July 20, 2013
Good mornin' to ya !
My good golly gracious is it that
time of the week already?!?! P-day is here and I get to email you all! WOOO!
Always an exciting thing to do. So, let's get started!
This week has been a week of work,
both secretary and missionary. Before I start with anything, as secretaries the
standard for working hours (going out and finding, having programs and all that
jazz) is different than the normal standard for other missionaries. Since we
have other priorities that we have along with our missionary calling we have
been given a different standard that is a little bit lower than the average
standard for the mission. It helps us by kind of taking of some of the stress
off of our shoulders with having paperwork to do and then going out to find.
Sometimes it can be a hassle to do. But this week, Elder Loveday and I made it
a goal for us this week to get the SAME standard as the entire mission. We
looked at our week and we discussed it over weekly planning how we can achieve
the mission standard and planned out our week with goals and back up plans to
achieve our goal of standard. Both of us knew it would be hard, but it's
something that we both wanted to accomplish to stretch us. So we have been at
it all week, getting our secretary stuff done early in the morning, then going
out and doing missionary work as early as we can. We don't have very many
investigators to teach so we have a lot of finding time, like going out
streeting, tracting and tabling.
I don't know how it is in other
missions, specifically stateside, with finding, but out here it's part of the
norm to be out finding. We do search for referrals from members and try to get
investigators through the branches, but it can be hard at times so we revert to
what missionaries have been doing since the very beginning: find! My companion
and I have had some fun this week with finding. For example, we got kicked out
of an apartment building by an old lady! We were half way through the building
and this old lady comes up to us from behind: 'Who are you looking for?'
'Everybody!' 'What do you want?' 'To talk with people about our message of the
Gospel of Christ.' 'Get out.' Well what do you do? Ha ha, we kind of just
chuckled to ourselves afterwards. Those kinds of things really spice up the
day. Not to say that that's what we’re looking for, having people kick us out
or rant at us and tell us to leave, but it gives the day a little extra to it.
Unfortunately, though, that's what most of our week has been like in our
finding efforts through tracting. It's been hard trying to find people that are
interested in our message, even in the big city of Budapest. But we have found
some success through our efforts.
Yesterday, as a matter of fact, we
were streeting along the Duna River and found an awesome lady who was
interested. I started by asking her a question about what she thought was
important to her in life and she replied with 'Health'. I then asked her why it
was so important with which she replied with, 'Well I've been pretty ill recently
and it is health that keeps me alive'. I felt prompted to bear my testimony of
the Gospel and how it blesses our lives by giving us hope through the trials of
life. We started to talk a little more and she then said 'You know, I would
really like to know more about Jesus Christ. Do you guys hold classes or
something that teach about Him?' 'As a matter of fact we meet with people and
teach them personally.' She was interested and gave us her information! It was
an awesome find!
Another weird thing that's coming up
pretty soon: transfers! Already?! I feel like I just got here in the office!
Time is already just flying by. Next week around Thursday or Friday I'm
expecting to get the call of who my next companion is. Elder Loveday has
already been here for 3 transfers and we are both pretty sure that he is
getting out this next one. He's pretty excited to be a normal missionary again.
Being a secretary is fun and all, but sometimes we just look outside the office
or talk with the other missionaries in our area and we look forward to the day
where we can be like them again. Both of us are excited for transfer calls
though. I'm getting some one new and Elder Loveday is going to a new area, and
it probably will be his last. He goes home this December and we are both pretty
sure that his next area will be his last one before he goes home. He's really
hoping to go to Debrecen because that's where he's always wanted to go his
entire mission. And that'll be cool because that's where Heather his, which I'm
pretty sure she'll be staying there for another transfer at least. Transfers
will be exciting, that's for sure. I'll be sure to let you know next week about
it.
One more thing that I wanted to
include in this week's email was something that I found during my scripture
study. I've been reading the Book of Mormon with one of the soft covered copy's
and my main focus is finding things that are related to the Atonement ins some
way and then I just right notes and stuff on the side. Right now I just
finished the Book of Jacob and I have come to love chapter 4 within that book.
It has some really awesome doctrines about the Atonement and there is one part
in one of the verses that I would like to highlight for you that I found to be
quite peculiar. In verse 11 we read about two things. One of them is what
most of the verse is about, which is the first resurrection and how we can
become the 'first-fruits'. But it is the second thing that is within this verse
that I would like to show to you. At the beginning it reads, 'Wherefore,
beloved brethren, be reconciled unto him through the atonement of Christ..'
This part kind of struck me, specifically the word 'reconciled'. I knew what it
meant, but I wanted a clearer definition of the word. Luckily I had a handy
dandy English dictionary and found that the word 'reconcile' means 'to call
back into union and friendship the affections which have been alienated; to
restore to friendship or favor after estrangement.' So, we learn, through this
one word, that the atonement restores our relationship with God because of the
fall. Also, in this definition, it does not say that reconcile means 'to force
back to union' or 'to make in to union'. Instead it says 'to call back'.
The atonement has been made for all of us so
that we can return to live with God and become like him. But, the atonement
does not mean that it is there to force us or make us come back to union,
rather the atonement is there 'calling us back' to union with our Father in
Heaven. Kind of like the verse in Alma chapter 46 verse 36 where it is written
'that...the title of liberty (was) to be hoisted upon every tower which was in
the land...' The atonement is our banner that is hoisted for all of us to see
and is calling us to be in union with God, because it is only through the
atonement that this is made possible, but it is up to us to make that decision
whether or not we want to accept the atonement in our lives. Incredible, isn't
it, what one word can do in a sentence. Spiritual tip of the week!
Well, to end my email I will answer
some questions that have been asked. Do you get on well with the APs? Yeah
I do! I love them! They are such great elders to be around. We are actually
going to hang out with them for most of the day and play games and such. Last
week we played a card game called 'Dominion' and it was super intense and we
all had a blast. They are also a great example to the mission. They too have
other commitments along with being missionaries, but they make it their goal to
get out and work once they're done with their AP stuff. One of them, Elder
Greaves, is actually going home at the end of this transfer. Something kewl
about him, he is actually a Pokémon master. Literally! He was number one on two
leaderboards IN THE WORLD for the Pokémon Gameboy games. Total example to me
and all the other dorks in the
mission. How's the language going? Not too bad actually. I'm doing
pretty well with it. Of course there's lots of room for improvement, but I can
at least say that I can hold a conversation about most things for a good while
in Hungarian. But one thing that has been fun while being in the office is
learning business vocab in Hungarian. My first few days when I would get a
letter from a business or bank or something and I would first glance at it and
I would not know any of the words. It was like a completely different language!
But I'm getting better at it! Now I can talk some business maybe in Hungarian.
Woo hoo! What is the ward like? Is it bigger than Pest? I love the ward!
It's a lot different when you're coming from Békéscsaba and you basically are
the branch. But now I don't have to do anything besides bring an investigator
and let the Spirit testify to him. In size, I think I would say that Pest is
just a tad bigger. If you took out the foreigners though, since Pest is an
international branch, then Buda would be bigger. Have you driven a car yet?
What side of the road do you drive on? I haven’t yet, but I will start next
week. I just got my drivers permit and I am going to take a driving test course
with Brother Carpenter, one of the office couples. Unfortunately Hungary isn't
that cool since people drive on the same side of the road as us. But the roads
here are crazy! My companion drove us somewhere once and the traffic lights and
stuff and the way things are placed is weird! Way confusing.
I hope that this email makes up for
last weeks! I love you all and I hope you all enjoy your week! Remember, prayer
is our key to opening the doors of heaven!
Sincerely,
Magda Elder