Sister Hannah Schoendorfer in Hungary: What I Know For Sure

It's finally starting to get warmer here in Hungary, although this week has still been pretty cold, spring is coming, that's for sure. In the beginning of the week I started re reading the Book of Mormon and when I read one of the verses in 1 Nephi 11 which stood out to me way more than it ever had before. Verse 17 says:

And I said unto him: I know that He loveth his children;

nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.

Wow, that hit me. There are so many things that I don't know, but I do know for sure that I have felt God's love and that He loves each of us so so much.

e had a nice week. In the beginning we went to Klára Néni's again, one of my favorites here in Nyír. We don't try to have favorites hahah, but it happens. She fed us a yummy soup and we had a great talk with her, she is so sweet.

We taught Péter about the word of wisdom this week and it went really well. He was super accepting and so willing to follow it. He rode his bike to church again this past Sunday in his white shirt and tie! He is so awesome! I am so grateful that we are able to teach him and his family, they are so kind to us and make us feel at home when we go over to see them.

We went to Sárika's again this week and helped in her garden some more. She appreciates the help so so much! When we got home afterwards, our electricity went out! We tried to fix it but couldn't figure it out! Luckily our patient neighbor helped us to find what needed to be switched outside the apartment.

We had a palacsinta est this week which was a blast! There weren't a ton of people that came but that ones that came really loved it. Péter came and brought his family! We watched the movie Meet the Mormons and it really went well. Also, Zsuzsa came! She is a girl in her 20s that we have been meeting with. She is so cute! The second time we met with her we were deciding who should say the prayer and she put her hand up and said "Én, én!" (Me, me!) She said a beautiful prayer and the sprit was really strong during the lesson. I am so excited to continue teaching her. She came to church on Sunday and even brought her mom with her! And it was Mother's Day here on Sunday! Boldog Anyák Napot!

We had a zone conference this past week in Miskolc that went really well. We talked about the Book of Mormon and what stood out to me is that it is not proven by man, but proven by God, through the power of the Holy Ghost. The Book of Mormon is unchanging and truly meant for our day, it is proof that God loves us! On our way back from Miskolc we had two people at different times come up to us and say how different it was to see four young adults all sitting together and reading, since none of us have any type of electronics besides the mission phones. They thought it was so neat that we were all reading REAL books or letters hahah it was kind of funny, they were like this is not a normal sight!

We were planning on going to Budapest after the conference but the sisters there were sick so we ended up coming back to Nyír. When we got back we went tracting and I had one of the sweetest, most powerful experiences of my mission when we rang the csengő of a bácsi on the top floor of a ten story apartment building. We rang the csengő and a few moments later György came to the door and almost right away he started sternly asking us all kinds of questions. We would answer and he would just shoot more questions at us as we tried to respond with patience and love. He demanded to know if there really was a God and to know why bad things happen. Then he began to cry, his voice broke and he got out photos to show us of his wife who had died. This man was so broken and so sad, my heart ached for him. He lives alone and told us every night since his wife died, he has cried himself to sleep. We bore our hearts out to this man, who was full of sadness, loniless, and bitterness, about how we know this life is not the end, that he could be reunited with and see his dear wife again. I wanted to help this poor man in any way possible, yet sadly enough, this broken hearted man had allowed bitterness to seep into his soul and destroy his peace. He hopelessly discarded our message and after a long talk on his doorstep, we wished him peace as he shut the door, with his eyes still full of tears. I walked down those stairs to the next floor with tears flowing down my face. Oh how I wanted to just run back and help this man, oh how I ached for him! How I wished I could do something to pull him out of despair if only he were willing. Standing there in that stairwell though, I realized something, I felt something, something strong. I felt Heaven's love, our Father in Heaven's sincere love for us. With the love, sorrow, and hurt I felt for this one man, who was just a stranger to me moments before, I cannot even begin to comprehend the amount of love our Heavenly Father has for each and every one of us. He loves me, He loves all of you, and He loves that man on that top 10th floor so incredibly much. I also felt just a tiny, small part of how our Heavenly Father must grieve and feel sorrow for the heartache of one of his beloved children. My testimony was so strengthed about how all we must do is turn to Him when times are hard, and He will always be there. This life has many trials and tribulations but those things that we all go through are partly to let us choose to turn to Him, to draw closer, and have the opportunity to learn and overcome challenges. I know He is always there - and that is what I know for sure.

Some other of my favorite scriptures this week were Alma 7:11-12 and Doctrine and Covenants 101:32-36. I like the one in Alma because it talks about how the Atonement truly reverses the effects of the Fall, what an incredible blessing. And I like the Doctrine and Covenants passage because one day, Heavenly Father will answer all our questions. I don't know exactly why things happen in this life the way they do, no one knows, but as we stay faithful we will be blessed, and one of those ways we will be blessed is by being able to have our questions answered. I love my Savior and I love being here. Til next week!

Sok

szeretettel, Schoendorfer Nővér