Poland is just the best. I am currently emailing from a library in the middle of town with a great atmosphere. Life here is just easy and fun and I am loving every minute of it. Time is moving fast. I am astounded that I have been a missionary for 8 months and that tomorrow I will have been in Poland for 6 months. Let's be real, the first few months lasted forever. There was the missionary time warp where days feel like weeks and weeks feel like days. Now everything is just flying past and I'm trying to keep up. Time is a tricky concept and one of my greatest enemies. It has been a goal of mine to learn to love and embrace the concept of time and moving forward but it is hard when I always have so much to do.
I feel like I am quoting countless other missionaries as I talk about time flying and now I will quote them further and testify that being a missionary enatails riding a constant roller coaster of emotions. This week had some incredible things going on and other harder times.
One incredible highlight was yesterday at church. Elder Platter and I were blessing the sacrament and right as we were about to go and sit down Ola from Wrocław walked in. She was visiting her friend for the long weekend here in Warsaw and she came to our branch! It was incredible to see her again. A few other missionaries here had also served in Wrocław so it was exciting. It helped me to see how much I have here. I love the people, I have built relationships and I know more experiences are on their way. It was such a blessing to see her and realize how connected i am to Poland.
Elder Platter and I are still super busy, with a lot of meetings and lessons. We are doing well, He is learning quick and we continue to work hard together. I don't think I have ruined him too bad yet. The transfer is still new (which I need to remind myself, I feel like it's going so fast that we are already nearing the end) so Elder Platter and I are still learning how to teach in better unity and I am still trying to teach him as much as I can without overwhelming him.
We had zone conference this week. When missionaries from all over (this time Warsaw, Lublin, and Kielce) gather and President Edgren and the assistants (missionaries in leadership positions) present a training. They are all inspiring but this one in particular had a powerful effect on me. President has been here for almost a year now so his vision for missionary work here in Poland is clearer and comnig into effect. I am excited for Prsiden't new focus. He really wants to change the culture of the mission. Our lessons and finding activities will now be more focused on baptism. It's a hard balance in missionary work between being bold and being relatable. President Edgren has prayed and pondered a lot about what we should do and we are going to go out and preach repentance and baptism. I am excited. Already we have felt the difference. The people we talk with have a clearer understanding of what we are sharing and offering and the paths of our investigators have a greater focus and direction.
Elder Platter and I have been working hard and diligently. We have met and taught a bunch of people but we haven't had as much "success" as one might hope. As we discussed and planned for the upcoming week we talked about how we worked. My dad has previously told me that it's not just about working hard but about working smart. Now I am learning how to apply that principle. We can have a million meetings but the more that we invite members to and the more we rely on the Spirit to teach instead of us the greater impact we can have on the lives of others. I look forward to this next week as Elder Platter and I not only put in our effort but are thoughtful in what we do.
Missionary work is just hard. You put so much of yourself into it. You work hard non-stop sacrificing more and more everyday. You have hope that what you do will make a difference. Then frustration, impatience, discouragment comes along. The Adversary is the king of confusion and darkness. Near the end of this week I felt that. My motivation and desire to work has been higher than ever before but as my hope started to falter so did my desire to work. Missionary life is full of ups and downs. As I have experienced them I have often wondered about how I can create a more stable foundation for myself because I have felt manic depressive, very up and then very down. Something I concluded during General Conference was this: to be stable and constant we need a sure foundation in Christ. This way no matter how hard the work is, no matter how many existential crises I have, no matter how dark and confusing and hard the times are I can turn to Christ. This week I experienced that. I was feeling so full of faith, motivation, and energy but then on Saturday and Sunday I felt hopelessness for missionary work in our area. I met frustration and doubt. The Stripling Warriors in The Book of Mormon are excellent examples of perserverance with hard and wise work. They learned from their parents and did not doubt what they had been taught. I stand with them and declare that my mother, my father, my ancestors who have worked and sacrificed so much "knew it". They knew the strength we have when we build a foundation in Christ. They knew the cleansing blessings of being made pure and light thanks to the Atonement. I know that too. Despite the minor falls I know that as I turn to Christ light and clarity will return.
This new month of May has been labelled by our district here as Maj Miłości (May of love).
There is so much to love. I love my calling as a missionary. I love the incredible examples around me. I love serving here in Poland. I love my Savior and I know He loves me.
I wish you all a May full of love!
z miłością,
Starszy Kimball
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