This week was truly a beautiful one. For starters- it snowed. A lot.

Dearest family, whom I love so much-
It sounds like your week was pretty much fantastic. Sarah's party sounds like it was LEGENDARY!! Ha I can imagine Spencer just standing there, wanting to be Super Wedgie Man or something. I love that Dad had to play too! I know he loved it :) You all just sound amazing. Annie's play by play was so good- thanks sugar :) And Spencer I'm so glad you gave it your all on your school work as well as in other areas. It's the only way to go. Suck the marrow out of life, or don't suck at all...:P ha. That so doesn't work, but I'm leaving it :P I just wish I could see your faces right now to see how darn well your doing. I didn't get to see the flash card yet cos it didn't work on my camera, but I will soon :) Very excited to see it. You're going to have such a great time on thanksgiving! I love thanksgiving with you all - but no worries- I will be eating TURKEY and GRAVY and other AMERICAN DISHES at this famiies home from the ward. They're AMERICAN and invited us over FOR dinner! ONLY CAPITAL LETTERS CAN EXPRESS MY JOY!!! :) It certainly doesn't even begin to replace Thanksgiving with the family, home and xbox, but it's start ;)
This week was truly a beautiful one. For starters- it snowed. A lot. It's stayed Autumn for so long, but the Winter finally conquired and it conquered hard. lol. It's beautiful though. It snowed Saturday afternoon and than BLIZZARDED all Sunday morning during church. It was great :) We had a meeting Saturday night at the church with the missionaries in our district/area (8 of us) and then we when came out, these little kids who live in the same building started throwing snow balls at us. So we threw them back. And than a giant snow ball fight broke out at like 9 at night and it was the greatest. These little kids threw their hearts out - the littlest one was like 4 and he was determined to DESTROY Elder Whipple (who is a beast of a man). I laughed my heart out and it was just fun. Maybe they will come to church with their Parents :)
We are determined to get the Standard of Excellence here in our little district. We are so close! - we're all trying so hard and we know that we can do it. We just have to push a little harder all around - with our work and our investigators. At district meeting, Elder McRae and I prepared a motivational speech - I played inspiring music and helped him write the speech. It was a major success - Elder McRae delivered with power and he had some good material - one of the line was "Rocky Balboa once said, ' Yo Adrian!' and then he said..." haha. The district was laughing , but more so they were phsyched to get the Standard :) I honestly feel like I've been blessed with the best district ever. I love every single missionary in it - everyone wants to work hard and are so down to Earth and make me want to work harder and do better. It's a blessing to say the least - I would be satisfied knowing my entire mission would be filled with very very similar districts. Zobaczymy (we'll see ) :)
On Wednesday we had Zone Conference. Elder Kerr- a member of the 70, came and spoke to us. Elder Engbjerg and he had served in the same mission - He trained at just 2 months while President was an AP. Nuts eh? He was an incredibly charismatic man who was just full of the Spirit and he truly inspired us all to work hard - plan hard and to me he was a prime example of somebody who the POlish people would want to listen to. I know I can muster up that charisma somewhere in my body ha :) I think I do a decent job, but there's always room for more. He talked about planning a lot and how meticulous planning leaves for few mistakes and greater success and It was all around amazing. I sang in a musical number with a few other missionaries- way fun :) I also got the CD ma and the Package. Thank you so very much :) It was perfect. THe gold fish was SUCH a good call. MMMM. Pop tarts and Mac and Cheese are so appreciated. And hot cocoa has been thoroughly enjoyed :) Thank you mother and family also for the awesome letters :) I loved them :)
Our investigators are doing so well, but we've been struggling with finding time to meet with them. We stay in contact by phone- but that doesn't leave a lot of room for teaching, which needs to happen! They are so golden and ready for baptism, they just need to be taught a little bit more. We think we're giving Edyta a baptismal date very soon, on wednesday if we can :) We're meeting with Irina at President's house this next Sunday. I know it'll all go well :) We found a couple new people who are looking quite promising- we'll be meeting with them this week as well. Brat Herman's daughter- the older one- said that she would love to come to English class and even dinner afterword (we make as missionaries with a couple of the menbers who come to English) so that was a break through. At the end of our meeting this weel (which ended with family prayer) he again expressed how grateful he was and how happy he was. It's priceless to see his reaction.
We gave three blessings this week. I actually gave one to a sister - Sister Castleton who speaks Polish wicked good and is just an amazing missionary, reminds me of Sarah - and then we participated in one for Asia and then another one for a man named Krzystof (which is a normal Polish name :P) who is a member. I had to annoint the oil in Polis h lol. That was a trip, McRae had to give the actualy blessing in Polish though - talk about a major butt-pucker moment ha. It was truly a blessing though to be able to particpate in all of these, I particularly felt blessed with words to say for Sister Castleton.
Elder McRae is from Idaho, has a farm and is a very hard worker- was before the mission and is still now. Really nice and goofy kid - i have no doubt you all would love him. He has an Older brother who got back from Russia on his mission and he gave his Homecoming the same day Elder McRae gave his farewell. I am so glad I have a year to hang out with you little brother. Goodness. But he is the man. We cook and eat SOOO GOOD! And work out so hard too. I'm a very happy human being. We made scones and this muffin cake and chocolate chip cookes and those brownies you sent ma (SO APPRECIATED) and it is just the best. We're making home made chicken noodel soup this week and some other crazy desert. Cookings a blast and it's so fun making random things. Love it.
Pop, in terms of staying warm, I'm doing pretty good. My upper body is aces - I just need some good warm socks and some good gloves, which I will buy very soon. I wear thermal garments, a sweater, suit coat, scarf, beanie and huge coat jacket. It's pretty warm :) The mesquitos are frozen to death now and everything else is way good. OOOO I could definitely use some whitening strips ma. That would be a good thing for the christmas pack. Preferably ones I can do in 5 or ten minutes and not a half hour....but either way is definitely possible. O and my retainers if you want to send those. Who knows if they'll fit :/ It's worth a shot though. My teeth still look way good and healthy. Just trying to preserve them lol.
Well I think that is pretty much everything amazing that happened this week. Life is so good. I love serving with Elder McRae and I am truly happy as could be. I love you all so much and i Can't tell you that enough. Please be safe and take care of yourselves and have so much fun this week with thanksgiving. I think about you often and love you so much. Remember the Lord in all you do, remember how blessed you are to have what you have. Remember how much your Father in Heaven loves you and please remember the people of Poland in your prayers. I can't tell you how much I love being a missionary- preaching to people and telling them that I know this message is true- that God loves us and has given us so much and simply wants us to be happy- that he has a plan for us that has been revealed. It's amazing. Once again, I love you :)
-Starszy Michael Joseph Rushton Jr.

p.s. Christmas package- Cheeze itz, pop tarts, chocolate chips, CD's, anything you can think of :) A1 sauce? ha i don't know/ Brown sugar would be great too. Lol So random. Anything is so greatly appreciated. Love you :)

I know I'm supposed to be here without a doubt. Just last night as I called Irina, one of her last sentences was "thank you for taking care of my fam

Hej family :)
Sweet e-mail time, how I love it so. You all sound too amazing. Spencer that is SOO rad about your victory (aka the sound trash kicking) of Vista. I love it ha. Thank you for writing me brother, I love you kid. Sarah, you sound so busy but I can only imagine how well your doing with everything. You are so amazing- as you always have and will be, thank you so much for the letter, I love you siostra . Annie I can only imagine how well you are doing! How is you play going? GIve me some news sista! Love you sugar. Parents your Hawaii trip sounds and looks SO amazing. The Spoks as we would say here in Poland :P I loved the pictures and descriptions so much. Ha my favorite pictures were of you swimming in that little waterfall whole deal. You looked like you were enjoying yourself so much and ah it was so good. I especially enjoyed the very attractive man in the back of the picture where dad is lifting up his fists in the victory dad pose (haha I loved that so much). I want a body just like that. :P
It's so strange to see you swimming to lol cos the very thought of getting in any body of water right now sounds like a quick and imminent death, it is getting so cold now- it's supposed to snow in the next couple of days lol. Elder McRae is counting down the days so he doesn't get eaten by the mesquitos in our house (we live so close to the river we get a decent amount. My record is 11 bites in one night, now that's a hard one to beat :P) But regardless of the cold, life is so good here in Polska. This week in particular has just been amazing. It was my first week with Elder McRae and I just love being around him. He's so easy to be around - I loved Elder Henrie, but McRae and my personalities, interests, everything, just meshes. It's great :) We've been cooking up a wicked storm, we made our own maple syrups and have been having the equivialent to a McGriddle from mickey d's every other morning for breakfast. And smoothies. Cuz he has a blender ha. I LOVE it!! On Saturday we made fried bread with grilled chicken and cheese sauce. Life changing. It's so good to eat good :P And what's even better is that we work out hard core every morning. I feel like I have my own personal trainer now ha. So the companionship is definitely enjoyable in the Home life sense.
It definitely stretches to missionary work to though. We have set some lofty goals, but we know that we can reach them as we continue to try and work dilligently. He is such a hard worker and I'm greatful for that. It was difficult a little bit this week, because we worked SO hard I felt like, but our numbers didn't exactly reflect it completely. We had at least 9 meetings set up with investigators and I think we got flaked every single time. But the Lord completely blessed us for our dilligence yesterday as we had all three of our progressing investigators at church (Irina, her son Arthur and Edyta) and it could not have gone more smooth- all of them left with the deep intent to return the next week. I was happy to say the least :)
One of the major highlights of our week was a meeting with a member named Jan Herman. He is in his early 50's i would say and the father of 2 daughters (11 and 17) and has a wife, but he is the only Member. He is smart, nice and has been a member for the past two years. He is very energetic and has an obvious love for life and the church - he plays the guitar and loves music. Elder Henrie and I had been meeting with him every friday for the past three weeks and then Elder McRae and I went to visit him this Friday again. Usually we go in, sit down, drink some tea and give a short spiritual lesson and talk about different things and it's always so enjoyable for us and him. His family is always there, and one time his wife actually talked with us - she was soooo darn kind and amazing, but is a catholic, like all the Polish-born people are. This time we came in and it was just us and Brat Herman for awhile, but then, his wife and youngest daughter came in. And then his older daughter. His wife prepared open-faced sandwhiches for us and we ate and talked and I even played the guitar for them and the feeling of love and the spirit was so strong. I was in blissful peace being there. I could tell this wasn't something that happened terribly often, even in their little mieszkanie. When we finally left, Brat Herman walked us to the Tramwaj, and told us how thankful he was for that meeting. That his family hadn't been together like that with the missionaries or any other time for quite awhile and that he feels we are the key to opening his family up and even to the gospel. Just seeing how happy he was gave me so much joy and I just felt so much love for them. It was amazing. He insists we come back every friday and this next time he wants to have a little concert ha :) I love it. Yesterday at church, Brat Herman was ordained and sustained as Second Counceler in the Branch Presidency. I almost cried, I think just cos I was so happy for him and have so much hope for his amazing family.
Another major activity of the week was less active work. We have a list of 40 + less actives who we need to contact and we spent a lot of time on that - on Saturday we went with Richard from the ward and tracked down quite a few of them. To see if they even exsisted, etc. Yah lol. It was good though. The less actives are so important here- they knew what it was like to feel the gospel once, we just need to remind them. On Sunday, one of the less actives came up to elder McRae and said, "Elder McRae, I came to church because you Called me." How RAD is that? It's ridonkulous. That's what it is. The Lord has certainly blessed us this week :)
Mom, about the Atonement, it's been really neat having the chance to study it more. Just studying the Book of Mormon every morning and PMG is such a strength. I can so obvioiusly feel the Book of Mormons power as I read it, it's there- undeniably there. But as I studied the Atonement I truly gained a greater understanding for what Christ suffered and how important it is to take advantage of it. I wrote an entire paper to presidnet about it, but one thing that really struck me was how truly amazing it is what he did for me and I grateful i am that I simply have to take advantage of it. I think of favors people have done for me that I could not have done for myself- like mom turning in a paper for me, dad consoling and talking with me, Jake or John or Jimmy at school selflessly doing something for me that I could not have done for myself, with a smile on their face. And I know how immeasurably my gratitude is when these things occur. And then I think of Jesus paying for my sins, so he could know what I've felt and so that I can be clean from them. So that i don't have to remain in sin or wallow in my sadness, but I can be free- because of what he did for me. He has done something for me that no one else could have done and he did it willingly and all I have to do is take advantage of it and repent. It's truly amazing it me when I think about it in this sense.
Well life is so good here, I can't even tell you. A few things to answer...the package from Joni did come!! I didn't get yours yet ma, or the cd, but I should this wednesday at Zone Conference. For Christmas stuff, I really do not know lol. Some chocolate chips, brown sugar...that would be amazing ha :) And maybe some money left in here to buy some extra ties and a shirt or something? Peanut butter is beautiful, OOOO!!! My christmas cd that I made up at college last year. The one on my iTunes on the laptop. Titled the greatest christmas mix ever...or something like that. It has relient k singing jingle bells, coldplay singing have yourself a merry little christmas...that Cd. lol Please send a couple copies, it's free game on the Christmas music :) AND JIMMY's Letters!!! please send those. I'm dying to hear how he is doing. And tell Joni how much I love that shirt. IT is the bomb diggidy. ha.
I know I'm supposed to be here without a doubt. Just last night as I called Irina, one of her last sentences was "thank you for taking care of my family" and I thought that I'm not even doing all that much, but we are sharing this gospel, sharing this precious fruit that is "sweet above all others" and I know that that is so important. I pray I get to see her and Arthur get baptized this first week of December- that is what we are pushing for :) I love preaching this gospel and speaking Polish. McRae doesn't speak as well as Henrie, and he doesn't know South Warsaw all that much, so it's forced me to step it up in language and direction senses and it's been sweet :) I feel like I could actually navigate myself through a city in the States now ha.
My family, I love you more than I can say. You fuel me and I appreciate your prayers and thoughts and love. Please pray for Irina Arthur and Edyta and for us as we work out here. It means the world to me. I love you so much. Til next week :)

- Elder Michael Joseph Rushton Jr.

I had the pleasure to take the Brand new missionaries out on the Rynek for their first-ever taste of contacting, just like I had done 2 months ago. It

Hej Czesc moja rodzina :)
How amazing it is to write to you on this beautiful monday afternoon her in Poland. It's a national holiday here - Dzien Niepodlegosc - Indpendence day for the Poles, so the Library we usually e-mail is closed. So I write to you from a small internet cafe in the metro station in Centrum and I am so happy to know you will be reading this soon. You all sound so amazing. Ma and Pop I'm so glad you all are in Hawaii safely and enjoying yourselves. I can only imagine how nice it is. Goodness :) :) :) Spence- I love you kid and I so wish I was there just to hang out with you. Just know I think about you all the time and it brings me so much joy just to think about you and Sarah and Annie at home, enjoying yourselves and having fun with Grandma and Grandpa ( tell them thank you so much! for the way nice e-mail, I loved it and it was so good to hear from them). I recieved an E-mail from Grandma and Grandpa Rushton and they sound so good. I am so glad to hear from them after the craziness that's been happening. Love them so much. And I pray that Grandpa Cohen recovers quickly from his eye surgery. I love Grandma and Him so much and hope they know that. Well you really do all sound like gold. I love just hearing from you every week. Just makes me smile so much. Mom you are so funny- I know you are just loving Hawaii right now ;)
This week has been sooooo!! crazy, but I've truly loved it. Firstly, Elder Henrie (my Old companion), Elder McRae (my New companion) and another Elder (status unimportant), had to drive to the Czech republic to get their Visas re-stamped for certain reasons. So they drove to the Czech on monday and I stayed with Elder Jacobs ( who's companion was Elder Harvey, who is now DL in Bialystok) and Elder Meacham (who's companion is now Branch President in Szczecin) in their apartment. They were supposed to drive there and come back, but that didn't work out for some reason. So they came home and I stayed with Elder Jacobs and Meacham again. That evening we found out Meacham was going to be one of the new AP's. So he left and then it was just Jacobs and I, while Henrie and McRae worked out their legal stuff with the Office Elders. What eventually happened was that Elders McRae and Henrie flew to England, got their Visas stamped again and flew back into Poland. It took four days for all that to happen and that whole time, I wore the same suit, washing my garments every0night ( i had a spare pair ) and it was so great. It was so nice hanging around an older Elder for awhile. Elder Jacobs goes home in 6 weeks so it was fun getting to know him a bit better.
McRae and I finally got together Thursday evening, but before that, I had some really cool experiences. First of all, I had the pleasure to take the Brand new missionaries out on the Rynek for their first-ever taste of contacting, just like I had done 2 months ago. It was amazing- I was kind of scared, cos I had to be big dog Polish speaker man senior companion kind of deal, but it worked out so great. I took out three different trainees and they thought I was a Polish ninja. Which is not true. But i spoke well enough to trick em :P I can decently communicate and I think they had a great experience. I took and Elder Holden out, and an Elder Brown. They were with the same Bulgarians I was with in the MTC and therefore they knew who I was. And the Bulgarians had talked me up way big and it was way funny ha. But Elder Brown and apparently the entire new group had read my First e-mail from POland cos Mom e-mailed Elder Brown's mom? Or something like unto that. I wasn't surprised for one second, but It was pretty funny :) Anyway, the whole experience was just amazing and I was so lucky to be able to go. It let me know that I actually could Preach this gospel to people in the Polish language and communicate in a way that they don't look at me like i'm a crazy. Which is an AMAZING feeling, let me tell you :)
Another great experience I had with Elder Jacobs was meeting with a member couple in the Branch - the Neto's. It is an African man who speaks fluent Polish and his Polish wife. They are two of the nicest, most amazing and spiritual and humble people I have ever met and I just loved them. We talked in Polish for a bit and then we read the Book of Mormon in English so that they could practice their English. Jacobs asked me what chapter we should read and I chose I believe it is Mosiah 27 where Alma the YOunger and the Sons of Mosiah see the Angel. Goodness that chapter is so probably wrong- but we read it verse by verse and than we talked about it in English. I was blown away by their English and it was so great to be able to discuss the gospel in English for a little bit and share some deeper insights. Both Brat and Siostra Neto are just amazing and intelligent people and I love hearing everything they have to say. Brat NEto always has the best stories and it was just such a pleasing expeirence. Elder McRae and I set up a meeting with them again this next week :)
So on Thursday, all the Transfers actually went down. The dworzec - train station - was just packed with people in whiteshirsts and ties - it looked like the Businessman convention, or if you were a mormon- the Missionary convention, which it kind of was. We all waited for missionaries to come and go and It was great to see all the missionaries I had never really seen before. I had to stay at the dworzec (dvozets...the z is like the last syllable in garage) almost all day because elder Jacobs left to Lodz at 12 and then I was without a companion lol. So I was at the Dworzec with and I met my entire new district and I was so stoked, because they seem like the greatest people in the world. Sister Squires is now Sister Castleton's companion and that basically rocked my socks. It was so good to see Sister Squires, felt like a dream actually cos I hadn't seen her in so long - and now here she is, in this same internet cafe as me ha. She Said Elder Tanner is doing good and that is so good to hear. Cos I miss him a lot and can't wait to hear how he's doing.
So after a long while and a couple random trips helping people, Elder McRae and Henrie finally return from the Airport after Flying to and from London. I meet them at the Dworzec right as Henrie's train is about to take off. So i say goodbye to him and then McRae and I turn to head home. As we turn around, Edyta is right there, because she had talked to Elder Henrie the day before, as he had called her to tell him he was leaving. So she happened to be in Centrum and heard them announce the train leaving and I guess she just popped down. She bought us some really nice and delicious candy and asked if she was allowed to give it to us (so nice :)) and we said of course, if she wanted to. She seemed so happy and she really is just such a nice person. :) I thought it was a good omen for Elder McRae and I.
Speaking of my new Companion Elder McRae. He is the man and I love him. We already get a long so well and i feel so blessed. The kid loves to work out, he brought a BLENDER to make SMOOTHIES with the declicious fruit they have here. He is so happy all the time- he wakes up and is just happy. It's not hard to get used to that. :) He is such a hard worker and is just as ambitious as I am with sharing the gospel with EVERYONE we see. I know for a fact that this is going to be one rad-sauce transfer for sure :)
We went to town on our apartment and cleaned it to the nines. We did a 10 dollar job on it...pop if you remember that story, I don't know if you will, it just popped into my head :) But we really did a number on it in addition to decorating it so it truly looks like a home. It looks so beautiful now. Our kitchen is gorgeous now. I can actually walk on our kitchen floor without worry of catching some disease :P. It's great. We're just kind of a lot a like and it's great :)
My zone is amazing. Elder Antczak, who is one of my favorite Elders here, is now training and it's been great talking to his trainee cos I remember how it was to be a trainee. I just love my zone. Amazing people.
Ok I have to finish this up- cos I'm actually timed here. But I love you all so much. Enjoy yourself and truly remember how much I love you and how important this gospel is. I love you all so much and think about you often. Be happy, and pray often for help whenever you need it and please don't stop praying for the people here :) SO much love.
- Starszy Michael Joseph Rushton Jr.


p.s. The election, happened without me even knowing it. Another story for another day. So crazy!!

Polska!!! ( with a few last MTC pics)

Dorota came to our party, and dressed up as me. Dyed her hair red. Stole my name tag. Everything. It was so amazing :)

Goodness gracious great balls of fire. My family it is so good to be writing you again! Again, as always, your letters just lift me up and make me smile so much. No matte how long they are are whatever, they are just the best. I can imagine every little scenario so vividly I feel like I'm experiencing it with you. Like when Judge Rushton took a dip in the golfing creek, I felt the chill of the water, the pain on my knee and the steam of frustration and string of angry sounding words running through my head (;P). Really though, I live for your stories. You all sound amazing per usual, which brings me so much joy :) This week has been an amazing, eventful one to say the least. So much has happened and my mission life is definitely in for a little change- so I will fill you in on that :) Before I do - Pop congratulations on finishing out work. That is unreal!!!! You are a Judge in Murrieta. Craziness. So amazing. I am sorry you hurt yourself (even though I made fun of you) and I hope your feeling a lot better and getting ready for Hawaii, which will be crazy. Mom you are so funny ha :) You will love Hawaii- relax, drink lots of Pineapple juice with the mini umbrella things in the edge of your glass. I feel more relaxed just thinking about that. :) Crazy to think you'll be reading this in Hawaii, i love it. This week really has been amazing for quite a few reasons. The most crazy and anticpated part has certainly been transfers, but other then these Transfers, we've had some pretty amazing experiences. First off, we had Halloween this week. Spencer- I like you missed the day of Halloween. On the 31st of October I was hanging out in my apartment, making some Polish dish to eat lol. But the next day, was the Day of the Dead. November 1st is one the most celebrated holidays in Poland and at night, everyone brings candles, lights them and puts them on the graves of their ancestors. Everyone has work off- everything is closed except for McDonalds and it's a very special day for them. Irina, who is not Polish, wanted us to come to her house during the day to visit for a bit because she is usually to busy to have us over, but she had this day off. So Henrie and I met her at a Tramvaj stop, caught a bus together and went to her house. We taught the Plan of Salvation with this little Wood puzzle I bought off of Elder Maxey in the MTC and it went super well. Her son only speaks Polish so we did it in Polish and he really seemed to grasp all we were saying. We hadn't taught Irina this yet either so that was really great- both really ate it up. We asked if they would read the Book of Mormon together and they agreed. The meeting was just so light and comfortable and I truly did feel the Spirit there. I left the puzzle for Arthur to look at, cos he seemed pretty enthralled with it. Elder Henrie and I really taught in unison and it just felt good. We caught a bus back feeling really good. (quick flashback to the next day) At church the next day Irina said that her and Aurthur went over it that day again and that he explained everything to her. It was just so great. MM!! Just knowing that she realizes that this is important and wants to truly know it and be apart of the Lord's church truly brings me joy :) So after Irina's house we headed back home and then to our Halloween party with the Other Elders and Sisters at the Church. No one is outside on the Day of the Dead and it's disrespectful to talk about other religions over the graves of these Catholic People for various reasons- so we had a Halloween party. I threw together a cheap Raggedy Anne and Andy costume ( i was Andy ) and it was awesome. ALl the missionaries were dressed up- Elder Meacham and Jacobs went to the nines as a hillbilly couple. Elder Meacham was wearing a mini skirt...and a bra. And makeup. (and Elder Mecham just got called to AP hahaha). Jacobs drew some hardcore tatoos and had a pretty nice mustache drawn on to his face. It was hilarious and so nice just to enjoy each others company. We carved Pumpkins (the most deranged looking Pumpins you have ever seen...i really missed Bates Nut Farm right about then lol) and ate food and just enjoyed ourselves for a couple of hours. Then we got dressed, cleaned up and went to this gigantic cemetery and the place was just packed. People everywhere. It was like disneyland. But it was a Cemetery. There were candles everywhere, some graves only bearing one or two, some 30 to 70. It was quite a sight and I really enjoyed it. The graves were so ornamental and carefully carved and very epic looking. I kind of want to go back to look at it during the day- but it's an interesting concept to go and remember all your deceased ancestors on one special day. Literally going to where there bodies lay. It's probably a good time to remember all your anscestors and all they've done. The contrast is crazy from the states eh? We go to graveyards on halloween and get the geebers scared out of us, but they parade around it to merely remember. I love experiencing such a different culture. It's always an adventure :) Last Night, Sunday, transfer news was getting pretty tension-y. Everyone really wanted to know where they were going and I really wanted to know too lol. In a world where not a whole lot changes except for the person you are with 24 hours a day and the other people in your zone, transfers are a BIG DEAL. You all would get the biggest kick out of the value that comes with any sort of information about Transfers. The Office Elders are informed a good week and a half early as well as the AP's, and they relish in this fact. It's better then gold. So Elder Henrie and I were separated because he had to drive to the Czech republic for legal work. And so I had to go stay with Elder Jacobs and Meacham. After a string of events, we were driving home to Elder Jacobs apartment with the Office ELders- holders of all knowledge- and then they just told me. Elder McRae is going to be the new Warsaw South Central District Leader, which was Henrie's position. And I am staying In Warsaw as his companion. Elder Henrie is heading to Krakow as DL and I'm actually way stoked to get a new comp. Everyone says that McRae is just rad as can be. I'm looking forward to getting to know him to say the least. A lot of my zone is changed. Elder Mecham is in an AP trio now and Sister Squires, from the MTC group, going to be with Sister Castleton who is in my District. We definitely lucked out and I have a feeling this Transfer is going to blow by quicker then the last one. Which is kind of hard to believe. But i am very excited :) So this Letter has been pretty Random...and I have to add a few things that were Hilarious. Elder Henrie bought a skateboard this week...and skateshoes and a new jacket. He spent about 1000 zloty. Blew my mind lol. We went running in the morning...I went running in the morning and he skateboarded ha. He is one crazy kid. I wonder how lugging that around is going to be lol. I really am just so stoked for all the changes. Change is good and I'm just excited to see how it all turns out. I know it probably seems like I'm hiding all feelings of discouragement from you cos I don't often write about bad things that happen- but honestly, not too many truly discouraging things happen. Sometimes it's a bummer when people don't want to talk with us, but to tell you the truth, I am honestly really happy here. I know that the Lord will not give me anything that I cannot handle and I know that each challenge is just a learning experience. I am most certainly not perfect and I'm not Mr. Sunshine 24/7, but I do smile, quite often, I love so many of the Elders here and I know the Lord helps me through my problems. I just want you to know that I am so happy. I'm so happy being here doing this work. I'm so happy with the people here and am so blessed to be here. I love everything about POland. It's where I'm meant to be right now and though I miss you, my family, more than anything in the world, I know this is what I'm supposed to be doing and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I love you all so much. Life is so good!!! And we are so blessed. I know I am so blessed to have you all. To have the support of two beautifl little sisters who are amazing as all get out ( i brag about you both all the time) a brother who makes me proud every single day and two parents who love me and are there for me and think about me all the time and want nothing but the best for me. Thank you so much family. YOu don't even realize how amazing you are to me. Can't wait to hear form you next week :) Parents, enjoy the Hawaiian weather and just enjoy yourselves. You so deserve it. :) - Starszy Michael Joseph Rushton Jr.
p.s. For halloween, Dorota came to our party, and dressed up as me. Dyed her hair red. Stole my name tag. Everytihng. It was so amazing. :)

This is a beautiful park that Mike first visited with the President.