Monday, June 30, 2014

Watch Out, Large Object Ahead! (June 30)

So this week was actually way good. :) It is really amazing how much we can grow and become better from such seemingly ordinary and unimportant things! we also had a little miracle! :) We found one lady that was definitely prepared! Her name is Teri (short for Terézia) and we actually tracted into her like a month and a half ago. but she was in the process of moving and she dogged us like 3 or 4 times. so we decided forget it. well, then we looked her up on thursday, and met with her and had a great program! mostly about the word of wisdom and law of chastity haha. but she really wants to be baptized!! Also, Me and my companion decided to make cookies for the branch president and his family. But I had no recipe. so i had no clue what i need and how much of each and what not. haha. so i figure "well, i need some flour, milk, maybe water, eggs, sugar, vanilla... good right? oh wait, something else.... oil? sure!" so i mix it all together until it tastes right and the consistency looks good. hahaha. so then i put them on a pan and let em bake, hoping and praying i didnt do anything terribly wrong hahaha. so we take them out, and i realize that i have basically made some chocolate chip bread. The consistency was totally off, and i had no idea what went wrong. i mean, they tasted pretty good! just not right haha. so when i talked to Balázs (the branch president, who also happens to be a cook! haha weird) he told me that I can only use butter for baking. (but hey, you should be proud for the good job i did all right out of my head!) But hey, we learn every day. :)
Sok szeretettel,
Flake Elder

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Dawn of a New Era (June 23)

Well, summer has officially hit. The sun is out, and the people are enjoying it! Unfortunately, we are still in pants everyday. But fortunately we are finding more and more people to talk to all the time! We found a new man, Dániel, last Sunday while we were tabling (where we go and stand by a table in a busy part of town and talk to everyone who walks by. it is basically street contacts, without the walking hahaha), and this guy walks up and starts talking about how he is interested in our religion and everything (after we told him we are missionaries and what we do in Hungary and blah blah blah) and he gave us his phone number! Then we called him this week, and met with him! really nice guy, smokes, but really loves God. and we gave him a Book of Mormon. and then we met with him again this morning, and talked about our purpose, and how the church blesses our life, and everything, and then we talked about how we help people join the church if they want, and invited him to join also. and he said yes! We set up a date in late July, so hopefully it all works out! 

other than that, we decided to make some cookies for Sister Brown, the senior couple sister here, for her birthday. so i made snickerdoodles! in the middle of June! with tons of cow fat! hahahahaha. the recipe asked for shortening, and so i used the closest (i think and hope anyway haha) that i could find. egyelőre, ennyi. but things are going well, we are happy and safe, a little too warm, but enjoying life. :) 

Love you all! Praying for you often!!
Sok szeretettel,
Flake Elder
 this is right on the outskirts of the town, from a building we are tracting out on Jereván. beautiful. 
 we went to Budapest this week, and this is Szent István's Basilica. really really really big haha. 
  those weird elders haha.
 inside of the Basilica.
  and the dome, really pretty!
  more pretty statues.
 Oh Catholics. They put the guy's right hand in a glass case and are now.. worshipping it? yeah. his actual right hand. 
  and the basilica in all its glory. can you spot the 3 missionaries in the foreground? :) 
 Heilein and Tibor working on the bike. it was right about here I started wishing I had listened more to my dad.. haha.
 Tibor made us dinner and fixed the bike. such an awesome guy! 
 the results of the birthday party. we took home the party hats and got a little weird. ;) 

Monday, June 23, 2014

So is This Going to Be a Thing, Now? (June 16)

Woo-hoo! Another baptism. :) I think we might have to make this a thing, and do this every other week from now on! :) it was so awesome, and, even though i had to dunk her twice (her foot came out of the water when she went down lol) it was seriously sooo cool to be able to baptize the girl. :) her name is Réka (ray-kah) and she is 17, and she knew the missionaries for like 2 months (came to english class. she met with us the first week of May), and then asked to be baptized! it was probably the biggest experience of my mission thus far. it was just so amazing to know that I literally found, taught, and baptized someone. words cant describe it. :) 

Other than that, we had a good week. :) so, the zone leaders came down and went out to dinner with us and had a good time, then we had a baptismal interview, Réka passed, and we celebrated! :D well me and heilein did, hahaha. :p with 2 dinners :p we ate with the zone leaders, and then ate again when we got home, because we forgot we already ate dinner.

I would say that this week really showed me that I am out here for a reason. I am not just walking around talking some crazy stuff to people. But i literally have a purpose. I am here to bring others to Christ. Sometimes that is intimidating, because that means I have to be so close to Him myself. But, when I see the change in other people's lives, it is so worth it. :) 

Well, have a fantastic week! Love you all! 
Sok szeretettel,
Flake Elder
 me and Heilein eating at Linda's house. with our little bibs. :) she is the best! haha.

 then I passed out on the floor while Linda was (supposed to be!! hahah) watching a Mormon message.
 So i like to cook and make food. and sometimes, I make a little uneven portions for me and my companion.. :) (dont worry, we shared!)
  and the baptism. :) by the way, it is in a jacuzzi. cant complain about that! hahaha. 
 and this was the leftovers after the baptism. and guess who got to take it all? thats right, the people who live a floor above the branch house. us haha
 me and sister sexton trying to catch a butterfly in our hands.. :) didnt work haha.
 and this palace we tried to visit, only to find out it is closed on Mondays! hahaha. oh well, still a gorgeous place.
 and some comp unity, showing the love. :)
 district power! best district. ever. :)
  some merry-go-round thing we found. with the senior elder, Elder Brown! hahahah :) 
 gotta love those car selfies!
 and that lovely flake elder tongue!
so we bought hats today. :) actually the hats go to the trash cans though. hahah. 
 woman parking. hehe
  went to the austrian border, and almost got stuck there! haha.
 peace and love brothers :)
  went back to Eszterhazy and visited the grounds. (since it is closed on Mondays, wasnt much else of a choice! haha)
inner courtyard of Eszterhazy! :D

 and the districtttt!
  yeah, we cool
 wow, how attractive!
 clouds are pretty.
  i will go and do. 
 hahAA, what cool kids. 
oh nooo, i am on a train! i can conduct music, how hard can a train be!
 WHOA! haha
off to go and do, find teach and baptize. :)  

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

One Down, One to Go!‏ (June 10)

This week was actually very good! It has been so neat to see one of our investigators, Réka, progress so quickly and easily towards Christ. We met with Réka about 3 or 4 times, and then she was asking us for a bap date. It was incredible. We almost had to tell her to calm down because we couldnt get an interview set up in time! Luckily, her fire stayed alive and strong, and she is set to be baptized this coming Saturday, where I will be baptizing her!
We also got bikes this week! :D In my head when I as young, a missionary was someone in shirt and tie and who teaches the gospel and who rides a bike. those were the three requirements. and I have finally achieved all of them. :) hahaha.
We also had a great time watching Mormon messages and Bible videos. :) we decided to download all the ones we could, so now when we are eating food or something else, we can enjoy a nice spiritual upliftment too! :D over 100 short videos hahaha. :)
Overall, this week was awesome. We got to make complete the baptism of Erzsi by giving her the gift of the Holy Ghost, and we are going to baptize Réka. As a missionary, I can't ask for anything more.
És a magyar barátaimnak: Nagyon köszönöm, hogy én érdekellek. Gyertek vissza, máskor is! A szívemből tudom, kétség nélkül, hogy ez a vallás, ez az egyház, igaz. És hogy ez Krisztusé. Ha nem így lenne, akkor BIZTOS, hogy én nem lennék itt haha. de mivel tudom ezeket, jól érzem magam itt, bár távol vagyok otthonomtól. Haladjatok ezen az úton és ne feledjétek el, hogy Jézus a Krisztus és hogy Isten szeret bennünket. :D 

Sok szeretettel,
Flake Elder




 this is what happens when a younger companion misbehaves. I am pretty serious when it comes to punishment. ;)





this is my morning face. coincidentally, also my midday and afternoon and night face. wait.. 





doing some more pretty finding with roses. hopefully they invite their friends. 


 gotta love the golden arches in the background. everywhere. 





and the lovely Fő tér of Sopron! Probably one of the prettiest places ever. :) 





more o' dat Fő tér! 





 I am finally a real missionary! Bike and all! :D (unfortunately, with it comes some rear-ended soreness.. >.<)




 look at those big strong guys on Pday! ;D





 and Sister Sexton learning how to ride a bike! on her mission! hahaha. or trying. :p
 And that is Tibor helping her, an eternal from profi Angolóra. 





and this is the Pán-Európai piknik, which is where the iron curtain was first broken through or something like that. heck, what do I know? Google it!
Peace and love, my brothers! and elder Heilein as well. 

And Zsolt made a visit as well! :D always great to see Zsolt :) 





this is also a park with swings. :) yes, we enjoyed ourselves :D and a slide :)




 and the good ole 3 musketeers feel going on.. gotta love it. :) 




yes. 




gotta love Hungary! :) 




 oh no, I was in Austria! naughty boy. 





pretty Hungarian landscape! well, mostly me. but hey, still good, right? :D





 comp unity, right in front of the swamp thing. :) 




and Fertő, a super pretty lake! 




prolly the coolest companionship in the world. just sayin. ;) 




such a cool lake, it just gives you fish to eat! found this fish right among the rocks, picked it up and started eating! ;)





 then we went to a Jewish synagogue (well, the museum for it) and saw some old Hunagrian Jewish stuff! haha. 






then we found this well, where the Jews used to bathe once a day apperantly! (although that might be wrong, i read the description in Hungarian and there were some big words there... :p) 





This is Linda, who wants so bad to be baptized, but her family is very against it. She is a rock, and I love her a lot. :) 







probably the best angle I could have found for my face. you are so welcome. 








it is hot. and we dont like it. :( sad face.