Week 65 - Győr

"Boldog Húsvét!!! [Happy Easter!]  Since it was Easter on Sunday I had to email today instead of Monday. Hungary is great ... both Sunday and Monday are holidays, but that meant that nowhere was open to email. Also, almost everything is closed all weekend long due to the holiday and because of that I can almost guarantee that everyone had a better Easter meal than me.  This is the story ... I ran out of food on Saturday and all I had was some frozen peas and popcorn. Haha! My Easter dinner was a bag of microwave popcorn and pea soup! Super good :)  It is okay because today we went shopping and I bought so much food I will never go 'hungary' again!"



"Okay ... so now for my week:"

"We did finding ALOT and it was good! I just like talking, so we just talk all the time while we find which makes it more fun :)

Beautiful Győr ... Where Fresh Nővér spent her
second Easter in the mission field and did a lot of
finding this week!

"Other than finding we had some really great and fun experiences!"

"On Wednesday we went to someplace that was like an old folks rest home, but they weren't really that old just mentally handicapped. While we were there we sang songs for them and then they sang songs for us. We danced and also went on a walk. We basically all just shared our talents and so somehow they got me to show them a cheer. It was fun! The sad thing is I can only remember like two cheers, but it was cool. One of the guys really liked me and hung around me the whole time ... It was cute. He asked if I would come back and if I could email him. Haha! This was a really cool service project :)"

Fresh Nővér's and her friend
from the rest home.

"This week and every week here in Győr we have a young adult night and also a sports day. I love both of these activities because I love the young adults and I love to have fun, so it's like the best! We played Heads-up, Seven-up and Duck, Duck, Goose this week.  Duck, Duck, Goose was so funny because people were diving all over the place and slipping. The sisters were wearing skirts so it was extra exciting for us.  On sports day we always play soccer and I just love soccer :)  It's like my new favorite thing. I am not good at all, and I am actually scared of the ball, but I like to play defense and run after the ball!"

"As I mentioned before it was Easter on Sunday, and I was asked to lead the music in church. It was a disaster! The first song was unfamiliar and no one was singing. Then, I forgot to go up for the second one and they were all waiting for me. The third song was a special musical number so I thought that meant I didn't need to go up, but I guess I was supposed to so that was kind of exciting. The last song went well, so at least I finished off strong. I'm pretty sure they will never ask me to lead again! We had 3 programs set up on Easter but all of them canceled so that is how I ended up eating popcorn and pea soup for dinner!"

"Monday was the real Easter celebration :)  It was p-day minus emailing, but the elders suprised us and came over to where we live and then invited us to come down so the could locsolni us. This means they spray you with perfume and say a poem, and then afterwards you give them chocolate. The catch is that the boys usually spray the girls with a tons of water too. So we came down, already expecting the worst, and there were like 15 guys there. They made us stand in the middle of them and they sang some songs and then sprayed us with water. It was honestly kind of funny, and they didn't get us that wet so it was not as bad as I was expecting. Afterwards, though, they said the poems and sprayed us with perfume... so stinky! It was cute :)"

 "Back in the day, the peasant of Hungary used to douse fair
maidens with buckets of water on Easter Monday." (Google)


"Later that day we all went over to the house of a girl from the ward, had a barbecue, played soccer, and just had fun ... it was so perfect. The boys tried to get us wet again. :) They did get a few of the girls but not me, and we got them back so it was fun! All in all, it was a really great Easter and one of my favorite p-days too!"

Sissy (the girl whose house they
were at) and Fresh Nővér didn't 
plan it, but they match!

"Sorry this email is kind of all over the place but that's life as a missionary. You just take what comes and make the best of it :)"

"sok szeretettel
Fresh nővér"

Week 64 - Győr

Last week Sister Fresh said good-bye to Sister Peterson and Dunaújváros, and hello to her new city Győr. "Our last night in Duna the elders made us a going away cake ... it turned into a cake fight, well mostly me throwing cake at Elder Seegmiller because he threw a tiny piece at me. It was so funny! I really do miss Duna ... Győr is so big!!!"

Eating cake with the Elders ...

Fresh Nővér and Peterson Nővér
before they left Dunaújváros.

"Győr is my new city, and it's really pretty. I was just amazed the first day and every few minutes I said, 'Wow! It's so pretty.' It might be because it really is pretty or because I came from one of the industrial cities, but it is great. We live in the Belváros, which is like the city center and where all the cute cobble stone streets and little shops are. There is also a cute river near our house that we go running by in the mornings. It is kind of dreamy ... I feel like I could live here later in life!"

These photos are of the Belváros Area in Győr.

Győr is in the northwest corner of Hungary and
has been described as being halfway between
Budapest and Vienna, Austria.

"My companions are both from Salt Lake and are really nice. It is kind of a weird situation though because they were already serving together and I just kind of got plopped in!  Sister Westover and I are only 6 weeks apart in the mission and so we are on the same level, but then Sister Erlandson is really new, she just got here like 12 weeks ago ..."

"They found out about my birthday even though I didn't want to tell them. This is what happened ... I was wearing the earrings I got from Deb [my mom] for my birthday to transfers and was playing with one of them. Sister Westover asked me where I got them from and I told her that my mom gave them to me for my birthday. Haha! Then of course she asked when it was and I really wanted to lie, but I didn't and I told them it was tomorrow. They were really excited to celebrate with me. Sister Peterson had left some money for me to do something fun with them on my birthday and so we went and got some süti (dessert) and that was cool. They made me some cards and gave me some earrings too ... and then we just pretty much tracked and found all day long. That night we were streeting and we went to look at a boat that was on the river. They surprised me because the elders were there and we ate dinner to celebrate. The best thing was last year on my birthday I was serving near Elder Carter and he made me brownies for my birthday, and then at the restaurant I reminded him of that and then he randomly pulled out brownies! Haha! It was really nice.... Everyone was really sweet and I have been getting phone calls throughout the week. Sister Broadhead called on the 12th and sang happy birthday to me. She really thought that the 12th was my birthday! It was so funny!"

Erlandson Nővér, Fresh Nővér, and Westover Nővér
eating some delicious süti!

"So enough about me being old ... There is pretty much no work here (I am surprised they closed Duna and not Győr), but I guess there is a reason I should be here. So we have done a ton of finding and it has been cool. I feel like I have done finding most of my mission, but it's okay :)  Church was good. It's a functional ward so that is nice. I don't have to teach anymore which I kind of do miss ... In Duna we did like everything so its nice to have a break. So life is good, just figuring out the new city and stuff. Things will be good, I am sure of that!!!"

"We have a good group of Young Single Adults here."
This was an activity at YSA night and "I failed!"

Fresh Nővér with Sperry Elder and
Jones Elder after Zone Training.

Week 63 - Dunaújváros

Big News:

"I have some big news ... Sister Peterson is going home to get surgery. :( Our week was crazy because we were in Buda for a doctor's appointment and then an interview with the President. We thought we would have the final decision earlier last week but we didn't. He wanted to pray about it more and then decided that she should talk with her parents so they called. They decided that it would be better for her to solve the problem and try to come back rather than just have pain for the next 9 months. So that brings me to the next thing ..."

Peterson Nővér and Fresh Nővér 

Transfers:

"Transfers ... That's why I am emailing on Tuesday instead of Monday. With Sister Peterson leaving I thought for sure I was staying in Duna. I had kind of mixed feelings about that because I like it here, there are some people I really love, and our elders are great, but the work has been really slow. We do finding all the time, and it has been kind of exhausting. So, I was not mad at the thought of a change either ... The call came and I am going to the northwest to a city called Győr. It is one of the bigger cities in Hungary so that will be new since my last 3 cities have been small. It will be fun and I have some elder friends from earlier in my mission who are serving there. I will be in another three-some, one of the sisters goes home soon and the other one is quite new."

"Other than transfers and the craziness with Sister Peterson, my week was a lot of finding and the usual. I am pretty sad because I didn't get to prepare myself for leaving and didn't get to say goodbye to anyone, but it will be okay. Also, I will be really far away from Buda and probably will not get to go back for Panni's baptism which is super sad. Oh well, I am sure Győr will be great."

Good-bye Duna ...
Dunaújváros and Peterson Nővér will be missed!

Hello Győr ... This is the Győr City Hall.

Conference:

"Conference was this weekend! I only got to see a session and a half in English though, which is kind of a bummer. I mean I understand most of what they say in Hungarian and I get the point it's just not the same as it is in English, but it was good. I saw the Saturday afternoon session in English all the way through and then the first half of the Saturday morning session. I am so excited to get the Liahona and read all of them! It's my favorite thing to study as a missionary. I loved Richard G. Scott's talk because I feel like so many people have been that kind of an example for me and have helped me lovingly throughout my life. I want to be better about doing that for others."

My Birthday:

"Thanks for the birthday love and wishes. I got my package the other day and of course I opened it right away. I cried reading the nice things you all said about me. I am not sure what you all see in me but thanks for that! The good news is I don't have to truly celebrate my oldness because my new city and new comps don't know so I am just going to pretend my birthday never happened. Hahaha! I already celebrated with Sister Peterson so it's good :)"

Boldog születésnapot Aimee!
(6 months old) 

Week 62 - Dunaújváros

"BABY ETHAN!!!! I love new babies! I can't wait to see him and Caleb in July. They are so cute and little and I am just going to hold them and play with them! ... Unless they are scared of me. I hope 4 months isn't the "scared of everyone that isn't your mom" stage. Anyways, I love them!!!"

Here is little Ethan David ...
Fresh Nővér's newest nephew!

"So, first I have to tell you what I did yesterday ... I gave a talk in church in HUNGARIAN!!! Yea, I couldn't believe it either. I got the call on Thursday and I was like 'NO!!! This is the worst thing I could ever be asked to do.' But then I thought about it and was like, 'Well, I can't get out of it so I might as well just deal with it and do the best I can.'  I wasn't actually that nervous. I was more like lets just get this embarrassment over with. Haha! It felt good standing up on the pulpit and talking to everyone. Of course I made mistakes, but it was understandable so that was a miracle in itself. I spoke about General Conference and how we can receive revelation from listening to it. The subject was pretty easy because I have had some good experiences with that :) Anyways, that was a big moment in my life! I just feel like when I get back to an English speaking country all of these things will be so much easier, but maybe I'm wrong. I think about giving a talk in English and it seems so easy. I could just talk and say whatever I want. So crazy ... but I did it. I gave a talk in Magyar!!!" [Magyar is the Hungarian word for Hungarian.]

"As of this Wednesday I have been in Hungary for a year ... so weird. I feel like I have been here forever but at the same time like I just got here. I know time just flies by but as a missionary it flies soooo fast. I just want time to slow down and be normal and let me take everything in."

A year ago ...
packed and on her way to Hungary!

"Azon kívül [other than that] nothing else too exciting happened. Pál got baptized but I wasn't there. Sister Petereson* called last night and told me all about it. She said he looked so cute and was so happy, and that everything went really well.  He was confirmed Sunday and even said the prayer in Sunday School :)))  I just wish I could have seen him because he had changed so much in the 9 weeks I was with him that I just can't imagine how much more he has changed in the 10 weeks I have been away from him. It's crazy because we found him in November and he was baptized in March :) Love him so much!!!"

Pál and his wife, Erzsébet.

Sisters Peterson* and Madga, Elders Ralph
and Raymond, and Pál.

Sister Peterson* said ... "Pál on the day
he got confirmed.  I told him that I was
sending this to Sister Fresh, so he'd
better smile! And he did."

"We met with János and Fati this week. It was good and they are both doing great! Other than that we have very little work. We do a ton of finding and people are very willing to let us into their houses and meet with them once, but then they have every excuse in the book as to why they don't want to meet again. It has been kind of hard because we are happy that everyone thinks we are cute and stuff, but we really want to teach them and help them. Hopefully this next week will be better."

"We had a branch lunch on Sunday which was good, and the sun was shining a lot this week which was great!!! We even had comp study out on a bench in the sun yesterday :)))"

Fresh Nővér and Peterson* Nővér
enjoying the sunshine!

"Today we go up to Buda to have the last physical therapy and doctors appointment for Sister Peterson*, and then the interview with the President. I don't know what the final decision will be ... but if she does go home I think they will probably close Duna. :(  I never wanted my city to be closed but the president already has to close 2 cities at the mini so it could be Dunaújváros. Hopefully she will be healed sometime today and we can just stay an finish the transfer out together and the work in Duna will be great!!!"

"So yea life is good, we both couldn't sleep last night because today is a big day and we were really restless, but hopefully everything will work out :) I just hope she feels good with whatever decision is made because that's what really matters."

"I love you all so much and the new babies :)"

"szeretlek
fresh nővér"

*There are 2 Sister Petersons ... one that Sister Fresh served with in Veszprém where they taught Pál. She is still there and is the one who took the photos at the baptism and confirmation. The other Sister Peterson is serving with Sister Fresh right now in Dunaújváros. She loves them both!!!

Week 61 - Dunaújváros

"Milyen volt a hetem??? Jó volt :)‏" [How was the week? It was good :)]

"My life is good! We do the same things everyday but somehow seem to make them fun and/or interesting by just being ourselves. Sister Peterson and I are good friends. It is great to serve with people and get to know them better and form your own opinions about them - I just love her! She is really cool and funny. ... Unfortunately she has some knee problems and might have to go home in a couple of week. It is super sad, so it is good that we have been able to have a lot of fun. We actually go up to Buda once a week for physical therapy. She has one more round and then a doctor's appointment and an interview with the President to decide what to do. The hard thing is that the therapy has not really done much. :( ... What this would mean for me is that I could be in Duna for a long time, or they might have to close Duna which would also be hard. So that is what is going on with us."

"Fun while tracting!"

Peterson Nővér and Fresh Nővér say
"Mi is szeretjük Duna!"

"So this week Pál is getting baptized, but unfortunately I got a 'nem' [no] to go back to Veszprém to see the baptism. I am honestly super bummed about it because I really really wanted to go. So that was kind of a let down but it's okay. At least I got to teach him and set the baptism date with him and all that :) He will be the cutest baptized member in his white clothes ... plus when we come back to Hungary to visit we can go see him :)"

"That is enough sad news. The good news is that the Hungarian went pretty well this week. I think what I need is to be put with someone pretty young in the mission now so I have to talk a lot more.  I only talk about half the time right now, but if I had to talk a lot more that would be cool :)  I'm sure it would be hard but I think it would be fun too!"

"Elder Jones went home and we got a new Zone Leader, Elder Foster. He is from Montana, goes to BYU, and likes to hunt.  I don't know a ton more about him because its only been a few days but he and Seegmiller are a good match so I think we will have a good transfer."

Saying good by to Elder Jones! 

Watching Elder Judd's luggage, he goes
home on Thursday, while  waiting for the
Elders to take us back to Duna.

"János is doing well! He is so cute and the highlight of our days. He is still really strong and just a cool new member, still learning and growing, like us all :) We also met with Fati, Edina Tamás and Gabi.... all of them are doing well and progressing slowly ahaha but its good. We love them!" 

"We found a new lady named Erzsébet and we love her! She is so nice and her apartment is clean. We freaked out after her program and think she could be like the most legit member. ... I try not to freak out about people like this because then they usually go and break my heart and drop us. I just think she is so cool and so I had to freak out :)  We will meet with her again next Thursday. 

"Remember when I told you about Hungarian fish soup (halászlé) and how I did not really like it. Well, we went to this restaurant with a lady from our English class and they had some fish soup. There were not all the bones and it was not super fishy ... and it was yummy :) We will have to go there when we come back. It might just be the pride and joy of Duna!"

Elder Foster, Elder Seegmiller, Szilvi‏, Fresh Nővér,
and Peterson Nővér at a restaurant in Duna.

"This week was not too crazy but still really good. I know we laughed a ton and it was super fun. We are happy and working hard :) Being a missionary is really great! I would love to do it forever but I'm too tired and I know at some point I will fall over dead. Hahaha! But it's good and I love it. I really do :)"

"nagyon szeretlek beneteket [I love you]

Fresh nővér"

Week 60 - Dunaújváros

Sister Fresh began her email this week with the following news:
"Okay ... drum roll please ... I am staying in Duna with Sister Peterson! It's a miracle! Haha! I am with a companion through a mini transfer :)"

A beautiful sunset in Dunaújváros! 

"We did a lot of finding this week and had fun while doing it! For example ... "

"We made our lives into a musical while tracting, as in the life of a sister missionary in Hungary. One whole song in the musical is dedicated to tracting and we thought it would be super cool if there were tons of doors all over the place like in the movie Monsters, Inc. Haha!"

"We streeted a kid and gave him an English class flier. In return he showed us a magic trick. It was the best trade ever!"

"We tracted into a girl who seemed really interested in the church. She told us to come back the next day with Book of Mormon and so we did. When we knocked on her door her boyfriend was there and it was obvious we had interrupted something ... it was the most awkward 15 minutes of my life. Someone once told me that if you are not feeling awkward then you are not doing missionary work right. In this case that was true!"

Fresh Nővér in front of a coal car.
The words on the car mean "good luck".

"Other things that happened this week..."

"Sister Peterson got stuck in an elevator and almost got half her body cut off. Yea, elevators here don't work like they do in America!"

"On our way to Zone Conference Elder Seegmiller spilled some aftershave that we found in our apartment and gave to Elder Jones as a going away present in the car. So ... we all smelled like men once we got to the conference in Buda."

"Fagyi!!! ice cream ... it's back in season :) We had our first ice cream cone this week!"

"ZONE CONFERENCE!!!  It was good. Elder Dyches came and he was really cool! His wife reminds me of a lady in our stake who used to work at Canyon Springs High School. It was great to see my friends and the president and to get to go to Buda :)"

Fresh Nővér and Broadhead Nővér get
to see each other at Zone Conference! 

"Zone conference ... left to right Elders Depallens,
Shuck, Erickson, Sterri and Quinton."

The People:

"The elders had a baptism with a girl named Romi and Elder nelson got to come back for that. It was really great! I can always feel the spirit super strongly at baptisms ... like the really inside powerful feeling that doesn't come all the time. I love that feeling and think we should have a baptism every week :)"

"We also met with János this week ... now he isn't an investigator but a new member :) He is cute! We love him and he is doing great :)"

Remember Pál from Veszprém... well I hadn't heard much about him lately but I saw Sister Peterson at Zone Conference and she told me that everything with him is so good. He is really prepared for baptism. He also still loves and remembers me. He wrote my name first in his book of people that have taught him. He prays for me, that I will be safe and happy. He also said that I need to be at his baptism ... so I will really try because Duna isn't too far. I really hope I get to go :) I talked to Sister Peterson this morning and Pál will have his bap interview today. He said that I am like his granddaughter :)  I love that because he is like my Hungarian grandpa :)"

"I love Hungary :) piros fehér zöld [red white green]
It was a holiday on the 15th!"

"Life is for the most part really good ... We don't have a ton of solid work right now but we are searching and trying so that's all we can do. We do definitely see little tender mercies everyday."

"sok szeretettel
Fresh nővér"

Week 59 - Dunaújváros

"Sziasztok‏ [Hi everyone] ... this week was good :)"

"REPÜLŐS TERVEK (flight plans): So all of you commented on them and I didn't know they sent them to you, but that's a good idea. Wednesday morning we were headed up to Buda for something with the Elders and I got a phone call from the mission office. They asked me 'What airport do you want to fly home to?" mehhhhhhh I was thinking 'I'm not that old yet! I'm not ready for this! I can't go home yet!!!' I was freaking out a little bit because I remember being with Sister Perkins when she got her flight plans, and she was so much older and more experienced than I am ... right? Weird that now I am the old one."

"KERESZTELŐ (baptism): János was baptized on Friday and confirmed on Sunday ... It was so good! He looked great in white, was so cute, and just a little nervous. After he was baptized he came and sat by me and I asked him how it was. He said he felt so good, and that right when he got out of the water he felt warm inside. I heard him later talking to his family that came and telling them about his feelings. Also, his confirmation was so great because literally every priesthood holder was in the circle. János just loves people and so he wanted everyone that was able to be there. After he got the Holy Ghost, he said that all his nervous feelings went away :) He is so cool!!!"

Peterson Nővér, János, and Fresh Nővér
prior to his baptism.

János and his family 

János and Zoli‏

Fresh Nővér and János

"ÉNEKELÉS (singing): Well, I sang [at the baptism] and people said it was good, but I didn't end up doing a solo ... maybe next time.  I'm not at that level yet! Haha! Elder Jones sang with me and we did parts, and there was a line I did sing alone. To me it all sounded bad and weird, but people didn't like run out of the room screaming so I guess that is good :)"

"MÁRCIUS NEGYEDIK (March 4th): My favorite day!!!! It was cool even though we didn't celebrate. I just said that everything was special that day because it was March 4th. Haha! Everyone thinks it's weird that I have a favorite day that's not my birthday."

"MCDONALDST ETTÜNK (We ate McDonald's): So there was a half-off day at McDonald's and so we wrote it in our calendars and went. It was so great, but right when we sat down to eat this creepy guy and his family sat by us. The elders kind of knew him and he was just not a good guy, so we quickly  packed our food in the little boxes and left. I kind of felt like a spy. It was cool ... I loved it!!! I might try and be a spy when I get home :)"

"KŐVÉRTŐL NŐVÉRRE (From fat to sister):  We made this up this week and decided we are going to be healthy and try to loose a pound a week because guess who gained 20 pounds and has 20 weeks left ... yeah, it's me :) mehhhh!"

 "Fat to Sister" Poster

"OLVASOK A TAN ÉS A SZÖVETSÉGET (I am reading Doctrine and Covenants): So we do this thing in our mission where you start to read the Doctrine and Covenants when you have however many days left as there are Doctrine and Covenants sections ... And I started on Saturday. Crazy, but its cool! The Doctrine and Covenants is a nice little thing, so if anyone wants to do it with me you need to read section 3 today :)"

"TANÍTUNK (We teach): So we teach a lot of people ... We track a ton and get let into people's houses a lot, but they don't always want to learn more which is a bummer. People are really busy and just kind of don't have time for religion. It's sad because the church doesn't really take too much time, it just kind of just fits into life :) So, we do a lot of tracking, and we street sometimes, but not too much because my comp has some knee problems. We also teach an English class every Tuesday here in Duna. We are teaching the gospel to a new couple from our class named Tamás and Edina ... and it's fun :) I teach the beginner class with Elder Jones, who dies in 10 days!!!! Crazy!

"We went to a car wash!!!"

"I hope that was some good info, because I can't honestly think of anything else that happened. I know I had fun, and we laughed a lot. Sister Peterson is fun ... I love her :) I won't email next Monday because transfer calls are on Tuesday, so I will be on the computers then. I don't know if I will stay or leave Duna. mehhhhh"

"I love you all ... The church is true :)"

"Sok szeretettel

Fresh nővér"