

Last story for the week! Tracting!! A quote from Elder Einfeldt on the subject- "I love tracting. It's like trick-or-treating, but we have the treats!" (I love that! ha ha!) So! Siostra Johnston and I had been tracting with the Elder's, which is when we go to neighborhoods and knock on doors, and... we had no success. I can't count the number of doors I have had slammed in my face this past month, but it's funny, because even when people are rude to us... I love them. I love them. Because I know the Lord loves them. You know what, not everyone is going to care what you have to say, not everyone is going to accept your message. And I think that can go for all of us, even if we aren't missionaries. :) But, everyone wants happiness, and everyone wants peace. What some people don't realize, is that this gospel can give them more of those things than they could even imagine. But to all my fellow missionary friends out there... DON'T GIVE UP. As my friend Elder Einfeldt says, "Sometimes, you'll have a bag of jelly beans that is all black licorice. And you'll be super discouraged because you hate black licorice. But, you still go through the bag, hoping that somewhere in there, there'll be a raspberry jelly bean. You may have to go through a lot more black licorice jelly beans than you want, but how worth it is it when you get to the bottom of the bag, and stuck in the corner is your raspberry jelly bean? :)" There are people waiting for you. :)

Well, that day, after a lot of unsuccessful tracting and black licorice, Siostra Johnston and I found our raspberry jelly bean. :) Her name is Gabriela. She is amazing! We met her and her 8 year old son, Milosz, and they were an answer to our prayers! They welcomed us into their home without a moment of hesitation. We talked with them, and it was another little tender mercy to me because Gabriela speaks wonderful English! It was wonderful to talk with them, and Milosz even played us some songs on the piano that he has been learning. :) We will be returning to her home this week to teach her about the Restoration, and we are also teaching Milosz english! :) I can't wait to tell you all more about them next week!! They are SO wonderful!!

I'm out of time for the day, but I hope you all take a few minutes at the end of the day to think of how the Lord blessed you this week. He is always there, every step of the way. I promise you that. :)

Miracles happen every day. It's all about the little things.

I love you all, and hope you have an amazing week!!

∞, Siostra Kamp

We made cinnamon rolls with the Elder's :)

Elder Jourdan bought us Peanut Butter!!!! Best. Day. Ever! :)

Krakow sister's :) I love them!!

We went to Gabriela's restaurant in Krakow! It is BEAUTIFUL and DELICIOUS! :)

Walking the streets of Krakow :) (That's Sister's Allowitz and Anczak)

Gabriela gave us homemade pickles and jam! Sooo goood :)

Saying bye to our Elder Hon!! He got transferred to Lublin for a few weeks :) We love him!!!

"And with Him... Everything else."

Dear friends and family,

I always love emailing days because I get to tell you all about how AMAZING Poland is, and how much I LOVE this gospel!! It's the best! :)

This week we did so much! I'll just mention a few of the highlights :)

So, first, we met with Beata, and little Yazminka again this week! Along with her mom, Marysia! Can I just say, cutest. family. ever. I literally feel like I have gained a second family here with them. :) Little Yazminka would not get off my lap the whole time we were over there! It melted my heart. :) I love meeting with Beata and Marysia, because they bring such a spirit into our lessons. They are not members of our church, and they are not even really investigating the church. Us missionaries have been meeting with them for about the past year! But they are SUCH faithful women... It blows me away sometimes. I love them. Anyway, this past visit, we talked with Beata and Marysia about the Book of Mormon. They each have their own, and they even read from it! But we just talked about the importance of the Book of Mormon, and shared personal experiences of how the Book of Mormon has impacted our lives... It was an incredibly spiritual lesson for me, because... You guys, I LOVE the Book of Mormon. I can't describe how much I love it. Everyone in my district makes fun of me because I literally carry my Polish Book of Mormon with me EVERYWHERE. I've grown to love it so much, that putting it down is hard for me. But anyway, during that lesson, I bore my testimony of the Book of Mormon, and as I said the words "Wiem ze Ksiega Mormona jest prawdziwa." (I know the Book of Mormon is true) Beata looked at me and said, "It is. It is true." and then bowed her head, and smiled. It was amazing!!!! I couldn't help but feel the spirit as she spoke. She has committed to read the Book of Mormon each day, and pray to know if it is true. I can't wait to see her again and talk with her about it more :)

Our investigators Priscilla and Mickey also came home from their vacation this week, so we should be able to start meeting with them again!! Wahoo!! :) They are so cute. We are meeting with them on Tuesday, and then on Friday they invited us out to dinner with them! They came to church yesterday, and it was so good to see them! The Prezydent of my branch called me up to the pulpit (SURPRISE!), and asked me to introduce myself and share a testimony. So, in my very broken Polish, I introduced myself and bore my testimony. It was very intimidating walking up to the pulpit, but once I got up there, and looked out at all the smiling faces of the branch, I couldn't help but just be so happy and at peace :) Anyway, when I sat back down by Priscilla, she just smiled and hugged me, and said she loved me. That meant the absolute world to me. I wish I could describe to you all how much I LOVE the people here. They are so wonderful.

We also were able to meet with Anna again! (Our recent convert) We brought the Elder's with us again to teach her son Adam, who is now investigating the church, and it was a wonderful lesson! Adam is about 23, and has been struggling with depression for most of his life. When we first met him, he would not come out of his room. We were finally able to get him to come listen to our lessons, but he would cover his face with his hands the entire time. It was really sad. Well, this past week, when we came over he was sitting on the couch, waiting for us! And the entire time we talked with him and Anna, his hands were clutched to the Polish Book of Mormon the Elder's had given him the week before. :) And guess what... HE PRAYED!!! We asked him if he would be willing to give the closing prayer, and he just looked at us and said, "Please." Then, he offered the simplest most heartfelt prayer I have ever heard, and it brought tears to my eyes. He finished, looked up at me and said, "That's the first time..." and he just could not stop smiling! Ah! I just wanted to HUG HIM!!! It was amazing! :) And the Elder's surprised him yesterday with a suit and tie, and brought him to church with us!! That was probably my favorite part of yesterday. Just looking over at Adam during sacrament and class, and seeing the smile on his face. How present is the Lord's hand in our lives? I can't help but recognize all the ways the Lord is present in my every day here.

One of the member's of our Branch told me a beautiful quote this week that I have absolutely fallen in love with. It doesn't translate to English exactly, but I will just summarize! She basically said, "Look for Christ, and you will find Him. And with Him, everything else." How beautiful is that? Being on a mission has opened my eyes to how present the Lord really is in our lives. How much He loves us. How much He knows us. He is there. He's always been there. All I had to do, was open my eyes. I promise you all, if you look for the Lord's hand in your life, you will ALWAYS find Him.

That is about all the time I have this week, but I am incredibly grateful for all of you, and love you all so much!! Thank you for everything you do for me. :) You're in my thoughts and prayers each day!

∞,

Siostra Kamp

P.s. I am going on an exchange to the city Krakow for a few days this week!!! I can't wait to see how that goes, and tell you all about it!! :)

Have an amazing week, everyone!!

Pictures: 

Some of our cute Branch members!! Kumo, and her mom, Sandra! :) They always invite us over for Family Home Evening on Monday night's, and make us the most delicious South African food! I absolutely love them :)

We made homemade Cinnamon Rolls!! (Kumo loves them!) :)

My mom sent me flowers! How cute is she?!? I am the luckiest missionary!! :) (But apparently our neighbor's think we are nun's.... ha ha!)

{Story that goes along with the flowers, from me to Lexi:  So funny story!  Last Monday when you told me you didn't receive the flowers I sent, I emailed the man who told me he delivered them to you in person and said that you had never received them.  He said that he would check with his delivery person to double check.  He then emailed me back saying that he had mixed up and your flowers were at your neighbors. He said he would make you a new bouquet and talk to the neighbor to see why they never gave you your flowers.  Well a day later, he emails me and says, "The neighbor said that she never gave them to you because you are a Nun, and you are not allowed to open your door to anyone."  Lol.  Soooooooo, maybe it might be a good idea to go tracting to your neighbors in your building, so they get to know you. Lol.  I thought that was pretty funny.  But he said he made you another bouquet and left it at your door.  
It was very kind of them to do that.  I hope you found that bouquet outside your door. ;)}

The Elder's took me to get my first Kebab!! :) (SO GOOD!!) Elder Einfeldt is a doll, and Elder Jourdan just despises me. (As pictured) No, I'm just kiddin! Our distrikt has the best bond! :)​

We found a trashcan called, "Home"! Wow! What a find! ha ha :)​

Bundled up on a tramwej ride home :) I love being an eskimo!!!

Polish chocolate's!! Also known as... heaven. 

The family pic in the snow I mentioned last week!! I love my distrikt!!! :)

Left to Right: Starszy Hon, Starszy Einfeldt, Me, Siostra Johnston, Starszy Jourdan, Starszy Alvarez, and Starszy Connelly.

Everytime I say my week can't get any better... I'm always wrong. :)

Dear Friends and Family,

Wow. My first real full week in the beautiful country of Poland!!!!!!! :D Can I just say, (because I don't think I tell you all enough...) I LOVE IT HERE!!!!! :)

I have so many experiences to tell you all from this past week that it is hard to keep track of them all in my head! So... I'm just going to go day by day and tell you about them :)

The 5th!

IT SNOWED!!!!!!!! Poland has been bitterly cold all winter, and we haven't even had snow here! But, on the 5th our prayers were answered, and the snow came!!! (And somehow, it got warmer!! It was only -26 degrees! How that happens... I don't know! But I am definitely not complaining! :) ) My district and I all went out tracting that night, which is when we go knock on doors and share messages with the people :) It was the best tracking day so far! We actually were able to give several lessons that day, and it felt so wonderful! Even though I am far from being helpful to my companion in those situations because my Polish is far from stellar! ha ha :) Anyway, it was wonderful to tract, and I could see the Lord's hand in my life so evidently that day.

The 6th!

The 6th was wonderful! We were able to meet with our recent convert, Anna, and her son who is the Elder's investiagtor, Adam! They are so wonderful! Anna was baptized before I got here, but we still meet with her :) The Elder's (Hon, Jourdan, and Einfeldt) came with us to teach, and we taught a little lesson on the New Year, New Years Resolutions, and how this gospel is a gospel of change. It was a wonderful lesson, and Anna really liked it :) I love the topic of change too. No matter how far we think we have gone, and how much we think we can't come back and undo what we have done... We can. The Saviour provided a way for us. There is no place so dark that the Light of Christ does not shine. :)

We also had English class that day, which was so much fun!! Two of our students, Olaf and Kate, are absolutely hilarious! It just made my day to talk to Polish people in a language I understood! ha ha :) But they are great!

Okay, I'm running out of time, so I'll just finish up the rest of the days really quickly. We were able to meet with a woman named Bejata, and her mother Marysia, and her little daughter Yasminka :) It was wonderful!! They are so sweet! Bejata made us Pierogi, and some kind of delicious soup, and then we talked with them about change, and examples of people who changed their hearts in the Book of Mormon. It was a wonderful lesson, and I actually spoke some Polish!!!!!! Marysia even complimented me on my Polish! It was such a tender mercy :) But the spirit was so strong in that lesson. We are going to meet with them again, and hopefully we can get them to start coming to church with us! :) Little Yazminka is just beginning to talk, and she is the cutest thing! She loves my long hair, and playing peek-a-boo, and she is just adorable. I love her!

I had a lot of firsts this week too! I ate my first Kebab (the most delicious burrito looking thing you will ever eat!!), I contacted my first stranger on the street! Just sooo much!! :)

I'm out of time, but I will email more next week! The Elder's are pulling on my leg about leaving, because we are going to a Trampoline House for Pday today!!! What!!!! Anyway, I love you all!!

Love, 

Siostra Kamp

{no pictures this week}

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