Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Week 9: NIE MOGE SIE DOCZEKAC!

NIE MOGE SIE DOCZEKAC! (I can not wait!)
I am left asking myself, "wait, is this real life?" Then the words from Elder Holland's devotional address come to mind, "THIS IS REAL LIFE." There is not messing around with Elder Holland.

On Monday Siostra Craig and I will be leaving the MTC and heading to Warsaw Poland, here is the flight itinerary!


















Here are some of the highlights from this past week at the MTC:

Siostra Craig and I were talking with a sister going to Japan. She asked what language we were speaking and we told her Polish. She said, "really? I heard Polish, Finnish, and Japanese, were the hardest languages in the MTC!." Before our teachers would always tell us the same thing, that Polish was one of the hardest languages. I thought maybe they were a little biased, but nope it is now official! Polish is one of the hardest languages at the MTC. 
That being said I love the Polish language. There is so much thought and care put into the grammar and the words. I really do feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to teach in Polish. The cases have come along nicely, I finally memorized all six. I have to spend a little time going over the plural form of the cases, but they are not as difficult and I already have a few memorized. what I love about the Polish language is the way it sounds: a little bit of an asian tang here, a throaty sound there, and maybe a little finnish... my point is that is is unlike any language I have ever heard. I love it and can not wait to hear the people speaking way too fast for me to understand when I'm in Poland!

The teachers. The teachers at the MTC are the best and definitely inspired to be here. We said goodbye to Brat Smalley yesterday, it may have been a little emotional and a little leaky. Today is our last day with our other two teachers. They have become like our mentors and I will miss them very much. They have spent so much time with us and have helped us in so many ways. I want to make them proud and can not wait to see them around BYU campus after mission life and give them a big hug!


Also along the musical lines I played the cello in one sacrament meeting. Sestra Duffy sang with her angelic voice and Elder Isaacson played the piano. We performed I Know That My Redeemer Lives and it really was a wonderful opportunity. I PUT THOSE CELLO LESSONS TO USE MOM AND DAD. Thank you for patiently encouraging me to keep playing the cello and practicing.


On Tuesday we had elder Nash from the area seventy came to speak with us. We sang in the choir, Precious Savior Dear Redeemer (music by Brett Stewart) and I had goosebumps the entire time.

Here are some of the lyrics:
Precious Savior, dear Redeemer, thou wilt bind the broken heart.
Let not sorrow overwhelm us; dry the bitter tears that start.
Curb the winds and calm the billows; bid the angry tempest cease.
Precious Savior, dear Redeemer, grant us everlasting peace.

At the end of Elder Nash's address he said, 'Don't Hold Anything Back from the Lord." 

I could maybe stay at the MTC for a whole year and still feel like there is still so much for me to learn. For in a very long time I finally feel like I am exactly where I am supposed to be. I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us. When we match up our lives with His plan, we feel an overwhelming sense of joy and peace. I am so happy to be here and I am so excited to go and serve the people in Poland. There is still so much for me to learn, but I am also ready to go and learn out in the mission field. I recall a familiar feeling when I went skydiving last summer. I did not know exactly what I was doing, had I taken the time to stop and really ask myself if I knew what I was doing, I might have chickened out or had some kind of panick attack. However I went on that sketchy little airplane and I jumped into the big blue sky. I fell through clouds and looked down at the beautiful Earth and I love every single second of it. I am ready to go to Poland. I cam so excited to meet my mission President, the other missionaries, and the members. 

Until next time, when I'm in Poland, 
this is Siostra Young, leaving the MTC after nine weeks.  

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Week 8 Nie moge sie doczekac!

Nie moge sie doczekac, tomorrow we will be getting out flight plans! 

Siostra Craig and I had another milestone in our lessons this week. We had another Skype lesson with Ewa and it was really exciting. I wrote in my planner right after we taught her...\

"our skype lesson with Ewa was the greateset! Siostra Craig and I were able to be ourselves and let our crazy/fun/excited personalities shine through, while keeping the Spirit of course."

What made this lesson different from our past lessons is we were able to engage Ewa as well as ourselves as re related experiences. The whole time we were smiling and focused on teaching people not lessons, which is KEY.

This week we also set up a baptismal date z Tomekim. 

Anyways this week has been great, the goal has been to "collect drops of awesome." Sister Melville, the Branch President's wife shared a talk which inspired Siostra Craig and I to "colelct drops of awesome." Example: you say your prayers today, great you collect a drop. Maybe you pick up some garbage, another drop. You hold the door open for someone, add a drop. You work out and fell great, another drop. Maybe you go out of your way to introduce yourself to someone sitting on a bench, hey add a drop. Anyways it is about collecting drops of awesome. Even if we do not fill ur bucket up with "drops of awesome," that is okay. Through the atonement and grace of Jesus Christ, our buckets can be filled. We are asked to try our best and that is all.



Thanks Mom! 


From Canada to Poland with love and a little spunk! 2 more weeks!!

"My Branch President's wife gave this to me. I don't even like nutella, I like Peanut Butter but desperate/stressful times call for stressful measures."

Week 7: CZAZ LEPCIEC!

CZAZ LEPCIEC! (time flies)

Next week we will be getting our flight plans! How is this possible?

This week the most exciting part was our Skype appointment. We skyped Ewa (Eva) in Poland, she is a member in Bydgoszcz and shared a short message with her. I loved every single minute of it, even if I only understood about 20% We shared a message about endurance, but more importantly enduring happily. I shared a quick story of the West Coast Trail. The hike was probably one the of the hardest hikes we had committed to. I quickly learned when that when my frame of mind was positive and excited, time flew by. In contrast, when I thought about myself and how difficult the hike actually really was, time did not only seem to drag on, but to freeze. I can thank my parents for that lesson! Life is not always easy, but if we go into each experience with a desire to endure and to learn, all will be well.





Thursday, June 4, 2015

Week 6: Smacznego!

MTC FOOD HACKS:
(for anyone future missionaries entering into the MTC, but let's face it, the only people who reads this blog is my family.)
1. when you have a cookie, heat it up in the microwave for 15 seconds. It'll taste like it just came out of the oven.
2. There is a salad bar/wrap bar. You can totally make a wrap on half of the shell then fold it in half, stick it in the microwave, and boom QUESADILLA. Smacznego!
3. there is oatmeal in the mornings, however it is way overcooked. I like to heat my milk up in the microwave and add some of the cinnamon granola. It is so good.
4. to make the soup a little more appetizing and the rice a little more appetizing, mix the two together.
5. when you go to the temple, go the cafeteria on the lower floor. As a missionary you are allowed and they have CELESTIAL WAFFLES.
6. Wednesdays they have ice-cream sundays for new missionaries coming in. Grab a plastic cup and fill up on candy. It is a good on the go snack.
7. I'll send pictures of my favorite salads when there is nothing else that looks worth eating
8. pray for a roommate from Utah because they will have tons of packages. Sestra Rusick had her own pantry
9. it is always nice to have a hot cup of tea every now and again

Well it is week 6 at the MTC! This week we had about 18 new missionaries come into our zone! We have new Croatians, Bulgarians, and Slovenians.
This Wednesday was a special treat, Siostra Craig and I were asked to Host the incoming missionaries, we helped them check in, get their books, i tak dalej. We actually did that last week but I could not remember if I mentioned that in my letter. However ten tydzien (this week) we were asked to be special guests in one of the orientation meeting. We were to be an example companionship for a door approach. We "knocked" on an investigators door and met with them. We greeted the investigators and asked them questions, setting the new missionaries up to start teaching. We found out our teachers had recommended us, so that was pretty cool. However meeting someone and getting to know them po angelsku jest trudny i a bit strange because we are so used to being personal in Polish. 

Our devotionals these past two weeks have been great. Last week was Elder Holland and then this week Elder Christofferson! Elder Christofferson answered some missionary questions he had been asked before. One question was about recognizing the Holy Ghost. He explained how recognizing the Holy Ghost is like learning a new language and the textbook to that language is the Book of Mormon. Sometimes I think of the Book of Mormon as a huge story, which it is, but it can also be a textbook and an instrument to help us become familiar with the language of the Holy Ghost.

This last week Siostra Craig and I had an amazing experience with out investigator Karina. When we taught her, we had prepared a lesson on the 10 Commandments. She wants to be baptized but is scared to ask her husband who struggles with some things. Anyways as soon as we started to teaching her, Siostra Craig and I did something we never really thought we would do- at least not until we were out in the mission field. We took our lesson plan and mentally kicked it to the curb. We felt impressed to share a different message with Karina and we were eld by the Holy Ghost. We taught an UNSCRIPTED UNPLANNED LESSON all in Polish. Sure our Polish was a little... tragic shall we say but the message was clear enough for Karina to hear. We read in first Nephi chapter three, we read in a circle and took turns. After the first ten verses or so we asked her what she thought. Her eyes lit up as she was excited to learn that while yes these stories were written long ago, they apply to her and her life. She learned that because Nephi had faith he was able to draw strength and that she could too. The lesson as a whole was by far our best lesson ever, but more importantly was how we were able to help Karina learn more about her loving Heavenly Father and how she can come closer to Him. 

What a week, I can not wait for the next!



"And I shall make you fishers of men" - Matthew 4:19



Madi food.