Much of our time as missionaries was spent at the chapel preparing for President Uchtdorf's arrival. We did a whole ton of yard work on the church grounds (about 2-3 days work) it was the most service I had ever done on my mission and it was a lot of fun. This past week was also hectic because us missionaries in Warsaw were paired with brand new missionaries for the week. We have transfers (when we all change where and with whom we serve) every nine weeks but because of the conference with President Uchtdorf the new group came a little early but that meant that they would not have their trainer (first companion a missionary has - I was just a trainer this past transfer) at first. Elder Platter, who is a trainee himself, and I were both paired with new Elders and it was a lot of fun. I was able to work with Elder Burdick, he is awesome! I would love to serve with him for real some day. Because I had just trained I learned a lot about how to train so with Elder Burdick I wasn't as stressed and worried instead I could focus on loving and helping him. We had a lot of fun and success together.
This weekend all of the missionaries from the whole country came into Warsaw for the conferences so there was a lot of baggage and travel logistics, a ton of missionaries were in each apartment (I slept on the floor for a few nights) it was so much fun.
Well there is more to tell but let's get to it! The highlight this week was that we had two conferences with President Uchtdorf. The first was with all of the missionaries. We started that meeting by all shaking Prsident and Sister Uchtdorf's hands. It was surreal when they walked into our humble little chapel on Ul. Wolska! Then on Sunday there was a conference at the big marriott hotel in downtown Warsaw for all of the members here in Poland. It was incredible! President Uchtdorf is funny and personable as well as a great speaker. There were also other speakers: his wife, Elder and Sister Texiera and Elder and Sister Defeo (spelling) from Italy.
I learned a lot these past couple of days and here are some insights. I realized that I want better my relationship with Heavenly Father. President Uchtdorf mentioned how our missions are a time to lay a foundation for the rest of our lives and I whole heartedly agree. At the beginning of my mission I wanted to end it being the perfect person I always have wanted to be. Now my view has changed, instead I want to learn how to learn. Meaning, I know that I will not know, do and be everything that I want to by the end of my mission but I want to learn how to be on the path. I feel like there are such key principles that I have learned that have helped me understand this. I want to be the person that Heavenly Father wants to me to be and I want to trust in His perfect plan for me. I know that as simple as prayer and turning my thoughts more constantly towards my Father in Heaven I will be able to accomplish this. I look forward to strengthening my relationship with God to a more personal and intimate one. Seeing so many missionaries greet members from all over with love and hugs was touching. It was a treat to see members from Wrocław but most of my closest friends are here in Warsaw. Seeing all of these reunited friendships reminded me of my calling to build relationships with people. I am grateful that my heart and love is supposed to be the primary motivator. I learned so much about the personal nature of all we do. This weekend I feel like the word "personal" stuck out. It's all about the personal. Likening scripture to ourself, customizing principles to our circumstances, and really building relationships. All that we do is so much more meaningful when we make it personal and that is the greatest lesson I learned. Love is vital in life. We need to seek it and share it. Our time in whatever situation we are is so fleeting that we must make the most of it. I have learned a lot about the purpose of our time here on Earth. There is so much knowledge and skill that we must still attain after this life. Instead I want to focus on the relationships and experiences I have. Of course i still love learning and growing but in a different way. It's all about the "what matters most" question that we come back to whenever we are making big decisions. I am so grateful for the peace and happiness I get when I ask God for it. Even when I am stressed or just down I am grateful for the assurance that my prayers are answered. I invite all of you to ask Heavenly Father in personal prayer for more peace and happiness in your life and I promise that as you have faith you will receive it. I have learned that these things to work on are so simple but so hard. I know that as we rely on Christ all is possible.
So as I mentioned before transfers happened this past weekend. I am still here in Warsaw but am a zone leader with Elder Blom (who was in my district last transfer so I already know him). He is super cool and I am excited for this transfer. At the moment all of the Elders who started their missions when I did are either training or zone leaders. Time is flying and we are already becoming so old in the mission! It's exciting. I am grateful that I get to stay in Warsaw, with this incredible branch but also have a new area and a fresh start in a lot of ways.
I love you all,
Starszy Kimball
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