Transfer 3, week 3

HI everyone!
oh gosh, it's already about halfway through transfer 3! ah!
so, things are going pretty good here.....not much new...the other elders finally moved into their own apartment, so it's just Elder Bird and me in our apartment. We kind of miss having them around to talk to and have fun with, but it's a lot easier to study and get ready and focus now. And, we still get together for Sunday lunches or palacsinta nights, so we still get to spend time with them. And, when we have huge blocks of streeting time, we got on little mini district splits to kind of break up the monotony. it's interesting getting to see everyone's different style, and it's fun being able to split with Elder Hommes--i've been able to see his improvement in the language, so that's been kind of cool.
So, one of our investigators should be setting a baptismal date this week! we are so excited for her! she was finally able to come to church yesterday, and she really enjoyed it. It was so great to see her there, and it was such a good feeling when she said that she really liked it. She seems to be really serious about finding out for herself if it's true, and not just depending on her friend's testimony. That is so awesome to see, and it just kind of reminds me that we all need to find out for ourselves, not just go off of others' testimonies.
Elder Bird is such an awesome companion! it's been really fun being able to serve with him. This is his first time being senior companion, but i think he's doing great! we have a lot of fun together. i really hope we get to serve another transfer together, he's�a really awesome guy. I'm also getting to know the branch members a lot better, which has been fun. Quite a few of them have made comments about how i've been improving in the language, which is extremely encouraging! I just hope that i can continue to improve.
Well, that's about it for this week......we have a super p-day on saturday, and i think we might be going to Tihany again.....that would be way fun, even though i've already been there.....hopefully a few branch members should be going too, so we should have a pretty good siyed group going. And we have Zone Conference the day before, as well as a waffle night. We're just starting the waffle night here--they've had one in Budapest for a while--so that should be pretty exciting. I'll let you all know how it turns out!
I hope you all have a great week! Keep being awesome!
Elder Murray

Transfer 3, Week 2

HI everyone!

wow, this last week was pretty crazy! Transfers were really fun, it's the first one i've been to, and apparently almost all 80-something missionaries in the mission were there! we have transfers at a train station in Budapest, and there were so many missionaries there! i got to see almost everyone from the two groups by us at the mtc, and i got to see Elder Miller and Elder Anderson. It was way fun. So, I got Elder Bird, and we rode the train back to Sékesfehérvár (pretty much the slowest train ride of my life--it stopped at every anthill along the way!) and brought his suitcases to the apartment--one of the longest walks of my life! haha. but seriously, his bag was heavy. and, the apartment is 30 minutes from the train station, if you're walking fast. yeah. so, then Krisztián picked up Elder Brockman and Elder Hommes (the greenie) from the train station (lucky). then, we all kind of got settled in to the apartment. All four of us. yeah. it's been an interesting few days. but, they've finally found an apartment, and should be moving out on Wednesday. the apartment is going to seem super quiet without them. Elder Bird is pretty cool though, i'm sure we'll be able to keep ourselves entertained. he's from Murray, Utah. and it's kind of funny, because there was another Elder Bird here just a few transfers ago, so that's been kind of interesting. It's been kind of hectic so far, just because we're all just trying to figure out how to get settled in and everything. Our investigators seems to like Elder Bird pretty well, but it's kind of funny, because they've kind of shifted their preference from Elder Huggard to me. They still really like Elder Huggard, it just kind of seems like they've kind of noticed that i'm the only one left from that companionship, so they're getting to know me a little better. I don't know, it's kind of hard to explain, and i really feel like i'm rambling right now. Elder Brockman is pretty excited to be here, becuase he was here for a few weeks a few transfers ago. quite a few members still remember him, so that's been fun for him. Elder Hommes is really trying to speak Hungarian with everyone, which is really encouraging to see.

ok, so today for P-Day, krisztián took us to some places, as usual :) I'd already been to all of them, but it was still fun, just to kind of be able to see them all in one day, and with the other elders.

well, that was about it for this week. not much, just a lot of streeting, and kind of just getting to know each other.

I hope you're all doing good and having a great time!

Elder Murray

Transfer 3 (ah!) week 1

Hello everyone!

wow, this transfer has flown by! I can't even remember what happened during each week.....totally wierd to think that I'm starting my third transfer in the country! ah!

Ok, so, transfers......way super unexpected! So, Elder Huggard is going to Kispest to be zone leader, and I'm staying here. My new companion is going to be Elder Bird, and the other companionship we're getting is Elder Brockman and a greenie. (yay, i won't be the youngest! haha). Apparently Elder Brockman has served here already, so it should be pretty easy for him to adjust. I don't really know a whole lot about my new companion...Elder Huggard seems to think he's a pretty good guy. Apparently, Elder Bird recently went senior, so we're going to be a pretty young companionship. I'm really looking forward to working with someone new....I'm kind of nervous though, because I'm going to have to fill everyone in on what's going on here and all that......hm...it should be interesting.....ha, and we still haven't found an apartment for Elder Brockman and his companion, so they might be staying with us for a few days.......hm....

well, that's pretty much the news for this week....not much else.....i went on splits in Veszprém with Elder Liljenquist, so that was pretty fun. Yeah, and i forgot my planner today (AH!) so i can't really look back to see what all we did......we taught a lot of lessons this week, so that was good.....wow, this email is looking pretty boring, I feel like I should think harder about what we did......um........hm......yeah, not really getting anything.....we've been looking for a new apartment for the other companionship, but not much luck lately......a couple looked like they might have been good, but they didn't work out.....this week is looking pretty stressfull, because we have to clean up our apartment, look for another one, go to transfers, have a meeting with the branch president.....ah, there's always so much to do....but, somehow, we find the time to do it all. It's pretty amazing, actually.

Yeah, well, that's pretty much it...wow, this email still looks pretty bluh.....sorry about that....

well, i hope you all have a great week......hopefully my next week will be a little more interesting.....haha.

Remember that you're all amazing!

Elder Murray

Transfer 2, week 6

Hi everyone!

Oh gosh, last full week of the transfer already! ah! things are going to be pretty hectic around here this week. We have a ton of Angolóra fliers to give out, and they're sending another companionship to Székesfehérvár next transfer (yay!), so we have to look for an apartment for them. and we have to look at bikes. but, somehow we'll manage to do all that around missionary work. It's really cool to look back at when i first came here and see how much things have changed--it's kind of cool to see how much i have improved in the language (not a whole lot, but there's definitely at least a little progression....), but it's even better to see how the gospel affects people. Sometimes it can be hard to see in individual programs, but you can definitely see it over time, and it's just so great to be a part of it! like, i know that we as missionaries don't really deserve any credit--we just invite the Spirit and provide an environment where people can learn--but it's just so great to have been able to befriend these people and be there with them through their progression. The whole thing is just an amazing experience!

OK, so, this last week.....not much in particular....Wednesday was way full, we went to Veszprém for district meeting with the two companionships from Veszprém and Dunaújváros--that was kind of fun, because the senior companions had known each other from the mtc, and all 3 of us junor companions had known each other at the mtc. well, kind of...Elder Marciel from Dunaújváros was in the group above me, and Elder Diamond from Veszprém is in the group below me. After that, we came back to Fehérvár (that's what a lot of people call this city--that or Székes--and i'm getting kind of lazy with typing :) and were pretty much running from program to program. That's always a way good feeling. Seriously, even though we're running everywhere trying not to be late, it's so great that so many people are willing to meet with us! On Thursday, we went to Budapest for interviews and training. That was pretty fun--it's always really fun to see other missionaries and learn from President and Sister Baughman and the APs. Friday was really cool day! we got to go on splits with two of the members and we went tracting. We didn't really have that much success--we only found one person who was willing to have us come back again. It was still pretty fun that the members want to be involved in missionary work. the really cool part was after that though. we went back to the branch house for a program with a recent convert. I left the door to the branch house open so she could just come in when she got there, but it turned out that she was already inside (the door is kind of broken...). And, we usually leave the door closed because if people are talking out in the hall, it sounds like they're in the branch house because sound carries really far in there.....but, i just didn't close it today. Nobody was talking outside, and we had already started our program by the time i thought about it. So, we got about 15 minutes into the program, when some random guy just walked in. We had never seen him before, and he asked if he could come back sometime when we had more time. The lady we were having the program with invited him in (she's a champ) and we started talking with him. It turns out that he's had a lot of problems in his life, and he's been going from church to church trying to find one that can help him. We testified a lot about how the Book of Mormon helps people, and the member helped a lot! we gave him a Book of Mormon and two talks from two Liahonas to read, and we even set up a time to meet with him again! It was such a great experience, it sounds like he's had a lot of sadness in his life, i just really want to be able to help him. after he left, we were talking about the door and how we usually close it--we pretty much decided that as long as we're in the branch house, it should be open. It was a really amazing day.

On Saturday, we went to Aba, a falú about 40 minutes outside the city by bus. We had lunch with a member family and taught them about priesthood and encouraged them to go to general conference. it was pretty fun--they have a little son, and it was his name day, so we brought him some candy. After that, we came back and went to Tesco to buy some food for general conference. Then, we had Angolóra (with a grand total of 3 people....), after which we took a bus to Budapest. We got there in time to see the last talk of the session (it was Pres. Eyring.....i got kind of lost on which session it was...). The next day was so much fun! we saw 4 sessions, and we got to talk with a lot of members. It was pretty fun, because you just had to stand there and smile and a member would just come up and start talking with you. There were only a few of the members from our city there (we're hoping that the ones we didn't see were able to go to another city where it was being shown), so i got to talk with a lot of people i didn't know. It was really fun, they were all so friendly! And conference was SO great, oh my gosh! it feels like the last one was just last week! but that was in october, when i was still at home! crazy! i was kind of bummed out that we didn't get to see all the sessions, but we're looking forward to getting the Liahona with all the talks. ah, it was great though! and, it was in english, so that was very good. otherwise, i'm pretty sure i wouldn't have been able to understand anything....After Conference, Krisztián drove us home. It was a pretty long day. But, not as long as Monday! haha, kind of funny, because there's not much to say about Monday....we went to Tihany, so that was pretty fun...it was cool to be able to see the Balaton. Then, we kind of just drove around....we went to Veszprém for lunch, and then kind of headed back to Tihany to go on a bobsled ride, like the one at Visegrád. After that, we frantically looked for a gas station before Krisztián's car ran out of gas....then, we came back to Fehérvár. We stopped at a few random places along the Balaton to take pictures, but other than that, kind of just drove around. It was pretty fun, even though it was raining and really windy--just made it more memorable, i guess.

Well, that's about it for this week.....oh, i don't know if i'll be staying here next transfer or not, so you might want to send any letters to the mission home....just in case.

I hope you're all doing good! (ah, sorry for the lame closure...i never know what to say to end a letter....)

Elder Murray

Transfer 2, week 5

Hi everyone!

Wow, we are officially 2/3 of the way through the transfer...wierd......

Ok, so, this week....On Tuesday we taught a member's friend.....we're way excited about it, they seem to be understanding the things we're teaching them, and when we were advertising angolora, she even came up and asked when we could meet again! Ah, it is such a great feeling whenother people ask you when they can learn more.

Let's see, what else...we looked up an inactive on Wednesday, and set up a time to meet her again (more on that later...). On Thursday, we taught Krisztián (it's his friend that we're teaching), and then went out for lunch with him....he took us to this pizza place.....Huggard and I each got a Macho pizza....they were quite large and spicy....very tasty though. After that, we advertised for Angolora for a while....not much to report there.....haha, Elder Huggard gave a flier to a guy, who immediately ripped it up. It was pretty funny, we were both laughing (after he left, of course....). On Friday, we took a bus across the city to teach a lady who is in a wheelchair and can't really see.....she's a pretty good investigator, she asks lots of questions when we teach about the gospel. And, we gave her a Book of Mormon on cd, so she can finally start 'reading' it. She seemed pretty excited about it. After that, we went and advertised for angolora some more. On Saturday, we went to Csöss (it is ridiculously difficult to say....everyone keeps saying that we say it wrong....) for an Elder's Quorum activity. It was at Krisztián's dad's house--they made pörkölt (i think) which is similar to gulyásleves (goulash) and palacsintas....it was pretty fun.....Krisztián and I were practicing the languages that we´re learning, so he was talking in English, and I was talking in Hungarian. It was pretty good, even though i didn´t really know a lot of words, it still felt really good to just try and carry on a conversation. It was very encouraging. After that, we got back just in time for Angolóra, which went great! A lady who we had streeted into just a day or two before actually came, and she seems like she would be way interested in the gospel! she really liked the spiritual thought at the end. and, she had been flipping through a conference edition of the Liahona, and asked if she could take it with her to read! it sounds like she´s coming this Saturday, too, so we´re going to see if we can set up a time to meet with her. On Sunday, we went back to the inactive we had looked up on Wednesday, and taught her about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It went really well, and she started talking about her husband who had died exactly 14 years ago that day....she´s got such a strong testimony. The only thing she needs to work on is coming to church--other than that, she is doing absolutely fantastic! It was really good to meet with her.

Yeah, so that´s this week. Sorry if it seemed kind of rambly....oh, i just thought of something else--we finally switched our clocks! and we´re on summer schedule now, so we wake up at 6:30 (instead of 5:30) and go to bed at 10:30 (instead of 9:30). It´s kind of wierd getting used to.

Ah, I just thought of something even better than clocky stuff! General Conference! Ah, I´m so excited! We get to go to Budapest (Krisztián´s taking us) to watch it! I´m so excited! And, there´s an international room where they show it in English! yay, i´ll actually be able to understand it! haha. and, we get to see like three or four sessions live! which means that if anybody else is watching it, we´ll be seeing it at the same time! ah, super wierd to think about, but super exciting! oh, so, i need to tell you all how amazingly full next week is going to be. So, Saturday night we go to Budapest for General Conference. We´ll be there on Sunday too, and then Monday is another Super Pday, so Tuesday will be our day for emailing and Shopping, and then on Wednesday or Thursday, we go back to Budapest for interviews. Wow. lots of stuff going on. We might buy a tie bag when we´re there for interviews, so that should be pretty fun. Then, the next Monday, we´ll be getting the transfer call. ah, it seems like everything´s happening at once. I get super confused whenever Huggard tries to explain our schedule...haha.

Well, that´s about it.....hope you´re all doing great! I miss you all!

Elder Murray

p.s. don´t forget that I will be emailing on Tuesday next week

Transfer 2, week 4

Hi Everyone!

Wow, this week was so fast! holy cow, i can't even belive that it's Monday again! crazy how fast time goes by....

ok, so, i already talked about last Monday, let's see if i can remember anything else....I got my first Hungarian haircut on Tuesday, March 17....pretty exciting......yeah......sweet.......haha. On Thursday, we took a bus to the other side of the city to teach an Angolóra student, and then afterwards we walked over to a less active family's house for a program that we had scheduled.....apparently everyone was sick, so we had to cancel that....we ended up walking to the complete end of the city to wait for the bus......we got back just in time for Angolóra, so that was good. oh gosh though, i'm pretty sure i'm going to die in the summer.....Thursday was pretty warm--i guess not incredibly warm, the sun was just shining, and it was warmer than it had been...gosh, though, i was so warm! gah, i can't imagine how the summer is going to be......i think i'm expecting something like summers at home, just a lot warmer.....and maybe a little bit more humid......mmm, what a perfect combination! haha, yeah.....should be interesting.... :)

Oh gosh, so on Friday, we went to Budapest for Zone Conference.....we actually got there pretty late, because our train should have gotten us there right on time, but it was incredibly slow....like, ridiculously slow....but, we didn't miss too much......it was great though, because I saw Elder Lundeen (comp. from the MTC) and Elder Diamond and Elder Proctor (in the group below us at the MTC) and......Elder Anderson! ah, it was crazy wierd, it totally took me straight back to Calculus class.....crazy wierd...it was great to see him though--he's a senior companion now, and his MTC group goes home at the end of the year--super wierd. That totally seems way soon. It was super cool to see someone from home though!

Saturday was quite interesting.....in the morning, we just stood in the Belváros (a walking street in the middle of the city) and advertised for Angolóra...it was pretty successful, we had quite a few people stop and ask about it.....we still didn't have that many students that afternoon, so maybe we'll see a few more next week......hm.....

After that, we went to visit with an investigator at their house.....she was really struggling with some things, so we talked with her for a while and then gave her a blessing--i actually gave it in English, and Elder Huggard translated for me...it was a really neat experience. After that, we went to McDonald's for dinner with Krisztián (he actually had driven us out to the investigator's house). That's where we took the picture i sent home. Pretty sweet. sorry that's the only picture that's made it so far....i'm planning on sending my card this week though, so hopefully, pictures should be posted sometime in the near future......maybe.....i don't know how long mail takes...hm....

ok, so, today.....we went to Budapest to get our visas! i'm officially allowed to stay in Hungary now! i'm no longer illegal! haha, i don't know if i ever was, it's just kind of fun to say that...haha. yeah, but that's totally the least interesting part of the story. so, we got to the mission home in Budapest (this is starting at the beginning of the day, after we arrived in budapest), said hi to everyone, took some pictures, etc. It was kind of lame, because Elder Lundeen forgot his passport, so he just had to go back to his city. bummer. he would have loved how the day turned out! yeah, so one of the secretary elders and one of the APs drove the mission van and took the younger missionaries, while Sister Steck and I rode with Elder Miller (his companion is a zone leader or something, so he gets to drive). Oh, and we didn't have any directions, or a phone, they just told us to follow them. ha. yeah. Um......let's just say that that was quite difficult. We actually got stuck a few cars behind them, and then we mistook a different car for theirs, followed that one for a while, realized it wasn't theirs, got back on the main road and then stopped at Keleti (don't ask what it is, i have no idea--Elder Miller knows what it is, apparently....?). By some amazing stroke of luck, they found us there, gave us a phone, and then we got to the Hivatal (the place we had to go to get our visas). So, after that, they tried explaining how to get back to the mission home, and we left. They were still waiting for the younger missionaries, so we were completely on our own this time. Pretty intense. We actually managed to find our way back fairly easily...we only had to make one u-turn (don't worry, it was legal). Sister Steck documented the trip,haha it was quite an adventure. Yeah, after that though, Elder Miller, Sister Steck and I played foosball for a while (that looks like it's spelled wrong.....whatever), and then we wandered around a mall with the older missionaries until our train came. We rode back with Sister Steck and her companion--i can't remember her name, it's like Holzafel or something....i just remember that it rhymes with popsicle, because that's what my companion calls her....haha. it was a pretty good train ride though....we talked about our cities and the little adventures we've been having. Sister Steck was talking about some stuff in Utah.....I'm definitely going to have to check some of it out when I'm there for college....haha. Yeah, they're both pretty rad, we had a pretty fun ride back. Although, we had the seat directly over the heater, and the train car was boiling! haha, other tha that, it was a good day.

Yeah, so that was this past week...or, parts from it, at least....yeah. Pretty exciting! I can't believe we're already halfway through this transfer though! The time just keeps going faster and faster....wierd.

Well, I hope you're all doing great, and I want you to know that I always think about you! not in the trunky, i-want-to-come-home kind of way, it's just so encouraging to think of all of you at home supporting me! it's a great feeling!

Well, this is Elder Murray, signing off until next week. nanu nanu (i hope at least some of you got that, otherwise i'll just feel like a nerd.....eh, i feel like a nerd anyway. haha :)

First picture from Hungary
Picture from outside of Esztergom on the Slovakian border.

transfer 2, week 3

hi everyone!
Wow, big week......let's see if i can remember everything....
On Tuesday, we had splits....Elder Huggard went to Veszprém with Elder Lilyenquist, and I stayed here in Székesfehérvár with Elder Diamond, who was in the group below me at the MTC.....yeah, so it was a first transfer elder with a 2nd transfer elder....pretty fun....actually, we just had Angolóra appointments, so it was pretty easy....it was pretty fun to be with him again, it feels like so long since we left the MTC...wierd...haha, i almost forgot, he actually came here on Monday night with his companion, and we had a pretty fun night with them. We made fried cheese......yeah. It tasted pretty good.....and you could pretty much feel it clogging up your arteries....fun stuff...haha. After tuesday, we had a fairly standard week....lot of programs.....we do have someone set to be baptized in May though, so that is pretty exciting.....we will have to see if I am still here, that would be next transfer.
Ok, so, the most interesting day of the week! Monday! Wow, super p-days are pretty intense. It was a national holiday, so we had the entire day to ourselves...first, Krisztián picked us up, then we met Andi and Tibor, and then we drove to Tatabánya to pick up the 4 elders there.....yeah, it got kind of interesting, because they had invited two investigators, which would not have been a problem, except that someone who had planned on coming decided not to, so we only had two cars with ten seats altogether....and 11 people. yeah. so, after kind of sitting at the branch house doing nothing for a while, we managed to find another car (and driver.....haha), and then we got started. We went to Esztergom, which is an amazing cathedral on the Slovakian border.....it was way cool, we got to go up on the roof and walk around the dome on the top.....the inside was really cool too--i only took a picture of the organ, because i felt bad taking pictures of anything else....it is a church, after all.....yeah, but it was a lot of fun! it was huge! After that, we went to Visegrád, which is a castle about a half hour away from Esztergomb. That was pretty fun--it was a good thing that it was a holiday, because that meant that the entrance fee was free (otherwise, it would have been pretty expensive....) After that, we went to a little bobsled ride. It was pretty fun. Yeah, so, that was our day. Pretty full. It felt really wierd not doing missionary work that evening.....and it was kind of funny, because there are very few people on the streets on saturdays and sundays, and then nobody was out on Monday, so it felt a little wierd coming outside today and seeing so many people.
Yeah, well, that was pretty much our week.....it was pretty fun. It was great having a lot of programs, although it was a little difficult for us to plan for them all......it was still a great feeling though, having so many appointments.
I hope my emails arent too boring......i can never remember anything specific...i need to start writing things down as they happen throughout the week....
well, i hope you all are having a great time! There are times throughout the week where I just kind of think back, and just remembering you all makes me want to work harder! so, even though this probably sounds way cheesy, thanks for the memories! (you know, i kind of like cheesy.....)
Elder Murray