Warsaw

November 11

Hey Mom!

Haha I have to say, no one here thought Trump could win it either, but we were all shocked. I had tons of Polish people texting me and keeping me updated on everything haha. It was funny. I think they cared about it more than I did. Luckily, our encouragement to stay neutral on politics in conversation was pretty easy to follow. That being said, a lot of people were either making fun of us on the streets, or fist pumping for Trump's victory.

We're getting excited for Christmas over here as well. I know Thanksgiving hasn't even happened yet, but the carols are already playing every morning. The missionaries love Christmas! Also this transfer actually ends the day after Christmas. So I'll get to tell you about where I'm going over Skype!

It's also good to hear that Blake is doing better. I bet that at least being at a basketball game again got his spirits up. That would do it for me at least.

So our week... our investigator got baptized! It was a crazy week, he decided on Monday, and then the days following were just nuts, trying to get interviews and the font set up. But the stress was worth it. He was baptized on Saturday, then confirmed and given the Aaronic Priesthood on Sunday! We're super happy for him, and the branch was really excited as well. The same day of the baptism, we were actually able to help another investigator commit to baptism in December. He's doing really well, and we're even talking about introducing his wife to the church. The other day he texted me and was like, "After our meeting on Saturday, I wanted to try to be a better person, so I took a homeless man to get some dinner. I felt the Spirit really strongly!" Basically we went to bed Saturday feelin pretty good haha.

With a week like that, I'm feeling pretty good in Warsaw haha. The branch is doing really well, and they continue to deliver on the food. The meal of the week this week was a crazy good lasagna. Warsaw life haha.

We're still teaching English classes once a week. We've got a ton of students here. On top of that, we pretty much try to teach as much as possible where people are going to be. If that's outside on the streets, in a park, or tracting, then that's where we're at haha. I can't wait for December to come around so we can start carolling!

So far we've spent most of our PDays getting acquainted with the city, but we've also been to the national stadium here, and today we might go to the rynek to see the sites. For culture night, I'm pushing for us to go see Les Mis in Polish. That would be awesome!

Haha Sister Beem recognized me on sight from the name. It was pretty crazy, but cool to see that once again, we live in a small world. She's pretty chill though. Good missionary.

That's pretty much all I got this week! I'm still finding last things to send home for Christmas! Found some sweet stuff already! Look forward to it!

Love you tons,

Elder Haskett

November 6th

Hey Mom!

It sounds like you had a pretty fun week! Glad to hear that you guys are still enjoying Disneyland, I gotta say, I was craving a corn dog pretty bad these last few days haha. I think it's because I'm used to having these shops called Żabka everywhere, and you can get a good dog there for less than a dollar. They don't have them in Warsaw:(

I still remember the World of Color show. I saw the first half, but then this guy threw his daughter up on his shoulders and it was over. I think you can imagine how uncomfortable asking him to stop would be, as I, a 17 year old would be able to see, and his daughter, probably 3 or 4 years old, would not.

Crazy to think that soccer is almost over. The semester is almost over too. I'm excited for Christmas, but it's way weird to think that time is going this fast. 

Generally speaking, if you ever want a really noble sounding scripture about missionary work, or courage, or facing your fears, you can look to the epistles of Paul haha. 2 Timothy is a pretty good example. There's some good stuff in Romans as well.

I heard about Blake, that's some really sad news. I hope he knows though that a successful mission has nothing to do with the visible outcome, but the way it changes you. I've seen him grow up quite a bit, and it's been impressive. He really loved his mission, and I think that judging from that fact, he had a successful mission. All the guys have been praying for him to heal up quick. 

As for our week, things in Warsaw have been going pretty well! No ping pong, but still a fun time. Elder Barlow and I are getting along well. We don't have much in common as far as mutual interests go, as he's into swimming and ROTC, but we've bonded over the joys of singing really loudly and laughing at the crazy stuff that happens in Poland. Pretty much an infalliable way to make friends.

The big city of Warsaw is a jungle, haha. I'm getting around fine, but it's more of a bear to get familiar with than any city I've been in before. We haven't actually been to the mission home at all. That's fine, I'm just looking forward to the last night in the field party that we'll have when the whole gang makes it to Warsaw. Right now, 3 of the 5 from the OG MTC group are here, and it's been a blast.

Our teaching pool is doing pretty well. We've got one guy who's gettin pretty serious about baptism. I fasted for him yesterday, and things are looking good. Our others are moving a lot slower, but we're still doing well. We'll see what happens!

Interesting stories for the week: we were playing basketball with the other missionaries, and a sister in the zone literally got her ankles broken. She's in a purple cast haha.

Also, we had All Saint's Day this week! It was really cool. I've got some good pics for you all. 

An American family fed us last night! We had a loaded potato soup and some real bacon, straight outta the US, and it was fantastic!

That's pretty much everything from the week though! Love you Mom!

Elder Haskett