Hey!
This week was awesome and I have learned so much, and our district has really bonded so it has been fun!
Thanks to anyone that sent a dear elder! I love the letters, we get them each night and it is fun to read at the end of a (sometimes) long day! So ya, keep sending those because I won't be able to get letters that fast once I get to Hungary. If case you forgot, I am in the Provo MTC and my unit # is 108 and departure date is DEC 8 with the mission code, HUN-BUD.
One of my favorite moments this week was when we went outside with one of our teachers and read Ether 12 in Hungarian! (Of course we also read in English because we aren't THAT good yet), but I love Ether 12 so very much because it just proves that we are given weaknesses for a reason, so that we can be humble and improve. God promises that if we humble ourselves before Him, and have faith in Him, our weaknesses will become strengths. What a blessing!
The funniest thing that happened this week was when I got a letter from a friend who is serving a mission in Spain right now. We got the mail delivered right before class was going to start but I figured I would just open it quick because we had a few minutes. Wrong Choice! I opened the letter and in a matter a seconds I was covered in glitter and had everyone in the room, including our teacher, laughing at me! Elder Horne had filled the envelope with glitter and it doesn't end there - there was another enveloped with the actual letter in it that was also filled with glitter which I ended up opening later. It was a nice break from a stressful day of Hungarian and it's safe to say I was finding glitter randomly on things for the next few days.
I played piano for church this week which was pretty interesting because the congregation was singing in English, Finnish, and Hungarian so to be honest it wasn't the best sounding but it was way cool to listen to. It definitely takes some extra concentration but it was so great to be able to play piano. I have been missing the piano and organ lately. But, I also auditioned this morning to play a piano solo in a meeting sometime (Joseph Smith Medley) and I got a YES! I am really excited about that. When I finished the audition, they asked if I was a piano performance major, when I told them I was organ performance they asked me if I wanted to play for a devotional! I am thrilled! I will have to try and find some time to figure all of that out but it's such a great opportunity, I can't wait! I also accompanied a piece that Sisar Jones (Finnish sister in my zone who I have become pretty close with) is singing. We auditioned this morning for that piece as well, and she also got a yes, which wasn't in the least surprising because she has a beautiful voice! She is a vocal performance major and she is so fun to be around.
This week I met Elder Juhasz, who is cousins with Levente (my Hungarian friend from BYU!) We got to have dinner with Elder Juhasz who taught us some phrases and told us many things about Hungary.
Something I learned this week is how important it is to be listening for the spirit and be focused on what the Lord needs our help with. One night this week I was super tired and it was 10:30 which is when we are suppose to be getting in bed and I was walking back to my room when I heard a girl quietly crying. I continued walking for a second but I knew that I needed to help her so I immediately turned around. At first she was shy and didn't seem like she was going to talk but then she opened up and I was able to help her with some struggles. I know from being on the other side and having someone come talk to me in the past, how much that means. It is through those little promptings that we are able to really feel God's love and it is so important for us to always have an open heart. The spirit is real, promptings are real, and everyone has the potential to be in instrument in the Lord's hands by serving others. Something else that stuck out to me this week was about happily enduring the end. We hear the phrase "endure to the end" pretty often but I think it would be mean even more with the word "happily" in front of it. It is so crucial to faithfully live the gospel because as we do that, we grow closer to Him and more fully enjoy and appreciate the Atonement of the Savior. We also take upon ourselves more closely that attributes of Christ as our hearts are changed which is something we can continually develop and deepen over a lifetime.
Chad Lewis came this past Tuesday for our devotional and it was so fun to hear from him! I loved that he said "faith is putting your love of Christ into action." I think that is so true. He also talked a lot about loving others and doing our best to see everyone through Heavenly Father's eyes with charity in our hearts. One of my favorite scriptures about charity are Moroni 7:43-48. Chad Lewis served his mission in Taiwan and he said "I know God loves the Chinese people because He made a lot of them." He was for sure an entertaining speaker, but also had an amazing message. He closed by talking about how if there is anyone who has lived on this earth that didn't deserve harm or pain it is the Savior, Jesus Christ, yet He is the only one who paid for our sins and afflictions - and he did so out of LOVE. I think it is hard for us to comprehend how much Heavenly Father loves and cares for us. He wants to help us so much, and we just have to be willing to reach out to Him. I think something that is hard today is that we sometimes feel like asking for help makes us seem weak. I think it is the opposite though, it is so comforting to have the gospel of Jesus Christ to rely on each and every day.
During choir practice this week, the choir director brought one of his students in who is 8 years old and getting baptized soon. Her name is Mia and she has the most amazing voice for an 8 year old that I have ever heard. After she sang, our choir director talked to us about how Heavenly Father sees us all as children and is so happy to give us loving guidance and help us along the way. God is never disappointed in the person who is repenting. He welcomes us back with open arms. Never does he say anything like "what have you done" or "what were you thinking." He will say the opposite. He will say something along the lines of "I've missed you and have been worried about you" as He helps us make any changes we need to make. Change is a good thing and I am so grateful for the Atonement - the reason we can make positive changes. Even more than helping us to make changes, the enabling power of the Atonement helps us stretch our capacities and do more than we ever thought possible. In 1 Nephi 3:7 and in John 15:5, we learn about how with Him, anything is possible, as long as we are faithful. If you haven't already seen the video, The Hope of God's Light (mormon messages 2014), I really recommend it! It is so inspiring and rings true the message about being faithful, how we cannot just expect to see the spiritual light if we are sitting in darkness - in takes an act of FAITH!
During choir practice this week, the choir director brought one of his students in who is 8 years old and getting baptized soon. Her name is Mia and she has the most amazing voice for an 8 year old that I have ever heard. After she sang, our choir director talked to us about how Heavenly Father sees us all as children and is so happy to give us loving guidance and help us along the way. God is never disappointed in the person who is repenting. He welcomes us back with open arms. Never does he say anything like "what have you done" or "what were you thinking." He will say the opposite. He will say something along the lines of "I've missed you and have been worried about you" as He helps us make any changes we need to make. Change is a good thing and I am so grateful for the Atonement - the reason we can make positive changes. Even more than helping us to make changes, the enabling power of the Atonement helps us stretch our capacities and do more than we ever thought possible. In 1 Nephi 3:7 and in John 15:5, we learn about how with Him, anything is possible, as long as we are faithful. If you haven't already seen the video, The Hope of God's Light (mormon messages 2014), I really recommend it! It is so inspiring and rings true the message about being faithful, how we cannot just expect to see the spiritual light if we are sitting in darkness - in takes an act of FAITH!
This week we taught Francsiska, who is really our teacher who plays the role of a gypsy in Hungary. It was eye opening to teach her and I realized how important it is to really connect with people and find out their needs because that is how we can build trust with them and show our sincere love for them. I feel like my Hungarian is getting a lot better with practice and I also know that there is a lot more I have to learn. It blows my mind almost daily, how complicated the language is but I am so grateful for this time I have to learn it. A translation from a Hungarian scripture to English that we learned this week in from Moses 1:39.
In English: 39 For behold, this i
In Hungarian:39 Mert íme, ez munkám és dicsőségem – hogy véghezvigyem az ember halhatatlanságát és örök
Direct translation from Hungarian to English: Because behold this work and glory my that I should complete that people immortality their and eternal their life.
One more funny thing from this week that I just thought of is the spoon incident. Elder Dixon will often stick a spoon from the cafeteria in the suit coat pocket of another one of our Elders, without them being aware, and before they caught on, they would randomly just pull a spoon out of their pocket - it was so funny! I also saw Elder Flandro! I think he has left but it was really awesome to see him. I also saw Elder Russel (a friend from BYU) and saw Sister Wilcox (a friend from Study Abroad this Summer). I was actually there when Sister Wilcox opened her mission call this summer in our hotel room in Austria so it is really awesome to be here with her now, she is going to Hong Kong so she'll be here the whole time I'm here!
I love you all and love hearing from you! Have a great week!
Sok szeretet
tel, Schoendorfer Nővér
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