Week 2 in Poland - Warsaw

Our first Sunday we had the Office Missionaries come to our home after Church and get our printer and DVD machines working - dinner included:

Starszy Dodge i Starszy Baranowski

Monday evenings we attend a Single Adult Family Home Evening meeting at the Warszawa 2nd Branch kaplica (chapel)

 

Entrance to the Warszawa 2nd Branch Church on ul.Wiktorska - main floor of a larger building

The sign above the hedge reads: Kościół Jezusa Chrystusa Świętych W Dniach Ostatnich

Starszy R.is really enjoying his missionary work...

Starszy Roulstone, Marcin & Slavek

Warszawa 1st Branch meets at the only chapel in all of Poland (all the rest are leased buildings). It is set next to a beautiful park and cemetery.

The siostry (sisters) of both branches met together at the Wolska Klapica to celebrate the Anniversary of the Relief Society...

 

Beautifully decorated cake - Siostra Edgren (mission prez. wife) i Siostra Durrant (office senior missonary)

 

Siostra Jarosh (1st Branch president's wife - sitting on left) 

& Siostra Neto (2nd Branch president's wife - standing on left)

Monika - 2nd Branch Relief Society President - with handcrafted bunnies

 

Siostry Durrant, Edgren and I with our bunnies made from rolled up wash cloths

I already love these sisters so much!

The Wolska Klapica is set right next to a beautiful memorial park and cemetery. Flowers are sold at little stands outside the cemetery wall. The Poles love their flowers; there are little flower stands and florist shops on almost every corner!

 

Colourful flower, wreath & lamp stands along cemetery wall

 

Florist shop at end of an apartment block & the florist and news stand across from our building.

Graffiti is everywhere but this is a nice twist on the usual

- seen on the wall between our local florist & news stand -

'Kocham Cie' = I love you

The members of the Church we have met so far here in Warsaw have truly touched my mind, heart and soul as they've shared their struggles and testimonies. They think deeply about the gospel, the covenants they have made to live the gospel and how to do this in their lives. When they speak it is with the power of the Holy Spirit. It never fails, but at every meeting I attend with these faithful saints I am spiritually nourished, uplifted and inspired. In such a short time I have grown to love them as I love my own family. What an amazing feeling! If it is this good at being in Poland for only two weeks imagine what it will be like in 18 months! Miracles are happening here and I am so grateful to be a witness of this. The Lord loves us and His work is going forward, is my testimony.

Kocham Cię!

Coming soon, a look around our neighbourhood and a visit to the Warszawa old town Rynek (market).

First Day in Warsaw

We left the Missionary Training Center in Provo at 5:30 a.m., flew from Salt Lake City to Minneapolis that morning and left Minneapolis early that afternoon flying over the Atlantic all night. We arrived in Amsterdam the next morning and flew from there to Poland. We landed in Poland shortly after noon. The entire trip took us about 23 hours.

Prezydent Edgren met us at the airport and took us to the Mission Home where Siostra (shostra) Edgren had homemade soup and bread waiting for us. After lunch we looked pretty good standing on the front steps of the mission home in spite of the long trip...

 

Starszy i Siostra Roulstone (Starsheh ee Shostrah Roulstone) in Warszawa (Varshava), Poland.

Front steps of Mission Home and in front of map of Poland in Mission Office

We slept all afternoon at the mission home and then went out for a traditional Polish dinner near the Palace...

Starszy i Siostra Roulstone z Prezydent i Siostra Edgren

The next day we had to get new visa photos so we headed over to the foto shop at the mall. Look Ma, the escalators have no stairs...

While waiting for the photos to be printed we made our first visit to a Polish grocery store. I asked the customer service clerk if she spoke English - Nie. I lifted my leg and pulled on my hose and said, 'pantyhose'. She led me to the aisle and left me to figure out what style and size I needed, in Polish. I paid 5,99 złoty (zwoti) - about 2 dollars Canadian to find out I need a size 3 not a size 2.

Back at the mission home we are given a shiny, new, blue opal - a gem of a car!

Driving in the Warszawa traffic is, well...fast or get the heck out of the way! It's getting better, I think. Starszy Roulstone has become my knight in shiny blue armour because I have not been brave enough to drive on the streets yet. I just hold the GPS - tight. Levi and Josh would fit right in here! 

We followed another senior missionary couple over to our apartment building: I felt like crying with relief and joy when we entered. The sun is shining and warm and the apartment is soooo nice! Enter...

  

front entrance - closets and office to the left - note the high ceilings

  

kitchen & living room ahead & to the right - appliances are all built into the cupboards - very sleek

 

bedroom to the right of the front entrance - fantastic view, especially of the night lights

 

bathroom is all marble - washing machine is in the cabinet - no dryer

laundry day looks like this - automatic dryer

 

Moon over Warszawa

(from bedroom window)

More to come...

Last Day's Visits

So nice to visit with the rest of the kids before leaving for Poland...

Levi's Family

 

Robynn's family (Nana holding baby Isabella)

Provo Temple on Prep-day

MTC

We are loving our MTC (Missionary Training Center) experience!
(Today Starszy Roulstone asked me where all the water disappeared to - the emptysea? - Ha ha. I know it's corny, but it's great to be spending my life with someone who has a sense of humour :)

At the Entrance...

 

The view from our room:

Provo Temple

Provo Temple

Our MTC  'District' group
Roulstones, Andersons, Neeleys

We are going where?

Poland

Polish Name Badges arrived today

THANK YOU!

Before we enter the MTC this morning I must express our gratitude to all who have encouraged and supported us in embarking on this adventure.

All of our family have been super, each supporting us in their own special way. We must specifically thank Mom and Dad Lewis for sharing their home with us these past few months. It has been a great blessing and we will be forever grateful.

Our Brothers and Sisters of the Qualicum Branch are great and we consider them family and so many others in the Nanaimo Stake, as well.

Of great assistance has been the Church Senior Missionary Department and the Durrants in the Warsaw mission home, always so patient with our many phone calls and inquiries.

The brethren in the Senior Missionary Language Training have eased much of our anxiety in not only beginning to learn the language, but also chatting with us about the preparation experience and sharing tidbits about life in Poland.

Cześć! Jak się masz?

Hi! How are you?

Bardzo dobrze. Dziękuję.

Very well. Thank you.

God bless all of you!

Farewell

It has been a very eventful week!

Thank you to the family and friends who organized and hosted an open house farewell in Qualicum Beach in spite of the unexpected, unprecedented snowfall...

2014 02 22 Nanaimo

Goodbye and Good luck        

Cousin Jean and me

My visiting teaching companion

Tom & Branch President

Stake President & Counselor with Tom

The Spread

We bid farewell to loved ones in Canada...

     

And in Sandy...

     

     

     

And from our cozy weekend apartment...