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

Dear Missionary Parents,

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

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

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

Love,

President & Sister Edgren

Siostra Young

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

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

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

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

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

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

Friday, December 20, 2013 4:12 AM Poland in a Paragraph.

Brief Notes Before The Beginning Of The Actual Email:

1. This Christmas season has been FLYING. Which I am CRAZY grateful for. Homesickness hasn't even been an issue, and that rocks. God is good, my friends. God is good.

2. Who here knows about The Great Chipmunk Adventure? The greatest movie ever made? Yeah - that movie rocks. And is a little obscure. But guess who's seen it? And quoted it yesterday? Sister Montesinos. You guys, she ROCKS!

3. We also talked about Recess and Scooby Doo on Zombie Island. CLASSIC.

4. IT'S ALMOST CHRISTMAS!

And now ...

So. I don't have a WHOLE lot to say, since I was just emailing, like, three days ago. And so. I've been thinking about what to say. And this is what I want to say. (Not, like, what I'm about to write.  The next sentences are the lead up to what I want to say. Be patient.) Last week, Mom asked me to write a paragraph about my mission for a lady in our ward to put on the ward bulletin board. That's a pretty tall order to fill. One paragraph. About my mission. At first, I was like, "Sheesh, where does one even BEGIN? I have SO much to say!" And then, as I kept thinking I was like, "Wait. No really. Where does one even begin? Because I can't think of one single thing to say." So I gave her a rain check, and promised to write said paragraph today. Which I did. And it took a REALLY long time. But it's done, and I feel like in one paragraph, this is the best I could do. But here's the thing. As I was trying to decide what to write, I had a pretty rough time thinking of things people might find interesting. And maybe this paragraph is more about my personal mission than the Poland Warsaw mission as a whole, but this has been my experience. And it's not as "sunshine and daisies"-y as I wanted it to be.. But as I kept thinking about it, I was like, "Well, what's wrong with that? My mission hasn't been sunshine and daisies. So what?" And then I was like, "Well, maybe I should edit it down so it's not so dark. I don't want to scare the old babci in the ward." But that's not the point. I don't want to edit my experience as a missionary to make it sound all sunshine and daisies. That's not my mission, and that's not what I want anyways. Whatever. I'm sorry. I'm rambling. Without further ado, this is the paragraph.

*WARNING: THIS MISSION HAS NOT BEEN SUGAR COATED. THIS PARAGRAPH IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART*

I don't know what other missions are like - I've just been here in Poland. And I know they say that every mission is hard (just as they ought to be) but the Poland Warsaw Mission? She is a tough one. Poland is a VERY Catholic country.. And by Catholic, I mean that they're all baptized as babies and attend Mass for Christmas and Easter. Religion is much more cultural that religious in this country. Which makes preachin' the G a little difficult. Not impossible. But difficult. I've heard that in some missions, people have appointments and lessons all the time. And they actually get referrals. And if they don't get a baptism one transfer, that's abnormal. Such is not the case in Poland. Or at least for me in Poland. Finding investigators - SOLID investigators - is not easy. Which means we don't have very many. Which means we don't have very many lessons and appointments set up. Which means we contact a lot. To znaczy, talk to people on the streets. And a lot of times, they're not super excited to listen. And so they don't. Baptisms? I've heard the average number of baptisms for a Poland Warsaw missionary is two. Personally, I think that guess is a little high. It all sounds so horribly depressing, doesn't it? See, that's where it gets interesting. Because guess what? I love it. I really love Poland. I love the stubborn people, and the lack of customer service, and the smelliness of the public transportation. And I know - this all sounds like sarcasam. But I'm serious. I love it. These things just make Poland Poland. But there are also things that are easier to love. I love when I wake up to the sound of bells from the cathedral next door and I look out my window to see the city settled beneath a layer of mist (it's so thoroughly European). I SERIOUSLY love it when you're speaking Polish and gift of tongues is going full force, and people ask, "How long have you been here?" and they can't BELIEVE how well you speak. Those things are all great. But what I love VERY most is teaching someone who cares. When you FINALLY find someone who wants to learn more - somebody who gets it. That's what I love the most. And if takes a little longer to find them in Poland than it does somewhere else, well, alright then. So be it. I can't imagine serving anywhere else. So yeah - I'll take the stinky trams and the grumpy people and misty mornings and the IMPOSSIBLE Polish, if it means I get to teach someone person who cares, and if it means I get to watch somebody change their life because they catch the vision of the Gospel and begin to understand it's importance in their lives. I love that these people are stubborn. I love that it takes them a while to accept the Gospel. And I love that when they do accept it, and they do understand it, they're in it 110%. I love Poland. 

So anyways ... That's that ... 

Merry Christmas, dzieci! I'll talk to you in 5 DAYS family! And I cannot WAIT! Woo hoo! 

Love you all! 

Siostra Young

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