Our Sphere of Influence

Cześć!

The weather is absolutely beautiful here! Elder Wilson and I definitely stick out a lot more in the warmer months. Without coats or even suit jackets our bright white shirts with ties and name tags sure do demand attention. I am not sure if I didn't notice it as much before or it didn't occur as regularly but here in Warsaw people just openly stare at us all the time, this has increased now that we stand out more. It's funny how obvious people are as well, I guess we are quite the spectacle - being a missionary is so fun.

This week I we had another exchange with some missionaries. I was with Elder Garcia, his family is from the Philippines, but he was born and grew up in Vienna. He came to Poland in the group after me so I was the senior missionary in the duo. It was way fun, Elder Garcia is super fun and is a good example of not hesitating to talk to people. We wanted to focus our exchange on testifying sincerely about what we know to be true while promising blessings to the people we talk to - showing them why it is important to them. Sadly, we didn't even get one person to stop all day but then in the evening we had a miracle. The night before we had met this woman on the street while tracting (knocking on doors) and she told us to go talk to her husband at #50 down the road. We thought she was just trying to get rid of us and when we tried nobody answered. Then the next night (the full day of the exchange) Elder Garcia and I rang that house again and discovered that there was another bell higher up on the gate, which turned our to be to another residence in the same house building. Moments later the same woman came down and let us in. It was Elder Garcia's first time ever being let in while tracting and it was my first time leading it - pretty exciting stuff. It turns out that Konrad and Julia have met with missionaries before, starting back in 2005. Quick explanation: Konrad is a super nice, funny guy but is currently indifferent to the existence of God. Julia: is half Japanese but grew up here, her faith is mixed between Christianity and Buddhism but she feels like she has never been able to develop a personal relationship with God and is searching. They also have three kids: 3, 5, and 10. They are a great family full of potential. They invited us back so Elder Wilson and I went this past Saturday and we are going back again next week. I have a lot of high hopes for them. 

While talking about cool people we met this week:

Anne, the younger American mother married to Wojtek (Polish) has been incommunicado for the past three weeks, not responding to calls or texts. We were wondering if she was still interested so stopped by their home to check. We were nervous, wondering if they didn't want to meet any more but we figured that the worst case is that they tell us and then we know so we don't have to keep worrying and wondering. However, another miracle happened. We stopped by on Franio's first birthday, luckily a little before the rest of their family was coming over to celebrate. Anne told us that they got a bad virus for a couple of weeks and she has been swamped getting back to work after maternity leave but she invited us over to meet again. It was such a relief and we were so happy. Again, another awesome family with great potential to learn and understand the happiness of our message. 

We also met Viktor (a Ukranian college student) and Jacob (an even younger guy also studying, is trying to learn 8 langauges before 20 - or some age - to get into the Guinness Book of World Records. He goes by Jacob, instead of the Polish Jakub, because he is that into languages). They are both really cool guys and seem interested to learn more about what our message has to offer. I am looking forward to working with them. 

Polish is coming more than ever, I am understanding quite a bit now and am loving the language. Church has also become another highlight of the week (being a challenge at first in this new area). Yesterday we had fast and testimony meeting (the meeting at church where rather than calling on speakers the pulpit is free for anybody to come and share their personal belief and experiences as they desire). I understood a lot and felt the Spirit strongly. Also, there were some American visitors who came and has a couple of questions for us about the church in Poland. I was reminded me of the Bradford family from Geneva who visited Poland right before I received my mission call. They told me what they learned about the missionaries and church in Poland. That was roughly a year ago. Now I am one of those missionaries here in Poland that people talk to and see. I just had this overwhelming love and connection to Poland, the people, the language as I sat in the sun filled chapel yesterday. It was an incredible experience. I have struggled to feel connected to Poland. I never envisioned myself serving my mission in such a place and felt a lack of inherit love or connection to the country. As I heard people being called to places in Asia, Africa etc I still felt jealous and slightly sad that I wouldn't have that but now I wouldn't want to be anywhere else because I know that I am supposed to be here, out of all the places in the world, Poland is where I was called to labor and I love it.

Poland is a fun place to be for religious excitement. There are faithful members from many churches (Catholics, Jehovah's Witnesses, Protestants etc) who we have the opportunity to talk with. They themselves are not only sincere believers but are incredible missionaries to us. I've had a lot of cool conversations with people here.

As a missionary and in life there are so many people to help. I remember on a school trip to India I was overwhelmed by the number of people that needed aid. I felt similarly after researching and writing my extended essay (a requirement for the IB) about famines in Ethiopia. I felt the there are so many people in the world that I need to help, to whom I have a responsibility to help, however, I felt hopeless as to finding a solution to save the world. It's similar out here on a mission. I truly believe that what I have to talk about and share will bring more and greater happiness and peace than anything else: God's love and plan for us. I find proof of the divinity and joy of this plan through my relationships with family, friends, the Savior, and my Father in Heaven. I want to help everyone but I can't. It is simply impossible and extremely frustrating. For years I wanted to find the cure so I could change the whole world, however, we are not expected to help everyone, rather we should help those that we can. I know that we each have people in our lives for a reason. We have a great sphere of influence. The people that we affect both near and far are our responsibility. I always sound very cliche and naive when I talk about this but I honestly believe that if we could all just serve the people around us the impact for good we would have would be greater than we realize. For example this past week I received several emails from friends, some of whom I hadn't heard from in a while. The filling feelings of happiness and closeness to them as I read their letters throughout the week were a blessing and were some of the highlights of my week. We all have opportunities to serve those around us. Sometimes we may want to change the world but I believe that we have been placed in the lives of others that we can help, whether we feel initially inclined to or not. I am working on accepting and trusting that I will cross paths with those that I can have the greatest influence on because God is the orchestrator of his great and perfect plan.

General Conference is coming up this weekend, an opportunity to hear from Heavenly Father's mouthpieces on the Earth. I promise everyone that as they prepare questions, concerns, or doubts and listen/ read/ study the words of the prophet and church leaders that answers and guidance will come. I say this because I have experienced it first hand.

I love you all!

Hej, 

Starszy Kimball

p.s. I have the greatest friends and families in the world, your letters bring me greater joy and comfort than I think you know! 

Limitless Love

Drodze ukochani,

This week went well. I had a companion exchange (where you switch the missionary you work with and where you work for a couple of days) with Elder Godwin - my trainer! (the missionary who I was with when I first got to Poland, he showed me the ropes of missionary work) He came down to Warsaw with me and it was so much fun! It was of course awesome to be with my trainer again but it gave me another chance to learn from him. I often think about how specific the missionaries in this mission are. Heavenly Father is actively a part of His work. Out of all the people from all times from any part of the Earth the missionaries here are supposed to be together. It is incredible to know how guided the work is from the missionaries we work with to those we serve. Elder Godwin teaches me so much about staying true and honest as well as being genuine and bold with people we talk with. It was incredible that this time around I noticed myself understanding more of what he said, in Polish that is. I picked up on his patterns or phrases that were completely lost on me before. It was a successful exchange. 

Things here with Elder Wilson are too going well. He is helping me in important ways. We have talked about what I need the most at this point in my mission and he has been a great help of answering all of the language questions as well as correcting things I say wrong. At the same time he is letting me take the lead. Honestly, it is difficult to take the lead when I am with a missionary more senior in the mission. The first week we were together I acted as senior companion (was the "leader missionary" out of us two) for one day, each week since then a day has been added. This way I can gain the experience while still having a senior missionary to help and teach me. The tricky part is having the confidence to just lead. Being with someone so much older, experienced, and capable is great but to try and take a leadership role can be challenging because I second guess myself a lot, thinking "what would they do..?" or "what do they think about..?" We have talked about it and Elder Wilson has been really caring and encouraging. That is something I am trying to work on now, I feel like I am getting better - I just need to have that confidence and then just go for it trusting the strength and direction of the Lord. 

Recently, I have been more enraptured by The Book of Mormon than ever before. Without specifically planning for it I will spend all of my personal study time in the mornings (each morning we have an hour to study the scriptures and missionary skills individually, then an hour together, and then an hour for language study) reading The Book of Mormon because I can't stop. It's funny, before my mission I always loved the scriptures, I recognized their divinity and the way they gave me guidance and brought me closer to Christ, however, it was difficult to find time to consistently study (as a family, for seminary, and personal study). It was something I struggled with: finding time, but now I can't pull myself away. I have just been blessed with so much understanding and insight every time I read, it's pretty exciting. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. It gives me peace and happiness as I learn how to live my life to its full potential. Each time I testify of the power of The Book of Mormon on the streets I can link it back to a relevant, personal experience - what a blessing. The only way to experience what The Book of Mormon has to offer is to read it. It is so simple and brings clarity to everything, I love it. 

This week it was tricky to find investigators. It's been trying but we are trying not to be discouraged. We tracted into this younger girl, Kasia, who was inetersted but didn't have much time so we taught we a short lesson and then set up for her this week. She has met the missionaries before, such a sign that people are being prepared, everywhere. We also had a long conversation with these two girls in nursing school: Aneta and Anastazja. We spoke with them for quie a while. Anatazja is Ukrainian (we meet quite a few people from Ukraine here in Warsaw - shout out to Elder Simons) and she is 18, engaged, and really cool. Aneta is 21 and super funny. We talked about everything: from what we believe, to our life as missionaries to Aneta asking if we attended "Hogwarts" before our mission because our Polish was so good (Elder Wilson did most of the talking) we must be super smart. She meant to say Oxford but mixed up with the school of witchcraft and wizardry - pretty funny. It was just great to talk to people and understand what was going on! My langauge is still limited but that conversation was such a break through. 

Recently, our mealtimes have been spent watching "The District" 1 and 2. (training DVDs about groups of missionaries) They are so good, I love them! They are funny and we laugh was we watch (either because of cheeseness or we can relate to what they are going through etc) but they also just get me so excited for missionary work, reminding me that there really are people out there who are prepared and want to live their life in harmony with the Savior's teaching - to have greater joy in life. At times it's hard to believe anybody will want to meet but the District showed me that those people are out there.

This leads into another realization I had this week during my personal, nightly prayers. I was praying for people that we had met and talked with on the street. I was praying with all of my heart in particular for Anja - this extremely impressive, smart, kind girl we met a couple of weeks ago. After that as I continued to pray for others I almost felt as though I couldn't pray as fervently for them because I had already "used up" my true miracle wish. I then realized how flawed that thinking was. The prayer for one soul does not diminish the prayer for the other. As I pondered I was filled with remembrance about God's matchless power and love. There is no limit to love. The blessings and happy experiences in life are endless. I think part of it has to do with the mentality of the Poland Warsaw Mission. The thought that one person might agree to meet with us or come to church is a miracle, I almost felt greedy or unrealistic praying for more. I have decided to tear that wall down. Heavenly Father wants the joy and salvation of all of his children, not just a couple therefore I must pray for them all - all with matchless, identical love and fervency. I know that God answers our prayers. I felt it on my mission as I feel blessings from those praying for me. Not until my mission has this assurety that others are praying for me been so strong. Now I know that this works the other way around. All of my prayers won't go unanswered. People will obviously have their free choice but I must ask God for blessings. Heavenly Father does bless us all the time but often there are so many blessings we miss out on because we don't ask. I have learned the importance of asking and not limiting my asking, espiecially for the behalf of others. I know Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love us. 

I better stop my rambling there. It was just such an eye opener for me. I cannot have the view that I am limited to a small teaching pool or a set number of baptisms. I must not limit my prayers or the power of God. The potential in all of us, in the Lord's work in Poland is great and in order for great things to happen I can't forget that. I ought to remember what is possible through Christ - all things! How wonderful. 

Starszy Kimball

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Cześć! Co tam?!

Another marvelous week. We had a lot of incredible conversations with people (especially one with this girl name Anja - she is incredible) but sadly nobody set up to learn more. Even if we exchanged numbers most people wouldn't set up to meet again. It was frustrating but that's life. I remember my first transfer in the country when other missionaries would get frustrated with people but I felt so patient and understanding. That has started to wear off but I am trying to remember and be more patient as I was before, that leads back to being full of charity. 

We had a really cool experience this past Saturday. Elder Wilson and I met up with Katie/ Kasia from La Chat (my high school). She is Polish and going to design school here in Warsaw. It was fun to catch up and talk about what we are both up to. It's interesting to see our paths cross others'. It is crazy to think about how much time has already flown by. 

We taught English class this week because the Elders that usually teach were sick. As missionaries we generally find people on the streets, or at their homes, who might be interested to meet and learn more. We have this free English class for two main purposes. 1. As a form of service 2. To introduce people to the church and us missionaries in a non-threatening environment. We only had three students (it is a smaller class for those who want a more practice throughout the week - not the main one). We met at a little office our church owns on one of the main streets in Warsaw: Nowa Świat. Warsaw is a big, modern, fun city to live in. The English class went well and I learned some interesting facts about Żoliborz, the dzielnica we live in. (the closest thing I can compare a dzielnica to is a borough in New York. A student, Zbyszek, told us that the name came from French, which caught my attention. He said "żoli" comes from " jolie" (pronounced the same) meaning "pretty" and "borz" means "burg" like a "town." So we live in prettytown. Apparently, the king married a French princess at some point accounting for the French influence. Anne, the American mother we met a couple weeks ago, is an architect and told us that Żoliborz has some of the prettiest and oldest buildings in Warsaw because they weren't all destroyed in the war, very rare as Warsaw was flattened. Henry, a concert pianist who approached us, interested in reading The Book of Mormon, told us that Żoliborz was full of young artists. We live in a pretty cool place. I will have to get a good picture sometime to show you all.

Life is good overall. It's great to be with Elder Wilson because he is such a great example and teaches me so much. Being "junior companion" (the younger missionary in the companionship) has it's pros and cons. I get to learn and be taken care of but I do feel a little stunted. For example, on one hand Elder Wilson can answer all of my language questions but on the other I think that my language and confidence won't really take off until I am senior companion and am forced to lead the discussions we have with people. Just to expand for those of you who may not know. Our normal day consists of studies in the morning (studying scriptures, what we will teach that day, Polish etc) and then we go out for the rest of the day working from 11:00 to 21:00 with two hours for meals. During that time we try to find people who would be interested to come closer to Christ by learning more about our faith by sharing messages, on streets, in parks, or going to people in their homes. We also meet with those who are interested to teach them how we believe they can strengthen their relationship with Christ and Heavenly Father to find greater peace and happiness in life. Here in Poland we do a lot of walking and talking to people, depending on the day and conversations it can be long and hard or exciting and motivating. For now I am trying to learn as much as I can so that when I do become senior companion I will have a good idea of what to do. Elder Wilson and I are working well together as well as having a lot of fun. Life is good.

Recently, I have been recieving so many answers to prayers. These are answers to questions, worries, doubts. Of course my core testimony is founded upon Christ and so is not reliant on these answers but as I learn and better understand the gospel my stability grows and I feel at peace. More so than ever before in my life Heavenly Father has been answering my prayers through my reading of The Book of Mormon. It helps me testify of its truthfulness and relevance to us more powerfully. It has been such a blessing. 

One thing that I realized just this morning was a purpose of this life on Earth, it being a preperatory state. When Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden they were prevented from partaking of the tree of life. This was vital because it allowed them to escape living forever in sin. Therefore sin was a known act to be committed by all. The entire plan revolves around the Atonement of Christ so we can not only recieve a remission of sins but also be strengthened in our weaknesses. Heavenly Father knew that we would make mistakes when we came to the Earth, in fact that is the plan. As a preperatory state we are to learn and become like Christ. However, to get there it takes a whole lot of refining. Making mistakes, from committing sin to personal weakness, will lead us to learn. The plan is for us to one day be perfect. That day is not today. This is the time to mess up and learn so then later we will be wiser and know how to deal with life's challenges and trials. My mistakes: big and small, serious or superficial used to inhabit my mind when I was left to think, keeping me up late into the night worrying about what I had done wrong. The first thing I had to learn was how to laugh at myself and not take everything too seriously. The next step is to understand and be at peace with imperfection. This time here on Earth is such a blessing, I am grateful for it. Now I am trying to remember my mistakes and learn to avoid them. Life is a process, improvement is a process and I am humbled to have my omnicient, omnipotent Savior by my side every step of the way.

The week I came to Warsaw I has a mini-meltdown, my first one on my mission. It was all because of the CHANGE. In some ways I felt like I had changed so much. I had a mini identity crisis because I was concerned that I was changing too much and so much was going on around me, I lacked stability. Then opposingly, I felt like I hadn't changed at all. I was making those same dumbs mistakes over again. From judging people to a lame language error. The excessive change along with the lack of progress in certain regards troubled me. I realized that life is all about remembering. I decided that for me most of what I do isn't learn but RE-learn. I just wanted to become that person I wanted to be but we don't just become something overnight. We must sustain our improevments as well as work on the new weaknesses we find. Our personal growth is an everlasting project. A process takes time and consistancy. That scares me often because I know I will mess up again and forget at times but that's how it goes. Hopefuully, one day we can remember and master certain skills and characteristics and then focus on others. Repition is what life is all about. With time comes wisdom and growth. There are so many sources around us that we must seek to help us. I am grateful for the tools in my life: friends, family, the gospel, Christ and Heavenly Father. Mistakes are inevitable but let us try to learn from them and relearn from them through remembrance. This is a personal goal of mine. 

I love you all, 

Starszy Kimball

Dzień Dobry 

This week was incredible. In terms of missionary work we had a lot of success with talking and teaching people on the street. Some experiences to highlight:

Anne is the young American mother here. We met with her (and 11 month old son, Francis) on Tuesday. We taught her the first half of the restoration and had some really great conversation about her religious background as well as hopes for her family and raising Francis to have a personal, self-motivated relationship with God. She clearly has a personal relationship with Heavenly Father. It was definitely odd teaching in English, a little hard to go back to Polish right after. We set up with her for Friday but sadly she had to cancel. Then Friday night we ran into Anne and her husband (whom we hadn't met yet) taking Francis for a walk. We had a nice conversation getting to know each other and then asked if we could teach the family all together. They agreed so we will meet with them this week! Super exciting! Wojtek is Polish and seems to be a kind, sharp guy. Elder Wilson and I are both looking forward to working with them.

We met Agnieszka in the park with her son. When we asked her about what brought her happiness she talked about peace that comes from Heavenly Father. The words she spoke rang so true to my heart. It was incredible to see how much Heavenly Father had already blessed her and prepared her for this time to meet us. It sounds like she "found God" during a rough time in life. I'm finding people with so much truth in their lives, Heavenly Father loves all of his children, our role is simply to help them reach their potential by becoming closer to Christ. People do change and Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ, are there to help us. We will hopefully set up with her for this week.

Łukasz is a young guy who also developed a reltionship with God as he overcame struggles. The Bible had a great influence on him, it's great to find people who already love the scriptures. Now he has a copy of The Book of Mormon to help him find more truth and comfort. We are also hoping to meet with him this week.

Fun events of the week:

A member from the Warsaw 2 branch (not ours but Elder Wilson was in their branch last transfer) called to ask if we could help him with a presentation at a high school. On thursday morning we gave a presentation to a classroom full of 15-16 year olds and some teachers about our church: who we are, our history, what we believe. I didn't really speak a whole lot but it was a really fun experience, a nice change of scene. The school was also surprisingly similar to La Chat and all the students and teachers made me feel like I was back in school, it was fun but a little nostalgic too. We ended the presentation by sharing how we found out if it was true (personal scirpture study and prayer). One teacher came up to us at the end and thanked us for our "touching words" and another met with us for a little while to learn some more. It's funny how some people we meet know (or think they know) everything about us and then others have never even heard of us. It was a fun opportunity to educate some people about what we are all about.

Last P-day we all got together as missionaries and played ultimate frisbee and capture the flag. The Chapel here has a big park next to it. Warsaw is definitely a change up but it has its advantages such as seeing other missionaries and having the numbers to do fun activities. 

We had zone conference this week as well, it was fun to see old faces and meet new ones. Getting together as a group is so powerful. Our unity and love for the Savior is very strengthening, I love it. I was reminded of, what I usually am at trainings, my sacred calling as a representative of Jesus Christ. I must truly act as He would. However, I then must also rely more on The Spirit to help and guide me. This week I have been praying for a new witness of the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon and my prayers have been answered. I have received so much as I read but most of all the small, simple, personal feelings of the Spirit as I read are best of all. The joy and warmth I feel is so fulfilling. Only through our own personal experiences can we find truth and happiness in our lives. We must seek and choose.

Life is so good. I'm learning a lot, elder Wilson and I have been hitting up a ton of really tasty bakeries, we are working hard but also having fun. It's just good. I hope you all have a wonderful week.

z miłością, 
Starszy Kimball

Cześć od Warszawia!

So I made the mistake of doing my big email last so I am sorry for the scattered mess this will be but here are my thoughts:

1. I was sad to leave Wrocław. Heading out on the train was sad but it was time. Sister Malinowska, a member there, made me lunch for the journey so I was taken care of. I had a good conversation with the guy in my compartment. 

2. This week has been eventful. It was sad to say goodbye to Wrocław leaving behind the missionaries, members, and investigators with whom I had built relationships. It is nice to be in Warsaw however, the adjustment has been easier than anticipated. Even the whole process from waiting for transfer calls to now has run smoothly. I was definitely blessed with peace and comfort through it all.

3. I was welcomed at the dworzec (train station) by Elder Wilson (my new compnaion) and a bunch of other missioanries including Elder Godwin my trainer! It was super fun to see him.

4 I am very grateful to be with Elder Wilson, I know already that I will be learning a lot. That goes without saying I guess, I learn a lot every transfer, with every companion but I am really looking forward to this transfer. I think I have been in the country long enough that my missionary and language skills will be able to take off and I will be able to take a more active role. I am ecited for what's to come.

5. Already the work has been great. We are building a teaching pool right now, we were able to teach a lot of lessons this past week, which was great. Anne is an American married to a Polish husband and they have an 11 year old son, Francis. She has a strong relationship with Heavenly Father already and is figuring out how to raise her son to have God play a role in his life. She understands that it cannot be forced but we must individually find our faith. We are also set up with Mateusz who Elders Whiting and Godwin found last transfer.The work is good, I love finding. Elder Wilson has an inspiring desire to find a family, which makes finding more directed and focused. There is a great sense of urgency to talk with everyone as we explore this new area. 

6. Church was honestly a little tough. It's bigger, there are a ton of missionaries, and it's just different. There are more members so actually the branch seems less dependant on missionaries because of their unity. They also have priesthood holders to administer the sacrament and a ton of members to strengthen the church here. It's great, it was just a bit of a shock and it is a little sad not feeling as needed, between the members independence and the many missionaries. I realzied though that as we find investigators to come to church we will be able to give them our full attention and with more members they will be able to help. It's an adjustment but I feel good about it, the beginning is always just a little awkward but I look forward to getting to know the members here and love them just as much as those back in Wrocław. 

7. So I don't know exactly why but Poland has fat Thursday - "tłusty Czartek" instead of fat Tuesday. It is tradition to eat a whole ton of pączki on this day (donuts!) Poland is very into their traditions, it's great! I ate 10 but the record for the mission this year was 38 (Elder Wilson and I opted out of competing and enjoyed our moest 10 pączki).

Well there is so much more to say. I will get more time in next week. I love you all. Have a great week!

z miłością, 
Starszy Kimball