Memory Verse

“I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.…I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” —Philippians 4:12-13

Dear Grandchildren,

Let me continue writing about my travels in the USA with the Polish Slavonic Missionary Choir. There were many things that we were not used to, and we had to learn something new practically every day.

For one thing, the food tasted strange. In Poland, we never cooked meals with sugar. We sweetened tea and coffee with it, and we baked cookies for Christmas and Easter with sugar, but otherwise it was almost foreign in our diet. When we ate food in America, it seemed that everything we tasted was sweet! I thought that American potatoes even tasted sweet. I had to learn to eat bread served with jam for dinner, or eat sweet pickles with meat. I swallowed pumpkin pie without chewing so that it would not leave a bad taste in my mouth, especially when it was served with whipped cream. I wondered how anyone could like that!

I liked to eat celery and olives, but I didn’t know how I should handle them. When the plate of raw vegetables was passed to me, I had to think, “Do I take it with a fork? With a knife? Certainly not with my hands!” But when I looked around, that’s exactly what the hostess and the rest were doing.

Going to the dime store was a big treat to us—so many things on display! All the sales girls looked so lovely. We noticed how beautiful their skin was, so we asked them to share their secret. The lady at the cosmetic counter showed us some of the creams that were popular with the American girls. We bought some, but since we could not read the directions, we didn’t know how to use them! Dr. Jaroshevich was quite provoked with the lady who helped us buy the creams. He said, “What will they buy next? What rubbish!” He said European girls didn’t need anything extra to make them look pretty.

Since it was February, many beautiful cards were on display in the dime store, especially the Valentine’s Day cards. Right next to them were the sympathy cards. I could not read much English, but “sympathy” sounded very much like the Polish word “sympathia.” That means someone that you care for very much. Not knowing that the English word “sympathy” meant something else, I thought that it would be the same as buying a Valentine’s Day card. I chose the prettiest one and sent it to one of my friends in Poland. Only much later did I understand what I had done.

One of the more attractive cities was Columbus, Ohio. At that time, 1937, Columbus was a very clean city. I was a little bit disappointed in the big cities like New York and Pittsburgh because they were not too tidy. Paper was strewn all over the streets and one could step on chewing gum wherever one walked. Columbus reminded me of Warsaw. It had brick buildings light in color. Bricks in Warsaw were covered with stucco, which looked almost white. Not all Polish cities were clean and beautiful, but Warsaw was, and so was Konstancin where I spent my childhood.

—Grandma Nadzia

Questions

1. Have you ever been in a place where everything was strange?
2. What was it like? Did you feel like complaining about it?
3. What does it mean to be content?