Warsaw Wolska chapel

This chapel is where we go often for Young Single Adult meetings and mission conferences. It is the only chapel in Poland and provides for two branches in Warsaw. Poland has about the same population as Canada, 40 million. there are 1500 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Poland and around 200,000 in Canada.

churches on the road between Białystok and Lublin

Easter in Kazimierz Dolny

Dobra Strona Weekly 2010-04-06

Dobra Strona Weekly

Poland Warsaw mission

"The greatest Blessings are Found in the Extra Mile"

6 April 2010

Dear Elders and Sisters:

We thank Elder & Sister neiman for the following message:

When did we begin to prepare for a mission? My mind goes back to getting the papers in for application and interviews with my bishop. then I think, no, it goes fruther back. there are all the messages and teachings we receive; the llittle things of our youth and childhood. this is the case whether you are serving for the first time as a 19 year old, or as a 60 year old. Then I think that it had tohave begun long before, when we met in the councils in heaven. Our agency was offered to us at that time. We chose to follow our older Brother.

I wonder if we fully comprehended what it all entailed. We were bubbly as we envisioned our new advernture as we departed from the spirit world. Then, 19 years or (as in our case, 60 years) after our birth, we embarked on another exciting mission trail. There was in our preparation a dedication to the Lord's commands, an acceptance of the Lord's wishes where we were to serve, struggles to grow, lessons and languages to learn. Finally, we arrived in a foreign country where by the Spirit, we begin to comprehend the wishes of the Lord. Growth can be painful, but we realize that progression is ultimately satisfying.

What we experience is little compared to our Lord and Savior's preparation to complete our Father's plan. By His Atonement were the preparations for our salvation and exaltation. We strive to ponder on this marvelous thing. In the Conferenc addresses we hear the Lord's prophet and apostles testify ad teach of Him. the Lord commands that we take advantage of our 'Preparatory State' to sustain and learn to use the priesthood in the process of declaring the gospel of peace.

There is great joy as we witness the miracles in people's lives (theirs and our own). there is the look of understanding, the light of testimony, and the tears of joy! Truly the efforts to prepare, find, teach, fast and pray are the sacrifices we give to follow the exmample of our Savior. We share with Him the indescribable joy of their conversion. We also feel the deadening pain of their rejection of the message. We are hopeful that they will someday accept this message. Someone else will add to our witness and will testify concerning their acceptance. Perhaps when we return home we can give the same love to the new convert that we personally had not taught. Every effort to give love is a successful missionary moment; for in the esperience we learn to love like our Redeemer.

We must ask ourselves often, "Am I becoming what Heavenly Father envisions of me?" As we approach the end of this mission, He has the next one already planned. will we approach it with the smae anticipation as the first two? Will we take with us what we have learned? have we learned to love to the same degree as our Savior? We have a wonderful beginning. Go forth with joy expecting to witness more miracles. You will be the immage of Him. His image will be in your countenance.

We share these words, with love, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior, Amen.

Starszy i Siostra Neiman of Katowice.

Trees heavy laden with snow and ice, north of Kraków.

Gordon B. Hinckley:
“Shining through all missionary service is the reassuring faith that the work is true and that the service being given is given unto God. Missionaries serve with faith in their hearts. It is a phenomenon of great power that quietly whispers, “This cause is true, and to you there is an obligation to serve regardless of the cost.”
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28)

Auschwitz is 45 minutes from us.

“…the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve.” (2. Nephi 24:3)

On the Map September 2009

Katowice Christmas

– Hope –

– from the bottom of the valleys and from the top of the mountains –

It was wonderful spending time with our senior missionaries at a two-day conference in Zakopane this past week. As a break from our meetings we spent an afternoon going to the tops of the Tatra Mountains. Truly, up here are some of the most beautiful sights to behold in Poland. There is something almost magical about mountains. Besides beauty, they provide serenity, vision, hope, a feeling of closeness to God. While there, the Tatra Mountains were covered in clouds the first day, but on the day of departure the sun broke through, revealing ‘Piękna Polska’-splendor. Mountains, with the bright skies above, and valleys with shadows below, give time to reflect, to ponder, to appreciate, and with all the beauty around, everything seems to say: Surely there is a God! There is a scripture which explains this ‘mountain mood’ well: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17)

High above Zakopane, with wonderful views of mountains and valleys below, one surely feels on top of the world. On another previous visit, the wind blew and the clouds billowed, and all around as far as the eye could see were stormy clouds casting gloomy shadows on the valleys below. This, too, was a breathtaking sight. No one on earth could create such scenes. Nothing compares to the intensity and exhilaration felt when we are actually on top of a mountain.

We will experience mountain-top highs in life—and we will walk through some deep valleys. The same is true for our missions. We cannot always experience life on top of the world, but the mountain top moments Heavenly Father grants us—spiritually and through the splendor of his world—will give us reminders of His love when we walk the inevitable valleys that are part of the human journey. When we can we should take time to remember some of those special moments God has given to us in our lives, both moments of light and moments of shadows, and be ready to face anything with hope, optimism, and confidence! We should thank our Heavenly Father for the moments in our lives and during our mission that bring joy—and thank him for the great memories which helped us get through those moments that caused us pain. We can lean on Him when we are on top of the world and when walking through the valleys.

We wish you another wonderful week, hopefully with great success. We love you!

President & Sister Engbjerg.

Arrive in Warsaw

Katowice, Poland

On to Katowice, Poland. Check out this link.
http://www.katowice.eu/en

This is a picture of a busy street in Katowice, Poland.

Zakopane, Poland

This is the first mission area.

Rainbows

The weather has been perfect. The leaves are changing into those lovely yellow golds and deep pink/reds. Today it rained but it was still warm outside. As we ran to our 6:00 PM language class the sun broke out of the clouds, lighting Skaw Peak. A rainbow arched over the mountain and ended at the temple. It was beautiful. (this isn't the provo temple but you can get the idea)