Jak sie macie?

Hello!

This past week I have developed out of survival mode and now feel like I am getting to work. I'm now thinking a lot about this transfer and things I want to do. I'm no longer pining for the end of my mission to come because I have so much I need to do before that comes!

Something I forgot to mention last week was how fun it is to finally be in Poland. In the MTC we talked a lot about Poland: the people, the language, the culture etc but it's so great to finally be here. Polish is everywhere, people are speaking it, it's on all the signs everywhere, its real now!

So just a lowdown of life here... Our apartment is super nice, we live next a funeral parlor but haven't seen any hearses drive past or anything so it's not too glum. We are really close to the chapel and the town square so it's convenient. I'm not sure if I mentioned the chapel last time but it's in a pretty office building. It's a good size and has everything we need, it even has one of two family history centers (which is open to the public) in the country. The gmina (branch) here is awesome! Our Branch President is Pres. Cielenski, he has Cerebral Palsy so is on crunches, has a lazy eye, speaks English fluently, is the biggest jokester, and is the best. He has a wife and two daughters but we haven't met them yet because Sister Cielenski is housebound, expecting their third really soon. The Calls are an awesome family. The mom is Polish and their dad is American (but lives in the states, they don't see much of him) so the kids all speak perfect English and Polish. There is Cindy 17, A.J. 14, and Cynthia 11. They run the show: they play and lead the music, translate for speakers (like our senior couple,) in priesthood A.J. taught last week. They are great. Poland needs more families! Sister Kuchno is 50ish and the only member in her family, she is the nicest person in the world. Sister Malinowska is about to retire, she's been a member for 22 years and is super cool too. Ola is 20ish, she's in college here. In the MTC when I taught Brat Tribe as "Olek" he was actually playing Ola so it's super cool to meet her and hear her real story. She likes to hang out with the missionaries, like this past week for our dinner hour she took us and the sisters to this cool hot chocolate place - knowing locals is the best because they know all the best places around. Mariusz is kind of a quiet, odd man but he's there every week doing the sacrament and besides President he is the only other priesthood leader I know of besides the missionaries. We also have the Lee family. They are Korean, the kids speak Polish and English but the parents only really speak Korean. We stopped by one evening to say hi and then they were at church yesterday - I hope they come regularly Pres. made it sound like they were sort of less active. It must be hard though, I definitely sympathize with them about language difficulty.

Polish is hard. I feel like I haven't really improved since being here. All of our MTC teachers said that we would learn more in the first 3-4 weeks than our whole MTC stay but so far that hasn't happened. I know I need to work harder and be patient. The hardest thing is understanding people. I can sort of express what I want but understanding what other people are saying is super difficult. It makes talking with investigators really hard, and building those relationships even harder. I'm trying though. So far it's the small talk that's been the hardest. It's interesting because I thought that it would be the hardest to go up to people on the street and boldly invite them to come unto Christ, and although that takes practice, for me it's harder to spark conversation. I feel like finding people would be a whole lot more successful if I could start conversations and be relatable - especially on trams or somewhere when we have more time to talk. The language barrier is hard. I kept thinking this week, I will just start doing all of that later once I can speak. Then I realized that's how I will learn. Plus I can't wait, I need to talk to people and act upon promptings now. Work here is just hard. It's physically hard walking all-day; mentally hard trying to figure out what people are saying and stressing my brain to flip to Polish; and it's emotionally hard being a weirdo and receiving a lot of rejection. The thing is despite how hard it is I'm happy and I'm excited to get out and work everyday. I remember dreading this stuff before coming on my mission but being here, acting as a representative of Jesus Christ comes with such power and blessings. It's incredible.

Investigators! Sadly, we haven't found anybody from "finding" (contacting, tracting etc.) yet but we are still working. We have two progressing investigators. Marcin is 18 and was found by the last elders here. He has a lot faith and a testimony of the Book of Mormon but has doubts still. He comes to church and Family Home Evening (a monday night spiritual activity with members of the church here)  every week. He is ready for a baptismal date but we can't extend one because the police are currently investigating him. His cousin had some drug bust and he was there or something so he's being omnitored, hopefully that will be over soon. He has a lot going for him though so I'm excited.

Jarek is 50ish, he's got a wife (who seems a little anti-church) and three kids all about 17-22 I think. He's been investigating the church for a LONG time. He's been taught all the lessons, has had multiple baptismal dates but keep getting cold feet and backing down. Starszy Godwin stressed that baptism isn't the pinnacle to your journey. It's just the first step, it's very necessary but he doesn't need to be so apprehensive about it. He's already living most if not all of the principles he's been taught: he prays, reads the Book of Mormon and comes to church pretty regularly. Once he is baptized and confirmed his life will generally stay the same except he will have the gift of the Holy Ghost which will strengthen and help him. He's a taxi driver but is unemployed right now unfortunalty. His house was about half an hour away by tram. It was a fun experience, when we went inside all the lights were off (except for a lamp on the kitchen table) and the heating wasn't on. It was messy with questionable sanitation. He fed us though, with dirty silverware and plates but it was all fun and good. We had kilbasa so I have officially had that incountry now, it was delicious. He is kind of rough around the edges but is a really nice guy and he has a testimony, which is really all that matters. I'm excited for him.

Radek is in our private English classes on Thursday. There are usually 3 students but two of them (college guys) missed this week so it was just us and Radek. He is 32, a bus driver, has a wife and two kids. He's coming to English to get better work so he can better support his family. Since it's private on Thursday our spiritual message is longer. We taught him about the restoration and watched the 20 min Jospeh Smith - Restoration movie. He didn't really seem interested and told us that he didn't want to offend us but faith isn't that important to him. We both felt that he and his family needs the gospel (well everybody does) but them especially. He's really cool and he's someone I really want to focus on.

This past week we did a whiteboard. Meaning, we go out on the street write a question on a white board, or we did the plan of salvation too, and then we ask people to answer it or whatever - it's absically a converstation starter. For me so far it ws the most successful method of finding. There was one Catholic couple who had never heard of us and I they stopped and talked to me for about half an hour. It was cool because we were all in the same area but split up to talk to people. The couple were super open and faithful themselves. They were also extrememly patient with me as I tired to formulate sentences or asking them to repeat themeselves 3 times. The sisters got their info because I don't have a phone so we will see if anything comes of them but I am excitd to do whiteboards in the future.

So just a few random thoughts to tie things up:

Polish people are just as bad as mixing up Sweden and Switzerland. My companion is have Swedish so whenever either of us talk about our bakcground people mix things up. I don't know what it is that seems to prevent the rest of the world from understanding the difference. 

Elder Godwin is awesome. I may have mentioned before but we are similar in some ways and opposites in others. I like it because in some ways I really look up to himand in other intances I see how I would have done things differently. I think this is good for me to cause me to think for myself. With Brat Tribe in the MTC I basically just wanted to be him whereas here I am learning a lot of Elder Godwin and we get along well but I also am growing in confidence and figuring out how I would do things. 

We had zone training in Katowice (about 3-4 hour strain ride away) which was fun to meet new missionaries here and learn.

The cold here is beginning. When I first got here it was really pleasant but it's already begun to get colder and colder - looking forward to this winter...

The gospel is light. I love it. I love you all.

Starszy Kimball

Jestem w Polsce!

More has happened this week then the rest of my mission combined!

So back to the MTC (seems like forever ago already) As you could probably tell by my last email I was pretty freaked out and scared about coming here, Elder Yentes described me as an emotional wreck my last week, which wasn't completely off. My last few days were so good. It was sad saying goodbye but our teachers gave us really good advice, getting us excited to come, plus it snowed on Sunday ending our MTC with happiness.

Monday (a week ago, again seems like yesterday and an eternity back) us Polski's got on a bus to Provo train station. We took the frontrunner to Salt Lake, then got onto a tram to the Airport. Who knew that Utah was this public transport savvy? We then flew from Salt Lake to Detroit to Amsterdam to Warsaw. I was able to sleep for most of the long flight so I was lucky. Some of the group did a really great job at being missionaries from the get go, on planes and stuff. Then there were others of us (me) that were lame. It was really humbling, I said some dumb things and made a lot of mistakes but it was a huge growing experience for me and a humbling one too. Plus I know that Heavenly Father won't let someone go adrift because of my weaknesses. 

Anyway, we arrived in Warsaw greeted by President and Sister Edgren. We were all excited and a little nervous to meet them and they are the best. They were both welcoming but seemed a little unsure and nervous themselves - they are new and we were their first set of missionaries to come that they'd never met (they met the group ahead of us in the MTC I think) It's fun to try and figure things out all together. Kathy Carter was also at the airport to greet us. She is really good friends with the Edgrens. It was nice to see a familiar face. President Edgren is more quiet but firm. I am really excited to have him. From what I have heard from older missionaries he is more my style, he expects obedience and hard work to be givens and wants to focus on deeper issues. He puts a lot of faith and trust in us, guiding us to trust our own judgments and follow the Spirit. I don't know him super well but so far he's great. Sister Edgren is nice, she has this sort of dark wit. She's just real and fun and I really like her. Our first night we were welcomed, fed, and were really tired so we went on a walk around the town of the Mission home (just outside of Warsaw) with President Edgren. Then we all showered and collapsed to bed.

The next day we got up and went into Warsaw. President Edgren, with Sister Edgren and Kathy, took us to a park and read us the dedicatory prayer for Poland. Spencer W Kimball gave it. That morning I had just read in the Book of Mormon why Heleman had named his sons Nephi and Lehi, so they would remember their ancestors. It was really a neat experience and reminded my of my heritage and the great family of examples I have to look to. Whenever I think of my personal pioneers I can't help but think that the people of the church here in Poland are the pioneers for this beautiful country. They are such a blessing to those that will come after them! Afterward, we had pierogi for lunch, so good, and then went to the main square. There we were met by some of the missionaries serving in Warsaw, split up and contacted for my first time. It was actually really fun and got me excited to do it some more. After walking around some it was time to get back to the Mission Home.

When we walked in we were met by all of our trainers, which was kind of funny because we didn't know who was going to be with whom yet. We all gathered around and President Edgren has each trainer come up, point to the city on the map they would be serving and then said who their trainee would be. We were all super excited and nervous. The sisters went first and then the elders. (has the suspense built up enough yet) So I am currently in Wroclaw with my trainer Elder Godwin! (more about that in a minute) In the MTC I feel like all of the companionships were mismatches. Meaning that the pairs were all very different and didn't naturally mesh together, which I think taught us all a lot. However, with our trainers, as each missionary was going up and names were being called I felt like almost all of us received missionaries that just fit. It's like after the MTC we were ready to be trained by someone we would connect with. Not to say we were all twins but it was just an observation I made. 

So after the excitement we all went to bed, Elders Hubbard and Whiting and Sister Peterson were called to serve in Warsaw so they left that night. The next morning the rest of us all went to the train station and stemmed off going our seperate ways. As ready as we all were (after 9 weeks) to leave each other and get with some new missionaries we were all really close and it was sad to say another good-bye. Missions are full of good byes. Starszy Godwin and I then took an eight hour (yeah 8 whole hours) train ride from Warsaw to Wroclaw. 

As soon as we arrived our sisters were waiting for us to help take us to our apartment. Sister Bown only has two more transfers left and Sister Poklinkowska is from the group right before me. They are great, like with most people here I don't know them too well yet but today we are spending P-Day as a district so I will get to know them better. 

I'm almost out of time but have so much more to say. Sorry, I wasn't very wise with my email time today plus it being my first week I had a lot to write President but next week I will give you more (in the field we have a lot more time to email, so that's really nice!) 

My first night we dropped off our bags at the apartment and then immediatly went to the church for an English lesson appointment. On Wednesdays we have a class and then Thursdays we teach a private group. Free English class is a mission wide service. The three guys could speak English well so that was nice, Elder Godwin did the English lesson part since I had had no time to be taught but then for the spiritual message he turned it over to me at the end to bear my testimony of the Book of Mormon. We then went home, unpacked a little and went to bed. The first night was a little hectic but that was good because it got us going from the start. 

Wroclaw is great. It is so pretty and I feel at home even more than I thought. It's a really big city with beautiful architecture, a lot of the prettiest buildings are part of the University so we're a college town which adds to city life.

I have so much more to say and will in the next one but here is the lowdown. We meet for church in an office building, it's really nice and pretty big. The Branch as 35 active members but about half were gone because it's a long weekend (today is Independence day here so I forgot to say it before but happy holidays.) We have two investigators Marcin and Jakub, we will meet with them this week and I will tell you more next time. Basically I feel spoiled and lucky to be here. It's a nice big city and the church is huge here with great members - a lot of the other cities have 2-5 active members. I am super blessed. 

The first couple days here were really hard. It's still diffcult but not in the same way. At first all I could think about was the end of my mission and when I got to come home. Then I had a a change of perspective. My trainer, Elder Godwin, helped me realize how much there is to do on a mission. Once I started thinking about goals and where I want to be at the end of my mission I was a little more patient for the end to come. Also I realized being here how rare this time is to be a set apart missionary where my whole focus is inviting others to come unto Christ. I want my whole life to be centered around Christ and right now is the only time that I don't have to worry about school, work, family etc. I am excited and motivated to work.

Polish is hard and daunting but doesn't seem impossible, at least right now. I've been told that I shouldn't worry about it until 6 months down the road. 

I want to end with this. Life is hard. Sometimes harder than we think we can handle or at least want to handle. It's not always exactly what we want or how we pictured it but that's okay. Be happy. Being happy is a choice. There is so much to focus on in the world, in life that it's up to us. At first, I was sad and lonely - which was sort of needed - but then once I realized the blessings and strength I was receiving I was happy. I can tangibly feel the strength I am receiving from the Lord. Life is hard, it's supposed to be but it's also supposed to be full of joy. Now I genuinely look forward to each part of the day and I am so excited to serve. I am learning so many principles and new things I want to do or progress in. Be happy, do things that bring happiness. I am so grateful for this gospel and for the love I feel from so many. 

I pray that you will have a great week.

Starszy Kimball

p.s. I just read dad's email about syd giving a copy of the book of mormon to her friends. Tell her how amazing she is. I got immediatly stragnely super emotional when I read that. She is just an example, blessings are real. I love you so much

sorry I couldn't say more, next time I will, I promise

doing laundry at the MTC

Do Zobaczenia MTC!

This last week has been crazy! 

First off, mission call news! Jake and Emily Simons got their calls :D Albania and Hungary! I am so excited for them. They are joining Zach and I in our region of the world, which is excellent. They are going to do so much good! Now being a missionary, hearing people's calls means so much more, I am so happy for them.

The Polski district heads out on Monday morning and we get to Poland Tuesday. We are... well honestly all over the place. We are excited but nervous, we talk to our teachers and calm down a little bit but then think of something else and become all stressed and scared again. It's just really overwhelming. It's always sad when you leave somewhere, I have always hated the "lasts" of everything, i.e. last volleyball game in gym, last Tuesday Night Devotional etc. It's been melancholy some days but overall I am happy. 

I'm ready to go as well. Recently, I've felt like I am starting my mission over again and will basically have to start from scratch but this week has helped me overcome that. On Monday we skyped with some members in Poland and taught a lesson. It was scary and they corrected us A LOT, one of the Branch Presidents was pretty tough but it was all useful. It made it all more real. For me the worst is the unknown so I think once we get to Poland things will be better. Last weekend was really hard, I was feeling pretty down and sort of had a pity party for myself. I talked to Starszy Hubbard and we were able to get over ourselves. We are probably the most similar and it's nice having each other. I like it here where there are so many missionaries. Soon it will just be me and my companion and we might comprise the total church membership for that city. However, in other ways that will be easier. Again, pros and cons and time will tell. 

Overall life is kind of crazy and honestly that's how I feel right now. Luckily, it's not about me but about the people of Poland and whenever I remember that I feel peace and happy. I really am excited to go and know that I have been well prepared during my time here. I have been able to learn so much about myself and my life as a missionary. I can definitely see all the blessings and realizations I am having. I know this work is inspired and I can't wait to really start! Write you all again once I get to Poland! 

Love, 

Starszy Kimball

p.s. Since I leave so soon I won't be getting any dearelders or anything that you send to the MTC. Also being my last P-day here and before I leave I am really busy so to everyone feeling neglected by me, I am sorry but I will write you back once I get to POLAND!

Hello!

Today has been wonderful but I have basically no time so if I still haven't responded, don't worry! I will. 

The reason today was so special was because I got to go to Temple Square. All "international" missionaries get to go there their second last week and because my mission call came from Switzerland I counted as "international." Starszy Retallick and I went with about 30 others to Salt Lake early this morning and just barely got back. We had the incredible opportunity to go to the temple. It was so beautiful. I've been to Temple Square a fair number of times but this was my first time going into the temple. After that we were taken on a tour by some sister missionaries there. It was cool to get their advice and it was funny because we are now one of them. It wasn't quite as weird to be out in public as I thought it would be but then again it was Temple Square so I guess that's as much the "real world" as the MTC. Overall it was such a fun, spiritual, happy day. We also got to talk with other internationals and S. Retallick got his UK fix (as did I, I miss having all my foreign friends.) 

As if that weren't enough when we returned we got our travel plans to Poland! CRAZY. We leave November 4. Our flight is 11:09 from Salt Lake direct to Amsterdam (didn't realize there was a non-stop SO nice) and then we go to Warsaw and get there at 12:00 p.m. November 5! We are all so excited but scared out of our brains as well. This upcoming week will be our last and we are all feeling extremely bittersweet about it. In some ways I am feeling more than ready to leave the half mile radius I have been inhabiting for 9 weeks and get to Poland teaching real people but we have grown so close to our teachers and other missionaries in our zone (going to Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Bulgaria etc). I'm glad that us Polskis will stick together, we have grown so close. We are preparing what we want for the "tadpoles" (little Poles - like I said last time Pole puns are our favorite here) that enter the MTC after us. There will be 8 missionaries to replace our 9 so we're glad the numbers are continuing to stream in! It's funny how close I feel to the other Polish missionaries though. That is something that I noticed here. There are so many people in my district, zone, even the Branch Presidency (some older couples from the area who are called to be our church leaders while we are at the MTC) that at first I either didn't connect with or didn't like. I feel like I have been blessed with love. My judgments and worries about people "not getting me" have left me and I have a sincere love for everyone around me. That is something I really struggled with at first but Heavenly Father has really helped me and I am so much happier because of it. It reminds me of a quote I probably overuse but I like it so much: “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” - Mother Teresa. For me this is one of those principles that everybody knows is true but it is really hard to execute. For example, with my companion sometimes he does things that annoy me and I know that I need to get over it but sometimes I don't, however then when I am blessed with a forgiving and loving heart bad feelings go away. I feel like here I am starting to experience the attributes that I've always wanted but didn't always feel. This goes back to how I feel about my views in life as well as my testimony. As I grow and learn I don't feel like the words I say change but the depth of understanding and meaning behind them change dramatically. I am grateful for our chance here on earth to grow and prepare. 

This leads into something I learned on Tuesday night. Every Tuesday and Sunday we have devotionals given usually by General Authorities of the Church. Due to the rush of today I don't have my notes but Elder Allen spoke. He works in the Church administration for missionary service and he had a lot of good stuff to say. The greatest thing I got out of the night came during the review after the devotional. We met with the Bulgarian missionaries, they are awesome and only a week behind us so we are pretty close. Elder Gierisch is one of them, he doesn't always have the best attitude and he sort of likes to break the rules but he's a great, funny missionary who said something that really hit me. He talked about how Heavenly Father has all the power and knowledge in the world. He mentioned that with the Holy Ghost and Christ the Godhead could do missionary service so much better than we could. He relayed how the Spirit could testify to the hearts of people and convert them without us but that isn't the way the plan of God works. Heavenly Father gives us responsibility and work for our benefit, so we can learn and become more like him. When we teach others we so often learn more and grow. It also is more meaningful when we teach others and our prayers are sometimes answered through others. This was true for me a couple of weeks ago, in particular. I often see the blessings others are in my life but when Siostra Wood shared her feelings of self-doubt, stress and how she realized the Adversary had been working hard on her it answered my prayers and worries about myself that I had been having for a week or so. Heavenly Father could have answered my prayed right away, and sometimes He does but He also gives us the opportunity to follow promptings and serve and grow. This gospel just makes so much sense and I love it. 

Life overall is so good. I am continueing to learn a lot, Polish is coming and I love it more and more everyday. My teachers are incredible as always, offering us so much. I was released as zone leader last Sunday (leadership callings here are 3 weeks) which was nice. I loved it but I am glad for the extra time to study and I feel like I can get to know a lot of the missionaries better when they don't feel like I am an authortiave figure, which i wasn't really anyway but still. I am ready to work hard and finish up this last week strong. 

I love you all. Always try your best and improve everyday. 

Starszy Kimball 

This last week has been one of the best!

I just felt a lot more motivated, reorganized some goals, and just felt positive overall. We moved buildings which was sort of a pain and stressful but a change of scenery is always nice. We now have another zone on our floor, consisting of Scandinavia and Holland/ Belgium. 

We got another set of new missionaries this week, 6 of them, going to Bulgaria and Croatia. I have gotten to know some of the new elders pretty well and they are great. Elder Yentes (going to the Czech Republic Mission) is awesome, he's from California and is just a really good missionary. The MTC is great because we get to know so many people, all of us going all over the world! 

To start off with some exciting news, our Tuesday Night Devotional this week was  given by Elder and Sister Oaks. It was a broadcast to all the MTCs in the  world and it was really good. There had been rumors circulating and we all knew it was an apostle but when Elder Oaks walked through the doors I was excited because his talk from General Conference really spoke to me. I got a lot of insight again and the main points that I needed to hear from him were 1. A reminder that the Lord qualifies who He calls 2. I need to strive to be the best I can be. This second point has given me some trouble over the past few weeks here. We are constantly reminded that as we do our best Heavenly Father will come in and help us with the rest. During a Polish district "Tender Mercy Monday" where we all share a way we saw Heavenly Father's hand in our life throughout the week, Sister Wood (the oldest and wisest out of the group) talked about how she saw that we were all trying our best and how we need to therefore have faith that as we try our hardest Heavenly Father will bless with everything we need to fulfill our role of inviting others unto Christ. When she said that I had two realizations, both to do with the fact that I didn't feel like I was doing my best. The first was that my best doesn't mean perfection, which is hard to accept. I had to realize that I can't do everything I want to do exactly the way I want to do it. The second thing I realized is that because of point one I never really thought I was or even could do my best. I never thought that I would be doing my best because I wasn't doing everything I wanted to, which I realized was terrible for my view of myself. I understood how bad it was that I never saw myself doing my best. I now know that I need to do everything I can and be happy with it. Likewise, I am prone to doing just short of my best as a defense mechanism in case my "true best" isn't what I want it to be. I am trying to accept my limits and really give it my all in order to receive the blessings and help I need. That's not to say that I haven 't been receiving blessings because I have received and noticed more here that ever before. 

Sister Peterson is the jokester of the district  and this past week she showed us our new favorite hymn, #269 (I don't have the title) in it is has the line "from Pole to Pole." We love our punny Pole jokes in our district! Another funny thing that happened this week... Brat Tribe was teaching us and telling us about some practical things about being in "the field." He said that one of our first nights we are going to be tired and hungry and our trainer (missionary companion who is experienced and been in Poland for a while, so helps us out) will have us call to order pizza. He was talking about a the nervous feelings that come as you have to think of words and numbers in Polish. The whole time I was laughing to myself because I have been the family's "pizza orderer" for the past six years. My parents always said it was good mission practice, having to use my French - who knew how right parents could be!

As always I have much more to say without the time to express it. We leave to Poland two weeks from Monday! Crazy, exciting, nerve-racking, and happy! Don't worry about being perfect but do strive to be the best that you can be.Serve others and get outside your comfort zone. 

I love you all, 

Starszy Kimball

Hello again, 

That's five weeks down, three and a half to go! It is crazy! 

I don't have as much time this week as I have in the past so I will just highlight the week.

General Conference last weekend was happy, inspired, and just the best! It was so nice to be able to be here at the MTC. Although we had to be in suits and dresses and we couldn't eat and lounge as we watched the strength in numbers was incredible. All the missionaries in the MTC went to the auditorium where we have devotionals and watched it there. I was more excited and prepared than I ever have been before. It was so much more meaningful for me this time. I got something out of every talk and I appreciated the divine call and authority of each of the twelve apostles. I usually have my five or so that I intently listen to but this time I got a lot out of so many and even more from those I usually don't. I really liked the themes I picked out from conference, which I will name a couple. For one, I feel like missionary work was everywhere. Part of it might have been that I was more aware of it than ever because I am a missionary but there was so much about this great work we all get to be a part of. My favorite scripture was also mentioned I think three times: Matthew 11:28-30. There was a lot of talk about trials. I love how this gospel doesn't eliminate trials. In Matthew, Christ doesn't say "burdens will disappear" but they will be made "light." Having trials but then being given the strength to overcome them makes so much more sense because we are able to learn and progress so much more. I am so grateful for the one on one nature of the Atonement and personal progression in this gospel. Likewise, we have each other to look to for support and seek to seek comfort from. When we follow Christ's example we will be blessed. I know that because I have experienced it. Something else I got out of conference was an answer to a question I went in with. I feel like here at the MTC I have developed so many good habits that I either didn't have before or have improved. I wanted to figure out how when we improve we can sustain that change. The answer is great and hard. It's a matter of daily diligence. In some ways it would be great to reach a point and say "yes, I made it" but we are never done. Once we accomplish something we have to maintain it and continue to work at it. However, this is such a blessing. It means we only have to take trials, struggles, life a day at a time. Each day as we set goals and try to improve we will grow and some days we might slip back a little bit but that's okay. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are always ready to help us. Conference was great and I can't wait to go back, reread and study it more. Also, shout out to the Hamilton's. When Elder Hamilton first started to speak I thought wait I know him, then I saw his name and realized that was our mission president in Brussels!

On Sunday night we were told that we were going to have a special devotional. Many people thought that meant the prophet or a member of the 12, instead we were all surprised when Vocal Point performed. They are a BYU a cappella group that have won all sorts of awards. They were really good and had good testimonies to share. It was a fun way to end the weekend. 

The other day I realized my knee was a little rough and then I looked at the other and noticed the same thing. I realized it's probably from all the kneeling I've been doing hear as I pray. It was so humbling to see how much more I have been kneeling and see how much more I am relying on the Lord. Prayer is one of the biggest blessings we have and as I learn more about it I love it more and more. I encouarge you all to pray and as you do pour out your heart to Heavenly Father. It is freeing and you will feel so much love! 

I wish I had more time, I have more to say but for now I love you all, you are in my prayers.

Starszy Kimball

How are you all?

This week may have been the most eventful so far! 30 missionaries from our zone (i.e. everyone who was here when we arrived - the whole zone of eastern european misfits besides the polish and two new districts who came the week after us.) They all left into the Mission Field on Monday and Tuesday. It was pretty depressing to see them go but we are all so excited for them! It also got me a lot more pumped for when my time comes. Also, I'm not sure if I mentioned it before but we are not moving to West Campus, we are staying on the main MTC campus so nothing is different for mailing etc.

This week we also received 11 new missionanries. A czech district and a slovak district, 7 elders and 3 sisters. they are still freaked about but we are excited to get to know them better. With all the change our district (the Polskis) are now the most senior in the zone - what? We all still feel new and like we have no idea what we are doing but at the same time are looking forward to leading the new group of missionaries. 

Last week Starszy Whiting and I were called to be the new zone leaders (the missionary leadership for the zone.) As of Monday morning we have been fulfilling our roles. It's a lot of fun and we were especially excited that we were able to welcome all of the new missionaries on Wednesday - as zone leaders, and held a meeting with the sister training leaders (the sister missionanry leadership in the zone, one of whom is Sister Owen, also a Polski) It's a little more work and eats up time but I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve.

Our district just keeps growing closer and closer. All of us elders are now in one room, which is tight but means we hang out more and get to know each other better. We are all more comfortable with each other, sisters included. It doesn't seem like we are hanging out together just because we have to, now we are all genuine friends, which makes it so much more fun, easier, and motivating. On Sunday nights after the MTC devotional they show films. We all decided to go and watch a rebroadcast of a talk by president Uchtdorf but then when we got there they announced that they had accidentally sent that film to West Campus and had a talk by Elder Bednar we had already seen. As we were trying to figure our what to do Sister Owen comes up with a genius plan. We went back to our residence halls, popped some popcorn, grabbed some candy and went back to our classroom and watched a movie on lds.org about faith in Christ. It was so much fun. It was so fun and then afterward we talked about our faith and testimonies in Jesus Christ and His Atonement. It was an incredible night! Being here for 9 weeks leads us to be creative, which accounts for most of our excitement here in the MTC. At lunch they have a salad/wrap bar and sister Owen and I realized that the cafeteria also has microwaves so we made chicken Quesadillas. Everyone thought we were pretty cool, to be honest we did too. Being here we just take so much joy in the little things and encourage each other to be grateful, it's such a happy way to live!

Polish is also coming along really well. Starszy Whiting has a big break though. He has had more Polish vocab and grammar than any of us combined but he's had trouble using it in speech. this week, in lessons especially, he has been able to just let it all pour out, it's been great to see. Now we have to work on him giving me a chance to talk but we are learning how to work off each other much better as we teach. This week I felt the Holy Ghost more present in my teaching than ever before. It was my main goal this week and I think I was blessed. There has never been than shocking burning in the bosom as I teach yet but my mind has been clear and I am so specifically directed. I have recognized my mind being filled with inspired things to say. I have felt more than ever that the message I am giving isn't coming from me but from the Savior. At the same time, I have also been able to share my personal experiences with the mock investigators more than ever. I think this has come as I have developed a love for the people I am teaching. It's hard when I know they are mock investigators but I feel like I have been helped with this case. My Polish still has a Long way to go but I can now express myself pretty well. Often small words or phrases I want to say, even such as "yes" or "is" come out in "tak" and jest!" It's pretty cool. Us Polskis are able to communicate better with each other now as our understanding and speech improves. Besides fervent prayer and blessings from Heavenly Father, our progression is greatly due to our teachers. Every time they teach I am reminded of how great they are. They are loving, funny, faithful, and care about us. Brat Tribe especially, I found a note is my suit jacket one night, it was a note from him about my lesson with Olek (his alter ego mock investigator.) It said, Elder Kimball great work, you are an amazing teacher. Love, Brat Tribe. They are super motivating and encourage us all to try our best. Siostra McAdams is also amazing and Brat Jensen has started to teach us a lot more now. 

Speaking of support, thank you so much for all of your support. I feel of you love, prayers, and support. I love receiving letters and dearelders - they really do make my days and I enjoy reading all of them. They help me feel connected to all of you. 

The weather has drastically changed. It was lovely, sunny weather for a while and now all of a sudden it's become a frozen tundra. The mountains all around us are covered with snow, it's cold! 

General Conference is the next two days! Never have I ever been so excited for General Conference in all my life. I feel so lucky to be able to experience it here in the MTC. I have never looked forward to hearing the new temples announced or number of missionaries serving because it hasn't ever meant so much to me. Everyone here is excited! We all go to the hall where we have devotionals and watch it as an MTC. I would like to echo my sister Sister Kimball. Go into conference with questions in mind. Do this in all study of gospel principles (praying, reading scriptures etc.) However, especially now as we have the divine opportunity to hear from our church leaders search for the talks and ideas that have been prepared with you in mind. When we have specific questions we get specific answers. As Kristin said, have spiritual questions as well as questions for life in general. General Conference is a semi-annual broadcast worldwide where the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints address the globe with inspired words. I invite everyone to watch some of it, it is a great experience. Anyone can view it on lds.org.

I love you all. Work hard and be grateful. Be kind and loving! 

Love, 

Starszy Kimball