Monday, August 26, 2013 7:50 AM Kickin' It Kraków Style

Well. Here we are again!

I need some help, people. Here's the thing. Transfers are next week. And I REALLY don't want to leave Kraków. Like, ever. But at LEAST for this next transfer. So I need you all to call in all the favors you've got with the Big Guy. I need some prayers. Big time. I LOVE Kraków. This is the most INCREDIBLE city, and I love it SO much. If I stayed here for the rest of my mission - yeah. I'd be totally down. So I'm serious about this, guys! I want some prayers! I mean, if you're not too busy or you happen to remember. I shouldn't be trying to force people to pray for me ... That's awkward.

So we had the Conference of Zones last week. That was pretty fun! I really love Zone Conference! It's so cool to be together with other missionaries and just bask in the Spirit. SO awesome. I love it. And on the train from Kraków to Kato, us and our elders and all the Kielce elders sang hymns for a while. That was SUPER fun. Ah, I love singing hymns. And it's even cooler when you're on a train in Poland. Speaking of the Kielce elders - can I just say that Elders Lanham and Blom are the Power Companionship? They're so COOL! Man, they're seriously just so awesome. They have the Spirit like nobody's business. I am quite proud to claim Elder Blom as my MTC Brat. They're just cool. That's all. And they have this guy (he's a prof at a University in Kielce) following them around. PHOTOGRAPHING them. Yeah. True story. It's got the okay from headquarters and everything, it's just crazy. He wants to teach his students about us. So that's cool. But honestly, if there were any companionship to photograph, it would be them.

Fun Fact - Marcin Gortat is Polish. What team does he play for? (This isn't a trivia question. Seriously. I want to know. Where does he play?)

Last week we had a little incident. One of the lovely sisters in our companionship (who will remain nameless for the sake of the story), plugged in her blow dryer from the States, and then we heard a really loud popping sound, and all the lights went out. And I was in the shower when this was happening. That wasn't my favorite morning. We don't have any windows in our bathroom. It was QUITE dark. So we used flashlights for about five days until someone came and fixed it. That was fun. That's also why there are pictures of us camping in the living room. It just seemed like the right thing to do, with the power off and all.

Okay. So. CRAZIEST thing happened. And I am now going to tell you about it. Because you're lucky little souls.

So. When I first got into the country - into Kraków - we inherited an investigator from the elders who were here before. Her name is Anna (name coincidence? I think not.). She had a baptismal date. We met with her a few times. She was AWESOME. And then, she fell off the face of the earth. She was just gone. We called her, we tried visiting her, I think we even emailed her. Nothing. It was the WORST. Like, seriously. Not a fun experience. She was so cool.

Fast forward to Tuesday. We just got home from the Conference of Zones, we were going down to Avita to buy something for dinner, and I saw this girl from behind, and I was like, "Anna? No. Can't be." But I was like, "Sister Allen, I think that's Anna!" (Quiety, of course. I'm not going to go yelling that. It would be awkward). So we get to where we can see her from the front, and we were like, "ANNA!" And she was like, "HEY!" And she came over and hugged us, and she was like, "Hey guys!" And we talked for a minute, and then she was like, "Do you guys have time tomorrow to meet?" Do we have TIME to MEET? I think yes! Psh! Of COURSE we do! Oh my heck! This stuff does NOT happen! So we met with her Wednesday, then again on Friday, and she's so awesome! She's so down to meet! And she said she still wants to get baptized, she just doesn't know when. But what?! This is the craziest! Like, holy cow! She's so cool! I love her. It was basically the best thing that's ever happened. I mean, these things don't just happen. You don't lose an investigator and then run into them on the way to grocery store three months later. God is the BEST.

(Also. She said that what happened is she broke her phone, had to get a new one, with a new number, and that she lost our number, so she couldn't call us. But she said she's still been reading her Księga and everything! Man, she's SO COOL!)

The end.

We really did have an amazing week. We worked really hard to get our lessons. You see, we've been promised that if we can get 15 lessons a week, the work will progress quicker and we'll have more baptisms (this is from a general authority ... I don't remember which ...). On Saturday night, we only had 10 lessons. But we really wanted to get the 15, because we've been promised if we do that the work will progress. So. We worked really hard Sunday night. We got two lessons after church, Sister Allen got two at our free table, and at the end of our free table, we needed one more lesson. So. We prayed, and decided we'd stay 10 more minutes and try to get a lesson. It was already later than we were planning on heading home, and I was worried we wouldn't be able to get in on time. But. There we were. It's fine. So we split up, and went lesson hunting. I saw this girl, and I was like, "Yeah. Her. I will contact her." So I did, and she was like, "Sorry, I don't speak Polish!" And I was like, "Hey! Me niether! Where are you from?" She was from Hungary, and she was SUPER cool. She said she was Christian too and that she thought it was super awesome that we share the Gospel with people and then she was like, "Can we pray?" And I was like, "Um, I'm sorry? What? Can we pray? YES we can PRAY! Who ARE you?! You're so cool!" No. I was just like, "Yeah, totally!" So she prayed in Hungarian (SUPER cool!) and then I prayed in English (not as cool. And what do you know? After you spend forever praying in Polish, praying in English is a tad bit awkward), and then I was like, "Can I share with you a little about my church?" And she was like, "Yeah, sure!" So BOOM, got a first. Just like that. SO AWESOME. How does God do it? Seriously! He's so good! He just puts the coolest people in our paths! So then, after the mini-lesson and our ten minutes were up, we reconvened, and guess what? We EACH got a lesson! How crazy incredible is that?! SO COOL! So we got 17 lessons! Two more than we needed! AND we got in on time. Basically, it was a miracle night. 

I love you all SO SO much! Thanks for all the love and support and prayers and everything! Sorry my emails aren't more interesting. It's like, through the week, all these crazy awesome things happen, and then by the time Monday morning rolls around, I've forgotten them all! So my deepest apologies and greatest love. I send to you. Sorry, that phrasing is a little awkward. Just go with it.

LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!

Monday, August 19, 2013 5:45 AM My Dearest Family

Hello All! Greetings from Poland!

First - a question. 101 Dalmations. When they lose the puppies, and they do their barking thing - what do they call that? I can't for the life of me remember. It's making me crazy.

Like, half the time when I introduce myself, people are like, "Young? Are you Asian?" Do I LOOK Asian? No. Young is not an Asian last name (well ... I suppose it could be. But not in my case.) It just never ceases to amaze me. And this one guy, I was like, "No, it's English." And he was like, "Nope. It's Chinese." Well.

Alright then ... Naturally you would know more about my name than I would ...

I had the weirdest moment the other day. I was by Nowy Kleparz, and we were waiting for a tram, and I looked over and there was this poster with Logan Lerman's face on it for Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters. It was SO weird! I was just like, "Hey - what?! Logan Lerman? What brings YOU to Poland?" He didn't answer. Obviously. He's on a poster. But still. It was a strange moment. Sometimes I think it would be nice to be in some squalid little thrid world country where I wouldn't have to see movie posters and miss seeing movies. And then I remember how much I love indoor plumbing and refrigerators, and quickly repent.

So here's the thing. About Polish Catholics. Everyone says that Poland is 90-95% Catholic. And this is true. In the books. Everyone gets baptized in the Catholic church because everyone gets baptized in the Catholic church. And people go to church because people go to church. It's been this way for years, and they say this is how it will always be (obviously they haven't heard about the Gospel. Hence missionaries). I just find it vastly interesting. When we talk with people on the streets and they say they're Catholic and we ask them if they believe the Catholic church is the same church Christ had when He was on the earth, they straight up say it's not. And then we ask them if they believe it's true, and they straight up say it's not. And yet, they're Catholic ... And granted, there are exceptions to the rule. There are plenty of people who are believing, practicing Catholics. But DEFINITELY not 90% of the country. It was interesting - we were talking to this one guy, and he was saying that people go to church in Poland like they go to the park. It doesn't really mean a lot. They just go. Crazy, right? And I guess it's nice that this country has a Christian background - that helps. It's just very intresting. Poland is a fascinating place.

I had my first experience with tea this week! We bought some raspberry lemon tea (only fruit. Obviously. It was totally in line with the Word of Wisdom, so don't you fret), and I like it. I mean, it's kinda weird.. But I like it. There's something insanely classy about tea. I'm a fan.

I can't believe that school is starting back up! Weird weird weird! I have been going to school every August for the past 15 years, and now? Nope. I'm just being a missionary. It's just so weird. And I don't know about you guys back at home, but this summer went by freaky fast! The days in and of themselves are SUPER long, but all the sudden we're over halfway through August. When the crap did THAT happen? It's just so weird!

So. We have this investigator. This AWESOME investigator. She's so cool. And we've been working with her since May. And we're hoping (and praying and hoping and praying A LOT) that she's going to have a baptismal date this week! But seriously - she's awesome! She's been reading the Book of Mormon and praying and doing everything right - she even gave her mom and dad Books of Mormon! How crazy is that?! I'll tell you - pretty darn crazy!!!

We had an AWESOME day last Thursday. Our plans were a little sketch, but I felt strangely okay about it. Which is SUPER unusual. I'm a little OCD about planning. But anywyas. It was awesome. EVERYTHING felll PERFECTLY into place. Like, it was crazy. How perfect it all was. We got street lessons and awesome contacts and everything rocked.

Well. Gotta run. Until next week!

LOVE YOU ALL SO SO MUCH!!!

Monday, August 12, 2013 5:55 AM GREETINGS!

'Ello, family! Still in Poland. Still alive. Good stuff!

This week we had QUITE a few interesting experiences with alcohol. That sounds a little sketch ... Anyways. first we were waiting to meet with Ciocia Babcia, and we were waiting at Teatr Bagatela, and there were these people giving out free piwo. To znaczę, beer. They were just like, yelling, "Piwo! Za darmo! Za darmo piwo!" And there was a PALPABLE lack of the Spirit there. I just felt sick inside. It was disgusting. And this little boy - maybe 13 years old - came up to us and asked us to go get him some beer. And we were like, "What? Are you kidding?" And he was like, telling us how his girlfriend has some beer and he wanted some, and we were like, "Yeah, no. But here, do you want this flower?" (We bought some flowers for Ciocia Babcia because she's the coolest and we love her), and he took one (we think he threw it away because we saw him later bez kwiat. To znaczę, without the flower.) Isn't that horrible? He was 13! He should NOT be drinking! NO ONE should be drinking! Honestly. It's the stupidest thing. The next night we saw one of our former investigators (and she was the COOLEST! She was cud. To znaczę, miracle.) on the tram, and she was COMPLETELY WASTED. We got off (she lives off our same tram stop), and we were like, "Should we go talk to her?" So we did, and she wasn't even remotely coherent. She had a friend with her who wasn't quite as plastered, but honestly. It was ridiculous. She was blabbering about how she'd been in Warsaw on holiday and I was there with her and she was looking for her cousin and on and on. It was the saddest thing. She was NOT herself. Why would anyone want to do that? I honestly don't get it. What's the appeal? You want to go drink something that makes you completely forget who you are, and then not remember anything that happened? I'm sorry. I do NOT get it. Ugh.

We had a lesson with this guy, and it was awkward. He was youngish. Early 20's, perhaps? And he comes in (we were sitting at the table in the chapel doing calls), and Sister Hemming goes over to greet him and he hugs her and she's like, "Ehh ..." and it was really awkward. And then he came over to me, and I'm like, "Okay. What am I going to do?" So then he like, goes to hug me, and I'm like, Well. Whatever.. But then I was like, WAIT! I can't HUG him! Ugh! I'm a missionary! So I pulled away, and he gave me the WIERDEST look. And I was like, in ENGLISH, "How about a handshake?" Oh my heck. Surely the most AWKWARD MOMENT EVER. I'm so awkard. It's ridiculous. So that was the not hug story.

Sorry - I'm a little bit out of time. And I didn't have a super exciting week. So that's going to have to do. Just know that I love you all, and that I think you're the coolest, and the Church is true!

Also, a HUGE THANKS again for the Birthday wishes, and especially for the birthday package! it was AWESOME! Man, I just LOVE you guys! So much!!!!!

Unfortunate occurance. A man just sat down next to me who is in great need of some deodorant. If I could share three messages with the people of Poland they would be these. 1. The Church is true. 2. Deodorant is awesome. 3. Brush your teeth.

I hope you all have an excellent week! Love you guys!

Monday, August 05, 2013 7:49 AM Hello, Fam!

Hey guys! Hope everything is well at home! I hope everyone got to hear the voice recordings I sent - those are going to have to be the bulk of the email this week (things have been PRETTY crazy trying to answer emails and all that jazz today). And I'm sorry I haven't done pictures in a while! I pinky promise to get some up next week! Like I said, it's been crazy. 

Well. I'm now 20. I'm basically an old woman. Gross. However, my birthday was super great! We had dinner with the Onkens, and they made me a birthday cake and sang to me - they are SO cute! I just love them! And I got tied to a mop (we didn't have a pole - Sorry Mom!), so the celebration was complete. We went to dinner on Saturday night at Długa 18 (our favorite pizza place ever - they are SO good!), and that was super fun! Basically, it was awesome. Which is am QUITE grateful for. Naturally. Who doesn't like having a good birthday, right? Also - I am pleased to hear that my birthday was celebrated at home. I assure you, I am not at all offended you tied James to the pole for me and Abby made me a cake. I'm quite flattered, actually. 

Also, Mom, thanks for the Tillamook bookmark! I've got it up on my wall, and I love it. It's presh. I love me some Tillamook. 

I got my haircut today. You can see pictures of it next week. It's just shorter. And I'm growing out my bangs. PRETTY exciting stuff ...

I'm sorry this isn't a more exciting email - it wasn't an overly exciting week, and I don't have oodles of time for emailing today.

In regards to the voice recordings - in case someone didn't get to actually hear them. Here is a brief (or rather, not so brief) rundown. I found this lady on an old sheet of potentials. She was old, but she sounded interesting. So we called her. And she was SUPER excited to meet with us. So we were like, "Yeah. Cool." But she also sounded a LITTLE bit odd, because she wanted to meet us at a tram stop (instead of at the church or her home or something), and she asked us to call her Ciocia Babcia (to znaczę, Aunt Grandma), and said we'd know her because she have flowers in her hand. Okay ... So we go. We're waiting, talking to people. I see this sketch looking girl with flowers in hand. Uh oh. Sister Hemming and I are talking to two guys from Nigeria. Strange Flower Girl walks up to Sister Allen and starts talking to her. She's like, right in her face. Old lady comes out of no where, talks to Sister Allen, grabs her hand, and starts pulling her away. At this point, I'm like, "WHOAkay, Sister Hemming, we gotta go." So I grab her and we follow after Sister Allen and the old lady. Turns out the Old Lady is Ciocia Babcia, she gave the flowers that were supposed to be in her hand to Crazy Flower Girl because she's homeless. And perhaps a crazy. So we are now talking to Ciocia Babcia, and she pulls out two grocery bags full of little tiny plums and she's like, "I brought these for you guys!" And we're like, "Oh, how nice! ... This is weird ..." And then she shows us how to eat them (pop the whole thing in your mouth, then spit out the pit and skin into your hand. Gross.) And then she's like, "Try them!" So we're like, "Okay! ... Still weird ..." So we do it, and then we're standing there, holding spit covered, gooey plum gunk in our hands. And she's like, "Here, I'll take that!" And she made us give it to her. And then she pulled a little pack of tissues out of her bag and made us take one and wipe off our hands. Literally made us. Sister Allen was like, "No, I'm okay! See? Clean!" And she was like, "No! Take one!" Alright then.. And then we walked over to this bench and talked to her, and it was great.. She was SUPER nice (and NOT a crazy like I originally thought she would be, so that's good!). And she's telling us about how the church saved her granddaughter's life and how it's so great and she loves it, and then this other old lady walks up to her, and she's like, "Are you the Pani who's friends with Jan Pawał Drugi?" And she's like, "Yes." So then they talked for a minute, and we're all like, "WHAT?!" And the other lady walks away, and Ciocia Babcia sits back down, and Sister Allen's like, "Wait, you're friends with JPII?" And she's like, "Yeah! We were tight!" I'm sorry, what now? Yes. True story, kids. Ciocia Babcia was TIGHT with JOHN PAUL the SECOND. The Pope. Yes. She was FRIENDS WITH THE POPE. Is this not crazy? It's SO crazy! And then she was like, "Well, girls, I gotta run." So we saw her off to the tram and were talking, and Sister Allen was like, "So were you ever baptized in our church?" Which is NOT a question we usually ask people. But she felt like she should ask.. And she was like, "Of course!" And we were like, "WHAT?!" And she was like, "Yeah. Fifteen or twenty years ago. We moved and then moved back, and I couldn't find the church." So yes. That is the story. We found a long lost member, and she's the most adorable, most precious individual I've ever met. She's so cute, and so grandmotherly - ugh! I just love her! And she was REALLY sharp. Not old and feeble and infirm of mind. She's smart. She was 100% there. "She was quite lucid when I spoke with her." Nazywaj ten film! To znaczę, name that movie! Anyways. Yeah. So she left on her tram and we were all just flabbergasted. And then a minute later she came back because she forgot to buy something. And then she bought her thing and we saw her off again. And then she came back AGAIN because she forgot to give us the flowers she'd bought for us! So she went and got these flowers from the little stand thing for us, and then we saw her off once more. We were waving at her and blowing kisses and she was blowing kisses back at us from the tram window, and this teenage boy behind her was like, "What is happening here." We're just saying goodbye to our AWESOME POSSUM NEW BEST FRIEND, Teenage Boy. Don't even worry about it. Ugh! She's just so awesome! We love her. She's the coolest.

Also. In answer to some questions. We have English every Wednesday night. Currently we have two regulars, so that's fun! We have a good time at English.

Sorry ... I think there were other questions ... And I don't remember. Moja wina.

LOVE YOU ALL OODLES AND OODLES! Thanks for the birthday wishes and prayers - they were all much appreciated!!!

Monday, July 29, 2013 7:41 AM Hello, Home!

Well well well. Here we are again. Another P-Day. Crazy how that works! Let's see. Where to begin.

Well. Sister Hemming and I were on our lonesomes for the first three days of the week. That was an adventure. But it went really well, and we're both still alive, and neither too scarred, so it's good! Success! Thanks for all the prayers on our behalf - I can assure you they were put to good use. 

Fun Story. We were contacting Monday night. And I must've been really tired or something. So I went to contact this guy, and I'm like, "Drogi Ojcie w ... Przpraszam. Jestem misjonarką ..." Yeah. I started praying to this man. SO EMBARRASSING. I'm not sure if he really knew what was going on there (and I really hope he didn't), but it was awkward to say the least. And then I handed him and ulotka and walked away, and Sister Hemming laughed at me, and we all had a charming evening. So during our call to the elders to tell them we're home and bezpieczna and wszystko, Sister Hemming tells Elder Walter, and he thought it was HILARIOUS. Couldn't get control of himself. And then he made her tell the story again so Starszy Peacock could here it. And then he was like, "Yeah, you should probably repent for that one tonight." And I was like, "Yeah, it'll be my first priority in my prayer before bed.." And he was like, "Are you praying to God this time?" Well played, Elder Walter. Well played.

We also taught this SUPER cool couple named Igor and Jadwiga. They're in our Area Book, and we've tried visiting and calling before, but it never worked out. So we just went over (figuiring we'd contact our way over there, get nothing as far as a lesson with them because getting an unplanned lesson at home with someone is PRETTY freaking unusual, and contact home), rang up the domophone, and got an answer from Jadwiga! And she was like, "I don't have a lot of time, but you can come up." Wait, WHAT?! Okay! So we got up, and she's like, "My husband will be home soon and then we can talk!" Cool! Like, SO COOL! So we taught them about the Plan of Salvation (in English, actaully. They're English was really good, and for some reason, using English felt right). It was SO cool. And they were both like, "Wow. That's a good plan." You know that's right! That's because this plan was authored by God! And He knows what's up! And it was cool, because we felt prompted to say things we wouldn't normally say. Like, I talked about how there are three kingdoms, and we're seperated like that because God is going to put us where we'll be the happiest and most comfortable. If you think about it, an ax murderer, who knows what he did was wrong, is NOT going to be happy living with God for eternity. And Igor was like, "Wow. That's the least oppressive plan I've ever heard of. God's going to put us where we'll be happiest." Bingo! (Scrabble! Enough of these games - to the RatMobile!) Anyways. It was an AWESOME lesson, and SUCH a Tender Mercy! God is looking out for us, you know?

It's been REALLY BLASTED hot here the past week. Everyone's talking about how it's in the mid 30's, and I'm just some girl from the States who only knows Farenheit - I've got no idea what that means! All I know is it's hot, and I'm literally always sweating. Gross, right? Let me just emphasize once more that Poland is NOT always covered in snow and freezing year round. Not the case. It is blasted hot. The other night I put my little thermometer built in to my clock on the window sill for a while. It was 96. But it was also already around 6, so the hottest part of the day was over. And that doesn't take into accound humidity. It's basically a dream come true, my friends.

We also had an AWESOME lesson with this girl named Pelagia and Brat Dziubla (one of our, like, four active Polish members in the branch). It was SO good. Man. The Spirit was SO there. I love the Spirit. And Brat Dziubla - he is such a champ! I decided I want to be his neighbor in heaven. And he can be my home teacher in my heaven ward. I'm pretty excited. Unfortunately, the next day Pelagia texted us, saying she didn't want to learn anymore. Ugh. Stab in my heart. We get that a lot, though. It's hard finding the line of being sad (because it's literally the worst), but not too sad (because that makes it hard to work). I'm just not sure where the happy medium is there. Maybe I'll never find it. Who knows.

Our 24th of July was super not 24th-y. What do you do when your in Poland? Not much. We ate ice cream with our dinner. That was good. And we taught an English class. English is the language the pioneers spake, right? (Right, but not really. It's alright. Just go with it.) That was good. Sister Allen got home that day from Wrocław. That was nice. Basically that was it.

Alright, kids. Quick Polish lesson. Everyone ready? I want everyone to say, "Kraków." Now say it the right way. NOT crackow. Ugh. That makes me want to wretch. Krakoof. Well, the sound at the end is a cross between an f and a v. Kraków. Good. When I get home, I do NOT want to hear crackow. Excellent! I'm sure you all did a beautiful job.

I feel like that's all I've got for ya, kiddos. I love you ALL and I'll talk to you next week! Sending all my love from Kraków!

Siostra Young

___________________________________________

To Dad:

Couple things. 

First. I bought this AWESOME Hobbit notebook. It's SO cool. I'm just not sure what to write in it yet .... But I had to get it, because the Hobbit is the theme of my mission! I'm thinking I'll make it my Adventure Book, and put all the crazy stuff in there. Something like that.

Second. What's the name of the actress in Count of Monte Cristo? Dagmara something? Is she Polish?

Third. I Love you. Thanks for the emails. They're always so good, and I'm not sure if my replies properly convey how much I love them. And you. Thanks for everything! I love you , my Papa, and my Dadeeee!

--also--

On P-day -other than email and shopping and laundry, not a whole lot. A couple weeks ago we saw Wawel Castle. That was pretty cool. But really, we don't have that much time. We haven't done culte day yet, and we don't know what we're going to do. It's Elder Walter's last transfer, so we're tying to make him choose. Which is not easy. He's just like, "Yeah, whatever.' No, Elder Walter. Choose!

To Mom:

Hi MooMoo! Thanks for the prayers! I'm sure they were put to good use - we were incredibley blessed in Sister Allen's absence! I'm glad the postcards all got there safe and sound! Also, I got your letter on the 23rd of July and it was MUCH appreciated. It was exactly what I needed - thank you SO SO much! You're the best Mom EVER. I didn't even KNOW this painting thing was going down - good grief! I am so uninformed! What all did they paint upstairs? I'll keep you informed on the package - Sister Allen's going to Warsaw on the 8th, so I'm GUESSING I'll get it then. If not. Well. That's fine too. Awkward. Yep. Things are awkward basically 24/7 as a missionary. It's wonderful. LOVE you Mommy! Thanks for your emails, and sorry my responses aren't better! Love you!