September 28, 2010

Drogi Moja Rodzina,

I had an excellent chance to practice missionary composure during the missionary conference on Sunday. Every fast Sunday all of the missionaries get together for a 2 hr conference, and Starzsy Sorn and I were asked to give the prayers. This meant that we were able to sit on the stand for the conference along w/ our companions. However, both of us are in a trio, so where 4 missionaries usually sat, 6 chairs were squeezed onto the stand. This resulted in my chair being directly in the view of the camera for the ENTIRE 2 hours. The camera man tried to zoom in as close as he could to the speaker, but in front of the black screen was my grey suit, blonde hair, and smile as I tried to be an attentive and non-distracting missionary just to the left of the speakers elbow. Ever since that conference I have been getting tons of stares and people coming up to me thanking me for my apparently epic prayer. I feel bad that they had to look at my face for that long! The worst part is that I had a cold, and I would have to strategically cough, wipe my nose, and readjust myself when the screen was showing a scripture or picture.

When I was on the stand I got to meet the Mission Presidency and of course found Stay connections. The mission president's wife Elizabeth Roth Smith said she knew Randy and Sharon from High School in Spain. J. Halvor Clegg, the 1st Counselor said he was a cousin of Jesse's and that his sisters swooned over him. He respected him very much. I said something about trying to live up to him, and Pres. Clegg replied, "Nonsense, you just have an advantage! Those Stays have good genes!"

I also got called on Sunday to be Coordinating Sister. As of today the only sisters in our zone are me and my two companions but we have been coordinating extremely well :)

Thank you so much for the packages and letters this week! (Mom, Amber, Josh, Ali, Greg, and Jake you all have letters coming I promise!!)

I shared the sourdough bread w/ balsamic vinegar and oil as well as the tomatoes and goat cheese with my district. The Germans were in heaven over good bread and real food. They always perk up when they see that I have a package, because they know they will probably be getting some delicious food.

Allie Nothum, Sister Loss, and the rest of the Bulgarians left this week. Sadly only 5 Elders are coming in to replace them. The Poles and Bulgs have had a long-standing friendship at the MTC. Before they left we had one last game of Stomp, which is a game I think our family would love. You all get close in a circle, count to 3 and then jump apart. One person moves and tries to step on the foot of someone near them, but you can only move your feet once, so if you jump and hop or fall over or touch your hands to the ground you are out. After you have made your move you call on someone else. If someone pretends to move their feet (the it person) and you (the victim) fall for it and move your feet at all you are out. We sometimes play every man for himself, or we play Poles vs Bulgs. In that case, each Pole after their turn has to call a Bulg and vice versa. Try it and let me know how it goes!! Anyways, we were playing the last game, and it came down to me and 3 Bulgarians. I have never won a game of Stomp in my life (here at the MTC :) ) but through some strategery (I'm counting that as a real word..) and fancy dance moves I represented Poland and won! Much rejoicing occurred.

This week I studied about Light. If any of you are looking for a topic to study, I highly recommend it. I read in the Bible Dictionary as well as in D&C 88 and 93. Here's a pattern that I thought was cool. As you learn (though the spirit) you gain knowledge and (though faith) it becomes truth (if you apply it in your life) it then becomes light. We all can be filled with light, and bring light to others, depending on how we are living our lives. There are some sisters on my floor that are so filled with light that you can't help but be cheered up as you come in contact with them. I also watched a great talk about "knowing if an answer was from the Spirit or your own thoughts.” It was great, and reminded me of the many talks I had with Sarah. What it came down to was that if you were living your life the right way, it didn't matter. As we become more like Christ, He trusts us to make the choices He would make and He lets us make them on our own. As we live righteously we will have promptings w/o realizing they are from God and can answer others' prayers.

I love you!

Siostra Stay

September 21, 2010

Dear Family,

Thank you so much for your letters. I know how busy you are and (Mom) what a pain it is to pick away at the keyboard. Just think, it is training for all of the other missionary kids you are going to have :D The Salt Flats sounded awesome! That is cool that you got to go see it. I talked to Aunt Becky for a while, I saw her in the dressing room. She had just been through a session with some Elders from my Zone. They came up to me and said that Becky told them how incredible and smart you are, Dad. It was nice to see family, but I saw her talking on the phone when I walked out of the temple and I knew she was talking to you. It made me want to run over and say hi on the phone, I'm glad I was too far away to do so.

We had a devotional 2 Tuesdays ago all about choices, and how the choices you make determine who you are. Elder Lowell M Snow said, "Choosing becomes Becoming. Our choices reveal our true nature... There is something about choosing and the lessons we learn from choosing that defines us." It was a very good talk, and one that led to a lot of introspection

District Goals of the week:

SYL: We speak every lunch, only Polish. Today was our first day trying it. It was a very quiet meal :) We will get better and I think it will help a lot though

Hall of Fame: On Sunday we ended up in the back row of the gym and found a hidden treasure that I had never noticed: A Hall of Fame! I feel like I have a shot at 2 of them. The standing long jump was 8 ft and the wall sit was 7 min, the mile was 6:36. I don't know how to measure my standing long jump, but I tried after the devotional outside with some of the elders and I won :) A 6'7 Elder from Denmark saw me the next day as I was doing Polish laps on my floor and he said "Sister, are you always happy? I saw you jumping with the other elders yesterday and you always seem to be smiling and having a good time. " It meant a lot to me since I feel like I am tired and in my own world more than I should be, so I challenged him to a jumping competition. He went first, I won. Is this not missionary appropriate? I don't do it a ton, but every once in a while you just need to move. Dan, thanks for training me with Twin Lake Olympics, the stair hop is next!

The wall sit is only 7 min and I feel like I have the potential to dash this record. I have been training at night (for 2 nights haha) and did 8 min yesterday. Mom, you should train with me!

This is a very non-spiritual email, but oh well.

Polish phrase of the week! Ciesze sie z~e ty sie cieszysz! It means 'it pleases me that you are pleased!'

Sister Dalton said last week "one virtuous woman can change the world". I was talking to Sister Nothum and she said, ' I know that is what you are and I want more than anything else, to change the world. I would give ANYTHING for it." Then she stopped and said, "...But would we really give anything for it?" We set goals together to give up our pet sins.

I love you! Out of time!

-Siostra Stay

September 14, 2010

Family!

Thank you for your letter, I didn't receive it before my email time, but it is nice to have a hard copy! Mom, thank you so much for the packages, they brighten up my (and the district's) day every time.

I told Starsy (Elder) Kzrysminksi, our DL, that you were sending cookies, and he checked the mail 5 times between 1-5. There were big bins full of packages because it was the day after Labor Day weekend so there was a ton of mail. We even sneakily looked through the three bins but couldn't see it. At 5 they shut the window and locked the doors to the mailroom and said because they received so many packages that they were closed for the night. The whole district was crushed b/c I had explained the pure goodness and promise of warm cookies. The next morning I finally got the slip saying that I had a package, and during a walk as a class w/ our teacher we snuck away (running reverently...) and picked up the package. The entire district celebrated as I opened the 80s lunch box with emergency blanket and HAND WARMERS (I thought it was hilarious and ingenious!) inside. It was a Polish Miracle! The cookies were still warm!! We shared them and the spirits of poor tired missionaries were lifted. Thank you for making the miracle happen!

Mom, I have more stories for you, but I will just write them in a letter after this. Thank you for your letter, it's almost like sitting at the edge of the bed talking with you :)

This week was one of amazing spiritual growth for me. I was really frustrated at hit a wall on Wednesday as I was trying to prepare my part for the first lesson. I was awkward and couldn't express or even come up with what I wanted to say. The worst part was that it was in English! I was very discouraged. The next day, I prayed, acknowledging fully that I couldn’t communicate or "teach with authority and power" (my goal lately as a missionary) without the help of the Lord, and as I studied the lesson and ran through it again with my companions the thoughts and transitions and direction I should take were much more clear to me. If He will help me out when I am not even teaching real investigators, I am so excited to teach the people of Poland with God surrounding me.

Sister Dalton (the YW pres) came and spoke to the RS on Sunday and gave an amazing talk. So many of the things that I identified at my weak spots of my testimony have been strengthened and I've gained more knowledge on these last few days. She was down to earth, full of charity, but very assertive and taught w/ power and authority. She mentioned how excited she was to teach women who knew who they were, she started to recite the YW theme, and slowly every Sister stood together and joined with her. The power in the room was unbelievable. It was not reciting memorized words; it was a declaration of who we are and how we are living our lives. Savannah and Mica, think carefully about those words when you say them next Sunday, they are very powerful!

I also taught the District on Sunday and was assigned the 1st lesson, which is the topic we had been eating and breathing for the last 2 weeks. Again I didn't know what I was going to say or how to not have it be extremely redundant, but after praying and then studying, thoughts and approaches came to my mind. It was a completely different lesson and materials, focusing on if we are truly converted, more of a self-evaluation on how we are living and applying the things we are teaching investigators. It went well and I learned a lot, and everyone participated and shared some great insights.

I'm almost out of time, but I love you so much and I will write a little more in my letter. I got to go to the temple this morning, and it was such an incredible experience. I learned a lot, and talked with the women working there. I love you, am praying for you and think of you always.

-Sister Stay

PS thanks Hank, Val, Josh, and Jake for the letters!

September 7, 2010

Moja Rodzina!

How are you! Thank you for the emails, I always love to get them. I am very jealous of the fun activities you got to do this week. I was thinking about the Storytelling festival and how much fun it always is to go with everyone. I would probably rather get the letters through Dear Elder just so I can have more time to answer your questions! Plus then its a boost in the middle of the week instead of a stressful 30 min, and when I'm missing you I can read it again :D.

This week has been wonderful; I still am just fired up to learn as much as I can. On Thursday we approached and bore our testimony to volunteers in the TRC and then taught the first lesson in English. We had been nervous and it was difficult for us to find a good balance and be fluid, but when we taught, the Spirit was so strong. I got to teach about the Restoration and when I testified about Joseph Smith I felt the power of the Holy Ghost one of the strongest times in my life. (Sorry my English is going, I am pounding my head with Polish all day and its already affecting me!) The rest of the lesson we weren't as structured and we just went 100% by the spirit. The room really was pulsating with the feeling and spirit, I can't describe it very well, but we were all very moved. It is so nice to teach real people (even if they are pretend investigators) because it makes it a lot more personal.

I have been working on how to be able to teach with the Spirit, and I think a big key to that is just studying enough to have a wide knowledge base so that things can be brought to my remembrance when it is needed. I'm picking up Polish pretty quickly (thanks Dad for Rosetta Stone!! It truly has made a world of difference, coming into the MTC being able to pronounce letter combinations and how to read for the most part.) I am the best and memorizing the phrases that we need to say--> I do this by doing laps around our floor while just saying it aloud over and over again. By the time I leave I fully expect to see tread marks on the carpet. After I know the phrases, I really study the vocab that is in the phrases, it sticks much better that way. I am much slower at grammar, but Siostra Marshall is a machine at it. I help Siostra Steadman with reading PMG aloud and she drills me with Scripture Mastery references any time we are walking somewhere or waiting for a meeting to start. I love it, it is a ton of hard work, but whenever I start to feel unmotivated, I realize that I'm going to be in Poland very soon, and I feel so unprepared. I want to be able to teach and be an effective missionary as soon as possible when I get there.

Polish phrase of the day! I like to rock climb = ja lubie wspinac' go'ry (accents above the letter) I remember by thinking that if you eat spinach you will be strong enough to climb mountains, but if you fall, it will be pretty gory :D

I feel like I’m getting closer to my companions which is great. We are very different, but I'm so glad it is all three of us, because we balance e/o out.

Caleb, I had a dream about you the other night! I miss you so much! We were having a big battle with pretend weapons and we had to run and hide in all of these different houses and a pirate ship. Congratulations on selling those books! Was the money machine fun? The elders in my district play a funny game where they try to slip spoons in other people's suit pant pockets while they are standing in line for food. What is your favorite game to play with your friends?

Savannah, that is awesome that you are reaching out to your non-member friend. Sometimes the best sort of missionary we can be is just to be a nice person and good example of someone who is living the gospel. Let me know how it goes, I'm praying for you every night :)

Lily, one of my best friends from Saint George is here in the MTC too, her name is Allie Nothum. She is even living on my floor and we have meals together so I see her all the time. She is a really good friend because she listens to the things that are frustrating me, but then encourages me to be better. We both set goals w/ each other and check up on them daily. You make friends so easily; try to be a good friend who makes people want to be a better person. I love you!

Dad, thanks for the letter! We made a goal as a district to always use all of the Polish words that we know, but at the moment, it’s pretty minimal. We learned during mission conference some good ideas on how to find investigators. I'm excited to try them out. After the language, finding people and being creative is my biggest concern right now. I heard you studied Alma as a prophet in scripture study so I studied the difference of his missionary attitude vs. Jonah. They both had to teach people who didn't want to listen, but they handled it very differently. I also studied Abinadi. He taught and gave his life and didn't know that he had a single convert, but he converted Alma the Elder who taught many others, and then Alma the Younger who converted thousands. I just need to work really hard, be bold, be focused on the people, and speak with power and authority like in Mosiah 13:6.

Mom, I’m stoked about the cookies! Thanks for your example that you've always been to me. I'm so lucky to come from great parents who both taught me a lot of the things that I need to know to be a good missionary. I can feel your love and support, I'm going to try to print off pictures and mail them this week. (Apparently it doesn't work over the Internet here). Thank you!

Well I got extra time this week, but I need to go. I love you family!

-Siostra Stay

August 31, 2010 part 2

Family!

It is so good to hear from you! The MTC is wonderful, it is amazing to feel the Spirit so strongly for almost the entire day. It feels like a huge absence when it is gone, and I quickly evaluate what I need to change to get it back, what an amazing gift we were given. The best word to describe this week is excited. I am just filled with ambition and this huge desire to study, conquer and share everything that is thrown my way. All of a sudden I have this endless capacity to study and focus on the scriptures, I think it definitely helps that all the studying of the language and doctrine isn't for my benefit but for someone else. I haven't been stressed out at all, just aware of the huge responsibility ahead of me. I have two companions, Siostra Steadman who is short and blonde, and Siostra Marshall, who is about my height with curly brown hair. We have very different personalities but get along well. Siostra Marshall is very creative and constantly laughing which always lightens the mood. Siostra Steadman works really hard, and balances Siostra Marshall and I out really well.

Mom, I go to the early morning aerobics, and I'm so excited that my companions always want to go. We have pilates, yoga, toning, step, etc.. We also play soccer during gym even if its only 4 of us sisters (we can't play with the boys) I love it! Zach, we used to go ice blocking, but never slip and slide w/ trash bags. Yesterday I slid like 4 ft on my back though. I was playing soccer and the grass was extremely wet and slippery.

Caleb, Mica, and Lily, thank you so much for your pictures and letters. I just got them today and I showed them to everyone around me. Mom, the skirt fits perfectly, and I shared my Limonata with my really good friend Allie Nothum from St George. She is here in the MTC and lives on my floor so I get to talk to her every day. Already we have helped e/o out a lot. Oh! She was wondering if she could get a scripture case just like mine, I got it at the BYU bookstore. If you ever happen to be there... if not don't worry about it. Supposedly shipping is really cheap there to the MTC so I don't know if you want to look into that.

Ali has the polish word of the day for you, I'm out of time. :(

I have a funny story for you, but no time to tell it, so maybe I'll write it and mail it to you. I love you so much, I know that this Church is true, I am getting a stronger testimony of it every day. Dad thank you so much for your advice, I love my district.

-Siostra Stay

August 31, 2010

Dear Ali,

My first day was great, I just ran around and did what they told me to do. I didn't learn any Polish until the second day, and then they piled it on. Um I remember that good time we had, cause it was deja vu today when we went to the temple as a district. I was on the front row in the corner and my companions have been waking up every morning at 5:40 to go to early morning aerobics, which are tons of fun, but lead to very long and tiring days. I love you and miss you so much! Thanks for the scripture!

Your polish word for the day is Zado`s`cuczynienie (those accents go above the s and c) it means atonement. Here a good hint to polish: you pronounce every single letter, ( with a few combo exceptions.) Well I had internet trouble today, so I'll just let you know everything else in the family email. Oh, maybe a helpful hint... Amber wrote me a letter on Dear Elder.com and I get it every day printed out as opposed to an email which I only can read Tuesdays and only have 1/2 hour to be online. I love you and am praying for you.

-Siostra Stay