July 1st - Happy Canada Day!

Ześć!!! I survived the week!! It was so much fun!! It was cray but I loved every minute of it! HAPPY CANADA DAY!!

Last night after nightly planning Sister Petherbridge was saying the prayer and she’s so funny. Her polish is brand new so she’s trying to say lots and sometimes it doesn’t work out. (It wasn’t long ago that I did the same thing..still do) she said something and I lost it, just burst out laughing right in the middle of her prayer. I could not keep it together I laughed and laughed. I got myself together and she started again and then I cracked up all over again! It’s a problem I clearly got from the both of you! The Elders Quorum President here called me Siostra śmieszka which means smile/ giggly or one who laughs a lot. It was one of the nicest compliments I have ever received. Being happy is the best thing in the world!

This week we finally got our conference additions of the ensign. I read one a day. It is the most amazing thing ever!! This morning I read Beautiful Morning by one of the 70 and it blew my mind again!! I remember hearing the talk in the MTC and loving it. The talk reminds me of how I want to be! I have a tiny reputation for being happy and it brings me such joy! I want to be happy for the rest of my life and he said in his talk that he had a roommate who was always a beam of happiness and it was because he had an understanding of Jesus Christ and his atonement. I know that being on my mission is going to help me become exactly who I want to be because the closer I am to the Savior the happier I will be and the longer I am on my mission the closer to him I become! So it is a new goal of mine to be happy zawsze!! If I am remembered for anything, I would be thrilled for it to be that.

This week was a roller coaster of emotions! First of all you know how close I get to people in a short amount of time and its only amplified on my mission. I had to say goodbye to two of the elders serving in my district and that was hard. We had so much fun this transfer. I truly consider them friends but I know that they will do such great things! I think the mission will help with goodbyes. Transfers will probably get easier. I just have to think of it as an opportunity to meet even more awesome people! The branch threw a little pizza goodbye party and that was fun.

On Thursday we went to the train station to get our new companion!! Her name is sister Petherbridge! She’s hilarious. She is 5'10 and towers over Sister Packard and Its really fun! Now that we are three of us something happened. I just had to step it up! I had to be a good example for her. It was like the Lord gave me a bunch of new confidence and I just started talking to everyone by myself!! My language is improving!! I can understand so much more now and I am so excited to learn even more!! By the time I call at Christmas I will have learned so much more! Its a great feeling!!

All 3 of our names end with a P. Sister Packard, Sister Pearson and Sister Petherbridge.. the 3 pea's in a pod! It gets confusing but the members will love it! I have such a love for my branch!! They are all so wonderful. Its so fun to help them and watch them all grow! There is a man here named Rafał and he has been bringing his "friend" Ewa to church and to activities. We think they are secretly in love but he wants to get married in the temple so we need to teach her so they can get married!! But she’s not really interested yet. We have been taking things very slow, lots of fellowshipping and last week she had a big job interview and she asked us to pray for her!! So we did!! All day long and on Sunday she came to church and she told us SHE GOT THE JOB!! She told us she knew that it was because we were praying for her and she said she prayed too for the first time in a reeeaally long time! I was able to just testify and share with her that prayer really does work and she can have so much more happiness in her life and get help and answers and that God ALWAYS listens to our prayers!! It was so amazing!!

On Saturday we are going to KRAKÓW!! and she is coming!! Tha’s the city I went to with Kiko when I traveled here from Ukraine! Its beautiful! I can’t wait! We are hoping to teach her there! We are having a BBQ with the branch in Kraków!

We also taught Sylwia this week! We watched President Monson’s talk on obedience and it was so good! Kamil, her boyfriend, has started the non smoking program with the Elders so hopefully he gains a desire to hear about the gospel and they can progress together!! He see's how happy this gospel makes Sylwia. I really hope he will want to have that happiness too!

We also taught Virginia! We went to her house and watched the restoration! She liked it! She said we can teach her about the plan of salvation next time! She loves and misses her husband so much! I know it’ll bring her peace and happiness so I am so excited!! She is having us over for the 4th of July (she loves America)

Ola is doing great too! She is coming to FHE (family home evening) tonight. She wants to come to church so bad!! We are praying there is a change in her work so that she will be able to come so please pray for her too! I appreciate your prayers truly!!

This is such an amazing work! I am so glad I am here being a part of it!! It definitely has its challenges but it is AMAZING!! I am so happy and words just can’t describe my happiness!!! Awe, you got to talk about me to the ward! That’s nice! You were probably way too kind but its so encouraging to know that I have so much love and support from home :)

   

This church is true!! I have never been so sure in my life and I am sooo happy I get to share it with the people here in Poland!

Love you,

Sister Hailey Pearson

Sister Petherbridge, our new companion. This picture is when she arrived at the mission home and was given the assignment to serve with Sister Packard and I.

June 24th - Transfers and now we are 3

DZIEN DOBRY!

This week was so full! Last P-day we went to the zoo with the Elders. We took a billion pictures of animals and none of us at the zoo.. My bad so no pictures. Here in Poland we are having a heat wave! You know me in the heat I die!!! I am ok! Temperature was 35 degrees PLUS humidity!!!! It was like when we were in Florida! The heat is a nice thing but missionary work in the heat is not! It was so gross we would walk outside and just be sweating automatically all the time! We have to shower every morning and night. Looking good didn’t really work out. At least everyone else was all sweaty too! Another problem we faced was that here in Poland, lots don’t use deodorant.. On a normal day that’s bad. You can imagine what it was like all week!!!! Sooo gross!!

I am so glad that you guys are ok! Elder Reed, the senior missionary, calls me up on Saturday morning and tells me if I heard about Calgary.. OBVIOUSLY NOT! So he got me all freaked out and then a member showed me some pictures and gave me updates. I prayed lot and knew that you all and our house would be ok! My Elders are so kind, they called the AP's (Assistant to the President) who talked to president about it to make sure that you were all ok because they didn’t want me to worry! They even sang me the song don’t worry be happy. It was just great :) I wasn’t worried though. I know our area and I didn’t hear anything about it so I knew you would be safe. I cannot believe that happened though! How crazy!!!! Downtown looks so crazy! Nothing like that has ever happened before that I’ve been apart of! So I am relieved to hear that you are all good and well! I hope they can clean it all up and make it nice again!

On Tuesday, Sister Packard and I had a meeting with George, the guy from Kenya. We taught him the first lesson IN ENGLISH it was beautiful. Sister Packard let me teach most of it!! It was the best lesson I have had on my whole mission!!! It was amazing! HE IS SO PREPARED!!! He loves his family so much! He is sort of part of a protestant break off in Africa and tried being Catholic for awhile but he said none of it really felt right. He was very interested to hear about our church because it might be what he's looking for. So we taught him all about the restoration of the gospel through Joseph Smith and the spirit was so strong! He is just so prepared it is giving me chills just telling you about it! We taught him about the book of Mormon and he is reading it and he is buying a suit so he can come to church!! George said the closing prayer and he prayed for us by name and for our families and thanked God for allowing us to meet him. It was the most beautiful prayer ever! I cannot wait to see his progression! Unfortunately we have to pass him off to the Elders to teach since he's a single man but I KNOW he is going to be baptized one day! I can just feel it!

Wednesday we had zone conference!! My very first one! I got to see Elder Blom! and Sister Blake! and Sister Young!! All from my district in the MTC!! It was like a mini family reunion!! They are all doing great. It was so nice to see them and to see that they are all still in my zone. We are all still a little family! I love them all so much! I got to meet all the people in my zone and that was cool too! It was AMAZING!  As a missionary, you go from the MTC where your just on this spiritual high being taught all the time and always feeling the spirit to coming here in Poland without the friends you made and without the teachers. We are the teachers. The AP's spoke about companionship and Elder Dopp and Nuener (in my district) are the zone leaders. They talked about getting our investigators into the baptismal waters and not just to the edge. President and Sister Neilson gave beautiful talks! They are so great! They spoke about how they don’t want us to be just good missionaries, they want to help us be good members of the church for the rest of our lives. They talked a lot about us in the future. It really made me think about some things. So it was really good! Look at the blog because I will be on there! There will be pictures too. They cut one of each of the elders ties and something from the sisters from every missionary they had as mission presidents and they are going to make a quilt! How cute! (pictures are below) and in return they gave each elder a tie that president designed and its for the temple! its so beautiful and it had our mission on the back and they can wear it when they are married! They gave the sisters each a handkerchief! I can use it when I go to the temple and am married too!! Zone conference was the best!!!! That night we had a fireside (evening meeting) President and Sister Neilson spoke. Sister Packard and I had 5 of our investigators there!!!! it was AMAZING!!

Picture of our Zone

Picture of My District

The Katowice District: Elders Dopp and Neuner (Zone Leaders) with Elder Rittmanic (District Leader); Sisters Packard and Pearson.  Sitting: Elder and Sister Reed.

 Saturday we had a ping pong tournament. Super fun! Sylwia and her boyfriend Kamil came and some of our other investigators. It was a great turn out! I had a lot of fun. Activities are like my favorite! Activities are great for our investigators and members. You know how much I like to talk and mingle! (not sure who I got that from) so they are also fun for me!! It was so fantastic!!

And now... the news you've been waiting for! Last night we had TRANSFER CALLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was so nervous!!! so here’s the verdict...... Sister Packard is staying here in Katowice and.... I am staying here in Katowice!!!

AND WE ARE TRAINING A NEW SISTER!!!! well Sister Packard is and I will just be helping a lot! We are both very excited and really nervous but it will be great I know it! I really wanted to stay here in Katowice so I’m happy!

This morning we had to arrange like our whole house because its not made for three people.. I will be sleeping on the floor for the next 9 weeks but it will be a great opportunity!!!! (assisting in training) plus its what the Lord wants. It will help prepare me to train on my own. I think it will be good for our new companion too to have me be there and help since were close to the same place in our mission (newbies)!! so YAY!!! IM STAYING IN KATO!! I am very excited!

Last night I cut Sister Packard’s hair! I’ve never cut girl hair before but I cut dog hair and boys hair so she said it was good enough for her!! hahaha it was a blast! It was just a trim. Turned out really nice I was very proud of myself! I hope Amber is proud of me! :)

That about covers it for this week! We will be getting our new companion in a couple days! I am very excited, it’s like a whole new adventure! Pray for us... I love you all sooooo much!!!

Love, Siostra Hailey Pearson :)

 

Sister Packard & Me

Friendship Roses!

The gift we made to hand out to the Relief Society Sisters

A refreshing drink!

Cutting Sister Packard's hair

Viola!

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