Homeless Hamster Huggers (H^3)‏

"Our New Bikes"

This is the Homeless Hamster Huggers coming to you live. Sister Jeppson and I have officially joined a bike club, or rather started one ourselves! So yeah... WE BOUGHT BIKES!!! I just couldnt do it anymore, I was having some major biking withdrawls, so we gave President Szabadkai a call last week and asked if we could buy ourselves some bikes. His response was "Sure, just watch out for your skirts!" It was the greatest news I have heard in a while! We absolutely love our bikes, its like we have our own cars... but just in bike form! We are like little elementary school girls with their first bike, AKA yes we take pictures with our bikes haha!

P-day bike rides!!

Enough about the bikes though, things are going great here in Kecskemét! It is truly mind blowing to me how different missions are than I ever expected, but in the greatest way possible! I honestly am having the greatest time of my life, I love it so much here! First off, lets talk about the members! We are over here chilling on a whole different continent, yet these people are so amazing and somehow still make us feel like we are at home! They are just so loving and accepting of us! Sani Bácsi brings Jepp and I chocolate everyweek  to church, Kovács Irma loves inviting us over for her famous soups, Tardi Anna just loves us to death, the Bognarék & Misi are like our older siblings, Donna is like my little American grandma whose chilling in Hungary, and then the Mecseriék are just one of the cutest families that I have ever met and always let us play with their kids and have a little fun! I honestly never knew that I would be able to love people this much, and this quickly, they are all like my little Kecskeméti family!

Next up is investigators! I have still been sick so Sister Szabadkai didn't want us meeting with alot of people this week, but we did have a few teaching programs. We had the chance to meet with our investigator József who is currently on bap date. He is having a little bit of a hard time giving up alcohol, as he has drunk his whole life, but we have been working on it with him and he is improving! He absolutely loves the Plan of Salvation and has read the pamphlet we gave him like 15 times! We decided to give him a new one to read haha! He is doing good though! 

KRISZTI!!!

Zone Training

On Thursday we had Zone Conference down in Szeged! I love getting to go back to my greenie city, it will always feel like home! We had the opportunity to meet up with Kriszti, a recent convert there in Szeged, before the training! It was so good to be able to see her! I seriously love that girl so much! Our training was really good, it was focused on trying to help our investigators to progress! After the conference I got to talk to Elder Bagley, our zone leader who I handed all my work over to when we got transferred out of Szeged. He said that András Bácsi has been doing super well and is actually progressing! He even went to church the week after I left, which was super cool, cause he had promised me he would before I left! Turns out he actually loved church and wants to come again! I am so happy for him! 

I also got a call on Saturday from Elder Wilcox, the old Zone leader in Szeged, to tell me that Pék Kitti is GETTING BAPTIZED!!! Kitti is a young college girl that I streeted one day while Sister Csolity and I were tabling in Szeged. She had a little bit of a religious background and seemed pretty interested in what we had to say. We had given her a Book of Mormon that day and she gave us her phone number so that we could meet! That was around Christmas time and then her sister got sick and had to have an operation so she was taking care of her and the hospital and was never able to meet with us before I left Szeged. I handed her over to the Zone leaders as a referral, and turns out they were able to meet with her after her sister was healed from surgery, and on Saturday she asked Elder Bagley if she could get baptized! That was super cool to hear. In our mission the work is generally pretty slow and we rarely actually get to see the seeds we plant sprout into anything. It can sometimes be really hard and a little bit discouraging, but we have to press forward in the work and just have the faith that the little things we do and the long hours spent finding will actually result in something one day. So it was really neat to hear from Elder Wilcox that a seed we had planted is actually growing, that all those long hours spent freezing our butts off in the cold were for a reason. And now because we were obedient and diligent in what we were supposed to be doing, Kitti's life will forever be changed! Its the little things we do that make the biggest difference, even if we cannot always see it in the moment. I'm very thankful that I was able to hear that story and just be re motivated in the work, to have my faith sparked once more! I seriously am so thankful for this opportunity I have to be serving here in Hungary and to share the restored gospel with these people!

Happy late valentines day from the two of us (Thanks for the chocolates mom)

Boldog Valentin Nap!‏ (Original Written 2-15-16)

Transfer day~I'm so blessed to have served with Sis Giullian

I hope you all had a great valentines day yesterday, and apparently today is president's day or something like that, not really sure cause that isnt a thing here! This week we went up to transfers and we had to say goodbye to Sister Giullian, it was so fun serving with her, it was sad to see her leave! But she has called us everyday since she got to Szeged, and she is loving it there! I have been sick this week and have had to stay inside and sleep, so we didn't have too many programs.

  We did have the chance to meet with a new investigator of ours named Ilona! She has met with the elders, but because of new mission rules, they had to give her over to us! She is this super cute little grandma, who cooks amazingly, loves talking to us (Reminds me of my Mema), and we absolutely love her! When we met with her Saturday she cooked some duck with mashed potatoes and plum soup for Sister Jeppson and I. I was a little hesitant to try the duck, but once I took the first bite, it was like one of the greatest things that I have ever tasted! Also she puts eggs in her mashed potatoes, it sounds crazy, but it was amazing!

Eating Ilona's duck!!!

I am so thankful for the Book of Mormon in my life! I know that it was written for us in this day, and that as we read from it, we truly can grow closer to our Father in Heaven and we can find the answers to our prayers that we have been seeking! I bear testimony to you that the Book of Mormon is true and that it can bless each of us in our individual lives! I'm so thankful for this opportunity i have to serve a mission and to be able to share this book of scripture with the people here in Hungary! There is truly no other thing i would rather do with my life right now!

I am out of time so i must go now, but I love you all and hope that you have a great week ahead of you, filled with adventure!  Don't forget to look for the good in each day!

Sok szeretettel,

LeBaron Nővér

We found Chupa Chups in the Asian store!!!

"D" doesn't like pictures for some reason, so we have to take them with a blanket over her head hahah

The sunset from the Dom (a man made mountain here in Kecskemét)

Celebrating Hungarian Holiday "FARSANG"

Farsang buli!

I had to feed Jepp some pudding while blindfolded   ....it was great!

József!

Szilvia one of the members here in kecskemét that we meet with!

Dinner at the Mecseriék! I finally got Kolos to smile for a picture!!

 Talented Aser and his guitar!

The Mecseriék...AGAIN! We love them so much!

 

Celebrating mine and Fifi's 6 month mark with Pillows and star wars milk!

Fifi loves to wear my glasses for some reason

Well folks, I don't have a lot of time today, given that it is transfers this week, but this last week has been great!   

We had a lot of programs with some of the members here in Kecskemét and just met with our usual investigators! We were focusing on József this past week and he actually has committed to get baptized! We have to work on the work of wisdom with him a little bit, because he struggles with smoking and drinking, but he already decided that he wanted to quit before we met him, so now we are just trying to help him with that! He has progressed so much since we met him just 3 weeks ago though, it is truly amazing!

This week was FARSANG!!! It is a Hungarian holiday that is celebrated a little bit like Halloween, just without the trick-or.-treat part. We had a little carnival party at the Branch house though, and played a bunch of games with the members, and one of our investigators, Tamás, came! 

Transfer calls came in this morning: Sister Jeppson and I will be staying together here in Kecskemét and Sister Giullian will be going to Szeged to train! We are all super excited!

Hungarian gyms...random toy looking things in a park that are apparantly for grown ups!

Terézia és a Cukorbetegsége

​Turós Pita yumm!

Another week in Kecskemét come and gone, and I just continue to fall more in love with this place every-week!  We had a lot of teaching appointments as is the usual here in Kecskemét, we met with both of our Tamás' a few less active néni's, and some new investigators that we found tracting last week.

We had been cséngőing people for about an hour and were almost done, when we cséngőd a man named József! He didn't really say much, just buzzed us into the building so we thought that it must have been an accident. We decided we would just go up anyways and when we climbed the 5 flights of stairs we found József there waiting for us and he let us into his apartment. He's an older man, probably in his 60s and come to find out it was actually his mom, terézia's apartment, he just takes care of her during the days cause she is really old and sick. We ended up telling him about our church, giving him a Book of Mormon, and setting up a return appointment! Before we left, i turned around to say goodbye to Terézia and she had this pen looking thing in her hand and when she pulled of the cap it was actually a needle, and she started to twist it and counted to three. Me and sister Giullian made eye contact and both of us were a little bit scared, wondering how there she was in the head. Just then Terézia set the needle down and so we just left him to take care of his mom. 

This week when we went back to meet with József, sister Guillian and I both said that if Terézia did it again we were going to bust up laughing! So we got to József's house and started teaching him and half way through the teaching appointment Terézia wakes up and grabs her pen! Giull and I just looked at each other and couldn't believe it! This time she pulled of the cap and twisted the needle counting clear up to 10! and then she jabbed it into her leg with her shaking hands! József didn't react at all, so we figured it must be fine! Terézia was struggling to get the cap back on because her hands were shaking so bad, so Jeppson asked her if she could help. As Jepp put the cap on, the needle was curved and broke through the cap and went straight into Jepp's finger and she started bleeding! Terézia normally isn't too alert and doesn't talk too much, but when Jepp stabbed herself Terézia just goes ˇ"Okay" and then laid down and went to bed! It was hilarious! Luckily she doesn't have AIDS or Hepatitis though so Jepp is going to be fine! 

Yes, Even after sharing will have enough for left overs!!!

Pizza...Miért nem?

A néni at church gave us some postcards, maps, and some sort of medication...Thank you!

Ice Age anybody?

Terézia aside, our program with József actually was amazing! When we got in there we asked him if he had read the chapter from the Book of Mormon that we had assigned him last time. His response was "I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet, called of God." Talk about golden! He not only read the chapter we gave him, but also looked up in the index any word that he didn't fully understand! He doesn't really know much right now, but he has so much faith and loves hearing what we have to teach! Gosh he is just so great! He really wants to come to church too, but has to find someone who can take of his mom while he comes, so he wasn't able to make it this week. Before we left, we asked if he would say the closing prayer. He had never been super religious growing up, and he told us that he didn't know how to. We told him briefly what to do, and he offered us a prayer! It was one of the simplest, but most heart-felt prayers I have ever heard! It is crazy, I honestly can say that I just love him! It is weird how serving people has a way of allowing you to love strangers that you don't even know yet! I seriously am just so grateful for the opportunity to be here in Hungary serving the Lord and sharing his gospel with the people here in Kecskemét! Next week is transfers, so who knows if I will stay or go, but either way, I'm grateful for the time I have had here, the people I have met, and the things that I have learned from all of them! I think it is so important to remember to be thankful for the people in our lives! I truly believe that each person we meet has something unique to offer to the world and something special that we can learn from them! Try to look at people the way that our Father in Heaven sees them, and I know that we will be able to better appreciate people and love them, and just be happier ourselves in general!

I seriously love all of you and hope that everything is going well at home! Have a great week!

Sok Szeretettel
     LeBaron Nővér

Tracting Adventures and a pretty sunset that you kind of can't see

Inci and I

Touring the Kecskeméti Városháza and the Greek Orthidox Templom