Going to the Zoo, Zoo, Zoo (and to the Mound)

church at the mound

Dear Mom,

It's getting warmer here in Poland. It's like actually starting to get hot.

Which is good because it is sunny and more people are out, but also it's getting hotter to the point where it's like not pleasant to be walking around outside. haha  It's not super hot. It's just super humid, and that makes things difficult.

This is the Kościuszko Mound. It's part of a fort.
Best view of Krakow

from below the mound

walking up to the mound

panorama from the mound
(click on photo to see detail)

windy tie on the mound

This week we went to the zoo with our English class. It was the first time I had been to a zoo in a long time. I actually think that the last time I went to the zoo was with Dad in Frankfurt, Germany when I was a  freshmen in high school. Weird.

So, for the last 5 years or so, I have only gone to zoo's in Europe. haha.

I remember going to the Zoo in Eureka quite a few times when I was growing up. I remember there being prairie dogs, maybe a bear or two, and a old orangutan.

at the zoo

Jan, my friend from India

Jan -- next to a peacock!

I talked about in my voice recording how Przemek came to church and I taught Sunday School. So that was good!  

Tonight, we are starting an exchange with the APs. So with Elder Vernon and Elder Lanham. I don't know who will be with whom. But it will be cool. Tomorrow, we have Zone Training, which means that the Katowice district will be coming over here, which means that I will get to see Elder Hubbard! Yay! :)

I'll send some pictures from the zoo and stuff.

meercats!! (Timon!)
(meercats are Drake's favorite animals; koalas, too)

Will I be an uncle this week? Maybe?

I think Nathan was on his mission when I was born.

Alex won't be in Kraków this week, I don't think. So you could always tell the Jensens to tell me when Cebre has her baby, I guess.

I'll send some pictures now!

Love,

Elder Drake Allen

It looks like the exchange was with Elder Vernon!  (a church member emailed this picture to me a day after Drake's email -- he saw the missionaries on the street and took a picture for me and Elder Vernon's mom -- love that!)

Tracting Miracle

No pics this week, so I posted my favorite from last week. :)

Dear Mom,

That is super awesome that Uncle Bill will soon be the Oakland Temple President!! I am pretty sure that he is going to be an apostle someday... :) haha

Is Cebre's baby born yet?
Will she be born by the time I email next week?

No, I think that is super awesome that Racer got a Palm for scouts. That sure is something that I didn't do that I WISH I would have done!! :) And that is super cool that he is riding a scooter now. I never had a motorcycle license.

Whoa, he's going to Philmont as an Eagle Scout?? That's so crazy! What is he going to do there? Can he still get merit badges...? or what?

Whoa, looks like it is going to be warmer this week!

MOM MOM MOM

GUESS WHAT!!

Last night, for the first time on my mission....

WE GOT LET IN TRACTING!! :)

(ok there was that one time with the Sisters in Poznań, but that was just caroling and she was letting in the Sisters... and we just happened to be there...)

But yeah!

I got let in for the first time!

It was CRAZY!

So we went to a building to start tracting.
And I did the first few doors, and then was like, "Alright Elder Remy, it's your turn!"
So he went and knocked on a door and a lady answered. He told her that we are missionaries, and then looked over at me to talk.

I told her about the message that we wanted to share with her. And asked her if she had some time to listen to the message.
And she let us in!

I started like freaking out inside, I was like, "WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON?!?! This isn't part of tracting!!!"
That had NEVER happened before. IT was crazy!!
WHOA! 
And then we taught her about the Restoration, gave her a book, and got her number.

At the beginning of the transfer I told Elder Remy that I had something to tell him about tracting. But that I wasn't going to tell him until the end of the transfer. I was going to tell him that I had never been let in. But I didn't want to tell him that at the beginning of the transfer and crush his faith. So I didn't tell him.

So when we walked out of the meeting, I told him, "Elder Remy, you remember how I told you that I was going to tell you something about tracting at the end of transfer. Well, I was going to tell you that I have never been let in. But now I can't"

After the thousands of doors that I have knocked on... and never got let in, my little trainee knocks on his first door, and gets let in. I think that maybe this trainee faith thing works.

Love,

Drake

Wawel Castle and the Dragon's Lair

Wawel Castle

model of the castle

In the dragon's lair -- it's a cave underneath the castle 

where the legendary dragon lived

statue of the dragon

        dragon breathing fire

   he does it like every 10 minutes

(this girl has no fear! :) )

Dear Mom,

It was fun Skyping with you guys last night. 

I sent a lot of pictures today.  Hope you enjoy them.

Happy Mother's Day again. Bad boys. :)

Love,

Elder Drake Allen

(Note from Renee -- I have always laughed when Drake referred to something as "these bad boys" and he did that in our Mother's Day call.  I told him that was my Mother's Day gift to hear him say it again :) )

Our investigator Przemek

Pronounced Psheh-mek

He goes by Willy Blake :)

Przemek and I

whiteboard

Talking to a man

Short and Sweet

I got to see Elder Hubbard at Zone Training!

Dear Mom,

I think we are actually going to be able to Skype!! I am not actually sure yet! They told us that we will be able to contact you guys later in the week to work it out more. So be checking your email often!

The interesting thing about that list of things that James does that you said are like me is that I didn't even know that I did those things.

You listed them and I was like, "Huh...? I do that?"

We have 3 baptismal dates!! :)

Przemek, Zbyszek, and Marcin!

I tell you more about them on Sunday! And I talked about them in my voice recording. I'll have more pictures to send next week! :)

Love,
Drake

P.S. from Renee -- (We were in touch with Drake this week and we DO get to Skype this time for the Mother's Day call.  YAY!!!)

Mission life has pretty much become my real life for now

Cathedral on the Rynek

Dear Mom,

That's awesome that you found more pictures the Salt Mines. It was kind of impossible to capture everything on camera. It was so so so cool. It was probably the coolest P-Day of my mission. It was so awesome.  Awesome!

(Note from Renee -- Elder Raines came home from his mission in Poland just a little early for some health reasons and wrote a note in Polish that I sent to Drake)

Yeah, I can understand what Elder Raines wrote. Why can't you? :) haha, just kidding. That guy was an amazing missionary. He's a legend. Is he feeling better now? 

(Another note -- Drake's good friend's younger brother is the lead in South Pacific this year in Redding -- I sent Drake a pic of the poster).

What is South Pacific? Is it a musical? Thomas looks so OLD!  

I ate the Easter candy. Thank you. It was good. I thought it was interesting in your letter that you said that James is being very similar to me. How so?

On the Streets of Kraków

Street view

This was a pretty good week. We have 2 investigators with baptismal dates. Zbyszek and Przemek. Wow. Try to pronounce those names. Maybe google translate can pronounce them for you. haha :)

Zbyszek is about 17 years old. We found him in the park while doing the music board thing.

And then Przemek is probably like 30 and he was also found in the park.

He is really interesting and cool. He dresses like a cowboy and has a beard because he is in an American Folk band and plays the banjo and the guitar. haha :)

My trainee, Elder Remy

Oh! My trainee. His name is Elder Aaron Remy and he is from Plain City, UT. I think it's by Ogden. He's pretty cool. He is still adjusting to the time I think and is tired all of the time. haha :) But hey, I am still tired all the time, that's the missionary life!! haha

Tomorrow is Zone Conference in Katowice. That will be pretty awesome! I will get to see Elder Hubbard which will be so much fun. I miss that guy a ton. He's the best.

I got to talk to Maciej on the phone last night, the one that got baptized in Poznań. That was nice. I email him every week, but it was nice to get to talk to him.

Jan, the recent convert that we have been working with is having a really hard time. He got beat up and mugged this week. Maybe you guys can pray for him too.

But I am doing ok. I think that mission life has pretty much become my real life for now.

This week marks me being in the country of Poland for a full year. Crazy talk. I have less transfers left then I have been out. Only 10 months left. Very mixed feelings about that.

Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Drake Allen

Note from Renee -- Drake had so many pictures last week and none this week. So if you think you've seen these pictures before, you're right -- I stole them from last week's blog post! :)

Kraków -- Rynek, Easter Festival, and nearby Salt Mines

Me in the Kraków Panorama

Rynek Panorama (click to see full size)

Dinner to celebrate Easter just before
at a restaurant like Ratatouille!

Dear Mom,

Sorry that I have like no time to write today! Yesterday was a holiday and so we didn't get to email. 

My new companion that I'm training is  Elder Remy.  He's from from Plain City, Utah . . . which is near Ogden.  I took a 3 hour train by myslef to Warsaw to meet him (while Elder Taylor rode to Lodz).  Then Elder Remy and I rode back together.

On Elder Remy's first day in Kraków, we met a young man while contacting with the white board (Amazing -- his FIRST DAY!) who agreed to meet with us.   He's excited and eager to learn the gospel and has already set a baptism date for May.  

I've got to go, but I'll send some pictures! From the Saltmines! and from the Rynek.

Love,
Drake

Together for Culture Night

Our district just before the transfer

Elder Remy and I

Easter Festival

With traditionally dressed Polish ladies

“Wieliczka” Salt Mine

Deep in the Salt Mine 
We went down 56 half stair cases to get to the bottom.  At the end, they SHOT us up a shaft to get to the top -- we could see the walls WHIZ by as we rocketed up super fast -- it was crazy!

The walls in the salt mine taste like . . . yep, salt!

Everything is sculpted out of salt

In front of the nativity sculpture (detail below)

There are dozens of statues carved out of salt

There are 3 chapels carved out of salt

And there's an entire cathedral carved out of salt -- all carved by miners hundreds of years ago.  The wood beams are 500 years old and are in perfect condition because the salt has preserved it.

P.S. from Renee -- There is a legend about the salt mine -- copied from Wikipedia:

There is a legend about Princess Kinga, associated with the Wieliczka mine. The Hungarian noblewoman was about to be married to Bolesław V the Chaste, the Prince of Kraków. As part of her dowry, she asked her father for a lump of salt, since salt was prizeworthy in Poland. Her father King Béla took her to a salt mine in Máramaros. She threw her engagement ring from Bolesław in one of the shafts before leaving for Poland. On arriving in Kraków, she asked the miners to dig a deep pit until they come upon a rock. The people found a lump of salt in there and when they split it in two, discovered the princess's ring. Kinga had thus become the patron saint of salt miners in and around the Polish capital.

Exciting Transfer!

On the streets of Kraków

Dear Mom & Dad,

You have already heard about my transfer call, I assume. But I talk about it in my voice recording this week too.

I am training!!! :) I am staying in Kraków as District Leader and training! :) I've trained for the 2nd part before, but never the first training.  I am so excited! I got a new calling as well! I am going to be the District Leader here in Kraków and I am going to be a trainer! which means that I will have a brand new greenie! I am so excited for that! I go up to Warsaw to the mission home on Wednesday to be assigned to my trainee and then I bring him back down to Kraków on a train. He's in the MTC right now. He'll be flying over from Utah tomorrow I think.   I haven't been to the mission home since I first arrived in Poland!  That was such an exciting time.  This is  the best transfer call I have gotten yet! haha :)

Did I not tell you about President Uchtdorf 
coming? hmm... I thought I did! Whoops!

Yeah, he is coming in the middle of June. And it's going to be a Mission Conference.
So ALL of the missionaries will be going to Warsaw for the conference as well as ALL of the members in Poland. So it's kind of like a giant Stake Conference for the entire country of Poland. It's going to be so awesome. I will get to see missionaries that I haven't seen in forever. Like I haven't seen my MTC companion Elder Blom since we've been in Poland. I will also get to see Elder Harris and that will be fun because he is going home like a couple days after the conference. All the missionaries in his group are. Also, I will get to see members from the branches that I served in, like Maciej who got baptized in Poznań! I really hope he comes. I have been emailing him about it.

So during General Conference, President Eyring was talking about how children who are brought up in the church will always remember the songs they sang in church. I started to cry because suddenly I remembered something very special to me.
When I was little, we would sit in the second row of the chapel in the McKinleyville Ward building. Before I was able to read, when we would sing the hymns in Sacrament Meeting, dad, you would whisper into my ear the words of each line of the song before each line so that I could sing the songs too. I still remember that, Dad. And that's a special memory to me. I am blessed to have the best Dad ever, who raised me in the church and helped me to grow. I want to be a Dad like you are to me.

Me

This is the new group of missionaries who arrived in Warsaw from Utah on Tuesday.  I wonder which will be Drake's companion. I only know it's not the one in the middle, because his mom posted this on FB and said her son is going to Lodz.  I'm sure Drake will tell us on Monday!

Today, for Elder Taylor's last P-Day in Kraków, we are going to the Wieliczka Salt Mines.

I'll take pictures.

Look it up on Wikipedia or something and share it with the family during FHE! :)

Elder Taylor is transferring to Lodz

I have not opened up the Easter Package yet. I am waiting until Easter.
What was in the package that I sent home that you got a few weeks ago? I don't remember.

Mom, we sang that "Home" song by Phillip Phillips. At the same concert where we did the "I Will Wait" song. Do you not remember? I played the banjo and sang the high harmony.  (Note from Renee -- I wrote to Drake and told him that this song came out after he left on his mission and I thought he'd like it -- little did I remember that he played that song with some friends at a talent night just before he left :) )

"Saving Mr. Banks" sounds like maybe that will be a good movie to watch when I get home.

That's cool that you tell friends about my mission. You're a missionary too!

So you befriended Sister Pawlik on Facebook? :) That's awesome! :)

Love,

Elder Drake Allen

P.S. from Renee -- Dieter F. Uchtdorf is one of our family's very favorite church leaders and speakers.  He is from Germany, which first intrigued us because Scott went on his mission to Germany.  He spoke at a conference McKinleyville in January 2008 and impacted all of our lives.  Drake, just barely 14 at the time, went up to meet him and told him that he was learning to speak German (Drake was teaching himself to speak German, quite well, I might add) and President Uchtdorf urged Drake to continue learning the language.  That impacted Drake's love for learning languages and his love for President Uchtdorf.  I'm sure it helped prepare him for his mission.  He will be absolutely thrilled to get to see President Uchtdorf as a missionary over 6 years later).  This is one of my favorite talks by President Uchtdorf: