On Monday we went out to explore some of the many malls
in our city, it appears that Wrocław is a city of malls, there are about
9 that I have counted out on the map, and that doesn't include some
very large indoor "bazars" that are basically malls with no named
stores. So we wanted to go mall hopping a bit, but we only got to two of
them We are going to see one more today and then go to the Christmas
village again, I have a feeling we will be spending a lot of time there.
There have been quite a few investigators coming
from english, unfortunately, we are having a hard time getting them to
really want to do anything. They are fine with hearing about our church
and learning about Mormons. We are teaching a
really cool guy "J" who is just awesome. About 50 years old, he has a
wife and three teenage/adult kids. J has been ready for baptism for
quite some time. He knows the church is true, he has a testimony, he
just needs a little more family support. His wife is actually quite
supportive and really likes the church, she just doesn't feel like she
needs to join it right now, she said J could get baptized though. I
think it is just hard for him, he feels like it would split up the
family. Talking with Sister B in our district, I asked what she would do
with J if she were teaching him, she said "Well, we have a sort of
'motto' right? It goes 'Find, Teach, Baptize, Keep', sometimes I think
that we need to 'find, teach, and keep for a little while' before they
are ready". So we are at that cross roads. I really respect J for how
far he has come, and how strong his faith is, and I really like the guy.
He also feeds us and loves having gospel discussions at his place, so I
feel like we are really good friends. The other day, on a tram on the
way home from his house, he was riding with us, and he told me some of
the difficulties his son was going through, and then asked what he can
do to help his son. Imagine that, a 50 year old father of 3 asking for
parenting advice from a 20 year old missionary... I felt honored, but he
is a great guy. He came to church and said he invited his wife, but she
is tired from some post-cancer treatment she is on and she couldn't
make it. I hope and pray that something changes for him.
We are also hoping that some of our other
investigators from English start making some real progress and at least
giving the church a shot. We had one girl in our english class a couple
of weeks ago who quietly came up after class and asked if she could take
a Book of Mormon to read and keep. I told her of course and she didn't
show up after that.
Everything is going great here though, my companion
is awesome. You would never know he was a trainee, he speaks magnificent
Polish, no joke. He is a great guy too, we have really compatible
senses of humor, so we are liking serving together. Our members here are
doing great, we have been trying to get investigators so that we can
have members sit in on lessons and help us teach, because it is always
good for them to get an opportunity like that.
We had the opportunity of teaching the Priesthood
lesson this week in church, luckily we got to just do it off of a talk
by President Uchtdorf, titled 'Come, Join with Us'. We read and
discussed many of his points. I love the beginning little story where he
describes all of the responsibilities and unpaid obligations of being a
member of the church and then someone asks "Why would anyone want to
join such a church" he replies with "I thought you would never ask",
then he goes on to say all of the great things he has learned. I feel
like that same thing could be said when looking at my mission "Why would
anyone want to serve such a mission?". But it is probably the most
rewarding experience of my life so far. I love the people here, I love
the gospel, and I am learning so much about my relationship with God
while helping others to develope theirs.
I hope everything is going well for everyone back at
home, I love you all, hope you have a great week, and I will email you
again in a week.
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