Tracting in Hungary

Dear Family and Friends,

Ashleigh went to the ER?!?! That's crazy! I'm so sorry that she isn't feeling very well and I hope and pray with all my heart that she gets better. I chuckled a little bit when I heard that she was singing the "Jigglypuff Song" while she was on medications. Funny thing, actually, Abram Elder and I were talking about our families and some of the things that we miss while on our missions. Abram Elder has 11 siblings, so he started naming off things about each that he missed, ha ha. But I threw in there the things I missed about both Ashleigh and Alisha. I told him (which surprisingly shocked me) was that I missed overhearing the music she would be listening to while she was on her iPod because of how loud she'd have it. And I told him how I missed all the fashion comments she would give me when I'd go on a date or some kind of outing. "Why in the world would you be wearing that Blake??" I think was one of my favorite comments of hers ha ha! And don't worry Alisha, there are things that I miss about you too. I told Abram Elder that I missed having the blame be put on me when you would get in trouble. You would be doing something like playing video games when you were not supposed to and I would come in and grab a controller to join you, not knowing that you weren't supposed to be playing, and mom or dad would come in and ask why you were playing video games and you would say "Blake asked me to." Ha ha, I just laugh when I think about it. Being the oldest of the siblings always has its pros and cons, but in my case I would definitely say that there are way more pros. :) I hope this cheers Ash up a bit. 

So, about my week. Do you remember how I told you that she was kind of slow with the whole getting baptized thing? Well, she has committed to be baptized on August 11th!! Can you believe it?! It was such an awesome lesson! On Sunday, last week, Abram Elder felt prompted to share the conference talk from President Uchtdorf last year called "The Road to Damascus" in Aniko's program this week. If you aren't familiar with the talk, I will give a little description about it, but I would definitely suggest finding the talk because it is awesome! President Uchtdorf gives a brief rundown of the story of Paul on his way to Damascus when Christ appeared to him and told him to stop persecuting His church. After the appearing, Paul joined the church and became one of the main disciples of the church. President Uchtdorf explains that, though this did happen to Paul, not everyone is going to receive such a witness like he did with their answers to their prayers. Most of the time we already know what the answer is, but we just refuse to listen because we want a bigger answer. We read this talk with Aniko and after we finished it she immediately said "I know why you are sharing this with me." She told us that she knows that this is the true church and that the Book of Mormon is a true book and she has just been hesitant because she wanted to be exactly sure. Abram Elder explained that we are only trying to help her to come closer to Christ and we aren't forcing her to do anything that she doesn't want to do. She then committed for a baptismal date and I felt this excitement just rush through me. Aniko has come so far! We shared a scripture from D&C that says "Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you" and explained that you have been drawing near unto him with these small steps and he the same towards you, and when you are baptized the step towards Heavenly Father will not be small, but a great step. This is the highlight of the week! 

I also went tracting for the first time this week! Tracting is so much different here than it is in the states. Like South Africa, the homes here are gated and you have to ring the bell from the gate. So, most of the time they won't even come to us and just stay at their door and motion us away. Yesterday we went tracting and a rang the bell and a woman from her window said "Just keep on walking, you don't need to ring my door bell." Quite funny I must say, ha ha. We went tracting twice this week--once on Thursday and the other yesterday. Friday wasn't very successful and I was still a little nervous with my language abilities (which, by the way, have been increasing :)). We went down 2 streets with no success and decided to head over to the program that we had scheduled. It was a bummer, but I didn't expect to have a miracle on my first tracting attempt. After church yesterday, Abram Elder felt prompted to go tracting again (he is really in-tune with the Spirit). So we dropped off our suit jackets and other stuff at the apartment, grabbed a couple Books of Mormon and went out tracting. We tracted only 6-7 houses when Abram Elder said "Alright, I think this house will be good one for you." I smiled when he said that and rang the bell. A lady come out, probably around her 40's, and I told her that we were from America and sharing with people a short message about Christ and how he has helped us in our lives with people. She nodded, which meant to me that I was saying it well enough for her to understand. It threw me off a little bit because I had been used to people, after I would say that, telling us that they’re not interested and we'd go to the next house. I was like "Yes!.....now what do I say?" So I mentioned that we know that God loves all of us because of the Book of Mormon which is another witness of Jesus Christ. She responded, "I believe in Jesus Christ too. I'm a practicing Catholic." I've heard many missionaries who have told me "When you hear that, it's going to be a hard one." But I didn't even think of it that way. I told her that's great! We believe in Jesus Christ too and that he is our Savior. I asked if she would like to accept the Book of Mormon and she smiled and said yes I would like to read it. That's right, she said yes! We gave her our number and names and told her that if she had any questions from her reading that she could call us at any time and we would be happy to explain. It was so awesome!! Abram Elder smiled and said "I think that's what we came out here to do, do you want to head back home?" I told him "I think we should do three more houses before we finish." The first two were no success, but the third one was a small one. An older lady came out and we told her why we were here and she said "I would love to chat with you boys, it sounds wonderful, but my Suti is in the oven and it's about to burn." So we gave her a pass along card and told her that if she would like to talk to us she could call us. "That sounds great" she said, which was a perfect way to end our tracting.

 I know that tracting isn't always successful and I know that there will be days, or even weeks, in a row where you won't find anyone, but I found a quote that helps with that. "Every door you knock and every person you find, always say to yourself 'This person is prepared by the Lord.' Even if they do not accept your message, continue to think that way and you will find that person that God has prepared for you." I found that quote a few weeks ago and it has helped me tremendously with streeting and tracting. I have found people who are actually interested while streeting and tracting with that attitude. I know it's true and I know that the Lord has prepared people for me to find if I continually have faith in Him and strive to be the best missionary a can be. 

Oh yeah, one last thing that kind this week. The place that we have been tabling for the past 3 weeks and found leprechaun man at, we were kicked out of this last Friday by the police. The guy who did it was really kind though. He asked if we had permission and we said we didn't know that we needed it. He told us kindly to not do table there until we have a pass and then he left. It was way better than I expected. I thought he was going to be like "What are you doing here you little punks?!?!" But that's just me and being over dramatic with my thoughts, ha ha! 

That's all I have to share on this week’s special of "Gettin' Hungary with Elder Magda". Tune in next time with Magda Elder and his crazy adventures. :) 

Sok Szretettel, 

-Magda Elder

P.S. Tell Brad that I wish him a happy birthday!