News from BRITTANY ROSS

I am sure you guys remember Brittany saying she is going on a mission to Poland. At this time, she is in the MTC. This is an email she sent to her family, who forwarded it to me and gave me permission to post it on the blog. Oh, and here is a website that lets you send free messages to Brittany while she is in the MTC.

http://ldsmissionresources.org/?do=freeMtcMail

and this is her mailing address.

Sister Brittany Ross
MTC Mailbox #121
POL-WAR 1226
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, UT 84604-1793

The free message website asks when her departure date is, and I am sorry to tell you I don't know. I just made one up, and asked Brittany when she does leave. I'll let you know what she tells me.

And here is Brittany's letter:


Dzien dobre!

Jak sie macie? In our district, "jak sie masz" or "how are you?" is more
of an exclamation. We took pictures at the temple on our first Sunday
and one of the starsi blew a picture up and wrote "Jak sie masz!" at
the top. It's a cute picture and it's hanging in our classroom. I
really do have a great district. I am by far the oldest one, I'm even
older than all three of our teachers! But we all get along great, and I
have a feeling we can do some wonderful things for Poland. I'm trying
to take more pictures so I can send some home.

I need to write down everything that happens cuz I don't remember in the
heat of the moment when my time is ticking on the computer! On Sunday,
we had Sis. Matsumori of the General Primary Presidency speak to us in
Relief Society, and we went to meet her afterward. I also forgot to
mention that Elder Bednar came our first Tuesday devotional. It's so
amazing! And I hear Christmas is wonderful here. It's hard to believe
that the holidays are upon us. Time stands still here. I feel like
it's still September. The 3 week people who came with us are leaving
today! That means we are a third the way done. It's incredible!

Polish is coming along. There's a lot of memorizing to be done, but
things are starting to make sense, and we can have simple conversations
(very simple!). I love it!

One of my favorite experiences of this week was when we went to the
Referral Center. We were making follow-up outbound calls to people who
had requested items from the Church. I only reached one person home,
but she was the cutest Southern lady (black, judging from her voice) and
she told me all about her life (pretty difficult family situation), but
mostly, she shared her testimony about Christ with me. She had seen the
missionaries once or twice, but her husband was not kind to them at all,
so she didn't want them to come while her husband was there. I bore my
testimony and tried to encourage her to keep trying to get with the
missionaries because they had a message that could change her life. She
said she admired them because they were always being chased by dogs and
yelled at, but they kept coming back. She said they must have a very
special message to be so devoted. It didn't turn into a referral, but I
felt like we connected, and I hope it made a little difference in her
life.

I feel like I am learning a little better what it means to rely on the
Lord. I want to be able to have the spirit with me all of the time, and
to know that it is guiding me. I'm not perfect in anything yet, and
it's hard to describe, but I know that the Lord answers our prayers, and
I know that we can place full confidence in Him and give Him our
burdens. On our missions, I'm learning that we cannot do anything of
ourselves. I cannot rely on myself alone, but if I rely on the Lord, I
can accomplish miracles. I have felt my testimony grow so much, and I
feel like I can declare without equivocation. I am still so weak and
infirm, but the Lord has said that the gospel will be declared by the
weak and the simple. I know this gospel is true, and I know why I am
here and it's not for me-- it's for those people in Poland whom I can
touch. Thank you so much for your prayers! Everytime I feel
discouraged, I remember that my family loves me. I love you, too!
Bardzo, bardzo!