Week 43: One Year as a Missionary!!

 

Whatttt! Tomorrow I hit my year mark! Absolutely crazy. I wish I could put unto a sentence all the feelings and experiences I've had, but I just can't. It is sufficient to say that God has played a major role in my life, and I have learned how to trust him more. 

Many many miracles this week. "A" was manna from heaven!! My companion followed her on facebook from a Christian group. They started messaging and my comp invited her to church. She is baptist, but has never felt like she has found her place. She asked if we could meet before church just so she knew what it'd be like. We met her on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday! She stayed for both hours in church. A couple hours after church ended we texted her to make sure she got home OK. She told us she was STILL at the metro stop and she had been reading the Book of Mormon for the past 3 hours!! She called it beautiful and is also really into family history. God is preparing people. 

Our Chapel in Budapest

My companion and I have also grown significantly closer to our members. After playing guitar in church, it gave them something to talk to us about. We even started teaching the bishops wife's daughter. We had dinner with them and got so close to their family. 

Finally, my family had a family home evening call with a Hungarian family here! It was my dad's idea and it turned out so well. We sang, heard a spiritual thought from come follow me presented by my cousins, and shared personal experiences. It uplifted and inspired both families. 

My quick spiritual thought is that our problems can be our solutions. My companion and I were presented with a situation I initially saw as a roadblock. I have been serving in my area for quite a bit, and I have yet to have a real connection with the bishopric. They were friendly, but seemed somewhat partial to letting us in. There was some awkwardness between us because past missionaries had lost a really important key to the building. I was so frustrated at the situation, that the actions of other before me effected our situation. But we told the first counselor we would stop at nothing to find the key. We asked everyone, upturned our apartment, and finally found it. We proudly presented it to the first counselor and he was so happy! This past week he expressed to us how much it meant to him that we took this seriously and didn't just brush it aside. It meant a lot to him and built trust. While it may sound silly, I learned that my trial was just the thing I needed to prove ourselves. This situation gave us and opportunity to show that we cared. It bonded us, and tested us. It's just like that video with the wood and the truck. Our "trial" propelled us forward!

I took a nap under the table because I was soooo tired.

PDAY PHOTOS..... SOCCER, BASKETBALL & PIZZA