11 months!

Hello everyone! 

Another busy week this week. Time is absolutely flying and the days are all moulding into one. I'll have been on my mission for 11 months as of tomorrow which is really crazy. Its strange to think I left home 11 months ago. I'll be honest, I miss home and I miss my family like crazy, I don't think I'd be human if I didn't, but I'm also so grateful to be serving as a missionary. It's a really special time for growth and development and helping other people. I've grown a lot as a person and I know I'll cherish these moments for ever. We had a baptism last week, one of our friends was finally able to get baptised so that was a really special moment for him and I was really happy to see him make that decision to be baptised and confirmed. Our work here as missionaries isn't to just baptise people and increase numbers but it's to give people an opportunity to return back to Heavenly Father's presence. There's nothing more satisfying than helping someone on their journey home. It's also not exclusive to full-time missionaries. Anyone anywhere can do anything to help someone else draw closer to Christ and you will find so much joy from doing so.

We had zone conference again last week so I got to see Elder Jensen again and my district from the MTC. Its always a good laugh when Elder Jensen and I get together and I'm praying for the day we can serve together haha 😂 I love my companion now though, he's a native Pole I don't know if I already mentioned and we're getting a long really well. We laugh a lot and we have a lot in common so it's good. 

Last thing, the Book of Mormon is a gift from God. It is filled powerful testimony of Christ and His atonement and the Resurrection. It is a powerful book and each time I open it I feel God's love for me and I promise you all that as you open and read it, it will do the same for you.

Miss you all, speak soon!

Starszy Ashworth.

I'm somewhere in the middle

Hello everyone, it's been a while since I've written an email to you all, I've been sending my updates still to my mum but I've not written one on here for a while so I thought I'd send one again haha.

It's been a busy time, I'm back in Katowice which is cool, this time I'm with a Polish companion which is way cool because my Polish is becoming markedly improved and I actually get the opportunity to be fully immersed in the language because he appreciates it when I speak to him in Polish. He speaks perfect English but I need the practise hahahaha. Anyway, my mind has gone super blank now that I'm typing this but I just want you all to know that I'm doing good, and also I want you all to know that God loves you and so does your Saviour. No matter who you are, what you have done or what you haven't done, mistakes you've made or troubles you have, They love you and they always will. It's a truth of eternity that can bring peace to us all. I know it's something I need to be reminded of frequently because often the worries of the day can seem to get on top of me, but fears and worries subside when I remember that my life is precious to my Heavenly Father. So remember that, God loves you and so does His Son.

I've been really busy at the moment which is good, nothing better than being a busy missionary to be honest. We're teaching a lot of people and there's honestly not even time to really kind of gather myself in the day.I wake up, blink, and then it's 10:30 again and I'm going to bed again. It's crazy but it's also really satisfying because I'm doing something that's so important. Lehi said to his sons, 

"8 Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise."

I have the honour and privilege of sharing these things ever day. It's a huge blessing. 

I haven't any funny stories to tell, there have been a lot of funny moments but one's that can only be enjoyed in the moment haha. But I'm having a lot of fun and having a lot of laughter you'll be happy to know. 

I just wanted to leave you on this quote that I've always loved, and it helps to illustrate, a lot better than I can, the love that God has for us all. 

“You know, I believe that the Lord will help us. I believe if we go to him, he will give us wisdom, if we are living righteously. I believe he will answer our prayers. I believe that our Heavenly Father wants to save every one of his children. I do not think he intends to shut any of us off because of some slight transgression, some slight failure to observe some rule or regulation. There are the great elementals that we must observe, but he is not going to be captious about the lesser things.

“I believe that his juridical concept of his dealings with his children could be expressed in this way: I believe that in his justice and mercy, he will give us the maximum reward for our acts, give us all that he can give, and in the reverse, I believe that he will impose upon us the minimum penalty which it is possible for him to impose.”

Love you all, speak soon! 

Starszy Ashworth x 

If ever you're feeling down, if you need to be cheered up, go and help someone else.

So hello everyone! I've had another really good week. This week we had a mission-wide conference in Warsaw and it was amazing! It was one of the best times of my life, after all of the covid business and not seeing people and lack of interaction and lack of people etc. I finally got to see everyone and play sports and eat food and talk and just be present with other people. It was such a blessing, I'm not even huge on like gatherings and being in big groups etc. but human interaction is so so necessary. We've continued to teach those that we're teaching and we're having a lot of success but unfortunately Elder Yergensen and I will be leaving Rzeszów for lack of missionaries. A lot of them are going home but no one is allowed to come in so we're low on numbers right now. I'll be leaving next Monday which is sad as I've really come to love this place and the people in it. In all honesty it's been hard to feel like I've fit in on my mission, but in Rzeszów I felt like I belonged, and I really came to know that God needs me here, so I'll always be grateful for that and Rzeszów will always hold a place in my heart. I don't just feel like I'm on a mission but I feel like a missionary and that's been a big blessing for me.

I finished a 40 day read of the Book of Mormon in Polish and it was amazing. I've grown in these last 40 days and for one thing I think it's so cool to see how far I've come with the language, to think that I can read the Book of Mormon in 40 days and understand what's going on, it's special. But most importantly I came closer to my Saviour, I learnt a lot of Him and His character. I also gained a stronger testimony of the Book of Mormon. That book is powerful, it can and it will and it has, changed lives and you may wonder how, how can a book do that? But something special happens when you know that you're a child of God, when you know that He was willing to send His Child, His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to be the Saviour of the world. There's something special that happens when you know that God's joy is your joy, and that His one goal is for you to one day live with Him and be as He is. The Book of Mormon helps us to know all of this, and as we read with sincere desire, Heavenly Father speaks to us from His heart to ours in a way so personal that it could only ever come from Him. So read it, it'll change you.

Lastly, a little story of service. For me, the most joy I feel is in the little acts of service, the spontaneous type, where you don't think you just do. There was a man in a wheel chair wheeling himself up a small hill. He was going slow so I pushed him up the hill. For a moment I think he thought he'd found some extra strength and then he turned back and saw me and was like ah okay. I asked where he was going and he told me so I pushed him there. It wasn't far at all, but as I said goodbye he looked back at me and said thank you, and while I was looking into the eyes of a stranger, for a moment it seemed as though I was looking into the eyes of my Saviour, as though it was He who was saying thank you. I almost chased after him and gave him a hug haha but for me that was a really special moment. As I walked away the scripture from Mosiah came to mind, that as we are in the service of our fellow beings we are only in the service of our God. So if ever you're feeling down, if you need to be cheered up, go and help someone else. Do something to make someone smile, to lighten their load, because in the process you'll lighten your own. There is so much joy to be found in serving others, it brings feelings and rewards that can't be measured in a wordly sense, but it brings more satisfaction than anything else will. You will never regret doing something kind for someone else.

I love you all, it'd be nice to hear from you all, even if I don't have time to reply.

Starszy Ashworth x

A visit to a Jewish memorial.

Hey everyone,

It's been an amazing week here in Rzeszów. I went to a Jewish memorial on Tuesday with a man that we met just recently and it was in memory of 12,000 Jews that were killed by the nazis. It was a solemn occasion and one that I was privileged to be a part of. 

Wednesday I had exchanges with the elders in my district and it was really fun and we taught some good lessons and one of our friends is making really good progress. 

A mural to honour Irena Sendler who was a Polish humanitarian, social worker and nurse who along with her network rescued 2,500 Jewish children during World War Two.

Thursday I was able to have a lesson with some new people and they invited us into their home which rarely happens haha. It was a memorable experience and the family were some of the best people I've met here in Poland. I'm really happy and I'm really enjoying my time here. The best part about a mission is drawing nearer to the Saviour, and helping others to come closer to Him too.

Love you all,

Starszy Ashworth

Łańcut Castle

This place is a blessing!

Just a quick update. We've had a busy couple of weeks and we've got a lot of people we're teaching. It's been a lot of fun and I really do it love it here in Rzeszów, this place is a blessing. Fun story this week, we got locked out of our apartment and long story short we stayed in this strangers apartment, he gave us the keys and let us stay the night and then the next day he came back and helped us get back into the apartment. It was a fun experience to say the least 😂

Also, I've been learning a lot recently about grace, I feel its something that everyone needs an understanding of and I know I needed to understand it more. What I've learned is that we cannot earn salvation. Christ paid the price for Salvation with His own precious blood. He carried that burden from gethsemane to golgothas cross. Ours isn't the task of carrying that burden, ours is the task of allowing that sacrifice that Christ made for us, allowing His grace, to change us and refine us and to make us what Heavenly Father knows we can become with His help. We don't need to be perfect, we don't need do everything right 100% of the time, we just need to be filled with goodness and allow God's grace, given to us and through His Son Jesus Christ, to change us.

"Salvation cannot be bought with the currency of obedience; it is purchased by the blood of the Son of God." Dieter F Uchtdorf

Speak soon,

Starszy Ashworth

The light will come.

Hey everyone, it's been a while since I last wrote something! A lot has changed since then, I'm in a new city with a new companion and I love it. Its so amazing here in Rzeszów. I really have come to love this place already and the people in it. I feel at home and I feel that the Lord has a lot for me to do here and that's something that I honestly struggled to feel while I was in Katowice. 

I've had some really sweet experiences already as I've been here in Rzeszów but one of them was the other week during sacrament meeting. I'm in a group here in Rzeszów, it's not even a branch because there aren't enough members. There's maybe 3 or 4 members and then a family that lives a while out that switch between branches each Sunday. My first Sunday was just my companion and I and then 2 other members. The spirit during the meeting was so strong and as I broke and blessed the sacrament bread, and blessed the water, I was just filled with gratitude and love for my Saviour. I was so grateful to have been able to take part in that ordinance, and to bless it for our humble little group that Sunday. I felt the truth of the promise that when there are 2 or 3 gathered in Christ's name as touching one thing, then He is there in the midst of them. He was there in our midst that day and I was grateful to have blessed the emblems of His body and blood, and renew my covenant to always remember Him and to keep His commandments. I had the opportunity to share my testimony and each time I do I feel that testimony become stronger as the Holy Ghost will always be there to bear witness of the Father and the Son.

One thing I just wanted to add as well is this. When life gets hard, when days seem long, when it seems that the light at the end of the tunnel is never going to appear, Remember Christ. Don't give up, because He never gave up on you. He pressed on to the bitter end, and died of a heart broken. Look to Him and live and press on with whatever faith and hope and love you have.

The light will come.

Speak soon!

Starszy Ashworth