Well this week was another good week! It seems like we have been having alot of those lately, and I am definitely not complaining! 

Tracting this week has been a blast! I cannot even count the number of doors that have opened to reveal men above the age of 65 wearing nothing but man thongs or speedos. I mean, I guess you have to keep life exciting one way or the other! We also met this really neat lady from russia who has been living in Hungary for the past 20 years! We also happened to speak Hungarian on the same level and she has been learning it 20x as long as me, so it was somewhat of a proud moment! Fun fact, she is actually a Jew! She wasn't interested in the gospel, but she was so sweet though, her name was Lilla Néni, and she told us to come back sometime so we can eat some fruit with her, I thought it was adorable!

Last Tuesday we went back to visit our investigator Monika, the one that we looked up last week, and we had a lesson with her. Her boyfriend was actually home from work too, and he was really interested in learning about what we had to teach! He doesn't believe in God, so we started talking about what he does believe and ended talking about his family being able to live together forever according to God's plan, and ended up teaching the whole plan of Salvation! It went really well, and he asked us that when we schedule to come back to see Monika if we can make sure he will be home also! So we went ahead and scheduled for this next week, and are hoping to be able to get a member there with us! 

After that lesson, we met with our investigator Zsuzsa and her son Attila, who is an inactive member. They kept their commitment! We were so proud of them! They both said that they prayed everyday before going to bed and when they woke up, and they both admitted that they could see the difference, so that was really neat! Attila didn't remember much about the restoration, so we talked about that and committed them both to read from the Book of Mormon daily! We are hoping that next week we can possibly get them both to come to church! 

Picture that Mecseri Janka sent me, she is a doll :)

Later that evening we met with another new investigator named Piroska! She is a really sweet lady, maybe in her late 50s, and we just happened to come across her record in the area book. The elders had found her husband 10 years ago and started teaching him, and she started to listen in on the lessons every once in a while. Her husband died a few years after that and the missionaries never really went back much after that. So we called her up two weeks ago and scheduled to meet with her, but then I was sick and so we ended up rescheduling for this past week. She also has an 18 year old daughter, Edina, who lives with her and is kind of shy. Edina had gone into her room and closed the door, because she didn't want to learn about our church, but we asked if we could just introduce ourselves and didn't have to teach her or anything. So Edina came out of her room, and we found out that she is an artist and attends a school up in Zirc just for art! We asked if we could see some of her work, and she brought it out and showed it to us! As we showed interest in some of her interests she began to warm up to us, and actually ended up staying for the lesson. She didn't actively participate, but just the fact that she was willing to stay and listen says a lot i think! I am excited to meet with them again and there is a young girl in the branch that we are hoping we can take to help befriend Edina! 

Wednesday was a little bit of a tough day. We planned on meeting with Mária and János, our two new investigators from last week, and even got a member to come who seemed like she would be just perfect for them, only to get dogged. It was a bummer. We csengőd them, and János answered, he said that Mária wasn't home and that he needed to go somewhere. He gave us his phone number though, so we aren't giving up hope on them quite yet! Hopefully we will be able to successfully meet with them in the week to come! 

Thursday after English class we had a lesson with our investigator Ricsi. He explained to us a little bit about his religion, and told us that he doesn't really want to change, but that he is really curious about our church and wants us to teach him all about it. So at least that is a step in the right direction! I asked him if he would at least be willing to act upon the assignments we give him, and he said yes, so I think with time it might be able to evolve into something more!

Sometimes you order pizza through the window, dont worry, its normal!

We got a phone call Friday morning from our investigator Marcsi. She is kind of struggling right now. She is supposed to be praying about her baptismal date, but Satan has just been working really hard on her, and she is having a difficult time with it. She told us on the phone that she doesnt believe that we, our church, baptism, or even God can help her in this part of her life. Honestly, it is just really sad, I feel so bad for the poor girl! I think she must just be going through some hard times right now, but we are praying that we will be able to meet with her and try to just help her feel God's love for her, and help her realize that God can ALWAYS help her! If y'all would keep her in your prayers that would really mean alot to us!

We also got a hold of an investigator the sisters had met with back in January and they met three times and she seemed to be progressing and then the record just stops there, but she is the most enthusiastic person I have ever met and just talking to her on the phone made me so happy to be able to meet with her this next week! I think that that is going to be a fantastic lesson! Also according to the last time they met, she had a lot of questions about baptism in our church that they didn't get the chance to answer, so I hope that we will be guided by the spirit to be able to help her find the answers to those question, because she seems like such a sweet lady! I am really looking forward to meeting her, I think she has a lot of potential!

 

Things with Sister Evans seem to be going really well! She is such a great missionary! She came into the field with a strong determination and will to work hard, and I sure am lucky to have her! I have no doubt that by the end of our time here in Veszprém the work is going to be blooming, because I know that there are just so many people here waiting for the gospel, and as we continue forward in obedience and diligence the Lord is going to direct us to them! 

13 Months Down~Sept. 5, 2016

Well, well, well, this week was a pretty long one, filled with both ups and downs.

Last week for Pday we were able to go to this place called Csesznek, it is a castle ruins and it is seriously just amazingly beautiful! Also, like I loved my first 3 cities to death, but did I ever mention how much I  love mountains? Unfortunately the Kecskemét domb doesn't quite do the job! Anyways, I will send some pictures, because the place was amazing! Also we got bácsied for a good long 30 minutes, so of course we had to get a selfie with him too!

Last Tuesday was an amazing day! We started out the morning with a lookup of an old investigator that the previous sisters had met with. I don't know how much potential she has, she is willing to meet with us, but doesn't really seem that interested in the message of the gospel that we have to share, and her children are really rowdy, but we were able to talk about the importance of prayer and the knowledge that we have a heavenly father who loves us and wants to help us in this life so that we can return to him after this life!

 She said that she never really prays, but agreed to pray at least twice daily this whole week. We are planning on meeting with her later this week too, so hopefully she will have kept that commitment we gave her and that we may be able to find the part of the gospel that will be able to help her see that the gospel can offer more to her and her family and will truly peak her interest and get her wanting more! 

After our lesson with her, we went to contact an older lady that the sisters had tracted into last transfer and given a Book of Mormon but were not able to set up with again. When we rang the csengő her husband came out and we started talking to him. He said that they had received a book of Mormon, that he had read from it and that he thought it was a great book, but that he was catholic and would like to stay catholic. I told him that we understand, but we would just like to meet with people and talk more about the Book of Mormon and what we can learn about Christ from that book, and then proceeded to ask him if he would be interested in meeting to talk more. Unfortunately he said no. I'm not exactly sure why, but for some reason I was just impressed by the spirit that there had to be something that we could say though to get him to want to meet with us, but after asking some questions, and him politely saying that it didn't really interest him, I didn't know what else to say. But then comes his walking down the road with a bag of groceries. I wasn't sure what to expect, but she was very kind! She told us the same exact thing that her husband had: got a Book of Mormon, read from it, really great book, catholic, want to stay that way, and is not really interested in learning more. I was kind of at a loss of where to go with things, so I just started talking about the weather and their beautiful garden, thinking that if I got them talking possibly they will say something that I could use to pull in an aspect of the gospel, because I just felt deep down that this couple had a lot of potential and wanted them to be able to know fully about the gospel before they decide that its not for them. Well, before long, "M", the wife, was going off about the world these days, and then "J", the husband, butted in out of nowhere and asked me if I was thirsty. Seeing it as the opportunity to get inside their house, I told him yes, and with that they invited us in. Inside their home we were able to see from their wall displays some of the things that they treasure most in their lives. "M" started telling us about her life looking back on it, some of the trials that she has endured and the lessons she has learned. I felt inspired to ask her, that if she could only give us one piece of advice that she has learned from her life, what would it be? That got her talking more about how sacred our time is in this life! I asked her about her beliefs about after this life, and then shared with her our beliefs, and the knowledge we have that we can return to live with God and our families for eternity. We were running short on time because we had another lesson to get to, so we quickly explained that there is actually a whole plan that God has prepared for us so that we can make it back to Him, and asked if we could come back and share it with them another time. So we will be meeting with them this Wednesday! I am really excited for this lesson, and to see where things will go with "M and J", they are such kind, amazing people, and they deserve the true joy that only the gospel can give!                                                

Later that same night we were able to meet with an old investigator we found in the area book this week. It turns out that her son is actually a less active member and he was willing to participate in the teaching also! We talked about prayer and shared some scriptures in 3rd Nephi when Christ taught the people why prayer is important and how we should pray. It was a really good lesson, and they both committed to say their individual prayers daily as well as praying as a family! The less active member also said that he would like to meet with the Branch President and start to come back to the church, it was really neat!

Wednesday and Thursday I was sick, so we didn't get to go out and work, unfortunately. But luckily by Friday I was feeling better and we were able to do our weekly planning, go through some more things in the area book and then go out to work. We were able to visit "G" Néni again, she is just such a sweet lady. We shared with her some of our favorite scriptures about hope and faith and how if we are willing to humble ourselves, God will help us to be strong! She in turn shared some of her favorite scriptures with us, as well as a letter she had written to the mission president when she was baptized in which she had written her testimony. It was such a sweet testimony, and you could just feel her conviction as you read it. I pray that she will be able to have the opportunity to attend sacrament meetings, and in the meantime I hope that the spirit we bring into her home when we meet with her will continue to keep her heart upbeat! 

Saturday I had a nice surprise! My investigator "E" from Békéscsaba and her boyfriend "J"came to Veszprém to see me! It was so good to be able to see her, we just spent our lunch hour showing her around the beautiful, breath- taking belváros of Veszprém and then unfortunately had to say goodbye and get back to work, but it was literally amazing to see her again, I have really missed her these last 3 weeks! That night we were able to watch the Cultural Celebration for the temple re-dedication with the branch, and it was so neat to see so many familiar faces from Hungary being able to participate in it. It just really struck me, how many opportunities the gospel provides for people, besides of course the obviously abundant spiritual blessings. There were a few kids that I saw from Szeged and Békéscsaba, and if they would have never found the gospel, they would never have any of these amazing opportunities that they have received as members. One boy in specific, I watched as President Uchtdorf patted his head and then gave him a hug, and I just couldn't help but thing what an amazing experience for that little boy, that he will be able to hang onto as he pushes through the struggles of growing up in a split family home, surrounded by nonmembers, trying to do his best to stay strong in the gospel. Heavenly Father and the gospel truly just have so many things to offer each of us, if only we are willing to accept them!

Sunday was the Freiberg Germany temple re-dedication, so we got to go up to Győr for that! It was such an amazing experience, definitely a once in a lifetime thing! I was able to understand just about all of it, which I even surprised myself at, but unfortunately I was really tired and I honestly do not remember a huge amount of what they said, but that's alright, because what matters more is the spirit that I was able to feel! The temple is truly the most amazing gift heavenly father has given us, I hope that as we continue to work hard here in Veszprém that we will be able to help our investigators, less actives, and recent converts to be able to see the temples for what they truly are and that they may have the desire to live worthily to be able to go there and partake of those sacred blessings found only in the Lord's house!

  

  

 

 

Besides the amazing temple dedication, yesterday was also like the best day ever because I got to see the Mecseriék's again! And get this, "K" even remembered my name! That is a pretty big deal, I was touched haha!  As usual, "J" and I colored, "Á" and her did my hair, and "K" played a song for me on his drum set!What an amazing family, I am so glad that I can call them my little Hungarian family, cause they are seriously some of the greatest people I have ever met! So enjoy all the pictures to come! I love you all and will talk to you next week! Have a great week!

Sok Szeretettel,

LeBaron Nővér 

                                                                                                                                                 

 

                                                                        

A Whole Lot of Finding~August 29th

Well, this week went pretty well! On Tuesday we zone training in Buda and got to learn some ways that we can be more bold in our finding attempts! Sister Evans and I are doing our best to try and talk to everybody that we see from now on! 

On Wednesday we went tracting and found a lady who told us that now was not a good time. I asked her if we could quickly just give her a Book of Mormon and explain it, and come back some other time to talk more. She told us to come back this evening and we will talk, and turns out that she actually already has a Book of Mormon that elders had given her 3-4 years ago she said. So we are looking forward to being able to meet with her tonight! That same day we met with our investigator "M", and talked a little bit about baptism. She has had 4 different baptismal dates in the past and from what I have been able to observe she has a testimony and knows it is true, but she still isn't doing it for herself for some reason. She very much likes to please people, so it seems that she never really chose a date and got confirmation from the spirit, but rather just agreed to dates to make the missionaries happy. We talked alot about the sacredness of those covenants and why it is important to make them for ourselves rather than just doing to please somebody, or not doing it in fear of displeasing somebody. She seemed to really ponder what we had to say! Also it turns out that she has not been reading the Book of Mormon in a long time, the previous missionaries just had assumed she was, but she admitted that she has only been reading  from the Bible. We committed her to read the Book of Mormon every single day and to seek out a date that would be the right time for her to be baptized and to pray and ask for a confirmation that that is the right thing to do! We hope that she will be able to get her answer soon! 

On Thursday we met with a young man named "R"  and had a teaching appointment. He is very friendly, but seems kind of hesitant right now. He said that next time he will explain more about his beliefs, so I am excited to see how that goes, and how we can help him build upon his previous beliefs to a full knowledge of the truth! 

Friday we went on splits with the Sister Training Leaders from Buda, Sister Giullian and Ssiter Withers! I was able to go with Ssiter Withers and it was such a neat experience! We had been in the MTC together, so it was neat to be able to do some real missionary work together and I feel like I was able to humble myself and truly learned alot from her, she is an excellent missionary! We had the opportunity to go visit a less active named G Néni. She would be active, but she had a stroke a few years ago, and the one side of her body is still left paralyzed, and so it is very hard for her to attend church. However, this week she came for the first time in about a year! It was such an amazing experience! She had tears rolling down her face when she made it into the building, and there was such a sweet spirit in the meetings with her there! We also had the opportunity to wheel her home in her wheelchair and talk to her along the way, and she was so appreciative of our efforts to help her be able to attend church! She is such a sweet lady, i am honored that we were able to help her to be able to attend church and take the sacrament there, the sweet bliss on her face is what keeps me going when something in the work gets hard. It is that opportunity to help someone feel the spirit and Gods love for them, that motivates me to keep looking for those people  regardless of the thousands of rejections that it takes to find the one! 

Also in church I was able to meet a lady named Gyöngyi who is the grandma of my favorite kids in probably the whole wide world, so that was fun! She was super sweet, I hope that I will have the chance to get to know her better during my time here in Veszprém!

We did some area book work this week and found a few former investigators who are willing to let us come over and visit them, so I hope that we will be able to have good teaching appointments with them, and that they will still be interested in learning more about Gods plan for them! I think this week is going to be a great one!

Sok Szeretettel,

LeBaron Nővér

Olivérs birthday

My baby sized bedroom

Sis WITHERS & I

 

 

 

 

Goodbye Bcsabs; Hello Veszprém (Aug 22, 2016 Post)

This week was definitely full of a lot of changes. It was bittersweet saying goodbye to all the wonderful people in Béékéscsaba! I swear that it just gets harder to say goodbye with every area! I will forever be thankful for the people in Békéscsaba who made a place for me in their lives and hearts. Those people have helped me more than they will ever know! Saying goodbye I just wanted to cry! Not to mention having to say goodbye to Sister Dorny! I gave her one last hug and as i pulled back there were tears in her eyes and it just broke me heart! Leaving your baby stinks! Luckily I am still in the country and we get to talk every once in a while on the phone! The first few days were a little rough, but she is doing alot better now thank heavens, and I am glad that she is still there to take care of all of my Békéscsba people for me!

 

On a positive note, I am so glad to be here in Veszprém.
This place is seriously the cutest thing ever! I love it! Also I love my new "new missionary" as the title greenie is no longer approved haha. Her name is Sister Evans, she is from Portland, OR, she played lacrosse in high school and rugby at USU! She is a really sweet girl! Our district is the bomb! We have Elder Lawrence and Thomas, as well as the elders serving in Székesfehérvár , Elder Winegar and Norris! It is literally the perfect combination of personalities, I love it! 

Unfortunately, there is currently no work here, so we are trying to change that real quick and get the work going like it was a couple years ago. We have spent the past few days just trying to figure out where to start and finally get our feet on the ground here so we can get the work going here. We did have the chance to meet our one investigator "M", she is a really sweet girl and when I asked her if she had prayed about a baptismal date she said that she is praying about it right now, so hopefully we will be able to help her to make those sacred covenants that she seems ready and eager to make. 

Besides that we are trying to get some work going from the area book. The previous sisters said that they didn't like doing phone calls and lookups so they did not use the area book as a resource for finding at all, but we have found a lot of records with no explanation as to why they are no longer meeting with us, so we are praying that we will be able to get a hold of those who are still willing to learn about the church and act accordingly. 

Last night as we were tracting, we were just finishing up our hour, and then headed home as a man pulled his car over on the street and said "excuse me".  I thought that he was going to want directions somewhere, but he asked if we are Mormons. I told him yes and he asked if we could meet later that evening. I called up a member, Márta, whom I had met at church that day and asked her if she could come and help us in our appointment with him, and she was more than willing to come help. We met her at the bus stop and walked over to the mans home. He invited us in and began to tell us about a man by the name of Varga Péter Pál. I was not familiar with the name, but he went on the explain that 15 years ago this man had performed a spinal surgery for him. 5 years later he found out that Péter is a Mormon and apparently had a large part in getting the church up and going here in Hungary. Ever since, he has been really curious about our church and Péter's involvement in the church. He has been trying to find him for the last 5 years but has not been able to find any contact information but is really curious about his beliefs. He told us that we were the first Mormons that he has ever seen in Veszprém so he had to stop and talk to us. We ended up being able to talk to him about the restoration of the church, introduced him to the Book of Mormon and the promise that we can know it is all true if we are willing to pray about it and ask God. He committed that he will read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, and that when he is in town (he works abroad) he will come to church here in Veszprém. How cool is that? We are really excited for them. In the meantime we are trying to find some contact information for this Varga Péter Pál, because I truly feel that it could be his link that gets him truly involved in the church. He was a great guy though.  He will be out of town for the next few weeks, but he said he will call us and come to church as soon as he gets back. 

Other than that, we are jsut trying to find those people here in Veszprém who are just waiting for the gospel, as well as building relationships with the members here so that they can help us in the work and we can be a team. We had the chance to go over to the branch presidents home the other day and meet him and I am excited to be able to work with him and the other members, the ones we have met have been really amazing and im sure that all the others whom we have yet to meet will be the same. 

In Church we had a missionary speak, Vasváry Máté, who returned from his mission in Scotland/ Ireland this week. He talked about missionary work not being easy, and that is about as true as it gets, but neither was the Atonement easy when Christ suffered for each and every one of us. I thought that was such an interesting way of putting it. Because in a way, our missionary service is a sign of gratitude for the sacrifice he made for us, and so we should never assume that as such it would be easy. But the great part is that, if we do have sufferings and hard times throughout our missions, we dont have to be alone as Christ was during his sacrifice if we are willing to always repent and turn to him for help and comfort! How great is that promise? We truly do have a reason to be happy!

Perhaps there will be some hard times here, frustrating moments as we try to get the work going, but that's okay, because the Atonement of Jesus Christ makes it so that we can smile through those hard times, so that we can truly be happy regardless of the situations around us. I am so grateful for this knowledge and that i can say this because i have experienced it, the blessings of His atonement are truly endless!

Sok Szeretettel,

LeBaron Nővér