You're a Missionary Katie

Over the course of Katie's mission to Poland for the LDS Church, I, Packerboy, her best brother besides Pence, will be posting blogs written by none other than Siostra Katie Young herself. When moved upon by the Spirit I will add additional commentary of which Siostra Young knows nothing about. I am expecting her blog to be taken to a whole new level as a result.

The following post was written a week ago in the hallowed halls of the Provo MTC. I didn't go on a mission so I don't really have a visual approximation of the inside. In my mind the MTC is just like Hogwarts but instead of being governed by magic it is controlled by the Spirit of God. I can just see Siostra Young sitting in the dining hall telling all who care to listen about how the expansive room is lit by pillars of fire controlled by the MTC President. She of course read about it in The MTC: A History. Maybe there is even a ginger kid rolling his eyes at the pedantic sister missionary with the Nancy Grace haircut. Of course he is harboring a little crush. We can only hope.

In the post below, Siostra Young takes us right into her life as a newbie missionary. She arrived on January 11 and got right to learning how to be a missionary. She is learning Polish, which is tough. She is also learning how to live without music, TV, and gummi bears, which is tougher. Read her inspiring message below.

Which one looks more magical? I think it's pretty obvious.

Hello Everyone,

So, today in the MTC, we had our third discussion with "Krzysztof," & my my attitude towards misssionary work changed. Because of my attempts to CONVERT EVERYONE when I showed up in KCMO, I've been incredibly leery of what I saw as pushing my testimony on people. However, God had helped me see and understand that there is a difference between trying to logically convince someone that the Gospel's true and missionary work.

Last night I decided to start studying 'desire' and conversion stories in the BoM. I repented and asked that I might be able to work on whatever God wanted me to work on during the mission.

Yesterday, I worked really hard and was very serious (and pushed back against one of my companion's ideas a little bit, as needed). I really thought about repentance and desire, especially the desires for my mission. I read in Enos and thought about what an investigator would need to feel in order to join the church (they keep asking us to think about that).

During class, I expressed concerns about having enough time to ponder what an investigator will need to be taught, etc. Also, our teacher encouraged us to ask our investigator if he would agree to be baptized if he found our teachings to be true. I was skeptical about this because of my background in KC and because Poland is 98% Catholic and to be Polish is to be Catholic. A lot of people will not join the Church just because they are Catholic Poles. Also, our second lesson hadn't gone quiet as well as the first.

So, during personal study, I read Enos and saw his desire for "the welfare of his brethren and the welfare fo the Lamanites. This seems like the perfect desire for my mission.

My companions and I had talked about teaching the Plan of Salvation. They wanted to divide the lesson right then, but I couldn't because I hadn't yet read. So I brought Preach My Gospel to the gym and read and walk (much to several elder's audible awe and wonder).

After I finished the chapter, my companions and I decided to focus on answering the questions: Where did I come from? Why am I here? and Where am I going? with a "how do I get there" focus. This became a very short lesson (in Polish) on the Atonement and repentance.

Tune in next week to find out what happened during this special discussion with our fake investigator who may or may not be my teacher.

In the meantime you can send Siostra Young:

A pair of yoga pants

A hobo style purse that will fit scriptures and a journal

V-neck men's undershirts in Med. or Sm.

Letters

A pear

Gummi bears

Juicy Juice juice boxes in fruit punch

Love you!

Sister Young

Well, that was just amazing right? I actually graded it and sent some comments back to her. I gave the post a B- overall. Hopefully she does better in the future. Make sure to check on here every so often for updates on the wonderful Siostra Young.