April 22, 2014
Hey!
Happy Easter! Sorry we didn't write yesterday. The entire city was shut down for the holiday. Yes, Monday is a holiday too in Hungary. It was a strange P-day since we couldn't email and shop. We played soccer for two hours in the morning with some of our investigators, members and elders. Then we went home to get ready for Easter lunch at a member's house. Our branch president also invited us over for a late Easter lunch, but we already had plans with Géza, so... awkward. Anywho, our lunch was pretty good. There were 4 courses! We went home after that and took a short nap, since we had already done all of our work for the day earlier in the morning, streeting everywhere and stuff. Last night we met up with some of the YSA and the elders at the branch house and played a bunch of card games, like phase 10, Uno and Spoons. It got pretty intense when we taught them spoons, but they asked us if we'd come to their YSA FHE sometime and teach them all how to play it. hahaha Over all, it was a good day. Kind of strange, but good!
We had some cool experiences this week. We had a program with our Brazilian investigator and it went super well. We had a YSA member present, (because he's in his early 20s), and she was perfect! The Spirit was so strong. It was super cool, because we were talking about the Gospel of Christ and there were some words that he didn't understand in English, but they just popped right into my head and so rather than trying to describe the words in circles, I could just be like, repentance... like arrepentimiento! And he was just like ohhh! I know that! And "El Espiritu Santo! It was so nice to be able to teach in English and randomly throw in some Spanish words and be understood!
Lately, I've just been thinking a lot about prayer and the power of prayer. We've had a couple programs in the past few weeks that have been pretty difficult and I just had some really cool experiences with prayer in those, while saying the closing prayer for both. It's such a cool feeling to know when you are being led in your words by the Holy Ghost, even in your prayers. Both were just experiences of really thought-out, semi-hesitant prayers, of feeling the Spirit guide my words in what help I should ask for for our investigators and such.
I've also been thinking a lot about the Priesthood. The Priesthood session in conference was so good! It's also great to be in a position where I know that there are so many worthy Priesthood holders around me, when I need things. This week was pretty tough, not so much work-wise as personally, and there was one day where I just had a really strong impression that I needed to ask one of the elders for a blessing. I wasn't really sure why I needed one specifically at that point, I mean it was one of those promptings that I'd awkwardly been putting off for a couple weeks, but I finally asked for one. I was just slightly confused as to why on that day I needed one, when I was feeling pretty good. Anyway, I got one and it wasn't any like crazy experience at all, I felt like. However, after a pretty rough morning the day just preceded to get worse and worse and by the time we got home at night I was at a breaking point, of questioning whether I can make it another 3 months and then real life, which is even harder, after that. I had asked my companion to take notes during the blessing and it was nice to be able to come back and just read it over again and see how I had heard what I needed to hear, just many hours early. We've had lots of interesting conversations lately. I made a comment the other day along the lines of "I wouldn't take the last year and a half back because it's changed my entire life, but I would never do it again." which made Sister Dinehart laugh, because she said her dying trainer said almost the exact same thing to her as she was getting ready to go home. haha
We went to institute this week with the YSA and with our investigator and it was really good! I think I like it way better than the one I went to in Utah. I just liked that the class was small and the lesson just made me think. It's super funny, because we taught our investigator the law of chastity a few weeks ago and he was like shocked and we've had some pretty interesting experiences of him bringing it up with members and awkward questions and comments. Anyway, he has this habit now of when he sees a pretty girl or has less appropriate thoughts? he starts chanting "erkölcsi tisztaság, erkölcsi tisztaság" (chastity, chastity) while trying to think of other things. Yeah, so there's a super cute girl in the YSA that he's like in love with and she turned to say something to him and he just started reciting that awkwardly and everyone was just like uhhh…and laughed cause they all know him pretty well by now and that he’s pretty interesting. And then the branch president just turns and looks at me and all he says (all in English) is "good job!" and then he turns to the cute girl and is just like "BAD job!" hahahaha.
I really am just super impressed by this branch. They are so solid and so good! I admire their and the branch president's dedication to always improve and do better. Good is never good enough, but not in a criticizing way. I LOVE being a part of this branch and doing things with them and they are SO helpful. We actually just found out that they're calling us like 10 branch missionaries pretty soon. So we're stoked!
That's all I have time for today! Hopefully makes up for my not so long emails the past few weeks and I sent pictures too! Love you all! Have a good week! Shoot me some emails and I'll answer them on Monday! (:
Love,
Sister Megan Butterfield
Hey!
Happy Easter! Sorry we didn't write yesterday. The entire city was shut down for the holiday. Yes, Monday is a holiday too in Hungary. It was a strange P-day since we couldn't email and shop. We played soccer for two hours in the morning with some of our investigators, members and elders. Then we went home to get ready for Easter lunch at a member's house. Our branch president also invited us over for a late Easter lunch, but we already had plans with Géza, so... awkward. Anywho, our lunch was pretty good. There were 4 courses! We went home after that and took a short nap, since we had already done all of our work for the day earlier in the morning, streeting everywhere and stuff. Last night we met up with some of the YSA and the elders at the branch house and played a bunch of card games, like phase 10, Uno and Spoons. It got pretty intense when we taught them spoons, but they asked us if we'd come to their YSA FHE sometime and teach them all how to play it. hahaha Over all, it was a good day. Kind of strange, but good!
We had some cool experiences this week. We had a program with our Brazilian investigator and it went super well. We had a YSA member present, (because he's in his early 20s), and she was perfect! The Spirit was so strong. It was super cool, because we were talking about the Gospel of Christ and there were some words that he didn't understand in English, but they just popped right into my head and so rather than trying to describe the words in circles, I could just be like, repentance... like arrepentimiento! And he was just like ohhh! I know that! And "El Espiritu Santo! It was so nice to be able to teach in English and randomly throw in some Spanish words and be understood!
Lately, I've just been thinking a lot about prayer and the power of prayer. We've had a couple programs in the past few weeks that have been pretty difficult and I just had some really cool experiences with prayer in those, while saying the closing prayer for both. It's such a cool feeling to know when you are being led in your words by the Holy Ghost, even in your prayers. Both were just experiences of really thought-out, semi-hesitant prayers, of feeling the Spirit guide my words in what help I should ask for for our investigators and such.
I've also been thinking a lot about the Priesthood. The Priesthood session in conference was so good! It's also great to be in a position where I know that there are so many worthy Priesthood holders around me, when I need things. This week was pretty tough, not so much work-wise as personally, and there was one day where I just had a really strong impression that I needed to ask one of the elders for a blessing. I wasn't really sure why I needed one specifically at that point, I mean it was one of those promptings that I'd awkwardly been putting off for a couple weeks, but I finally asked for one. I was just slightly confused as to why on that day I needed one, when I was feeling pretty good. Anyway, I got one and it wasn't any like crazy experience at all, I felt like. However, after a pretty rough morning the day just preceded to get worse and worse and by the time we got home at night I was at a breaking point, of questioning whether I can make it another 3 months and then real life, which is even harder, after that. I had asked my companion to take notes during the blessing and it was nice to be able to come back and just read it over again and see how I had heard what I needed to hear, just many hours early. We've had lots of interesting conversations lately. I made a comment the other day along the lines of "I wouldn't take the last year and a half back because it's changed my entire life, but I would never do it again." which made Sister Dinehart laugh, because she said her dying trainer said almost the exact same thing to her as she was getting ready to go home. haha
We went to institute this week with the YSA and with our investigator and it was really good! I think I like it way better than the one I went to in Utah. I just liked that the class was small and the lesson just made me think. It's super funny, because we taught our investigator the law of chastity a few weeks ago and he was like shocked and we've had some pretty interesting experiences of him bringing it up with members and awkward questions and comments. Anyway, he has this habit now of when he sees a pretty girl or has less appropriate thoughts? he starts chanting "erkölcsi tisztaság, erkölcsi tisztaság" (chastity, chastity) while trying to think of other things. Yeah, so there's a super cute girl in the YSA that he's like in love with and she turned to say something to him and he just started reciting that awkwardly and everyone was just like uhhh…and laughed cause they all know him pretty well by now and that he’s pretty interesting. And then the branch president just turns and looks at me and all he says (all in English) is "good job!" and then he turns to the cute girl and is just like "BAD job!" hahahaha.
I really am just super impressed by this branch. They are so solid and so good! I admire their and the branch president's dedication to always improve and do better. Good is never good enough, but not in a criticizing way. I LOVE being a part of this branch and doing things with them and they are SO helpful. We actually just found out that they're calling us like 10 branch missionaries pretty soon. So we're stoked!
That's all I have time for today! Hopefully makes up for my not so long emails the past few weeks and I sent pictures too! Love you all! Have a good week! Shoot me some emails and I'll answer them on Monday! (:
Love,
Sister Megan Butterfield
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| Meet our cockroach friend. (: Don't worry, he's still alive somewhere. (: |
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| Our first or second night together, in front of some English phone booth? |
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| At a surprise birthday thing we threw for one of the elders here in our second week here. |
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| Welcome to our weekly plannings. |
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| Splits with Sister Clawson on April 1st! love her! We're stoked to hang out at BYU since we never got to serve around each other since the MTC... |
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| The alphabet in Hungarian... yes, there are 44 letters. this was during one of our language studies with one of the members here. She's literally like my best friend in this country. So cute! |
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| Tabling! We actually saw a lot of success this day, but we couldn't stop laughing. Haha and it was so cold and windy! |
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| The Tisza River here in Szeged! We hear that because of it, Szeged has some of the worst mosquitoes here in the summer and it's the hottest city. Joy! haha |
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| We had Easter lunch at this member's house yesterday! 4 courses! (He's the one with the mustache! He also plays soccer with us every week and is soo good!) The other people are the elders.. his two sons at the end of the couch and one of the elder's investigators on the floor. Super cool kid! |
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