"All you need is love!"

Hey, all!

It's been an exciting week getting to know my new area in Warsaw and getting situated. Because a bunch of the new trainees had a rough time getting some legal work done, Sister Whiteley and her trainee Sister Lillywhite (who, we discovered, was in my freshman BYU ward!) actually stayed with us for almost a week! it was a little crazy, but we had a really good time. I enjoyed catching up with Sister Whiteley and we had some good chats about all we've been learning and the experiences we've had since our shared transfer in Gdańsk.

I LOVE this branch here! We visited several less actives and active members this week, and I feel like I've really connected with a lot of them. In particular, I enjoyed visiting a less active named Emilia Jęcka, who hasn't been to church in about five years and hasn't let missionaries come over for quite some time. When we called, however, she agreed to let us visit and we had a really great lesson with her! She shared her experiences and her testimony of the Holy Ghost and how he has helped her in her life. She's a beautiful, funny, classy woman (reminds me of you, Mom!), and I'm hoping and praying that we can help her return to church this transfer and enjoy those blessings again.

We're working right now with an investigator named Wiola. She's the cousin of a recently-activated family, the Wiśniewskis, and she is very interested! We taught her yesterday about the plan of salvation, and she really enjoyed the lesson. We sang "Bóg Moim Ojcem Jest" (I Am a Child of God) with the Wiśneiwski kids (Vanessa, Michał, and Jakub), which brought a very special spirit to the meeting. As we sang the words, "I am child of God, rich blessings are in store; if I but learn to do His will, I'll live with him once more," the Spirit testified strongly to me, and to each of us, I think, of the truth of eternal life. Mariusz, Wiola's cousin and father of those three children, bore his witness of eternal families and how his family's life is very different now because of that knowledge. It was exciting for me, and very helpful in the lesson, to see a whole, happy family there as we taught these truths to Wiola.

As a missionary leadership council, we had a meeting with President and the Assistants this last week to discuss ways that we can apply Pres. Uchtdorf's recent counsel. We joined in a special fast just yesterday, so that this next Thursday (when we meet again) we can share some of the insights that we've received and come up with a plan of action. I love hearing President share his ideas. I love the direction that he's taking this mission. I feel very lucky to be a part of the Work's progression in this specific mission and can feel the way it's changing and shaping me.

This week, my mind's been running wild with so many ideas and goals and thoughts. The overarching theme has been one of President Uchtdorf's focuses: LOVE. What does it mean to act in love? How can we develop the love of God in each of us? What would it be like if every person truly viewed every other human being as their brother or sister? It all comes back to love. This morning, as I read President Monson's recent talk "Love--The Essence of the Gospel," it gave me a greater desire to develop a genuine love for each of God's children. Recently in this mission, our contacting and teaching has been focused on repentance and baptism, and I'm realizing every day how strongly these topics are tied to love. The Lord loves each of His children and wants them to return home to Him. We are working for the Lord, which means that we need to have this love for others in order to effectively convey the love of God for each of them individually. If we can accomplish this, they'll have a desire to repent, be baptized, and continue on the path that will ultimately lead them back to Him. It's all too true that "all you need is love!"

Speaking of love, I love each of you! Have a very enjoyable week and know that you're in my prayers. MUCH LOVE! 

xoxo,

Siostra Tobler