March 18, 2014
Drága
követőimnek, olvasóimnak,
barátaimnak, családomnak
és szeretteimnek, (Dear
followers, readers, friends, family and loved ones),
Elder Magda and Krisztina (He is wearing his "whip") |
How
absolutely fabulous these two years have been! I know I sure have had fun during
this journey, and I hope that you guys could enjoy it a little bit with me. It
really is unbelievable for me to think that the time has come to return home. I
don't even know how really to explain to you all the feelings and emotions that
have been rushing through my body this last week and, even now, writing this
'Last Epistle'. What do I say?!?!
I guess I will start with yesterday. Two of our investigators were baptized yesterday and it was such an incredible way to end my mission! One of them was actually one of the other companionships investigators that we put on baptism date right when we combined. Super kewl woman and has been looking forward for this for a while. The other woman was one that Elder Shoop and I ran into on the street and grabbed us and said 'I have been looking for you guys for so long!!!' She has been an absolute wonder to teach and meet with, and yesterday she was baptized after a month of being hospitalized for having surgery not too long ago. She has been prepared by the Lord for sure and she has said countless times that she feels like this is the church that she has meant to be a part of for so long. She is going to be an excellent member and I am looking forward to keeping in touch with her throughout my life.
I was privileged to have been asked by her to baptize her
and Elder Dellenbach baptized the other lady, and it was such a moving
experience.
Both talked to us after their baptism and gave us their thanks for
sharing with them the Gospel and bringing them closer to their Savior. There
was actually a verse, the morning of the baptism that I stumbled across in my
personal study that fit right in with this. I am grateful for my Heavenly
Father to have led me to it in preparation of this baptism. In 3 Nephi 19,
Christ had left the people of Nephi for a short while and the disciples
continued on with their work, baptizing and giving people the gift of the Holy
Ghost. Christ then returns as they, a congregation of people are praying, and
goes off and begins to offer an intercessory prayer to the Father. These
following verses include part of the prayer that He offers.
20. Father, I thank thee that thou hast given the Holy Ghost unto these whom I have chosen; and it is because of their belief in me that I have chosen them out of the world.
I guess I will start with yesterday. Two of our investigators were baptized yesterday and it was such an incredible way to end my mission! One of them was actually one of the other companionships investigators that we put on baptism date right when we combined. Super kewl woman and has been looking forward for this for a while. The other woman was one that Elder Shoop and I ran into on the street and grabbed us and said 'I have been looking for you guys for so long!!!' She has been an absolute wonder to teach and meet with, and yesterday she was baptized after a month of being hospitalized for having surgery not too long ago. She has been prepared by the Lord for sure and she has said countless times that she feels like this is the church that she has meant to be a part of for so long. She is going to be an excellent member and I am looking forward to keeping in touch with her throughout my life.
I am privileged to have baptized this fine Sister. |
Baptism Day |
20. Father, I thank thee that thou hast given the Holy Ghost unto these whom I have chosen; and it is because of their belief in me that I have chosen them out of the world.
21. Father, I
pray thee that thou wilt give the Holy Ghost unto all them that shall
believe in their words.
22. Father,
thou hast given them the Holy Ghost because they believe in me; and
thou seest that they believe in me because thou hearest them, and they
pray unto me; and they pray unto me because I am with them.
23. And now
Father, I pray unto thee for them, and also for all those who shall believe on
their words, that they may believe in me, that I may be in them as thou,
Father, art in me, that we may be one.
I
have seen this very thing with these people and all those whom I have taught
and have come closer to their Savior, even if it did not result in immediate
baptism or may never will. But this I know from these verses—that Christ prays for us! He intercedes for us! He
is the Mediator and prays on our behalf! And He prays for us and for all those
how believe on the words of those whom He has chosen that God the Father may
bless us with the Holy Ghost. It is through this also that we can become one
with our Father and our Savior. I know
this to be true! I have seen it upon the faces of my investigators and
members of the church here; I have felt it for myself through following the
Savior and keeping His commandments and have witnessed it through the power of
the Holy Ghost upon the hearts of those I have taught. Christ loves us. Our
Heavenly Father loves us, and the scriptures, like these verses, testify of
that love. A song comes to mind when I think of becoming one with God
called 'Make Us One' where it says,
'Make us one, that our burdens may be light,
'Make us one, that our burdens may be light,
Make
us one, as we seek eternal life,
Unite
our hands to serve thy children well,
Unite
us in obedience to thy will,
Make
us one,
Teach us, Lord, to be of one faith, of one heart, one in thee.'
Teach us, Lord, to be of one faith, of one heart, one in thee.'
As
a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure my mom sang this as a trio (if I remember
correctly) at my farewell and it just hit me that I have been thinking about
this song all week. (His mom did sing this with a trio
for his farewell. It’s by Sally Deford)
Huh, quite interesting. It is a powerful song that I have come to love and I
would encourage all of you to listen to it.
Along
with our baptism this week we had the opportunity to go to a Zone Conference
with one of the members of the Quorum of the Seventy (a General Authority)
being there who we were able to listen to. That man was absolutely incredible!
I loved how he addressed us and what he touched on. He talked to us
missionaries that are going home this week, including the rest of the
missionaries when they would be leaving, but specifically to us he said 'There
will be times when you will be amongst your friends, when they will call upon
you to be your old self. But it is in that moment when you will have to make
the choice, whether to turn back and leave what you have learned behind or choose to keep what you have become and
make it grow.' Out of all the things he said, this impacted me the most. It
struck me right to the core and I felt like that was something that the Spirit
was trying to say to me 'That was for
you', along with other little things that were said during the conference.
It really was an inspired conference. I enjoyed it immensely.
There
is also one last thing that I would like to let you in on that happened to me.
I first want to warn my family to not be worried in advance, because I know how
they can be. This last week, Wednesday, I woke up around 3:30 in the morning
with this unbelievably incredible pain in my right side. It was so painful to
the point where we had to call the senior couple and have them drive me to the
hospital where I remained there for a few hours. I then had a few x-rays and an
ultrasound examination where they finally diagnosed me with having a kidney
stone. A KIDNEY STONE!!! And the funny thing is that they couldn't even find it
with the x-ray or ultrasound. They said that it is probably the size of a grain
of sand and is towards the end of its passing. So, since Wednesday, I have been
dealing with some incredible pains, along with having to go to a Zone
Conference the next day, programs all throughout each day, church on Sunday and
a baptism on Monday. This week has been one extremely interesting final last
week of my mission. Fortunately, Sunday was the last day I felt extreme pains
in my side and I'm pretty sure it will come out any moment.
I
have been talking to president about how this all plays out with me going home
and everything. Now, this is more towards my family, he said that if I haven’t
passed it or if the serious pains have not passed by the time I go home then
the result will be me ending up here until that ceases. But, I want you guys to
know, first of all, please don’t worry; I'm doing fine and have gotten through
the toughest part. I have been drinking a butt ton (is
that even a real expression?) of water and have been taking some
cramping pills to get it through. I have been praying for it every night for it
to pass. And, the main serious pains have passed and I am feeling LOADS better.
Tomorrow I will be going up to Budapest and having my last interview with
president and the next day I will be heading home. IF things do change (IF is
the word), then president will let you know if I have to stay a little bit
longer or not. BUT, so far it looks like a clean shot home.
To
tell you the truth, this experience has actually had some interesting things
that followed with it. Friday morning I was in terrible pain and we had to
cancel one of our programs because of it. There was one other program right
after it, but we decided to wait to see if I would feel better before we called
to cancel. Not too long after, the pain just dissipated. It was gone. I thought
to myself 'Well that was interesting' and I felt like I was well enough to go.
We then went and when our investigator opened the door we could tell that
something was wrong. We had planned to talk about church attendance but we both
felt like that wasn't going to be the right thing. We started to talk with her
and felt prompted to start talking about the trial of our faith. After a few
minutes of sharing scriptures with her she then began to open up and share with
us about some of the trials that she was currently going through and how she
has been having stress attacks lately. The program continued to go on and verse
after verse came to each of our minds to share with her that were perfect for
what she needed.
She
began to cheer up and really liked the verses that we had shared with her and
she said that they had really helped her tremendously. It was then that I had a
feeling that this was the reason why my pain had gone away. She had even said
'I feel like when I am out to help others, there is never anyone there for me
and I am left alone by everyone.' It was
then that I shared with her about that morning experience that I had and how
God had intended for us to be there for her and to encourage her to keep going
and to not give up. Her spirit was lifted as we testified to her that she was
loved and that her Father in Heaven was watching over her through us. This
was such a powerful experience for me this week. Even in the midst of pain we
can be a part of miracles. On Sunday one of the speakers talked about trials
specifically and said 'When storms come and the rain falls and everything seems
dark and gloomy, that is when we choose to dance in the rain.' So true! And I
felt like that truly hit it home for me.
Baptism Day in Eger |
This
week has been FULL of experiences that I would love to go on and on and on with
you about, but I have decided to just tell them to you all when I see you in
person this week. It is time for me to return home. I have come to love these
people so much, more than they, I think, will ever understand. I love Hungary with all of my being. This
has become my home for 2 years and it is a place I can call home. I am so
grateful, so ever grateful, for this opportunity. There is a song that has been
running in my mind for so long that explains my feelings perfectly that I would
like to share with you. If any of you are familiar with Lord of the Rings, you
will recognize which song this is, as it is the title of this last
epistle:
Lay
down
Your sweet and weary head
Night is falling
You’ve come to journey's end
Sleep now
And dream of the ones who came before
They are calling
From across the distant shore
Why do you weep?
What are these tears upon your face?
Soon you will see
All of your fears will pass away
Safe in my arms
You're only sleeping
What can you see
On the horizon?
Why do the white gulls call?
Across the sea
A pale moon rises
The ships have come to carry you home
And all will turn
To silver glass
A light on the water
All souls pass
Hope fades
Into the world of night
Through shadows falling
Out of memory and time
Don't say: «We have come now to the end»
White shores are calling
You and I will meet again
And you'll be here in my arms
Just sleeping
What can you see
On the horizon?
Why do the white gulls call?
Across the sea
A pale moon rises
The ships have come to carry you home
And all will turn
To silver glass
A light on the water
Grey ships pass
Into the West
Your sweet and weary head
Night is falling
You’ve come to journey's end
Sleep now
And dream of the ones who came before
They are calling
From across the distant shore
Why do you weep?
What are these tears upon your face?
Soon you will see
All of your fears will pass away
Safe in my arms
You're only sleeping
What can you see
On the horizon?
Why do the white gulls call?
Across the sea
A pale moon rises
The ships have come to carry you home
And all will turn
To silver glass
A light on the water
All souls pass
Hope fades
Into the world of night
Through shadows falling
Out of memory and time
Don't say: «We have come now to the end»
White shores are calling
You and I will meet again
And you'll be here in my arms
Just sleeping
What can you see
On the horizon?
Why do the white gulls call?
Across the sea
A pale moon rises
The ships have come to carry you home
And all will turn
To silver glass
A light on the water
Grey ships pass
Into the West
Az
utolsó bizonyságomat teszem nektek, hogy ezek a dolgok, amiket prédikálok két
éve, igazak. Tudom, hogy a jó Megváltónk él és, hogy szeret bennünket az egész
szívével. Én is tudom, hogy Joseph Smith valóban Isten prófétája volt és Isten
irányítása alatt lefordította a Mormon Könvét. Bizonyságom is van arról, hogy
amennyiben bízunk az Úrban és követjük fiának a példáját, amit megmutatott
nekünk, Mennyei Atyánk meg fog áldani minket azzal, amire van szükségünk. Az
Úristen megáldjon benneteket!
Nagyon
szeretlek benneteket! Legyetek erősek és bátrak
mindig! (I love
you! Be strong and of good courage always!)
Sok
sok szeretettel, (With all of my love)
Magda
Elder