He will make of us a masterpiece.

Hello everyone!

It's been a while I must admit. I just wanted to give you all an update on how things are going here in Poland. I'm approaching the last 10 weeks of my mission and it's crazy to think that the time has gone so fast. Serving every day of my life for the last 20 or so months has been a huge blessing and I've grown so much because of it. I'm still here in Poznań, today is transfers so I'll be getting a new companion. This is my last transfer so I'm ready to make it a good one. I'll also be acting branch leader here which will be a new challenge for me and I know it'll give me some worthwhile experience. The weather here has been hot, extremely hot. Its been up in the low-mid thirties and there's no AC anywhere so I've lost my fair share of weight in sweat haha. My time so far in Poznań has been really good. It's a beautiful city with lots to see and lots to do. Things are opening back up again which is really positive, and people are coming back to life. There's a market festival here in the Old Town which is really cool, it's amazing seeing a load of people in one place. The Old Rynek (marketplace kind of thing) is beautiful itself, and the best part is that we only live about 5 minutes away from it.

This week we had exchanges with the Szczecin Elders which was really fun. I spent the day with Elder Michalský, he's from the Czech Republic. We spent a lot of time outside, visited one of our members, did some finding in a lovely park and then to top the day off we met with some other missionaries and one of our friends and a member to go and play lasertag. It was a lot of fun, haven't done lasertag since I was about 10 years old haha, but the place we went to was mega. It was this huge underground arena. We've eaten out at some new places, we went to get Indian food and it was actually really good. We literally have the best Indian food on planet earth in Oldham, so I've been a little disappointed with most places I've been over here.  But this one place we went to was really good so I'm definitely going back.

Lastly, on a more spiritual note, I wanted to share a verse that I really love. It's in the Doctrine and Covenants section 76:69.

It says "these are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus". I love this verse. It's Christ who makes us perfect through His grace. We don't have to be perfect, and we won't become perfect through our own strength. We simply have to entrust ourselves into the hands of the Lord, and he will make more of us than we could ever, ever, make of ourselves. He will make of us a masterpiece.

Love and miss you all. Drop us an email if you've got the time, I'd really appreciate it:)

Elder Ashworth x

A baptism in a lake in Lublin.

Hello everyone, it's been a while but in all honesty not much new happens these days. It's pretty much the same each day, we just message people on Facebook and come up with creative posts. There aren't too many crazy adventures haha. But this week, we had a baptism! Our friend Bogdan was baptised, and it was a special experience. It took place in Lublin which is like 2 1/2 hours away from where we are in Kielce. 

We met the sisters and some members in Lublin and we travelled out to the Lake where the baptism was to take place. It was a little while away. It was a huge lake. We found ourselves what we thought was a secluded spot. We got ready in the trees, that was an interesting experience haha, never thought I'd be getting myself dressed in the woods on my mission but it all added to the experience 😂 we got into the lake and it was freezing cold!   I almost screamed like a little girl haha. But I didn't, I promise. Once me and Bogdan had made it to about waist high (waist high for him was only upper thigh for me so I was counting my blessings) we turned around to do the baptism. Once I looked back, our secluded spot had turned into a blooming hotbed for spectators. I'm probably just exaggerating but it seemed like 30 people had showed up. It was a great experience and Bogdan entered into a covenant with his Heavenly Father. It really makes every experience worth it. I love this work and it's a blessing to be a part of.

Love and miss you all, speak soon!

Elder Ashworth x

Life is all about moments..

Hello everyone, it's been a couple of weeks. I've not been the best at doing these emails, purely because not much changes from week to week. We haven't been able to get out and see much because of Covid, nor do we have much personal interaction with people so I struggle to know what to write. But today I wanted to share how my last couple of weeks have gone. It's been fun, we're working really hard and we're seeing a lot of good things happening here in Kielce. We have 2 people on baptismal date which is really cool as there hasn't been a baptism here since 2018. They're both making really good progress and it makes me so happy to see how the gospel blesses and changes lives. One thing I've learned recently is that life is all about moments. As humans we're not happy all the time, but it's those moments that make everything worth it. I've seen that on my mission, that there are moments that bring such happiness and joy that it causes me to forget about every little negative thing. The good will always outweigh the bad, we just have to look a little harder and I know that as we do we'll see the sunshine break through the clouds. The weather has been freezing cold, its stayed at around -10° on average and there's snow pretty much every day. The wind has been really nippy recently though so it's made it feel about 20x as cold and its not pleasant. My feet feel like they're getting bitten it's that cold. Last week on Friday we went to visit a member who we like to visit at least once a month to get her the sacrament, but it's a little tricky getting to her apartment. We had one of those days where it just seemed like it wasn't going to possible to get to her home. We'd spent an hour getting on buses and we kept ending up back where we'd started and we were ready to go back and leave it for another week and I had an experience that doesn't happen for me very often. I said a quick prayer to know if we should go back or go to her home to give her the sacrament.

The answer came pretty much before I'd ended my prayer, and the impression I felt was that there was nothing more important to Heavenly Father than one of His children being able to take the sacrament. The answer came as clear as day to my mind and so we turned back and figured out a way to get to her house. We made it, albeit 2 hours late, but we made it. It was a lovely visit and she was grateful that we came. We went to Białystok last week for exchanges which was fun. Its roughly a 6/7 hour journey there which isn't so bad for me anymore because at the start of this year I had 4 journeys that were all at least 12 hours, the longest being 17 hours on the train haha. I got to see Elder Jensen which was fun, it's always a pleasure being able to spend time with him. It was a good exchange though, we just worked hard and laughed and shared stories and whatnot. It's always fun being around other missionaries. 

This week is transfers too, I'm getting a new companion which means I'll be saying goodbye to Elder Diarra. This has been my second time serving with him and I've loved our time together. We get along really well and we have a deep respect for one another. I'll be serving with Elder Waltman, a new missionary from the States. I'm looking forward to being able to make new memories and learn new lessons.

Lastly I'd like to share a quote that was really touching. I hope it helps someone who will be reading this.

"When trust is betrayed, dreams shattered, hearts broken and broken again, when we want justice and need mercy, when our fists clench and our tears flow, when we need to know what to hold onto and what to let go of, we can always remember Him. Life is not as cruel as it can sometimes seem. His infinite compassion can help us find our way, truth, and life."

Love you all, drop an email if you can, it's always appreciated! :))

Starszy Ashworth x

There's no such thing as coincidences!

The last couple of weeks have been really good, I'm enjoying life here in Kielce its been really fun. Serving with Elder Diarra again has been really fun, he's a really good guy and we've been finding a lot of new people. We also had someone accept an invitation to be baptised this week as well so that's always really special. 

This week we had zone conference and it was really good to go Warsaw again. On the way down I had a crazy experience. We had to go to Kraków the night before as there were no trains for us to get to Warsaw the next day. So we got the train from Kraków to Warsaw and while I was sat down a man came and sat next to me and asked how long I'd been a missionary for. I was really shocked and we got chatting, i said I'd been out for about 16 months, he asked where I was from and I said Manchester etc. and then I proceeded to tell him I had Polish family so it's a privilege to be here and all that good stuff, and then he said that he knew a missionary like me, that he was from Manchester and had Polish ancestry and I was like no wayyyyyyyy do you have a picture, which he did so he showed me the picture and it was my Josef! I couldn't believe it, I was amazed. Just goes to show that there's no such thing as coincidences, all the little things that led to that moment. It's amazing. Heavenly Father really is weaving the tapestries of our lives. 

We've had lots of snow here and it's been super cold, it got down to minus 16 degrees. It's nice to see the snow again. That's my little update for today though.

Love you all, miss you all.

Keep the faith, never give up.

Elder Ashworth x

Happy New Year! 2021!

It's been a while but hello everyone. A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks, i don't remember the last time I sent out a message but here I am. I had a lovely Christmas, I was in a city called Szczecin. We spent the day with the senior couple there and also with a family named the Sorensens'. It was really fun, they fed us some really good food and got to speak and relax a little which isn't really the missionary norm haha. Relaxing is something I struggle to do now hahah, when I have nothing to do I get kind of anxious and need something to do so one thing I've definitely gained on my mission is drive, drive to get up and make a difference in the world, even if its only something small. Shortly after Christmas I moved areas again to a city called Kielce, I've been here since Wednesday and I love it. Josef served here at the beginning of his mission so it's really special for me to be here. I love it already, it honestly reminds me of Oldham haha so it's like home i guess. The apartment is really nice though, it's big and warm and has a really nice shower and the beds are comfy so I'm out like a light when my head hits the pillow haha. New years was also fun, we worked hard during the day and then we got to stay up at night and watch the fireworks which was nice. It was a special night though, because when it hit midnight and the fireworks started flying, it was like a weight had been lifted from the world, it was as though hope had filled the hearts of the people and I know I was definitely filled with hope, that 2021 will be a better year, the sun will shine a little brighter, people will smile a little wider and we'll all be able to have hope for a better world.

Recently there's been a scripture that has stirred my heart each time I've read it. Recently my gratitude for the Restoration has grown so much. As I reflected on what it is that I'm grateful for, I read this verse and it expressed my feelings much greater than I can. They were penned by Joseph Smith as he was refined to a home, hiding from those who sought his life. In such uncertain times, this is what he wrote,

"Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy."

I love this verse. This is the joy that we can all have, regardless of circumstances. I particularly love the words, "a voice of mercy from heaven ; and a voice of truth out of the earth." Mercy from heaven and truth out of the earth. We all need mercy, and we know how we can seek that mercy because of the truth we've received out of the earth. I know that God is a merciful God, and He extends that mercy to us so freely. We need only turn to Him. These words give me hope, and I hope they can give you all hope too.

Miss you all, hope you all had a lovely Christmas and a happy new year,

Starszy Ashworth x

Dzień dobry!

Hey everyone,

It's been a few weeks, I've moved area up to a place called Szczecin (sh-che-cheen). It seems to be a lovely place, I've not seen much of it, but of what I have seen its a nice place and I'm happy to be hear. I'm training this transfer which is a nice little shake up. I've also whitewashed this area, meaning my companion and I are both new to the area. We reopened it to missionary work and so the work has been a little slow but I've got faith that it'll pick up again soon. We have a lovely senior couple up here who are looking after us and helping us settle in so we're having a good time with them. Makes the place feel a little more like home. I've never had senior missionaries in any of my areas and well it's a real blessing having them here. We had a mission tour this week, Elder De Feo of the Europe area presidency held 2 conferences with us over zoom. It was a great experience and he shared some really great teachings with us. He's a lovely man and has a really strong testimony of his Saviour. He helped us to know what things we can do to let God prevail in our lives, and those things are:

1.Don't deny the spirit of God

2. Worship God

3. Give thanks in all things.

Put God in first place in your lives, you'll always be a winner.

Hope you're all having fun preparing for Christmas in these trying times. I'm hoping that you're all able to see Christ's light shine a little bit brighter.

Starszy Ashworth x

On the move...

Hello everyone, really quick one today,

I'm being transferred. It's exciting news, also kind of sad because I really came to love Katowice but also nice to experience something new. 

I'm moving to a place called Szczecin (shche-cheen) and its alllllllllll the way on the opposite side of the country to Katowice. It's right in the North West of Poland, next to the German border. I've been all over the place on my mission. I started in Łódź which is slap bang in the middle of Poland, then I went to Kato which is South East, then to Rzeszów which is even further south east, I served for a week in Zgorzelec which is the most south-westerly city for missionaries in Poland. I've also been up to Białystok for 3 days which is right up on the North East of Poland and now I'll be serving in the North West. Crazy!  All exciting stuff though.   I'll be training as well which is nice.   I get to look after a missionary and help him be better than I am.

Anyway, I hope you're all doing good?  Remember, Christ loves you for who you are. He's proud of all of your efforts. Do all that you can do and He'll do all that you cannot do. We may not be celestial kingdom material right now but Christ can make us celestial kingdom material. That is the wonderful promise of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Love you all, speak soon.

Starszy Ashworth x