Monday, December 16, 2013 5:25 AM Wus Up?

Mmm hm. Wus up. That is indeed the title of this email. Don't judge too hardcore - I'm running out of ideas.

Last week I celebrated my, "Hey! I Got My Call 1 Year Ago Today!" Anniversary. THAT was pretty crazy! I remember it like it was yesterday! And I remember being like, "OH my gosh. OH my gosh. POLAND?! WHAT?! Oh my gosh. Keep it together, man!" There was all SORTS of crazy going down. And now, here I am! In actual Poland! And I've been here for almost 8 months! I tell you, if you'd asked me two years ago where I'd be now, in Poland would NOT have been my answer. And if you'd asked me one year (minus a few days) ago where I'd be now, Poland STILL would not have been my answer. I probably would have said Ohio. But here we are. Weird weird weird.

So last P-Day, guess what we did? You'll never guess. Stop guessing. I'll tell you. We went LASER TAGGING. Yes.. You read that correctly. Somehow, Sister Young got wrangled into laser tagging. And she was NOT happy about it, of THAT I can assure you. But the elders were like, "Come on, Siostro!" And Sister Montesinos was like, "Come on, Siost! We'll gang up on Elder Fogg! It'll be fun!" But the final straw - the thing that really pulled me in - was this, that I got to wear pants. Yes. JEANS. I wore JEANS. The whole blasted P-Day. It was a dream come true, dzieci. Jeans are incredibley wonderful. Anyways. Laser tag. Fun story - it was actually SUPER fun. The ganging up on Elder Fogg thing didn't end up working out, because we were on teams, and Elder Fogg was on my team. So that would not have been okay. But it was SO MUCH FUN! I may actually like laser tag! This trying new stuff thing - it's weirding me out! And guess what? I didn't even suck at it! I came in third! (Granted, I didn't even have half as many points as did Elder Pieper, and he came in second. But still!) So. That was the fun thing of last week. Laser tag. The only downside was that after that, I was SUPER sore. For, like, three days. ... I should work out ...

We also had EXCHANGES last week! That was super fun! So I got Sister Wendel back for a couple days! Ah. I just love that girl. She's the best. And everyone knows that your comp from the MTC is your Comp. Like, your Comp Forever. So that worked out very nicely for me. Because guess what? She rocks. I love her. It was so fun to have her back in Łódź for a few days! It was almost like old times! Except that we don't have Elder Caskey or Elder Wolfley or the Lloyds ... But other than that! Just like old times! Fun stuff! Also, guess what that cute comp of mine did? She bought me a Christmas present. It's this little book of Polish Christmas carols, and comes with a CD - I am SO EXCITED! Dad - you are going to LOVE it. 

So. We have a new investigator. Her name is Frusina (... the spelling is sketch). She's HUNGARIAN. Yep. Pretty cool, right? And she's SO sweet! We met with her yesterday right before church and she stayed for Sacrament meeting! And then for Sunday School! (But that was probably a bad move on everyone's part, because the lesson was about the spirit world, and Wojciech went all "outer darkness" on us. Poor girl! We didn't even get around to talking about prophets or Joseph Smith or the Księga (we focused on God is our loving Heavenly Father and the Savior, because that's what she needed - don't worry, we'll hit prophets and Księga next time), and here Wojciech is, giving us all a nice rundown of outer darkness. Complete with an explanation of the gnashing of teeth. Good grief! Take it easy!) But anyways. She talked to us before she left, and was asking if we could meet after Christmas (she's going home to Hungary for the holidays), so maybe she wasn't TOO freaked out! We really love her though. She's really wonderful.

Yesterday we had Sunday dinner with the elders. It was SO fun! We're breaking down barriers, man! The elders have dinner together every Sunday, and yesterday was the first time sisters got an invite! Woo hoo! It's just because we're the coolest sisters ever. But you know. Whatevs. It's fine. And, since little baby Elder Fogg had a birthday on Friday (the little fella turned 19! Ah. They grow up so fast!), we turned it into a mini-surprise birthday party. Complete with balloons and candles and cake and ice cream. Yay for birthdays! It was so much fun! Funny Story. I made green beans for dinner, so I put butter and salt on them, and I maybe got a TEENY bit carried away with the salt. So I made Sister M try one, and she was like, "Nah, they're fine." So then we were eating dinner, and Elder Finch is eating his green beans, and he's like, "These green beans are delightfully salty. ... Like they've been plucked from the sea." It was SO funny. But no one else was amused as I was, so when he said it, I couldn't get my laughs out. So then I struggled the WHOLE night over green beans. Everytime I tried eating one, or accidentally looked at them, or even THOUGHT about them, I would just hear his voice saying they were delightfully salty like they'd been plucked from the sea, and then I would start giggling, and it would be REALLY awkward, because it was just quiet, and I would have to try REALLY hard to keep it together. Ugh. SUCH a struggle! It was embarrassing. And then, later, when we were eating cake and ice cream, someone said something funny, and I happened to be drinking juice at the moment, and then I started choking (like, for reals though). I don't know that I've ever been so close to death as I was in that moment. And yet, it was still funny. Anyways. Long story short, we had a really fun dinner with the elders. Yay for that!

Remember that fireside we were in charge of? Yeah. That no longer exists. We are singing three songs after the Christmas Devotional which is being broadcasted po Polsku during Sacrament meeting.. And that's that. Our fireside has been shot right in the face. SUCH a tragedy. That was going to rock! It was going to be the coolest finding tool ever! Yeah, forget that. Kiss Christmas finding goodbye, dzieci. It's gone now.

Guess what guess what?! Awesome Maksim, the INCREDIBLE Ukranian, is getting BAPTIZED! On January 11! In Ukraine, so that bites. But still! He's getting BAPTIZED! He is the coolest human being I've ever met We're so excited!!!

So yep. That was The Week Of Siostra Young in Review. PRETTY exciting stuff ...

I hope you all have the most wonderful of weeks! Much love!

Siostra Young

D&C 45:62

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

Monday, November 25, 2013 5:32 AM Yeah. I still can't think of a good title. Sorry.

Hi People! (You know, family, friends, random readers of things on the internet - all of you!) I hope you're all having the most CHARMING of days! My day started out PRETTY rockin'!

My alarm goes off at 6:30. At 6:36, I'm awake. Just laying on my bed. Trying to find the motivation to brush my teeth (don't be judgin' - you can NEVER get enough sleep as a missionary. It jsut isn't possible).. And then my phone goes off. 

I'm like, "Ergh (that's the sound of tiredness). What? I already turned off the alarm. Oh. Łódź DL. Huh. 'Ello? Um. This is Sister Young?" 

"Hey Sister Young! This is Elder Finch!" 

"Hi, Elder Finch?" Note that all my comments end in question marks. That's because I'm confused, and my brain is still not fully functioning. 

"Hi! *words words words*"

"Um, what?"

"*words words words*"

"I'm sorry - what?"

"*words words words, but more emphathetically this time*"

"Snow? There's snow?"

"Yeah! There's SNOW!"

And now I almost fall out of bed, trying to get to the window ... Okay, well, not actually "almost". I really just fell out of bed. It was kinda embarrassing. So I stumble over to the window, and what do you know! There's SNOW out there! Granted, not much. But it's THERE! Meanwhile, Elder Finch is still on the phone, apologizing for calling and saying he's weird in the morning (aren't we all, Elder Finch?). And then I made myself some hot chocolate and turned on Elder Fogg's iPod (more on that later) to Mannheim Steamroller. YEAH BABY. My morning rocked today.

Anyways. Due to the changing of the season, the sun sets PRETTY dang early here. At, like, 4 o'clock. That's quite early. And when I say the sun sets, I mean, we're, like, plunged into darkness.. We should probably be carrying flashlights with us everywhere we go. At home, I'd love this sort of thing. In Poland? As a missionary? Not so much. Because that means that I have to wander dark creepy streets, contacting people like a creeper, in the dark. Boo. But hey, we live and we learn. And we find other things to do. Like TRACTING. Yay. And Former Hunts. And Less-Active Hunts. Missionary work - always such an adventure.

On a spiritual note, we did a whiteboad with Elders Finch and Fogg, and I talked to the COOLEST lady. Her name is Iza. And she was SO NICE. Oh my heck. So nice. And I was talking to her about the Księga, and telling her how it helped me, and she was just like, "Yeah? Oh, okay." I could tell she was really, like, soaking in what I said. And the way she looked at the Księga, like it held the answers - it was so cool! Because guess what? That book DOES hold the answers! It was awesome. And as I was talking to her, and testifying about the Book of Mormon, I just thought to myself, "Okay, so this is what it's all about, isn't it? THIS is missionary work. And it's super cool." Sometimes I have these moments where I remember that being a missionary is awesome (because - I'm not going to lie - sometimes I forget), and I'm justl ike, "YES! LET'S BAPTIZE POLAND!" And then I realize there's no font big enough to baptize an entire country. Except, the ocean. That would work. Anyways. 

I had my first experience with alcohol this week. Good news - I am not EVER going to touch that crap again. And stop worrying RIGHT now - it was all an accident. A tragic, TRAGIC accident. You see. We were with Elders Pieper and Gibby at Manekin. Getting naleśniki. Of course. And Elder Pieper's came with this caramel sauce. So, naturally, he tried it. And then he was like, "WHOA. There is something up with that stuff." And I was like, "What are you talking about, kid? It's caramel sauce." And he was like, "Try it!" And I was like, "Alright." So I tried it, and guess what? It was fetching disgusting. Firstly, it tasted like the smell of Larry. EW. And then, it burned going down. Like, burned. So. Now we know it's alcoholic. And it's foul. And for serious - NEVER AGAIN. Good news, parents. I'm not going to go home and turn into an alcoholic. That's not happening.

Since Sister Wendel left and we are senior couple-less, I am the branch pianist. Yes. Thanks for making me take lessons all those years, Mom. Now, I have to play for Sacrament Meeting. Greeeeeeeat. But really - I love it. I thought I didn't, but I do. Piano is my favorite thing. And I didn't realize I actually missed it until I started playing agian. Ah. I can't wait to be at home someday and play REAL music, not just hymns. But. Until then. I'll play in Sacrament Meeting, and it'll be grand.

So - Elder Fogg's iPod. Like, 80% of it is SUPER not wolno (apparently his brother got ahold of it before his dad sent it to him. And by not wolno, I mean SUPER NOT WOLNO. As in, Taylor Swift. And Journey. And Boston. And Imagine Dragons. The tempation is great - but don't worry. I'm tough. I only listen to the wolno stuff). But the other 20% - man, it is good. Okay, well, mostly I listen to his Lord of the Rings music. Because he has a freakin' ton of it. But it ROCKS, and I LOVE it. He has Misty Mountains, from The Hobbit - AH! Can I just tell you all how complete my life now is? SO COMPLETE! LOTR - it's like my comfort music. My comfort food is bean soup with toasted cheese sandwiches. My comfort movie is Sleeping Beauty with Emily and Dad. And My comfort music is LOTR soundtrack. 

Sister M is still SUPER AWESOME. And - good news - she's a QUOTER! A really really good quoter. Ah. It brings me so much joy. I love ALL my companions, they are all incredible. But none of them, until now, have been quoters. It's like coming home, man! I am so happy! She's so great. I love her. Fun Fact - her mother is from Poland (Poznań) and her dad is from Chile. And she's American. She doesn't speak with an accent. She does speak Spanish, but she didn't learn Polish until the MTC (because, let's be honest, it's kind of a useless language. And I say this with all the love of my soul! I LOVE Polish. SO MUCH. But it's useless outside of Poland). She's SUPER COOL. 

I think that's all I've got for ya, dzieci. Thanks for the love and support and prayers! I promise - they're much appreciated!

Siostra Young

Monday, November 18, 2013 5:48 AM Shweet!

Hey guys! What's the word on the street back in the States? (It's an awkward beginning, I know. I just get tired of writing the same thing every week. I'm experimenting. Clearly, it still needs a little work.)

Things are PRETTY great here in Łódź. I'm just, you know, lovin' life. Bein' a missionary. Preachin' the G. What more could a Sistah want?

You know what? I really hate when people call me, "Sister." Sister Young is okay, Siostra Young is great, I LOVE Siostro and Siost, but Sister? Just plain old Sister? Ugh. NOT a fan.

Anyways.

You know how we have "exercise" every morning for thirty minutes? Yeah. NO. It's the worst thrity minutes of my life. I'm not doing anything. I'm being awake. That is literally all I'm doing. My exercise time consists of me, congratulating myself on being awake and trying not to remember the joy that is sleeping in. I need to get a hobby or something. Maybe I'll invest in a jump rope .... Or ... I don't know. Something. It's just lame.

Beata still rocks. We met with her Saturday and talked about church and Sabbath Day and she was like, "So, am I allowed to come see what church is like? I know I'm not a member, but is that okay?" YES! PLEASE COME TO CHURCH! And she was going to come yesterday, but she woke up sick. Dangit, Satan! Stop making my investigators sick! I mean, REALLY. That's just low.

We have this little boy that comes to Dzieci English. His name is Julek.. He is HILARIOUS. We were talking about food last time, and we were playing pictionary, and he would walk up to the board to draw his food, and then he'd look back at everyone and say, "Give me time to finish." And then they'd guess what he was drawing really fast, and he'd just keep going until he was done. He is a boy with some serious personality. My favorite was when he drew his cake. They all guessed cake, and then he kept going, and when he was done, he stepped back and looked at his masterpiece, and said, "Now THAT is a cake." YES. I love this kid. I'd steal him, if that were in any way acceptable. Unfortunately, missionaries aren't allowed to have pets. White handbook. And I'm feeling like children fall into the same category.

LOVEYOU ALL! Have the most incredible of weeks, and I promise to write more next week!

Siostra Young

Tuesday, November 12, 2013 5:36 AM Week 1, Transfer 4. Let's do this thing.

Well. Here we are. Start of the transfer. Let's do this thing! (Nazywaj ten film!)

Sister Montesinos. Is SUPER awesome. She's from Salt Lake (uh ... Midvale? Or something? There are too many outlying territories that belong to SLC. I just can't keep track.) She's been out one transfer, so techicnally speaking, I'm finishing her training. What does that mean exactly? No one is quite sure. But we just go with it. She served her first transfer in Warsaw with my MTC siost Sister Lidtka, so that's fun! She was actually Sister Tobler's MTC comp (Fun Fact - Sister Tobler and Sister Pearson are comps - what the awesome?! I know, I know. That companionship just spells FUN.) She LOVES movies (YES), and books (YES), and the Gospel (YES) - so basically, everything is working out A-okay here w Łodzi. Look out! PS - She LOVES Northanger Abbey. Let's take a moment to appreciate the awesomeness of that statement. NO ONE loves Northanger Abbey! Except for me. And every other classy human being on the planet (which is a surprisingly - and quite frankly disconcertingly - small number). Ah. I am so happy. She is super awesome! Her Polish is good, she's got energy, we both think we're pretty funny - it's just a dream come true. But, you know, whatever.

Good news! I have been informed that Łódź is indeed getting a new senior couple! Hallelujah! I just want to get up and do some Gospel choir singing or something! Senior couples are the BEST. Oh my heck. I'm so excited. I didn't even know how rough I had it back in Kraków (which I suppose is a sort of blessing ... but given the choice, I'd probably just take the senior couple ...).

On Sunday night we were Less Active hunting (yes. Hunting. It's what we do - don't even worry about it). So we ended up in a sketchy looking neighborhood, outside a REALLY sketchy looking building. The freaky kind, that doesn't even have a domophone. It's just like a weird gaping hallway that leads out onto the street, and then you walk in, and on either side there are doors, and behind the doors are scary stairs that end up who knows where. It's kind of a Larry dwelling. (Larry: a homeless person who carries around grocery bags full of garbage and empty beer bottles; dirty, old, scary, smelly. See also, hobo.) So. Here we are. And we see this Larry looking lady. And I was like, "Ohhhh boy." So we go out onto the street, trying to decide what the next course of action will be, and Larry Lady walks out. I was thinking, "You know, I ought to say hi to her." And then I was like, "Yeah. That's a good idea. Say hello to the scary woman. And then she'll grab my bag and run. That's intelligent." And then I was like, "No, no. She's a daughter of God. He loves her. Just say hi. Come on. It's easy." So I was like, "Dzień dobry!" (but out loud this time - not in my head. That would have been weird. And she wouldn't have heard.) And she was like, "Dzień dobry. I think you're looking for me." (Of course, that was po polsku) And I was like, "What?! Krysyna?!" And she was like, "Yep!" And I was like, "Oh.. Well, cool!" So. She's our less active. And we're meeting with her tonight. She was VERY nice, and I kinda feel like scum for calling her a Larry Lady. You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, friends. So maybe I'll have something more interesting to report about her next week.

We didn't meet with Beata last week (SO SAD!) because she was really busy and then she was in Kielce with family. But we're meeting with her this week, so things are looking up! She is so great. We've got daily contact established with her, and sometimes I feel weird about that, but she's TOTALLY chill and doesn't even mind when we text and call her (even though, if it were me, I think that MIGHT possibly freak me out a little bit. Just imagine it - you're meeting with these missionaries, who want you to get baptized, and then they start calling you and texting you. Everyday. I mean, that's what we're supposed to do, and that's comin' from PMG and mission president and everything, but still. It's a little weird.)

Well. I gotta run. Catch you all on the flip! (I was informed by Elder Finch that that means something about people dying ... I don't believe it. And I'm still going to say it. So. That's awkward. But whatever. It's fine.)

LOVE YOU ALL!

Siostra Young

Monday, November 04, 2013 5:12 AM FORWARD UNTO DAWN

Well. I would NORMALLY start out this email like, "Hey Family! Guess what? Transfer calls happened, and you'll never believe it - I'm staying in Łódź! And Sister Monetsinos is coming here!" But apparently that news is already out. How - I'm still not quite sure. But whatever. It's fine. It's not like I enjoy sharing the surprise of where and with whom I'll be spending Christmas and Thanksgiving. It's like, whatever.

So. Forward Unto Dawn Week was INCREDIBLE. Up until yesterday. But more on that later.

Monday. P-DAY. Er ER! (If you know what this is, you just made it onto the Cool People List. If you don't, well ... I'm sorry. And if you think maybe you know, but you can't be sure, because how do make that sound when you're typing, I'll put you out of your misery. This is a Baby Mama quote. You're welcome.) I loves me some P-Day. We were GOING to go ice skating with the elders, but guess what? The place doesn't open until 18:00. Right when P-Day ends. Which is ultra lame. Then we had a lesson with a less active named Irena. She's SUPER cool. The reason she's less active is becasue she's blind, so it's hard for her to get to church. But she's got a rock solid testimony, and she's a sweetheart. I like her.

Tuesday. We did a MEGA WHITEBOARD with the elders for Halloween. There are about 3 gagillion J-Dub missionaries roaming the streets in Poland, and since they're anti-Halloween, we decided to go the opposite direction. We carved jack o'lanterns with the elders and put them up at the white board and asked people what they were afraid of. It was QUITE a party.

Wednesday. CULTURE NIGHT! AND a lesson with Beata! We talked with Beata about Słowo, and she was TOTALLY okay with it. Yeah boy! Then we had Culture Night. We ate at a Polish restuarant (I wasn't a huge fan, but it was okay), and then we went and saw FIDDLER ON THE ROOF! Po polsku! If that's not the coolest thing EVER, I don't know what is! And I was actually surprised by how much I was able to understand - not because I know the play, but because I know Polish! (And I use the phrase "know Polish" VERY loosely - but hey! If I was able to understand a musical po polsku, maybe I understand more than I give myself credit for!)

Thursday. Halloween! Woo hoo! Halloween actually isn't a thing in Poland. They just don't really do that. But we had a Halloween party with the YSA's at the Lloyd's house, and that was SUPER fun! Ewa and Milena BOTH came, so that was pretty crazy! We think maybe we'll be able to bring them back into investigating the church. But we'll see. Elders Caskey and Fogg had an investigator there (who they'd never actually met before, so that was weird), and he was an ODD duck. Like, I was standing in the kitchen, watching people carve pumpkins, and he came over, and, like, petted my arm. Yeah. It's exactly as weird as it sounds. Or maybe even weirder. He just walked up and rubbed my arm for a couple seconds, and then I was like, "Ooookay, well that's enough of THAT crap," and high-tailed it right out of there. Oh Poland. Oh Poland.

Friday. All Saint's Day. This day is a BIG DEAL in Poland. Basically everyone buys a bunch of flowers and candles and things, and take them to the graves of their deceased relatives. We went to a cemetary with the elders, and it was DECKED. Oh man. SO many candles and flowers. It was SUPER cool! It's a nice way to remember the people you love. So that was really fun. We walked around with them and looked at graves and talked, and it was just great.

Saturday. Actually, nothing of interest happened on Saturday.

Sunday. Yesterday. Transfer calls. I HATE THIS DAY SO MUCH. I am the biggest NOT fan of transfer calls on the planet. I had come to grips with the fact that I was probably staying in Łódź, and Sister Wendel was leaving me. I was ready for that. And I was also comfortable with the fact that Elder Wolfley would be out, because he had also been there for six months (same as Sister Wendel). I wasn't sure what was going to go down with Elder Finch, but I had prepared myself for the possibility of him leaving. What I was NOT prepared for was the fact that Elder Caskey is leaving. We've been talking about transfers for a few weeks now, and we were all SURE that Elders Caskey and Fogg and I would be staying in Łódź, and the others were leaving. That was the plan.. We were ready. But guess what? That did NOT pan out. Wolfley is going to Lublin, Sister Wendel is going to Warsaw (and I'm going to miss her! She's my KOLEŻANKA!), and Elder Caskey is going to Katowice. The good news is, I get to keep Elders Finch and Fogg! And they're going to be comps, so that'll be fun! It'll be great - we'll have an AMAZING transfer, I'm sure. I just don't like it when my people leave. It's dumb. I hate it. So I possibley cried a lot last night. And possibly cried a lot this morning. But whatever. It's all fine.

So that was my week. It was quite eventful. And now I'm just a little sad. What am I going to do without Sister Wendel? And Elder Caskey? And Elder Wolfley? Oh boy. Transfers are lame.

Oh, and guess what else? My sister is engaged. This just keeps getting better and better. Is there anything else lame that could happen? Maybe they could change the missionary age and William can leave on his birthday instead of waiting until school's out? Perhaps the dogs could die. Or ... or ... Oh, I don't know. I'm just over this crap.

Anyways. On a happy note (because let's end this on a happy note) ... The Church is true. That's a happy note.

LOVE YOU ALL!

Siostra Young