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.
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
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