Dear Missionary Parents,
A very Merry Christmas to all of you from Poland! We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the gift of your beautiful and faithful sons and daughters. We love them so very much and appreciate their love of our Savior and their desire to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the wonderful people here in Poland.
Thank you for the encouragement and support which you give them. We know that their greatest desire besides preaching the Gospel here, is that their families will be blessed as a result of their service.
Please find the attached pdf file ‘Poland Warsaw Mission Miracles and Tender Mercies 2013’, a collection of special moments from our missionaries.
Love,
President & Sister Edgren
Siostra Young
When I first arrived in Kraków, my very f irst little baby trainee transfer, Sister Allen and I inherited an investigator named Anna. We met with her a few times, and she was INCREDIBLE. So sweet, so interested, SO COOL. I absolutely loved her. She was my first investigator, I think my first lesson in Poland - she was amazing. I remember our first meeting with her, she told us that she had been praying that they would send sister missionaries to Kraków. And then we got there a couple of weeks later! I mean, come on. She prayed us to Kraków. If that's not incredible, I don't know what is.
And then, one day, she flaked a lesson. And then, one day, she stopped answering phone calls. We tried visiting her, and she wasn't there. She fell off the face of the earth (like so many promising investigators do). I was devastated. Really though. I was SO sad. I think Sister Allen was like , "You know, little baby trainee, this sort of thing happens. You've just gotta move on. " Or something to that effect. But I was really sad. I didn't understand how it happened, that someone with SO much potential just dropped off the planet. I insisted that we call her occasionally, and that we go and try visiting her and leave notes. I was probably pretty annoying about it, actually. I distinctly remember praying for her, weeks after it happened that she would find her way back to the Gospel someday, and that she would be happy wherever she was.
Fast forward to the end of my second transfer. I was still with Sister Allen, and Sister Hemming had joined us. We had just gotten home from Zone Conference, put our stuff in the chapel, and decided we needed some dinner. We walked out the back of the building where our chapel is , on our way to the little grocery store, and as we were walking, I saw someone from behind who looked familiar. She looked like Anna, actually. I was blown away. I was like, "Sister Allen - Sister Allen! Look! It looks like Anna!" So we walked a little farther, to where I could see her from the front, and it was her! It was ANNA! Sister Allen and I were like , "Anna! " Sister Hemming was a little confused, but it was okay. I was SO EXCITED to see her! And she was like , "You guys! " And she hugged us, and I was so happy I wanted to cry, and she explained that she'd moved home for the summer and she'd accidentally broken her phone so she had to get a new number, so she didn't have our number anymore and she didn't even think to get the number off the ulotka she had, but she still read out of her Księga every day and she wanted to meet. What?! I know - I know. ABSOLUTELY crazy!
So we met with her the next day, and then again two days later, and then again a few days after that. We gave her a baptisma l date, and she was excited, but she wasn't sure yet. The day before I left Kraków, Sister Hemming and I met with her, and we just talked to her about the church, about baptism, and shared our testimonies with her. At the end, she told us that before she wasn't sure, but she was positive now. She was going to get baptized. She was REALLY sad we were leaving (basically the three of us cried the entire meeting), but she was solid in the Gospel.
A month after I got transferred, Anna got baptized. I know that God answers prayers. He answered Anna's prayers, and He answered mine. And sometimes, we don't get to really see the fruits of our labors. I was blessed - SO blessed - to see the return of Anna, but there were many missionaries who had worked with her before we did, that never got to know what happened - didn't get to see the strong member she has become.
And I didn't get to be at her baptism, and for a while, that was really hard for me. I was almost angry that I had come so far with her, and then I was going to miss the end. But as I thought about it more, I realized several things. First off, it's not the end. Baptism is the very beginning. Secondly, it's not about me. It's not about me finding her or meeting with her or being at her baptism - it's about her journey to the Savior , and to be even the SMALLEST part of someone else's experience in coming closer to Him, and is an INCREDIBLE blessing. I am so grateful to know Anna, and for the part that she has played in my testimony. God still works miracles, and I know that now. Anna is a miracle.
And then, one day, she flaked a lesson. And then, one day, she stopped answering phone calls. We tried visiting her, and she wasn't there. She fell off the face of the earth (like so many promising investigators do). I was devastated. Really though. I was SO sad. I think Sister Allen was like , "You know, little baby trainee, this sort of thing happens. You've just gotta move on. " Or something to that effect. But I was really sad. I didn't understand how it happened, that someone with SO much potential just dropped off the planet. I insisted that we call her occasionally, and that we go and try visiting her and leave notes. I was probably pretty annoying about it, actually. I distinctly remember praying for her, weeks after it happened that she would find her way back to the Gospel someday, and that she would be happy wherever she was.
Fast forward to the end of my second transfer. I was still with Sister Allen, and Sister Hemming had joined us. We had just gotten home from Zone Conference, put our stuff in the chapel, and decided we needed some dinner. We walked out the back of the building where our chapel is , on our way to the little grocery store, and as we were walking, I saw someone from behind who looked familiar. She looked like Anna, actually. I was blown away. I was like, "Sister Allen - Sister Allen! Look! It looks like Anna!" So we walked a little farther, to where I could see her from the front, and it was her! It was ANNA! Sister Allen and I were like , "Anna! " Sister Hemming was a little confused, but it was okay. I was SO EXCITED to see her! And she was like , "You guys! " And she hugged us, and I was so happy I wanted to cry, and she explained that she'd moved home for the summer and she'd accidentally broken her phone so she had to get a new number, so she didn't have our number anymore and she didn't even think to get the number off the ulotka she had, but she still read out of her Księga every day and she wanted to meet. What?! I know - I know. ABSOLUTELY crazy!
So we met with her the next day, and then again two days later, and then again a few days after that. We gave her a baptisma l date, and she was excited, but she wasn't sure yet. The day before I left Kraków, Sister Hemming and I met with her, and we just talked to her about the church, about baptism, and shared our testimonies with her. At the end, she told us that before she wasn't sure, but she was positive now. She was going to get baptized. She was REALLY sad we were leaving (basically the three of us cried the entire meeting), but she was solid in the Gospel.
A month after I got transferred, Anna got baptized. I know that God answers prayers. He answered Anna's prayers, and He answered mine. And sometimes, we don't get to really see the fruits of our labors. I was blessed - SO blessed - to see the return of Anna, but there were many missionaries who had worked with her before we did, that never got to know what happened - didn't get to see the strong member she has become.
And I didn't get to be at her baptism, and for a while, that was really hard for me. I was almost angry that I had come so far with her, and then I was going to miss the end. But as I thought about it more, I realized several things. First off, it's not the end. Baptism is the very beginning. Secondly, it's not about me. It's not about me finding her or meeting with her or being at her baptism - it's about her journey to the Savior , and to be even the SMALLEST part of someone else's experience in coming closer to Him, and is an INCREDIBLE blessing. I am so grateful to know Anna, and for the part that she has played in my testimony. God still works miracles, and I know that now. Anna is a miracle.
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