Transfer 17, Week 1 (hehehehe)

Hi everyone!

So, this is my last email home from Hungary.....This last week was pretty uneventful.....well, maybe that's just because of Wednesday...our landlord scheduled someone to come over and check something, but couldn't give us a specific time, so we stayed in the apartment all day...kind of ridiculous, but I got some stuff ready for packing. The rest of the week was pretty normal...we went with the other elders to verpelét to visit a family...they are way cool, we had a paraszt dinner, which means that they brought out a ton of bread, chopped up vegetables, cheese and meats, and we each had a knife, so you just kind of stabbed whatever you wanted, threw it on your bread and ate it. It was super fun, and the kolbász was actually theirs, homemade, and it was sooooo good! We also whipped a bit becuase the dad is learning how to make whips, so that was pretty fun.

That's about it for last week. Not too much out of the ordinary....this coming week should be interesting, we'll just be hanging out today, tomorrow i'll be packing, we have a program in the evening at 5, then thanksgiving dinner at the Scott's apartment at 7:00 with a gentleman from english class and his wife. That should be really cool. then, on Wednesday, Elder Pendleton and I will be going to Budapest, he will get Elder Allen (not the one i served with, a younger one), and I will stay in Budapest. I'll just kind of piddle around for a while, make a pie :) then have a round table discussion with President, departing interviews, departing dinner, departing testimonies, then one last drive around Budapest. Then, we'll fly out thursday morning. I think Elder Miller and I are going to have a long wait at the airport, our flight is 2 hours later than the sisters', but i think we still have to be there when they are....ah! and then I'll be home on Thursday, not quite sure what all's on the schedule for Friday and Saturday, but I believe on Sunday Elder Miller and I are speaking, followed by a youth fireside that evening, if I understand correctly.....so yeah, that should be our week.

I hope you all have a blast, and I'll be seeing you soon! It's been an amazing two years!

Elder Murray

Transfer 16, Week 6 Nov 14, 2011

OH boy

So, this past week was pretty much same old same old. Well, on Monday, we went to Budapest to get Elder Pendleton registered. Our train was supposed to get to Budapest at around 8:00, but arrived closer to 9 because of an accident. we got to the mission home super late, the group had already left, so we drove out to the hivatal, dropped him off, then came back to the mission home. Then, i went with sister bagozzi and Sister Johnson to the nagy piac to buy some souvenirs and stuff, then we met up with Sister Smith for lunch. After that, we went to Szent István's basillica, which is a huge catholic cathedral in Pest. it was way cool . in the back, they have the chapel of the holy right hand, and inside is the hand of Szent István, the first christian king of a somewhat united Hungary. Kind of cool. kind of nasty (it's about 1100 years old. or something like that).

After that, we came back, and on Tuesday we had splits with the APs. It was super fun, we went tabling and gave out a ton of Book of Mormons. Elder Pendleton and I got super into it, so the rest of the week was pretty much all just tabling. It was a lot of work, but we saw quite a bit of success from it. super fun.

That's really about it. On Sunday, three of us missionaries gave talks. Elder Pendleton was first, and he did a really great job, I was pretty impressed with him. Then was Elder Clavel and he did a really good job too. I was last, i kind of got confused with the time, so i ended five or ten minutes too early, but Elder Scott got up to bear his testimony at the end, so it was all good. My talk was pretty much just about my mission, which was cool, because I think that a lot of lessons we learn in life aren't actually learned and cemented in our minds until we actually look back and reflect on our experiences. It was a way cool opportunity.

so, that's about it. I guess I'll talk to you all next week!

Elder Murray

ps i don't know how weather is back home, but it's interesting here. We have had sun all year round, starting from January. From March to September, it was pretty warm. It is now still the same look, no clouds in the sky, but we've been getting down to freezing pretty consistently. Kind of ridiculous. so yeah, just thought i'd throw that in.

Transfer 16, Week 5 - Nov 8, 2011

Hi everyone
Oh my gosh, not even going to talk about the thing that just popped into my head as I was typing that subject line.
Things are going well here in Eger. We don't have much time today because we just dropped in to email real quick, so I'll give a quick recap of our week.
Monday was really long. We spent most of it with the Scotts looking up inactive members, but we had no success except one of them told us to come back next week. So, we'll see with that.
Tuesday was super awesome - we had a super P-Day, we just stayed at the branch house, watched a few movies and played a board game. It was a very relaxing day, and it was nice to just be able to all get together and have fun.
Wednesday was good. We went in to Budapest for zone conference, which, looking back, seems like it was only a few minutes long. It was just a normal zone conference, I got to introduce Elder Pendleton (did a terrible job of it too, hope he doesn't hold it against me :) and then at the end Elder Miller, Elder Diamond, Sister Wright and I all gave our departing testimonies. Elder Diamond actually goes home next transfer, but it's before the zone conference, so he gave his during this one. Yeah, it was pretty much one of my saddest moments on my mission, just looking out at people I have served with and thinking back on my mission and the things I have learned. that last part was actually happy, and I'm grateful for the things i've learned. but, i'm so sad that i won't see so many of the good friends i have made, even though it'll just be for 21 months or so at the longest. It's just hard to imagine life without so many of these people. It was difficult. Afterwards, Elder Clavel and I rode the train home (Elder Hommes and Elder Pendleton went home early with the Scotts to make it in time for English class). It was a long day. Other than that, kind of an average week. I had been signed up to speak in church the Sunday before I go home, but it got moved up a week, so i'll be speaking this Sunday on the most memorable moments/experiences of my mission. I hope i can keep it together for the whole duration. yeah. During church, president and Sister Baughman actually ended up coming, so i translated the testimonies for them. then, afterwards, president held a few interviews with some people who would like to get a patriarchal blessing, so i had to translate in those as well. It was fun, i always enjoy translating. then afterwards, President and I had a little chat and just talked a bit about my mission. It was good, just once again kind of sad to think that it's almost over.
Yesterday was possibly the longest day of my mission. we got up at 4 so we could catch the train at 5:30 so we could get to budapest at 8 in time for Elder Pendleton to go get registered for his residency permit. well, there was something wrong about 10 minutes away from the last stop, so our trian sat there for 45 minutes or so......but, everything worked out and we were still able to get Elder Pendleton down to the hivatal and registered and everything. as for me, I went to the nagy piac and bought a few things, then Sister Smith and Sister Bagozzi took us out for lunch at a cool little rétesház....afterwards, we went to Szent István's basillica, which was pretty amazing. I got a picture of King István's holy right hand.....kind of intense. the whole building is just massive and so ornate, it's incredible. then, we got back to the mission home in time for my meeting which lasted about 10 minutes. it was good, we talked about how everyone was doing and how to improve and stuff. then, Elder Pendleton and I, as well as Sister Johnson and Sister Galliand got on a train at 6 in the evening. that was a pretty fun train ride, we ended up singin Day-o (from Beetlejuice.... :) because i just happened to have the lyrics on me... hehehehehe) and telling about our most traumatic bone-breaking experiences at home....I say 'we' and i actually mean Sister Johnson and Elder Pendleton, becuase neither Sister Galliand nor I have every broken a bone. so yeah, that was fun. then, we got back to Eger, and the APs were there to go on splits with us. they spent the night, and then they just left at 3:30 today. it was really fun.
So, that was our week. I've got to head out soon, so i hope you all have a great time, and we'll talk to you all next week!
Elder Murray

Transfer 16, Week 4 - Oct. 29, 2011

Hi everyone
So, slight hiccup in things....we can't email on Monday or Tuesday because those are holidays and then on Wednesday we'll be in Budapest for Zone Conference, so the next opportunity we would have to email is Thursday, so we just decided to run in here real quick and get it done now. Sorry for not letting you know sooner, we just kind of found out ourselves a few days ago.
So, not much going on this week...we had a few programs with some members, actually met with the one guy we streeted into, he was cool and we're going to see if he'll come to the activity tonite. Other than that, we've been doing a lot of tabling which is where we take a little collapsible table into the belváros and set up some Book of Mormons and pamphlets and stuff on it, then tape a sign on the front. two of us usually stay by the table and then the other two kind of go out and try to nab people and bring them in to the table. It's been going pretty well, we've gotten a few possibilities from it. Not too much excitement....well, we did have a slightly drunk man come up and stay for a while...he whipped out his little pocket bottle and asked if we wanted any, I said no, definitely not, and then he got pretty intense about me taking some. He took a few swigs, but luckily the only thing he did was spill a little on our sign. ugh, i hate that smell, i've smelled it on every single drunk person in Hungary. blegh! so yeah, that's our little thrill this week.
We're trying to get a game night going here in Eger, so tonight will be the first one...hopefully it goes well.
So, that's about it. Next week, we'll be working on Monday, then Tuesday is a super p-day, i'm still not sure what the plan is for that, i'd really like to go over to this cemetary nearby once it gets darker out (which starts happening at about 5:30 nowadays) and see all the candles. i missed it last year, and i've heard that it is really amazing. i'll be sure to take some pictures...maybe. :)
That's about it. Not too much else going on....we have zone conference on Wednesday with the southwest zone (and possibly the west...not sure on that one) so Sister Wright, Elder Miller and I will be giving our departing testimonies....gosh, that is a super weird thought, it's kind of something that i've been waiting for a lot, but now that it's here, it seems like it has come way too fast...i still have 3 weeks after that, so we'll see what happens.
ok, i think i'll sign off now.....so, i won't be emailing this next week, just on Monday the 7th...actually, it might end up being on the 8th, because on the 7th we're going to Budapest to get Elder Pendleton registered. we'll see..... :) I hope you all have a great week or two!
Elder Murray

Response to email from Mom - Oct. 24, 2011

Eger is pretty cool....definitely one of the prettiest cities i have served in...probably because it is the seat of the Catholic church in Hungary....so, lots of Catholics who really don't want to change their religion...but, we meet some people who are always willing to chat on the street. so........we'll see how things go. it is actually pronounced like "egg", and then say "er" pronouncing the e the same way as in egg. Egg-air. that is also pretty close.
hm...blessings i have recieved from serving a mission.....i would probably say one of the biggest is definitely having the opportunity to learn Christlike attributes and then look at myself and see what i need to change...of course, i have the opportunity at home as well, but i really feel like being on a mission kind of magnifies every aspect of that. then of course, there's learning about the gospel. Another big one (actually, probably one of the biggest) would just be an increased desire to share the gospel. It has never really seemed like a commandment to me before, just a really good idea, but everything on my mission and in general conferences has been basically yelling at me that yes it is a commandment and i need to share it with as many people as i can. it's also been really cool to see that desire grow in people at home - like with Lynell, for instance. that was super cool to hear about her missionary experiences. and, i have felt a super strong desire to share the gospel with my friends at home as well. so, i think that that would be one of my greatest blessings. and then of course, all the people i meet and grow to love. it is going to be super hard to say goodbye to this country. Hungarians always say that it may be difficult to become their friend, but once they have accepted you as their friend, nothing will ever break that friendship.

Transfer 16, Week 3 - Oct 24, 2011

Hi everyone!
ok, so, it's officially week 3 now.....week 2 was......good. Pretty much the whole week, Elder Pendleton and I were out on the street. and, we got one phone number. it was cool though, the guy from whom we got the phone number actually stopped and talked to us for 5 or 10 minutes. he was super cool, he's attending the college, maybe about 20 years old, and we just had a cool conversation about why we're here and what we talk to people about. we actually have a program set up with him for tonight, so it'll be interesting to see where things go. pretty exciting! other than that, not too much going on...we met with a less-active who is probably one of the most fancy bácsis i have ever seen.....super polite, speaks really nicely in his really deep voice, and just an all-around cool guy.
So, that was about it for working stuff....Sunday was....interesting....so, we had a meeting about an hour before church, and we realized that the Gudgells were coming and that they would need a translator, so I got voted for that since i'm the oldest missionary. then, it was discovered that they needed a teacher for Sunday school, so i was also assigned that. then, just as sacrament meeting was starting, the member blessing the sacrament came over and asked if i would be the other person to bless. So, i basically didn't have any time to relax at church. it was a lof of fun though, it was the first time i blessed the sacrament in hungarian at a church meeting, it was my first time translating a talk in sacrament meeting, and it was my first time teaching an actual sunday school class. so, a lot of first-timers on Sunday. I really enjoy translating though (except when i've been doing it for a while really fast, then my brain just gets fried), and i definitely gained a better appreciation for Sister Smith, because she got roped into teaching a lesson last minute just after she had gotten to the country. i can't really say i enjoyed teaching the sunday school lesson (it was actually probably one of the most boring ones the memebrs have ever attended), but i think i learned a lesson - be prepared for everything, especially the unexpected. kind of a difficult lesson since i'm still kind of learning not to procrastinate.....but oh well.
so, yeah, that was our week in a nutshell. not quite sure too much how this week is going to go, but we'll get some planning done and try to do what we can.
i hope you all have a great week!
Elder Murray

Transfer 16, Week 2

Hi everyone
Wow, it feels so weird to write 16 up there, super unbelievable.
So, my greenie's name is Elder Pendleton...he's from American Fork, Utah. He's a pretty fun guy, I'm looking forward to serving with him and helping him along. I'm sure he'll be fine with everything, he's got a good base in the language to build off of and there's a new program now for trainers/new missionaries that we're going through, so I'm sure that he is going to be a stellar missionary.
We are in Eger right now, it's between Budapest and Miskolc, and we opened up a new companionship in the city. It's a bit of a daunting task, I've never whitewashed before, it's kind of difficult coming in and working from ground zero. But, I'm confident that as we work hard and seek the Lord's help and guidance, we'll be able to see miracles happen here. We're going to be focusing on meeting with members for the time being (outside of finding time) in an attempt to get to know them better and hopefully help them share the gospel with others. I'm not really sure what else to do in terms in finding, I guess we'll just try everything out and see what works.
So, not much going on this week....oh, funny story though, we actually watched General Conference on Saturday and Sunday. The smaller branches get it on dvd a week afterwards and then watch it like normal, so it was time here to watch it. It was great to see some of the talks again and to see others for the first time. It was so awesome, I can hardly wait for the Liahona to come out so I can read them again!
So, that's about it....I hope you all have a great time, let me know how things are going!
Elder Murray

Transfer 16, Week 1

Hi everyone.
Ok, i'll start with this last week...not too much news, we had a pretty average week. It's super weird to think that this was the last week of this transfer...super strange.....but yeah, not too much going on this past week. Just visiting a few inactives, meeting with the normal round-up. It was a pretty calm week. So, yeah. Ha, on Sunday, we went in to help with primary, and it kind of just turned into a question-and-answer session with the two teachers in there.....but, it was good for the kids too, the one boy sounds super excited to serve a mission, i think he really liked having us there.
So, this morning we got transfer calls. Elder Diamond is staying here and getting his kicsi Elder Bouck. Sister Török will be going back to Pest, and Sister Johnson will be training a new missionary. I am going to Eger to open up another companionship and to train a new missionary. I'm kind of super nervous about it, but i've been to Eger a few times on splits, I know a few members, the senior couple there is super rad, and I've served around Elder Hommes when he first got to Hungary (he'll be in the other companionship). So, yeah, that's the big news for the week. I'm really excited to be training, just kind of nervous. I hope I can set a good example and everything for him. Plus, it's super weird to think that I only have 6 weeks left......Elder Lundeen goes home on Thursday, that is super weird, i can't believe he's going to be home! dang.
so yeah, that's about all the news for this week. Things will be interesting.....next week I'll be emailing from Eger! until then, i hope you all have a great time!
Elder Murray

Transfer 15, Week 6 - Oct 3, 2011

HI everyone

So, I forgot if I name these for the week starting or ending....we are currently in week 6, so that'll work. Anyway, so last week was kind of super busy....on Monday, we went to Hortobágy (yeah, I bought another whip :) then to Debrecen so Diamond elder could buy some Tisza shoes.....I didn't see any I liked, maybe I'll just end up buying a bag or something....

On Tuesday, we had a semi-normal day.....not too much going on......we got our training for district meetings finished at about 10:30 that night, then worked on it more the next day as we drove to Nyyíregyháza.....we went on splits with them, Elder Moffett went back to Miskolc with Diamond, and i stayed with his greenie, elder Shipp. It was pretty fun, he's a really great guy. the next morning, Diamond came back for me, then we went straight to Eger for District meeting and splits there....we actually went on blitz, which means that we all 4 stayed in Eger. it was really fun, Elder Hommes is a good guy, it's weird to think that the last time we went on splits, i was in my 3rd transfer and he was in his first...weird..... i can't believe how fast time goes by....Elder Lundeen actually goes home next week! super unbelieveable.....anyways, we finished with that, went back to Miskolc, got the sisters, then drove out to Debrecen. yeah. super long car ride.....it was cool to see the stars though, since the cities are so spread out, there's a lot of places where there aren't any lights, so it's really easy to see the stars...i'm pretty sure we saw the Milky Way as well...it was super pretty. but, we got to Debrecen, spent the night there (not exactly too fun sleeping on a wood floor with nothing under you, just going to throw that out there in case anyone is planning on something like that.) then we had district meeting in the morning, went on blitz, did some guitar playing/singing/fliering in the belváros (Elder Wiscombe did most of the guitar playing and singing, but i did pipe in on the singing as well....) that was a lot of fun. then, we got back to Miskolc in time for Branch evening where a mini flour fight erupted.....we cleaned it all up, don't worry. Saturday was also great, we met with a few people, then there were two sessions of general conference, the Relief society and then one other, so the Sisters watched those, Elder Diamond and I made chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon rolls for Sunday. Sunday was super awesome, the whole day was spent at the branch house, in between sessions we ate stuff that the members had prepared earlier...it was so delicious, and it just felt like a giant family gathering. the talks were all so amazing! the entire priesthood session was kind of a call-to-arms, so amazing! i can't wait for the Liahona to come out so i can read all of the talks!

alright, so that's about it for this week...we're going to the Nyíregyháza zoo today, which is supposed to be the best in Hungary...i'm really excited....they better have a giraffe feeding or something... :) i hope you all have a great week!

Elder Murray

Transfer 15, Week 4

Hi Everyone
so, not too much this week....it was consecration week, so the goal was to meet with as many members as possible. It was a lot of fun hearing all of their conversion stories and just getting to know them better. Yesterday after church we had lunch at the Szamosfalvi family's house, that was a lot of fun. Afterwards we went to Kazincbarcika and met with a few members out there, that was fun. This whole week was just a blast, I feel like a lot of members are more excited about the work and more willing to help.
So, a few people asked how my birthday was....it was pretty fun, we started out with Elder Diamond making a german pancake for breakfast and sticking a candle in it.....then, after we finished emailing, we went out whipping for a bit.....we finished with family home evening at the branch house. The other missionaries and the members here put together a little surprise birthday party with cake and balloons, so that was pretty fun. ha, and Sister Johnson put together a photo album of last transfer, which was completely ridiculous, so that was super awesome....i now have evidence proving when i went crazy. ha, just kidding. it was a super rad transfer though. pretty fun. oh, and i almost forgot! we had a gofri est on Friday! it was super fun. we got the recipe from Sister Smith (ended up quartering it because they have to make so many in Buda and we weren't expecting too many people) and made a lot of waffles. It was really fun, kind of a fun way to say goodbye to Sister Vass - she went back home to Veszprém Saturday morning, which is also when Sister Török came to serve with Sister Johnson. She's super rad, she probably laughs even more than Sister Johnson. So, it's a lot of fun around here. at least, there's usually always someone laughing.... :)
so, that was about it for this week.....i hope you all had a great week!
Elder Murray

Transfer 15, Week 3 Sep 12, 2011

Hi everyone!
Ok, so, not too much happening this past week.....pretty much the usual stuff, nothing out of the ordinary......We did have district conference on Sunday, which was super awesome. Members and missionaries came from Eger, Nyíregyháza and Debrecen to Miskolc, and President and Sister Baughman were there as well. It was so cool to see everyone and to get to talk to members I'd gotten to know from splits from last year - most of them remembered me, so that was pretty cool. The conference was so awesome, the talks were really inspiring. They started with some testimonies from the youth, one of them had just gotten baptized on Saturday, that was really neat. Another was baptized not too long ago, he had a super awesome testimony to share. After them, a recently returned missionary from Nyíregyháza (he just got back from Romania) gave his testimony. He is so awesome, he is going to be such a blessing to that branch. The rest of the talks were all great as well, but those testimonies at the beginning really stuck out to me. After the conference, everyone had sandwiches and snacks, so we had a lot of time to talk to people. That was so much fun, I really enjoyed it. Then, the Nyíregyháza elders needed a ride to the train station, so I drove some over there, then a member drove the rest there (that was kind of an adventure, I had to direct them to the train station over the phone....kind of interesting...but, they made it :) Then, another elder had ridden with them, so he jumped over to my car and we drove back to the branch house just in time for him to join the rest of his group on their bus. Kind of a stressful afternoon, but way fun at the same time. Afterwards, we made some cookies, met with a member in Kazincbarcika, then with a family out in Polgár. It was way fun, a pretty long day, but totally awesome.
So, that was about it for last week....I'm not sure what all is going on this week, other than the basic stuff....Oh, Vass Nővér (a mini-missionary serving with Sister Johnson) will be going home on Saturday, so they'll be up in Budapest. We're excited for Sister Johnson's new companion, but we'll be sad to see Vass Nővér leave, she was a lot of fun and a really great missionary.
Alright, well, that was about all the news....I hope you all have a great week!
Elder Murray

Transfer 15, Week 2 Sep 5, 2011

Hi everyone!
alright, i don't have much time, i don't know why i always save this email for last, but somehow it always works out that way....this week was pretty good, kind of crazy with transfers and everything.....we're all getting settled in now, things are getting back to normal....Elder Diamond seems to really like it here, so that's good, and Sister Vass is really liking being a missionary, even if it's only for a few weeks...she wants to get her papers started this January to serve a full-time mission, so that's pretty exciting. Sister Johnson is enjoying serving with her.
alright, so, news.....hm......we tried getting some kind of service thing set up with the college here in Miskolc, but we just heard back from the head of foreign languages there, and she said that there's nothing we can do right now....bummer...but, Elder Diamond and I are planning on going out to some falus and talking to the leadership out there to see if we can help...we were able to help with the flood last year, so hopefully we can bring that up and see if there's anything else we can do. i'll keep you posted on that. Other than that, not too much new stuff.....we should be calling all the people we handed out book of mormons too sometime this week, so i'll let you know what the results of that are this coming week. yeah, so, that's pretty much it...not too much going on out here.....
Have a great week!
Elder Murray

Transfer 15, Week 1 - August 30, 2011

Hi everyone
Oh gosh, it felt super weird writing that up there in the subject line.....Elder Lundeen goes home this transfer....that's in just 6 weeks! I can't believe it, it seriously feels like yesterday that we got to the country.....uh......weird.
Ok, this last week was pretty normal...not too much going on....no splits or anything. Monday was fun, we went to the Bakos family's house for lunch and to whip, that was a lot of fun. Lunch was super tasty (of course :) and whipping was super fun. Throughout the week, we were kind of prepping for the concert that we just put on on Sunday (I think I totally forgot to mention that we were having one....Hey, everyone, we had a concert this Sunday). So, that was a little recurring thing throughout the week.....We tried to get some networking done with the skateboarders and other people, we'll see how that goes later. On Friday, we tried out a finding idea....we pretty much just stood out on the walking street with a sign that said "gift books" and passed out pass-along cards about the Book of Mormon. We had quite a few people come over and take one, in addition to leaving their name and number - I'm interested to see how that turns out when we call them later. Saturday was pretty good, Sunday was nice, we had good lessons and talks, and afterwards we prepared for the concert...kind of stressful, but we managed to get everything organized and to practice, and we even got lunch in there somewhere. The concert went pretty well.....I sang in a total of three songs, two of which were fairly good, just becuase there were more people we were singing with, but the first one was kind of nerve-wracking. There were only 5 of us singing, the two sisters, a member, my companion and I, and I was the bass line; for those who don't know, I can't sing. Ok, that's a lie, I can sing the basic melody of something. But, singing something that I've never really payed attention to before was rather intersting. I've discovered that if someone else is singing a certain part, I can usually pick up on the notes they're singing and copy them....this was a little more interesting though, just because I had to listen to it played on the piano, and then sing it by myself (while everyone else was singing their parts...yeah). It sounded pretty cool though... and, the bass line had maybe 4 different notes, mostly just 2. So, that was neat. We had a good number of people come, and the missionaries from Debrecen came to help as well.
Yesterday, we ended up taking a work day because we had a meeting set up with the university here in Miskolc in the morning. That went pretty well. We talked with the head of the foreign language department to see if we could do any volunteering in the english classes or anything like that...she said she'd talk to the teachers and get back to us, so we'll see where that goes. Other than that, Monday was pretty normal as well...aside from the fact that we got the transfer calls. This transfer is definitely going to be interesting, there are a lot of interesting companionships...speaking of which, my companion was called into the office as the new AP (he's totally flipping out about it, he definitely wanted to stay in Miskolc, and never thought he would go AP) and Sister Wright is going to Dunaújváros (which is weird, we were totally expecting Sister Johnson to go, just because she's been here longer....I guess she's looking to break Sister Crosley's record :). Sister Johnson will be getting two mini-missionaries, each serving for three weeks. I'm not too familiar with the one coming for the first half, but I know the one coming for the second half from my time in the office - she's from Pest. So, that will be fun. Definitely encourage all of us to speak Hungarian more. And, I will be getting Elder Diamond, who is in the group below ours. So, that will be a lot of fun, it will be a blast to get to serve with him. It definitely makes things a bit more interesting for next transfer though, because I'm probably out, just because if we stay together for two, then his next companion after I go home will only have three weeks with him before he goes home...but that's getting ahead of myself......for now, I'm just excited...and a little bummed out, because we had a blast here in Miskolc with Elder Davis and Sister Wright...they will definitely be missed. :)
Alright, that's about it for this week.....I hope you all have a great time with your weekly happenings!
Elder Murray

Transfer 14, Week 4: Splits (Aug. 15, 2011)

Hi everyone
ok, so this week was pretty cool.....started off with Pday, we went to Aggtelek, which is a cave right up on the Hungary-Slovakia border. we thought we weren't going to be able to go in because we missed the tour we wanted, but there happened to be another one about 20 minutes after we got there, so we got to go through.....super awesome. there's this one big open part where they have concerts and weddings.....kind of interesting. they played a few songs for us, it was really cool to hear how it sounds in such a big enclosed area.
Tuesday we went to Eger for splits and district meeting. I went with Elder Velasquez, he is such an awesome missionary. He has such a love for the work and the people of Eger, I know he's going to be great no matter where he serves. It was really fun getting to work with him, even for just a day, he's got such a positive attitude and is willing to do anything. Wednesday was fun, we had english class and everyone seemed to have a good time. Thursday, not too much, english class again, then a discussion afterwards. Friday, we went to Debrecen, had district meeting, then split. Elder Davis stayed in Debrecen with Elder Remy (who also happens to be his greenie) and I came back to Miskolc with Elder Wiscombe. We had a super fun time together, he's from California but attended BYU Hawaii, and he is so layed back and chill. He also plays the guitar extremely well. We had a really fun time serving together, he's so rad. For the Friday night activity, we tie-dyed. it was pretty fun, except kind of hard because we just had to use clothing dye in plastic water bottles, and we didn't have any soda ash (which apparently helps a lot with holding in the color...more on that later), so the color kind of got everywhere.....i looked at the one i did though, and it turned out super awesome, so, success! however, the thing with the soda ash is that it helps hold in the color, so we didn't have any, and the first shirts we tried just turned pink in the washer machine....you can still see the original colors in the spiral, but all the white parts are now pink. interesting. but, it was fun. It was Elder Wiscombe's first time ever tie-dying (actually, i think everybody's...) so it was fun. i'm going to have to do more of that when i get home... :)
Saturday morning, we split back....then we had some programs in the afternoon, during each of which, we were fed. we had already eaten pizza during weekly planning, so we were pretty well stuffed by the end of the day. Sunday was super awesome because someone we just met last week came to church, so that was super awesome. and another person we are meeting with was able to have a little chat with the branch president, which he was pretty happy about. So, church was pretty much awesome. afterwards, we had more programs, during which we were fed yet again. there's just no stopping the Hungarians when it comes to accepting food. It's okay though, because it was all super delicious, i'm always so happy to accept any food they give us.....i just don't always have room for it :)
so yeah, that was our week....this week should be pretty good, we'll be going on splits in Nyíregyháza, i'm pretty excited for that. Then, Saturday is the 20th (it's a national holiday here) so we'll be going to Debrecen for the Flower Carnival. It's kind of super weird that I'll have been there for both times....i'm excited though, just to see how it compares with last year. So, i'll let you know how that goes.
until next week, be good y'all!
Elder Murray

Transfer 14, Week 3 (Aug. 8, 2011)

HI everyone!
Oh gosh, i ran out of time again...i'll try and sum this all up really quick...so, last monday we went to Eger, visited the city, ate at Palacsinta Vár, it was pretty fun...we just kind of wandered around the city, took pictures. then on Tuesday we went to Budapest for Zone conference, that was exciting to see everyone....oh gosh, the departing missionaries gave their departing testimonies, it was super sad, both Elder Mullen and Elder Rowland are going home this transfer! it's going to be super weird with them gone, especially since i was with them in the MTC....super weird...time just goes by too fast....but yeah, zone conference was pretty good...i got to see Sister Smith again, that was fun. i'm going to miss her, she is totally super awesome (she reminds me a little of Aunt Tammy :) after trainings and lunch, we got to go up to the museum on castle hill and see the Munkácsy Mihály exhibit...he did three huge paintings (like seriously, i think they were bigger than my room....) on Christ...one when He was taken before Pilate, then when Pilate presented Him again before the people, and then on Golgotha.....the artwork itself was absolutely amazing, it is really awe-inspiring to stand in front of something so big and so masterfully done, and then when you think of what it is depicting....it was just really amazing to see.
After the museum, we rushed back to miskolc to meet with the branch president and discuss the activity on Saturday (more on that in a second). Wednesday was pretty fun, we had some programs, did some finding. In the evening, the sisters had profi english class this week, so they had a game where everyone had to choose one item from a bunch, then present it like a salesman as something other than what it was. it was interesting seeing everyone's imagination at work, pretty funny as well. then, we threw in another game at the end where we write down a bunch of totally random sentences on slips of paper, then give two each to two people, put them in a situation (business meeting, airplane ride, anything), then have them start a conversation in that situation. when a sign is given, the first person reads one of the papers and tries to get it to fit into the conversation. a few minutes later, they pull out the next one, and so on. all i can say to describe it is super hilarious. seriously, one of the most entertaining games i have ever played. Thursday was good, english class was pretty normal, Friday we had an activity night, then Saturday we had a branch outing to a park where the members cooked paprikás krumpli (potatoes with paprika). it was super fun, everyone had a super fun time, the food was amazing, the weather was great, it was just an awesome day. Sunday was good, we are in charge of teaching the aaronic priesthood class now, so we're kind of getting used to that now...kind of interesting, especially since the only manuals we have are in hungarian....good language study though :)

After church, we went to Kazincbarcika to visit with some old investigators....we were talking to this one lady for a while when her daughter and her (daughter's) family came in...turns out, they live in England and were baptized about a year ago.....so, super random, super awesome, we talked with them for a while. it was super fun getting to talk with them, and just how it turned out that we were right there at that time......blessings! they're awesome!
So yeah, that was our week, in a nutshell. I hope you all have a great week, let me know if anything exciting happens! I'll talk to you all next week!
Elder Murray

Transfer 14, Week 3 (Aug. 1, 2011)

HI everyone
oh wow, i put this off to last again.......we gotta go soon.
Really quick, what happened this week....umm.......so, this whole week was pretty average...last Monday we had FHE at a member's house, and we taught the Hungarians how to play Uno....super fun, i love the comments they make, even though i think they're the same comments we would make in english, it's just super funny to hear them in Hungarian and to translate them. so, that was fun. Tuesday was pretty normal, Wednesday we went to Budapest for zone leader's council....that was good, just a super long day. Thursday was busy, and after Angolóra we talked about the Restoration and handed out Book of Mormons...there were quite a few people who seemed interested, i'm excited to see what comes of it. Friday, we made desserts for the Gyüli Buli (branch party). that went pretty well, we had a good number of people present. Saturday was super awesome - we had some leftover dessert that we had made, so we took it over to a member who hasn't been able to come to church for a long time because of work.....he actually happened to be home, se we stayed and talked to him for a long time. He was baptized shortly before i got to miskolc last year, and he's definitely one of my favorite people here, so it was really fun to be able to see him. He said he'll have a lot of days off coming up, so we'll be able to get him involved a lot in activities. that totally made my week to see him, it just isn't Miskolc without him. Then on Sunday we had branch conference, and President and Sister Baughman came and gave some talks....the whole thing was really good, everything went really well and the lessons were all super great. plus, there were refreshments :) but yeah, that was pretty much our week.....we're planning on going to Eger today to see the castle there, so that will be lots of fun. Then, tomorrow, we go to Budapest for Zone conference.....we'll have about two hours of training, then lunch, then go to the museum on castle hill....i'm really excited, the exhibit that's the highlight right now is apparently super amazing. So, i'll report back on all that next week :)
oh, spiritual thought for the week...i was reading in DandC 20, about the responsibilities in different priesthood offices, and i just realized how much trust the Lord actually puts in us.....it's an amazing responsibility to be out here representing Him, and it just really made me think about how i'm using my time and how i can place my trust in Him and do what He asks me to do.
Elder Murray

first transfer out of office...

I'm going back to MISKOLC!!!!!

Transfer 13, Week 6 the zoo!

Hi everyone!

alright, so this week was nuts.....Elder Miller and I were told by President Baughman that Elder Conklin would be coming in to replace me. So, we talked to Elder Conklin Tuesday night and scheduled him to come in the following night. So, the next day, we picked him up and brought him back to the mission home, just in time for dinner (they do the weekly dinner thing after Institute on Wednesdays instead of on Mondays for Family Home Evening. They're trying to get more people to Institute. anyways, he got to meet a lot of the youth, there're a few who already knew him from when he served in Pest, so they were excited to see him. After that, we went home, he got unpacked a bit, i packed a bit more (i had started and just about finished on Tuesday night), talked a bit, then went to bed. Thursday morning was pretty chill.....I kind of ran through all the stuff we do with him, got him familiar with most of the stuff, then pretty much just let him take over. I'm pretty much just there if he asks questions, otherwise i just study and take care of other stuff...oh, book recommendation! Gordon B. Hinckley's Standing for Something. Pretty much amazing. I never really realized how meticulous he was with his choice of words, he has such a great knack for putting things exactly how he wants to convey them. There is no mistaking his meaning, and the things he conveys are so needed and necessary! i love it so much, i'm reading it for the second time now. definitely a must-read. So, on Friday things went pretty well...we met with Dávid and Kristof again......they seem to be doing good, just really having trouble with having a faith-promoting experience, which is what they really want.....hm.....we'll see. i hope they are able to keep meeting with Miller and Conklin, and hopefully they in turn will let me know what happens with them. So, Friday was good...the Williams came up from Szolnok to give a fireside on dating. It was interesting, more on dating etiquette than anything else. pretty good. And, Elder Williams gave his whole first part in Hungarian, it was quite impressive. After that, on Saturday, Elder Conklin went with the APs and Elder Miller and I went with a member to the zoo. It was pretty fun, we got there early so we walked around a bit and got a few pictures of the George Washington statue (yes, there is a statue of George Washington in Hungary). Then we went to the zoo and saw all the animals. It's fairly small, but still pretty good sized. They had a lot of places where you could go in and the animals were just running around or able to come right up to you. it was pretty fun, except that most of the animals were sleeping. We did get to see a pretty cool show by the seals. it was a scorching hot day, but luckily they had a bunch of mist sprinklers set up so people could walk under them and cool off. that was nice. After the zoo, we went and had lunch with the Bagozzis and Sister Smith and Sister Chase kind of as a goodbye for me. then, we went home and got ready for the concert in Buda. That was way cool, Sister Bodily played the piano, a member played the organ, three other members sang (two of them are professional opera singers, so that was way cool, the other was one of the first twos' daughter), and Elder Turley and Sister Roderick sang. It was really cool, and the whole message of it was just way inspiring. so, that was our week, pretty much. i've basically just been training Elder Conklin and wondering where i'm going...there are a few places i would really like to go, but i don't think i can think of any where i absolutely definitely would not want to go. I think i'm just going to be excited for anything (though i may be more excited for some things than others :). I'll be sure to let you all know next Monday how everything turns out. Until then, have a great week!

Elder Murray

ps the Rollingsons were a senior couple that served here in Hungary and just recently went home, but they sent a little surprise the other day...if you go to their blog (http://normandheather.blogspot.com/), look at the second picture (unless they've added more, in which case i don't know which one it would be). I was, needless to say, pretty surprised. It was way cool though, i never would have thought that people i knew from Hungary would meet people i know from home, let alone my family! so yeah, that was the surprise for the week. :)

Transfer 13, Week 4

Hi everyone

Oh gosh, I'm really sorry that I've been so bad with emailing lately...we didn't have internet last week, and then we were swamped yesterday so we didn't have any time....it's been a pretty crazy week, altogether.

So, I'll try and explain what has been going on:

Monday: the workers come and take everything out of President's and the APs' offices, rip out the carpet and put down a thin layer of cement (which, by the way, has a headache-inducing smell.....fun). Then they talked to us and said that they would need us to clean off the shelves and everything in ours and the Bagozzis' offices so they could do the same for us. Something must have gotten lost in translation because on

Tuesday: we packed everything out of both rooms, got everything completely out, it looked wonderful. Meanwhile, they were laying the carpet down in the two offices they had done the day before, then moved everything back in. it looks great, I like this new carpet a lot better (yes, I am commenting on the carpet...it's what I do nowadays :). So, at the end of the day, it was discovered that they needed our stuff moved out so they can start tomorrow. We were pretty bummed out. Oh, and the phone was unplugged, and then refused to turn on, which kind of drove everyone into a panic since that is the phone that everyone calls on. Crazy.

Wednesday: they finally come in and take out the desks and filing cabinets and everything. Then the carpet. Then lay down cement. huzzah! we're getting new carpet! oh wait.........they're going to paint in our office, right? because, right now, there's a lovely black line around the wall where the desks were.......so..........are they going to paint before they lay down the carpet on

Thursday: the workers come and finish some rooms downstairs. President is trying to get ahold of the people in charge to see if they can paint in our offices. so, the workers just kind of leave... like, for the day. Nobody working. Just quiet. All day. Finally we get the news that they will be painting. Yay! but we have to wait for

Friday: the workers come back and paint our offices. Oh happy day! it looks great! Some paint got on the floor, but who cares, they're just going to lay carpet down on top of it. Which they then proceeded to do. and then put our stuff back in. hooooray! it looks great. Now we can go help at the Friday night activity! movie night! yay! okay, let's get everything set up...oh no, the computer's not working....somebody bring in the dvd player....ok, how does this connect here, what do i plug it in to, where's the volume knob.......ok, everything's good, start the movie! wow, i like the first minute or so of this movie, i can't wait for the rest...oh, somebody left their coat at the stake center and need to catch a bus home.........ok, i guess we'll drive him.....i mean, i've seen the movie before and we'll only miss the first half.......ok, drive to the stake center, get the coat, oh, here's the sisters! hi........oh, someone needs a belt or smaller pants for their baptism? ok, well, we're dropping someone off at the bus station, i guess we can hop on over to the mall and see if we can find anything.......first store, nothing, second store, unbelievably expensive, too short, too flashy, who puts this kind of stuff on a belt? i guess we'll just go and buy the pants.......enter first store again.....there's the pants........oh, but here's more belts.......a white one! and it's long enough! yay! ok, drive back to the stake center now (after paying for it, of course).......we got the belt! oh, wait, someone is just bringing a jumpsuit? so, the belt is completely superfluous? well, not completely...we can use it for future baptisms......alright, we'll mozy on back to the mission home...oh boy, i love the last two minutes of this movie almost as good as the first few! and that was it. pretty awesome, right? nothing happens unless it all happens at once. it was a pretty fun night. :)

Saturday: we got up and ran over to Moszkva Tér (i guess it's Széll Kálmán Tér now), bought some tickets, rode the 61 villamos all the way to the end where a member picked us up and drove us to his house. we had gotten a call Friday night asking if we could help them move. It was pretty fun, they're just moving about a minute away from where they were living, so we spent a few hours packing stuff into their van, driving it down the road, unpacking it all, driving back, and repeat. pretty fun stuff. afterwards, a member drove us back to the mission home where we started putting stuff back into the office. then, the zone leader from Dunaújváros (Elder Rowland, he came up for the play) came over and drove us to the mall so we could do our shopping. then they went on to the stake center and we took the metro back to the mission home. we got ready for the play, packed some stuff out of the chapel, realized we hadn't had a legit meal all day, so we ran over to McDonald's (can't get a more legit meal than that, right?) and came back to meet the other people going to the play. we were kind of worried as to whether the weather would hold out because it had been raining off and on all day, but it was a beautiful night, we didn't get wet at all. The play was in an open amphitheater, so it was pretty cool out, but people had brought rain ponchos in case it rained, so they whipped those out and put them on...apparently they were pretty warm (I had brought my coat, so i missed out on that one :) . The play we went to see was super amazing, probably my favorite, just because of all the symbolism and motifs and themes in it..........plus, the music is just amazing. It was kind of hard to understand the hungarian (it seemed like they were singing super fast, but it was probably just because it was in a foreign language and the songs are so intricate), but all in all, super awesome. It was Les Miserables.

So, that was our week. super fun, super boring, not too much in between, i guess in one word, memorable. haha, i forgot to mention, on Wednesday, President still wanted the office to be running, so we packed up our computers and moved downstairs.....to the nursery room. it was funny, they just had the little nursery room tables, so we set up on those (don't worry, i took pictures :) towards the evening we figured out that the APs' office was finished, so we moved HQ up to there. fun stuff. and then on Thursday, Elder Lundeen was reapplying for BYU, and was super nervous about pushing the button to finish it, but he finally did it....we documented that a little bit too.

so yeah, i think that's everything. i'm sure Elder Miller and I have lost several years off our lives from the fumes we've been breathing all week (not really, just whenever we walk past the rooms they were working on). I hope you all have a great week, and i'll talk to you next week!

Elder Murray

Transfer 13, Week 2

Üdvözöllek benneteket!

Gondoltam, hogy mindent írok magyarul........kellene nekem a gyakorlás, mivel oly kevés lehetőségem van itt....csak viccelek, mostantól angolul írok, hogy megértsétek.

Hi everyone

Just so you know, this is not a translation of the above message..........i just got finished writing an email to someone else in Hungarian, so i thought i'd throw some in for you all. :) Maybe i'll throw in the translation next week...if i remember :)

alright......we had a pretty normal week........not too much out of the ordinary........still got renovations going on, so we're working around that..........we did have a lot of lessons this week though, it was pretty cool. It felt good to be teaching so much. On Tuesday evening (or wednesday, i can't remember....the days all got super scrambled this week for me) we went streeting for 30 minutes, seriously just around the block, and we recieved phone numbers from about 5 people. It was quite a miraculous experience. On Friday, we went to the stake center for a fireside that the BYU dance team...that was really cool, they sang a few songs, had some of the group bear their testimonies on various topics, played some music......it was a really neat program. Let's see....on Saturday.........not really anything....we met with one of our investigators and he brought two of his friends - which is super awesome, that he wants to share this with them, but they all were asking questions the whole time and the program was all over the place, and i don't know how seriously they were taking it. Kind of a disaster....we'll see how things turn out next week, they'll be on vacation until Saturday, so hopefully we'll be able to catch them then.

Other than that, not much going on over here. We're finally getting some clouds, it's been completely overcast today (hallelujah!) and even rained one day sometime last week or the week before.

I hope you're all doing great!

Elder Murray

Transfer 13, Week 1 (June 12, 2011)

hi all!

ok, so, we'll start with the big question....transfers was this last wednesday, and both Miller and I stayed here. That's the big news. :) We're both excited to get to serve together again, and there's even more - the new AP is Elder Lundeen, so it's our whole MTC group back together in the office (well, not counting sister Steck, but her mission ended on wednesday, so she doesn't count anymore.....that was super weird, going to her farewell dinner/testimony meeting. so yeah, that's the biggest news for this week. Not too much else happening, pretty much same old stuff. We have met with Dávid a few times, and he came to church today. He really liked it, and he's actually coming back at around 4 this afternoon so we can meet/teach his friend. I'm super excited, it would be super awesome for him if his friends also started getting interested in this.

Ok, so, i can't believe i almost forgot this.....so, Saturdays are usually our pdays, but tomorrow is a super pday, so we wouldn't have had yesterday as a pday anyway, but what we ended up doing was helping with something all day. The BYU folk dancing team was invited by the Hungarian state to come and participate in a festival going on this next week. They arrived Friday, and then they came to the Stake Center to perform after the seminary/institute graduation. We had to meet them at their hotel at 9:00, get all their equipment and take it to the stake center (the APs took them on a little tour through the city center). They arrived at the stake center around 12:00 and started setting up and playing some music to get warmed up. It was super fun. Then, we waited for the graduation to get over (i saw Bakos by the way! (from miskolc) I was so happy, it seems like forever since i've seen her. so yeah, that was exciting. I also saw István and his mom and Brigi from Székesfehérvár. It was a pretty super awesome and amazing time. Then we had pizza for lunch, and then the dance team performed for us. pretty much super awesome. that's really all i can say about it. they did all american dances (when they're abroad they do american, and when they're in the states they do european and other). super cool. i'll have to send my memory card home soon so you can all see some of them. super cool. then after they had done each dance, they each got a partner from the crowd and taught them some of the steps. It was so much fun. we didn't get to dance, but it was so fun to see the hungarians all mixed in there with them and trying to learn these dances. after that, they had everyone split up into about 10 groups and played some games. after that was dinner, and then we took all their stuff back to the hotel, took them around castle hill, then came home. kind of an exhausting day, but so super awesome! i had such a great time. I was talking to Csaba today, and he said it was the best day of his life. pretty cool.

so, that's about it for this week.....i hope you all have a great week, and i'll catch you next week!

Elder Murray

Transfer 12, Week 6

Hi everyone!

So, this week........kind of crazy....the biggest news is that Elder Miller and I switched desks (i feel like such a nerd, that sounded so much more epic in my mind.... :). It's something that Elder Bagozzi has been wanting us to do for a while now, so we can learn each others' jobs, so when a new person comes in, the person at the other desk can still help him after his trainer is gone (i don't think i could have made that sentence any more unclear.....let's say sec1 gets transferred.....he has about 2 days to train his replacement....then, after he's gone, sec2 will still be able to help the new sec1 because sec2 worked at sec1's desk for a week). So, we'll see how much that helps......although, we won't be able to see for a while now because.....we're both staying. President told us that if one of us was going, we would know by Friday, and Friday has come and gone with no word, so we will both be staying another 6 weeks. i think we're both excited to see how this upcoming transfer is.

So, let's see....in other business, we had one of the most amazing programs ever on Friday. well, it kind of starts on Tuesday. We set up a program with Dávid, our one progressing investigator. We also had Viktor, a member, sit in to help and such. That went pretty good, and then at the end, Viktor asked when we could meet again, so he and Dávid talked it over and picked out a time on Friday (we have time all the time, so it was basically up to them. :). Friday came, and the plan was to talk about the five steps in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We had the first 3 written up, but before we could even get there, he asked the question "what exactly does it mean to have faith in Jesus Christ?" so we had a little discussion on the importance of having faith specifically in Jesus Christ and what that entails...then, we got to the second step and what precisely is needed to repent.....after that, we got talking about free agency, and where it all started. we talked about what happened before we came to the earth, and after explaining all that, you could almost see the lightbulb above his head as he said ".....this makes so much sense now. everything just fits." Ah, it was such an amazing program, i felt so good afterwards.

So yeah, that was pretty much the highlight of my week. on Friday, we had Gofri Est at the stake center, because of the renovation going on in the mission home. we actually had zsíros kenyér, which is like bread and butter with onions on top, except instead of butter you use......fat. yeah. kind of disgusting of you think about it too much while you're eating it, but not too bad if you just eat it. after that lovely experience, some people played basketball inside while others went outside for soccer, then basketball shifted to volleyball. it was pretty fun.

Yesterday we went to Esztergom, which is a giant catholic cathedral thingy right on the border of Slovakia....i went there last year, so i guess you'll have to refer to those pictures until i can send the memory card home. it was pretty fun, just super hot!

So, that was about it for the week.....this coming Saturday is seminary/institute graduation, so that should be fun. OH! i almost forgot! there's this big festival type thing going on sometime, and Hungary has invited the BYU folk dance team to come and participate, and they have some extra time, so they're going to be at the graduation thing! ah! i'm super excited! they're going to see if they can put on some firesides as well. they're here for two weeks, so it's going to be really exciting to see them all.

Alright, i think that's it....I hope you all have a great week, and i'll talk to you next week!

Elder Murray

Transfer 12, Week 3

Hi everyone

So, not too much going on this week...we had a program set up with one of our investigators, but he wasn't able to make it because one of his classes went a little longer than usual....bummer....hopefully we'll be able to set up sometime next week....then, after English class, I was helping one of the young single adults to talk to Sister Smith...let's just say, the YSA center is nothing but drama! Oh my gosh, I won't miss that aspect...ridiculous....but yeah, that lasted through English class and after, so Elder Miller taught Profi with the new senior sister, Sister Chase (she's really nice, she reminds both of us of Mrs. Redfern), and then he split with Elder Turley to teach another of our investigators, Áron.....he is super amazing, the program sounded absolutely stellar! oh gosh, i can't wait until the next time we meet with him, i'm so excited!

So, yesterday we had a special Gofri Est....a Hungarian just got back from her mission in London, so we threw a little party for her. It was pretty fun, putting up the decorations, helping make the waffles, cleaning up...it was all a blast. Lots of fun. :)

Alright, so, Tuesday night, we went to see Phantom.....so, we've been planning this for some time, most of us bought our tickets about a month and a half ago, some bought theirs later, and some were trying to buy theirs last week...it was rather stressful. But, we finally got it worked out. Just one little problem....so, there's the main level in the theater, then the first level, which is just the balcony that runs around the outside, and then the second level, which is another balcony above that. We all were sitting in the very middle of the second level, so, pretty sweet seats....the problem was that one of the tickets we had bought was down on the left side of the first level, so we had to work out who was going to sit there....that was an adventure..so, we finally worked everything out, and we went to the theater...so, we got there about 25 minutes early, and i was waiting out front for some missionaries who were meeting us there because I had to give them their tickets....I was super stressing out, i thought we were going to get locked out.....i think my watch was 5 minutes ahead though, because it showed that the play should be starting, but right then the missionaries got there, and we went in, and it still didn't start for another 3 or 4 minutes......still super stressful....

the play itself though was totally worth it....the actors were all amazing, the singing was stellar, everything was so well done.....granted, the stage may have been a bit small for the play, but they made it work....it's really quite amazing what they were able to do...super cool...now i just need to see it in america so i have something other than the film to compare it to.

so, that was our week...pretty sweet.

I hope you all have a great week! talk to you later!

Elder Murray

Transfer 12, Week 2

Hi everyone

first off, Happy Mother's Day! I kind of started panicking last week, because here, that's when they celebrate mother's day, so it was kind of confusing (i think i went through the same thing last time...). But yeah, Happy Mother's Day! I hope you all had a super awesome day/week (although, I guess those aren't quite over yet...), and I hope you all have a great week coming up! We didn't have too much going on this week, yesterday was Sport Nap, so we went over to the stake center and played some volleyball...i thought i was really bad at it (and i might actually still be) but I thought i was doing pretty good....i mean, I got it over the net 4 out 5 times...you know, when i realized that it was in my area of the court, and then remembered to hit it...but yeah, that was super fun. Before that....our week has actually been really slow....we celebrated Sister Bagozzi's birthday on thursday with some red velvet cake (it actually worked! :) and then on Friday we met with one of our really awesome investigators...he's still looking for his answer, but he said that this last program was really awesome, his favorite one so far...we had started it by asking him if we could pray for any of his friends or family, so we did, and the prayer was super awesome, and he was super grateful that we did that, and he super liked the prayer, he said it addressed some things that he hadn't even mentioned, so that was a really special experience.

So, other than that, not much going on....we're going to see Az Operaház Fantomja on Tuesday (i'm not going to say what the translation of that is...hopefully you can figure it out, if not, that's why they made Google translator), i'm super stoked! alright, so, i'll talk to you all next week! have a super awesome week!

Elder Murray

Transfer 12, Week 1

Hello everyone!

alright, well, not too much to report this week....Monday was fun, we got absolutely stuffed at a member's house, then I got to whip for a while while most of the other missionaries played ultimate frisbee....then, we all got together and had dinner at the mission home as a goodbye for those who got transferred away........Sister Johnson went to Miskolc, and Elder Wanlass went to Szolnok....oh, and Elder Gardenhire went to Tatabánya. they will all be sorely missed, they were all really fun, I'm so glad i got to serve around each one of them. they all went to stellar cities too, i'm so happy for them. After dinner, we watched Toy Story 3......doh, i love that movie....

Alright, on Tuesday......not too much......just kind of getting things put together.......Wednesday was super crazy with transfers and everything (as usual), and then we had the dinner with the departing missionaries...that's always hard, but so good to hear them give their final departing testimonies......basically, i get to see the final product.....what their missions have come to mean to them......it's really a special experience. just super hard to say goodbye. I did get to meet Elder Bird's family though, because they came to pick him up......they're super rad, it was really obvious that they were Bird's family (and not just because i recognized them from the pictures... :) so, that was Thursday.....then......hm........not much at all, really....Saturday was kind of all over the place again....there was another baptism, that was exciting. Her name is Reni, she's been meeting with the APs. She's good friends with one of the members here. It's been really cool, because i think she had started meeting with the missionaries around the time that i got here......it was definitely after i got here that she started.....and it's just been really cool to see her through the whole process.....super awesome!

so, other than that, not too much going on.....today there was a special Sacrament meeting for the single adults, which we didn't attend, but we went to the dinner afterward, which was delicious. so, that was our week. pretty sweet.

alright, i hope you all have a great week, talk to you next week!

Elder Murray

Transfer 12, Week 1

Hi Everyone!

Wow, I'm really sorry that i haven't written in a while.....on the 17th, we had to pick someone up from the airport and drive him to the stake center, and then we went with the APs to Siofok and Tihány, with a little stop at a bobsled on the way...it was a super full day, and we all had a super fun time.......then, on the 24th, we went shopping with the senior sisters, went to a baptism, went to a wedding (which turned out to be in the middle of nowhere, but still worth it because it was a legit hungarian wedding), then went straight to Kispest. Busy busy busy. today is a super pday because of easter, we're going to a member's house for lunch, that'll be fun, then we might go on a hike somewhere....we'll see how the weather is. OK, so, let's see....news...

This week, we met with one our investigators and set a baptismal date with him! we are so excited for him, he is really searching hard for the truth, and he is trying so hard. It's so much fun to meet with him, he is so ready. Our other investigator is really trying hard to feel like he does have a connection with God; it's really cool meeting with him becuase he's willing to do the things we ask, and he's basically starting from square one. Then, on Thursday, we did a finding activity during zone conference, and Elder Miller and I had to go back and pick up a car from the mall, so we streeted on the way over there....ok, this is a cool story.....so, we crossed the street, then realized that the villamos we wanted was back on the other side we had been on........by the time we got over there, the villamos had left....so, we just got on the next one, not realizing that it was the wrong one.....well, not really a wrong one, it just went around the back side of the mall instead of the front. so, we asked a few people which stop we should get off, almost got off at one, but then a guy told us that we should get off at the next one....so, we waited, got off the villamos at the next one, then started toward the mall.....we got over there, and Elder Miller spotted a guy sitting by himself on a little wall....he went over and just started talking about the gospel with him....I was kind of doubting he would be interested, he just kind of looked like a tough guy, but once we got started talking to him, he really opened up, and he is a really legit guy...we swapped phone numbers with him and gave him a book of Mormon...he seems so cool, i can hardly wait to meet with him.....the whole experience was just so cool, so many things happened that led us to that spot at that time.....it was just really cool to realize that even though we were worried about if we were going the right way or not, it was cool to look back and see that somebody was guiding us there.

So, this week, a member of the presidency of the Seventy came to speak at zone conference, along with one of the newly ordained members of the Seventy and their wives. It was so amazing having him here, I got to have an interview with both of the members of the seventy.......it was really an amazing experience. I am so grateful that I got to speak with them like that, it was a really special opportunity. Oh, their names are President Teixiera and Elder Fingerle....they were so amazing, I got to go to both zone conferences because i was helping with the computers......it was so amazing! i can't believe all the things i learned there! it was soooooo amazing! oh my gosh.....it was just so so so so so so so so amazing, i can't even describe it...wow, just, amazing.

alright, well, that's about it....oh, we had an Easter Concert Friday, Saturday, Sunday, (yes, i sang in it....but, just in the choir...). It was so amazing and special.....there's a lot of talent here, and the Spirit was so strong! oh my gosh, I'm so glad I was able to participate in it!

Ok, so, with transfers this week, I guess everyone would want to know what's going on....Elder Miller and I are staying together! I'm really excited, there's a lot of potential for stuff to happen here.....and there's a lot of changes that I feel really good about throughout the whole mission........ah, I am soooo excited for this transfer! I can't wait to see what happens, I really feel like there is just a ton of potential waiting to burst out, and with all the changes that were made, I feel like we are just ready to burst! Oh my gosh, I'm just on a really good spiritual high or something right now, it feels so good! oh wow.....ok, well, I've got to go now....I hope you all had a super amazing Easter, and I hope you all have a great week!

Elder Murray

Transfer 11, Week 4

Hi everyone

Sorry it's so late...we had kind of a busy day today....but let's go over our week pretty quick...so, Monday, good, Tuesday, good, Wednesday, we went streeting and got phone number from 3 people, as well as ran into a member from Virginia who was here for about a week for a conference. That was kind of cool. And, one of the people who gave us their number, asked if we could meet on Friday and talk.....we were super excited about that....then, on Thursday, we had English class, confirmed a program with one of our students, as well as set up another program with another student....super cool. So, Friday was the nice busy day....we had the program with the guy from Wednesday at 10.00 - which went amazing, seriously, he is so ready for all of this......he met with the missionaries 4 years ago, but that was right after he had joined another church, so he didn't just want to be all over the place. But, he super accepted everything we shared with him, and he is really determined to find out if it is true. so, that was really exciting. Then, we had more office stuff until the evening, where we set up as much as we could for the activity night, then left to have the program with the english class student.....he seems a bit more shut off to what we have to say, but hopefully once he gets to know us better, he'll be more willing to at least try it out....we'll see. So, Friday was kind of exciting. We even set up programs for next week with both of the people we met with on Friday, so that's even better. I'm super excited for them all.

so, today, we did a workout this morning (the effects of which are still apparent...ouch...), went shopping, got ready....etc. then, we met up with Laci and went to Memento Park, a really small little park out in the outskirts of Buda, and they've got all of the old communist statues there. It was really interesting....not much to see, but we still had a good time. gosh, and they had a whole bunch of anti-communist stuff..........they really don't like them here....... after that, we went to the bobsled ride just up the road from the park. That was pretty fun. we each went twice, i filmed my first ride down, then, on the second run, i flipped over because my bobsled kept pulling to the right.......still super fun though.

so, that was our week, in a nutshell....sorry i took so long to get this done, this is just the only time i really had to sit down and write today. I hope you all have a great week, and i'll talk to you next week!

Elder Murray

Transfer 11, Week 3

Hi everyone

I thought I'd get this one sent off first of all so I would have time to do it..... :)

So, pretty strange week.........Elder Miller and I had a lot of field trips........we took the greenies and the Gudgells to the hivatal on Monday, which was interesting, because the greenies were there for their second time, so it took them about 10 minutes all together; so, we decided to bring them back to the mission home, then go back to help the Gudgells. Well, we got back here, switched cars, went back, and still had about a 15 minute wait before their number got called. It was kind of ridiculous. But, it went well, and then they bought us Subway afterwards. so, that was cool. Then, on Tuesday, we didn't have too much. the southwest zone came in for training, which made things kind of crazy for us, just answering questions and getting stuff for people. Then, on Wednesday, we went to the Földhivatal (Land Registry Bureau) and the Biróság (Courthouse) to get official paperwork for the hivatal that we go to to register the greenies. So, that's always an adventure. Not too much, just going from one corner of Budapest to the other (not really, but we do cross the river....). then, on Thursday, we took the senior sisters and the Hartwells to the Hivatal, which didn't take too long, but this time it was just them and I who went, and they all got called on four separate desks, so i was scurrying back and forth trying to keep everything in order, which got kind of hectic. It was an adventure. And, that was about the last thing....we had zone trainings for Budapest yesterday, which were good. Then, we went to a wedding reception in Kispest, because both of the Millers served there, so they knew a bunch of the people. It was pretty fun. This morning, we did a killer workout, I'm going to be feeling that one for a while. Then, we went shopping, and now we're here. So, that's this week. We're all super excited for General Conference tonite and tomorrow...I can't remember which one is tonite, but tomorrow morning is the general priesthood/relief society session...that's about all i know. I'm super excited though, we've all been looking forward to it for a few weeks now. and, it's super wierd to think back exactly a year ago when i went to general conference, because I was still with my trainer, Elder Huggard.......wow, that seems sooo long ago.......

so, that's about it.....I hope you all have a great time at conference and a great week! talk to you next week!

Elder Murray

Transfer 11, Week 3

Hi everyone

Sorry about the super quick email...it's kind of late right now.....we had a busy day......this morning, Elder Miller and I had to translate for President in a district presidency meeting, then we helped clean up the branch house, then the APs and us went with some members to see István, a Király (Steven, the King). It's a rockopera about when István was made king....it wasn't the best thing i've ever seen, but it was still fun. I learned a lot more about Hungarian history....and then, at the end, they play the music from the Hungarian anthem, and everyone stood up. It was really cool. After that, we came back to the mission home and the Buda ward was having a little party, so we stayed there for a bit, and now we're up here emailing.

Alright, so this week....it was pretty cool, elder Miller and I went streeting one night, and it was kind of sketchy, just because it was dark out, so people were kind of avoiding us, but we talked to one guy, and he said he's not religious, but he said he was really interested in learning more, so we got his phone number and hopefully we'll be able to set up with him next week. Then, right after that we talked with someone else who was kind of interested. Then, the next day, one of our english class students came up and asked if we could come to his house to help him more with english...hopefully we'll be able to get him more focused on the gospel...he already speaks english really well, so it shouldn't be too hard. so yeah, that was our week. It was really fun, we're having a great time serving together.

well, i'm going to go now...i'll try to get to the rest of the emails throughout the week, if i have time...so, we'll talk next week!

Elder Murray

Transfer 11, Week1

Hi everyone

Ok, so, it's officially transfer 11 now.....super weird.....and, i'm serving with Elder Miller from back home! super fun. We're both super excited about that, it should be a super fun transfer. Hm.......this week...........oh, we went and saw Cats and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat--they were both amazing! the music was great, the singing was amazing, the choreography was superb, it was just pretty much super awesome! That was my first time seeing either of those live, so that was just super amazing! I'll have to see them at home now and see how they compare... :)
So, let's see....we met with one of Elder Miller's old investigators from Szolnok who is studying here. It went pretty well. I hope we can meet with him some more, he seems like a really great guy. Let's see......what else......Tuesday was super pday (March 15 is a national holiday) so we went to Visegrád. It was way fun, we ended up parking down at the river and hiking up the mountain (when i say mountain, i mean hungarian mountain, which isn't too high). It was pretty fun, we had gorgeous weather all the way up, while we were in the castle, and during the bobsled ride (hehehe, elder miller (the other one) and I almost flipped our bobsled.....whoops). then, as soon as my last ride was over, it started sprinkling, and slowly got worse until it was just dumping. Elder Wanlass and I volunteered to run down to get the car, so we got to navigate the trail all the way back down--the trail which was slippery enough before it rained. luckily, we managed it without any falls. Then, wouldn't you know it, as soon as we got down to the car, it stopped raining. It was good we had gone down though, because some people had to leave pretty quickly and it would have taken them a while to hike back down. yeah. so, that was Tuesday. then, Wednesday was transfers.....i think i stressed a few months off my life with that one, we had a million things going on. it was kind of ridiculous. but, we made it through, and things are calming down again. so, that was about it for this week. I think everyone's still singing the songs from Cats and Joseph everywhere they go, it was really fun.

alright, well, i hope you all have a great week! talk to you next week!

Elder Murray