Well. This city. She is a VERY new experience in the life of Sister Young. It's huge. This city is SO BIG. I've served in the three biggest cities in Poland (Warszawa, Kraków, and Łódź), but the other two were NOTHIN' compared to this! And I don't even see that much of it! Man. This is craziness. But it's fine.
So. Mom and Dad had about 37 million questions between the two of them, so I'll try best as I can to answer the big ones in this email. If I don't answer them all ... Well. I'm sorry. I'm trying though!
So. Mom and Dad had about 37 million questions between the two of them, so I'll try best as I can to answer the big ones in this email. If I don't answer them all ... Well. I'm sorry. I'm trying though!
The City.
Warszawa is big. As previously stated. Still not sure how I feel about it, but there you go. We DO have the metro, and I thoroughly enjoy that. If I think about the fact that it's underground and there's no escape and I might run out of air and die down there for too long, I get a little freaked out. But generally speaking, it's really nice! There are a gazillion malls here. That's good. And bad. Because I can't be buying things. I'm not made of money! And yet ... There are a gazillion malls so ... It's a struggle. Let's leave it at that. It's not an UGLY city, exactly. It's no Kraków, THAT'S for sure. But it's ALSO no Łódź ... So I guess we'll just say she's not too hard on the eyes and leave it at that.
The Comp.
Sister Mikalauska is SO GREAT. I love her. She's so funny. And such a good missionary. And really good with people. We get along REALLY well, which I'm very grateful for. Let's see, what else to say ... She's trying to make me be healthy (HA! Right, right?). And guess what? It's working. We go jogging every morning. It makes me suicidal. But then I'm glad I did it, and I don't commit suicide, so life is really quite good! And we eat a TON of fruits and veggies. And guess what? I LOVE vegetables. When did THAT happen? It's freaky. I know.
The Branch.
Oh man. This branch is massive. There are SO many people. And several American families. One of which had us over for dinner last night. And do you KNOW what we ate? Steak. STEAK. I HAVEN'T HAD STEAK IN OVER A YEAR! It was the best night of my life. And then we had red velvet cake for desert. It was LITERALLY the best night of my life. And on Saturday, we got to go their son's baptism! His name is Finn and he's eight, and SO stinking cute. It was the first baptism I've been to in Poland. And it wasn't even a Polish person getting baptized. So that's interesting. But you know what? God doesn't care if it's a Pole or an American getting baptized, because we're ALL His children, and He loves EACH of us. So it was VERY EXCITING all the same! I love the Gospel.
The Investigators.
Well. We have one who's pretty solid. Her name is Żywia. She's SUPER cool. And REALLY nice. Also, she has crazy hair. There are green and pink and yellow streaks in it. But hey - do what you want! It's cool! She's really interested in being baptized, but she said she's not ready just yet. We'll keep working on it - she'll get there! And she was in church yesterday, so THAT rocked!
Well. We have one who's pretty solid. Her name is Żywia. She's SUPER cool. And REALLY nice. Also, she has crazy hair. There are green and pink and yellow streaks in it. But hey - do what you want! It's cool! She's really interested in being baptized, but she said she's not ready just yet. We'll keep working on it - she'll get there! And she was in church yesterday, so THAT rocked!
The District.
There are 6 of us. It's good. You know, at the start of every transfer I'm a little unsure about the people in my district. And then it always ends up being super awesome! So if that pattern continues, all will be well.
The ... Umm ... Mieszkanie.
Yeah. Our apartment is nice! We live nice and close to the metro, so that's convenient. Also we have a balcony with a couple couches on it. I imagine when things get warmer (but not TOO warm ... I don't want another summer like last year.) those will be LOVELY.
The Zone Conference.
We had Zone Conference last week! It was SO great! It really was though. They shared good ideas and testimony meeting was awesome and the lunch was delicious. And I got to see some of my Łódź people! Elders Pieper and Gibby! Woo hoo! Talking to them was SO FUN! And Elder Gibby was like, "Sister Young - Łódź misses you." FETCH, Elder Gibby! What are you doing, man? I'm gonna cry! I love Łódź! And those people there! Good grief. It was adorable. I also got to see those cute Tuellers! I tell you - I love them! Senior couples are the BEST things EVER.
We had Zone Conference last week! It was SO great! It really was though. They shared good ideas and testimony meeting was awesome and the lunch was delicious. And I got to see some of my Łódź people! Elders Pieper and Gibby! Woo hoo! Talking to them was SO FUN! And Elder Gibby was like, "Sister Young - Łódź misses you." FETCH, Elder Gibby! What are you doing, man? I'm gonna cry! I love Łódź! And those people there! Good grief. It was adorable. I also got to see those cute Tuellers! I tell you - I love them! Senior couples are the BEST things EVER.
The Spirit Fest.
So. I had an experience. A cool one.
The other day, I was wondering why life had to be so hard. (And by life, I mean everything. Not just missionary work. Even though that's heckah hard too. But anyways. Life is hard.) And I was getting frustrated. You know, I'm trying. I'm trying REALLY hard. I'm doing my best. Why can't things be easier? Why does life have to be so exhausting? And why is it so hard to be happy sometimes? Life is hard, and sometimes, that makes happiness hard too. I was at a loss. I didn't know what to do. Things just weren't making sense. So I opened my scriptures, and read some verses. And they were really good. They were. Some of my favorites. But they all said the same thing: life is hard, and it's supposed to be hard. Things will get better eventually, but for now, you've just got to deal with the fact that life is hard. And it's true. Life IS hard. It IS supposed to be that way. But that's not exactly comforting, is it? So I kept searching. And I wandered upon John 16:33. Which talks about how there will be tribulation in this life, but we are commanded to be of good cheer, because the Savior overcame the world. THAT'S what I needed to hear. That verse didn't say anything contrary to the others. Life is still hard. There are still tribulations. It stinks, but there you go. However, we need to keep in mind that the Savior overcame the world for us. He wants us to be happy. He wants ME to be happy. So in the face of trials, you just have to smile and find things to be happy about in spite of it all.
The other day, I was wondering why life had to be so hard. (And by life, I mean everything. Not just missionary work. Even though that's heckah hard too. But anyways. Life is hard.) And I was getting frustrated. You know, I'm trying. I'm trying REALLY hard. I'm doing my best. Why can't things be easier? Why does life have to be so exhausting? And why is it so hard to be happy sometimes? Life is hard, and sometimes, that makes happiness hard too. I was at a loss. I didn't know what to do. Things just weren't making sense. So I opened my scriptures, and read some verses. And they were really good. They were. Some of my favorites. But they all said the same thing: life is hard, and it's supposed to be hard. Things will get better eventually, but for now, you've just got to deal with the fact that life is hard. And it's true. Life IS hard. It IS supposed to be that way. But that's not exactly comforting, is it? So I kept searching. And I wandered upon John 16:33. Which talks about how there will be tribulation in this life, but we are commanded to be of good cheer, because the Savior overcame the world. THAT'S what I needed to hear. That verse didn't say anything contrary to the others. Life is still hard. There are still tribulations. It stinks, but there you go. However, we need to keep in mind that the Savior overcame the world for us. He wants us to be happy. He wants ME to be happy. So in the face of trials, you just have to smile and find things to be happy about in spite of it all.
So yeah. That was really cool. I don't know if it came across as cool as it was. But whatever! It's all good.
LOVE YOU ALL! (Especially my DARLING little rodzina! Mom, Dad, Emily, Will, Babska, J-Man - I love you peeps. SO DARN MUCH.)
Peace, dzieci. Peace.
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