TRANSFERED!!!! SZCZECIN TO WROCŁAW!

Hey Family and Everyone else! 

haha I hope everyone is doin so good! Im doing so good! Had a awesome week. And its pretty amazing to see the Lord hastening his work here in Poland! This past week was sooo awesome! We have 2 investigators right now with a baptismal date. And they are soo awesome! Lech, we got back in contact with him. He is having a hard time and just a lot of the adversary is getting to him. But he still has that desire to be baptized and so we are planning for that on March 15! 

The other one is a man named Ryszard (Richard in English). We found this guy while contacting the streets! He is probably in his 60's and just the nicest guy ever! Man I love him so much. Just always smiling and happy. But we also invited him to be baptized on March 15th also! In our lesson with him it was super cool. In missionary work you really teach by the spirit and try to find out the investigators needs. And you can do that by asking an "Inspired Question"! We were teaching Ryszard the Restoration and came to the end where we were talking about reading the Book of Mormon, Praying about it, and recieving your answer through the Holy Ghost. We recieved from the Spirit to ask, "If he had every felt the Holy Ghost in his life?" He sat and thought about it for a sec and said...."I dont know, I've never even thought about all of this til these past few years and when I was younger I was just living living living, and working working working." That question really got him thinking and we explained what the Spirit feels like and how it testifies of Truth! and of our Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ. Such an awesome lesson! And im so excited for the work here cause it really is moving with the other investigators who are here.

But i'm so sad because i got transferred....;(

Im going to a city called Wrocław! It's so sad to leave this city cause I love the Members and People here so much! But im gonna be serving with a Elder Named Elder Garrett. And I will be finishing his training! He's only Been here for 6 weeks! haha Im sooo scared! Cause I have to depened on my polish soooo much more. But I couldnt be more excited. Szczecin has been so amazing for me. 

It was really funny in church yesterday. There is a member here named Brother Henryk Stankiewicz. And he is very intimidating and alot of missionaries are scared of him. And he either really likes you as a missionary or not so much. He is older and has long gray hair. haha But for some reason he decided to love me. In Sacrament meeting he got up when President Gay was giving anouncements and asked if he could "give a tribute" to me cause I was being transfered. haha it was so funny. But he really bore testimony and the spirit was so strong with me. And he gave me a big ol hug after. haha and then in sacrament meeting. We had a awesome spiritual number by Sister Barth on the violin and Sister Gay on the piano. haha and our investigators started clapping. haha gosh so funny. and then another sister is leaving here too and she bares her testimony and they start clappin again. I spoke last cause and spoke on the Power in the Priesthood. It wasnt as scary as last time caus ei know the Lord has blessed me so much in Polish! But no one clapped for me after.....cause im brown...;) haha im just kidding. 

But I love and Miss you all soooo much! The mission is going so good! And I couldnt be happier out here! I can see and hear how blessed our family really has been seen I've been out here! It's been hard cause you guys are having so much fun and im mission out on so much! But I love it here! And I wouldnt rather be anywhere else! 

Im stoked for conference! And I love you guys!

Serve Other Before Yourself! Love others! And remember the basics things to do everyday! Read, Pray, Serve, and Repeat!

one love

ofa lahi atu

Kocham was wszystkich!

_Starszy Jacob Sesimani Fotu

haha brother stankiewicz. trying to make bunny ears on me.;)

FEB.17.2014

Cześć Family!!!!

Sounds like everyone is doing pretty good! But some of you are sick so I hope you all get better! 

This week was so crazy. On tuesday we had a Training in Poznań! So that was a fun train ride there. Haha we try contacting on trains but its kinda hard. And people think that we are trying to sell stuff. But its all good! 

But im still in Szczecin! Ive been here for like almost 6 months now I think. So crazy how fast time has flown by! But I love this city so much and the members here. There is a member here named Bartek. We are the same age. But he is the most solid kid. He got baptized in July. And he is all ready to go on a mission but is just waiting to finish school. We played soccer with him today and it was him against us 4 missionaries. And he worked us all. 

But he went to warsaw this past weekend with all the YSA in Poland and 2 Youth. (theres like 12 YSA's here btw) But he said he said the transfer board in President's Office. And there was my picture just with a question mark on it;( haha messed up cause im brown!!!! haha no im just playing though. But im pretty sure im leaving here. Super sad but it will be fun to switch cities!

So this week we were super scared for church cause sometimes it just a little rough. haha and this week all our prime members werent gonna be there. (Kasia, Dagmara, and Bartek) All were out of town. But it was cool cause we still pushed ot get alot of people to church! Sunday came around and we had only 2 members, us 6 missionaries, haha and 10 investigators! So crazy! But now we are just working to turn them into progresing and progressing towards baptism! So awesome though. Exciting things are happening! 

We have one really cool investigator right now named Damian. He is the one that chased us down when going into the chapel. CAuse we gave him a Im a Mormon card. But its super cool cause he had heard about us from a member that is really sturggling right now with the Word of Wisdom and Everything. But alot of his struggles come from peer pressure. So it would be really cool to get him a friend in the church. We will have Branch Family night with him tonight!

Missionary work is just so awesome. It's so good to hear about Lennon on lessons with his friend Cade. That really is so awesome. That will prepare him for his mission so much! But its just all about the basics! Somethin ive really been trying to do lately is go by the spirit with what ot say. Because before you could only say the things that you memorized. But the language is getting alot better. The Lord has blessed me with sooo much help. I cant even describe it. Ill just be sitting there in a lesson and know exactly what is going on. And I can feel the spirit so strong. 

A really good talk to listen to is "None were with Him" by Elder Holland. If any of you have time. I love the Savior so much. And he made a sacrafice for every single one of us. Because of that, we can change. We can repent and become more like him every single day. But only if we have his help! Pray for the Help and Study the scriptures. And then act on what you feel and learn! 

Love you guys! Hope all is well! 

ofa lahi atu

kocham cię

_Starszy Fotu

PIC:

The member here in Szczcin wearing my tag!

He has saved all his money for his missionary clothes and it costs him everything! But he is so solid! love him.

Szczecin: February 10th 2014 (Luty 10th 2014)

Hey family how you all doing!

Man sounds like everyone is just so happy at home! 

Something I was talking to my misison President about at Christmas time, Was how we had the most amazing Christmas. Cause even though we were away from our families. We talked to them and notice how blessed they have been by our service to the Lord! 

It's totally true and Im so thankful for that! This week has been so awesome! 

Unfortunatley we lost contact with one of our baptismal dates. His name is Lech. But I hope we get back in contact with him! We had a good lesson with the kid Tomek. And he is praying right now to know if this is the Only True Church on the Earth today. CAuse he kinda has a problem with just thinking there is alot of good in every church! So everything is good there!

A cool miracle was on friday night. We had a meeting with a guy named Krzystof. And his wife ws there also. They had all this food for us and just were super nice! Krzystof just loves his Bible sooo much! And he knows alot about it! He had the Olympics on and it was the Ceramony. haha and I saw Tonga the split second that it was on. haha 

But we had a lesson and this guy is just trying to find all of these things in the bible to prove us wrong the whole time. And not listening to what he had to say the whole time. He finally asked "where in the bible does it talk about the book of Mormon?! Where is it?!" haha I really didnt want to answer his question like this. But Im like "ok fine, Ill give you it.) haha I was calm dont worry. and so i gave him ezekial 37 or whatever it is. And he read it. haha and was just soo stumped. Before I gave him the scripture I told him I had an answer for him. But really it was not going to help him know if the Book of Mormon is true. As he read that scripture he was searching like crazy through the bible trying to find something that contradicted with it! 

As he did that I had the perfect oppurtunity to teach his wife. I started teaching her about when Jesus Christ was here and how many things were lost. As I got to Joseph Smith the spirit was sooo strong. And then I went into quoting the first vision. Ah MAn!!!! Spirit was so strong and she was just staring into my eyes as I said it! I know she felt it! and I could see it her eyes! It was the most awesome experience! Those are the best moments on your mission, when you are serving others. and you can feel Heavenly Fathers Spirit work through you. Cause thats really just what we are, "Carriers of the Spirit". His spirit is what does everything. I could sit there alll day with krzystof and try to convince him of it. But if he doesn't have his own experience then he wont have that testimony! The amazing thing is that we have a Promise in the Book of Mormon from our Heavenly FAther. Moroni's Promise. It's so amazing that if any person does that, there is no possible way of them not recieving that answer! As missionaries we can help them realize the answer! 

Oh man so awesome! I hope his wife reads the Book of Mormon and asks for herself. 

We ended the meeting a little late and were running to the chapel to get to our next meeting. My comp handed this younger man a pass-along card as we ran into the chapel. This guy chased us down and said he was interested and wanted to learn more, and he was actually a friend of a memeber. Super cool! And he ended up showing up to church on sunday! So awesome! So we are set to teach him this week. His name is Damian! 

Man I've learned so much on my misison. Ive learned how important it is to Look!!! For the many miracles and blessing Heavenly Father gives us EVERYDAY!! Missions are so awesome! I love it out here! Everyone search for those blessings! And be thankful for them! Love you All!!!

Keep workin hard and remember Im still here! Pray more me!

one love

ofa lahi atu

kocham cię!

_Elder Sesi 

Miracles 4 dayzzz!!!!

Lord has blessed us so much! This week was sooo awesome! Sunday is one of the best days for me as I sit in church and just soak in the spirit and notice how much the Lord has blessed me over the past week! First off I got the most exciting news ever!!!! Almost as good as a baptism, But President Uchtdorf is coming to Poland on June 15th!!!! hahha of man I've sooo excited! I got a count down going for him! Seirously so excited to hear from an Apostle of the Lord talk to us missionaries in Poland. We will have a Poland Warsaw Mission Conference and all the members and missioanries will be in warsaw! Our Chapel isnt big enough so im pretyt sure they will rent out a conference room somewhere! So yeah im just kinda freakin out for that!

Next in that same day we heard that, we had a lesson with a kid named, Tomek. He is a little younger. Not sure his exact age. (I should probably find that out) But the lesson went sooo awesome and we taught the Restoration of the Gospel! The spirit was soooo strong and the understanding was there too! We challenged him to be baptized in three weeks! and he said yes!! After the meeting though he told us he might not be able to be in Church though on Sunday! It was such a bummer. But then I fasted and prayed so hard on sunday that he would be in church! And before I knew it he was walking through the door into sacrament meeting! Im so excited to keep teaching him and helping him understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ! This week i've just felt so blessed by my Heavenly Father and as I feel that I feel like I just need to be pumping out more work! I owe him so much! 

Wow this week couldnt have been more awesome! As I talked about last week we have a baptismal date named Lech also. And we have continued to teach him and he continues to progress! I love it soo much! He seriously is the most awesome guy! My love has grown for him soooo much! In our lessons the spirit is sooo strong and its really FUN! to teach him. He will be like joking with us and making fun of us, and then 5 seconds later he is this really soft guy that wants to grow closer to Heavenly Father! At the end of the lesson we were prompted to ask him, "Why he wants to do this?" or "How our message has helped him already?" and he responded, "I just feel more at peace, Im not as irritated anymore when I read the Book of Mormon and just since ive been coming to church and meeting with you guys." He's the most humble guy! I love him so much! He's like 50 years old and takes care of this older lady that has some kind of handicap! I told him that is exactly why we are here! Cause we know that our message blesses lives of so many people! 

I love my mission sooo much! Im sooo thankful to be here. haha I hate when I hit the first days of the month, cause that means another month went by since I went into the MTC on May 1st. These past 9 months have gone by soo fast! Ive never grown so much. My love for the Savior is never ending! I know we all can grow closer to him everyday! Love is the driving force behind everything! Everything that Heavenly FAther has given us! The greatest commmandment is Charity! So we should love EVERY SINGLE person that we know! Love and miss you all sooo much!

ofa lahi atu! Kocham cie! 

_Starszy Jacob Fotu

oh yeah and language is really picking up. The Lord has blessing me soo much! I taught priesthood yesterday with the man I baptized (Jerzy). And I was just helping him know how to teach! Everything is so good!

Hey family!!!!! 1.27.2014

Cześć!!!!!

I hope everyone is doing soooo good! Im doin sooo goood! Love the mission more than ever! This week has been awesome. And we were able to committ this man named Lech to baptism! He's bout 61 years old. He's just the funniest guy and just really wants to change! I remember first contacting him, in November. He was a little drunk and said he was interested. And said he would come to church the next day. The next day while walking to church we saw him again and said "Hey are you coming to church?" He said yes, but he had to go home first. As he walked away I noticed a beer in his back pocket! Crazy guy and has so much energy. But obviously has a problem with the Word of Wisdom. At the end of December we were able to get ahold of him and set up with him. 

When we first met, we asked why he wanted to meet with us. He said I know that I am not perfect. And I know that I need to change. And I'm searching for something to help me with that. This guy truely does what to change! He has so much energy and usually when Polish people shake your hand, they just put their hand out their so its just hanging there. But he has the firmest hand shake ever. and He is just always happy. This past week we committed him to live the Word of Wisdom and to be baptized on the 15th of Feb. When we asked the baptismal question after reading 2 Nephi 31, we asked will you follow christ and be baptized on this day?" He said, "Well I have to be if I want eternal life!" Spirit was so strong. His desire to change is so true! 

Im so happy to help him progress towards that! I was able to give a kid in our branch named Bartek the Melch. Priesthood yesterday! In polish. It was a little rough but the Lord blessed me sooo much! The people here are just sooo awesome! I seriously just love em so much! 

We should always be wanting to change for the better. The way we do that is through Jesus Christ. His atonement, and his example for us! As we do so we become better people, and we prepare more and more to become like out Heavenly Father! 

Always remember the simple things! Pray for me! so I dont freeze out here. haha its snowin pretty hard today! its been pretty cold. But We keep pushin it! "Kick when you dont wanna kick, stroke when you don't wanna stroke!"

Love you guys so much! I hope all is well!

Remember Charity. It never Faileth. And no matter what someone does to you, you should always repsond with love. Follow the Savior. Become more like him everyday!

one love.

kocham cię

ofa lahi atu

_Starszy Fotu!

1.20.2014 Dzień Dobry from SZCZECIN!!!!

Wassssgoooood Family! 

I hope you all are doing great! Here is a pic of me changing our Water Filters......yeah you know your skin is getting white when the filters are more brown than you are..... I'm turning white....;(

But the work is going well! We had an awesome Zone Training is Poznań this past week! They really talked about becoming a consecrated missionary! So i've really been working on that lately! 

Something that I've learned on my mission is finding the joy in things that might not seem to heppy at the moment. In Poland we get alot of people on the streets that will stop and talking. USUALLY these people will stop to tell us that we are a break off of the Catholic Church. haha or they like to say "Daj mi Spokój" haha which translates to "GIVE ME PEACE!" haha usually I just give them a huge smile and say "Miłego Dnia!!!!" "I wish you a good day!!!!" hahah but once in a while ill say, "Staram się" which means "Im trying to!" hahaha but obviously that arent willing to listen!

But in missionary work its really easy to get down on yourself, when one of these people yells at you! Something that Elder Holland said once was, "Nothing in life is bad enough to complain about it!" hahha I just chuckled to myself because of how right he really is! Something i've focused on my mission is not getting discouraged! EVER! 

I feel like the Lord has really blessed me too. He has made my mission so enjoyable and I just love it here so much! I challenge you guys to make your days the best they can be! There was a talk at a MTC Devotional that we had and the Sister said, "Choose the plan of Happiness everyday" I love that quote. It's so true! We make our days how they are. And dont ever let anyone change your days for the worse.

haha funny story.... The other night I went to contact this old grandma on the street....(they are EVERYWHERE in Poland! And I said "Dzień Dobry Miss we are sharing a mesage about Jesus Christ!" hahah she is this tiny grandma and she just starts yelling at me and getting in my face. hahaha I was just like laughing and didnt know what was going on. And im like walking backwards cause she keeps getting closer and closer to me. And me comp is just walking off while laughing at me. haha but yeah thats it. Pretty much all these grandma's get really mad at us cause they are really hard core caholics and wanna fight me or somethin....

But Then there are those AWESOME people that you meet! The Lord blesses us with those all the time also!

This past week was sooo awesome! Some awsesome news we found out about Jerzy, (new convert) We met with him on Tuesday and he had awesome news from his Doctor! His cancer had stopped spreading through out his body! Such a miracle and he knows it was Heavenly Father Blessing him! There are just so many Tender Mercies! We have all been so blessed by our Heavenly Father. And I hope you all are looking for all those blessings as you go through out your days. And then at the end of the day, pouring out your heart to him in Prayer!

Love you all so much! Dont every forget the basics!

Ofa Lahi Atu

Kocham cię

one love

Starszy_Fotu

BAPTISM IN SZCZECIN!!!!

CZEŚĆ!!!!!!!

This week was awesome! hahaha you guys probably werent expecting this but we had a baptism! This guys name is Jerzy Kiciński! He's the guy that is a Jew and has cancer! He's so awesome and has soo much faith! He was found in Szczecin about 5 months ago. Before I even got here. He's had a baptismal date for a couple months but it never went through as his health kept failing him. And His cancer kept getting worse! He has so much faith though and this Gospel really has changed his life and he has soo much more hope in life and after this life! He was found a couple days after he was told by his docter that he had cancer! And he was just sitting in the Park pondering his life! And The missionaries (Elder Kotter and Elder Hardy) found him! Instantly he was interested and wanted to grow closer to God. I didn't get to really teach him and see him grow as much! But it was still a life changing experience to Baptize him. We usually really push to get members to do the baptism. But Jerzy really wanted a missionary. 

It was the biggest miracle to have the baptism! And it really brought the Branch here in Szczecin a lot closer! I know thats why we are here as missionaries! To simply bring others unto Christ and get them on the Path of Salvation! We can do that through the waters of Baptism! 

I know the Savior has organized us missionaries and sent us out where we need to be through a Prophet and His Apostles! 

1 pic. Us walking from the chapel to the pool. haha yeah a little different

2 pic. Baptism and my new comp! -Elder Blom

3 pic. Baptism

It was such a miracle. We had transfer weeks! My new comp is sooo awesome! He's from New York and lives on Long Island! Most humble and loving kid ever! Is quiet but I got him to open up to me! hahah he's such a stud. Cooks food for dayzzzz!!!! Such a stud. his name is Starszy Blom.

I hope you all can tell how much TRUE ETERNAL HAPPINESS this gospel really brings to everyone of us! And we have ALL been asked by our Heavenly Father to share is with others! Love you all have the best week ever! I hope you all are SEARCHING for oppurtunities to share this great message with anyone! Dont sit around and wait for the oppurtunity to come but get up and go FIND IT! Love you all!

Remember the simple things! If you wanna be good at something then its through MASTER THE SIMPLE THINGS!!! Read your scripts, pour your heart out to Heavenly Father in Prayer, Serve EVERYONE!, and Go to the temple! I miss it so much!

LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

OFA LAHI ATU!!!!

KOCHAM WAS!!!!

-Starszy Fotu