Hello from Nyíregyháza!

​I hope you have all had a great week. This past week here we did more work in Sárika's garden! She is so very grateful for the help and we had fun doing it, and I found a snail!​

 

​I also met with Dani again and worked with him on piano lessons. It is rather challenging teaching him because he has such a short little attention span, but it's good for my learning patience. We spent time this week trying to visit many more members as well as getting to know them which was very beneficial. ​One of the best experiences this week was when we were invited into the home of a néni and bácsi. They were so kind and also really accepting of our message. We weren't able to stay for too long, but we taught a really great lesson. When were we getting up to leave this bácsi was running all around the apartment trying to find their cat to show to us. He was finally successful, but it was funny watching him run around the apartment trying to catch this little cat, oh my. 

We visited Péter and his family again this week and brought Jelena with us. It was another really great lesson with them and I just love that family so much! They are rather busy with school and work right now, but when we are able to sit down with them for just a little bit and teach about the gospel, it is so incredible. I also thought it was so amazing that we had two American girls, a Ukrainian (Jelena is from Ukraine) and this Hungarian family and we were all able to talk about the blessings of this gospel and the spirit was so strong. I love it! Also afterwards, Péter took us to a beautiful lake!! Jarrett Nővér and I even went running there the next morning. So peaceful and nice; this is a beautiful country. 

Also this week was Nyíregyházi Nap, the belváros was full the whole day and they had moon bounces and little stands set up everywhere. It looked like a lot of fun! 

On Saturday there was a Relief Society activity that went really well. Valika (the Relief Society Pres.) does so much and is such a great example to me of working hard, as well as how much love she has for everyone! She made a mason jar for each sister which had little quotes inside, because she is all about making every day into a great day! 

Also a fun fact for this week is that we read that on average, children laugh 400 times a day while adults laugh about 15 times per day! So our goal for the upcoming week is to laugh more!  

My favorite scripture from the week is from 1 John 4, verses 7-9 and 18-21: 

7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and

​ ​

every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

8 He that loveth not,

​ ​

knoweth not God; for God is love.

9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us ,because that God sent his only begotten Son into the

​ ​

world, that we might live through him.

18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth

​ ​

out fear: because fear hath torment. He that

​ ​

feareth is not

​ ​

made perfect in love.

19 We love him, because he first loved us.

20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a

​ ​

liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen,

​ ​

how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

21 And this commandment have we from him, That he

​ ​

who loveth God love his brother also.

It truly is all about love! If we love others, we will be happy! Have a great week! Sending my love from Hungary!

​Sok ​

szeretettel, Schoendorfer Nővér

Spring in Hungary 

My little csiga friend

Sarika's garden

A beautiful lake that Peter took us to.

Hannah and Jelena (the Branch President's mom)

Almost a full moon.

Market at Nyiregyhazi Nap with fountains.

Look mom, I'm wearing sunscreen.

Nyireghazi Nap

Two of my favorite people from the Branch, Kristof and Ime

Another Great Week in Nyiregyhaza!

It's been another awesome week here. We lost Roberts Elder (he was transferred) so our district is a little different now that Lee Elder has joined us! He is from Orange County, CA and he's great. Jarrett Nővér and I are stocked to be staying together and we made a bunch of new goals together so it should be a very productive transfer. At gyüli est this week it was so fun for me to see how excited the branch members were about me staying. I have SO much love for the members here!     

One of my favorite people that we talked to this week was a bácsi out in the middle of a really rural area where we were tracting. I don't know what it was about him, but as soon as we started talking to him I just felt like I had so much love for him! I think he must have had a stroke or something because his whole mouth didn't move when he talked and it was nearly impossible to understand him but I was able to bear simple testimony and he accepted a Book of Mormon. Sometimes I think about it, and the things we do are often just small actions but I really know that the work we are doing matters and that there are people here for me to help. 

We met with Péter twice this past week and he is doing great! These next few months coming up are the busiest month for bee keepers so he is super busy but he is still really making great progress. He makes us dinner almost every time we go over because he says he just likes cooking and finds time to do it for us, so sweet! Also his wife, Angélla has been reading from the children's Book of Mormon to their kids, Viki and Peti, each night! She talked with us about how it is easier to understand and they love the stories. Angélla really is so supportive and a little bit more interested each time we visit. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to teach their family. They have really welcomed us in and I am so grateful that I am able to be there to help them draw closer to the Savior and feel His love for them. We read the Family Proclamation to the World with them this week and talked about eternal families and it was so amazing. Péter was so happy to hear that his family can live together forever and that his marriage can be an eternal one. The other evening when we visited, we talked about Lehi's dream and how it applies to us in our day. Sometimes it might feel like we are in a mist of darkness but our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the gospel is always there to guide us home. 

We did a lot of work outside this week. We helped Sárika hoe her garden which is the biggest garden I have ever seen! It was a lot of work but also so fun! Later  on the same day we went to another member's house, named Kornel. We helped paint a ton of boards again that he is using to make a fence. We also made lasagna from scratch with him which was awesome. Kornel is still basically building the house he is living in. He has little unfinished projects everywhere you look. 

Also we met a girl in her 20s this week named Zsuzsa. She just came to English class and asked to meet with us the next day! We had a really awesome lesson with her and I am so excited to meet with her again. 

While we were tracting the other day, we were standing at the very last apartment door of the buidling and while we were ringing the csengő, someone who was standing there waiting for the elevator told us, "a really old néni lives there," and sure enough, there she was - as Jarrett likes to say - in all her four foot glory. She was so tiny and cute! She quickly invited us in to tell us her life story. We read a scripture with her and she loved when we prayed and went on to tell us more stories. We nicely tried to leave, because we were already late to another lesson, but then she brought out the who-knows-how-old tin of cookies and some juice to slow us down. She told us more stories without delay and did everything to try and get us to stay. She was adorable and we felt so bad leaving but we finally made a polite escape. She told us to come back any time and read to her from our book. 

We were able to go over to Valika's again this week and meet with Néomi, her cute granddaughter. We watched the restoration film with them which they loved and had a great talk. The whole time we were there, their dog, named Mimi, was laying by me with her head on my lap and even started snoring as I was petting her! So adorable! Valika was also so cute as she told me she had a feeling that I wasn't going to leave at the transfer. She said I just knew that you would stay a little longer, mostly because I was hoping you would. It was actually a really neat experience for me at Valika's because as I shared my testimony about Joseph Smith I felt like I knew exactly what to say. I talked about how the world was confusing for Joseph Smith, how he had people/religions all around him telling him to pay attention here, or there. But as Joseph turned to the Lord, he found peace and God answered his sincere prayers. I know that we also need to turn Him, because this world is still confusing at times and there are so many things to distract us. But, I know that because of the gospel of Jesus Christ there is a way that leads to eternal happiness and we can also be happy right now, in this life. 

That's about it for the week, my favorite scripture from the week in Ether 12:4. 

Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with

 ​ ​

 surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the

 ​ ​

 right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an

 ​ ​

 anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure

 ​ ​

 and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led

​ ​

 to glorify God.

​

Have a great week! Sending lots of love from Hungary!

Sok​

  szeretettel, Schoendorfer Nővér

First District Photo with Roberts Elder

Peter's son, Peti, taught us how they used to write Hungarian anciently. That's my name, read
from right to left.

Katolikus templom, Nyiregyhaza

I finally bought a snack for Bobbie and got to meet the owner

Welcome to Nyiregyhaza, Lee Elder

Another Great Week in Nyiregyhaza!

It's been another awesome week here. We lost Roberts Elder (he was transferred) so our district is a little different now that Lee Elder has joined us! He is from Orange County, CA and he's great. Jarrett Nővér and I are stocked to be staying together and we made a bunch of new goals together so it should be a very productive transfer. At gyüli est this week it was so fun for me to see how excited the branch members were about me staying. I have SO much love for the members here!     

One of my favorite people that we talked to this week was a bácsi out in the middle of a really rural area where we were tracting. I don't know what it was about him, but as soon as we started talking to him I just felt like I had so much love for him! I think he must have had a stroke or something because his whole mouth didn't move when he talked and it was nearly impossible to understand him but I was able to bear simple testimony and he accepted a Book of Mormon. Sometimes I think about it, and the things we do are often just small actions but I really know that the work we are doing matters and that there are people here for me to help. 

We met with Péter twice this past week and he is doing great! These next few months coming up are the busiest month for bee keepers so he is super busy but he is still really making great progress. He makes us dinner almost every time we go over because he says he just likes cooking and finds time to do it for us, so sweet! Also his wife, Angélla has been reading from the children's Book of Mormon to their kids, Viki and Peti, each night! She talked with us about how it is easier to understand and they love the stories. Angélla really is so supportive and a little bit more interested each time we visit. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to teach their family. They have really welcomed us in and I am so grateful that I am able to be there to help them draw closer to the Savior and feel His love for them. We read the Family Proclamation to the World with them this week and talked about eternal families and it was so amazing. Péter was so happy to hear that his family can live together forever and that his marriage can be an eternal one. The other evening when we visited, we talked about Lehi's dream and how it applies to us in our day. Sometimes it might feel like we are in a mist of darkness but our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the gospel is always there to guide us home. 

We did a lot of work outside this week. We helped Sárika hoe her garden which is the biggest garden I have ever seen! It was a lot of work but also so fun! Later  on the same day we went to another member's house, named Kornel. We helped paint a ton of boards again that he is using to make a fence. We also made lasagna from scratch with him which was awesome. Kornel is still basically building the house he is living in. He has little unfinished projects everywhere you look. 

Also we met a girl in her 20s this week named Zsuzsa. She just came to English class and asked to meet with us the next day! We had a really awesome lesson with her and I am so excited to meet with her again. 

While we were tracting the other day, we were standing at the very last apartment door of the buidling and while we were ringing the csengő, someone who was standing there waiting for the elevator told us, "a really old néni lives there," and sure enough, there she was - as Jarrett likes to say - in all her four foot glory. She was so tiny and cute! She quickly invited us in to tell us her life story. We read a scripture with her and she loved when we prayed and went on to tell us more stories. We nicely tried to leave, because we were already late to another lesson, but then she brought out the who-knows-how-old tin of cookies and some juice to slow us down. She told us more stories without delay and did everything to try and get us to stay. She was adorable and we felt so bad leaving but we finally made a polite escape. She told us to come back any time and read to her from our book. 

We were able to go over to Valika's again this week and meet with Néomi, her cute granddaughter. We watched the restoration film with them which they loved and had a great talk. The whole time we were there, their dog, named Mimi, was laying by me with her head on my lap and even started snoring as I was petting her! So adorable! Valika was also so cute as she told me she had a feeling that I wasn't going to leave at the transfer. She said I just knew that you would stay a little longer, mostly because I was hoping you would. It was actually a really neat experience for me at Valika's because as I shared my testimony about Joseph Smith I felt like I knew exactly what to say. I talked about how the world was confusing for Joseph Smith, how he had people/religions all around him telling him to pay attention here, or there. But as Joseph turned to the Lord, he found peace and God answered his sincere prayers. I know that we also need to turn Him, because this world is still confusing at times and there are so many things to distract us. But, I know that because of the gospel of Jesus Christ there is a way that leads to eternal happiness and we can also be happy right now, in this life. 

That's about it for the week, my favorite scripture from the week in Ether 12:4. 

Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with

​ ​

surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the

​ ​

right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an

​ ​

anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure

​ ​

and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led

​ ​

to glorify God.

​

Have a great week! Sending lots of love from Hungary!

Sok​

 szeretettel, Schoendorfer Nővér

First District Photo with Roberts Elder

Peter's son, Peti, taught us how they used to write Hungarian anciently. That's my name, read
from right to left.

Katolikus templom, Nyiregyhaza

I finally bought a snack for Bobbie and got to meet the owner

Welcome to Nyiregyhaza, Lee Elder

Surprise.....I'm staying in Nyiregyhaza!

So, I'm staying in Nyíregyháza! I am so excited! I was thinking that I might leave but I'm staying here with Jarrett Nővér and we are excited to stay together, I love her! It has been a great week for us. We visited many members and had a busy week! We had lunch with Jutka Néni who is just adorable. We had visited her once before and every time she asks us what we want her to make and we just tell her to surprise us! She's so fun! We also went to Klára's again and she is also so cute. She said her secret to good food is love, haha so adorable! 

The weather is for sure getting warmer and it felt good to be out in the sun. But I think soon I will regret saying that when it gets blazing hot, but for right now we are loving it! A few days ago we went and did some service at a member's house and painted probably 40 boards that he is going to be using to make a fence and the Elders worked on pouring concrete! It was really fun to just be outside in the nice weather and provide service. Jarrett and I also taught Gyüli est this week which was wonderful, I really love the members here and I'm excited to spend more time with them and help strengthen them. It is a pretty small branch but the members are great. 

We had interviews last week, which I always enjoy and we went to Miskolc for that. Our Mission President is so compassionate and really listens to what we have to saw, he truly cares about us, and the mission, and loves us, you can really feel it. We were able to go out to dinner with him and his wife, and also the Miskolc District which was so awesome! They took us out to dinner because we completed a mission wide challenge, it was so fun! After dinner we had the weirdest time getting back to Nyíregyháza. We bought our tickets like normal but then on the train, a worker came and told us there was a problem and the train wouldn't be going all the way to Nyíregyháza, so we had to get off kind of far away and take a bus. It was the bumpiest bus ride of my life! Haha it seriously felt like a roller coaster! The whole bus was super dark and there was also a lightening storm so every few seconds the whole bus would light up because of the lightening. We finally arrived safely back to Nyír. Actually, as soon as we got back to Nyír, we were waiting at another bus stop to go home and ran into someone I was only able to meet twice last transfer, her name is Enikő. She is super sweet and we were able to finally set up an appointment to meet with her, despite her incredibly busy schedule. I hope we can start to meet with her on a normal basis and teach both her and her brother again.

We met with Péter twice this past week and it was great. We talked about the blessings of tithing and fasting with him and it went really well. He talked about how busy he is in May (he is a beekeeper and I guess May is the busiest month for that) so for now he has a baptism date of June 4th! We are excited to continue teaching him and I hope we can also start meeting with his entire family more too, they are all so amazing! 

This week we went to Izabella's for the last time. They live in the Elder's area and we were able to continue teaching them for as long as we did because Izabella was getting baptized. Iza and Viktor are still doing great and we had such an amazing lesson with them. We brought the Elders and we read out of the Joseph Smith History with them which was super great. Iza talked about how she recently received an answer that the Book of Mormon is true! So exciting! They still have a lot of things they are trying to figure out with Viktor and his papers but they are doing just great! It was honestly super hard for me because I love going to Izabella's and teaching both her and her family, but I know the Elders will take good care of them and that I will still see them at church and branch activities. Izabella will always hold a special place in my heart. Each time I see her I can feel that her testimony just continues to grow stronger and stronger, she is so so sweet. 

Also, this week I came across a few experiences that President Gordon B. Hinckley had in his life and I just love learning more about him and the many hearts he touched. He truly was an amazing Prophet. He wrote about the north star and how he learned about the steadiness of it. While millions of other stars seem to swirl around it, the north star is always there, fixed in it's place. It is a constant reminder that we will never get lost if we know where to look. That is just like the gospel, if we just stay centered on Christ and remember that our Heavenly Father loves us so much, things will work out, even as the world is swirling around us. President Hinckley also talked about how we should always do what we are afraid to do. I love that! There are a lot of things that scare me but as I put my trust in God, I know I can do things that may seem impossible! I know that is true for all of us and we work to build our faith. Hope you all have a happy week!

​Sok​

 szeretettel, Schoendorfer Nővér

Right after interviews in Miskolc

We had fun riding first class on our way to interviews. But, the train ride back was crazy, the train stopped half way through, we then switched to a bus for the craziest ride home ever in the middle of a lightening storm.

Our fridge right before transfers, when you are not sure if your staying in the area or leaving.

Our crazy Elders!

We had a great time hiking on our P-day!

Elephants outside our window!

H​ey! It has been another great week! The time is flying by, really! I cannot believe that in just one week we will be getting transfer calls. It is kind of sad because I feel like each and every day I just get to know the people here better and come to love them more and more!! I know there are other people here in this country that I need to meet as well though, so I am prepared to go wherever I am needed, but it will still be hard. Earlier this week was a bit slow, but like always, it picked up. We got to visit with Klára Néni and also with her granddaughter Dzsen, who is around 16 years old. Klára has such a strong radiating testimony and it was so great to visit with them. Jarrett Nővér and I also tracted an apartment building this week that had 190 apartments!! It was one of the strangest buildings ever, but we have some families that we are going to come back and visit sometime. 

One of the most exciting things from this week was our lesson with Péter and his family!! I absolutely LOVE that family!! Péter made us dinner and dessert, again! He is too nice! We talked with him more about the restoration and tied it in with the priesthood which went super well. He had great questions and so did his wife, who has been getting more involved with each visit. I asked Péter if he felt that this gospel is true, and would he be baptized and he said YES! His wife and kids have still been going to a different church each week because the kids go to that church's school and the daughter is actually getting confirmed there soon but said they would be able to come with Péter to our church later. They also have a super soft cat that they call Rüfi! We all had a lot of fun watching the cat play fetch with the little son, whose name is also Péter. They call him kis (small) Péter! They are such a fun family and it has been so amazing getting to know them. Péter is a bee keeper and this week he actually got stung and his hand was super swollen - poor guy, but the honey is the best here! 

So there is a circus in town and I'm pretty sure we saw it actually coming to town! Ha! We were about to leave for the day and I looked outside the window and there was a band, dancers, camels, zebras, and elephants (with a guy standing on top!) walking down the street, right outside our apartment window! So fun! Shortly after we left we were sitting on a bench at a bus stop were I talked to the sweet bácsi next to me. It all started with me asking "Hogy tetszik lenni?" (literally: how does it please you to be - formal way of asking older people how they are doing). Before even mentioning it, he asked about the book we had, which was the Book of Mormon. We were able to teach him just there at a bus stop and invite him to church. He promised to read the whole thing and was so happy to talk to us. It amazes me that is just a few moments, I am able to get to know people on a personal level, in another language, when just moments before they were a stranger to me. I love it! 

Last week Jarrett Nővér hit her YEAR MARK! And this week I hit my SIX MONTH MARK! So crazy, it still feels like I just got here, I can't believe I've been a missionary for six months now, and it has been the best 6 months ever!! We celebrated by getting ice cream - there are ice cream places popping up all over the city like popcorn! I seriously think there were 5 new ones just over night! 

We had a really fun Sport Nap this week, we played soccer and had some new people join us. There was a little boy named Zsolt, probably around 7 years old, and man was he a superstar! After he made a goal, he did the cutest little dance! I loved it! 

We got to watch General Conference this weekend (in Hungarian) which was great, although I am sure I will get more out of it when I read it in English next month. It was a challenge, watching it in Hungarian, but still great. It's kind of funny because we would hear it start in english and think "wow, I bet this is going to be a good story!" and then the voice over would start in Hungarian! After one of the sessions on Sunday, we went tracting and had one of the neatest experiences. We were csengő-ing outside an apartment building and no one was answering. The last one was a woman named Margít who told us to come right up! She met with the missionaries about 7 or 8 years ago where she lived in a different city and she was so happy to see us! We found her! I really felt the spirit during the lesson and it was also a huge testimony to me that the gift of tongues is so real. I knew exactly what to say to her and was able to understand everything she said. She cried as she spoke, she told us that she had been at the hospital all morning with her sister who is sick and staying at the hospital right now. The only reason Margít was home at that time was because she needed to run a quick load of laundry and then she was headed right back to the hospital to be with her sister. I know it wasn't by coincidence that we got to meet with her and that we needed to be there at that time. I hope we will get to meet with her again soon. We also laughed together because on her couch she had a little stuffed animal hedgehog and I told her about how I often have to tell people to just call me Sűni Nővér, because they have a super hard time pronouncing Schoendorfer. She thought it was hilarious! Again, I am so grateful to get to know people on such a personal level in such a short period of time.  

I hope you all had a fantastic week and are doing well! Some thoughts that I have from conference that really helped me are that in order to be humble, we need to develop a habit of saying grateful prayers. Also, charity, the pure love of Christ, is so so key to happiness! The saying is true - "charity never faileth!" I loved the quote by Abraham Lincoln that was shared, which is "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." I think that is so powerful. And lastly I love this phrase which I heard more than once during conference, so simple, "Senki nem jár  egyedül." (Nobody walks alone). I truly know that we are never alone. I am so grateful for this gospel and for a loving Heavenly Father that loves me, and all of you. 

Also a shout out to my cute friend Jessi who is on a study abroad in Ukraine right now and opened her mission call this past week. She has been called to serve in the Ukraine Dnepropetrovsk Mission! She will soon return to an area nearby where she has been living recently - so excited for her, good luck Jessi!

​

Sok ​

szeretettel, Schoendorfer Nővér

Nover Jarrett hit 12 month mark last week, and this week I hit the 6 month mark! Best 6 months ever!!!

A circus came to town right outside our apartment!

Tracting in a building that had 190 apartments!

My zoo map went through a lot today hahaha, first a monkey grabbed it out of my hands (there are even monkey scratch marks on it) and then I let the emu take a bite out of it -- we love the zoo on P-day!

Feeding the lemurs at the zoo today