Week 3

Szia sztok! Hogy vagytok?!

Happy (Early) Missionary Awareness Day! Sometimes also referred to in the real world as Singles' Awareness Day or Valentine's Day!

So crazy that I've been here for 3 weeks already! It's a little confusing: even though I've been here for three weeks exactly, we're technically halfway through our fourth week in our planner, because the week I came in counts as a week even though I missed Monday and Tuesday. That means tht we have 5 and a half weeks left in the MTC, or 39 days, not that we're counting or anything. ;)

I really hope that you're doing well and that everything's working out for everyone back home! I feel super out of the loop most of the time, so I don't really know a ton that's going on in the real world with people or current events or anything. However, one of our branch presidency mentioned something last night about some guy in California or something that planned this whole thing and has been killing people to get back at them for firing him or something and it's like a movie unfolding. He said he got caught or something? Idk, someone feel free to send me some more information on that, because I really want to know what happened/has been happening! So sad!

Anyway, I've been up for so long today! It really doesn't even feel early when I wake up in the morning and it's still dark outside. I mean, usually I'm still tired, it just doesn't feel early, if that makes sense haha. But anyway, normally we don't go to the temple so early, but our ősi (ancients) leave on Monday and so they had hair cutting appointments in the morning. The rest of our branch still went at the normal time, but the Zone leaders asked if I'd come with them at 6 today. Anyway, it was just the six of them in their district, and my companion and I. They helped me do the boys' names that Mom sent me. (That reminds me, Mom, I never really have time to go have those names printed out. I've done all the girls' ones that were printed, but is there anyway you could send me some more printed out? I still have 7 boys left though.)

So, the session I went to today was sooo full, mostly with other missionaries in other branches. They had to bring in extra chairs!!! So weird, I've never done a session with so many people, but there was this elder who was doing the work for his own dad!!!!! So cool! He was crying throughout the whole thing and the Spirit was just so strong every time I was near him or looked up at him. He's just the most adorable British elder who has gym time at the same time as us and he's just like a big teddy bear. It was just so cool to watch him do all of that, so tender!

hmm.. I'm trying to think of what else to tell you all! The MTC is still up and down, mostly up, the more I get into it and the more I realize that I don't have to be perfect. The best lessons I've had so far are the ones that we've planned topic and scripture-wise, but haven't gone in with a "Okay, first you say this line, then I'll say this, then we do this and this...". Those ones just never go super well, I've realized, which is tough when you can't think fast enough of things to say and don't know the words for certain things, or you don't know how to put it together in a sentence. Oh well, it's definitely getting better language-wise too. It's still hard though! There's a sister here, she was our coordinating sister until this week. Her name is Sisar Gassar, and her dad was the mission pres in Hungary when she was in HS, so she was able to go on a mini mission in Hungary and learn the language. She's now in the MTC to learn Finnish and she was saying that even though the rumor has always been that Finnish is harder than Hungarian, she's figured out from experience that Hungarian grammar is much harder than Finnish. joy. hahaha oh well.

That reminds me, I LOVE my branch! We're just like a little family of Eastern Europeans. The first few weeks, we only really talked to the other Hungarians and church was just very... idk how to describe it, but we just felt very out of the loop and like we were the babies and we didn't see all of the other missions interacting with each other. Something changed this week though and I've just been trying to go out of my way to talk to the other 3 missions and memorize all their names. There really aren't very many of us, but it just makes it so much more comfortable and exciting to walk through our class building floor and be able to say hi and talk to everyone. I'm still sad that the osi are leaving onMonday, but now I'm not dreading the last 5 weeks here as much. The albanians and the fins both leave just a week before us, so it's perfect! Also, as of today we are no longer the babies of the Branch! We're getting a huge district of baby fins! The papa fins are so excited! We are too though! Our branch is pretty small, especially since the previous papa fins left over a week ago. I'm not sure what day exactly our Kicsi gets here, but it's one of the first weeks of March. So far there's only one coming. :/ :/ :/ That makes me feel so bad! Especially because it's a girl! I just can't imagine going through this alone. I mean, she'll have us, but only for a few weeks, until we fly out on the 25th, and then she'll bethe only Hungarian in the MTC for like 3 weeks! yikes! I literally have been praying for her every day and asking that if possible another missionary be called to come in with her. I seriously think I probably would have gone home already if I had been going through this alone. It's hard enough to have to teach a lesson with only two people, but at least we can rely on each other to help us out. She'll be the only person in her classroom and teaching lessons alone. Poor girl. All I have to say, is she must be a VERY strong person and there must be a lot of blessings in store for her.

Clawson nover in my district said that she has a blog too! We get along super well, we probably would've been friends if we had met before our missions. Anyway, Mom, I'm friends with her on facebook and I think she said her blog was posted on there? (Amy Clawson). If not, you can probably google her name and something like Hungary mission blog or something until you find it. You can hear from her other things that we've done and just stuff that maybe I forget to write about? Also, can you send me those pictures that you took in the bookstore the day I left?

Idk what happened to the suitcase, it didn't work the day I came in to strap things together, but it seems to be working now? But thatnks for the little description on how to work the straps....... hahahaha it made me and my companion laugh, because I definitely know how to use a strap thing hahaha but your description was so detailed.

Apparently I still sleep talk. Clawson nover said that one night she was having a hard time sleeping and she kept rolling over and she heard me say "teknosbeka" at least 14 times in one night... hahaha in case anyone forgot, that means Turtle in Hungarian. Don't even ask. hahaha it made me and Ekstrom elder laugh that I even say it in my sleep though. haha

Well, my half hour is about up. I can write you a handwritten letter and send it to you later today while I'm doing laundry. Hope everything's going well with the move! I miss you all! Oh, read 1 Nephi 13' It has so much interesting stuff in it, like foretelling America vs. England and Cristopher Columbus and the Bible and stuff!

Sok Szerettetel,

Butterfield nővér

PS - sorry, I keep forgetting Jenny's email address, so I can't send this to her too. Also, I need their new home address ASAP so that I can send them a letter back!

These pictures are just some activity Moody Nover did on the board to help us remember preposition endings. the roommates will enjoy the turtle in the tree in the last picture, she drew it there in my honor... (:

love you all! (: