Week #13: The Lord Labors WITH Us In Our Vineyards

 

This week has been a huge change for me. I've had to learn how to do a lot of things on my own. It has been uncomfortable! I've had to stretch myself out of my comfort zone. It's frustrating not to be able to speak to people as well as I want to. It's difficult to try and change people's minds when they don't want to be changed. Change is just uncomfortable. It's hard! But I read in the Book of Mormon Jacob chapter 5 yesterday. The Lord and his servants are in the vineyard. Trees are dying and the Lord knows something must be done about it if the trees are to be saved. In verse 61 he says, "go to and call servants that we may labor diligently with our might in the vineyard that we may prepare the way and bring forth the natural fruit.... which is most precious above all other fruit, wherefore let us go to and labor with all our might this last time." This is where the work came in and the CHANGE. It wasn't easy or probably very comfortable to dig out those dying branches. To clear and sweep away the bad. But change had to be made in order for the garden to become better. So they labored with all their might, WITH the lord. In the end of the chapter, after the branches have been cleared and the natural fruit is brought forth the Lord says " you will have joy WITH me" He doesn't just say " I will rejoice, or to go clear away all the branches by yourselves." The lord promises to work WITH us and in the end rejoice WITH us! I love that. Because it's hard not to feel like we are doing this work alone. God promises us that he will be with us as we work diligently and then we will get to rejoice with him. I'm so grateful I can depend on the Lord when things are hard. If you are reading this, know that I believe in God. I not only believe he exists, but that he also loves us and is willing to help us change and become better. He is with us every step of the way. 

My trainee is so cool! She is from Oregon and went to BYU for a year before her mission like me so we are almost the same age. She is majoring in math and is szuuper smart! She's also amazing at the piano which is a huge blessing because now our ward will call on us at random to sing and play the piano. She's awesome and I have a feeling I'm going to learn more from her than she may learn from me. She has a very authentic personality. Always just being herself in life and on social media which I think is so cool. 

Before I picked up my trainee I had to spend a couple days in between different companionships since mine went home

 :((( We got to go to the Christmas markets and Budapest and sang at a funeral. We also attended a YSA activity in a different city where we played a game of charades and explaining a word and everyone had to guess it. It was so fun but hilarious at my level of Hungarian. 

Our landlord gave us a gift basket!! Haha he had to drop off a new pair of keys and he brought them over in a gift basket. He also threw in thew the gift basket a while bottle of wine, alcoholic cherry chocolates, and a big pack of cappuccino Milka hot chocolate . Unfortunately we can only eat the candy he put at the bottom, but we truly appreciated his kindness. 

I saw Elder Ethan Caine!! Lets gooooo Olympus!!

BOLDOG KARÁCSONYT!! (Merry Christmas! 

Pday in Győr at the Christmas Market. This man is making Kurtoskalacs: A Hungarian pastry cooked over open coals...one of the oldest Hungarian pastries.