Tuesday, October 30, 2012

POZNAN OCT. 29, 2012

SARA'S NEW ADDRESS
Stowianska 38 F M.1061-664 Poznan, Poland


Dear FAMILY!!!

I feel like it's been forever since I wrote you all! But it really it's
just another 7 days ago. Just so much change, it's weird. But I am
loving it here in Poznan. It's a beautiful city and I still have no
idea where everything is but I am learning! I miss Gdansk and the people 
but being busy helps.

Sister Allen is great. I really love working with her and I know that
we are already on the brink of many miracles. She is a joy to be
around and I'm excited to work with her and see the progress of our
wonderful investigators.


THIS IS SIS. FOLSOM AS SHE LEAVES THE MISSION FIELD FOR HOME
WITH THE TRADITIONAL FAREWELL TOKEN.
Seriously she and Sister Folsom have tons of
really cool investigators---they just need to get in the water! So
please be praying for our investigators and their progress :)

Something I learned from the scriptures this week: Well our homework
from last district meeting in Gdansk was about first impressions. We
read through Ammon (the first one with King Limhi) and what his first
impression was like after being imprisoned. He was humble, respectful,
bold, and grateful. Then we compared him with Korihor and his
attitude. He was proud, he said "great swelling words" insulted the
people's traditions and lied/exaggerated. Then it was cool to apply
that to missionary work and see how we can be more like Ammon as we
teach and testify. Then the homework part was to find what Christ's
first impressions are like. It was so cool. I loved that homework. One
of my favorite ones was Christ with the Samaritan woman at the well. I
really liked it--so I'll let you read it yourself and see how cool it
is. Then next week I'll give my thoughts.

Our Christ-like attribute for this week is: Hope. We are going to have
the hope in our investigators that they will progress, come to church,
and make and keep their commitments to prepare them for baptism. If
there's only one thing I've learned so far on the mission it's that
FAITH WORKS MIRACLES. It is so true. So I am really focusing to have
the faith and the hope that if we work hard in a spirit of love, the
Lord will follow through on His promises. In our personal studies this
week, Sister Allen and I have been researching the promises made to
Poland concerning missionary work and wow--I'm grateful to be a part
of it. It's really cool. I will write some next week.

I saw the Lord's hand this week when: a woman came up to us in a
restaurant as we were having lunch. She started talking to us and as
we testified about our purpose, she felt the truth of what we were
saying. Her name is Danka and she came to Institute, church, and we
are so excited to continue meeting with her.

Other cool things from this week:
* Izabella, our cute maybe 40s investigator has a baptismal date for
7th of december!

THIS IS A PICTURE OF THE REEDS THEY ENTERED THE MISSION FIELD TO POZNAN APRIL 2012
* The senior couple, the Reeds, are AMAZING here. They are so helpful
and they already have served a mission in the Ukraine. (which is not weak.) This saturday they did an "Armor of God" fireside and it was so fun! We invited members investigators and everyone and we created an armor using tin foil and cardboard.



* I lost my planner this week (very important thing in the mission) so
Sister Allen's like "have you prayed to find it? ...oops. Hadn't done
that! so we prayed together and next place I look-bam. there it is.
Not much has changed in that dept of my personality.

Thank you for all you do and for who you are.
I LOVE YOU!!!! JA WAS KOCAM!!!
Sara
SIS ALLEN ON THEIR MORNING RUN
p.s. I don't know WHY but everyone here thinks I'm mexican or spanish!
It's so funny. First of all no one can say my nazwisko (last name) so
I think Bez will just have to do. And then after I introduce myself
the person asks, "are you spanish or mexican? you look like you have a
little....yeah...the eyes..." It's so funny! I never got that before
in Gdansk.

Monday, October 22, 2012

TRANSFER TO POZNAN - HARD TO LEAVE GDANSK :(


Dear Family,

First things first...
I'M GOING TO POZNAN!!!! 
Poznań, today Poland's fifth largest city, is also one of the country's oldest cities, and was an important political and religious center in the early Polish state of the 10th century. Poznań Cathedral is the oldest church in the country, containing the tombs of the first Polish rulers, Duke Mieszko I and King Bolesław I Chrobry. - FROM WIKIPEDIA
Poznań Cathedral today, with the Church of Our Lady in the foreground, standing on the site of the original ducal palace

The Town Hall(Ratusz) today
In about two hours. Crazy huh? Well you all should know that President Nielson is truly an amazing person. He is so inspired. Sister Ostler and I were talking and we are so grateful that he is willing to do everything to be in tune with the Spirit. I have complete trust in him as my mission president that Poznan is the area the Lord wants me to be and Sister Allen is the companion He wants me with. SIS ALLEN IS WHOM SARA WORKED WITH WHEN SHE WENT ON AN EXCHANGE TO POZNAN WHILE SIS FOLSOM CAME UP TO GDANSK TO BE WITH SIS OSTLER FOR A DAY AND A HALF ABOUT A MONTH AGO.
Sister Ostler is so humble. This week was a crazy one for our companionship. But I'll get to that later. I love her so much and it's been so cool to really BE with each other not just live/work together this week. Spending time together in hospitals, at home, and me not being distracted by lesssons or investigators or calls was really a blessing for me. So we both felt pretty sick Monday, then I got better and she's still feeling terrible. Well Agnieszka, Star that she is, threw a SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY for me on Tuesday! 
(Btw, thank you so much for all your bday wishes, I feel so so lucky and happy!!) Anyway so we were at Agnieszka's because she was so sneaky. She told us she had a friend who was interested to meet us and we totally fell for it. So we went over at 7pm and she was standing there with cake and lit candles and Ania was there too and it was so much fun. I loved it. AGNIESZKA HAS BEEN A GREAT AND ETERNAL FRIEND!

Well we just chatted for awhile and she was looking at Sister Ostler and she knew it was getting bad/worse. We had been at the gastro-whatever-doctor that morning but to be honest her diagnosis didn't really help. So Agnieszka worked some magic and the next day it was crazy. About 12 different people were calling us, all giving their opinions on what we should do and how so I really tried to do my best. The result was I called an ambulance, they came and took her to the hospital by University Medicyczny. So then the Elders came, got me, and we went "Sister Oslter hunting."
We searched the hosptial where she was supposed to be but the lady came and said "nie ma jej" czyli she's not here.Oops.Well luckily the next place we went they had her name so we go to the room (with 5 other patients) and the nurse goes "oh yeah, she's right here..." but then she wasn't. Then ANOTHER guy is like oh yeah! she's in here...nope. Long story short she came down with another doctor and it was good. We spent a few hours in that hospital, the elders were studs and they always make me laugh so that was nice. THEN crazily enough, later that night we went to another hospital and....yeah. 

Basically the point IS, that I saw the Lord's hand this week when: doctor after doctor, medicine after medicine, so many opportunities opened up for Sister Ostler. She finally got a pill that helps her hold down food and she's having a gastroscope tonight so please pray for her. It was a miracle we even got it because Sister Nielson has been in the hospital and she worked her magic and there was a cancellation for this Monday. So Sister O has already gone on the train down to Warsaw to get that done. Also Agnieszka and President Kempa were OUTSTANDING in this whole process. They seriously helped so much and I am in their debt. 

Something I learned from the Book of Mormon this week: Well I was just pondering about it. And many times it says "and a hundreth part cannot be contained in this work." Well in District Mtg Starszy Myler talked about Alma so that got me thinking about him. And his conversion story is recorded at least 4 times in the Book of Mormon, to different audiences. I thought about that a lot and so I've been studying and comparing the different parts of his story. I love Alma. 

I think I'm finally beginning to understand what a friend told me about the mission once. That it makes you hard. I finally get it. Or at least I'm starting to because yesterday was probably one of the hardest days in the mission. I had to say goodbye to so many wonderful, amazing people who I love. At church it was great because Darek and Marzena came. They truly are Christ-like people and I really felt the Spirit sitting in church with them. But it was still awful when the moment came to say goodbye. I feel like I'm leaving part of my heart here in Gdansk. Saying goodbye to Lidia was sad, and Janina (who is getting baptized next month), President Kempa and Marzena, and by the end of the night when we went by Agnieszka's it was just bad. The kids jumped out when we walked in and I just started crying. I'm such a baby. But it was really hard. Agnieszka said "to nie jest fair." This is not fair.
As we walked home I just cried and cried.

Anyway sorry to get all emotional on you all. Life is good and God is good to me. I love you all so much!



Sister Bezdjian
p.s. Hannah I shared the car story in church, I hope you don't mind :)

Thursday, October 18, 2012

GDANSK OCT 15TH 2012

Sara enjoying her Zakhtar Pita bread that was carefully carried by Sis. Lewis from Utah as she returned to Poland.  Sara Hit her half way mark on Oct. 11, 2012 (interesting card she received?)


Dearest family,

Well it's October 15th. I can't believe I am over halfway through my mission and one day away from my 22nd birthday! Thank you all for remembering my birthday and wishing me a good one :)

The Book of Mormon is so good. I almost didn't want to finish it! I read the last couple chapters really slowly, just savoring it all up. I hope you all had a good experience reading it this time around. Something struck me more this time. Verse 3 of chapter 10 in Moroni just hit me more. I love how Moroni exhorts us to remind ourselves how merciful the Lord was and is from the creation of Adam til the time when we are reading his final words. 

I encourage you to sit down for 5 minutes. Don't have anything else going on, no phone or computer or anything in your mind other than verses 3 and 4. And just think. Think about how merciful God has been to our forefathers, all the people in the scriptures, and then in your life individually, personally. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. It all really happened. And it has changed my life. I feel the Spirit when I read it and I know that anyone who asks in faith with real intent can receive an answer through the Holy Ghost that the Book of Mormon is of God. 
So for those of you who maybe haven't finished the Book of Mormon, don't worry! My birthday's not until tomorrow. You can get some good reading/listening in today and then finish it :) 

This week has kind of been different. Sis Ostler wasn't feeling too good last week so we went to the doctor's on Tuesday with President Kempa. He was really nice and set it all up for us and even waited with us there. But things haven't really been improving that much as far as her health goes so we've been at home most of this week. It's been pretty fun though because I got to go through the entire area book at once, which I've been dying to do. AND we bought a new map and that makes me really happy.  Anyway it's funny because on average we have about 17-18 lessons a week...well this week we had 4! Haha. But it's good. It was good to prioritize our meetings and decide what was feasible and what wasn't. 

Anyway, Sister Ostler is so patient. She hasn't been feeling good last week or this week but she has had a bright attitude through it all. I really admire her diligence and endurance. Our Christ-like attribute for this week is: "All things work together for the good of them that love God" -Romans 8:28. We are trying to be positive and see the good in everything, even in our sickness and trials. I was feeling pretty healthy throughout this whole thing...up until last night. I got a headache which was hurting and then last night I got really really hot and then really really cold. Anyway it wasn't pretty and this morning at about 6 am I was just moaning in the bathroom like a baby :( I just felt SICK. Anyway the cool part is Sister O got up and helped me a lot and gave me some hot water and salt and that helped a lot. She was sick too but she was super nice and took care of me.

Other fun things from this week:
*Really cool mtg with Magdalena, an awesome girl from Manhattan library. She's 24 and interested. And searching! Who could ask for more?
*We had brinner (breakfast for dinner) at the Lewis's and watched conference! I loved it. We watched Elder Holland and President Eyring from the Sunday session. 
*We met Sister Lewis's neighbor Halina, who is so fun. We made quiche together--well, she taught us how to make it. And then we ate it! so good!!
*Saturday President Kempa sent us missionaries a text saying he wanted to meet with us after church. I'll admit I was kind of nervous--did I do something wrong? Does he want us to do something differently? etc? But it was really cool. All he did was thank us. He told us the members have called him and told him what a good job the missionaries are doing and he really appreciates everything we're doing. I was in shock! And I was really happy. So then today he took us to Politechnika and showed us around. It's really cool because it was built by the Masons so there a lot of interesting symbols on the walls and doors. 

Thank you for all you do and for who you are.
Sister Bezdjian

Monday, October 8, 2012

OCTOBER 8TH GDANSK


We will now be the old ladies in the mission with the amazing 19 year old Sisters coming.
Yippppeee the work is moving forward with even more speed.



Dearest Hannah, Andrew, Raffie, and Lindy,

Thank you always praying for us. We really do feel a difference and I love knowing that you are all so supportive. How did conference go this week? Sadly we only got to hear a few minutes of it because the computer stopped working. But I did hear that women and men can serve missions earlier! that is exciting. Then Brat Lewis invited us missionaries to share our testimonies and that was nice.
Sister Ostler is such a trooper. She hasn't been feeling her greatest this week (some throwing up and major headaches :( sad huh!) but she meets it all with such a good attitude and a smile. She is seriously so positive even when she's in pain and feeling terribly sick. I admire how patient she is in her sickness!

Something I learned from the Book of Mormon this week: I read Moroni 7 this morning and the verse about "by their works ye shall know them" triggered some thinking. Where do our works come from? Well actions stem from thoughts and if our thoughts have such influence on our works, what controls them? I thought a lot about desire and how our desires really define who we are. Still studying that though so I'll let you know what I conclude. Anyway we should all be finishing Ether today which is exciting because Moroni just breezes by. Please, like you all should for conference, have questions in mind as you study these last few chapters in the Book of Mormon. Sis O has taught me a lot about that--asking questions really enriches our reading and study of the scriptures. 
Anyway, dalej in chapter 7 Mormon talks about charity. So our Christ-like attribute for this week is a focus on charity: "seeketh not her own." We are going to turn outwards and seek the happiness and benefit of others rather than focusing inwards. I'm excited.
I saw the Lord's hand this week when: we went to meet with a potential. We met them a few months ago and they set up with us in Oct. So we went to their house and sadly they weren't home. But then on the way out of their apt we met a man who has been searching for the truth. His name is Zygmund and he looks like a Polish version of Gene Wilder (know you'll love that Han). He nearly cried when we gave him a Book of Mormon and we're meetin with him and his wife next week.

Other miracles:
*Irena says she feels more powerful and more confident since she's received the Holy Ghost. It is amazing and true. You can totally see a difference in her demeanor from now compared to before her baptism and she is so happy.
*We had a mtg with a mom in a park this week but at the last minute she cancelled (her kids are sick) so our back up plan was to find someone in the park and talk to them about the gospel. Well then guess who walked up? OLA!!! From our Manhattan English class (which is put on hold now until we can figure out another time to do it--they changed bosses and the new boss is not down for us coming in the library and reading the BOM with the staff). We're still in good contact with all of them and we LOVE Ola so of course we were excited to see her! We talked for awhile and at the end of the conversation she told us, "you know as I was walking through this park [she was on her way to work which is harder now with the new boss] I was kind of sad. And I thought 'I wish I could meet someone here' and then I ran into you sisters." Well that was definitley NOT chance. Definitely the Lord's hand is in our lives and work.
*Agata, this really cool lady is half-way through the Book of Mormon! She is amazing and so so smart.
Thank you for all you do and for who you are. I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!
Sister Bezdjian

p.s. Prank from this week:
Starszy Harris asked me to make him a case for his book of mormon with pics of sports etc. so I made a fake one with a model make up lady on it hahaha. Pics attached. PICTURE DIDN'T COME THROUGH:(

p.p.s. I got letters from the Bezdjians!!! YAY THANK YOU!!!!!!!! they made my day!



Trip to the zoo on P-day Oct 1st
So different not to see Sis Harker with them.
They miss Sis. Harker


Tuesday, October 2, 2012

October 1st, 2012


Dear Family,

So I have something to confess.

We didn't really go to the JLo concert. Ha! I know you all fell for it right? Well joke's on you. :) It's ok though because I played the joke on Presdient too. He almost fell for it muahaha. He actually called  Elder Myler to make sure we weren't going to the concert...haha. 

OK seriously now, thank you so much for your prayers. We are being so blessed right now and yes, because we are trying to talk to everyone but I think it's mostly because of the faith from ALL OF YOU. So keep it up! thank you :)
Sister Ostler is amazing. I learned a lot from her this week. She is a very supportive person. I noticed how she always strives to support others in their experiences/trials/or whatever it might be. I really admire how willing she is to talk with anyone about something and work things out. 

Our Christ-like attribute for this week is: Thinking no evil. That includes any negative thoughts. I'm excited to do this because I feel like I have become better on my mission about not SAYING as many negative things but I could improve a lot on not THINKING negatively. 

I saw the Lord's hand this week when: we met some young really cool kids on a whiteboard this week. We weren't completely sure if they would meet us (sometimes people flake us) but they were there even before us to meet and talk about the Book of Mormon. They are really smart, amazing kids and we've been praying to find young people especially lately so I hope that they will progress and feel the power of the Spirit.

Other fun things from this week:
*Krystyna our neighbor interested in family history work made us dinner this week! so good. (see pictures.) We are going to watch the Joseph Smith video with her tonight. 






*Jozef and Irena made us a lunch and it was so much fun. And yesterday they introduced us to their friends! They have two little ponies and they are so cute. The couple is just sweet and we exchanged numbers and they'll hopefully become new investigators. 














*Sad thing...Sister Harker left this week! And Brother Harker too. We miss her a lot already (Bro H is coming back next week or so)! She was the light of our week and so calm in everything she does. ALSO before she left, she bought me and Sis O skirts! So sweet. 
The Harkers are shown here with Pres. and Sister Nielson.
The Harkers are so kind to the missionaries even when they are not in Poland.
 Since Bro Harker is returning to  Poland he took orders from the missionaries
for something they miss from America:   Sister Ostler (Salt/Vinegar Chips)
Elder Myler (Microwave Popcorn/Hot Chocolate) Elder Harris (Ranch Dressing Packet)

Sara didn't put in an order so we will see!  The Harkers treated the missionaries to Mexican Burritos in Poland, a favorite spot of the mission on their last P-day together.  Sara and Sister Ostler were so blessed to be in Poland during Sis. Harker's 12 weeks there. 

*We are offically homeless! Haha just kidding. We are out of the library and now meeting in the Hotel Mercur. So please pray that we can find a good place for a chapel soon. We would love to have a more permanent place to meet. 
This is the library where they were meeting.  They will not be able to meet there for a month so they will be meeting in a Hotel downtown.  Hopefully they can find a good location and building soon.  They also will not be able to teach their English Class in the library right now see below.

*We did a whiteboard with the Elders by the Manhattan mall and talked to a TON of people! So fun. Sad news though...our Manhattan library book of mormon reading class is postponed because they have a new director...so please pray for that to go through too!

So Book of Mormon reading. We should all be going through Ether 3--13 this week. I'm so excited. I'm actually a bit ahead because I couldn't stop the other day! Ether is one of my favorites and it's just so fun to read. I think the brother of Jared is a excellent example of faith but as I was reading through this time I think he was something else too. He has so much humility and I think that is what made him so faithful. I want to be more like that. 

Thank you for all you do and for who you are.
Sister Bezdjian