Sister Hannah Schoendorfer in Hungary: MTC - Week 8 (Nine Days Left at the MTC)

Hi!

It has been another great week here in the MTC, and the time is really starting to fly by. I can't believe I leave in just nine days!

So first things first, we got our FLIGHT PLANS! I will be leaving early in the morning on Monday December 7th (and when I say early I really mean early) as we leave at 3:30 AM, and then we won't arrive in Hungary until noon on Tuesday. I am SO excited!

Another item that I am excited about is that I was informed that I was selected (out of about 2,000 missionaries) to be part of the 40 member choir that is going to sing at the Christmas Devotional on December 4th. I am also the section leader for altos for the choir, which is kind of fun since I've never had that opportunity before. What that basically means is that I help the alto section learn their notes and straighten out parts where we aren't singing correctly. Being a part of the choir has already been such a neat opportunity and I absolutely love the choir director, he is inspiring as well as immensely talented. It is going to be an amazing evening, that I am really looking forward to. We will have approximately five more rehearsals before the performance, so it is also a nice break from the normal every day schedule, every once in awhile.

On Wednesday, I got to Skype with Levente's mom! This was so fun for me! As some of you know, I met some of Levente's family this summer when I visited Hungary, and had such a sweet experience - if you are interested in reading about that, it is on my blog from this summer in the July section - http://hannahslebeninwien.blogspot.com. Anyways, as soon as Sister Medveczky answered the Skype call she started to smile and laugh when she saw that it was me! It was the cutest! I was able to talk to her about faith and enduring to the end. One of my favorite scriptures that I shared with her is in Doctrine & Covenants, which says:

My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall

be but a small moment;

And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.

It was so wonderful to "see" Sister Medveczky again, and it was also fun to see little Álmos again as well, (he is Levente's cute little brother).

Álmos kept running up to the camera and saying "Szia!" (Hi). He even dressed up in all his armor and wanted me to see it. I'm not completely sure if he actually remembered me from my visit this summer, but he is the sweetest little boy!

Yesterday was a really great day, even if it was a little sad not being home on Thanksgiving. In the morning, we were blessed to have Elder Dallin H. Oaks come speak to us. My favorite part of the program was when some of his children and grandchildren preformed the special musical numbers. They played 'Amazing Grace' and 'Oh Divine Redeemer', they were both incredible! His daughter, Jenny Oaks Baker, is an extremely accomplished violinist, it was wonderful to hear her preform as well. Elder Oaks and his family also sang to us which was really sweet, and I can now say that I've been sung to by an Apostle.

After the devotional we had a Thanksgiving Lunch, which was really yummy, and then we watched the movie '17 miracles'. I had never seen this movie before and it was outstanding. I am so grateful for how strong, faithful and brave the pioneers were, and for everything they accomplished. After the movie, we did a Service Project which involved preparing meals for people who don't have enough food. It was really enjoyable, and the organization that came said we made more meals this year than any other year at the MTC, even though we had less people! For dinner we had PB&J sandwiches in our classroom because no one was working on Thanksgiving night. It was fun though, we all went around the room and expressed what we were truly grateful for.

I also learned yesterday not to trust the Albanian Elders (they are a part of our zone) after they told me you could break a banana in half by basically smashing it into your head. Just so you know, it's not true - it doesn't work - so don't try this at home (haha) I guess I'm a little gullible.

We finished the day with a Devotional that I played organ for! The Devotional was entitled "A Gratitude Tribute." We watched several inspiring videos, put out by the church, and had some incredible talents shared by missionaries. There was also a point in the program where they had people recite 'The First Vision' in different languages. The last person to recite it did it in sign language, which I thought was so very special. Playing the organ for the Devotional was a neat experience, and I'm so pleased to say that it went really well. My favorite part of the Devotional came during the closing hymn, which was 'I Believe in Christ', and about halfway through the hymn, all the missionaries started to spontaneously stand up, one by one. The spirit was so strong and powerful.

That is about it for this week. They put Christmas lights up here, so we are all really happy about that. I love you!

Sok szeretettel, Schoendorfer Nővér