Monday, January 27, 2014 7:05 AM Does Anyone Have A Tissue?

Yeah. This is my day. Let me paint you a picture. 

I'm sitting in a library in Bydgoszcz, Poland. My comp is sitting next to me, typing away. The elders are sitting by the windows, typing away. And I'm sitting here. Typing away. Also crying. Which is very embarrassing. I haven't cried in a library since July. And July, in my opinion, is all too recent. Honestly, I can't think of any reason a person should ever cry in a library. It's silly. Libraries are happy places! Having fun isn't hard when you've got a library card. That's what they say, right? Right. However, today, libraries are not fun. Because what do you know, I'm sitting here at this computer, crying - little tears slipping down my face and plopping on my keyboard, sniffing - partly because I have a cold and partly because oh, what do you know, when you cry very often snot is involved. Disgusting. And I am, in fact, tissue-less. Welcome to my life.

So, Sister Young, why are you crying? Allow me to wyjaśnić the situation at hand.

My sister is getting married this week. Surprise! (It's not a suprise - I've been aware of the fact since November. And in November, it was a surprise. But surprises are supposed to be fun, so I'm trying to bring some joy into my life. Just go with it, yeah?) And this is REALLY great news. It is! Weddings are happy occasions! I love my sister, she loves Devin, he loves her - would you look at all the love floating around? It's great. Except occasionally, when one finds themself in Poland at a time such as this, the love floating thing is a little more difficult. And this is weird, but sometimes when it's hard to float love, you cry. Who knew, right? Personally, I'm not a fan. But okay. There you go. And it also turns out the when you cry, sometimes emailing is NOT the most enjoyable activity. Because guess what? It just makes you cry some more. This may come as a BIT of a surprise, but Sister Young Is Not A Fan Of Crying. Hence, this day is awesome.

Anyways. I'm sure I can find more interesting things to write about.

Or possibly not.

Possibly everything will make me cry today.

Possibly this is one of those charming emotional crying days.

Possibly on my train today for Poznań (exchanges) I'll just be a sobbing wreck, and Elder White will just stare at me and try to figure out how to help, but since that's not actually possible, he'll just stare some more and feel very uncomfortable. That is a definite possibility.

Oh today.

Anyways. I really will try now.

Last week, Sister Lenhart went on exchanges to Szczecin. Which is a good 5 hours of train both ways. Which, back in the good old days, would have meant HELLO Sister Young Gets 10 Hours Of Alone Time (and that equates napping and listening to my soundtracks and cleaning the apartment and baking banana bread. And that equates heaven)! But this is not the good old days. So what that means, is that Sister Young Got Lots And LOTS Of Quality Bonding Time With The Starsi Of Bydgoszcz. Which is fine too. It's just not, you know. NAPPING. So on Monday night I was with Elders Swicegood and Retallick. That was fun. They are charming. Elder Retallick especially personafies the word "charming", because he's British. And charming and British go together like tea and crumpets (not that I know anything about crumpets, but they always seem to linger around the word "tea"). And guess what? He may in fact be the coolest human ever, because he loves ALL THE THINGS (please see, All The Things). (All The Things: a phrase used to envelop a large group of ideas and/or objects that don't neccesarily belong together except under very specific circumstances. In this case, we use All The Things to mean All The Things Sister Young Loves. All The Things being: The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Sherlock, Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, Downton Abbey, One Direction, Ed Sheeran, Christopher Nolan, Batman, Inception, James Bond, soundtrack music, The Hunger Games, etc.) He loves ALL THE THINGS and he's British. There you go. Also, Elder Swicegood is HILARIOUS. Silly silly elder. So yeah. That was fun. Then we had exchanges. Oh yay! Sister Barth came in. That was lovely. We had a grand old time, preachin' the G. Love it. Then on Wednesday I was with Elders Kotten and White. That was fun too. We contacted and tried meeting with a few of their potentials from tracting. It was, as one might imagine, a little awkward. Missionary work was not created for two elders and one sister. But it was really fun. We're all the best of friends now, the starsi and I. And, good news! While we were waiting for Sister Lenhart's train to come in, we assigned our District Spirit Animals.

And now. Without further ado. THE ANIMALS OF THE SPIRITS OF THE BYDGOSZCZ DISTRICT.

Elder Kotter: Sparrow (He's so bird-like, it's insane. It's like, you can just see him bouncing around from branch to branch, chirping, eating worms ... Okay. Not the eating worms bit. But he's a sparrow!)

Elder White: Black Bear (Sometimes a Spirit Animal is so good, you can't even really put it into words. Elder White is just such a black bear..)

Elder Swicegood: Lion (He's loud when he wants to be. He's chill when he wants to be. He's okay with sending off his lady to get the food - and he said this himself, so I can't be blamed for any of it.) 

Elder Retallick: Owl (British. Classy. I have nothing more to say.)

Sister Lenhart: Platypus (She's a combination of a gagillion awesome but eclectic things, and yet, it just works. Also, she's fun. And I don't know about you, but to me, platypus just spells fun.)

Sister Young: Dolphin (At long last, Sister Young has a Spirit Animal! A legit one! Elder White chose it because (and I quote), "You're fun and like to mess with people but in a playful way, but you don't fight for attention or anything, and you're clever." So yeah. I'll take that. I can own a dolphin.)

Marek, the strange man who tried to make me hold his baby last week, asked me if, after my mission, and he divorces his wife (who is sitting right next to him), I would marry him. That was weird. I said no.. 

We met a cool mom named Patrycja. She has two little kids. We're hoping to meet with her this week. That would be SUPER awesome. 

You guys, guess what? The sun doesn't set until 5 O'CLOCK these days! At four, it's TOTALLY still light! It's the CRAZIEST thing ever.I love it. So much.

It's also freezing. Like, arctic. Like, glacial. Like, frigid. It's SO COLD. I go outside, and I get an instant headache from the cold. I didn't even know that was possible. But there you go. Apparently extreme cold can give you a killer headache. And honestly, the worst part is, there's not much you can do about it. I'm bundled up like Randy, but there's just nothing to do about a cold face. Short of wearing a ski mask. And I have a feeling that would not be do-able. Can you imagine us walking up to someone with a ski mask, "Dzień dobry! Jesteśmy misjonarkami z Kościoła ... Oh. They're gone. Alright. Next ones!" Yeah. I just have a feeling that would not work. Tragic, that. I'd love a good ski mask.

Well. That's that. Sorry about the randomness and uncomfortableness of this email. And also of last week's email. I just keep emailing on days that are weird, emotion-wise. And that just makes for some REALLY weird emails. But whatever.

LOVE YOU ALL!

Siostra Young

Monday, January 20, 2014 5:59 AM So. Yeah.

Hey Fam! Also, others who happen upon this email!

Here's the deal. I'm not in much of an emailing mood. Don't let that concern you. I'm doing totally fine. I'm as happy as a clam as you might find in a normal clan of clams with an average range of emotion. Which is to say, I'm quite happy. Just in a way that doesn't really make sense. But that's fine. Sometimes that happens. Sometimes you write things that don't make sense. Anyways. I digress. The point is I'm not really feeling the writing vibes today, so if the email isn't overly interesting or sounds kinda "meh", no need for alarm.

Let's see. What happened this week.

Ciesława met with us a couple times this week (niestete - we can't seem to shake her!). That was ... interesting. Yesterday she stormed out of Sunday School (they were talking about the war in heaven and agency. Apparently she didn't like that). And then we talked to her about how we are at church to learn about the Gospel and the Savior, not to learn English. However, she insisted on staying the third hour. Cool. So we had Relief Society, we were talking about how we're all children of God, and then she stormed out again! Apparently she wasn't a fan of that either. Though I don't know why. Honestly, you'd think that would be a comforting thought. Oh well. In her hurry to leave the church, she left her glasses. So we called her and she didn't answer. And we texted her to inform her of that, and she didn't answer. Then a few hours later she called in hysterics, weeping and wailing and most likely gnashing her teeth, and she was completely IMPOSSIBLE to understand. So I tried calling back later, and again, no answer. Then she sent us a text a few hours later talking about how she wants her glasses and her check which "pani absolutnie ma" (yeah, this pani na pewno does NOT have whatever weird check she's talking about) and then she said she hopes we both leave Bydgoszcz. I was talking to Sister Lenhart about it, and was like, "You know, if someone had my glasses, I wouldn't be saying stuff like that to them. That seems wrong." And she was like, "Yeah, well, I think we've already established that she doesn't think normaly ..." True that, Siost. True that. So maybe we'll get her glasses back to her sometime and that will be the end of the Great Ciesława Experience. ... We can only hope.

Sister Lenhart loves What's Up Doc?. That makes me SO HAPPY. No on EVER knows What's Up Doc?!

There's this weird thing in Poland, where they treat their kids like babies for a REALLY long time. Na przykład, the other day we were walking, and there was this dziecko, and I KID YOU NOT he was 7 years old, and he was just sitting in a stroller, getting pushed around by his mom. RIDICULOUS. So I was like, "Man, I don't konw, maybe this makes me a bad person, but I am NOT pushing my kid around in a stroller like that! The kid's 7 years old! Good grief!" And Sister Lenhart was like, "Yeah, you know, at that age it's either walking or wheelchair." Oh man. It was HYSTERICAL. Sister Lenhart is funny, in addition to knowing good movies and good music. This is going to be a GREAT transfer.

What's the name of Legolas' dad? I've been meaning to ask this for WEEKS, but I keep on forgetting! And it's really starting to make me crazy.

What's happening in the worlds of basketball and football? I feel like I don't know anything!

Emily and Devin's dog is SO FETCHING cute. I want to hold her and love her. Excpet, by the time I get home, she will no longer be tiny and lovable. Dang it, Molly! Just stay a puppy forever, okay? I'm sure you'll be cute when you're big too, but little things are always cuter. Why is that?

Man, I tell you, these Poles just love pouring tea down your throat. Everytime we have a lesson, they're like, "Oh! Welcome! Before we begin, let me get out the tea! And make you drink at least forty cups of it!" Which is all well and good. I love tea - big fan right here. But for some reason that stuff runs RIGHT through you. Seriously. This is true. I don't understand it, but it's true. And for already having a small-ish sized bladder (a.k.a. tiniest bladder on the planet), that makes things kinda difficult. ... Sorry. We just got REALLY up close and personal here. I hope I haven't scared anyone. But sometimes, you've just got to talk about these things.

The other day we were going to meet with a less active family, and as we were coming down the stairs of their building (basically in the dark, mind you. The lighting was NOT great), I slipped and slid down the ENTIRE flight of stairs. Very embarrassing. And painful. And awkward. It was awful. I'm just sliding down on my behind/back, my arms are in the air (probably flailing - I don't remember for sure. In the moment, the only thing I was sure of was the fact that the stairs were very slippery), my skirt is sliding RIGHT up (thank goodness for leggings) - yeah. It was quite an experience. And my back hurts today. I'm not sure if that's a side affect of The Slide or I just slept weird last night. Either way.. Not fun.

We met with this family, and the dad was kinda drunk, and he kept trying to make me hold their baby. Which was unfortunate. Their baby was super cute. I miss babies. But I'm a missionary, so holding babies is not something I do. And I kept being like, "No, I can't - I'd love to but I can't," and then he'd be like, "Yes you can!" It was so awkward. Good sir, I can't hold the child! I'm sorry! I'm a missionary! I can't do that! The White Handbook forbids the holding of children. It is forbidden. "Funsize KitKats! ALSO forbidden!" Good heavens. It was awkward for everyone.

I got to go to Poznań for the first time for Zone Training. That was fun. It seems like a nice place. I got to see some people (Sister Barth, Sister Lidtka, Elder Blom, Elder Peacock - AND speaking of Elder Peacock, he said that he heard Anna is doing SUPER AWESOME in Kraków and that she's SO cool! Of course, I already know this. She's the greatest. But it was fun to hear it from someone else! Also, it was super fun to talk to Elder Peacock for a minute. He's such a goob! Ah, Kraków. Good times, good times), and that's always good! I love seeing people! ALSO, I got mail! Yeah boy! Life complete? Um, I think YES!

Basically that's a good rundown of the week. Pretty exciting stuff.

Talk to you all later, peeps!

Siostra Young

Monday, January 13, 2014 6:21 AM Welcome to B-Town!

So. New City. Here we are again. And this time, it's BYDGOSZCZ. But for the sake of you English speakers out there, we're going to call it B-Town. That's easier, no?

So far, I'm a fan of B-Town. It's REALLY pretty. And when I tell that to people, they look at me weird, and say, "Um, what?" Because they think it is not pretty. Silly people. It's GORGEOUS here! But I guess serving in Łódź will do that to a person ... You leave that city, and suddenly EVERYTHING is beautiful! "Ah! Look at that grafity! A masterpiece! Oh my heck - would you look at that?! An old, falling apart building! Check out that architecture!" Really though - B-Town is pretty. They have some really pretty churches and buildings and whatnot. And a RIVER! There's a BEAUTIFUL river. And some of the streets are cobblestone. It's PRETTY darn legit. I really love it. 

The apartment is good. Apart from the fact that it does not, in fact, have an elevator. And we live on the third floor. Which really isn't that big of a deal. I don't mind. But it was a little bit of a problem when the elders were taking my luggage home (we had a meeting).. Speaking of my luggage. Yeah. It's going to be legendary throughout the mission as The Heaviest Luggage Ever To Exist In This Country Ever. And I don't even know why! I don't have anything crazy! Just clothes and books and whatnot. Elder Tueller decided I'm hiding a bowling ball or two. Elder Fogg thinks I'm secretly a body builder and I have one outfit in my backpack, and my luggage is full of weights. Elder Swicegood decided I'm hiding bodies. ... Yeah. It's pretty bad. I really need to downsize ...

I really miss Łódź, guys. I was NOT expecting that. And I really love B-Town and the branch and the missionaries and everything - honestly, I'm in a GREAT situation right now as far as pretty much everything. But I miss Łódź. I really miss my district there. And not that these people aren't amazing (they TOTALLY are - I love them already), but it's just different, you know? And I'm going to love them and I'll stop missing Łódź soon, but in the mean time ... It sorta bites. Starting over is LAME.

Alright. Story. It's very exciting. The first day in B-Town was a Wednesday, so we had English. Yay. At said English, we met a VERY interesting character by the name of Ciesława (but her friends call on her as Sławka). And we set up to meet with her the next day and teach English and then share the Gospel. Which we did. It was fine. But she's kinda crazy. Like. Really crazy. She loves us one minute (she tells me I look like an angel ALL the time ... it's weird ...) and then she calls us and tells us that she doesn't feel good when she reads the pamphlets we gave her and "God and Satan are the same". She is REALLY delightful. We're hoping she loses interest so we don't have to deal with it anymore ... Yes. Everyone needs the Gospel. But some people ... Well. In small branches, every little problem becomes a big problem. And big problems tear them apart. So we're just going to hope she loses interest. Oh boy. What a character. And she calls ALL THE TIME. Oh Ciesława. Or rather, Sławka. WHAT a character. Poland is such a ... colorful country.

On a happier note, we met this SUPER cute girl named Jagoda tracting my second day here. She has three little boys and a husband with no interest in religion. She's way cool, and we're meeting with her again tonight. Woo hoo! We're going to teach us a little Plan Zbaw (to znaczy, Plan of Salvation) - so it's gonna be GREAT!

Yesterday for lunch we met with a couple who met with missionaries 10 years ago, and they were SO cool! They LOVE missionaries, especially those two who found them. They have a pretty cool story. Their names are Małgosia and Piotr, and Małgosia met missionaries the day after her son's funeral. She said that if she hadn't met them, she doesn't know what she would have done. They were EXACTLY what she needed. She's SUCH a sweet lady. They fed us lunch, and it was very traditional Polish. And - guess what else it was?! Delicious! That's right! Sister Montesinos would be SO proud! I ate it all without making faces and liked it! And guess what it was? It was goose. Yes. I ate goose for the first time, and liked it! Who AM I these days?! Also, I ate red cabbage and it was good! And the potatoes were delish, but there were potatoes, so that's a given. Also, they told me I have very good Polish and a good accent. Cute little old couple that they are! Ah. I love them. And they asked us our first names, and we both said Anna (Cute, right?), and then she called me, "Anna" but she said it the pretty Polish way, and I was just like, "YES!" I miss hearing my first name sometimes. It was grand. And then she was like, "If it weren't for your weird last name, you'd think you were a Polką!" AW! I love her! Anyways. We're trying to find their missionaries for them because they lost contact and they want to talk to them. So that's cool. They weren't SUPER interested in the G, which blows my mind because they're so sweet and have SUCH a great spirit about them - it's like they're already members! How are they NOT baptized?! We have got to do something about that.

The Kagele (spelling is questionable ... sorry, Kageles ...) family is SUPER awesome! I'm so excited to be in the same city as them! They are great. They had us over for dinner last night as a district, and it was SUPER delicious. Also, Sister Kagele and Lydia were good enough for hang out with me for a few hours on Friday morning while I was waiting for my koleżanka to get back into the city. That was fun. But for reals. It was fun! They are AWEOSME!

Guess what? I'm the official pianist for the Bydgoszcz branch. I'm just making my way around the mission, playing the piano! Mama - you'd be so proud! Finally, those years of forcing me to take lessons and practice are paying off! (They actually paid off a while ago because guess what? I love playing the piano. But still! Now there is purpose!) 

We were tracting and a man opened the door stark naked. That was an unfortunate experience. Lucky for us, the light in the hall was burnt out and the light from inside his mieszkanie was VERY dim. Tender TENDER mercies.

So yeah. That's a breif rundown of my week. Very exciting stuff.

Love you all!

Siostra Young

PS - There's an actual British elder in this district. Yeah. He's from England. He has a crazy legit accent. It's PRETTY freakin' cool.

Tuesday, January 07, 2014 4:35 AM Jumping Ship

Well. That's it, guys. I'm jumping ship. I'm heading in to port. I'm LEAVING THE BOAT. And going to (drum roll please) BYDGOSZCZ!

So. How does one SAY that? Allow me to teach you, little friends! Bid. Go. Sh. Ch. All together now! Bidgoshch! (That looks RIDICULOUS with English phonetics. Ew!) Bydgoszcz. Yep. That's her. That's home, for the next 7 or possibly 14 weeks. Pretty crazy stuff! But I'm very excited, and I'm sure I'll have a grand old time! I'm going to be companions with Sister Lenhart, who is one group ahead of mine. All I really know about her is that she plays the French horn (cough cough Hey Dad! So do you! Or did. But whatever! It's cool!) and has good soundtrack music. That's all I know. But that's good, right? I'm excited! The starsi in Bydgoszcz are Elder Kotter (he'll go home same time as me), Elder White (he's one group ahead of me as well), Elder Swicegood (one group behind me), and Elder Retallic (the Brit! I'm serving with the BRIT! Words do not even express my excitement). Except. Guess what? I have to leave my freaking awesome current district, which is not cool. What will I do without them? Suffer, most likely. But it will be fine. Eventually I'll stop loving them so much and love my new people more, and life will go on. So depressing, isn't it?

New Years was LAME SAUCE. We had to be in early on New Year's Eve, so we couldn't really do anything fun. The dumb elders had a sleepover, so they got to hang out. But - for obvious reasons - that was not an option for us. So Sister Montesinos played solitaire while I packed. (Side Note: I didn't know at this point I was leaving Łódź, but we moved apartments two days later, so I was packing for that. And for the possibility of leaving Łódź, which we were all guessing was going to happen) And, fun fact, I SUCK at packing. I'm so bad at it! It took me THREE HOURS to pack. Yeah. Three hours. And my suitcases are ginormous and weigh a gazillion pounds. And now all the elders think I'm high maintenance. Which I guess I am, because I need a lot of stuff to live. High Maintenance: needing a lot of stuff to live. See also, Sister Young. That is my life now. It's fine. I hate suitcases. BEAUTIFUL will be the day when I live in the same place all the time and I don't move every two to four months. SO BEAUTIFUL will be that day.

We also had Culture Night last week! It wasn't super cultural. We went to a VERY Polish restaurant (not a fan), and then we were going to go bowling, but the bowling alley was SUEPR ghetto. So we didn't. Instead we went to the mall and ate ice cream and shopped around H&M for a while and then played games at the church. Or rather, two games. We started with Uno, but that didn't last long because everyone's rules were a little bit different, and it created contention. Elder Fogg did NOT like the compounding draw card rule. So then we stopped. And we played Settlers of Catan. Which was SUPER fun. I lost. How annoying. But it was still lovely. 

Julek was at English on Saturday! That was fun! We love that child.

So yeah. That was my week. Not overly exciting.

I'll talk to you all next week from BYDGOSZCZ! Crazy!

Much love! 

Siostra Young

Monday, December 30, 2013 5:44 AM Wesołych Świąt!

Christmas, you guys! Christmas happened! And I lived to tell about it! How's that for wonderful news? Yeah boy! Now, we've got a LOT of catching up to do. I'll start from the start. Ish.

December 23

Sister M and I went into Warsaw with Elders Fogg and Finch (we had a Zone Sister Meeting of sorts, and Elder Fogg had legal work - poor sap). So yay for train rides! It was grand. We had a grand old time. Then we had said Zone Sister Meeting. Which was GREAT. Alex - a member in the Warsaw II branch - got home from her mission in Romania in September, so she taught us. First we talked about spiritual stuff, and that was really good. Then we had lunch, and that was really good. Then we talked about Polish, and that was really good. Fun Fact - Alex said I had a good accent. Woot WOOT! It's petty, I know, but I LOVE Polish compliments.. Then we caroled with all the Warsaw missionaries that night. It was SUPER great! It was so fun to see all my Warsaw people! I got to see Sister Wendel and Sister Tobler and Sister Pearson and Elder Blom and Elder Waskiewicz - basically, it just rocked. Oh, and Elder Fogg (because they were there for the caroling too, lucky little ducklings!) finally got to meet Elder Waskiewicz! Ah. That brought me joy. After Elder Waskiewicz wandered away, Elder Fogg was like, "So that's Elder Waskiewicz?" And I was like, "Yep! He is so hilarious, right? Isn't he fun?" And he was like, "Yeah - he seems cool." Because he IS COOL. Anyways. That was good. It was a lovely evening.

December 24

CHRISTMAS EVE! Oh, and also Zone Conference. Zone Conference was really good! We played Yankee Swap for the gift exchange (the game I hate more than any other game on the planet). So that was nice. I ended up with a teddy bear. I named him Sir Gilbert Tobias.. Elder Pieper insists on calling him Toby. We got to watch a Mormon Message featuring one RICHARD FREAKING SHARRAH, so THAT was pretty great! Ah, Kid History. How I miss thee. There were some really nice musical numbers, so those are always fun! So yeah. Zone Conference. Woo hoo! Then we boarded a train with our starsi and headed for home. It was hilarious. Such a hilarious train ride. I love these starsi. Elder Finch was asking why there aren't seat belts on trains, and Elder Gibby's all,"Because if a train gets in a crash, it wins." And we talked about elementary school and scary movies. And ate food. It was wonderful. Then we got back into Łódź, took our stuff to our apartments, and then congregated at our house until we left for Midnight Mass. That was kinda weird. It was almost like we were normal people for a little while. Because it was, like, 10 at night, and we were just chilling. Not gonna lie, I loved it. But that's alright. I'm a missionary. I love that too. Then we went to Midnight Mass, had NO idea what we were doing, and probably offended the nuns sitting behind us. Apparently they kept giving us dirty looks. Doesn't seem not overly Christ-like, but okay. I was too tired and confused to notice or care. So that was nice! Then we all went home.

December 25

CHRISTMAS! Whoa baby! I slept in! Not, like, SUPER late. But later than 6:30! Glory HALLELUJAH! It was a truly magical morning. Then Sister M and I did presents and made pancakes for breakfast and got ready and met up with Elders Fogg and Finch before heading to the Tueller's. We're lucky they're so great. We just hung out at their house all day. It was SO great. We watched Ephraim's Rescue (Elder Fogg's parents sent it to him for Christmas), and that was really fun. We also played Catch Phrase. And ate. And talked. And I got to TALK TO MY FAMILY! Hello, highlight of my whole entire life! Ah. That was great. I LOVE phone calls home. They are my favorite. And everyone sounded so good, and they cried so apparently I'm not yet forgotten, and I got to "meet" (a term I use loosely) my new brother to be, so that was really fun! Ah, what a day. It was such a great day. Really truly, honest to goodness. I couldn't be happier with the way my Christmas turned out.

December 26

We went to Prezydent Marian and Mirka's house for lunch. So we got some legit Polish Christmas. Polish Christmas lasts for two days, so for them, it was still a holiday. For missionaries, it's just a day like any other. That was weird. There were NO people on the streets. Anyways. Lunch. It was good. I'm really not a HUGE fan of Polish food (because I don't like cabbage or mushroom or fish), but it was all decent. We had bigos and potatoes and mashed yellow peas and pork and chicken noodle soup. It was lovely. It was fun to be there with all the other missionaries and Prezydent Marian and Mirka - they're lovely people. It was grand. After that we did a whiteboard with all the elders, and lemme say, Elder Finch was on one. Sometimes he gets into this REALLY hilarious mood. And it's like he's a seven year-old. I love it. For example, when his parents sent him a laser pointer for Christmas. I haven't seen him stop playing with it since. He loves that thing.

December 27

We tried contacting a referral from the office. Turns out, she wasn't interested. That was awkward of her.

December 28

Uh ... Must not have been very eventful ...

December 29

We had surprise interviews with President Edgren. That was a joy. Interviews stress me out. But it was fine - I really love President Edgren. And it was fun to talk to Sister Edgren for a while too. And just be with our starsi. I was playing the piano and Elder Pieper was picking songs for me out of the Children's Songbook, and that was really fun. Apparently Sister Edgren was recording us with her iPad? I feel like that's weird, but sure. Do whatever your heart desires, Sister Edgren! And then she made us all sing together - the elders weren't huge into that. But they did it, and I was proud of them. According to what I've heard from sources who shall remain nameless, they're putting in another set of elders in Łódź next transfer, so there will be 10 total missionaries. That is CRAZY. There are going to be a GAZILLION missionaries in this town! Also, the sisters are moving apartments. We got the keys to the new mieszkanie this morning, and we're probably moving later this week. Pretty crazy stuff!

So yep. That just about covers it. Transfers are next Sunday, so, naturally, I'm already freaking out. Because that's how I roll. It's marvelous. Also, we're having Culture Night on Thursday. And New Years is happening. And on Saturday Elder Finch and Elder Fogg have a baptism! YAY! We're in for a good week. Slash stressful slash long slash crazy. That's the basic plan.

Much love! And an extra special thanks to everyone who's sent Christmas cards or packages - it is MUCH appreciated! Thank you SO SO MUCH! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas, and have a great New Years this week, and I'll talk to you all on Monday!

Siostra Young

December 24, 2013 at 10:02 AM Merry Christmas from Poland Warsaw Mission

Dear Missionary Parents,

A very Merry Christmas to all of you from Poland!  We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the gift of your beautiful and faithful sons and daughters.  We love them so very much and appreciate their love of our Savior and their desire to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the wonderful people here in Poland. 

Thank you for the encouragement and support which you give them.  We know that their greatest desire besides preaching the Gospel  here, is that their families will be blessed as a result of their service. 

Please find the attached pdf file ‘Poland Warsaw Mission Miracles and Tender Mercies 2013’, a collection of special moments from our missionaries.

Love,

President & Sister Edgren

Siostra Young

When I first arrived in Kraków, my very f irst little baby trainee transfer, Sister Allen and I inherited an investigator named Anna. We met with her a few times, and she was INCREDIBLE.  So sweet, so interested, SO COOL.  I absolutely loved her.  She was my first investigator, I think my first lesson in Poland - she was amazing. I remember our first meeting with her, she told us that she had been praying that they would send sister missionaries to Kraków. And then we got there a couple of weeks later! I mean, come on. She prayed us to Kraków. If that's not incredible, I don't know what is.

And then, one day, she flaked a lesson. And then, one day, she stopped answering phone calls. We tried visiting her, and she wasn't there. She fell off the face of the earth (like so many promising investigators do). I was devastated. Really though. I was SO sad. I think Sister Allen was like , "You know, little baby trainee, this sort of thing happens. You've just gotta move on. " Or something to that effect.  But I was really sad. I didn't understand how it happened, that someone with SO much potential just dropped off the planet. I insisted that we call her occasionally, and that we go and try visiting her and leave notes. I was probably pretty annoying about it, actually.  I distinctly remember praying for her, weeks after it happened that she would find her way back to the Gospel someday, and that she would be happy wherever she was.

Fast forward to the end of my second transfer. I was still with Sister Allen, and Sister Hemming had joined us. We had just gotten home from Zone Conference, put our stuff in the chapel, and decided we needed some dinner. We walked out the back of the building where our chapel is , on our way to the little grocery store, and as we were walking, I saw someone from behind who looked familiar.   She looked like Anna, actually. I was blown away. I was like, "Sister Allen - Sister Allen! Look! It looks like Anna!"  So we walked a little farther, to where I could see her from the front, and it was her!  It was ANNA!  Sister Allen and I were like , "Anna! "  Sister Hemming was a little confused, but it was okay. I was SO EXCITED to see her! And she was like , "You guys! " And she hugged us, and I was so happy I wanted to cry, and she explained that she'd moved home for the summer and she'd accidentally broken her phone so she had to get a new number, so she didn't have our number anymore and she didn't even think to get the number off the ulotka she had, but she still read out of her Księga every day and she wanted to meet. What?!  I know - I know.  ABSOLUTELY crazy!

So we met with her the next day, and then again two days later, and then again a few days after that. We gave her a baptisma l date, and she was excited, but she wasn't sure yet. The day before I left Kraków, Sister Hemming and I met with her, and we just talked to her about the church, about baptism, and shared our testimonies with her. At the end, she told us that before she wasn't sure, but she was positive now. She was going to get baptized. She was REALLY sad we were leaving (basically the three of us cried the entire meeting), but she was solid in the Gospel.  

A month after I got transferred, Anna got baptized. I know that God answers prayers. He answered Anna's prayers, and He answered mine. And sometimes, we don't get to really see the fruits of our labors. I was blessed - SO blessed - to see the return of Anna, but there were many missionaries who had worked with her before we did, that never got to know what happened - didn't get to see the strong member she has become.  

And I didn't get to be at her baptism, and for a while, that was really hard for me.  I was almost angry that I had come so far with her, and then I was going to miss the end.  But as I thought about it more, I realized several things. First off, it's not the end. Baptism is the very beginning. Secondly, it's not about me. It's not about me finding her or meeting with her or being at her baptism - it's about her journey to the Savior , and to be even the SMALLEST part of someone else's experience in coming closer to Him, and is an INCREDIBLE blessing. I am so grateful to know Anna, and for the part that she has played in my testimony. God still works miracles, and I know that now. Anna is a miracle.