Moving to Szczecin

Hey hey hey family!

I am moving to Szczecin. Elder Manwill will be staying here as District Leader in Bydgoszcz. Elder Allen is headed to Poznań to serve with Elder Peacock, the missionary whom Elder Rittmanic trained. Elder White is coming here to be with Elder Manwill. And, Bydgoszcz is getting sisters! Sister Lenhart and Sister Ellis are opening up an area here in Bydgoszcz. I have no idea where, but it will be exciting to see it happen. As always, the next big concern is health. Don't worry, I'm getting over my illnesses. The doctor made me stay in for a couple days this week, just to make sure I got better. He's a smart man. Knowing me, I would have still been working and probably made myself sicker than I needed to be. I don't like being inside. You're all very aware of that. So, apart from stir craziness, I think I'm going to be alright. Sadly, I have to leave Bydgoszcz. I've really come to love this branch and I've been super lucky to have the Kagele's here to help. Szczecin will be quite different. The branch has about 7-8 members on a weekly basis, there are only two hours of church, and Elder Mikołyski is the branch president. Yay for humble circumstances! I had to eat a little bit of humble pie as well. I know missionary leadership is no form of worldly glory and that in no way shape or form am I more or less honorable because of the position I hold, but it was kind of hard to not be zone leader anymore. I really enjoyed it. 

As for the work in our area, things have really come to a standstill. With me being sick and the business of Zone Conference a few weeks ago, we haven't had much time to do work. I'm going to try to be all packed this afternoon so we can work un-interrupted the rest of the week before I leave to Szczecin.
I'm excited to serve with Elder Hardy. I don't know much about him, but I have seen in him a desire to work hard and to be the best he can be. That makes me pleased. I'm sure we'll have a great transfer together. I want to set some high goals with him and strive for some big things. Since he has already led 3 people to baptism here in Poland (he and Elder Kotter had a very successful transfer this past transfer), I know his faith will be high. I want to utilize that as best as possible while I can. Though I don't know much about Szczecin, I expect great things to happen.
I'm learning a lot about prayer recently. I stumbled across an article in an old Liahona from 2003 about opening the heavens. It was written by Elder Yoshiko Kikuchi. He talked about setting time aside every morning for a "daily devotional" and promised great blessings from doing so. I had been struggling with my morning prayers, so I took his advice to find a quiet place after having prepared for the day, saying a personal prayer, asking for help with matters, and giving myself time to ponder. Immediately after doing so, I moved on to my personal study. The results were marvelous. That was possibly the most effective and focused study I've had my whole mission. The specific question I had--how to more effectively provide counsel--was answered in Helaman 2, a chapter which I thought merely describes the murdering of the chief judge. It was a powerful moment for me to have a question directly answered from The Book of Mormon. It adds to my testimony that it is a true book from God.
I'm grateful to have served with Elder Rittmanic. He's taught me lessons I know the Lord specifically wanted me to learn. It hasn't been the easiest transfer of my mission, but it's been one of the most rewarding. I've come to a much greater knowledge of who God is, what He expects from me, and how to fulfill my role as a missionary. I'm excited to see what I can take from this transfer to apply in the future.

I've been learning another lesson on my mission, and specifically lately. The Lord really wants us to be ourselves while we're on our missions. For a long time, I was so focused on being consecrated, on doing everything perfectly right, and trying to be the perfect missionary, that I wasn't very happy at all. I have been praying hard looking for an answer. Finally, the answer to my prayers came in the form of a question: "Hey, when's the last time you actually were yourself?" "Well," I thought, "I'm not sure. I really don't know." Then the next question came: "When's the last time you actually had a good laugh, or just had fun?" My answer was the same. I couldn't remember. That's when it hit me. It wasn't about throwing everything away and being a cookie cutter missionary. The Lord wants me (and all of His missionaries) to be themselves and use the gifts and talents they have within the bounds He has set. It's not about focusing on what we're doing wrong, but rather on what we're doing right, and trying to make improvements. That's not an excuse to be disobedient. I'm just learning not to put so much pressure on myself and be myself, just within missionary boundaries. I'm who I am for a reason. We all are. I made the mistake of trying to be a robot missionary for too long, but I think I've finally learned my lesson about how to have fun, share a good laugh, and be myself, but still be focused on the work and not stress about every little thing.

Dad, dang. BYU seems to be the master of just coming up short in past years. Someday they'll get over that hump and lead Bronco to a BCS bowl. Texas will be a good game. BYU is always tough to beat at home.

I'm glad AF is looking good. I knew that offense would do well as soon as the kids had been running it for a few years. Tell Trev to keep plugging away. I hope he's enjoying it.

I'm glad you're enjoying PMG. I agree, it truly allows missionaries to be led by the Spirit. It allows puts a lot more trust into the missionary's hands. It's been interesting. Missionaries that understand that trust and do their best really succeed, whereas others who seem to throw it away, don't. From what I seem to have learned, missionaries who really want to be disobedient are going to be, no matter what system they are in or where they are. Preach My Gospel simply allows those missionaries who really want to do the Lord's work the freedom they need to do it the best way possible--the Lord's way. It's a great thing. Keep up the great study. Love ya!

Mom, you're the best. Thanks for caring about me. I hope you're having fun at work! You won't be able to get Sister Kagele updates anymore, but I'll try to give you the scoop the best I can out in Szczecin. Remember, there's a missionary in Poland who has the best Mom in the world and loves her lots and lots! 

Heath, congrats on getting asked to Homecoming! That'll be a fun dance. Have fun with all the activities you've got going on. Remember, senior year only happens once! Love you!

Emms, good luck with bug catching! The church is truly the same no matter where we are. It'll still be the same in a tiny branch in the boonies of Poland! Hey, did you decide on a sport to play yet? Track with Coach Bryson isn't a bad option. You'd be super good at it too. Love you lots!

Hannah bear, have fun playing with Carson! Sorry about the stink bug. Bugs, bugs, all over the place. Bugs, bugs, flying in your face! Have a great week. Love you lots!

Well family, I've got to run. There's always many things to do. I will talk to you next Monday though. Until then, remember, the church is true! And go Cougars! (and Cavemen!) But mostly the church is true. That's most important anyway.

With Love,

Elder Vernon

I Got Grandma Honey's Peanut Butter Package. Letter from August 26th

Hey hey hey family!

Wow, where does the time go? It feels like yesterday that I emailed you guys, and now it's Monday all over again.

I'm going to apologize right now. I woke up this morning with a pretty sore throat, and my head feels a bit foggy right now, so if I'm all over the place, that's why. Mom, don't stress. If it gets bad I'll call Sister Edgren.

I received Grandma Honey's peanut butter package! Tell her thank you very much for that. We've finished the big 3 lb. jar and we're now moving on to the one that Grandma Honey sent. We're excited. As for the fry recipe, we have not tried it yet. I got put on a very high fiber diet last week that consisted of lots of fruits and veggies, so I haven't had the time to try them. By the way, did you know that kiwi skins are super good for you and high in fiber? They're also edible. Two little facts I had no idea about.

Now, onto some stories from the week.

We had Zone Conference this week, which was super awesome. I talked a lot about it on my voice recording. We were given a whole lot of latitude in everything that we do. We were also given a lot of lee-way regarding rules. From the sounds of it, almost anything is free game within reason, and as long as it helps us to accomplish our purpose. I was taken a bit off guard by the announcements made, but I'm excited to see what blessings and results they will bring. I realize that there has been a lot of trust put into the hands of missionaries and these new tools and opportunities will only be effective if focused on the purpose. The older I get as a missionary the more I realize just how inspired that purpose is. I'm trying to make it a part of everything I do as a missionary. I forget it at times, but I'm trying to make a conscious effort to improve.
I'm also learning a lot about leadership. I'm so grateful for an opportunity to serve with Elder Rittmanic. He has great people skills which I am learning a great deal from. Not that my people skills were inherently bad at the beginning of this transfer. I don't think they were. They did, however, have a lot of room for improvement. Especially in the area of giving guidance and counsel. 

Mieliśmy duchowe doświadczenie wczoraj. Byliśmy przed naszymi drzwiami około 8:55 i podjęliśmy decyzję pójść dalej w dół ulicy. Nie chcieliśmy powrócić do domu aż do 9-ej. Jak szliśmy dalej, spotkaliśmy pewną panią zwaną A. Ona kiedyś wpadła do domu G podczas gdy mieliśmy tam spotkanie kilka tydoni temu. Ona nas zatrzymała i powiedziała że chce z nami się spotkać. Dosłownie ona ukradła Księgę Mormona z mojej ręki. Ona nie była do końca trzeżwa kiedy to wszystko się stało, ale ustanowiliśmy z nią kontakt i mamy nadzieję że wielkie rzecze się zdarzą dzięki temu doświadczeniu. Wiem że błogosławieństa pochodzą od posłuszeństwa, nawet te małe wydarzenia kilka minut przed 9-ą.
(We had a spiritual experience last night. We were in front of our door at 8:55 PM and decided to keep on heading down the street. We didn't want to return home until 9:00. As we went about 100 yards farther down the street, we ran into a lady named A. She had stopped in at Gs house once while we were teaching him a few weeks back. She stopped us on the street, and told us that she wants to meet with us. She literally stole the copy of The Book of Mormon I was holding out of my hands. She was fairly drunk as all this happened, but we were able to make contact with her and we hope to see great things come from this in the future. I know blessings come from obedience--even the little instances at 8:57 at night.)

I came to an interesting conclusion this week. I realized that a lot of the people we talk to on the street end up trying to teach us and don't exactly want to listen to what we have to say. We talked to a kid in his mid 20's for about 20 or so minutes on the street this week. At the end of the conversation, he asked me who was going to go away from our conversation and think more about it. I told him that I probably would. He talked a lot about what we could believe in. He said we can believe in what we experience. He believes that God exists because he had a very near death experience and feels that God saved him. Yet, he doesn't believe in a church and claims he doesn't need to believe in a book because what is that to him when he doesn't experience anything from it. He said he had even read the Book of Mormon some time ago. He didn't finish it, but he read quite a bit of it. I encouraged him to read it again. I tried to simply bear testimony and touch his heart, but I'm not sure how effective it was.

Dad, thanks for the outline of Pres. Scoresby's talk. I'm beginning to realize his wisdom. What a smart guy. Thanks for the scripture as well. Don't worry, I'm focused on the work, but doesn't BYU football start soon? As Corwin would say, "It's the most wonderful time of the year!" Love you lots. Thanks for all you do.

Emms, good luck adjusting to AFJH. I'm glad you got over to the Hall's house. Their cat Jazzy is super cool. Good luck with ballet! Love you.

Heath, you're now officially a senior! I'm freaking out. That's totally not allowed. You're way too old. I remember walking out of Coach Atwood's class with a very sore hand as well. He keeps you busy writing. Have fun with everything this year! You're only a senior once. Loves you lots!

Hannah Doober! I love your poems. Good luck with the bug catching business! Have fun in school. You're super cool. The gospel is true. There's no more blood in my ..... we'll just leave it at that. Loves you lots!

Mom, way to go being back at school! Sounds like you had a good time there. You're going to rock your new calling, for sure! You'll do great. I'm super excited to see what you learn. Thanks for all you do. I'm convinced I have the best momma in the whole wide world. Love you lots!

Well family, sorry if this week's letter is a little bit shorter, but Elder Rittmanic is already done and I hate making him wait. I love you all lots! Keep up the great work, and remember, we're the Vernon family!

The gospel is true.

Elder Vernon

Some More Peanut Butter Would Be NIce

Hey family!

Yes, I definitely look forward to P-day! I love being able to hear from you guys and read your emails! It's so great to have such an awesome family. Thanks for always having an email in my inbox ready for me every Monday! It's such a great feeling to have a family that loves me so much!

Ok, so to get some logistical things out of the way first and foremost. Mom, about transfers, they happen in two weeks from this Thursday. In other words, we find out not this Sunday, but the one after that, on September 1st.

As for things I need, I know there was something I wanted, but I can't remember what it was. I don't think it was food related either. Oh well. I'm sure I can live without it. Some more peanut butter would be nice though! I'm running low. 

Ok, now onto the week.

It's been a great week here in Bydgoszcz. Elder R and I had a great time traveling and teaching Zone Training. I feel that the missionaries for the most part were very receptive and ready to take what they had learned and apply it. I know that Elder R and I are trying our best to live what we teach. When at first the idea came across of changing our perspective and shooting for higher goals, I knew it was going to require more work from me than I had been putting forth. But, I figured that with a higher vision, it would be easy. I'm learning quickly that it's not. I'm striving to put forth more effort and become a better missionary. The natural man is assuredly not left at home when we come on a mission, but I'm trying to overcome him more each day.
Elder R and I have a main focus for the next little while. We're striving to really nail the daily schedule to the wall and be exactly obedient with it. We feel that as we do so, we will be able to improve our work and qualify for the blessings the Lord is willing to give us regarding this work. It's not going to be an easy task, but we're excited to get to work on it and do our best. In reading a talk by Elder Uctdorf this week, I learned that it's not always smart to speed up one's schedule and simply have more to do. Real strength does not come from pure busyness. Strength comes from a sure foundation. I've noticed that my contacting has become weaker than it was. I know I need to build up such a fundamental part in missionary work, and by doing so, everything else will improve. So, it's back to basics with a focus on the schedule and on effective contacting.
I've been learning a lot recently about the power of a single act of faith and of diligence. Elder R and I, in preparing for Zone Training, expounded on the pattern that Elder R talked about regarding President Hinckley's mission story. We discovered that it was an act of faith that always lead someone out of discouragement and despair. The bigger the act of faith, the more hope they received, and the higher vision. That's not to say that every act of faith will have such staggering results. We see with Nephi that it took 3 times before he obtained the plates of brass. Yet, that's how we break the cycle. We shared this with our zone, and we think it helped greatly. As to diligence, I've been realizing just how much I can really give in this work. I may not be a perfect missionary, and I know I can't be a perfect missionary all the time, but I'm focusing on improvement, on giving more, and doing all I can in a certain time period. I'm confident that by doing so, the Lord will help me improve and get better.
A great experience Elder R and I had this week happened last night during contacting. We had been struggling with our contacting, as I mentioned above. We hadn't given out a copy of The Book of Mormon during contacting in a long time until last night. The man we did give one to, was actually someone who had met the church a long time ago, but had somehow lost contact and his Book of Mormon. We gave him another one, quickly set up for a meeting this Tuesday, and got his address. Elder R and I were where we had planned to be, heading toward a destination, and contacting along the way, and we saw the blessings from being obedient.
Elder R and I continue to get along well. He's a great companion who knows how to love those around him. I'm learning lots from him, and I'm grateful we're able to work together.

K, our recent convert, gave a talk in church yesterday! We had no idea that she was giving it, so we didn't have a chance to help her prepare for it. She did a great job. She's continuing to do well.

Another cool thing that happened was that a random guy walked into church this week. We asked him some questions and found out that he was baptized by the original missionary couple here, the Fusseks! He had moved to Bydgoszcz some time back, and just showed up in church yesterday. We were very glad to have him with us. We got his phone number and we'll see what happens in the future with him. Hopefully we'll be able to re-activate him fully and see some good things from it.

Last night, we were out contacting, and we almost got trapped by a huge storm. It looked super menacing. We were scared, because we didn't have umbrellas, and neither of us wanted to get wet. Anyway, we ended up getting home about 9:02 and evading the storm by about 45 seconds. It was some seriously good timing. We were grateful the Lord kept us dry and warm.

It sounds like AFHS is doing well and that Heather is going to own the place this year! Tell Trev and Brendan Thacker to work hard and play well this year. I'm excited for them.

Oh, I just remembered what I wanted. Mom, it would be cool to see some blog updates from my friends again. I don't want you to stress about it, but if you remember, it would be nice.

In telling you a bit more about our schedule this week, Zone Conference is this Friday here in Bydgoszcz. We're excited. It sounds like there's going to be some great things taught and some important lessons to learn.

Go Momma Vernon! You're gonna be the best receptionist ever! I'm excited for you. Tell Grant that I miss him and hope he's doing well. You'll be working with Parker's dad too! I love the Farnsworth family. Keep up the great work as a gospel doctrine teacher and being the best mom in the world!

Dad. Good luck with work this week. Sounds like they're really keeping you busy. That's good though.

Hannah! Keep being the doober and have the best school year ever! It sounds like it will be lots of fun. It's ok that Tao is addicted to fancy feast. She's old and deserves some good food. I have a poem for you! I'm in poland and I'm fat. My little sister has a cat! I wear lots and lots of ties, and I send my family hi's!

Heath, go rock the world this year! You're gonna be great. Tell Griggs hello for me, as well as Ben. I miss those guys. They're the best. Tell Coach Atwood hi for me. You'll love his AP Euro class. It was one of my favorites. Have fun while you can! High school passes fast.

Emms! That Farnsworth family is awesome! Of course they have a girl your age. Hopefully you and her can become good friends. You'll be fine with the adjustment. Just be yourself and have a good time.

I love you all! The gospel is true! Time is short, cuz I need a haircut, but I'll talk to you all next week!

With lots of love,

Elder Vernon

I'm Glad I Made an Appearance at Bear Lake

Note from Mom: This is a cut out of Spencer that Emma made so that he would be with us in spirit at Bear Lake. We asked a random man to take a picture of us with the cut out and he asked us where our mission was serving. His eyes lit up when we told him Poland because he had served a mission to Poland in 1996, What are the chances of that?? Small world.       

Family!

So good to hear from all of you! I'm glad I made an appearance at Bear Lake. It's not every day that happens while I'm in Poland! What I want to know is where you guys got the picture? I don't remember that one at all. So cool that you met somebody who served in Poland too! Wow. Miracles are everywhere!

It's been a hectic week, so I don't have much to report on in terms of missionary work. I've also had some sort of weird body ache/flu that's made me sleep quite a bit, but I'm feeling much better now and it's all over with, I think. I'll give you a brief update about my week. Monday was P-day, which was fun and pretty relaxing. Tuesday, we had district meeting, then we had to prepare for Missionary Leadership Council by preparing a report on our zone--what's happened, what we're doing, etc. Wednesday we went into Warsaw super early in the morning for Mission Leadership Council, and didn't get back until late, so that was shot for missionary work. Thursday we spent some time reviewing our notes, preparing for Zone Training, and letting me try to sleep off whatever it was I had. Friday, we had to go out to Szczecin for a baptismal interview. We spent almost 10 hours on trains that day. It was a long ride. The interview went well. The investigator will get baptized next Saturday. Saturday we had a couple of meetings and I still felt a bit funky, so I slept some more. Then, Sunday, we had a great day of church and spent some more time preparing for Zone Training, which will be this week on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday will be here in Bydgoszcz, Wednesday will be in Poznań. I don't have any cool missionary stories this week, but next week will be better. We had a lot of stuff we had to take care of in terms of leadership.

A miracle that happened this week was actually last P-day. As I was dropping Elder D off at the train station, we ran into a guy who actually stopped us. He asked us if we were in a hurry, then told us that he had ordered a copy of The Book of Mormon 6 months ago, but never received it. He asked us for a copy, which I gladly gave him. We somehow forgot to get his number or address (possibly due to the fact that it was around 7:15 in the morning and neither of us were fully awake yet), but I have faith that that copy of The Book of Mormon is in good hands and will be put to use. He seemed honest, and willing to read.

I will spend some time talking about Mission Leadership Council. It was super good. An underlying theme was fathers and all they do for us. It's funny. Every time Elder R and I start talking about what we need to do in our zone, or begin to prepare something for a council or training, somehow it always turns back to what our dad would do or how our dad would treat a certain situation. We talked about that during the council, and it started a pattern for the whole day. Dads came up left and right, and the question was eventually asked, "What would you do for your dad?" Then, the follow-up question, "What would you do for a Heavenly Father, who's given you everything?" It was a powerful comparison. We also talked a lot about Christlike Attributes from PMG. We each had to teach about a segment and then role play helping a missionary in setting a goal for that specific attribute. It set the whole tone for the meeting in focusing on Christ and how to turn outside ourselves. The story about Gordon B. Hinckley on his mission was shared as well. The real focus was on us as leaders stepping up right now and turning outside ourselves. We're not on this mission for ourselves. It is completely for others. As leaders, we need to really take a step up and do our best for those around us, especially with the work speeding up right now. A big focus of the council in the second half was setting higher goals. We listed off some things that we feel were somewhat impossible to accomplish as missionaries, such as teaching 15 lessons a week, getting four baptisms in a transfer, achieving the standard of excellence, and then the mission goal of 72 baptisms for the year. We called it the "impossible list". We all turned around, the letters "IM" were erased, and we changed it to the possible list. We're trying to shift our mindset and expect greatness. As we do so, greatness will come.

I made an interesting connection during all of this. I thought about Joseph Smith. In his days, there were possibly some of the darkest and trying days for religion. He didn't know where to turn or what to do. That was when the first vision happened. Today, in our mission, we feel that there is a serious lack of hope. More so than there has been for a long time. Right now, then, is the opportune time for Christ to help us step up, change our expectations, and achieve greatness. The gospel is a message of hope. It's the greatest message there is out there.

Sorry this week's email is so short. I'm already running out of time. Elder R is already finished, and I don't want to keep him waiting too long. 

The new hymns in polish are exciting. We try to make it through without too much of a train wreck. We sang one yesterday that none of the missionaries even knew called "The Light Divine." That was interesting. 

I'm jealous that you guys spent some good time at Bear Lake, but don't worry, I'm not jealous enough that I'm not focusing on the work. Mom, thanks for the package! You're the best. We love the food and the shoes are the perfect size. Elder R says thanks (I have been sharing some of the treats with him). love you!

Hannah, Congrats on getting up on two skis! You're the best little doober in the world! I'm proud of you. Keep on being awesome. Love you!

Hannah getting up on skis for the first time!

Heath, enjoy your senior year. It passes way too fast. I hope your knee starts feeling better soon as well! I love you!

Emms, good luck with sports decisions! You'll be awesome no matter what you do. Love you! P.S. Never give up! Never surrender!

Dad, thanks for the talks. You're the best. I'm so grateful for all you do. Thanks for the update on the book too. I don't think I'll be able to read it out here, but I'm grateful for any hints you can give me. I love you.

Well family, remember, the gospel is true! It's the best message in the world. I'm happy to share it with all the people in Poland, even if they don't recognize its importance. Christ lives and loves us!

With Love,

Elder Vernon

6 Day Exchange

 

Family!

Hey guys! How's it going? It's been a good week here in Bydgoszcz, but a bit of a crazy one as well. We had a 6-day exchange this week. Yeah, I know that sounds a little nuts, but I'll explain. So, Monday night President Edgren called us. We had talked with him a little bit about doing an extended exchange with Gdańsk, but nothing too in depth. We got a call from him Monday right before P-day ended, and he told us it might be a good idea to go forth with it. He wanted us to take some time, plan out what we would do, and see what we thought about the whole ordeal. We did that night, and we got back to him right before planning. We decided the whole thing was a go. We called Gdańsk, got people on trains Tuesday afternoon, and just barely switched back companions this morning early. It all happened super fast, but we had some great plans and made it effective. It went reallly well. I stayed here in Bydgoszcz and Elder D came down and spent the week with me. He was the same missionary I had an exchange with the week before for a few days too. The reason why this all went down so fast is because we have mission leadership conference this week on Wednesday, which means we'll be in Warsaw, and we wanted to have this exchange done before that. We felt waiting any longer wouldn't be all that effective for what we wanted to do.
I've been focusing lately on a quote from President Faust's talk in the binder that Dad gave me entitled "These I Will Make My Leaders." It says that in order to be effective leaders--or as I think, in order to be effective in goal-setting--we need to know where we are, where we want to go, and how we're going to get there. That's what Elder D and I did, and it worked very well. When we sat down on Friday to weekly plan, we talked about everything. Elder D had already learned everything that I had planned for him to learn, so we were able to set some new plans, make some new goals, and make our time effective. I'll pull from my President's letter now. I think I covered most of everything else that happened with us in that.
A principle I learned this week is that of delegation. Helping missionaries and companions get involved makes them feel like they are a part of something bigger and have an important role to play. Leaving them with too little to do makes them feel unwanted and unnecessary, and nobody wants that. Another principle learned this week is a bit harder to describe in one word. As I lead this exchange with Elder D, I wanted him to learn by making mistakes, seeing where he could improve, and then helping him to change. I stopped preventing him from making mistakes, and rather chose to sit back, watch him work, and then after, discuss what had happened with him and see what we could do to fix it and improve upon it. I found this to be a much more effective way of teaching. I could point out what he was doing well, compliment him on it, and then help lift him to the next level. I believe that this is a much more effective style of leadership and teaching. It allows for other elders to use their agency, learn from experience, and forge their own path in becoming great missionaries. A quote that I heard fits this perfectly, "We learn a lot by stumbling a little here and there."
A spiritual experience that we saw this week was when we were searching out a referral. Jedynie mieliśmy adres tego pana, i spróbowaliśmy go odwiedzić już raz. Podczas gdy planowaliśmy na następny dzień, ja i Starszy Dodge czuliśmy że powinniśmy tego pana odwiedzić, ale już prawie skończyliśmy planowanie i mieliśmy inne plany. Pomodliliśmy się, i podjęliśmy decyzję tego pana odwiedzić w następnym dniu. Zmieniliśmy nasze plany. Gdy odwiedziliśmy go, on nie odebrał swojego domofonu. Pomodliliśmy się o pomoc od Pana Boga, i spróbowaliśmy jeszcze raz. On odebrał. Chociaż on miał gości, on dał nam swój numer telefonu, i mamy do niego zadzwonić dzisiaj.
(We only had this man's address, and we had already tried to visit him once. While we were planning, Elder D and I felt that we should visit him, but we had already almost finished planning and had other plans. We prayed, and we decided to visit this referral the next day. We changed our plans. When we visited him, he didn't answer the domofon. We prayed for help from the Lord, and we tried again. He answered. Although he had guests, he still gave us his phone number and we are going to call him today.)
The Lord answers prayers. We had another experience one night as we returned home. We were a few minutes early, and we decided to visit a potential investigator who lives just around the corner from us. As we did, he let us in and we talked for a minute. We didn't have time for a lesson, but we were able to set up for a lesson today and talk to him a little bit. When we strive to make the most of our time, the Lord blesses us immensely.
I feel my exchange with Elder D was effective. As we started the exchange, I was very honest and straight forward with him about the purpose of the exchange and what we wanted to accomplish while we were on it. We talked, set some goals, and laid a plan of how we were going to accomplish it, all based upon the leadership method I mentioned above--knowing where we are, where we want to go, and how we are going to get there. Elder D set his own goals for himself, was able to hold himself accountable, and learned everything I wanted him to learn. He is a fantastic missionary. I'm proud of the work he accomplished on our exchange. He learned a lot about being a leader, about how to be an example, and about how he can take that example and those lessons back with him to Gdańsk.
It was kind of weird being with a different companion for so long. When Elder R and I got back together today, it felt kind of like we were starting a new transfer. Yet at the same time, we felt like nothing had ever happened.
We also ran into a guy named S on the street this week. He is a dad and was with his family. They didn't have time to talk, but told us to drop by this Wednesday and talk. We were excited, until we realized later that we have mission leadership conference on Wednesday, and we're going to be in Warsaw, so that's a bit of a problem. We'll try to visit them on Tuesday instead and see what happens. We didn't get his number, so unfortunately we can't call him. Speaking of crazy schedules, there's a baptism out in Szczecin this week, and since he's being taught by the district leader (shout out for my trainer, Elder M), we need to go do the interview. Well, that's a LONG train ride that will take up a whole day just getting there and back. There's another day of work basically shot, and we haven't even figured out when we're going to do that yet. It's going to be a fun week. Nothing better than crazy schedules when doing the work of the Lord!
I'm super jealous that you guys were out at the cabin this weekend and will be at Bear Lake this week. I miss boating. I won't deny that. I'm grateful to be in Poland though. I'm just going to have to do some serious boating when I get home. Dad, don't worry. Next year we'll have man time so you don't lose your man card. I'll make sure of it. Thank you for the scripture. That helps greatly. It's exactly what I needed to hear right now. I love you and am grateful to call you Dad and for all you do for me. I hope to live up to the example you've set for me, and I'm grateful for a gospel that allows me to do so. It's so true. Good luck with all your traveling this week.
Mom, I'm laughing about James' role in Shrek. It's a perfect fit. None better. I'm glad you guys all made it home save and sound, hitting a deer is definitely a scary event. Thanks for the advice. I know I need it. I get a little too intense from time to time and too hard on myself. I just need to learn that life also needs to have a fun side, and not just work. I'm working on it. I love you and am so grateful that you're my mother. I couldn't ask for anyone better.
Hannah bear! You go get them with the skiis! You'll be able to get up, I know it! We gave away 10 copies of The Book of Mormon this week! A really good week. Have a great week. Search for bugs, under the rugs, around the school, but not in the pool! I just made that up off the top of my head. Love you!
Heath, keep it up with going to the temple each week. It makes all the difference. It's a special place. I miss it here in Poland. I wish I could go so bad. Have fun at Bear Lake and make sure that knee gets healthy. Remember, raspberry marshmallow is the best flavor of shake! Love you!
Emms, Have fun at Bear Lake! It will be a great week. I'm sure of that. Keep it up with all you have going on! We'll be sure to do some great boating when I get home. Love you!
Remember, the gospel is true! This is the Lord's work I am doing and i'm so grateful for a chance to be in Poland and spread the best message in the world!
Love,

Elder Vernon

I Love You Little, I Love You Lots, Remember to Wash....

Note from Mom: The first paragraph of Elder Vernon's letter will not make sense until you read the poem that Hannah wrote him last week:

I love you little, I love you lots, Always remember to wash your pits and your pots.

Hey hey hey family!

So, first off, Hannah. Yes, I have washed my pits. As for my pots... yes and no. We do have some dirty dishes, but we're working on that. Now, did you wash your pits and your pots? I'm glad you're enjoying swimming lessons. The garden sounds like it's great! Do some chicken airplane soldiers for me in swimming lessons this week, alright? I love you.

Dad, sounds like you had a busy day! I'm sure you did great speaking all 3 times. Your story about the 3-wheeler is powerful. I know that, at least from my view, you've been a strong missionary the rest of your life after that experience. I too have a testimony that the Lord is with us as we strive to do His will. I love you and am grateful for the many acts of service you have done, whether it be for me or for others. And yes, I did receive Corey's letter.

Heath! Make sure to keep that knee healthy! We don't want you having any more issues with it. I'm sure you're being safe though. I'm glad you're sending cookies to the missionaries. Nothing is better than homemade cookies in the MTC! Keep up going to the temple. It will bless you more than you know. I love you!

Emms! How's my favorite sister who's 14 years old? Good luck in choosing what to do! There will always be more activities than we will be able to do, so it is important to pick what we really want to do. I love you!

Mom! You're the best Mom in the whole wide world. Did you know that? I hope so. Thanks for being such an awesome mom and sending me packages! Anyway, love you lots too!

Ok, now should we get on to some stories?

My plans for achieving goals this week are focused on two things. First, Elder Rittmanic and I are trying to improve our attitudes about the work--specifically contacting. On long days, it can be hard to be upbeat and happy the whole day. We are trying to change that by making sure we keep the daily schedule exactly so we can have the Spirit with us and avoiding contacting sessions that are over two hours, with exception of the 6-9 prime time. As for me personally, I'm striving to really improve my effort on a daily basis. There will always be things I can do better, and always be things on which I can improve. My goal now is not to focus on those, but focus on what I do know how to do, focus on what I'm implementing into my work during that day, and exert all my effort into doing that. I give no excuse for poor performance or weak effort, I'm simply striving to accentuate the positive side. I believe Elder Quentin L. Cook said it best when he said, "We emphasize our faith, not our fears." That's what I'm striving to implement and what I'm striving to do. Dad, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is what you were getting at when you told me to serve with abandon. I see more wisdom in that statement every day. There is no better way to be a missionary or to live life.
A spiritual experience that I saw this week was last night. We were on our way home after a flaked lesson. As we were walking out the door of the chapel, I had a thought to try our investigator G one more time. His phone was not working, so I tried his roommate, whose number we also have. He said he didn't have any idea about why G's phone was not working, but that he would try to find out. As we were on our way home, we ran into G's roommate, who then invited us over to his apartment to see if G was there and if he would like to meet with us. As it turns out, G  was there. We had a good meeting centered on one of G's concerns regarding the church. We were very glad and lucky to have such a spur of the moment meeting with G and to help him resolve his concern.

Some other cool things that happened this week was I had an exchange with Elder Dodge. That was a fun time. We enjoyed ourselves, and didn't have anything too spectacular happen. We did, however, set some great goals and I'm excited to implement them in my work. At the end of our exchange, we arrived about an hour early to the train station, so we set out to go contacting. As we did, we ran into B, who was willing to talk with us, wanted to meet the next day, and exchanged numbers with us. Extra effort always pays off in this work. B, unfortunately, didn't show up to the meeting, but we do have his number and hope to be in touch with him. 

Dad, to answer some of your questions. I have not yet seen The Work of Salvation, and I would love for you to send me a copy. We are encouraged to watch it, but we don't have any means to do so here in Bydgoszcz. We have personal DVD players for each companionship in our apartment though, and I believe we can watch it there. Also, about President and Sister Edgren. They are quite different from President and Sister Nielson, but still powerful leaders. Rumor has it that Sister Edgren is a spectacular cook. President Edgren is prepared in everything he does. He's a great leader, a very loving man, and a very kind and gentle man as well. He makes sure to give you his attention when he sees you, and he's very in tune with the Spirit. In our mission, the goal with Zone Leaders is for us to have the best areas in the mission. The assistants take care of most of the administrative work, along with President, and they try to give us as much time as possible to work in our area, become effective missionaries, and do the best we can. We go on 2-3 exchanges a transfer, so not many, and have a monthly meeting in Warsaw with the other zone leaders, sister training leaders, assistants, and President Edgren and Sister Edgren. It's a fun calling, but also very busy. I enjoy it though, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Another cool story. On Monday, I went and dropped Elder Rittmanic off at the train station to go to Gdańsk. As I did so, we noticed two german men in line trying to buy tickets. They were speaking broken english, as was the lady at the register, so I hesitantly went up and asked if I could translate. They readily agreed. It wasn't anything big, but we had to figure out a few trains to Berlin, how to transport bikes, and when they wanted to go--a process that could have taken an hour in broken english. Even in small, simple ways in the middle of a p-day, the Lord places us in situations where we can help others and serve Him.

I've been thinking a lot about what President Nielson and Sister Nielson told us as they left. There is a quote, and I firmly believe it, that the character and attitude we have at the end of our missions toward the gospel will be very hard to change. That being said, I want to go home with the best one I can.

There's so much more I'd love to say, and more stories I could tell, but I'm running out of time. I want all of you to know that I have a testimony of this gospel, and of Jesus Christ. He lives! There is no greater news than that. Because He lives, we will also. God loves us all so much. He knows us, and wants us to succeed. He did not send us here to fail, but to succeed, and to do so gloriously. We will do so as we follow the gospel. The Book of Mormon is true. Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ, and was a prophet of God. Thomas Monson is our prophet today. The church was restored, and its doctrine is pure.

I love you all. Make it the best week ever! Thank you for all of your prayers and your love. Know also that it is reciprocated.

A very hot, sweaty, but happy missionary who is doing his best to get used to humidity,

Elder Vernon

Note from Mom: I send Elder Vernon a weather report each week and this week looks like
 it will be a little cooler than last week. Hopefully that will help a little with the humidity.

Another Full Week of Missionary Work!

Elders Rittmanic, Raines, Zelezniak, and Vernon

Getting ready for the day!

Hey hey family!

Wow, where does the time go? It literally flies by out here. It doesn't seem like it should be Monday already, but it is. It's been another full week of missionary work with ups, downs, and all arounds, but we're loving it. Anyway, I'll see if I can get some logistics out of the way, like usual, and then we'll start into the stories.

Mom, I'm not necessarily in dire need of garments, but if you could be so kind, I would greatly appreciate two new pairs.  Apart from that, I'm doing well with everything else that I have. I bought a pair of european shoes today for $17! They're not the greatest quality, but I figured it might be fun to have a pair for zone conferences and stuff while I'm on my mission, and $17 was a steal.

I think that's about it from my side on things that I need and what not, so let's get into some stories!

My plans to achieve goals this week are to strive to eliminate wasted time. Elder Rittmanic and I sat down and had a spiritual moment in determining what we are doing, where we want to go, and how we need to get there. I felt like this was a big step forward in our leadership in this zone. In studying leadership this week, I came across a talk by James E. Faust that talked about leadership. He specifically stated in it that a good leader needs this type of vision and must act according to it. We looked back at what we taught during zone training, and realized that a lot of the advice we gave and hints we suggested we had yet to put into our work. We then set plans on how to fix it. We've determined that we're going to count up our wasted time throughout the day, then add it up and subtract that on how many hours we could have spent working. We're not trying to focus on negatives with this, so we want to take the hours that we spent engaged in the Lord's service for that day, and then see if we can't improve it by a few minutes the next day. We've passed such a plan to the rest of the Elders in our zone as well, and it should be talked about this week in District Meeting. We hope this will improve our effectiveness as missionaries. We're not just striving to avoid wasting time either, but we know that by doing so, we can be more effective tools in the Lord's hands and achieve our mission goal of 72 baptisms.
A spiritual experience I had this week was with a man named J. Jego spotkaliśmy przed kaplicą i porozmawialiśmy z nim na temat ewangelii. Na początku, on był taki agresywny i zły, ale gdy on się dowiedział że nie jesteśmy świadkami Jehowy, on uspokoił się w miarę i zaczął nas słuchać. Podczas gdy porozmawialiśmy, on został coraz bardziej zainteresowany i miły. W końcu, my jemu daliśmy Księgę Mormona i umówiliśmy z nim na spotkanie. Niestety, kiedy byliśmy w kaplicy w sobotę na to spotkanie, nie było go. Jednak dzięki temu doświadczeniu przypomniało mi że Duch Święty jest mocny i On zmiękcza swoim wpływem serca tych, którzy są chętni go słuchać. Będziemy udani w tej pracy tylko wówczas, gdy nauczamy mocą Ducha Świętego.
(We met him in front of the chapel and we talked with him about the gospel. In the beginning, he was a bit aggressive and mean, but when he found out that we weren't Jehovah's Witnesses, he settled down a bit and started to listen to us. While we talked, he became more and more interested and relaxed. In the end, we gave him a copy of The Book of Mormon and we set up a meeting with him. Unfortunately, he didn't come to the meeting. Thanks to this experience, however, I was reminded that the Holy Ghost is powerful on that his influence softens the hearts of those willing to listen to him. We will be successful in this work only when we teach by the power of the Holy Ghost.)
A principle I have been learning this week is about spiritual power. I was thinking about it after our experience with J and Dad's definition of it, which I think was spot on. I came to the realization that I wasn't quite sure how powerful I was in my teaching or in my missionary work in general. After a long thought about it, I determined that I wasn't doing as well as I could or should. Studying this morning, however, showed me otherwise. I found that I had been looking beyond the mark for spiritual power in this work. In chapter 1 of Preach My Gospel, we are told different ways that spiritual power will be manifest in our work. These are in some of the simplest ways, and yet some of the most powerful. Little things, like being led where to go, participating in ordinances of salvation, and even having a testimony confirmed by the power of the Spirit are all indicators that we have power in our work as missionaries. These are things that my companion and I can see around us if we take a step back and see the bigger picture. I hope to take this reminder farther as I start to study listening to the Spirit more in depth. I think the Spirit's influence is more present in my life than I have ever taken time to notice. I feel I miss some of His more subtle promptings because I am looking beyond the mark and expecting the fantastic, rather than a constant stream of small and simple things. I feel like all the time in my studying, I begin to learn a lot about a subject, feel like I've got it down well, turn away from it for a while, and then the Lord shows me that I've nowhere near mastered all I can about it. I figure that's probably the way it will be for the rest of my life though with the gospel. As Poles often say, "The farther into the woods, the more trees." 

Dad, To answer your question, I was referring to the 80/20 rule that you often apply in conversations with people. The goal is to have them talk 80% about themself, and only talk 20% about yourself. Elder Rittmanic is ridiculously good at it. I'll try to talk to him about something in his life, and then find that he's turned it back on me and I'm talking about something from my life, all without me noticing it.

In other news, the new baby that was born into the branch on July 9th was blessed yesterday in church. While Prezydent Zalewski was heading down to do the blessing, he invited me into the circle. Don't worry, I didn't misread a head nod. I was at the piano, the only one in that direction, and he invited me. I was totally taken aback. I'd never participated in a baby blessing before, so that was a new experience! It was great though, and a special privilege. I feel that I've really started to build a great relationship with President Zalewski. He is a great man.

Lastly, if you would, Elder Rittmanic and I have been talking about ways to improve our contacting lately. We had a thought about it, and we were wondering, what would stop all of you if you ran into missionaries on the street? What could they say that would catch your attention? What part of the gospel would appeal to you? Especially if that missionary was from a foreign country. How could he catch your attention? Any thoughts you have would be appreciated.

Time runs short. We've got an exchange today that we need to get ready for. Elder Rittmanic is going up to Gdansk, and I am staying here. I'll be with Elder Dodge from good old Highland Utah, and Elder Rittmanic will be with Elder Skolimowski. It should be fun. Elder Dodge was in Bydgoszcz his first two transfers, so he knows the city well. It should be fun! I'll let you know how it goes next week!

Hannah Bear, we placed 7 copies of The Book of Mormon this week! I'll be sure to watch the moon. I love full moons. Love you.

Dad, You'll do great in your talk next Sunday. I can't wait to hear about it. I love your insights to the gospel. Truly, without opening our mouths, nothing can happen. Keep me updated about your study with Preach My Gospel too! I'd love to hear about what you're learning that can help me. Love you.

Grandma, you're the best! I love you and pray for you too.

Emms! Rock bear lake, alright? I'm glad you had a great time at Girl's Camp. Keep on being awesome, and I definitely think you ride your road bike with mom and dad in the ULCER. Love you.

Heath, you are old! Haha, but really. Soon you'll be thinking about college. Yuck. Tell Parks good luck for me and wish him the best. He'll do great. I think about you guys all the time too! Love you.

Mom! You're the best mom in the whole world! When you taught your lesson on missionary work you didn't cry? No way. I don't believe it. Thanks for sharing some of the missionary stories with me. I can't imagine being so alone on a mission. It would be a real trial of faith. Aren't we so lucky to be assisting in the work at this time and in this way? It's the best! Hey, if you would be so kind, could you get me Parker Farnsworth's email? I'd love to find out how he's doing at home. I love you! You're the best.

Well family, the gospel is true! God lives and loves us all! I love you guys too!

Elder Vernon