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