Back in Kecskemét

SZIASZTOK.

Well, we're back in Kecskemét and it's "kinda cloudy, we've been having lots of rain" (name-that-movie), which is not the greatest weather because it means we can't do a ton of creative finding and such with the whiteboard.  But some of the days were really nice and definitely very autumnal. So our mission right now is really focusing on creative finding, and President Szabadkai gave us all big whiteboards so that we could come up with hook-line-and-sinker approaches, draw them up on the board, and then do some streeting sessions.  We have been advertising Angol Óra (English class) because we're starting it back up again.  We streeted for about 2 hours total last week advertising Angol Óra with the whiteboard (see our creative and colorful display below), and though we had a lot of people who said that they were very interested and that they would come, only 2 did lol.  One was a 30 year old man who was actually pretty good at English, another was this old grandma who I talked to on the street who knew about jack-squat about English.  Like we started at the VERY beginning.  But she was SUPER nice and they both lucked out because they got a free hour of two-on-one english private training!  With the whiteboard we also used the sisters' idea of drawing a planet earth and writing the question, "Why are we here?" (Miért vagyunk itt?).  We got a lot of telefon numbers of people who said that they would want to know more after we talked with them about the Plan of Salvation!

So the Elder in Szolnok who had his appendix out is on the mend, but the current plan is that we will be heading to Szolnok once a week to teach all of their investigators while he's still recouperating for the next 4 or 5 weeks or so.  I like serving in two cities because it always adds a little excitement and the spirit of adventure when we get on the train.

We currently have two investigators who are preparing for baptism on October 6th and 7th.  The first is named Enikő, and she is absolutely GOLDEN.  Funny story, she works at a gyro restaurant in Kecskemét called Duna Döner and the sisters met her from going in to the restaurant every day (sometimes twice a day) to get this nectar drink thing.  She eventually asked them why they came in all the time and what they are doing in Hungary.  She became and investigator who ended up living in our (the elders) area and now she is progressing beautifully toward baptism.  She is seriously one of the nicest, smiliest people I know.  She's encountering resistence from family and friends, but she knows that this is the right decision.  The other investigator is Gábor, who is the most jovial spirit in Kecskemét (I'm convinced). He is ALWAYS laughing. like always.  Like if you looked through a christal ball right now at him, he would be laughing. But he found the church through his member friend and has been coming to church regularly for about 2 years (don't ask me how he escaped the missionaries notice lol) but now he is preparing for baptism, and he reads from the Gerneral Conference Liahona and the Book of Mormon every day.  He's great.  We pretty much have one other solid investigator, so the rest of our time is devoted to finding and working with members.  We had a service oppotrunity this last Saturday where we bussed out to a little village and helped a part-member family work on their farm.  A lot of chuch members were there, as well as really good food (green bean gulyás yummm), cute dogs, and a lot of wasps.  We stacked wood and sanded a fence FUN! Also fun fact, the Hungarian language does not have a word for fun. Their word count is off the charts, but they forgot the crutial element of fun lol.

I have been reading the Miracle of Forgiveness since I found it in our apartment (after I was reminded about it when Elders Allred, Rohner and I had a video fest and watched the dramatized life of Spencer W. Kimball (I don't really recommend... it was made before the church got good at making videos... I'm talking Community of Christ quality)).  It is REALLY intense and stresses the importance of a clean life and the seriousness of sin.  But it also outlines the miracle that is the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how we can always return back to the path through a miraculous way prepared by a loving Father in heaven.  I'm so glad to be on a mission and to be able to share this plan with others.  I literally wouldn't rather be anywhere else than here right now, and I'm so grateful for the remaining year I have in the service of the Lord.

Sok szeretettel,

Martin elder

Elder Allred and I whiteboarding

 Angol Óra advertisement!

We went to help Sanyi bácsi (uncle sanyi) pick some weeds at his house with Tardi Anna, who normally looks old to me but next to Sanyi bácsi looks like a fresh spring chicken.  Bonus: I am a fan of her model pose with the windswept hair and all.

Weekly train ride to Szolnok

Typical Hungarian landscape (it looks like Illinois?)

Going to teach the Szolnoki elders' investigators (who live in a little village) with Elder Rohner.  We took this picture to show that we barely made our train, but then we actually had to hurry because it started getting ready to leave.

The village train station