Perseverance and Transfer Nerves

Dear Family and Friends,

 Transfers are next week......Kinda nervous over here. Ha ha, not really, but it is a little nerve racking with the possibilities that could happen with the mission and where you might go which can change your mission in a lot of ways. My companion and I have been looking at last transfer papers where all the missionaries are in Hungary and what could possibly happen to us. We are both thinking that I may be leaving Pest because I have been here for 3 transfers, which is quite a while in this mission, and Mission President probably wants another missionary to take my spot in Pest. Personally I wouldn't mind staying for another, which would be my 4th in Pest and my 3rd with Elder Headrick, who I love serving with! We have been really getting things working hear in Pest and have got really good investigators too. Plus I love the ward here, the city and I have a special connection with it since it is my first area. It'll be sad when the day comes that I have to leave, but that's how things happen, you continue to do your work where ever you go, working with the same amount of enthusiasm, or more, and keep on moving. So, like I said, I will probably be leaving and going to another city. A city I would love to go to is Kecskemét because that is the nearest city to Izsák, which Granddad said there are some family there (I think?) and Bocsá which is the little farm area where he was born. So, if I go there, I can visit Bocsa on one of my P-Days or something and look around. I don't know which house was his, so if he has some information about that that would be way awesome! But, we'll see what happens.

Oh, by the way, today is Elder Headrick's 20th birthday! Woo hoo! We are celebrating by going to Margit Sziget, which is an island in the middle of the Duna River. He also hits his year mark this week, so it's quite a big week for him. My mom is now going to post some pictures from last week's p-day adventures caving under Budapest.

Budapest Elders and Sisters:  Caving Adventures!

Elder Magda in a "Tight Spot!"

Elder Corbishley, Burch, Headrick and Magda coming out of a hole on the right

This week wasn't so big for us, unfortunately. A lot of our investigators weren't able to set up with us this week so we had a lot of streeting and flyering to do for the week. Unfortunately, out of all of our efforts in streeting, most of the people we came in contact with did not want to talk with us, a few stopped and we were able to give them a pamphlet but didn't really want to give out their number to us, and the very little percentage actually gave us their number. It's hard! One time, while we were tracting one day, a man was leaning against his railing outside of his apartment smoking, and, being that we are missionaries and want to talk to everyone, I went up to him and greeted him and asked a question. He put up his hand and straight up said 'No'. My companion asked if we could at least give him an English flyer and he turned us down again. So, we moved on to the next apartment and then had to head back towards him again to go down the next flight of stairs, in which he told us that we should stop doing what we are doing and stop pestering people. We were about to say something to him, but we felt that we should just move on and not argue with the man. We are doing all that we can to extend our message to people, but everyone has their agency and choose whether or not to accept it. It's sad to think of at first, but we must always remember that we would not be where we are now if we were not blessed with the gift of agency.

There was one moment that really highlighted my week. It was a small one, but for me it was huge. It begins early in the morning on Saturday. Every Saturday in Pest we hold a Sport Day for all missionaries to come and bring their investigators and play sports, varying from basketball, soccer, volleyball etc. At the end of every Sport Nap we give a spiritual thought for the investigators to ponder about. This Saturday was my turn. Recently I have been using a paper back copy of the Book of Mormon and going through it and writing in the margins thoughts and ideas that come into my mind. I found a scripture that morning, 2 Nephi 26:13, which explains that Christ will manifest himself to us through the Spirit, and it is through our faith that we can receive that manifestation. This kind of hit me more than the others that I had read that morning. I didn't know why, but I felt like I should share it. After Sport Nap, I shared the verse and testified that this was true and that I have had a personal witness in the form of a thought in my mind or a feeling in my heart that these things are true and that Jesus is the Christ, and that it is only through our faith that we can receive the witness. 

No one came up to me afterwards so I thought that I might have said something incorrectly (because I'm still learning the language and it's tough to speak) and it wasn't as powerful as it could have been. So, I went throughout the day and forgot about it until we talked with the Pest Sisters later that day after they had met with one of their investigators who was there at Sport Nap. The sisters asked if she had any questions and she told them 'Actually, I do, but it's a statement rather than a question. It's something that Magda Elder said in his spiritual thought.' She continued to say that she had been praying a lot more recently for a new job and help with learning English and she said that she has now found a better job than her previous one and her English has been getting much better and she testified to the sisters that the scripture I shared was true, that the Lord will manifest himself to us and will answer our prayers. She said that she now has a testimony of prayer and of the scripture I shared. This strengthened my testimony of the Spirit working through the Lord's servants. I didn't even know that this was the Spirit prompting me to use this scripture! I just did it and later I found out that it was a prompting! I felt such joy after I heard this and I know that joy came from the Spirit testifying to me that I am a servant of God and am worthy of it. How great is the Holy Ghost in our lives!? We must do our best in order to have these magnificent opportunities of being the Lord's instrument. Stay clean and worthy of the Spirit. 'Know ye not that ye are the temples of God?' and that 'the Holy Spirit does not dwell in unclean things?' When we are clean we 'will be filled' and the Lord will use us to bless the lives of others. And the great thing about this is that you don't have to be a missionary to do this! Awesome, right?

Well, that is my spiel for the week. And to end this letter:

Az evangélium szerint éljetek! Törekedjetek, hogy mint Krisztus lehessetek! Mindenkit szeressetek! Krisztussal járjatok mindenben! És amikor ezeket a dolgokat csináljátok, áldottak lesztek.  Here is my Mom’s Google translation:  (Live the gospel!  Seek Christ!  Love Everyone!  Walk with Christ in all things!  And when you’re doing these things, you will be blessed.)

Isten áldj meg titeket!

(God bless you all!)
Magda Elder