Sent: Monday, June 30, 2014 4:51 AM I Freakin' Love Gluten.

Hello my lovelies! How are we all doing today?

Me? I'm doing alright. I'm having a slightly emotional day. Because duh. My brother is leaving for Mexico in two days. So, naturally, I'm a wreck. Mostly because I couldn't be there for his farewell. And because I won't be there when he leaves. And because he won't be there for a solid two years of my life. That's a LOT of life. Especially when we add on the year and half (give or take 7 weeks) that I've been absent from his life. You know. I am not a huge fan of this. I couldn't be prouder of my cute brother William. I really couldn't. But the absence is SO MUCH! Bleck.

Anyways.

I love gluten.

Sister Montesinos lets me eat gluten all the time, and I don't even have to feel guilty about it. I love it.

I'm going to miss all my Polish pastries. They are beautiful. What will I do without them?

Dumb question. I'll eat AMERICAN pastries! I'll be okay.

I'll still miss them, but I'll be okay.

Anyways.

My life.

So. There's this member here. I've mentioned her before. Her name is Jadwiga. You guys, she is my FAVORITE HUMAN ON THE WHOLE EARTH. I love her. And she loves the Gospel. It's a big circle of love. We went over last week, and she had her two granddaughters over. She explained who we are and what we do as missionaries, and then she asked us to introduce ourselves and then share our testimonies. It was SO ADORABLE. And then, we were getting ready to eat (because she LOVES feeding us), and she explained about what prayer is and why we pray, and then had me say the prayer over the food. It was so stinking cute. She is WONDERFUL. I wish everyone in the world knew Jadwiga. I want to take her to America with me. That's how much I love her. Lands. She's wonderful.

The weather here has been SO WEIRD. I'm wearing sweaters still. SWEATERS. It's the last day of June, and I'm wearing a sweater. Not gonna lie, it's rocking my world. I am SO happy. Everyone else is a little upset because they want sunshine and heat, but I'm like, "Psh, forget that! Bring on the rain!" Okay. Actually, the rain is SLIGHTLY annoying. Because contacting in the rain is not the most fruitful of contacting. But still. I am a fan. I'll take rain over searing heat and blinding sunshine any day of the year.

I LOVE MONTY.

Last week Łeba was SUPER fun. It was cold. But it was really fun! We took a two hour drive with Stanley and the elders out to the city of  Łeba, and from their we took a ride - in the pouring rain, mind you - on a little golf cart dealio out to these HUGE-O-MONDO sanddunes that exist up be the seashore. It was so cool! It was also freezing and wet, but it was so cool! It's like, you're in this Polish forest, and then all the sudden your on the set of Hidalgo, because there's just sand, and it's everywhere! It was a good time.

Yep.

That's about it.

Love you guys!

Siostra Young

Monday, June 23, 2014 3:07 AM Bromance City

Um, yeah. The past week of my life, I've been living in a Bromance City. I'm a sister, and I've been living in a Bromance City.

Brief Explanation:

There are different sized cities in this mission. Different sized cities and districts have names. For example, I'm currently serving in a Double Date City. One elder companionship, one sister companionship. (I know. Don't read too much in to it, okay? It's just funny.) When I was in Bydgoszcz, I was in a Third Wheel City. There were two elder companionships, and one sister companionship. Cities with only elders are called Bromance Cities. There's only one of those left these days. Oh. Correction. There are two. There used to be more, but the sisters are taking over. Anyways. Now, all Bromance Cities have two companionships. But it used to be, in days of yore, that Bromance Cities had one lone companionship. Since I'm a sister, I'm never going to have to experience that agony. But I've served around enough elders who have survived such a city to know they are NOT fun.

We were elder-less basically ALL week. Elder Jaeger and his trainee (Elder Jourdan) had to stay in Warsaw Monday to do legal work. And then, it didn't work, so they had to stay Tuesday too. And then that kept happening for A GAZILLION DAYS. And they finally got back on Friday night. Sister Monty and I discovered that we would NOT survive a Bromance City. It's not that we don't love each other. We're pals. This companionship is beautiful. But sometimes, you need more than just your comp - especially because you're stuck with your cmp 24/7. Even with a companion you love, that's a LOT of time. So. That was nice. We were both excited to see our elders return.

Oh hey guess what? We have a fun investigator these days! Her name is Barbara. We call her Barb. (When we're talking about her. Not to her face. She might not love that as much as we do.) She's SUPER cool though! She asks a bunch of questions. And she's easily distracted. And she talks a lot. ... She sounds like a four year old ... Okay. I promise, she's cooler than a four year old. We love her. It's a good time.

We also met with Jadwiga. Bless that woman! She's so cute! I love her. Lands, I love her. She had us sing for her, and made us pierogi in broth for dinner. She's literally the most adorable woman on the planet.

Um. Yeah.

Our week wasn't super interesting ...

Also. I gotta run.

Because guess what? We're going to ŁEBA today! I don't exactly know where or what that is, but I'll let you know next week! Stanley (... Um. ... Stanisław. Because we're in Poland) is taking us out there with the starsi. Gonna be FUN!

I LOVE YOU ALL!

Siostra Young

Monday, June 16, 2014 5:34 AM Yeah. Um. I'm His Favorite.

Well, guys. I've got some good news, and some bad news. (The good news is for me, and the bad news is for you. ... Sorry about that ...) The good news is this - I'm feeling PRETTY confident in the fact that I'm God's favorite child this week. Which means that bad news is that you aren't ... Sorry, fellas! I don't make the news, I JUST report it.

This was maybe one of my favorite weeks of my whole entire mission. It was INCREDIBLE.

Okay. Well. It actually started out a LITTLE bit grumpy ... I wanted my transfer call on Saturday (to znaczy, two Saturdays ago, not the Saturday we just barely had). As I was promised I would receive it. But then on Friday (to znaczy two Fridays ago, not the Friday we just barely had) Elder District Leader Elder Jaeger called and was like, "Yeah. Um. That's not happening until next Wednesday." And I was like, "What?!" And I demanded to know why, and he just laughed at me and said he didn't know. The man thoroughly enjoys laughing at me. Bless him. Moral of the story: I spent the first three days of the week wanting to know what would be going down the last three days of the week, because everything was mass hysteria. But good news, it all turned out fine.

Fast forwarding to Wednesday.

We were sitting in English, Toby and I and Ines (she was our lone student), and then the phone rang, Sister Tobler said, "Hello, President!" and walked out of the room, and I freaked out. It was weird, but Ines knows us well, so it was fine. Then Toby walked back in and gave me the phone, and I talked to Prez, and whaddaya know, he said I'm staying in Gdańsk! And whadlsedaya know, I'm serving with Sister Montesinos again! I know. It's crazy! Monty is sitting right next to me, as I type, in this punk little internet cafe! It's a good time.

(In other news, Sister Toby went back to Warsaw, but to Warsaw II this time, as the Overlord. She's going to be AMAZING! But I miss her already. Baby Weggs ... Ooooh. I mean, Elder Weggersen. Rest assured I never call the man Baby Weggs (... at least to his face. ... Usually.) Elder Weggs also went to Warsaw, but to Warsaw I as DL. Elder Jaeger is staying up here with me, and he's got a trainee! (I've been informed I'm not allowed to call his trainee his baby. He said it's demoralizing. ... He's ridiculous.) The trainee seems cool. I don't really know him. And I don't remember his name ... In my defense, I've only talked to him twice, and we were never formally introduced, so I'm under NO obligation to remember. And that is the transfer news from Gdańsk!)

So yeah. That happened.

And then on Thursday, we got a phone call from Elder Jaeger, and he said, "Good news! We're going to Wawa TOMORROW!" And then we were like, "Uh, what? Woo hoo!" So then we had to do LOTS of packing (and by we, I mean Toby) and get ready to head out, so that was a good time.

It was actually SUPER weird to be in Warszawa. I discovered that I missed that crazy place. I missed the metro, and the branch, and the Carrefour Express about five seconds from our house - I missed it. That was a pleasant discovery. I am a fan of Warsaw.

And then. My life got significantly more exciting and crazy and beautiful.

Saturday morning we got up and got ready, and then. We went. To a baptism. Yes. A baptism. Of one VANESSKA [insert forgotten last name here]! A Reminder: Vanessa is one of my favorite children in Poland. Sister Mik and I taught her when we were in Warsaw to prep her for baptism. And said baptism happened! That beautiful, BEAUTIFUL girl got baptized! And I GOT TO GO! Holy flip. That is the best Tender Mercy of my entire mission RIGHT there. I love that little girl so much, and I wanted to go to her baptism SO BAD. Everything worked out absolutely perfect for me to be there. It was amazing. Holy flip! It was so cute - when we were on our way out there in the morning, Vanesska called me using Sister Mik's phone, and she was like, "Hey, are you coming?" And I was like, "Yep! On my way!" And then when I was there she hung out and talked with me for a little bit and gave me a gazillion hugs, and it made my whole flipping life. I LOVE HER. Her baptism was absolutely beautiful. She is the sweetest thing on the planet.

And THEN. A thousand (okay ... Um. 70 or 80 or something ...) missionaries showed up to the chapel in preparation for the arrival of the Silver Fox (more commonly - but only barely - known as President Uchtdorf. As in Dieter F. Yeah. That went down). So that was lovely. Oh my snap, it was SO LOVELY. It was so fun to see EVERYONE! And talk to people I hadn't seen in a gazillion years! It was also a bit of a sensory overload, because there were SO MANY PEOPLE. By the end, I kind of wanted to hide in a small dark coat closet or something and treasure the dark and the quiet. Which is weird. ... I'm scared about America now ... But for the most part, it rocked! I got to see my cute little MTC district, and we took a cute little picture together! That was fun.

And THEN. UCHTDORF. It happened! He came! He spoke to us! I sat in the same room as that man - I BREATHED HIS AIR! And when he first came in, he and his beautiful wife shook everyone's hands! THE EXACT HAND WITH WHICH I AM CURRENTLY TYPING HAS BEEN SHAKEN BY PRESIDENT UCHTDORF. I feel like a celebrity. President Uchtdorf is so incredible. The spirit that he has - it's incredible. He's such a genuine and wonderful person, and he says the most beautiful things. He is so obviously called of God - you can't be near him and not see that. He didn't say anything new - but everything he said, HE SAID, so it was automatically beautiful and inspiring. For me, the message that I took away, is to do your best every day, and to live in the day and the moment that you're in. Which I'm not especially good at. BUT I'm trying, and I'm going to do better! So life goes on. And it's grand.

And THEN. The next day. We got UCHTDORF PART II. With all the members! That man - bless him! He's the best. Everything he said was EXACTLY what this Gdańsk branch needs to hear. He talked a lot about love and forgiveness and patience - it was beautiful. I wanted to hug him. It was seriously incredible, to be in that room, with so many members from Poland, with so many missionaries, and to listen to a prophet of God. That was probably one of the highlights of my LIFE (all joking aside. It was that incredible). And guess what? As soon as it ended, I felt a tap on my shoulder, so I turned around, and who should be standing there but ANIA MUCHA, my favorite person in Kraków and maybe Poland and maybe the world! She was like, "Sister Young!" And I was like, "AH!" And then we hugged and it was beautiful, and she was like, "I saw Sister King and Sister Hemming, but I didn't see you and I was scared you weren't here!" It was beautiful. I almost cried. I love that woman! She told me about Kraków, and how it's doing AWESOME - that city is seriously exploding, and it was probably the best few minutes of my life. I also talked to Vanesska some more, and I told her I missed her, and she said she missed me too. It was cute. I LOVE HER.

And THEN. We waited for a really long time for a really long train ride, and after a gazillion hours ended up in Gdańsk, Sister Monty and I.

Yeah. It was clearly a beautiful week. But. Lemme tell you why it was REALLY special.

Reason 1: Vanessa.

I love her. So much. (As you've read.) I can't believe that I got to go to her baptism. The timing on everything was perfect. The fact that she happened to get baptized the weekend of Uchtdorf conference - that her BIRTHDAY was the day she got baptized, that I was in Warszawa at the time, that we got to go down on Friday instead of waiting until Saturday like most of the other missionaries had to - that was crazy. I lucked out hardcore. Which translates to, God Loves Me Hardcore. And the fact that she didn't forget me - yeah, that rocked. I love that child!

Reason 2: Ania.

Oh my flip. I love her. It was SO GREAT to see her! And to know that she's doing SO good in the Gospel! She teaches Institute, for heaven's sake. The woman is teaching Institute! I LOVE HER! Also. I was talking to Elder Allen (for the first and last time since being in the country), and he told me that when he first got to Kraków, he asked her if she knew Sister Young, and she said I was a "super misjonarka". She's so cute! And Sister Swenson told me that Ania always talked about me and how much she loved me, and always checked up on where I'd be at transfers. Is that not beautiful? I thought maybe she forgot about me. But she didn't! And she's doing SO WELL! Glory. God loves me so much. I don't deserve to be so blessed!

Reason 3: Uchtdorf.

I can't even EXPOUND on that one.

Anyways.
Love you all!  Happy day!

Siostra Young

Monday, June 09, 2014 5:34 AM Polish Mexican Food Is Not Ideal.

Well. My children. I had QUITE the week. It felt like Field Trip Week. It was so fun! On Thursday we went out to Sopot and Gdynia, then on Friday we went to Sopot, then on Saturday we went to Stutthof, and then on Sunday we went to - you guessed it - Sopot! It was SO MUCH FUN! I love weeks with lots of adventures. So. From the top.

THURSDAY

... It wasn't actually all that exciting. We went out to visit a couple less active members in Sopot and Gdynia. That was a delight. BUT we got to ride the train, so that made it an adventure! Trains = Adventures. Easy as that.

FRIDAY

CULTURE NIGHT! Oooo OO! It was SO MUCH FUN. We went to Sopot. Explanation. I live in Gdańsk. Just north of Gdańsk you find Sopot, and just north of that you find Gdynia. It's called Trojmiasto. To znaczy, there are three cities, but all kind of one-ish city. Anyways. Sopot is the more touristy city of the three, so we went there for the night. And it was SO lovely. We had a bit of a scare, because an hour before Culture Night was supposed to start it started raining HARDCORE. So we were going to have to change our plans a little bit. And by change our plans, I mean order pizza at the chapel and play games. NOT cool. But it cleared up RIGHT before we left! Yay! We had dinner at this restuarant called The Mexican. ... Yeah. That was a bad decision. Mexican food in Poland is a bad idea EVERY TIME. And yet, I keep going back. I don't know WHY this keeps happening! Actually. I do. It's this: I AM MEXICAN-FOOD DEPRIVED. I just want a quesadilla. Is that so much to ask? A simple chicken and cheese quesadilla. Or even a burrito, for pity's sake! I would KILL for nachos. Or salsa. Anything. I'd take anything at this point. And because I'm so deprived, every time I see a Mexican restuarant, I think, "This time! This time it'll be different! I just want a quesadilla!"  And then ... It's bad. When do we LEARN? How many times can this continue to happen before I finally learn that throwing myself into every Mexican restuarant I see in desperation and hysteria is NOT a good idea? It's heart breaking. So. After THAT nightmare, we went down to the beach! WE WENT TO THE BEACH! And then, we just sat, and we talked, and it was beautiful. The end!

SATURDAY
We went with our cute little member Jadwiga (yah-d-vee-ga) out to Stutthof - a concentration camp in the okolice of Gdańsk. It was ... nice. It was good. It was SO great to spend time with her and the elders and those cute Tufts. It was a good experience. But I've got to be honest with you - I don't know how much more WWII/concentration camp/Holocaust stuff I can do. It breaks my heart. It makes me physically ill. Reading about the way that people treated other people - the things they did - it's a lot. It's A LOT. I can't even retell the stories of the things that I saw and read, because it's that horrific. It's important to know about the things that happened. I'm SO glad I've seen the things I've seen. It's important. BUT. I don't think I can do it anymore.

SUNDAY

We had a lesson with Agnieszka and her three crazy children Kasia, Tomek, and Ania, and Brat Harker. That was nice. I ate salmon. Yes. You read that correctly. I, Anna Lin Young, Ate Salmon. I don't even know myself anymore. I didn't like it, but I ate it. Don't expect it to happen again. It was a fluke. Other than that, it was a nice evening!

Let's see. Other news.

I LOVE SISTER TOBY and I already miss her. This has been the fastest transfer of my whole life! It's blowing my mind. And I'm going to miss Sister Toby.

PRESIDENT UCHTDORF IS COMING TO POLAND THIS WEEKEND AND I'M GOING TO SEE HIM AND POSSIBLEY SHAKE HIS HAND. I couldn't be more thrilled. Unless they also gave me a million dollars and 80 pounds of Milk chocolate and my family for the weekend. THAT would be heaven. ... Oh. And a private One Direction concert. Now that - THAT would be heaven. But that's okay, because PRESIDENT UCHTDORF IS COMING TO POLAND THIS WEEKEND! I'm content with that.

That's all.

Love you guys!

Monday, June 02, 2014 6:01 AM Wait. What?

My mind is running SO WILD right now.

Time. This freaky weird thing called time is freaking me out right now.

Because guess what? This Saturday we have transfer calls. I just barely got to Gdańsk! I got off the train, like, yesterday! And now, all the sudden, we have TRANSFER CALLS HAPPENING SOON.

And guess what else? This is the last time I get a transfer call. THE LAST TIME. Let that soak in.

Time is making me CRAZY. How does this happen? Where does the time go, when it sneaks off like that? Is there some backroom where it's hiding out? I don't even know. All I know, is that my mind is running seriously wild today.

Anyways. Enough of THAT nonsense. I'm going to stop being weirded out now.

Do you people want to hear a beautiful story? Good. This is the story of Mateusz.

The Story Of Mateusz

One day last Monday, we were contacting our way along. Minding our own business (which is the business of Saving Souls And Talking To Everyone). So we're doing this, and talking to these two girls. They didn't seem OVERLY interested, but we were talking. It was fine. They were going to GET interested. Meanwhile. This guy walks past us, staring at us, kind of in a hurry. Then he stops a few yards away from us, watching us talking to these two girls. He looks like he wants to talk to us. But we're in the middle of a conversation. Finally he gives up and comes over, and he's like, "Hey, could I get an ulotka?" And we're like, "Dude, for suresies!" So we give him an ulotka. And then he says, "Do you guys have, like, any meetings I could come to during the week?" And we were like, "Um, what? We've got English on Wednesdays ... Are you interested in English, or the G?" And he was like, "Well, English too, but the G." And then, we paused our lives, and we FREAKED OUT because it was beautiful. This man. He contacted us. And he wanted to learn about the GOSPEL. Then we unpaused, and said, "Cool. Let's meet!" And then he was like, "Cool! Let's do that!"

So on Wednesday we met. And he loved EVERYTHING we taught him. It was beautiful. He ate it right up! And we asked him if he'd get baptized, and he was like, "Yeah!" Yeah? YEAH! And after the lesson he was like, "Do you guys have a few minutes? I'd love to read from the Księga with you guys for a minute." And we were like, "YES SIR! WE CAN DO THAT!" And he wanted to meet again on Friday. TWO DAYS LATER.

So we met with him on Friday. He was sad. But it went well! He's awesome.

And THEN. He came to a grill we did with the branch on Saturday! And he had a GRAND old time! And he brought bananas! Bless that man. You should have seen him. It was beautiful. He walked in, and he was like, "Hey!" And we were like, "Hey!" And then - oh, it was beautiful, you're never going to believe it - he walked around, shook EVERYONE'S hand, and chatted it up with all the little wardies. All of 'em. He fit right in! And he even stayed after we left! This man is SOLID GOLD. He's so getting baptized.

Oh. And now he's not ours anymore. Because he's a man. He belongs to the elders.

The End.

Also.

I LOVE THE TUFTS. They are the most beautiful senior couple. I love them. SO MUCH. They are incredible. They do SO MUCH for this branch in Gdańsk. I don't know what's going to happen here when they leave. Thankfully I'll never have to find out (they leave two days before I do - but even so, it's not for sure that I'm staying up here next transfer). I just want to hug those beautiful people every day of my life.

We had Zone Training in Bydgoszcz this week! It was good. Prez came up with the apes for it. So that was nice. I'm about to say it again, and I know - the fact is VERY well established, but I just love Bydgoszcz so much! It's so magical!

The other day, I was standing on a loose brick. And then I somehow flipped that brick up onto my leg. It hurt like a mothah. And scratched me up pretty good. It looks like my leg has been mauled by a baby dinosaur. It's kind of exciting, actually. I feel like I should earn a few battle scars in Poland, you know?

Last week we went on a BOAT! Out to see Westerplatte (I could try to explain what that is, but it would probably be historically inaccurate because my memory is a little kipsko ... sorry)! It was so great! I decided I miss boats. Didn't think THAT would ever make the list of Things I Miss. But there you go!

Oh yeah. We had that branch grill! That was fun. We had a pretty good group out for it! And the food was really good! Except ... Well. The meat they had ... It was only on the bone. And I don't really LIKE meat on the bone. It grosses me out, and it's hard to eat. So I had to overcome that little trial in my life. It was difficult, but I did it. Please, hold the applause.

I got to weed in a member's yard for about an hour. That was ... You know, it was actually REALLY nice. Mom - I need for you to not get TOO excited about this, okay? But. I think. I think I miss gardening a little bit too. My mind is running wild.

Alright. That's all!

I love you, you crazy people!

Siostra Young