Hey everyone, Sister Lerch and I are doing great here in Warsaw II! We went out to go see Krystyna who live quite a ways out of Warsaw, and it was an adventure just trying to get there! We ended up having to take a train and then a little white bus, and then we missed the stop we needed to get off at, and the whole time we were on the last leg of our journey, I was talking to Krystyna and she said to get off immediately and that it would then take us half an hour to get to her. As we walked on the bike path, we heard a crying baby which we then figured was a signal from a baby monitor, but despite all that, we got to Krystyna's and she had some delicious Ukrainian borscht waiting for us along with blini (naleszniki). During the lesson, Krystyna showed us pictures from her baptism along with the Sisters who taught her. We read "The Hope of God's Light" from President Uchtdorf with her, she really loves this talk! One of my favourite parts is:
"Isn't it wonderful to know that we don't have to be perfect to experience the blessings and gifts of our Heavenly Father? We don't have to wait to cross the finish line to receive God's blessings. In fact, the heavens begin to part and the blessings of heaven begin to distill upon us with the very first steps we take toward the light.
The perfect place to begin is exactly where you are right now. It doesn't matter how unqualified you may think you are or how far behind others you may feel. The very moment you begin to seek your Heavenly Father, in that moment, the hope of His light will begin to awaken, enliven, and ennoble your soul.5 The darkness may not dissipate all at once, but as surely as night always gives way to dawn, the light will come."
This is very special to me because lately, I've felt like I wasn't doing enough as a missionary, or that the work we were doing was ineffective. But you know what? It's been said that G-d calls whom He qualifies. To me, that means that any step we take to strengthen the branch or ward where we serve is considered missionary work, even if it is different. We've had so much success teaching less-actives! I just can't help but feel like the people really ready to hear the Gospel are right in front of us, even listed in the ward directory sometimes. I ask myself, " Why would G-d send us a bunch of people to teach tracting when we haven't even been taking care of the ones we already have?"
It was seriously miracle after miracle this week and it made me realise once again, that this is G-d's work, and when we are doing what we can, then we really don't need to be afraid because G-d's work will go forward in His own time. At first it was scary; just because you have to sort of step out of the old ways and into the new. My whole mission, I thought tracting all day and finding through that made us in a way more successful. But something the Spirit has really taught me is that to word smart, we need to step out of our box and do it. So, we are doing that and honestly, I know this is what's right, because the Spirit is so strong in our less-active lessons. I am so excited to really get my elbows in the dirt here and work, work, work! This is such an amazing area, with some of the best members I have met in my life. I love Warsaw!
Thanks so much once again for all of your support! I love you!!
Siostra Herrera
