Warsaw is awesome!

Things sound great in Warsaw.  Lance in an area called Zoliborz, which he says is amazingly beautiful and green.  He says that during the war, everything was destroyed and when Russia rebuilt the town under communism, they build a bunch of plain square apartment buildings. Here are some pictures from the internet:

He misses Szczecin and the missionaries he worked with in the area.  The train ride from Szczecin to Warsaw took about 6.5 hours.  A friend from his Szczecin branch accompanied him on the ride because he had some business in Warsaw, so Lance was glad to have some company...plus they practiced Polish.  They met a woman during the ride and ended up teaching her the first lesson and gave her a Book of Mormon and invited her to attend church. He says, "I just love those experiences on trains when you get to teach people.  As much as I can, I try to have those experiences because they're so cool you never forget them."
He met up with three other Elders when they arrived in Warsaw, including his new companion.  The other two were leaving the next day for their new town, so they took the opportunity to share the Gospel the rest of the day.  They worked and worked, he says!  Because Warsaw is a faster paced city, there is more rejection.  A person will often stop just long enough to say they don't have time.  Which can be disappointing, but they still were able to teach a lot of lessons.  He feels like he knows Polish so much better now and can actually communicate quite well.

He points out that the church supports itself in Warsaw.  The chapel's not a part of an apartment building or part of a member's home.  The members of the branch do the majority of the responsibilities at church instead of the missionaries.

He's getting along great with his new companion and has a lot of respect for him.  Lance says there are 12 missionaries in that district, including himself, and he is enjoying being District Leader. It's a lot of responsibility, but he feels it a good opportunity to become a better leader.  He says this mission has taught him everything he needs to do in life and is so grateful he chose to serve.

Lance begins this week's spiritual thought by quoting 2 Nephi 4:23.  "Behold, he hath heard my cry by day, and he hath given me knowledge by visions in the night-time."  Nephi shows here that we can pray during the day and receive our answers in our dreams.  Often our dreams contain symbolism that our direct answer to prayer.  Lance says he makes it a habit to write in his dream journal so he can contemplate what he's learned and review it later.

He shared a couple other scriptures, but this one I feel is a good one for us all to read.
D&C 76
1: Hear, O ye heavens, and give ear, O earth, and rejoice ye inhabitants thereof, for the Lord is God, and beside him there is no Savior.
2: Great is his wisdom, marvelous are his ways, and the extent of his doing none can find out.
3: His purposes fail not, neither are there any who can stay his hand.
4: From eternity to eternity he is the same, and his years never fail.
5: For thus saith the Lord-I, the Lord, am merciful and gracious unto those who fear me, and delight to honor those who serve me in righteousness, and in truth unto the end.
6: Great shall be their reward and eternal shall be their glory.
7: And to them will I reveal all mysteries, yea, all the hidden mysteries of my kingdom from days of old, and for ages to come, will I make known unto them the good pleasure of my will concerning all things pertaining to my kingdom.
8: Yea, even the wonders of eternity shall they know, and things to come will I show them, even the things of many generations.
9: And their wisdom shall be great, and their understanding reach to heaven; and before them the wisdom of the wise shall perish, and the understanding of the prudent shall come to naught.
10: For by my Spirit will I enlighten them, and by my power will I make known unto them the secrets of my will-yea, even those things which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor yet entered into the heart of man.