July 7, 2014
Hellooo!
First off, I just want to apologize in case I offended anyone with my letter last week... My point wasn't meant to be that America is awful. The US is a great country, and I love it! The point I had intended to make was just that I don't like being treated like royalty or super badly, just because of where I was born; I'm not any cooler or better than anyone else just because I have an American Passport. I don't want people to be talking to us as missionaries, just because they're interested in where we're from instead of the Gospel. But I love the United States, just like I love Hungary and Peru and a lot of other countries. Sorry if that came out wrong, I wasn't intending to be offensive! (:
Hm…it's been an interesting week. I'll just say Monday, Tuesday and Sunday (yesterday) were good days and we'll leave it at that... hahah. Nah, but really, Tuesday was probably my favorite. That's when I saw Viki from Veszprém for lunch and we got to catch up and stuff (: Then later that night we had English Class at the branch house and then I got a lot of chocolate and it made me happy. (: Wednesday was good too, actually, cause I was still happy from the day before haha and then we had a whole day of tracting and got 4 let ins and then we had a program with one of my favorite investigators here. Her little daughter made us little sting necklaces while we were there and introduced us to her stuffed animals. haha super cute.
Thursday night we went up to Pest for splits... I got to go with Sister Moffatt! It was funny, just cause neither of us are Sister Training Leaders or anything, so we were just like…meh... who leads? But it was fun. I'm glad I went with her, and I could finally get to know my mission "sister" (Sister Watts trained us both!). The night was interesting... All four of us slept at the same apartment, so it was just like a giant sleepover, which means tons of talking and everyone trying to figure secrets out and stuff... haha, we got a lot of questions about Duna and then a lot about Szeged... That was more interesting. Mostly, because this is the first time I'd seen Sister Maxfield since I served in Szeged and we served our transfer together RIGHT after she was a greenie there, so I heard a million and one stories about Szeged and the members and investigators, but I didn't really understand/remember/pay attention to a lot of it, because I had no idea what she was talking about. So it was interesting to talk about it and hear some stories that she told me.... I didn't do much talking, but I learned a lot of interesting things, now that I know everyone she was talking about...She offered to move back to Szeged with me if I end up going back there to the University...... hahaha. Splits are weird. I used to like them, now they just make me super tired. haha Mostly cause all three of them decided they were tired and within seconds they were all out and I just lied there forever, like always. haha The joys of being a dying missionary. Since about Thursday I've been in kind of a freak out/ panic state of mind... I counted it out and I don't think I've had any of my anxiety attacks since like January, which is a good 6 months, so it's about time... There's just a lot to figure out and I'm not quite ready for real life. But I'm still excited, mostly I'm just trying to think of all the things I'm excited for. Call me crazy, but probably top of my list (after the obvious family and friends and stuff) is going to the movie theater all the time again... and watching all the new movies that came out and all the old ones that I used to watch all the time…and food/restaurants there and playing card games with people who appreciate them. haha Speaking of old movies, yesterday a missionary brought up the movie Saturday's Warriors and it made me laugh, thinking back to how cheesy it is and when we were super young that was the movie our family watched every Sunday along with The Sound of Music.
Anyway... super off track... back to splits... The next morning (on the 4th of July) we woke up and went over to the branch house for the morning workout with the elders there. We did Yoga and learned karate kicks…haha I added in the sound effects, of course. hahah then we split into teams and played soccer. (I don't know if you remember back to Székes on Christmas when Elder Hancey and I were creamed by Sister Broadhead and Elder Bennett in Dodgeball?) Well, Elder Hancey and my team (our two greenies) finally got our vengeance and beat the other team. hahah I just can't get competitive in sports.. oh well. Later on in the day we met back up for our lunch hour to have Hamburgers for the 4th. That day I was with Sister Moffatt and we had a really interesting day...She just barely got transferred to Pest last week, so she didn't really know her way around or who the investigators really are... I think Sister Maxfield just gave me some investigators so that I could deal with them and help her figure out to do with them... yeah... I don't think one of them was used to having someone so serious teaching them, cause I was not willing to put up with his rude or inappropriate comments. mehh. And one of their investigators had a foot fetish, I think? Because he started taking pictures of my feet and asking me if I could take off my shoes for him... what?! I have no idea... But.... needless to say, I was exhausted by the end of that day and I don't think I've ever been so happy to be back in Duna... hahaha
Things are going well here... I'm just really sad that I have to leave so soon. I feel like I always get to areas and right when I feel like I finally am getting to know people and know how I can help in the branch more, I get taken out... We had Branch Council yesterday and holy cow, it was the best branch council I've ever been to on my mission. They know how it works here. It was cool to be able to help give input on things to work on and suggestions for callings for people and for activities for them to plan, but then it just made me ever more sad because I realized I won't even be here for any changes or activities or anything... I even stopped cutting links of my chain for a few days earlier in the week, because I was in denial that I actually have to go home. hahaha (:
Since I'm leaving, and my companion is most likely staying here next transfer, I have switched our roles in the companionship. It'll make for an interesting couple weeks. haha Started yesterday, I handed over everything that I have, like the map, tracting book, etc., and instead of leading us, I am now being led. Mostly, the idea behind it is that I let her figure everything out without trying to take over, because if she does get lost or something then I'm there to figure out how to get back, because next transfer she won't even be able to call me for help. So that was interesting, we walked too far a few times and such, but I just calmly followed, waiting until she realized to see if she could figure out how to solve it. Responsibility is good for people, it's stressful on the mission sometimes, and so I'm trying to do things with/for her that I think would have helped me. There are so many new sister missionaries coming in and even more leaving with my group, that we have been warned that we need to prepare our greenies to be senior or co-senior by this coming transfer or the one after... So I'm just trying to give as much practice with responsibility possible, while she can still have the reassurance or confidence that I'm here if anything goes wrong. It's an interesting experience, but so far so good!
Anyway…this has gotten super long, and I'll be back in two weeks and we can talk then anyway... haha Recommendation for the week: Read the July Liahona! It's actually super good. My favorites were the article on Perfectionism and the tips for parents raising YSA kids or something like that. The one on perfectionism is called something like Being Perfect in Christ and I read it this weekend right when I needed it. Mostly because I am a perfectionist myself, but also because I was starting to stress out about expectations that I know some people have on others, for example, when looking for someone to marry and it's just a lot when you know someone else's expectations are extremely high and they tend to be disappointed when they realize someone isn't as perfect as they might initially think, and I personally know that I am very far from perfect and have a lot of weaknesses. And of course, as a dying missionary, that's something I'll have to start dealing with at some point... But then I read that talk and it made me laugh. (: But it was actually really good!
Have a good week! Enjoy the AC for me, while I'm out here melting...
Love,
Sister Megan Butterfield
PS - Someone say happy birthday to Uncle Gary and Lindsey (Manning) for me this week if you happen to talk to them! (:
Hellooo!
First off, I just want to apologize in case I offended anyone with my letter last week... My point wasn't meant to be that America is awful. The US is a great country, and I love it! The point I had intended to make was just that I don't like being treated like royalty or super badly, just because of where I was born; I'm not any cooler or better than anyone else just because I have an American Passport. I don't want people to be talking to us as missionaries, just because they're interested in where we're from instead of the Gospel. But I love the United States, just like I love Hungary and Peru and a lot of other countries. Sorry if that came out wrong, I wasn't intending to be offensive! (:
Hm…it's been an interesting week. I'll just say Monday, Tuesday and Sunday (yesterday) were good days and we'll leave it at that... hahah. Nah, but really, Tuesday was probably my favorite. That's when I saw Viki from Veszprém for lunch and we got to catch up and stuff (: Then later that night we had English Class at the branch house and then I got a lot of chocolate and it made me happy. (: Wednesday was good too, actually, cause I was still happy from the day before haha and then we had a whole day of tracting and got 4 let ins and then we had a program with one of my favorite investigators here. Her little daughter made us little sting necklaces while we were there and introduced us to her stuffed animals. haha super cute.
Thursday night we went up to Pest for splits... I got to go with Sister Moffatt! It was funny, just cause neither of us are Sister Training Leaders or anything, so we were just like…meh... who leads? But it was fun. I'm glad I went with her, and I could finally get to know my mission "sister" (Sister Watts trained us both!). The night was interesting... All four of us slept at the same apartment, so it was just like a giant sleepover, which means tons of talking and everyone trying to figure secrets out and stuff... haha, we got a lot of questions about Duna and then a lot about Szeged... That was more interesting. Mostly, because this is the first time I'd seen Sister Maxfield since I served in Szeged and we served our transfer together RIGHT after she was a greenie there, so I heard a million and one stories about Szeged and the members and investigators, but I didn't really understand/remember/pay attention to a lot of it, because I had no idea what she was talking about. So it was interesting to talk about it and hear some stories that she told me.... I didn't do much talking, but I learned a lot of interesting things, now that I know everyone she was talking about...She offered to move back to Szeged with me if I end up going back there to the University...... hahaha. Splits are weird. I used to like them, now they just make me super tired. haha Mostly cause all three of them decided they were tired and within seconds they were all out and I just lied there forever, like always. haha The joys of being a dying missionary. Since about Thursday I've been in kind of a freak out/ panic state of mind... I counted it out and I don't think I've had any of my anxiety attacks since like January, which is a good 6 months, so it's about time... There's just a lot to figure out and I'm not quite ready for real life. But I'm still excited, mostly I'm just trying to think of all the things I'm excited for. Call me crazy, but probably top of my list (after the obvious family and friends and stuff) is going to the movie theater all the time again... and watching all the new movies that came out and all the old ones that I used to watch all the time…and food/restaurants there and playing card games with people who appreciate them. haha Speaking of old movies, yesterday a missionary brought up the movie Saturday's Warriors and it made me laugh, thinking back to how cheesy it is and when we were super young that was the movie our family watched every Sunday along with The Sound of Music.
Anyway... super off track... back to splits... The next morning (on the 4th of July) we woke up and went over to the branch house for the morning workout with the elders there. We did Yoga and learned karate kicks…haha I added in the sound effects, of course. hahah then we split into teams and played soccer. (I don't know if you remember back to Székes on Christmas when Elder Hancey and I were creamed by Sister Broadhead and Elder Bennett in Dodgeball?) Well, Elder Hancey and my team (our two greenies) finally got our vengeance and beat the other team. hahah I just can't get competitive in sports.. oh well. Later on in the day we met back up for our lunch hour to have Hamburgers for the 4th. That day I was with Sister Moffatt and we had a really interesting day...She just barely got transferred to Pest last week, so she didn't really know her way around or who the investigators really are... I think Sister Maxfield just gave me some investigators so that I could deal with them and help her figure out to do with them... yeah... I don't think one of them was used to having someone so serious teaching them, cause I was not willing to put up with his rude or inappropriate comments. mehh. And one of their investigators had a foot fetish, I think? Because he started taking pictures of my feet and asking me if I could take off my shoes for him... what?! I have no idea... But.... needless to say, I was exhausted by the end of that day and I don't think I've ever been so happy to be back in Duna... hahaha
Things are going well here... I'm just really sad that I have to leave so soon. I feel like I always get to areas and right when I feel like I finally am getting to know people and know how I can help in the branch more, I get taken out... We had Branch Council yesterday and holy cow, it was the best branch council I've ever been to on my mission. They know how it works here. It was cool to be able to help give input on things to work on and suggestions for callings for people and for activities for them to plan, but then it just made me ever more sad because I realized I won't even be here for any changes or activities or anything... I even stopped cutting links of my chain for a few days earlier in the week, because I was in denial that I actually have to go home. hahaha (:
Since I'm leaving, and my companion is most likely staying here next transfer, I have switched our roles in the companionship. It'll make for an interesting couple weeks. haha Started yesterday, I handed over everything that I have, like the map, tracting book, etc., and instead of leading us, I am now being led. Mostly, the idea behind it is that I let her figure everything out without trying to take over, because if she does get lost or something then I'm there to figure out how to get back, because next transfer she won't even be able to call me for help. So that was interesting, we walked too far a few times and such, but I just calmly followed, waiting until she realized to see if she could figure out how to solve it. Responsibility is good for people, it's stressful on the mission sometimes, and so I'm trying to do things with/for her that I think would have helped me. There are so many new sister missionaries coming in and even more leaving with my group, that we have been warned that we need to prepare our greenies to be senior or co-senior by this coming transfer or the one after... So I'm just trying to give as much practice with responsibility possible, while she can still have the reassurance or confidence that I'm here if anything goes wrong. It's an interesting experience, but so far so good!
Anyway…this has gotten super long, and I'll be back in two weeks and we can talk then anyway... haha Recommendation for the week: Read the July Liahona! It's actually super good. My favorites were the article on Perfectionism and the tips for parents raising YSA kids or something like that. The one on perfectionism is called something like Being Perfect in Christ and I read it this weekend right when I needed it. Mostly because I am a perfectionist myself, but also because I was starting to stress out about expectations that I know some people have on others, for example, when looking for someone to marry and it's just a lot when you know someone else's expectations are extremely high and they tend to be disappointed when they realize someone isn't as perfect as they might initially think, and I personally know that I am very far from perfect and have a lot of weaknesses. And of course, as a dying missionary, that's something I'll have to start dealing with at some point... But then I read that talk and it made me laugh. (: But it was actually really good!
Have a good week! Enjoy the AC for me, while I'm out here melting...
Love,
Sister Megan Butterfield
PS - Someone say happy birthday to Uncle Gary and Lindsey (Manning) for me this week if you happen to talk to them! (:
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| Viki and Flóra (: (both going to the Manchester England Mission) |
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| more chocolate... (: |
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| One of the stranger programs on my mission.... on splits in Pest (notice the Patriotic outfit, Jenny haha) |
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| Stealing Sister Schnoor's pictures again... |
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| A little girl in the branch here! she's so cute! (: She always sits with us in church! |
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| A better quality picture of splits. |
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| I found her creeper pictures of me...Haha I'll pass them on, because I think they're funny. She always laughs at the weird positions I sit in when I'm on the phone or just stressing out... |
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| When I fell asleep memorizing the dictionary.... haha somehow I can fall asleep when I'm not supposed to, but I can never fall asleep when I'm supposed to. Oh well. |
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| At our 4th of July lunch on splits.. the other elders forgot about it and planned a program, so they couldnt come.. awkward. haha |
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| Splits... |
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| I was really bored one day during lunch...... |
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