Week 5

Hey :)

 

Hmm- what did I learn that was new? well in German I learned about dawo compounds.. gospel wise, lessons are more of an increase of a foundation you already have, nothing has really stood out. For the Sunday night movie we watched an old talk by President Holland- Missions are Forever. Fantastic! But what else would you expect from Elder Holland?

 

I do not only speak in German although we have district goals where on Mondays and Thursdays we try to only speak German and then every hour we have 'language study' we try to only speak germany.. I am probably somewhere between 60-70% effective. which is not bad I guess. It is good practice to just try talking. But we teach only in German and I don't use any language materials.

 

So I think you got confused with my mailbox number. My address is MTC Mailbox #266 and I am pretty sure it was corrected wrong on facebook so if that can be fixed for real awesome- if not, don't worry about it.

 

 

This morning was exciting- the temple finally opened again and so I got to go for my second time ever. It was nice, and as a district we went early and then had bfast in the temple cafeteria. real food :) 

Other AWESOME news- there are a TON of German missionaries here, as in missionaries from Germany. All of them are going to Greece and they saw us with our SYL flag signs and came to talk to us and I see them a lot and they are really nice and are great to practice my German on. Two of the Elders I met are from Frankfurt so they gave me their family names and their home wards and so if I serve in those areas I can say hi. It as sweet.

 

Other than that this week has been pretty routine although I can't believe we only have 4 weeks left. Was die heck! tomorrow the MTC is getting 100 new sisters and we will have over 400 in the MTC and then NEXT wednesday our new DEUTCHERS come in. so much excitement!! there are 46 new german speaking missionaries called (that is a lot for one transfer).

 

There is so much to be greatful for here even if sometimes I like to complain. I have great room mates and teachers and there are so many wonderful examples. I am loving this opportunity and I am trying to take advantage of it. The one thing I want more than anything is to be able to look back and say- "I gave everything I could and I have no regrets."

 

I love you all so much.

Love, Sister Young

Week 4

HALF WAY BABY!!!! Ok, well ALMOST, but that is okay right?

Yes my coat came tuesday after I had wirtten the email.. so sorry, and it fits great actually and I love it. I even asked everyone how they thought it fit and they like it too so thanks :) The thunderstorms sound wonderful. Utah is so rain deprived although I guess this summer we have had our fair share, but I miss it and it has been quite hot. Don't worry about sending my emails to anyone else unless they ask. My blog address is already posted on my fb page and so no big deal. If people want the email you can refer them to the blog or you can feel free to send them the email. either way works for me. Thanks also, for all the Letters this week :) I think one day I was an object of jealous for my district because I got like 6 letters and they had multiple letters in them too. Some of the missionaries don't get written fairly often so we try not to make mail time a big deal.. It is wonderful to have Clara here! She has class in my building and her bedroom is on my floor, and we have the same eating schedule so I get to see her all the time and it is tons of fun. Her and her companion ar the only two in their class and they just found out that sisters are also being sent to bosnia and serbia so they are supposed to also try and learn as much of those languages as they can.. crazy right? and all in 9 weeks!

Not much has happened that is exciting this week either. We are in the grind. Life has become very scheduled and structured and time is passing more quickly by the week but still fairly slowly by the day. Every day we look back at that morning and say "wait! that was TOday?!" haha but I am enjoying it. But there is only 2 and a half weeks until new Deutschers come in and that will be exciting! And Peter should get his itinerary this week maybe? and he leaves really soon. I will miss seeing him around!

I did get a wonderful package from the McGhies full of fruit and goodness and it was fantastic. The package did not have their address however so I need that so I can thank them properly. I also got letters this week form G&G which was lovely- they already have a letter on its way, from rachel, from elena, and from emily! so much fun :) Also exciting- the temple opens tomorrow so we finally get to go next week!

You asked to know a bit more about my companions, Sister R- is from P_____. She has 5 sisters and one brother and is studying English. She is very bubbly and helpful and very kind. Sister P- is from N_____ and is in the middle of three girls. She is studying natural conservation and restoration ecology. We all go to university in Utah but none of us at the same school. She is very steady and opinionated which is great when we teach because she is always super willing to say what has to be said. Overall I think we are doing a really great job at working together, it can be hard to assimilate three very different people together but I love them and I am learning from them.

The language is coming along quite well I think. I do not always say things perfectly, especially grammatically, but that takes time to get used to. German grammer is very different from English grammer but I understand all we have covered and my vocab has siginificantly increased. My teachers are really encouraging and super kind. I think it would be great if Aunt Coleen wanted to come to Frankfurt too but your choice. It would be more fun if she brought Rachel.... haha also I heard that if you tell your mission president  at the beginning that your parents are picking you up and that you are going to be spending some time in travelling that sometimes they release you there... should I look into it? 

Sounds like you are all doing fabulously and I miss you all and love you all and can't wait to hear from you all again!

My favorite scripture this week was Alma 29:9 (I am already reading and understanding about 60% of the scriptures in german :) )

 "I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy."

very applicable no?

Love,

Sister Young

Week 3

Hey!

 

Ok so the mail on the letter I sent you is the right one' I don´´t know why it was different so many times, maybe I was supposed to have a companion and then things all had to change. who knows! I did get both packages- thank you! they are wonderful. I have not gotten my coat yet- if they gave you credit for it then maybe they thought it was a return? I don't know- maybe you should call them. The weather here is quite hot although we have had a decent amoung of rain here lately and it has been fairly humid but I barely notice- I wear sweaters and jeans on p day and I think I am just used to the heat.

I see Peter a couple times a week- on Sundays we walk to the temple together and do the devotional and movie together. Speaking of devotional, this week was awesome. Remember that really curly haired girl we saw at the violin store? So turn out she is pretty famous. Her name is Jenny Oaks Baker- she is President Oaks's daughter and she started playing the violin when she was 4, performed with the orchestra at age 8, got her masters at Juliard and was part of the National Symphony Orchestra- legit right? Anyway she told us about her life and her playing and she performed and all her kids play instruments and it was beautiful, you should definitely check out her music. Inspiring. Other exciting news: hmmm, well we moved last tuesday to next door with the other German sisters in our transfer so it has been really fun. The older transfer sisters left this morning and I will really miss them. They were wonderful and even though I will see two of them in Frankfurt it will definitely be different here without them. Sister O- going to Berlin was called as the new coordinating sister and she is going to be so fantastic at it!

 

Time is passing way faster here now. Thank goodness. I have to admit that first two weeks here were pretty hard and I was struggling a bit with my testimony and wondering why I had decided to go on a mission but I prayed a lot and have studied and I guess the Lord just loves me because now I think my testimony is stronger than ever. It isn't even just a belief anymore- but a knowledge and I can't really explain why I feel so different or what happened but whatever it is I am so greatful. When I first came to the MTC I was kind of disgruntled that I had to be here for 9 weeks and that it really isn't all that fun and that we have 16 hour days and so many rules but now I have realized my mistake and thankfully have had a change of attitude. There is a lot to learn here and even though I don't love all of it, there is so much that I need. I am now a third of the way through my time here and there are only 6 more weeks. I will still be really excited when it is time to go. What do you want to know about my companions? I will write a letter and send it since I don't know if I will have enough time to email. but if you have questions ask away.

 

One of our 'investigators' right now- i don't know if i told you but we start teaching in german our first week here. anyway one of our investigators who is really just one of our teachers playing the role of one of their old investigators- her name is Bernadette and teaching her is a blessing. She is amazing and has such faith in God. I feel like she is a better example to me than I am to her. Last week we talked about the importance of prayer and families. She is a single mom and comes from Hungary and she is worried about her 4 sons. Anyway we read a scripture abour praying with family and it was amazing to see how the Spirit reached her heart. I know it is just role playing, but the situation and the Spirit and the opportunity are real.

 

Tomorrow is Wednesday and C comes in!! I am so excited!!! not much else has happened here this week. Same routine for the next 7 weeks, but it will be fun. In three more weeks we get a huge transfer of German missionaries- apparently this is the most missionaries they have sent to Germany and specifically Frankfurt in a really long time so that is exciting and then after that we have 3 weeks till we go. Crazy.

 

Fruit from J would be amazing!!! I get really sick of the food here and it doesn't particulary make me feel good so I tend to eat a lot of salad and what fruit there is. There vegetables are mostly canned and disgusting but I am ok. The multivitamin I take is making up for a lot I think.

 

I don't think I need anything else. a lanyard maybe would be nice- I think I mentioned that already though. I love you all so much! Send my love to Grandma and Gran and Grandpa and everyone you see.

 

Thanks again for this opportunity- the work of the Lord is so important and I am so excited to be a part of it.

 

Love, Sister Young

Week 2

Hey everyone!

 

So exciting news:  well last night at around 12:30 I was pulled into consciousness by the most AWFUL blaring alarm clock sound I had ever heard! All of my room mates woke up and I am ashamed to admit that we got into a fight with the girls next to us- just kiddin- it was actually a fire alarm? didn't really sound like one.. and the entire building of disgruntled sisters found themselves outside on the street in the middle of the night because, wait till you hear this, the sensor that tripped the alarm was faulty... so not cool. haha but I am okay, I don't think many of us had a good nights rest but I shall manage it won't be the first or the last time that happens. There is now less than 7 weeks until I leave for Frankfurt. I don't know if I told you this already but I leave on August 27th at 5:30 am.. so excited. The older group all leaves next Monday and Tuesday and my mittarbeiterinnen and ich got permission to move in with the other two German speaking sisters who live next door to us so we are excited to do that today and we are excited to have an essentially all German speaking room- ohne one bed which I think will stay empty for now! Other than that not much exciting has happened here. I go to class and do lessons and all that jazz- you asked what I do for exercise? well I usually spend 15-20 minutes on the elliptical or bike and then I do weights or sit ups and stretching or p90 x abs because that is the only one I have time for. I actually think I have lost at least 5 pounds so far- some of my clothes are decently looser but it is hard to tell. My companions don't really exercise that much and one of them is in all reality terrible at getting ready on time we are almost always late in the mornings for personal study time and we leave gym early so she has time to get ready some more but at least we go to gym. The other sister- sister perkins exercises too but she does more pilates type things on the mat. I just discovered the granola here and it is delic! but they don't have any acceptable yogurt... The food really is hard. It could be so easy to just pig out on kind of gross food- the desserts are fantatic, especially one called the toll house pie but I don't eat much of them- I usually try a bit of some one else's so I can know what it tastes like. We joke around the the tollhouse pie is what keeps us here haha. It is really prett good here though. The schedule is not that that bad, I have adapted pretty well and do not feel too tired and there are so many amazing things to learn here if you are willing. It can be really hard I realized to focus and to really immerse yourself. I have been having a hard time this week with the Spirit. I remember mentioning last week that it is so amazing here because you feel the Spirit with you constantly and I think that I am now having a hard time feeling it at all because I can't remember what anything else feels like does that make sense? But I am studying the scriptures and PMG and I am praying night and day for help with it. And yesterday it started getting a lot better. But I know God is there for me and trying to help me, I just need to develop better listening skills. I may have too much pride and need to work on my humility.. maybe. I think I like to do things on my own too much so I am actually really grateful for the opportunity to learn to rely on the Lord and to really search the scriptures.

 

Thank you so much for the news about the fire! We definitely noticed all the smoke here. raining ash, billows coming up from behind the mountains, nasty smell. But we had a good rainfall and from what I can tell things seem to be going well in that department, although I know Peter's mission has been quite beset by fires that they were having troubles containing and he is worried there won't be am ission for him to go to! I love to stay updated on what is actually happening outside of the MTC. I am sorry letters fell so one sided though, I do honestly wish we had a little more time to write home. On another note- I wrote you a letter Mom, that I sent with Maddie's- I am interested tos ee how long it takes to get there. But one of the buckles on my roots bag fell off- remember in the store how you undid them, well whoever did them back up did them upside down which is why they kept looking so weird but by the time I figured that out, one had fallen off and I forgot to tell you last wekk- so if there is anyway you can get a new one- it is just the piece that snaps down and you thread the strap through. Also my mailbox number is 266 the piece of paper they gave me here had a different one on it so I have no clue if I gave you the right one or put the right one on facebook. could you let me know?  and I can get in touch with rachel to get it changed. thanks! thanks for all the pictures they were lovely! The reunion looked fantastic and I really enjoyed Mikyla's rendition of the skit :) So far I have heard from all of you, Granny, and Aunt Karen, and Rachel! Clara has also written me- she comes in in a week! How exciting is that :) I don't really think I need anything in particular- a lanyard would be nice, just a cute one from the dollar store or something to put my key card on. but not neccessary.

 

Thank Gran for her letter it was lovely to here from her and tell her I will write her back. Send everyone my love. I am doing well here for the most part. Everyone struggles but that is how we learn. I have no serious complaints and I am just really grateful for all of you and your love. I love you all so much! and I hope to keep hearing form you often! Say hi to everyone for me!

 

xoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxxoxo

Sister Young

Week One

Guten Tag!!

 

Mein Deutsch ist nicht perfect aber es ist jetzt nicht schlect. The MTC is fantastic! Well at at least once you get past the first couple days. Wednesday, even though it started at 1 seemed to last forever and Thursday could have been an entire year but everyone just kept telling us "Once you make it past the first Sunday, time will fly," and they were definitely right. (Even though I have only had one day since then, it went by way faster.) Sunday was amazing. We had a mission conference and then ein Deutsches sacrament meeting. Since it was fast and testimony meeting it was wonderful to hear the "older" missionaries bear their testimonies especially since it was all auf Deutsch and I was amazed to learn that I understood about 95% of what they said. I also got up and bore my own Testimony- yes auf Deutsch which was really nice, and comforting. The Branch President, President Dunn told us beforehand that we should write out our testimonies in German that week and also every week we are expected to write a 5 minute talk in German and then they call random people up to give their talks on the assigned topic. And when I got up to bear my testimony I did not even have to take up my written out one, it was amazing :) Alright, after sacrament we had a devo- it was a monologue about Joseph Smith by Williard Richards, it was amazing and the Spirit was really strong. That is one of the things I have really noticed here. Whenever I think about the Spirit, it is just there I feel it 25/7- how amazing is that? And then after that they play movies. My district all went to the one that was a Christmas Devotional that was done here by Elder Bednar. It was called the Character of Christ. I really recommend it to everyone if you have access to it. Essentially it talks about studying out the character of Christ and about turning outwards like He did instead of inwards as the natural man tends to.

 

Other than that not much has happened here. I go to class, study, teach auf Deutsch to a fake investigator, go to more class, eat, work out, study some more and repeat. I am the only Frankfurter sister in my transfer. There are two here who are going to Berlin that are in a different district and my two companions- Sister Reid from Pleasant Grove, UT and Sister Perkins from NJ are both going to Berlin. They are both very nice and we are all completely different but I think that can only help us in our teaching and gospel study since we all see things differently. We have gotten along great so far so I hope we will continue to do so. Sister Reid has taken about 6 years of German so she is really good at the language but can't bump up a transfer because she is only 20 and got special permission to put her papers in a little early for school but she has to turn 21 while she is here. Sister Perkins has no German experience and is a  little older than me so I am right in the middle- exatly to what I am used to. We share a room with another dritt (threesome) who are also all Germany bound. Two of them are going zu Frankfurt and the other Sister is going to Berlin. The Elders in my District are very nice. At first they were really awkward around us. Whenever we did group activities they would only talk to each other and we would always be left standing in the corner but when they saw that the older Elders talk to us more than them they started talking to us more. Everyone here is really wonderful and excited to share the gospel. I have met so many of the people going to my mission and am so excited to get to serve with them. There are 7 German districts here right now each one about 12 to 16 people in it so we are quite a large group!

 

I see Peter a couple times a week and it is always fun. He seems to love it here. OH I also forgot to tell you that I am here for 9 weeks- not six :( which is kind of sad but so far the MTC has been amazing, there is a lot to learn here and I think there are some experiences you can only have in the MTC so I hope to get the most I can out of it since it is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I had to check my USA visa status since we thought I was going to be here for 6 weeks, but I leave the day it expires, they looked it up for me. August 27th at 5:30 in the morning. It is nice to have a date. I also see some of my friends from school who work here which is always a nice surprise. The temple is closed for the next couple of weeks so I won't be able to go through for awhile.

 

Thanks so much for your package it was lovely! And thanks for the letters. I had already heard Spain won which is exciting even though I really wanted Germany to win. I do not know what I want as a prize yet though. I will just save it for when I see you. Thanks Mikyla and Madison for your dear elders! Getting mail is seriously the most exciting part of the day here and it can be really sad when everyone gets letters but you since they hand out the mail here twice a day but I have felt very loved! I will write you two snail mail later today since I am already running short on email time. But I do not know if I have Mikyla's home address... could someone dear elder it to me just in case?

 

How is everyone at home? How was the family reunion? What is all the news? We never know anything about the world here at the MTC. They didn't even tell us about all the Fires in the area and a girl and the bookstore told me- we were all wondering what has been going on since it has been raining ash here. I can't wait to here from all of you some more! Peter and I like to joke and say the MTC exists in a tear in the time/space continuum. Send my love to Gran and Gramps and Grandma and the entire family!

 

Anyway I love you all and miss you all. Give love to Bingley for me! Does he miss me? I know I am where I am supposed to be. Ich liebe das Evangelium und meinen Gott. Ich weiss das Buch Mormon wahr ist. I am so excited to go and serve the people of Germany.

Love,

Schwester Young

Where in the World?

"You are hereby called to serve as a missionary of  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in..."

That has got to be one of the most exciting phrases I have ever read! But before I tell you where I am going, let me explain why. At the age of ten, I was, at least what I thought at the time, ripped from the only home I knew to live in the terrible and strange land of Moscow, Russia. And I am not exaggerating. It was devastating.  Now many of you may be thinking how cool, or why would someone complain about that? Or you may agree with my ten year old self. In any case I really did not have anything to complain about. Living in Moscow, I had the opportunity to see first hand what it was like to be a missionary. How wonderful is it when you get to dedicate 18 months to sharing the truths that have blessed your life? If you don't know then let me tell you that it is AWESOME. Well at least that is what it seemed like and since then, I have always wanted to go on a mission of my own.
When I finally neared the long-awaited age of 21 I submitted my papers and waited the requisite 10-14 days it is supposed to take. Then I waited some more. And some more, waiting to find out where I in the world I would be called. And finally, the letter came. They (those who have already gone on missions) say that there is a way to tell if you are being called stateside or in my case North America, or foreign (Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, Australia). They say that if you are going stateside the envelope is thin and light, and if you are going foreign it will be noticeably thicker and heavier. Although having nothing to compare the envelope to when I got it, it was the most unhelpful rumor I have ever heard, and most likely untrue. In any case, it didn't really matter where I was being called to serve. I mean, I would obviously prefer to go foreign. But I came to the realization amidst all the waiting that going on a mission is not about WHERE you go but about WHO you meet. When it came time to open the envelope however, that knowledge did nothing to calm my nerves. 
So, I came home, skyped my family, and tore open the envelope. For those of you who have never seen a mission call, the envelope contains two pieces of information. One is a packet containing all the information about what to bring and what you need to do etc. The other is a one page letter that states your call. Having been present at the openings of other future missionaries I had observed that there was a certain letter-opening etiquette. It seemed that the proper way to read your mission call was to open the envelope, and without looking at the call, to cover it with the packet and read it one line at a time. I have to admit, that definitely did not happen. I found the letter and honestly tried to read it line by line but my curiosity got the better of me after I read "Dear Sister Young," and my eyes jumped down to where I knew the location would be written. 


"You are assigned to labor in the Germany Frankfurt Mission... you should report to the Provo MTC on Wednesday, June 27, 2012." 


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Is the only thought I can recall going through my mind. It was also the only sound coming through the computer speaker from my family. If you don't already know this about me, I have a fascination for Germany. I love it so much and literally could not believe my eyes when I read where I was going. I actually lost the paper momentarily, and was sure that I had read it wrong and that I couldn't be going there. 
Anywho, I am so excited for this wonderful opportunity. For those of you who care about keeping up with what I am doing, this will be the site where my Mom (if she can remember how) or my sister will post my letters for you to read at your leisure, or not.  And pictures, if you would rather look at those. Your choice. I will also continue to post updates occasionally until I go to the MTC. Wishing you all the best,
xoxo,
Sydney Young