Monday, May 26, 2014 5:25 AM Merp.

Dearly Beloveds.

Today, I am short of two things. Those two things would be time, and writing ability. Actually, make that three things. And thing three is interesting things to write about. And so. This isn't going to be my best work. You've been warned.

Things Of Note.

Polish Week.

Sister Toby and I are crazy people. We decided to speak only Polish last week. (And we MOSTLY did it - except when English was necessary.) Congrats to us! It was good. Because you know what? We can speak a little Polish! We certainly aren't FLUENT or anything (wouldn't THAT be nice!) But. We can speak a little Polish. Enough to survive! Let there be rejoicing.

Peanuts.
I may or may not have an allergy to peanuts. They make the back of my throat itchy. So. We can throw that one on the list of Very Minor But Still Annoying Allergies Of Sister Young right next to canteloupe and watermelon and honeydew.

Rain.

It rained a LOT the other day. And I forgot my umbrella. Hence, I was very wet. I may as well have gone swimming. That's how wet I was. Also, after the rain stopped, my bag broke. The strap just broke. It was sad. So then I had to carry my bag around in my arms like a baby the rest of the day. That was awkward. This same day, I ended up quite by accident by myself in the elevator with the elders coming down from the chapel (awkwardness), and I tripped over a chain in the parking lot and fell on my face. ... It wasn't my proudest day.

English Kasia.
We have a new English student. Her name is Kasia. She's really cool. And really funny. And she feeds us salad and chocolate. We love her. She also calls us by our first names. I'm not supposed to like that. But I LOVE IT SO MUCH. I LOVE being called Ania. It's so cute. Sometimes I miss my first name.

Contacting.
We talked to a bunch of crazies this week. That was a delight. You know. Crazy people - they're crazy. But they’re also INSANELY hilarious. So I actually don't mind talking to a crazy every now and again. It keeps things interesting.

Summer.
It's getting hot. You guys, I do not like it. I do not LIKE heat. I like sweaters. You can't wear sweaters during the summer unless you've got a death wish. Hence, I'm about to be hideous again. The bangs are going up, the hair is going in a ponytail, and the make-up is stopping. Gross. I feel gross just thinking about it.

Spiders.

We've got a lot of spiders hanging out around (and sometimes inside) our apartment. I don't really like that very much either. Spiders are NOT my favorite of God's creations.

Mercy River.
We listen to those ladies all the time. We love them.

Yeah. Um. That's basically it. MOST BORING EMAIL EVER WRITTEN AWARD goes to me. Sorry, guys.

But. Good news. I LOVE YOU ALL! (As if that made up for a boring email - it's no excuse, I know. I'm sorry.)

Siostra Young

Monday, May 19, 2014 5:25 AM B-Town Love.

I canNOT keep myself out of Bydgoszcz. I can't do it! And - let's be real - I don't really WANT to anyways. Who would voluntarily leave Bydgoszcz?! (... Elder Swicegood would. He's been there for eight months, end of this transfer. He wants out. But he doesn't know what he's asking for! Mark my words - the man will leave next transfer, and then he'll spend the rest of his mission missing that Zion of Poland.) Anyways. Bydgoszcz. This lady right here - this sister typing at the computer wearing the blueish-greenish sweater and the gold watch with her hair in a ponytail because the Heat of Summer is arriving in Gdańsk - went to B-Town TWICE this week.

Yes, my children.

You read that correctly.

Twice.

Glory, it was the best week of my life! (Except for those weeks I actually spent in Bydgoszcz 100% of the time - those were pretty good weeks.) I love Bydgoszcz SO MUCH.

B-Town Take One.

I went on exchanges! Woot woot! That was QUITE an adventure. I arrived in Bydgoszcz, hopped off my train, and was greeted by the Bydgoszcz District in full (minus Elder Swicegood who was going on exchanges with Poznań, and Sister Barth. For obvious reasons. ... She was in Gdańsk. That was the obvious reason.) And they were like, "Hey, you made it! We're so glad you made it!" And I was like, "Uh, yeah, me too ..." Confusion. And they were like, "Well, Elder Fogg didn't - we've got no idea where he is. So we're glad you're here!" And then, I had stress. WHAT?! Elder Fogg was LOST? Somewhere in POLAND? And no one had heard ANYTHING from him? Glory! THAT is not okay! Stress. SO MUCH of it. But we were like, "Well, good luck, fellas. Hope he turns up soon! We're going home to plan. Peace." And then we left. So we get on the tram. Sister King, that cute little missionary, gave me a bilet. I stamped said bilet. The bilet checkers checked said bilet. And then, they got out their ticket writing tools. And I was like, "Um, przepraszam. CO TU SIĘ DZIEJE?!" It turns out the bilet I had stamped had been previously stamped, and Sister King had given it to me by mistake - bless her heart. So they hit me with a fine for 180 zlots. THAT hurt like a mothah. That is SO MANY ZLOTS. But it's fine. (Bah! Get it!? Fine? Because it's got a double meaning - meaning one being okay, and meaning two being a ticket. I didn't even do that on purpose!) We got home, Elder Fogg finally showed up (apparently there was some confusion in Inowrocław - that city is NOTORIOUS! At least when I was stranded there, I had Elder White for company and a phone. Elder Fogg was stuck there with a Larry. For two hours. With no way to call anyone. ... That poor kid) - life goes on, wiesz? Tuesday was far less interesting. But that's probably for the best. We did missionary stuff. You know. It was a LOVELY day, but nothing out of the ordinary. And Wednesday I got home without too much trouble, so it was also uninteresting. But it was a really nice exchange! It was so much fun to be with Sister King for a couple days! She is SO much fun! And she's a great missionary - I learned so much from her! She's a doll.

B-Town Take Two.

GUESS WHAT, GUYS? THERE'S A THIRD DISTRICT IN POLAND NOW! Yes! That is a TRUE STORY. (To clear up any confusion, a district is to a branch, what a stake is to a ward.) And we got to be there for the creation of it! Yesterday we went in to Bydgoszcz, with a bunch of people from our branch (we had 24 members/missionaries from Gdańsk there! That is INCREDIBLE!), and saw a bunch of people from the Poznań, Szczecin, and Bydgoszcz branches and their missionaries, and boom! Just like that, they made a district! Ooo OO! It was so exciting! There are things happening in Poland, guys! Glory, I love this country. It's so beautiful! And there are now THREE DISTRICTS HERE! I'm so excited. It was SUCH a great meeting. All the talks were SO beautiful. There are such solid members here, in this part of Poland. It's amazing. I love 'em. And I got to see them! I got to see Karolinkuśku! And the Kagele's! And the Zalewski bunch! And a gazillion missionaries I love! It was a BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL DAY.

Bydgoszcz. I'm TELLING you! I don't know WHAT it is about that city, but it's INCREDIBLE. I would DEFINITELY go back there for my last transfer. I would actually request that. ... I'm going to request that. The branch, the members, the city, the missionaries - I love everything about that blessed land! SEND ME BACK, PREZ!

In Other News:

Sister Toby and I have a problem. It's called - according to Elder Tufts - "the giggle bean". We are SO GIGGLY. This past week - I tell you. We have been struggling. Why is everything so funny? (A Hint: Because we are funny people.) We laugh at literally everything. We're having a grand old time. It's sometimes awkward though, because other people - they can't quite appreciate it the way we do. We were talking on the phone with Sister Overlord Sister Barth, and we were laughing so hard I had to leave the room, and Sister Toby had to tell her we'd call back in a minute. We couldn't keep it together! Oh - and YESTERDAY. Glory, it was embarrassing! We were talking with Elder Wegs and Sister Edgren, and Sister Tobes made a face at me, so NATURALLY I burst into uncontrollable giggles. Naturally! What else was I supposed to do? ... Sister Edgren was not overly impressed. Well, alright then. I can't live my life to impress other people. It's just really awkward when we're giggling, and people are like, "Oh, did we miss something?" and we're like, "Yeah, nope. We're just easily amused." Live your life, am I right?

This lady asked me if my parents are white this week. That was a first. I'm used to the confusion that comes with the last name of Young. I've gotten that enough, I'm used to that now. ("Young? That sounds Chinese. Are you Chinese?" "... Am I Chinese?" "Yes." "... Really?") The other day, we were talking to this really cool lady named Barbara, and she was like, "Young? Are you Chinese?" And I was like, "Um, no. The name is actually from England." And then she was like, "Oh. Hm. Czy twoje rodzice są biali? Are your parents white?" I beg your PARDON? Are my parents WHITE? What? I don't get it. Do I LOOK like my parents could be anything but white? I'm not being racist here when I say that - I'm just being confused. Honestly, do I look anything but white? Confusion. I experienced a lot of confusion.

Last Saturday was Norway Day! Hooray for Norway! (The Resident Norwegien Elder Wegs informed us. We didn't do anything to celebrate. However, in our defense, we aren't Norwegien.)

I've become addicted to Snickers. Because they're delicious.

Ines came to Bydgoszcz for the conference! It was really good for her. I love that woman. She is SO SWEET! She just needs to learn to doubt her doubts, and not her faith. How do you teach someone that?

Talking to people on the streets about baptism is kind of awkward. But you know what? It's kinda cool - it's like, either that contact ends REALLY quickly, or you get into a really good Gospel discussion right off the get-go. So it's nice! We like it!

Sister Toby is a hoot. I love that girl.

I also love Poland.

And Bydgoszcz.

And Gdańsk.

And Snickers. This has GOT to stop!

Peace, kids.

Siostra Young

Monday, May 12, 2014 5:56 AM The Great Christmas Epiphany.

You know what? I love Christmas. And I sort of live for Christmas. I'm a generally happy person. I love my life. And I can appreciate my life in the moment that I'm in. BUT. I maybe sort of live for Christmas. It's like I have a clock in my head eternally ticking on a Christmas countdown. I'm okay with that. Christmas is a good thing! I can appreciate Easter, and the Fourth of July, and Halloween, and Thanksgiving. But I love Christmas!

Sometimes as I get closer to Christmas, I get to thinking about it. I think about how it's almost Christmas, and then I wonder what it will feel like to actually BE IN Christmas! It gets SO much build up, and I look forward to it for SO long, and I wonder, "Wow - what's it going to be like being in the actual moment of Christmas! What's it going to feel like when I wake up early? What's it going to be like to see the tree all lit and hear the Christmas music playing and smell that evergreen candle we have going every year?" And then, when it finally actually IS Christmas, I try to take a second to think about it - to be aware of the magic that is that moment, and to take some time to really appreciate Christmas day. I want to be able to remember every second and every feeling perfectly, for some day in the future that isn't Christmas.

As I've been on my mission, I've been counting down to Christmas. Christmas being the moment I get to be with my family again and live a normal human life. I've had my little clock in my head, keeping me informed of the days and weeks and months until Christmas. Not that I haven't been enjoying my life where I'm at now. Not that I haven't been loving my mission for everything it is. But I'm just aware of the time. I do that.

So the other day, I was thinking about Christmas. And how much I love it. And how beautiful it's going to be when I'm home again. I was thinking, "Wow. What's that moment going to be like, sitting on the plane? And then - coming down that escalator in the SLC airport, and seeing my beautiful BEAUTIFUL family down there - what's that going to BE like?!" And then, this thought just exploded in my brain. "This Is Christmas Right Now."

I AM LIVING IN CHRISTMAS RIGHT NOW. A whole entire year and a half of it! Granted, it didn't get as much build up as a normal Christmas day (we all know I wasn't planning on being a missionary EVER in any life ever), but it's Christmas none the less! It might not always FEEL like Christmas, BUT this is Christmas! And I only get this year and a half of it! Someday in the distant future, I'm going to be at my house, and I'm going to look back and think, "Wow. I was a missionary. I was in Poland. What exactly did that feel like? I wish I could feel that again." And glory be, I'm in that moment right now! I'm in Poland. POLAND, folks. I'm a missionary. This is Christmas. And I'm never going to get another one! I want to memorize every single feeling (even the bad ones), because someday I'm going to want to be here again, and I'm not going to be able to do that. Time travel DOES NOT EXIST (I tell you, if I had a zlot for every time I've mentioned time travel in an email ...).

Alright. Elephant in the room. We all know it's there. My Christmas is winding down. It's not over yet - but it's getting close. And I'm scared I'm not going to have enough memorized from this time of my life. Hence. It's time to really appreciate this moment for what it is. It's time to love this Christmas for what it is and what it isn't, and make EVERY SINGLE DAY the best it can possibly be. This is all I've got! I've got a whole life of normal human living ahead of me, but only a few more months of Christmas. I have a whole life of normal human living ahead of me during which I can think about all the magic that was this year and a half, but only a few more months to actually make the memories I'm going to be thinking about. STRESS. Stress is happening.

But also excitement! Because Christmas is a VERY exciting thing. I love it.

The End.

And now. Funny Stories. Buckle up, kids!

Funny Story 1.

Hubert The Confused.

We were walking down the street, and this man called to us, in a English with a British accent, "Sister! It's me! It's me!" Ummm ... what? We've NEVER seen this man before. But he was calling us, so I stopped. And then I started praying that Sister Tobes was going to stop too, because I did NOT want to talk to this crazy alone! (And thankfully she did.) So he was like, "It's me! It's Hubert!" And we were like, "Uh huh..." And he was like, "Hi, Sister Young (cue him trying to read my name tag), and Sister ... (cue him, trying to read Sister Tobler's name tag) - hey, where's your name tag? Mine's in my backpack. I'm an elder!" What? He was SO WEIRD. And then he went off for a while on how you, "can't lose your book, or you're out of the club forever". Whatever THAT means! And then he said, "Hey. Whatever you do after your two years - be it business or marriage or kids - DON'T LOSE THE BOOK. Keep it close to your heart and under your bed." So then we decided to get out of there, and as we were walking away, he was like, "Go get 'em, tigers! JW's rock!" ... Huh?

Funny Story 2.

Mr. Frog Man.

I gave this guy a Mormon.org card, and he was like, "Oh, what's this?" So I was like, "It's about our church. Have you heard of it before?" Yeah. Heard about the church. Impressed by my Polish. Blah blah blah. And then he's like, "What do you think about sex before marriage?" And, naturally, I was like, "Um, I beg your pardon?" And then, naturally, he repeated his question. I wanted to tell him we don't do that in our church. Because we don't. But instead, I told him, "We will NOT do that." Face palm. What? Did I really just say that? Oh gee. Polish is hard, okay? Awkwardness ensued. He asked me why not, and I told him that it builds trust in a marriage to wait, and then he said it's okay to make a few mistakes before marriage, and then I shut him down pretty hardcore and sent him on his way. It was NOT my most spectacular moment, Polish wise.

Funny Story 3.
We were trying to find a member's house. We thought we were at the right the building. We tried the door. A man walked up behind us, and asked us what we were doing. At this exact moment, the member's child calls after us from two buildings down. Oops! So Sister Tobes was like, "Oh, sorry!" And then we just ran away. We literally ran away from that train wreck. The poor man thought we were breaking into his house! We are TERRIBLE missionaries. But it was hilaroius!

THE END FOR REALS.

I love you all, and I wish you everything the best! You're beautiful people!

Siostra Young

Monday, May 05, 2014 5:42 AM Baptism! It's A Good Thing, Guys.

The theme of my life last week was BAPTISM. And boy howdy, if THAT'S not a beautiful theme to have in your life, I don't know what is!

We had Zone Conference on Friday. It was INCREDIBLY great. And guess what? It was in Bydgoszcz. Yes. BYDGOSZCZ. I was right there. Right in that blessed blessed city for a few hours. I almost cried on the train ride in. The other missionaries thought it was weird ... But it's okay! I got to go to B-Town! That place - I'm tealling you, it's ZION. Anyways. Zone Conference. It was so good! We talked a lot about our purpose as missionaries. Which is preachin' repentance and baptism. Yep. It talks about that ALL the time in the scriptures! "Go and preach repentance." You know. It says that. And then we talked about actually doing that. Weird, right? The Apes were like, "We need to actually preach repentance. And we've been doing that. Let us tell you about it." It turns out they actually DID do that! They walked up to people and said, "Hey! We're talking to people about repentance! And baptism!" Crazy, right? And then they were like, "We need to do that as a mission." And I was like, "Ummmmm ...." And they were like, "We're going to do that right now." And I was like, "WHAT?!" And then we actually did that. We hit the streets of Bydgoszcz and contacted people by talking about baptism! I'm not going to lie to you, I was QUITE QUITE QUITE hesitant about it. But guess what? It turned out kinda awesome! We talked to some REALLY COOL PEOPLE! About baptism! And also, it just made us feel really good to talk about baptism. Because baptism is important!

And. SPEAKING of baptism. Guess what? We may or may not have a baptism this Satuday. Yeah. We, being Sister Tobes and I. WHAT IN THE CRAZY PANTS IS THIS NONESENSE! It's so exciting! Our investigator - Ines - is getting baptized either this Saturday or next! She's SO COOL, and she's SO READY! We absolutely adore her! And I'm SO EXCITED! This is the first Polish baptism I'm going to have been to in this country! It's so exciting! Sister Tobes and I are running wild with joy and excitement. And Ines - she's incredible. She's a real Kingdom Builder. And she's going to be so solid in the church! GAH! We are THRILLED.

In other, less amazing but still fun news, I got to see a gagillion of my favorite missionaries at Zone Conference! It was SO MUCH FUN! It was especially fun to see some of the ones I haven't seen in a while. Oh, bless those little missionaries. I love 'em! And they're all doing so good! Missionaries missionaries missionaries. They're just so much fun!

Also, we had some SUPER funny contacting experiences last week.

Experience One.

We were talking to this woman, and she was like, "Who are you?" And we were like, "We're missionaries! From this church!" (Cue pointing to the name tags, because saying the whole church name takes a considerable amount of time) And then she was like, "What? No! You're JW's!" And we were like, "No. We're Mormons." And she was like, "What is this nonesense you speak? You're JW's!" And we were like, "No. Really. We're Mormons!" "JW's!" "...But really. Mormons." She would NOT get off it! That contact didn't make it very far ... We kinda just cut our losses and walked away. It was weird.

Experience Two.

We were talking to this OTHER woman about baptism, and we were like, "Have you been baptized?" Of course she has. She's Catholic. They're all Catholics. But we asked to make conversation and lead into baptism by immersion and all that jazz. So anyways. Have you been baptized. And then she says, "Yes! Of course I have! I'm Catholic! I was two weeks old." And we were like, "Oh, that's cool!" And then she was like, "I was two weeks old. I remember it perfectly!" And we were like, "Oh?" And she was like, "Yes! Perfectly!" ... That was interesting. Science isn't really in her favor on that one, but alight. Live your life, ma'am Live your life.

Experience Three.
We were talking to this man. About - surprise! - baptism. So we were talking, having a conversation, and then he just walked away. In the middle of our conversation. Just turned, and walked away. It was SO AWKWARD. We were like, "Um, what?" And then we giggled (because it was hilarious) and tried to decide what to do in a situation like that. So we creepily followed after him and finished talking to him and gave him a Księga to give to his friend. So it all ended well enough. But for a minute there - yeah. It was PRETTY weird.

Experience Four.
My Personal Favorite.

We were visiting a less active named Irena. Really nice lady. And she wanted to take a picture of us. She pulled out her phone (since her camera was broken or misplaced or something) to take said picture. Bless her, the woman's a LITTLE oldish. So she was holding the phone backwards. She was putting her eye to the camera, and the screen was facing us. So we can see the screen, and her eyes is taking a large portion of it, perfectly centered and framed, and she's like, "I can't see anything!" It was the funniest thing I've EVER SEEN. We explained she was holding it backwards, and she was like, "Oh. Okay!" And then it worked. But it was so funny!!! "I can't see anything!" And we, meanwhile, are getting a PREFECT view of her eye. It was hilarious! ... Maybe it's not as funny in the retelling ... It's okay. It was priceless.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO yeah. That was fun! We had a beautiful week.

Baptism.
Bydgoszcz.

B ... Uh. Nope. I've run out of words that start with B. (I wanted something about funniness, but starting with B. I don't think that word exists.)

Anyways. I'm gonna go. It's been real, peeps!

And Fam - I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOUR BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL FACES ON SUNDAY! 7:30, bright and early! Be there or be square!

MUCH LOVE!
Siostra Young