Week 47 - Veszprém

Fresh Nővér's email began with a greeting in Hungarian:

"Boldog Karacsonyt ... majd nem :)" 

[Merry Christmas ... but not yet]  

Transfers: 
"I don’t even know where to begin ... So you all know that I got a new companion, Sister Peterson, but before that I went to transfers on Wednesday. I love transfers because I get to see all my friends, and we only get to go if we get transferred [or our companion does] but luckily I have gotten to go every time. I love it because it’s just so good to see people, go to lunch and just catch up on how the past few weeks have been. It’s funny because in my past life I don’t feel like I am super social or anything, but here I am this totally social person. It’s fun :)  Anyways it was cool because a bunch of my elder friends went zone leader and they are such good missionaries that I know it will be very good for the mission :)"

"My new companion, Sister Peterson, is probably one of the sweetest, most innocent people in the world. I can’t help but just love her. She really, really likes to sing and does all the time, but she is good at it and so I don’t mind! She is from Magna, Utah, is 22 and really nice, and just like really corky ... like kind of a nerd, but I love it! We talk about Lord of the Rings sometimes and Harry Potter. She knows so much about it all. ... I think everything is going well and I am really happy to be with her!"

Peterson Nővér and Fresh Nővér having fun! 

In fairy tales the princess kisses a frog who turns into
a prince ... Maybe they are trying that on fish!

Hungarian:
"Okay, so hmm, I did a bad thing this week and I asked Sister Peterson what she had heard about me. I remember my trainer telling me that our mission was somewhat gossipy because it’s so small and she said that everyone gets a reputation. I told her I would never get one and I didn't want one. Well it happens anyway, and I know my reputation with all my friends and they just think I’m great and funny and cool and like a good mix of missionary and fun, and work and play, but I was interested what she had heard because I don’t really know her and the people she knows are different than the people I know. Anyways ... bad idea! She had heard that I was bad at the language :/ It seriously stinks, because I mean I know I’m not the best and I know that I’m probably behind for my age in the mission, but it stinks to know that other people think that too. Ahahah! But I just had to push it off and just not care because dwelling on it won’t help. I think what I learned most from this is to not care what other people think of you and just rely on God and care what he thinks ... because I might be bad at Hungarian but because of it I pray so much and I feel like my relationship with God and Jesus Christ are so much better ... so yea idk why I wanted to tell you all this but it was just a interesting experience for me."

The Hungarian Keyboard ... it is said to be one of
the hardest languages for English speakers to learn.

"On a brighter note with the language ... Panni called yesterday to just see when we could meet up again and how I was doing. My whole time in Buda and ever since she has only talked to me in English because she thought I didn't know how to speak ... but yesterday she talked to me in only Hungarian :))) and she told me how pretty I sounded and how much I had progressed. It was seriously the most rewarding thing ever and I just love her for it! She is the cutest thing ever and I really want to serve in Kispest someday so I can be in her ward again That was the highlight of my week!"


The Investigators:
Fresh Nővér talked about their "cute" investigators and said that "they are good!" A few of her comments:

"P is the cutest thing ever and came to church again :)  I seriously love him so much and just really want him to be baptized and love the branch and just feel the love from them."

"Z is doing well, she seems a lot happier and healthier. It’s just hard because they are in such a financial bind, but she is cute ... so when we pray with her and have her pray we help her, like in primary :) I helped her this week ... it was so special because I was like helping someone pray in Hungarian and she honestly said most of it on her own. It’s so cool to see progression."


Growing Old:
"Sister Peterson and I were talking and I told her that I am scared to leave the mission because then I have to grow up and face real life, and she told me something I really liked ... 'Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is a matter of choice.' I love that because I really just want to be fun and a kid forever and I can!"

Aimee at 6 months ... all smiles!

Aimee's mission application photos ...
still all smiles!

Week 46 - Veszprém

From Fresh Nővér's email:

"This week is 'Mini Transfers' and so Sister Maxfield is leaving Vesprém and I am getting Sister Peterson. Honestly I am really sad that Maxfield is leaving ... I really love her and have learned a lot from her and wanted to stay together. She is cute and nice and we had a lot of plans for Christmas already. If I have learned anything from my mission it is that life is full of change and sometimes that change isn't what we want at first, but it seems to always be what we need. ... So I am pretty sure it will turn out good and we will have fun together and I will learn and grow from it all :)"

"[Sister] Maxfield and I made a nativity this week out of paper and cardboard ... I made the donkey and a sheep and then a star for our tree. It's really cute! We already started to decorate and all of our presents are under the tree. It's so cute and every night I just stare at my presents and tell her that I want to open them but she won't let me! ahahaha!"

A karácsonyfa!!! ... Our Christmas Tree!!!

"We had a District Meeting this week and our District Leader announced to us that we get 48 hours off for Christmas!!!! I was so excited I might have cried! It's seriously the best gift ever because I can't imagine anything worse than having to tract and like bother everyone while they are having Christmas. So I'm really excited we will get to have a realish Christmas morning and then just spend time with members and have fun!!!! I think we will get to go to Midnight Mass too :)"

"My week was good ... We had 3 investigators in church, which is the craziest thing, especially here in Hungary. Getting people to church is the hardest thing. So our investigators are progressing nicely which is good :)"

"I almost forgot to tell you that we taught Sunday School this past Sunday!!! I was so scared but it went really well! All I can say is I think that teaching in English will be so much easier someday when I have to do that. So, yea, I was kind of proud of us, and I also sing!. Okay, not well, but ... we sang in our lesson. It was crazy and I think I am going to sing in church soon :)" 

A yummy Sunday Dinner!

"I am happy to be a missionary even though it is hard sometimes. I really love Hungary and my life here. July seems too soon right now; I don't really like it Hahaha!"

Sok szeretettel

Fresh nővér

Week 45 - Veszprém

In her email this week Fresh Nővér commented that "it was Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday, so I couldn't help but just find things to be grateful for." She then proceeded to list some of her blessings. Here are a few of them...

"Food:  I ate liver ... I don't know if I told you already, but it was really gross. I ended up just swallowing it whole because it was better than biting it." On a better note ... "We had district meeting and a turkey lunch with the Székes missionaries on Thursday and it was perfect! We had chicken, salad, bread and mashed potatoes with gravy :) I also had McDonalds for dinner so Thanksgiving was a good day!" 

Thanksgiving Day dinner in Hungary!

The missionaries serving in Székesféhervár
 and Veszprém are ready to eat!

"Investigators: First of all because without them we would have to do long hours of finding in the cold... and well we just have some cool ones:) Pál came to church and I think he really will be a member someday soonish ... I really haven't felt like anyone needs the gospel more than him so it's cool teaching him because we can give him what he needs. Tibor is going to be baptized, I feel it! He is super legit and just accepts everything.  We found Viktioria this week and she is super cool and we are really excited about her. ... and all the others too. I'm grateful for them :)"

"Laughing: This is me Hahaha! no matter how much I try and be a serious person I just can't help but laugh through life! This week we were meeting with one of our RCLAs and we were trying to tell them that they spoil us too much but neither of us knew the word for spoil. So we were trying to explain it by saying that people usually call the youngest child this when the parents give them more than the other kids ... Haha! It ended up with all of us just laughing because we had no idea what the other one was saying! Laughing is good :)"

"Languages: We have an investigator from Peru and we are teaching him Hungarian which is interesting. But is the coolest, funniest thing because his English isn't that good and so we just have like 3 languages going on and i just die. Haha! I think its cool though because he sat in on one of our lessons in Hungarian and he had no idea what we talked about and then when he said a prayer in Spanish I had no idea what he said. Languages are just so cool :)  ... and I started learning Spanish..."

"Hola, me llamo hermano Fresh. Soy de California. Tengo vente y dos anos.

Szia, a nevem Fresh nővér. Kaliforniaból jöttem. Huszonkettö éves vagyok.

Hi, my name is sister Fresh. I am from California. I am 22 years old." 

"Ima (Prayer): This week we went on splits with the sister training leaders and as much as I hate splits it was actually really good. I stayed in Vesprém which was the less desirable of the two, and Maxfield got to go to BUDA!!! But anyways I was with Sister Westover ... She talked to me for a long time about prayer and I really liked it because I feel like my prayers are always changing and sometimes they aren't changing in the good way and so it was just a nice reminder to re-evaluate my prayers, and it has been really good :)" 

"Elders: I think they save my life and really help me all the time! For example, there was a giant wasp in our house but it was hiding up in one of our light fixtures and I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep soundly until it was dead. So we called a smart elder friend and he knew just how we could lure the little guy out and well it was pretty dramatic but i am alive and grateful for elders/mission friends that really do become like a family :)"

"and most importantly..."

"YOU: I love you all so much and am so grateful for the love and support and kindness and everything you do for me. I have talked to a lot of people in my mission and it is crazy to me how many people don't have supportive families. I just feel so grateful that I have you all, and that you really are just there cheering me on and think I am cool even though I'm not! So thanks for all you do and I hope all of you know how much I love you and how we are  going to party next thanksgiving when we are together :)"

"Now let the Christmas festivities start :) We set up our tree last night and have a few packages under it too... I think Christmas is the best time to be a missionary because you can just talk about Christ all the time :) It's the best!!!"

Week 44 - Veszprém

Fresh Nővér completed her first whole week in Veszprém and here are some things she had to say about her new area.

The Veszprém Branch:

"There are like 50 people [in the branch] and a lot of them are older ladies or couples, and some families … just a few younger singles but mostly older people. I like it because they think I am cute even when I don’t feel like it. Haha! Most of them have been members for a while, but there are a lot of less actives we work with ... I like this branch, and I think it would have been a good place to be a greenie because no one speaks English with us."

Fresh Nővér with one of the younger
members of the branch who wants to
be a sister missionary!

The Investigators:

'We have a cool new guy ... that we found on Thursday, met with on Saturday, and then he came to church and stayed the whole time.... Getting people to come to church is the hardest and he just came!" Another investigator "is so sad and doesn't believe in God and is just really unhappy, but when we meet with him he is happier. So we met with him and then the next time we went back he was smiling a little and he had cleaned his house and just seemed better. It was cool to see the progression in such a short amount of time." One of the sisters they are teaching is deaf.  "We laugh all the time with her and it is the cutest thing because she can’t hear but just loves us! We are always yelling the lessons. Haha! ... The work is really good here in Veszprém! We teach a lot of people so that is cool :)"

The "we" is Fresh Nővér and 
Maxfield Nővér. It looks like they have 
been out in the rain and are trying to 
catch some on their tongues!

The Weather:

"It is snowing today and has been really cold this week. Oh … and rainy too! One day my boots get wet and they didn't dry in time to wear them the next day. ... And I am covering in bug bites that spread when you scratch them so that is crazy! I am really itchy and have bandaids all over my body. Hahaha! It’s kind of funny but I feel like a gross bug lady! We sprayed bug repellent all over our house so I feel like I am camping! It’s really funny!" [They got the bugs from the home of someone they visited, not from their apartment.]

This week looks like it will be a
lot better ... cold but no rain!

The Apartment:

"The coolest thing ever!!! We have a hot tub spa bath thing, a loft, a deck, and just really cool rooms and stuff. I love it :)"

Their apartment is on a very tiny, windy, 
one-way street. A craft store is on the left 
and their building on the right. 

This is the craft store Kézművesbolt. 

The cute kitchen ... small but colorful!

The view of Veszprém from the apartment balcony.

Thanksgiving in Hungary:
"We are having a District Meeting and Thanksgiving lunch on Thursday :) I’m so so excited … It is my favorite holiday and I’ll be back in Székes and with Broadhead and Butterfield :) plus I'll get to eat good food ... I think we might eat chicken instead [of turkey], but all I really care about is the mashed potatoes :)"

Happy Thanksgiving! ... Boldog hálaadás!

(Thanks to Elder and Sister Felsted for the photos of the outside of the apartment and the craft shop which I copied from their blog.)

Week 43 Photos - Veszprém

This was Fresh Nővér first email from her new area: (no photos from this week so far ... these are from the internet)

Picturesque Veszprém is set in the Bakony Hills 
within the Balaton Uplands, one of the most unspoiled 
and beautiful national parks in Hungary. 

The fire tower is a landmark in Veszprém. It
originally functioned as a watchtower and was later
used for the early detection of fires. 

"Veszprém is really pretty, the smallest city I have served in so far and also the coldest city in the mission.... so it’s cool because I love the cold... not! Haha!  Honestly, I am always cold, but it’s okay.  Oh, and it is also a super windy city too so that makes it colder.  It really is pretty though and very hilly.  My calves have been hurting because I am not used to walking up hills! Our apartment is the coolest apartment ever!!! It is like a couples loft and so we have a tub with jets, a balcony, and a little loft where a ladder pulls down.  I love it, and it will be a fun place to be for Christmas. The members and investigators are so cool :)  I really like the people here. I like this area so far, which is good because I will probably be here for a while."

These are the Margaret ruins ... the remains of
significant early medieval ecclesiastical buildings which
were built for Dominican nuns around 1240.

The church and the monastery were destroyed at the
time of the Turkish Conquest. Today only the foundation
walls and part of the church wall are visible.

There are four missionaries in Veszprém; Fresh Nővér and her companion Maxwell Nővér, as well as two elders. Their district also includes the missionaries from Székesféhervár so she was able to see Broadhead Nővér and Butterfield Nővér when they had their district meeting on Friday. Also on Friday ... "We also had two feeding programs in a row so I was very full at the end. The people were super cute and I loved just talking with them and feeling like I could understand a little more!"

The Castle Gate, also called Heroes’ Gate 
commemorates the Hungarian victims of World War I. 
The building was constructed in 1936.

Saint Michael's Cathedral was founded around 1000 A.D.
and is one of the oldest cathedrals in Hungary.

"On Sunday we went to church, and I really like the ward here! I had to introduce myself and give my testimony in church and so I thought I would write it for you guys :) ...

"Jó napot kívánok. Fresh nővér vagyok. Kaliforniából jöttem. Ida jöttem Magyarországra Maricusban. Előszór szolgáltam Miskolcon, aztán Budán, Székesfehérváron és most itt Veszprémben. Halás vagyok, hogy itt lehetek. Szeretnék tenni a rövid bizonyságom. Tudom, hogy Isten a mi Mennyei atyánk és Ő szeret minket, azért Ő küldet a fiát Jézus Krisztus a földre a Megváltonk lenni. Tudom, hogy az evangélium teljessége vissza lett állítva a földre Joseph Smithen keresztül, és Ő lefordította a Mormon Könyvét. Tudom, hogy ez igaz. Ezeket a dolgokat én mondom Jézus Krisztus neveben, Ámen."

Week 42 Photos - Székesféhervár

This week was bittersweet for Fresh Nővér.  

The sweet:
An investigator committed to a baptism date.
The Elders' had a baptism this week.
There was a "cool" Halloween Party on Saturday.
She said, "We did a lot of really good work together ..."

The bitter:
"... and now I have to leave."
Fresh Nővér thought she staying in Székesféhervár for another transfer, but when the transfer call came she is being transferred to Vesprém.  
"I didn’t say goodbye to anyone because we thought I was staying."

Some of the missionaries and branch members
at the Halloween Party. 

"My costume for the Halloween Party...
scary!" It is a bit hard to tell, but basically
she just painted eyes on her eyelids.
Her eyes are closed for this picture!

It is not Thanksgiving yet, but Fresh Nővér
is ready to dig into this Hungarian feast!

Broadhead Nővér and Fresh Nővér
with the elders investigator Audrey.

Fresh Nővér and Eszter smiling for 
the camera.

Fresh Nővér traded glasses with one of her
favorite branch members!

A little about the new city that Fresh Nővér will be serving in:

• Vesprém is 75 miles southwest of Budapest, 29 miles west of Székesféhervár, where she is serving how, and has a population of about 62,000 people. 
• It is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary and is 9 miles north of Lake Balaton. 
• Veszprém was among the first Hungarian cities to have a university - students studied law and arts here for several centuries. The university was destroyed by fire in 1276, and it became a university town again in the 20th century.
• It also had an important religious role during the struggle to make Christianity the official religion of Hungary - Stephen I of Hungary defeated the armies of his chief opponent, Koppány, near Veszprém.

A photo of the castle district of Vesprém.

Week 41 Photos - Székesféhervár

From Fresh Nővér's email::

"So this week was crazy also! We went to Budapest twice :) The first time was on Thursday for Zone Conference and then again on Friday for Kriszti’s baptism." 

"Zone Conference was so cool ... mostly because I got to see all of my friends and also because the speaker was really good.  ... We just talked about missionary work and how we can better find people, and the Seventy, Elder Texeira, said something I really liked: "It's not about numbers, it's about the difference you are making within yourself and others." Sometimes I think we focus too much on just the numbers and not the actual people. It kind of drives me crazy, so I just loved what he said because that is what I try to do as a missionary… making a difference and helping people, not because I want recognition or the president to like me more, but for the people."

"His wife also spoke to us and challenged us to all start reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning and finish it by the end of the year. Sister Broadhead and I accepted the challenge and we are reading 4 chapters a day. Haha! It is kind of a lot but we have the time, I mean … we are missionaries! We also decided that after we finish reading the Book of Mormon for this challenge we are going to read it in Hungarian before the end of our missions!!!! That will be like 6 months to read it but it’s in Hungarian so.... it’s hard! Anyway, if anyone is in a slump with Book of Mormon reading you can hop on with the missionaries here in Hungary and try and finish it before the end of the year :)"

The Hungarian Book of Mormon

Then on Friday we got permission to come back up to Budapest for Kriszti’s baptism!!!!! We went home at like 7 pm on Thursday night from Zone Conference and then got up the next morning and went back to Budapest … it was crazy, but so worth it!!! Kriszti is a sister I taught the 3 transfers I was in Buda. ... I love her so much and she is my first investigator to be baptized :) The baptism was so special and I don’t actually know why but it was so different than any other baptism I have been too. I guess it is because I felt so close to her and had helped her a little bit to get to that point. It  is the coolest think seeing someone that you taught get baptized!!!!… Made my whole mission worth it, even though it is worth it without baptisms!"

Kriszti and Fresh Nővér ... "She is the 
cutest, coolest, sweetest lady ever!"

Perkins Nővér, Butterfield Nővér , Kriszti,???
Fresh Nővér, and Westover Nővér  

Kriszti after her baptism with the sister missionaries 
and Panni, her best friend!

Fresh Nővér and Panni at the 
baptism ... you can tell they are happy 
to see each other!

"Those were the significant big things for my week, but on Wednesday we carved pumpkins with a few investigators and that was really fun because they had never carved pumpkins before. Also, Broadhead Nővér and I got in a pumpkin gut throwing war which I started, of course :) It’s just so fun to throw stuff at each other, like popcorn... that happened the other day too :)"

The pumpkin carvers showing off their talents!

They look even better when they are all lit
up and ready for Halloween Night!

This week I asked Fresh Nővér a little bit about the branch in Székesféhervár and this is what she said:  It meets in "a rented space in like a business building. There are about 35 to 40 people a week... a lot of kids :) The cutest primary! ... The ward is cool!"

 This is Richie one of "the coolest" branch members.
He is from England!

A few parting words:

"So this is a weird thought, but the other day, Broadhead Nővér just kind of zoned out and I asked her what she was doing. She said, “Practicing my homecoming testimony.” I just looked at her and was like “Dude you don’t go home for 9 months.” ... but then it got me thinking about standing in front of everyone at home and like giving a talk and it didn't scare me like it used to! Maybe because it would be in English and that is the easiest thing in the world, or maybe because I am a spiritual giant … which I am not … or idk but this thought just made me happy and I feel like I have progressed. I mean I’m not a perfect person or a perfect missionary and I have a lot of work to do and will be doing it forever, but I am just grateful for my mission and how it has helped to change me in really good ways :) And, I am still me though, that’s the coolest thing! :) "