So
this is my first Pday in Magyarország. Its driving me a little crazy that the
keys are mixed up, and the spell check is telling me that Im spelling
everything wrong, so my whole email here is entirely red! Haha.
Hungary is great! I
dont know where to begin... But I forgot my camera, so I will try to send my
pictures tonight if I remember that to help you visualize my experiences
here...
Well, I flew here last
monday, the 14th of Január. I got picked up by my mission president and his
assistants and they took me to the mission home, where I slept like a baby, it
was so wonderful! The next day, they had us go outside and go streeting,
talking to random people in some town square about the Church, all in
Hungarian. It was the most terrifying hour of my life! We did find some
interested people, though, and people who arent interested are sometimes
willing to help us practice our Hungarian, at least, haha. And I was able to
place a Book of Mormon or two!
Then, they had a
"sorting hat ceremony," to place each zöldi (greenie) with his
trainer. And of course I get the guy who wore his Gryffindor tie to celebrate
the occasion! haha. His name is Bracken elder, and he is a pretty cool guy! Hes
from Texas and is a really successful missionary, which is nice for me because
we hardly have to go tracting! Haha. We are serving in a town called Érd (along
with a few outlying towns nearby) which is just west of Budapest. So after the
big meeting, it was time to start heading home. First, some of the other missionaries
decided to have a big meal together, so we went to this nice, quaintsy
restaurant, where I had my first real meal in Hungary... Mexican food! haha.
My first day, we had 4
programs (thats what they call lessons here), and English class, all in a row.
I fell asleep during the last program, I was so exhausted, and I couldnt really
understand anything, so it was hard to stay focused. The whole adjustment from
understanding what people say to me, to suddenly not know anything was pretty
scary, and I was pretty discouraged my first day.
The other days have
been pretty hard too, but things are starting to get better. I still have no
idea whats going on, but Im able to recognize more words when people talk. We
have some really cool investigators, as well as new converts and less actives and
everyone is really understanding with me not knowing anything, haha. Well,
except one day, I gave the spiritual thought in our English class, and
afterward, some lady just said, "You know, you speak very broken
Hungarian! But that's alright, because we all speak very broken English!"
Haha.
Istentiszteleten (at
church) we had about 10 nonmembers at church, which means that about 1/3 of the
branch were not members! Also, they almost made me the branch pianist, but
luckily the mother of an American family volunteered, and they only made me do
it during priesthood, which didnt go so well... Also, at church, I met a couple
who said that they met my cousin Chris at a singles activity! Évi and István, I
think. They said they only met for a second, but you should ask if he remembers
them!
Well, things are
pretty awesome. Ive had some really cool experiences! There was one lady who
has had some pretty hard problems lately, and so we were able to give her a
blessing! I also was able to teach one lady how to pray, and the importance of
prayer. Today, we committed a man to try out the Word of Wisdom! Its really
cool to see people working hard to come closer to Christ! And its also really
awesome to be there to... watch my companion help them! Haha.
So, my apartment is
pretty sweet. Back in the days of communism, they built tons of these tiny
10-story apartment buildings to house as many people as possible, and we live
in one of those. We have a really retro looking kind of washing machine, that a
neighbor said he hadnt seen since the communism days. There is also no dryer,
so we've got to let the laundry dry for like 2 days/time the laundry pretty
well, haha. We also have a lot of old things that would be there from having
missionaries live there for years. There's a small ant infestation, too which
is pretty fun. Yesterday, I found a few ants chillin' in my loaf of bread!
"Well," said I, "Looks like I'll just be having a lot of toast
from now on!" Haha.
Also! There is some
famous tie man in Budapest somewhere, who will meet up with missionaries, they
pay him a little money, he finds them a big trash bag of ties (and whatever
else...), and nobody asks any questions. Well, we have 2 of those bags in the
old apartment. Thats like... hundreds and hundreds of ties, haha.
Őőőőő... the weather
is pretty nice. Like, its chilly but not freezing enough to wear my coat AND a
hat AND gloves AND boots! haha. People always give me weird looks or ask me if
Im dying because Im not constantly bundled in everything at all times. Ive
heard a lot of, "Where is your hat?!" "Do you have a
cold?!" "Arent you freezing?!" "Do you need more hot
chocolate?" <---(thats my favorite question!)
Also, a lot of people
are trying to learn English, so some of the time in our programs, we just chat with
them in English, or just help them with their studies. In some lessons, we
teach half English, half Hungarian, and it's great for me because then I can
understand just about half the lesson! I wonder why! Haha. I feel like in the
all-Hungarian programs though, they just tell jokes about me and stuff,
haha.
Well, I love the
people in our area! They are great! And my companion is awesome! If youve ever
heard those stories about bad areas turning good, thats how Érd is. It used to
be a crappy area, but Bracken elder and some of his predecessors were able to
turn it around, and now it is one of the most coveted areas in the mission,
haha. Elder Bracken likes to make me work hard, too. We do a loooot of biking
and train riding to visit people in surrounding towns. I cant go as fast or as
far as he can though, so Im sure I test his patience a little bit sometimes...
haha. Yesterday when we were sprinting to catch the hourly train to an
appointment, I told him that if it makes him feel better, when Im a trainer, Im
going to get the slowest and laziest zöldi of all time, and he'll never be able
to go anywhere, haha. But for now, Im the fat and lazy companion I guess! Haha.
But I just get so tired! I'm usually ready for bed by like 5pm, haha.
Well, in conclusion, I
would like to say that this will probably be a hard 2 years, and I sometimes
have doubts as to whether I can ever learn this language, but Im still trying
anyways, haha. If nothing else, just remember that missionary work is pretty
dang awesome. Also, know that every Hungarian has either a super nice smart
phone, or a reaaaally crappy Nokia phone. Everyone. McDonalds is still just as
good here as it is there... and... the Church is true!
I dont know what else
to say.
Sok szeretettel,
Young Mitchell elder.
