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Drága Családom és Barátaim,

Wow this week was cold!  The wind and snow picked up a lot and that makes train rides very beautiful but missionary work very hard.  The Hungarians are terrified of the cold, more so than any other people I've interacted with.  It's not just that they think that the cold is uncomfortable, but the literally think that it will kill you.  All the old néni's (the equivalent of aunty - most old Hungarian women request that you use this term with them) freak out if you are not wearing a hat, gloves, coat, and scarf.  One of their favorite things to say is, "Have you frozen yet?"  My companion told me that even in the summer they don't like sitting their children in front of fans because they believe that the cool air will kill them. Also they don't have air conditioning so things should be interesting in about 5 months!

We had splits this week with our Zone Leaders who live in Miskolcs but came to Nyíregyháza for a day. Zone Leaders are other missionaries in charge of the missionaries in about 4 cities.  We have 5 zones all in all in Hungary.  Anyway, I was pared up with one of them for the day, Seamons Elder, and at one point of the day we had to take a bus out to a small village because I had previously forgotten my dry cleaning at the house of one of the people we teach.  Since Stringham Elder wasn't with me, and since Seamons Elder doesn't know Nyíregyháza, I had to be the navigator.  To preface: my geographic memory is worth about as much as the Somalian economy.  We got off at the wrong bus stop, and then walked in the BITTER cold for about two hours while I tried to find this man's house. It was to not avail. I couldn't find the house. So we decided to knock on some doors and try to share the wonderful message of the restored gospel with some families, to which a few people replied, "Go away! You were here yesterday!" I can personally vouch that we were not there yesterday. We ended up just getting back on the bus and heading back for the city, though we both concluded that it was a trial that we both needed.  Later that evening, we tracted into the residence of some gypsies who were actually church members but had stopped coming to church a long time ago because they got offended at something that someone said.  Seamons Elder had no qualms about calling them to repentance. They were complaining about something, and he literally said to them, "Then I say unto you, that you must repent! You know the gospel of Jesus Christ; live it!" I was in shock and awe at his powerful example of firey missionary work.  I was able to bear my testimony about the far-reaching extent of the Savior's atonement at the end of our exchange in my dreadful Hungarian, but the Spirit came in and saved the day and they actually understood me and the mom started sobbing.  As we left, they insisted that we come back and teach more, and they told us we were like sons to them. I learned from this exchange that it is effective to be upfront and bold while we are missionaries.  Sometimes we can be a bit timid and apologetic when interacting with people, but this behavior is not conducive in the slightest to our purpose, which is to invite all to come  unto Christ through faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.  We represent Jesus Christ, and He was in no way timid. He was bold and loving, stalwart and kind.  Following His example is the best way to touch the hearts of God's children, and if that requires boldness, so be it.

We also had the opportunity this Preparation Day to make borscht at a Ukrainian member's house and to go to a museum with another church member. There was a big exhibit on the Soviet occupation, communist Hungary, and the many uprisings in response to socialism. There was Hungarian-Soviet propaganda displayed everywhere, which was awesome.

I love you all! Thanks for your support and prayers!

Martin Elder