A Sunday in Białystok

This past Sunday I spent a good part of the day (11+ hours) with my friend Małgosia. She lives in Warsaw and is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-Saints also. 

Since February of this year, I have had the privilege of serving and working with this wonderful Polish friend.  She is the District Relief Society President in Warsaw (Poland has two districts) and I am one of her counselors. We spend time planning and serving together ... working to help many of the women in different small congregations of the church throughout Poland.

This picture was taken in March of 2012. 

We traveled to Białystok....a 2 1/2 - 3 hour drive north east of Warsaw.

While traveling in her car, we talked! I speak English and a little Polish...while Małgosia speaks Polish and a little English (though her English is much better than my Polish). We had such a great time visiting, laughing and learning together. I even taught her a few new words!

Białstok is the largest Polish city in the north east part of Poland.

The drive here was lovely as we road past forests, lots and lots of farmlands, and rollings hills.

Though Białystok is a small city, we saw many large churches as we approached Białzstok and inside the city limits also.

We saw more stork nests....and I learned these birds in Polish are called "bocian". I learned the name for "stork" and I taught Malgosia the name for "nest". It took a while to figure out what we were saying...but when we couldn't communicate exactly...drawing pictures helped us a lot!

I didn't get a picture of the area where the congregation meets in Białystok...the members meet on the 2nd level in a large building on a quiet street. There are two rooms, a small foyer a kitchenette and restroom. 

We attended the church service (Sacrment Meeting) and then during the 2nd hour, Małgosia and I taught a lesson about teaching.  It was enjoyable to meet the members of the church in this little area of Poland.. to communicate together, to serve, to learn and worship with them on this Sunday.

Arriving to Białystok we noticed an interesting display of  large monument-like structures, so on our way home we stopped by to check out the display. The area is green, hilly and in a park like setting...

Małgosia said this area was to commemorate and honor those who died during WWII.

Aren't these structures unique? We only wish there had been some signs describing what these structures meant or represented...

Małgosia was demonstrating the use of an old water pump...though it did not bring up any water. We are not sure why this pump was here..but she smiled and we had a fun memory.

Here I am at the foot of one of the structures...

and in between two others...

On one display were 6 white emblems...Małgosia said probably to honor groups of people that served in the war...helping to defend Poland.

This is a symbol (we think) for Białystock.

Here is a symbol for the boy scouts and those youth groups who helped to serve during the war.

I enjoy Małgosia so much! She is a very happy and positive person. I always enjoy working and serving with her...She is an excellent leader who has a huge heart and is an inspiration to many women and church members in Warsaw and throughout Poland.

How lucky I am to get to know her better and to serve beside her in this country! 

Saturday Errands in Warsaw

Our date for Saturday was a morning of errands....it was fun going to new places on our "to do" list.  

Stop #1:  Top Secret

After living in Warsaw a year I decided to organize and purge files and papers.  We have a shredder but our piles to shred were so big I asked Mark if he could find out some place in Warsaw, where we could take our personal papers to be shredded by a more powerful machine.

After some searching, we were told of a place called "Top Secret". We googled, found the location and using our GPS found "Top Secret". It really did not take long to get there even though we found ourselves in a new part of Warsaw. 

We went into the front of a lot and towards the back there was a small building attached to a house.  Here we met the owner (we think) and though he did not speak English he knew what we were there for.  Also...we had called and made an appointment a few days previous.

The picture below is the owner shredding papers using a large machine.  The machine reminded me of large shredding machines we had seen in Texas also when we had taken our papers to be shredded.

Mark is watching the owner shred our papers in the picture below. The two rooms we were in were really quite small...though the pictures make them appear much larger than they are.

We noticed large bags piled in the rooms containing papers to be shredded and upon exiting, we noticed a shipping container with large black bags of shredded papers. This owner apparently has a good business with much work to be done.

Here we are walking away from the "Top Secret" location.

Stop #2....Hala Mirowska...the Hall Market

Throughout all of Warsaw there are little neighborhood stands, and markets where people sell their wares...seasonal food items, clothing, bakery, meats, flowers, etc. 

We have occasionally stopped at places and browsed...but have not shopped often.  I had wanted to go to a large market located near Mark's office. So we drove and parked our car in the mall parking garage, then took a tram a few blocks away.  Toting our own bags...we arrived at Hala Mirowska.

Outside there were many flower stands...and inside...small little booths...selling clothing, toys, and many types of food and other products. 

I was happy to tell Mark that I knew what some of the signs were advertising...the one below is for toys, art  and school supplies.

You can select your own produce...and I enjoyed picking out my own strawberries.

Mark selected peaches, apples and pears...and a grapefruit.  The fruits and vegetables are wonderful here...but they do not last long.  We have been told that is because they are grown without chemicals...so they might not last long but they are much better (we have been told this often).

Many people were in lines for bakery and bread items and also meats of all kinds. I told Mark...these patrons obviously knew what they were doing and knew the favorite places to go...we on the other hand are novices in this shopping endeavor.

I haven't had fresh flowers for a while...so I found some at one of the many flowers shops. No reason for fresh flowers...other than I like them and wanted something bright and real in our home!

At this time of year....we saw lots and lots of sunflowers....they are really quite beautiful too!

Stop #3....Księgarnia Atlas  (Atlas book store)

There are many book stores around Warsaw...selling mostly Polish books and maps. Mark had wanted a wall map of Poland for his office and also one for our home. He recently rediscovered a book store not far from his office and close to the Hala Mirowska market we were visiting.

I enjoy the book stores here in Warsaw...there are some large book stores  (very similar to a Barnes & Noble) called Empik, and there are many small book stores filled with books, maps, cards and even paintings and pictures.

Mark found just what he wanted here...large maps of Poland! The workers were quite helpful even though they spoke very little English. 

Stop #4....time to eat lunch...

Mark was hungry and didn't want to go far for lunch.  Just across the street from the bookstore and market was....TGIFridays. We were their first customers for the day.  It was good to sit, watch the Olympics and relax for a bit.

I had been to the TGIF once before...and it was tasty food though I rarely frequented this restaurant while in the States.

So nice to relax, eat and enjoy being together while doing errands on a Saturday morning.

One more stop before going home...Mark was trying to find a place to hang his large Polish map in the office...it was not easy to find a place!  But for the mean time...we used magnets to hang it on a white board.  Hopefully it will stay up and get lots of use.

I love Saturdays with Mark...sometimes we get to play and visit places around the city...but it is just as fun for me to do errands together...being in new places...and experiencing life in Warsaw, Poland.