Monday, December 09, 2013 5:24 AM Dearest Family. And Friends.

So. Um. Hey.

Fun story. Last week I got emails from my peeps (translation: Mom, Dad, Will, and Babs) and they're all like, "Hey! Frozen was so good! Yeah, like, Disney rocks. And the music? In-credible. Sorry you're a missionary and you don't watch movies ..." (minus they didn't say the last part about being a missionary. That's what I was thinking as I read it. And every time I passed a poster for it. And every time I pass a poster for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. That's a kick in the chicklets, lemme tell ya. Oh, and there's this HUGE, building-size poster for it, with Bilbo and Sting - AH. Kill me. Just kill me now. But not really. I love being a missionary. And it's not like a year and a half is forever, anyways. I'll watch movies soon enough. And in the mean time, I'll be a missionary.. It's a good trade-off. Anyways ... Where was I ... Ah. Yes. Parantheses.) So. I was later at the mall. Because that's a fun P-Day hang-out. And we were at Empik. And Elder Pieper was like, "Hey, check it out!" And he pulls out the Frozen CD po polsku. And I was like, "WHAT!?" And then (and this is all a little fuzzy, because the excitment overcame me) I think I snatched it out of his hands and was like, "WHOA!" Yeah. I've turned into a snatcher. Embarrassing. Anyways. Long story short,  I bought the CD. And it totally rocks. The music is SO beautiful. I'm just like, "YES." So beautiful.

This week Sister M and I worked a lot on the Christmas fireside we're doing for the branch. Which may or may not end up happening during church (BOO. But Elder Finch is going to try to talk to President Marian and get it changed to Friday night). Anyways. Elder Finch delegated the fireside to us (lucky us, right?) He was like, "You're sisters! Planning parties is what you do!" ... True. It's true. I don't appreciate the confined assumption of gender roles, but it's true. And honestly, who would leave planning something like this to elders anyways? A crazy. That's who. So we've been working on that. If all goes according to plan, it'll be AWESOME! If not? Well ... At least we tried, right? Right. 

I bought a coat this week! So maybe (MAYBE) I won't freeze and die this winter! Hallelujah! My coat is big and fluffy and purple and long, and basically, it brings me insurmountable joy. And I also got a pair of fake leather gloves so I can wear them AND pass out ulotki (my giant mittens are freaking cute, and super warm, but they're basically useless when it comes to passing out ulotki). Merry Christmas, me! Now I need to find more socks ... I'll be okay, but my feet get SO cold! They, like, turn numb, and then I walk really awkwardly until they get tingly, and then I was even MORE awkwardly, and then they return to a state of relative normal. It's marvelous. Oh Poland. How I love thee. This going to be the Best Winter EVER! (... Or something like that, anyways ...)

Also last week we spend some time Wednesday helping the Tuellers figure out Łódź. Those poor kids. I feel so bad. They've got no idea what they're doing. Apparently the MTC didn't teach them anything, poor lambs! They ask us all the time, "Now, do we do this? Should we do that?" And we're like, "Ummm ... Sure?" We are totally not helpful. Because we've never been a senior couple before! We don't know what senior couples do! Poor babies. It's like they're two little trainees without a trainer, and neither speaks a lick of Polish. That's a tragedy right there. But they'll be okay. They'll figure it out in no time, and they'll do just fine. They're so cute.

So we teach Advanced English. ... Oh. Correction. We TAUGHT Advanced English. We have a senior couple now, so that responsibility is no longer ours. Which is actually super sad. Because guess what? We've got the COOLEST Advanced English class EVER. Mostly because of two of the students. Student One: Bartek. He's AWESOME. He works for the police department (or something like that ...), and he used to the be the second best weight lifter in the country. And he lived in Georgia The Country for a year. And he comes every week, and the poor sucker has to reintroduce himself every week because we kept getting new students. Anyways. He's awesome. And last week he brought us Kaki (the spelling is questionable ...) because the very first week we taught we were talking about what we would plant in our gardens if we could plant anything, and he said he'd plant Kaki because it's his favorite fruit. And we were like, "What the heck is that?" And he tried explaining it, and we had NO idea what he was talking about. So last week, he brought us some. What?! I know, I know. He rocks. Student Two: Maksim. Maksim is from Ukraine, and he is possibly the most pleasant person I've EVER met. He's just so nice! And happy! And - let's get real - we're in Poland. Nice and happy are in rather short supply in this country. So that's great. We love Maksim. And - it gets even COOLER than nice and happy! - Elders Finch and Fogg are teaching him, and he's TOTES interested in the Gospel! Ah. Maksim is the best. This guy is TOTALLY getting baptized. We are going to miss our English class, dang it! 

Okay, so Tuesday was the Best Day Ever. BECAUSE. Guess what? I got my Christmas package! And a card from my Mama! On the same exact day. Whoa, right? The timing of the shipping and the postal service was perfect. Basically, I was immensely happy. My package ROCKED. Oh man. SO GREAT. Babs - that scarf is seriously gorgeous. I LOVE it! And Grandma Young - I LOVE the ornament! It's on my tree right now! I was seriously spoiled SO rotten on Tuesday! 

Well, it's been a real slice. (Nazywaj ten film!) I'm out.

Much love!

Siostra Young

Deuteronomy 4: 29-31

Monday, December 02, 2013 5:33 AM Thanksgiving. Charlie Brown Style.

You know what? When you're in Poland, Thanksgiving is hard. They just haven't learned to appreciate Thanksgiving in this country. In fact, they don't even sell turkeys here. They just don't do it. So our Thanksgiving was a LITTLE bit sketchers. This is Poland. This is how we do. So. How was Thanksgiving, you ask? Lemme tell ya. It started out with a whiteboard with Elders Finch and Fogg. And we were trying to decide what to do, and we were like, "It's Thanksgiving. It's gotta be Thanksgiving-y." And then Elder Finch was like, "But we're in Poland. Is that okay? Will they be alright with that? We're already trying to get them on board with the Book of Mormon, and they already think we're an American church. Is that too much?" And Elder Fogg's like, "Well, we are centered in America. They can get used to it now or later. Let's do it." And we're like, "Yeah, okay!" So we decided to draw a turkey on our whiteboard. So Elder Fogg and I combined our talents and drew a BEAUTIFUL turkey, and then underneath wrote, "Co to jest?" What is this? Genius, I know. Except, everyone kept guessing CHICKEN. It was OBVIOUSLY a turkey! What a bunch of goobers. So we're standing there, talking to people, and from across this street this construction worker pokes his head out of the door, and yells, "To indyk, no?" And we were like, "TAK!" Yeah boy! Ah. What a priceless moment. It was wonderful. So. Then we did actual Thanksgiving. We had pizza, chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, pasta salad, jello, and apple pie. Uh huh. That was our Thanksgiving dinner. Elder Pieper brought the pasta salad, and he made me try it. He literally scooped it up and put in on my plate and watched to make sure I ate it. It was alright, but I'm still not a big pasta salad fan. Oh - and later, we were eating jello, and Elder Pieper was explaining to me how you're supposed to swish it through your teeth (because that's fun), so I tried it, and I was like, "Hm. I don't like it." And Elder Finch was like, "You don't like my jello?" and I was like, "No, no! The jello's great!" And he was like, "I'm not offended or anything. I made it out of a box." And I was like, "No, really! It's great jello!" And then Elder Pieper was like, "Jeez, Sister Young. You don't like his jello?" Little punk. Anyways. Moral of the story. Thanksgiving was good, but definitely unorthodox. I've never had a Thanksgiving quite like it. And if I never had a Thanksgiving like it again ... well, I'd be alright with that.

On Wednesday we got our new senior couple! That was super fun! Elder and Sister Teuller (spelling is sketch ...) are from Utah, and they're brand spankin' new to the country! But they're SO SWEET! We love them already! They are going to be EXCELLENT fake grandparents! They are seriously so sweet. 

On Tuesday (sorry - this week is all backwards!) after District Meeting, we talked to this crazy lady named Elenora. We were walking home and this lady asked us directions, and I don't know how to say, "So you'll walk to this intersection and turn left, and Piotrkowska's just one street over" in Polish, but I'm trying, and Elenora walks up and she hears the slaughter of her native tongue that's going down and answers the lady's question, then she looks at me, and she's like, "How do you not know how to speak Polish?" Um, I BEG your pardon? And I'm like, "Oh, well, we're from the States." And then (as per usual) she's like, "OH! The STATES!" Everyone over here loves America. You tell them you're from the States, and you've got a new friend. Who wants you to find a way to get them there. Which is not possible. But hey. Whatever. So. Then she wants us to translate a postcard for her into Polish from English. And the gist of the postcard is this: I didn't lie about the gambling, I just never told you! Come to America! I miss you! What kind of soap opera have we just walked into, am I right? So then she gives us the backstory on this guy from the States she met twenty something years ago, and apparently they had a bit of a thing, but they're both married, and blah blah blah, and he flew to Warsaw to see her, and blah blah blah and he has a really nice house in America (yeah - she showed us a picture - it wasn't that nice) and his wife is really nice and younger than she is and so on and so forth. And then we got random rants about how she wants to live in the Sierra Nevadas with bears, and the Pope said JW's know the bible well, and then - and this was my favorite part - she asked us to hook her up with old men from America. Um, yeah, NO. I'm NOT going to do that. She was a crazy. But a very interesting crazy. That was probably the most entertaining conversation I've EVER had, and I didn't even understand 100% of it. Ah, Poland. What a lovely country. 

I got LETTERS on Tuesday as well! Thanks Mama! And cousins! And Babs - your picture is BEAUTIFUL! I hung it up on my wall. I love it. :)

Can I just tell you all how much I love this district? They are so fun! Ah. I love them. I tell ya, the start of every single transfer, I'm like, "Hm. I'm not sure about these people. They seem weird. I don't know if I'm going to like them. I miss my old district." And then, after a couple weeks, I'm like, "OH MY HECK I LOVE THESE PEOPLE!" You'd think I'd learn from this at some point. Or not. Whatever. I guess as long as I end up loving them all, it's okay. But I seriously love them. My comp - she is so great. I LOVE Sister M! And our elders are HILARIOUS. I think they're great. We have so much fun. 

Speaking of the D. We assigned Spirit Animals. Yep. The Spirit Animal thing is cool again. (Again? Who am I kidding - Spirit Animals are ALWAYS cool.) Elder Finch is a raven (no, the irony of his animal being a bird is not lost on us. But he's just so bird-like!), Elder Fogg is a wolf, Elder Gibby is a caribou (he was originally a giraffe, but we changed it), Elder Pieper is a lynx, Sister Montesinos is a fox, and I am yet undecided. I've offically decided that being a sea otter is cheating because I chose it myself. And you can't choose your own Spirit Animal. That is the first rule of Spirit Animal assigning. Anyways. I'll keep you all posted.

Apparently Elders Finch and Fogg saw a magazine at the bank, and it said that Łódź was voted the ugliest city in Poland. If that's not depressing, I don't know what is. But whatevs. It reall isn't that bad. It's has it's own sort of charm. You just have to look really hard to find it. (And I mean REALLY hard ...) I was talking to Elder Caskey last week for a few minutes, and he said that Kato is WAY uglier. But I don't know ... It's hard to disagree with a magazine in a bank. That stuff's legit. (However, Kato was voted second ugliest ... Maybe they flipped a coin ...)

Good news - I've officially been out over 9 months! Whoa nelly! That is SO crazy!  I can't believe it! Sometimes, I'm like, "What? 9 months!? When did THAT happen?! I left yesterday!" And then sometimes I'm like, "What? Only 9 months? Haven't I been gone three years?" It's weird. This missionary time. I'm telling you. I'm never going to get used to it. 

So. Yeah. That was my week. PRETTY exciting stuff. You should all feel free to be jealous. Because I'm guessing none of you ate pizza for Thanksgiving. So SO sad. You poor saps. You haven't truly celebrated Thanksgiving until you've celebrated it with pizza.

LOVE YOU ALL!

Siostra Young

1 John 4