Help We Are Lost!!!

So family sounds like you had a great week.  Wow.  I really missed out on Easter this year....  It is not a thing here to search for eggs.  So that is something I haven't seen or anything.  They have no idea what they even are unless they have been to America.  But that's ok.  We haven't really done anything exciting for Easter yet, but I know that we are going to have conference next weekend which will be amazing.  I can't wait for conference!!  It will be amazing.  PREPARE YOURSELF!!!  It is coming!!  Spiritual enlightenment coming your way!!!  We are so excited. 

Some random moment, we just received a referral right now.... We get referrals over text and email now, and I just got one while I am talking to you!!!  Super exciting.!!  Can't wait to check that out. :)

Haven't been able to see the woman's conference yet.  We are going to watch it before the Saturday session because here everything is delayed.  We will watch the woman session at around 4 our time here and then at 6 we watch the Saturday morning session.  Then on Sunday is the priesthood session around 11 or so and then the Saturday afternoon session at 2ish and then the elders have their baptism!!! then the Sunday morning at 6.  We won't get to see the Sunday afternoon session until who knows when.  When we make time for it.  But We are really excited. :)

This last week was really great.  I was on exchanges in Vienna.  I was with a missionary in her first transfer.  She speaks only a  little bit of German and let me just tell you I feel for her.  I remember back to that time and how hard it was to talk to people when you have no idea what they are saying.  But she does great.  She really has no fear to talk to people, she just looks at me to translate.  :) it was really quite fun actually.  Even though we were finding most of the day.  :) And for sport in the morning we went running.  I am so out of shape, but as we were running I had this crazy thought.  "I am running through Vienna, Austria right now... Who would have ever thought I could say that?"  Cross that off the bucket list!!  But then the next day when we went running we got lost for about 20 minutes.  It was really good that we had the phone with us cuz we had to call the elders to find where we were to get back to our house... Embarrassing but also so so funny.  Love being a missionary.  Tried to ask some people on the street, but they didn't know where the street was we were looking for, plus they probably saw how red my face was and thought I was a crazy person.  We ran for about an hour.  About 3-4 miles we think... So needless to say I am sore.  Then we played Frisbee with the young single adults this week for a couple hours.  That also made me sore.  So my body is taking a beating.  I really need to start getting serious about morning sport...

That was the biggest thing about this week.  I was really excited to be in Vienna.  I like to visit, but I would be happy to never serve there.  It is a huge city with a lot of people and just kind of dirty.  I would love to come back and see it one day and all the tourist things that you don't have time to do as a missionary, but I never want to live there.  Kind of like New York.  Fun to see, but not fun to stay.  In my mind anyway.  :)

This next week will be really fun.  We have some great appointments set up with members.  We really don't have any investigators right now... We are doing a lot of finding. The only person we really teach is an awesome girl from Hungry, named Kira.  And we are just teaching her English right now.  But we are talking more and more about the gospel every time we meet.  So that is nice.  :) Just pray that the people here will soften their hearts.  :)
This saturday before conference is transfer calls.  We think we are getting separated, but you never know.  I will let you know next Monday for sure what is happening.  Most likely I will stay in Graz and Sister B will head somewhere else.  But really at this point we don't know.  But we are meeting with members this week in preparation for her leaving.  We won't have time to say goodbye to people really next week because we have to go back to Vienna on Tuesday and Monday is p-day and everything.  So ja.  But other than that nothing too exciting this week. 

I really want you all to look at the new Easter video.  You may have seen it already.  It just came out on the 28th.  It is fantastic.  Watch it and share it with someone.  It really puts into perspective what Easter is all about and what we celebrate.  Sometimes I find myself getting caught up in Holidays and forgetting why we have them in the first place.  Remember to keep God first in your thoughts.  He loves you and is there with you every step of the way.  Jesus Christ went through the Atonement so that we can live with Heavenly Father again.  Don't let that gift go to waste.  Use it.  None of us are perfect.  I really know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true.  I know the Book of Mormon is true and it brings us closer to God and our Savior Jesus Christ.  Remember to keep God first in your life.  He is the most important thing. I love you all.  Thank you for your strong example.  You all really mean the most to me.  I really love that I have the opportunity to be here and serve a mission.  This gospel changes peoples lives.  Never forget that.  I love you all and pray for you always.  Thanks for all that you do!!

Training a Golden!!!

Man...  What a great week!!!  Got to love conference!!!  It is really just a spiritual high!!!  It also kicks you in the pants and tells you what you need to do better!!  I loved it.  I need to watch some of them again. And I haven't seen the last one yet.  I couldn't believe also that President Monson only talked once.  That is not good enough!!!  Just kidding.  Is he having health problems or something?  Is he ok?  I really hope so!  He is amazing.  But the other talks were wonderful as well.  :) Conference is amazing. I really don't know what I would do without it.  :)  Sounds like you enjoyed it as well.  Can't wait to watch it with you again.  Only one more conference and then I will be home.  Crazy huh? And I did see Sandy.  I was so excited to see her and maybe I was dreaming, but I saw Bailee also in the conference where the young single adults were singing.  Was I dreaming?

The baptism was wonderful this weekend.  Everything went great.  We are really doing amazing work here and changing lives.  How can you not have fun doing that?

Our referral is still in the works.  We have called, but he doesn't really speak German or English, so it is proving difficult to go through a translator.  Lucky for us he has one.  So I will keep you posted on that.  I was super excited to hear about the new temples.  Now I have even more reason to go back to Thailand.  I can visit the temple there!! I was super excited about that one.  And the others of course are great as well.   I really miss it.  And we have one so close to us we should be going often.  I have really learned that here.  The people would give anything to have a temple right in their city, and we have so many within a 30 minute drive.  Its amazing and we should take advantage of it.  :)  Transfers were great.  I am staying here in Graz.  This will be the longest that I have ever been in one area.  Sister B is leaving me though.  She is headed to Stuttgart.... And I will be getting a new companion.  I don't know much about her so I will let you know later. Hopefully we get along as well as me and sister bishop do.  I really lucked out with her.  She is amazing.  I have been really lucky with all my companions. We all get along so well and after the mission will be so much fun.  And I am so grateful for modern technology so I can stay in contact with my other two who live around the world.  I keep telling them to move to Utah.  We will see. :)  But who knows what will happen.   This next week will be crazy because sister B will have to say goodbye to a lot of people and we will have transfers.  So that will take about a whole day away from this week with travel and everything.  And then we will be really busy up until transfers saying goodbye.  It will be good and busy.  

The Easter video has been great.  We are really blessed and we have it in German and lots of cards to give away.  We are working hard on getting the word out.  And something cool that we found out was that the video will change every so often and the cards with the hashtag for people to search will still be good. So that is awesome.  We try to give away as many cards and things as possible.  Things are going great here. The work is moving forward.  I love this gospel and all the people who are a part of it.  We truly are blessed.  I can't thank my Heavenly Father enough for what he has done for me.  Love you all and thank you for your support.  

Sister Poll

It's a Miracle!!! 

Wow, you all sound so busy!!  I know what you mean with the time.  Sometimes it is so crazy how fast the time flies, but I have occasional days where I wonder if the clock is broken.  :)  But really the time goes so fast.  It is crazy.  We have another transfer in 2 weeks and it feels like we just started the last one.  So that is crazy.  We are pretty sure sister B is leaving, but you never know.  She could stay here, but she would like to leave and go someplace new.  And I understand that.  She has been here for 4 transfers now and this is her first area.  So I will keep you posted.  I won't know next week, but the Monday after conference I will know.  :)

Speaking of Conference I am stoked.  That is also something that is crazy.  It seems like just a month ago they were speaking to us and now it is happening again.  The time flies!!  I can't wait to hear what they have to say to me and to everyone.  I am trying to prepare myself to really hear the messages that they have to give.  Something exciting also is that we have a baptism on that same day. It is from the Elders here in Graz and it will be between sessions.  So really we are going to have a spiritual high that day.  It will be awesome.  He is getting baptized on the 5th.  It will be fantastic.  Conference would have been gift enough, but the baptism is a bonus!!!  We are really excited for him.  And the T, the elder couple serving here will get to see it before they leave as well.  Actually speaking of that.  They go home in 2 weeks, on April 10th I think.   They have done a lot here in Graz for this ward and for us as missionaries.  They are really fantastic. 

Our investigator we decided that we just need to let her go for a little bit.  Just to let her make her choices and she said she was feeling a little pressured to be baptized, so we are just going to let her have her space for a little bit.  And we are still in contact with her over email and also with text when she comes back in a couple weeks.  it really is a sad situation, but we can't really do anything at this point.   

Tell everyone there that I said hello.  

We got to go back to Furstenfeld this week and do service on that farm.  It was fantastic.  I just miss the farm life a lot sometimes.  Can't wait to come back.  Then we were in Vienna for the weekend for Stake Conference.  It was amazing.  I can't believe the difference between his stake conference and my last one.  I was struggling to understand last time, and this time I understood almost all of what was said.  And I was able to take notes which is a miracle. Usually I have to focus so much on translation that I can't really focus on what is being said.  It was amazing.  And President and Sister Kohler got to come.  I loved it.  The gift of tongues is real.  I have no doubt.  I wouldn't be able to do German without the help of God. 

Those were the two biggest things from this past week.  This week should be pretty quiet.  We have an exchange on Tuesday.  So I get to go to Vienna for a few days.  That will be fun and interesting.  I get to be with a sister who is only been out for about 4 weeks now.  So she is brand new and her German is coming.  So pray that we can communicate with the people.  I am really excited to be in Vienna for a few days.  Not sure I ever want to serve there, but I am excited to visit again.  It is a really huge city and tons of people.  So we should be able to find some people to talk to.  :)  We are doing some great work here.  I am so grateful for the opportunity to be on a mission.  It is hard work and exhausting sometimes.  And people aren't always the nicest, but the ones who take time to listen, really gain something without price.  This gospel is true.  Everyone in the world needs it.  God loves us, and he wants us to return to Him.  He has made it possible for us.  If the celestial kingdom was un achievable, what would be the point.  God has made it easy for us, we just have to follow Him.  I know the church is true.  The Book of Mormon is the word of God.  it is the keystone to our religion and we need it to help others come unto Christ.  In order to help others, we must first help ourselves.  Read and pray and God will help you always.  Love you all!!!  Pray for you always.  Keep up the great work at home.  I will be back with you before you know it.  :)

Liebe Grüße,

Sister Poll

HEY!!!!!

This week has been a busy one.  We had a lot of lessons with less active members this week.  We are working with them and trying to get a better relationship with the ward members.  We are doing great.  But we are also spending a lot of time finding new people to teach.  We got someone that the elders found this week that is a woman so they gave her to us to teach. And that meeting went really well.  (See below) We are hoping that we can find some more people like her this week to teach as well.  Midori is now back in Japan for about 3 weeks.  She went to help her parents because her mom is sick.  But we are hoping when she comes back that we can be in contact again and at least see how she is ever now and then.  We are hoping that she sees a difference in her life while she is gone, but she may not.  It is hard because we want her to be happy, but because she is happy she thinks she doesn't need the church.  Sometimes you just want someone to go through a rough time so they can see how great life really is with the gospel. But everything happens in God's time.  She will come back one day.  :)

We actually had one of our less active in Church on Sunday that hasn't been for about 18 years.  It was awesome.  She is at one of those low parts in her life right now.  It is helping her to see that she needs the church.  Strange how that works.  But she will be ok. It was awesome to see her there. And one of our other less active who has been coming really regular since I got here is preparing to get her patriarchal blessing soon and then the next step is the temple.  We are stoked!!!  She is awesome!!! 

We also had a zone conference this week.  So that was great.  I always get so much from the other missionaries and their testimonies of the gospel.  Coming together and realizing that we are not alone.  It is a great blessing to have all of them around us.  I have no many new friends from the mission and I can't believe what a blessing that is. 

This coming week will be great.  We have some great appointments set and we are going to go back to the less active on the farm for service.  So of course I am looking forward to that.  It will be amazing.  And we have Stake conference this weekend in Vienna.  That will be super exciting.  We get to sleep over with the sisters in Vienna which never happens but it makes more sense to stay there overnight.  We would get back late on Saturday and have to leave really early on Sunday for the sessions and it is also cheaper to stay there.  We are so excited.  We usually only get to see them once or twice a transfer, because there are so few sisters in the mission we are all so spread out.  And then of course we are excited for stake conference.  But last stake conference I learned about nothing since I couldn't understand the German.  But I could feel the spirit.  But I am hoping this time my German is a little better.  :) 

Thanks for the ensign.  It hasn't come yet, but I am sure it will soon.  That is way better than you trying to use the Post.  I tried to send Jaque an email and he either didn't get it or doesn't want to talk to me. You can tell him he can email me as well.  :) 

Dad, I thought over your lesson and how you are teaching.  And I don't think I can share anything better than Elder Eyring or better than you.  I learned all I know from you. But I had a great experience the other day that I think kind of goes with this topic.  Feel free to share or not.  :)  We were headed into a first meeting with an investigator that the elders had found on the street. We knew she was a Jehovah Witness, but wanted to talk with us.  We got there and she was really nice and pretty open.  We were surprised.  She pulled out her bible and started asking questions with of course the scriptures behind to back her up.  But she wasn't wanting to argue, just to ask out of curiosity.  Which is great.  She was really open and something interesting happened. As missionaries we always have the spirit with us.  But sometimes we forget because we are surrounded by it all the time.  And they always talk about how the words will be given to you what you need to say.  I can truly testify that it is true.  She was asking us questions about certain scriptures in the Bible that I can't remember right now.  And I remember thinking when she opened it up that we were in trouble, cuz my bible knowledge is about nothing.  But I felt the spirit working through me and my companion and we were able to answer almost all of her questions.  And I know where the answers came from.  I felt like for those 30 minutes, the spirit was using me to talk to her.  Because I really know that was not me.  The knowledge that I had to answer her questions and help her to see where we were coming from was not something I could do on my own. And I know without a doubt that the spirit spoke to her.  She didn't fully understand him, and she isn't yet convinced of the truth, but I challenged her to baptism.  And it was really funny because in my head I thought I shouldn't do it just yet even though they say to challenge them in the first lesson. But I was scared and thought no, and then next thing I know I am asking her if she will be baptized.  She didn't say yes, but she also didn't say no.  It was really interesting to feel the spirit working through me.  And I know that when we do things out of love for others and want them to come closer to God, he gives us his help.  He qualifies us.  He makes us strong enough to bear the burden we have and to touch the hearts of those whom we are teaching.  I know now more than ever that the Holy Ghost is real.  He knows all of us and he uses us to answer others prayers.  He can and will speak to and through us when we allow him space in our lives and our hearts.  And maybe the witness is not for those with whom we are speaking, but for those whom he is speaking through.  This was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had regarding the spirit.  And I know now that I am stronger because of it.  Whether she is baptized or not, that experience strengthened me.  And I know that it was a part of revelation from God to help me see that I can rely on him and trust in his promises.  He really gives us the strength and the words that we need.  Revelation is available to all of us if we but study and want to become better.  We do our part and God takes up the slack.  He loves us more than we can imagine and he wants to give us the opportunities to see Him in our life as well as help others see him through us.  I read a quote this week that said "Don't shine so that others can see you, but shine so that other can see Him through you."  Be that light to those around you and you will see that your light also grows.  It is amazing.

I love you all and think of you always.  Keep up the work at home and know that I am thinking and praying for you. You are all amazing examples to me and I don't know what I would do with out you.  The work of the Lord is moving forward.  Love you!!

Sister Poll

 This was a sad week!

This week has been really busy.  We have been meeting with a lot of less actives and trying to get some new investigators.  Sadly this week Midori decided that needed a break from the Church.  We tried to talk to her about what it has done for her and how it has changed her life.  We talked about the why and everything, and she just decided that she needs a pause for awhile.  We really hope she changes  her mind, but we also have to respect her decision.  We can't force anyone to do anything.  And we talked about how the church and the Book of Mormon has changed her life.  She said she will keep reading and will let us know when she is ready again.  It basically broke our hearts, but we are working through it.  That was the worst part of the week. But we just keep praying for her and hope that she sees a difference in her life from before and now that she is choosing to leave.  One day she will get baptized. 

We are actually not supposed to get any more here.  I don't think.  It has been really pretty warm the past few days. I am getting really excited to not have to wear my coat all over the place and have started wearing my normal shoes again instead of boots.  Getting excited for spring. We don't have the time change until the 29 of March here.  So that is interesting that you had yours already.  Now we are closer together by an hour...  I think. 

 Sounds like everything is going well there.  We are working hard and trying to further the work here.  Crazy how time flies and how much joy it brings to share the gospel.  Give it a try this week.  :)  Sorry there isn't much to report this week. But we really are doing well.  We are gaining a better understanding of what Christ really did for us and what he wants us to do.  I came to the realization this week that my mission will never be over.  Even when I come home and I go back to normal life, I will always be a missionary.  I really need to work harder at fulfilling my callings and helping others come to this great joy that comes through Christ.  I am really excited for the challenge, but for now I will further the work here.  I love you all!!! Thank you for your support and love.  You make all the difference to me.  Love you loads and pray for you always.

Sister Poll

March 2

This week has been really busy.  We have had some great lessons with less actives and with some great investigators.  Our investigator is doing great.  Still cruzing through the BOM.  And we have an appointment this week with her that we are looking forward to.  And we are hoping to set up some other appointments with other investigators this week.  The sickness here is finally starting to go away and people are letting us back in. And it is starting to get warm out and now there are more people out walking around that we can talk to.  We are really excited for summer and when we can go to parks and have conversations with people.  It will be so nice!!!  It is interesting to see people come out again.  Sometimes we wonder if people actually live here.  :) 

We also got to do a great service project this week.  I was in heaven.  It was like being home again.  We went to this farm about an hour away, and trimmed trees for a less active member.  She has horses and chickens and lots of land.  And it was so great to just go and do some physical labor and work with your hands.  I haven't done that in awhile and I realize how much I miss it. And I got to pet the horses and it just smelled like home.  It was fantastic.  And we also got fresh eggs to bring home.  Then something else that was cool this week was we got fresh milk to bring home.  I about died.  It still tastes not the same, but it is way better than the milk from the box here.  We were out in the country and we stopped at this milk automat place.  Where you put money into a machine and it gives you milk that is fresh every day from the dairy.  It was interesting and really cool. And the taste was great.  Loved it.  These two things were the highlight of my week.  Basically the taste and the smell of home.  Got to love it.  :)  Now you know what I miss most from home.  Smell of manure and milk.  :)  Super funny what you miss in life when it is no longer there.  :)  And that means when I get home I need to do some physical labor, but not too much.  :)  I'm sure you will put me to work however.  :)

This week should be pretty busy. We have not too much going on right now, but our days always fill up with people we need to go by on or with appointments.  We are really grateful for our wonderful ward, but most of the members are gone this week.  They have a temple week, (since it is farther away) where the whole ward goes and just does temple work for a week long.  And then they come back and go back to normal.  It is really cool.  Cuz a lot of the countries around do that as well.  Most of the wards have certain weeks and the temple workers have weeks of different languages.  So that is cool.

We found out something cool this past week.  In April we have Elder Bednar coming to speak to our mission.  We are stoked!!!  And I can't wait to hear from him.  That will be an awesome experience.  But it is a little far away.  But I will keep you posted.  We are getting excited for General conference coming up.  Always a great time.  And I can't believe it is here again.  Seems like it was just a month ago that it was last general conference.  

I love you all and pray for you always.  Just remember that God is always with us.  Even when we don't think he is or we feel all alone, he is right by our side with his hand outstretched.  Keep doing what you know is right and take hold of his hand. He loves us and only wants us to succeed.  Love you all!!!!

Sister Poll

Staying in Graz!!!

That is an awesome story about Carina Smith.  You never know the lives that you will touch even if you don't know the person.  We had someone tell us a story kind of like that.  She saw missionaries and watched them for a long time, before she ever started investigating the church.  But the reason she met with them is because of the example of the missionaries that she saw.  She knew they were good people and she wanted to know more about the church.  You never know who is watching and what a difference you can make to people.  Even if you are just emailing them from Mormon.org.  I am so grateful for the experiences that I am having and all that I am learning.  It makes me realize what I need to do better when I go home and what I need to fix and make sure what I always keep in mind.  Mom, I love what you said about the city of Enoch.  We have to trust in God to do what he says he will.  He always provides a way for us to accomplish what he asks us to do.  I am really learning that.  Especially since my German is not very good, and talking with people on the street is scary.  But I am learning to rely on the Lord, and he helps make up the difference.  It really is a easy concept, but hard to practice.  I don't know why though, cuz God can't lie and he always wants whats best for us.  We just need to let him in.  And that is the hardest part sometimes.  Realizing it is ok to ask for help and that we can't do things on our own.

This week was really good.  Last Monday we went with one of our members hiking and then he took us to eat after.  He is an 88 year old man who is so fit, it is amazing.  I can't believe it.  He really almost beat us up the mountain.  But the hike wasn't too hard either.  :) 

We also had another meeting with our investigator.  She is doing great.  Reading the BOM and is now in Mosiah 4.  She is cruising.  I am super excited for her.  We are working on getting other appointments set up for this week, but we are doing really well.  We have a lot of people to work with and they are doing ok.  We need to figure out exactly what their concerns are, cuz some of them are plateauing.  We also had exchanges this week, so I got to lead someone around Graz all by myself.  Needless to say, I am very grateful for Sister B and that she knows Graz so well.  I need to step it up.  But good news is we are staying together for another transfer so I don't have to learn too fast.  :)  We did a lot of finding this week and found a few more people who may be interested in learning more.  That is always an exciting thing. 

This week should be really good and also really busy.  We have some great appointments set up and we are working on finding more people to teach.  We have some great potentials to go by though.  And the Elders have really been helping us out with that as well. We are super grateful.  Other than that nothing too exciting.  Sorry to be so boring this week.  Thanks for sending so many pictures!!!  Any more are always appreciated.  :)  And thank you for the package.  I was so happy to get 3 pens inside.  I think that was my favorite part.  But the candy was also a great surprise.  I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week.  Remember how much I love you and pray for you always.  God loves us so much more and wants that we succeed in life.  He sent us here to learn and grow and we should never be sad because we know that we are children of God.  And how can we be sad when we know that?  Love you all and think of you always. 

Liebe Grüße!!!

Sister Poll