Saying goodbye to Nyíregyháza and hello to Kispest!

Hello!

I am feeling bitter sweet today as I write this. I said goodbye to Nyíregyháza this week and will be leaving really early tomorrow morning to go to my new city! We got the phone call this morning and I am going to KISPEST to be a sister training training leader with Willets Nővér!! I actually knew Willets Nővér before the mission, we were in the same apartment complex and the same ward. I am so so excited to serve with her and way excited to be going to Kispest! Also, the Medveczky family is in that ward which is exciting because I know their son, Levente! We were also in the same apartment complex and ward and also were organ majors together at BYU. I am so excited to also be able to actually talk to Levente's family in Hungarian. When I visited this past summer before my mission, it was difficult because we couldn't really talk and had someone translate for us, but now I will be able to communicate with them!! It is going to be a great next transfer and a big change, I can't wait! 

It was sad to say goodbye to life long friends I have made here, I absolutely loved serving in Nyíregyháza (literally "Birch (tree) church") and am excited to start another adventure in Kispest (which  translates to, "Little Pest"). 

So here are some highlights from my last week in Nyíregyháza, and I enjoyed ever minute of it! Last week we were in the belváros, walking home from church, and we saw the cutest thing! There was a little girl who walked up with her family and was SO excited about the fountains. And then, another girl ran up from the opposite side and went over to where this other little girl was. It was clear they didn't know each other but I love what happened next. They started to talk to each other for a second and then one of the girls reached for the other's hand and then they were running under the fountains together! It was adorable! Two girls that didn't know each other a few minutes before suddenly became best friends. 

Also, I hit 8 months on the mission this week!! Where has the time gone!? It is honestly flying by. 

This week, we visited Sárika and actually got to teach her sister! It was a really neat experience. Also, there are cherries growing everywhere! It has made tracting better, we just walk and pick a few cherries and keep going! Haha it's so fun, we have been picking cherries and berries all week long. We also went to visit the Szabolcsi family (Kristőf, his mom Ilona, his dad, and sister, Viki). Viki, who painted us before, drew a picture of me in 15 minutes! She is so talented! I have loved meeting with their cute family!  Also, this week, we got to meet Judit's (a branch members) sister, her name is Béa, and she was her visiting. Her sister, Béa, married an American who served a mission in Hungary years ago and they have raised a cute little family. It was fun to see the kids at church and I even translated for one of the kids so he could talk to one of the branch members here. We also went to visit Jutka Néni. She is seriously the best cook! She made us töltött káposzta and it was so yummy! Right before we left, we asked to take a photo with her and she paused, laughed, and looked at us and said in a whisper "are you in a hurry?" We told her we had a few minutes and with that she ran into the other room to completely change her outfit haha, it was so cute, and she looked beautiful! 

We also had the best lesson with Péter. It was such a blessing to me to see how much his faith has been strengthened and how strong his testimony has grown since we met him in February on that cold day of tracting. He was sad about me leaving but he is doing so great! He made us lángos and we also helped him put the labels on a bunch of jars of honey that he was getting ready to take to the piac (market). We talked about baptism and confirmation and he told us that he truly knows the things we've taught him to be true! We also talked about the priesthood and how it can bless his family. He told us that instead of drinking coffee in the mornings, he has been reading a verse from the Book of Mormon aloud to his family! So awesome! I am so grateful to have gotten to teach that amazing family. I am excited to hear how they are doing and for Péter's, up coming baptism! 

On Saturday we had a special treat! We were able to travel to Debrecen to go to András (a member from Nyíregyháza who just got baptized about a year ago) and Roberta's wedding!! Roberta is a member in Debrecen who we have met a few times before as well. It was such a beautiful wedding and everything went perfectly! We went home after the ceremony but heard that the dancing and party lasted until 5 am! They were SO happy and Roberta looked absolutely gorgeous. 

On Sunday, we were able, along with all the members to take a bus to Miskolc for a District Conference - it was made up of the Miskolc, Nyíregyháza, and Debrecen branches! It was really great and everyone loved it. Izabella was able to come and she loved it, her granddaughter, Iza, was even able to come! It was Iza's first time coming to church and I'm so glad she had such a good experience, it was a great blessing to be able to see her at church for the first time. We went over yesterday to visit Izabella, Iza, and Viktor. Izabella has such a strong testimony and is SO smart. We had  a great visit with them and it was really hard to say goodbye. Izabella is just adorable and the last thing she did was tell me to open up my bag and the next thing I knew, she was dumping a bowl full of candies into it!! Haha, she is too funny! 

Yesterday, I said bye to a few other members and we got to have dinner at László's home with his wife, Éva, and his son Dani, the one I have been teaching piano lessons to. We had a great dinner and had fun talking. We shared the story of Lehi's dream with them and Éva talked about how grateful she was that I was there to cheer her up in some of the hardest moments in her life. It doesn't feel like we did very much, but just taking time to talk to someone can truly make a difference. If there's anything I have learned in Nyíregyháza over the past six months it is that the little things we do, really matter and make a difference. And the second thing I've learned is how to love. Maybe I stayed in Nyíregyháza for so long as I did because I just really had to learn how to love. And I have. There are so many things I have learned here but I think the last one has been how as we become more like children, we will see things differently and be happier. It may sound silly, but just like the little girls that I talked about, running around the fountain holding hands, we too can find things to be happy about and we can share it with others. Those two little girls didn't know each other, and they weren't worried about appearance or anything else, but they came together and in the simplest way, they shared such a joyful moment. Simplicity is huge, and I think that is one of the reasons children are so happy, because they find joy in the simpleness of life. 

I love these people that I have written about more than words can even describe and I am so so grateful to have had such an amazing past six months in beautiful little Nyíregyháza. 

​Sok​

 szeretettel,  Schoendorfer Nővér

These are the cute girls I talked about that were playing in the fountain.

We have been enjoying all the cherry trees.

Kristof and I at church.

Some tracting photos.

Elder Ure and I took a photo in honor of serving in the same area for more than 8 consecutive months, from the MTC to our greenie cities.

Cute Jutka Neni!

Last visit with Peter and his family! 

Here are two different types of honey he takes to market.

On the train on the way to the wedding, Jelena (the branch president's mom) had me paint her nails, yes, on the train.

The beautiful wedding of Andras and Roberta!

Our bus ride to Miskolc.

Our visit with Izabella, Iza and Viktor

We have become friends with the ice cream girl. Her name is Fanni and she loves when we come. We call her
"Fanni, a fagyi leany" (the ice cream girl).

The is Laszlo, Eva, and Dani, whom I have been giving piano lessons to.