Zone Day and Tatabánya

sent on May 28, 2018 

Hey everyone!!

Sorry I didn't get an email out last week, right as I was finishing the woman at the university was like "I'm closing" so I didn't get a chance to send it lol

So the week before this last one was really interesting..  Elder Ballard and I were making an effort to meet with all the active members and we only had a few days in Dunaújváros to meet with them, not to mention our investigators and potential investigators.  We went to Székesfehérvár to go to the immigration office to register me and the new sister in as living in Dunaújváros and it took FOREVER!!  We were probably there for like 5 hours.

I went on splits in Tatabánya with Elder Bridges from American Fork (it's a thing to be from there), and we talked with this older man (probably in his 80's) asked us where we were from.  I said Saint Louis and Elder Bridges said Utah and the guy goes, (in English), "That's Mormon country!" haha it turns out that this guy (his name is Szabolcs) was a revolutionary in 1956 and fled to America, and he studied theatre at University of Southern Illinois - Carbondale!!!!  What the heck!!  I ran cross country races there.  The world is so small.  He ended up becoming a Lutheran priest and also lived in Pasadena, California, where dad grew up, right??  He probably was preaching there while dad was growing up there so... weird.  He moved back to Hungary in 2001 with his wife.  He was super cool and nice.

Anyway last Monday was our last round of interviews with president Szabadkai, so he decided to give all the zones a ZONE DAY, which basically means we can like play games and stuff until 5.  It was super awesome.  Elder Ballard and I and the STL's organized it and we played water balloon volleyball with bathtowels, kickball, and signs.  We also watched this movie, One Good Man, about a Mormon Bishop?  it was deec.. idk if i recommend or not :)

This past week was really good.  We found some new investigators (one of them came up to us on the street and said, "I'm really interested in the Mormon religion") lol.  Elder Ballad is really good at being really personal when you start talking to people

OKAY THEY JUST DECIDED TO CLOSE AGAIN ILL FINISH NEXT WEEK SORRY BYE

                  Editor's note: and a few hours later . . . 

Okay!! so we found a library and ill be able to finish.  So anyway Elder Ballard is really good at talking to people, and when we approach people he always compliments them on their shirt and it gets them every time. haha.  We went on splits with the assistants and Elder Spencer and I got a view of the famous Dunaújváros water tower and the iron factory.  We also went chalking with the sisters and i met this woman who was waiting for her 16 year old american grandson to arrive. apparently he goes to high school in Pest, but he is also from Washington D.C.  it was weird when we met him because he spoke English like an American (bc he was American) but he still knew Hungarian because his parents speak it at home.

Anyway, it was a great two weeks and things are going wonderfully!  Thank you for your support and prayers!  Much encouragement to read the Book of Mormon!

lots of love,
Martin elder

the iron factory (as seen from the branch house), which to me gives off the mystique of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory while making the same sounds that that one smoke monster makes in 'Lost'

us at the immigration office waiting forever (we look like dead snakes)

 us and Szabolcs!

us and the Tatabánya elders after splits

 The Danube (Duna) as see from Dunaújváros!  It's a lot bigger here than it was in Győr

 Amanuel, our Ethiopian investigator

This random friend who started walking with us on the way to service?

The famous water tower in Dunaújváros

Elder Spencer and me in front of it

End of splits with the Assistants

A cool building we tracted

Us with Misi and Gergő (a kid we teach piano to)