Transfer 4, week 5

Hello Everyone!Wow, pretty intense week.....we had zone conference on Wednesday, and Elder Causse was there (i have no idea if i spelled that right......he's a member of the 70, and i believe he gave a talk in general conference once.....). It was really good, he had a lot of great advice for us to help us improve ourselves and become better missionaries and better people. Then, we had to rush back to Miskolc for Angolóra...we were starting it over, so we were expecting a lot of people, but there wasn't really a whole lot of new people....oh well. Then, on Thursday (yes, the next day) we had to drive back to Budapest for Zone Leader Council. That was really good too, we really cleared up a lot of mission policies, and Elder Causse had a lot of really great ways that we can improve the mission. Plus, i got to see Elder Lundeen, Elder Brockman, and Elder Huggard. It's super wierd to think that Elder Huggard is going home in just a few weeks, and then Elder Brockman goes home 6 weeks after that. Other than that, our week has been going really great. We have a few really good investigators...one of them is having his baptismal interview this Saturday, and then right after that, one of the sisters' investigators is getting baptized. We actually have this one investigator who's really fun. She's about 45 maybe, and she has two jobs as a chef, so it's kind of hard to schedule with her, but she always makes us something when we come over, and she loves talking with us. We always have a fun time with her. We tried to visit her once, but they didn't hear the doorbell or something, so we came back another day. She was kind of pretending to be mad at us, and in the middle of a little rant she just kind of stopped real quick to say --sziasztok, örülök, hogy itt vagytok--("hi, i'm glad you're here") and then started her little rant again. . It was just really funny because she just threw it in there, and then we just laughing for the rest of her rant. She's a lot of fun, because she's always laughing with us, but then we start the lesson, she really pays attention and seems to be really applying what we're teaching. it's really cool to see the difference, because you can tell when the lesson starts that the Holy Ghost is there, and that she's learning to recognize it and to learn from it. We're really excited to continue teaching her.haha, and then we were meeting with an older woman (she's so rad, she watches handball religiously) and she said she was never coming to church again because someone mentioned something about all the women should be wearing skirts (hers was getting washed or something). Then Elder Lynn told her that when he got to church and looked where she usually sits, he didn't see her, so something was missing from his entire day....after that, she said "jó, csilagom, ott leszek jövő Vasárnap" (ok, my star/dear, i'll be there next week). She always call us "csillagom", it's so adorable.So, let's see....other than that, not too much going on....we're starting splits tonite, so i'll be in Debrecen with Elder Marceil (he was in the group above me at the MTC...i'm really excited to see him again). yeah, so, that's about it. I hope you're all having a great week, and i guess i'll talk to you all next week.
Elder Murray

Transfer 4, week 4

Hello everyone!
Wow, things are going way great here in Miskolc! (Well , maybe not as great as they could be going.....but they're still going great! :) We've met twice with a lady named Timi, she's always really happy to have us over and to talk with us, and this last time, her son sat in on the lesson too, and he seemed pretty interested, so hopefully we'll be able to talk with him too in the future. It was really cool though, because we tried visiting her on Saturday, but when we rang the doorbell, apparently nobody heard it, so we left.....we called her on Sunday, and she said she was dissappointed that we didn't get to meet, and wanted to know if we could meet then. She is so great, she always has great questions and is always smiling---plus, she's a chef, so we always get something to eat when we visit her. :)
Other than that, not much going on this week......one of our investigators said that he thought he should probably be baptized, which was amazing in and of itself, and then we said there was a few things he needed to take care of first, and he pretty much committed himself to quitting smoking and drinking. He's a really cool guy--haha, he's about 50 something, and he always says "kiraly!" (it means "king", but they kind of use it like 'cool'.....yeah, he's pretty rad, haha.)
Um.....on Saturday, we were on splits in Eger....that was really fun, i got to split with Elder Mullen, who was in the group above me at the MTC---he's doing great with the language, and is a great missionary. He always shows his personality in everything he does, and the members in Eger that I got to meet all seemed to really like him.
Yeah, so that's pretty much week three of transfer 4 of Elder Murray's mission....haha. oh, one more thing---a couple of you were asking about driving, now that i've got a car. It's definitely interesting.....i have to drive a lot more defensively than i did in America, that's for sure. it's not too difficult, just wierd for me.
well, that's about it.....we've been having a great time together, learning from each other......oh, and we recently tried out this new way of tracting--i can't remember if i talked about it last week or not, so i'll just repeat myself if i did.....feel free to skip this part if it's old news....or if you're bored... :) So, we printed up this little survey of about 5 questions, with our names and numbers at the bottom, and put one in each mailbox in a bunch of apartment buildings. we went back a few days later and talked with people about their opinions. They seem a lot more open and receptive with that, and we've seen some great success with it.
Oh, and i forgot to mention some random trivia about Miskolc that Elder Lynn told me when i first got here---apparently, the walking street here is the longest one in Europe. Also, there's a section of the city called the Avas--it's just tons and tons and tons of 10 story apartment buildings--which has more people living in it than the entire city of Eger. Yeah. So, that's my random little spurt for this week. I guess I'll talk to you all next week!
Elder Murray

Transfer 4, week 3

Hi everyone!
Wow, this week was pretty interesting. First of all, Elder Lynn and I made it into the 20 Lessons Club (for missionaries who teach 20 or more lessons each week), so we were really excited about that. And, we had an absolutely amazing day of tracting, so we should be getting some new investigators from that. It was really fun too, we tried an idea Elder Lynn got from one of his companions. We made a small survey and put it in every mailbox, and then we went back and asked everyone what their opinions were. (Most) everyone was really friendly, and in one building, we got 4 phone numbers, 3 people let us in to teach a lesson, and we gave away three Books of Mormon (copies of the Book of Mormon...whatever...). It was super exciting, and we had a really fun time doing it. We had kind of an upsetting start to the week though--one of our investigators is on bap. date, and is absolutely phenomenal--but his school is pretty much kicking him out if he gets baptized. Kind of upsetting, but a bunch of us had a fast for him, so things should be getting better soon. :)
Other news......we have had a ton of rain lately, and as a result, there's been a ton of flooding. We've been asking all of the members and investigators here, and they can't really remember another time when it was this bad......kind of exciting, but at the same time, really annoying. But, we have nice, sunny, warm weather now, so that is absolutely great!
So last week we went to the castle--that was pretty fun. It wasn't too big or anything, but it was still fun. haha, Sister Crosley was pointing at some suit of armor or something and set off an alarm--twice! haha, that had us laughing for a while.
yeah, so, that was about our week....not a whole lot happening throughout the week, but definitely some memorable days in there. That one day of tracting was really inspiring, mostly because i really hadn't seen any success at all with tracting in Székesfehérvár. So, this was a nice relief and a reminder that it does still work. :) Other than that though, not much going on.....we have a pretty good week ahead of us....we're possibly going on splits in Eger this Saturday, so that should be pretty fun.
Well, I guess I'll talk to you all next week! I hope you're all doing great!
Elder Murray

Transfer 4, Week 2

Hi everyone!
so, this is the first email from Miskolc! woohoo! I hope everyone's as excited as i am! haha. Actually, it was kind of hard the first few days, just because I hadn't really met with any of the members yet, and I was thinking A LOT about Székesfehérvár. I really got to love that place and the people there, so it was kind of hard to leave. But, I met a lot of the members on Sunday at church, so that made it a lot easier to get started fitting in here.
So, i actually don't have my own phone...kind of a relief, becuase i am realizing more and more that I am completely awful on the phone. It is really wierd being in a car too, because we go all over the place. Elder Lynn still wants to use the villamos sometime, just because he misses the ones in Budapest. The branch here is really strong, they all seem to be pretty excited to be doing missionary work--we taught a class on Sunday about it, and everyone was really involved, so hopefully we'll be able to see a lot more of that in the future. The branch house here is way nice too. And, we have sister missionaries in the city--something completely new for me, but it's pretty fun at the same time. We don't see each other much, but it's always fun to see them at church or Angolóra.
So, Miskolc.....definitely a lot different than Székes. It's actually got hills! I was so excited when we got here and saw that there was actually elevation changes! haha. It's a fairly big city though, apparently about 3 times as big as Székes. We can see a castle out of one of our windows--and a factory out the other. We're actually going to the castle today, so i'll let you all know how that is next week. I don't know why, but the people here seem different than in Székes. I can't put my finger on it, but there's definitely something different about them. I haven't really had much of an opportunity to see what they're like with streeting or tracting--we have a lot of people that we meet with. The city itself is pretty cool. I think Székes had prettier buildings and everything, but i really like how this city is laid out--and the little mountains help too. :) the new apartment.......let's just say that i liked my old one better. haha. the new one's actually not that bad. It's pretty big and everything, and i really like the views out of the windows.
My new companion is Elder Lynn---he's way cool. he's super excited to be out here still, and he really wants to stay in Miskolc. It's been fun getting to know him.

yes dad, i remember how to drive--i still need to take a little drive with Elder Garner (one of the senior couple that are serving in the office) so he can okay me to drive a mission car. we'll see how that goes--apparently it's in budapest, so i guess if i can drive there, i can drive anywhere! haha.
yeah, well, that's about our week....oh, one last thing with transfers....it was kind of funny, because Elder Miller, Elder Lundeen and I all just kind of switched companions. Lundeen is serving with my trainer, Miller's serving with one of Lundeen's companions, and I'm serving with Elder Lynn, who served with Elder Miller a few transfers ago.
well, that's about it for this week.......i'm still kind of getting settled in, so not much else to say......talk to you all next week!
Elder Murray

Transfer 4, Week 1

Hello everyone!

Ok, first of all, sorry about the lateness of this email....Sunday was Pentecost, so all the stores were closed on Monday as well, including the internet place. Also, on Monday, we got transfer calls......well, it finally happened: I'm leaving Székesfehérvár. I'm going to Miskolc, to be the zone leader's companion. I've heard different things about Miskolc.....most of the people say it's not too pretty, but it has a relatively strong branch, and according to one of our angolóra students, they speak very good Hungarian there, so (according to him) i should be able to progress pretty good in the language. I gotta say, I'm really bummed about leaving here. I made quite a few really good friends, and it's going to be extremely wierd going to another city. At the same time though, I am super excited--it's a new city, we have a car, I get my own cell phone (actually, those last two things might not be so good.. :) and i get to see Elder Brockman at zone leader council--he's going to be the zone leader in Hodmezövásárhely (sorry to the Hungarian speakers who read this if i spelled that wrong...). And, I've heard that my new companion, Elder Lynn, is amazing, so I'm really looking forward to serving with him. plus, there's a possibility that i could get a whip..... :)

Yeah, so that's pretty much the big news for the week.....Elder Bird and I had a fantastic last week together, and we're both kind of bummed that we don't get to serve another transfer together. But, the Lord needs me in Miskolc, so I'm going. It's kind of cool too, the elder coming to replace me will be Elder Proctor, who was in the group below me at the MTC. And, hopefully I'll be able to see Elder Lundeen and Elder Miller at transfers--i believe they're moving too.

so, that was our week....a lot of work, somewhat better weather (yeah, it stopped raining a ton, and now it's really hot. nice.). We had a pretty fun p-day. we played Risk with Tibi (don't worry, board games are allowed on pday), and then we went with Andi, Tibi, and the Jamrikék to a lake for some ice cream, and then we came back to Székes and played a game in the park--everyone wrote down a name of a well-known person, and then passed it to the person on their right (without letting them see). So, everyone knows who everyone else is, but they don't know who they are, so the point of the game is to ask everyone else yes or no questions about yourself and try to find out who you are. It was really fun. I was the second-to-last person to find out who i was (batman). after that, we came home and i started packing.....funfunfun.

yeah.....so, i guess i'll get my new address sent out next week, when i actually know it...I hope you all have a great week, and I guess I'll talk to you all next week (from Miskolc!)

Jók legyetek! (should that ó have an accent?)

Elder Murray

Transfer 3, Week 6

HI everyone!

oh wow, this is the last week of the transfer! It has gone by so fast--I've really been having a great time serving with Elder Bird...we were both talking about the time, and how fast this transfer has gone by...it's a little discouraging, because it's difficult to look back and pick out specific successes that we've seen here...but, we've both had a great time serving together and learning from each other.

Our week has been pretty normal....we've actually just pretty much been doing a lot of finding because all but one of our investigators couldn't meet...bummer....but, we managed to talk to a lot of people.

Oh gosh, so the weather right now is pretty ridiculous. It is really windy (ha, it's actually kind of fun to watch people walking in it....we always try to see how far we can lean into it), and pretty rainy. it's actually been a little less rainy lately--when it first started, we were just getting pelted in the face with little ice bits. now it's just really windy. we've been doing a ton of tracting, because streeting is pretty much impossible...you can't hear anything, and people are just getting blown all over the place. we actually have seen a little bit more success with that (tracting). After church, we went tracting, and actually got 3 finds in two hours--probably one of the most effective times I have had here. I guess it just kind of shows that when we're willing to serve the Lord, even when the situation isn't exactly desirable, He will bless us for our effort. which kind of leads to something i said in one of my other emails to somebody (sorry, i can't remember what i said to who when.....i hope that made sense...)....When we are in the service of the Lord and others, all we have to give is our all, and then He'll be there to help us give even more. And after that, He will bless us.
Sunday was actually a really interesting day...Krisztián asked me to give him the Melchizedik Priesthood, so that was kind of interesting. He told me just before church, and then Tibor wrote down the words for the first part for me about 5 minutes before...it was a really special experience, that's actually the first time i've actually been the one to say the words--in Hungarian or English.....which actually made me really grateful that it isn't always the spoken words that matter so much as the meaning they are meant to convey--i made a ton of mistakes during the blessing (whenever i paused to think about what to say next, that was when i made the most mistakes, but when i just started talking, I did a lot better) but he was just really grateful and said i did great--it was really encouraging. He's such a great guy, and he's going to be such a blessing to this branch.

After that, we had a program with an Angolóra student, and pretty much just taught about the gospel. At the end, Elder Bird extended the baptismal invitation, and he said he would be baptized when he knows it's true. it was really cool, and a great reminder that when we're straightforward with people, they are a lot less likely to reject what we have.

yeah, so those were the highlights from the week.....not much else going on....

I hope you all had a great week, and I hope you all have a great time this week! Talk to you later!

Elder Murray

p.s. oh, and if anyone is thinking of sending mail, they might want to send it to the mission home--i don't know if i'll be staying here or not, we'll be getting transfer calls next Monday (gah, that is so wierd to think about....)

Transfer 3, Week 5

Hello everyone!

so, first of all, here's just a little bit more in-depth version of something I (might have) talked about last week...

Elder Bird and I had been streeting without any luck last Sunday when we started heading home for dinner, and somebody actually came up from behind us and wanted to talk with us! His parents had died a while ago, and he had questions about what our view was on what happens after death, so we taught him part of the plan of salvation, gave him a Book of Mormon, and got his number! He seemed genuinley interested, and we are really excited to meet with him again. The whole incident really was quite amazing--a lot of decisions led to us being where we were when he came up to us. We had decided to have dinner earlier, to break up the streeting time, which we usually don't do; and then we decided to go home and get our bags later (they were at the branch house) which we probably wouldn't have done--we were pretty close to the branch house when we decided that. So, because of that decision, we ended up going home a back way, and that was were he ended up running into us. It was such a faith-building experience, and just a reminder that when we do all that we can, the Lord will put people into our path who have been prepared to recieve His gospel.

Yeah, so I can't remember if I talked about that or not last week, but it was really cool, so i thought I'd just be sure and throw it in here.

So, this week.....not much going on...we thought we were going to have two new investigators this week, but it turned out that they didn't have time...hopefully we'll be able to set up other times to meet with them in the future, because they really seemed genuinely interested.

Saturday was such a great day! Ah! The first baptism I've seen here in Hungary! It was such an amazing experience! Haha, kind of wierd though, just becuase we had it at an indoor swimming pool---still really cool though! We actually had two investigators come to it, as well as some less-actives, so that was really fun to see them there. And, it was really great because all of the stuff was done by members--her friend baptized her, and his friend confirmed her. It was really great to see the priesthood holders here have a chance to use the gift that they've been given.

Sunday was also really good--we had Stake Conference in Budapest, so we got to go up there for that. We rode with a member, and another member brought one of our investigators, and the girl who had been baptized was there as well. It was really great to see them there, and it was really cool to see so many members together at once. It's been a really long time since I've seen that many members all at once. It was good to see them and the example of their faith in being willing to go there.

Yeah, so those were pretty much the highlights of this week....not much else going on here...we got to make our Mother's Day calls Sunday evening, so that was really fun....it was super great to hear from our families! I love the support you all provide, especially in your emails, it's always great to hear from everyone.

Well, that's about it.....I love you all, and I hope you all had a great week, and we're looking forward to another great week here!

Elder Murray

Transfer 3, Week 4

HI everyone!

oh wow, this transfer is going by way too fast! I really hope i get to stay with Elder Bird another transfer, he's really a great elder, and we've been having a really good time together. ah, and i was told that i'm at my 6 month mark! that is so amazingly ridiculous to think about! i can't even believe how fast the time is going by, i hadn't even noticed it had been that long! it's difficult to look back and say exactly how long i've been out here....usually i just think about it, and it's like "oh yeah, i've been serving with Elder Bird for a little bit, before that i was with Elder Huggard, and before that i was at the MTC......that does not sound like 6 months at all! It's almost kind of scary to think about, just because it really emphasizes how short this time really is, and how we really need to use every minute.

ok, so aside from that...... :)

this week was pretty good.....we had zone conference on Friday, which was really good (As usual... :). Elder Hommes and I went on splits so we could leave early to get Gofri Est started....our companions stayed to hear the departing testimonies. We made it back alright, we just had to stand the entire time in the bike car because the train was completely packed. It actually wasn't that bad, just kind of noisy......not too uncomfortable though, i wouldn't mind having to do it again.....haha, although i must say, a seat is much more desireable... :) So, we got back to Syékesfehérvár, and saw Brigi (one of our investigators) at the train station...apparently she had just arrived too, and was waiting for István (a member here). So, we waited with her, and István gave us a ride to the branch house. We had a pretty fun Gofri Est (Waffle Night), three students from Angolóra showed up, and we managed to set up a program with one of them. so, that was pretty much the highlight of Gofri Est. Oh! And Brigi had her baptismal interview, which she passed! She is getting baptized on May 8th, this Saturday! we are so excited for her! she's really looking forward to it. It's kind of exciting, because i've known her since we started teaching her, and now i'm going to be here for her baptism! It's been really cool to see her progression and the change in her as she's learned about the gospel. She is going to be such a blessing to this branch!

ok, so, to some less exciting news....Saturday was super pday, so we had a lot of time....haha. Elders Liljenquist and Diamond came over from Veszprém, the secretaries (Elder Recksiek and Chiarelli (i have no idea how to spell their names.....)) came from Budapest, and then it was all four of us from here in Székes, along with Krisztián and Andi from the branch. Krisztián and Andi drove, and we went to the Balatoni Bob (a bobsled ride...thingy....), and then we went to a little touristy greek village thing...it was kind of cool...... :) after that, we went to Tihany, which was great! haha, even though it was my second time going, it was still really fun! we had a ton of people, and we just had a good time with each other. We also ran into Elder Pickard and Elder Davis (i think.....?) from Dunaújváros in Tihany...they had driven up separately...elder Pickard is the zone leader, and Elder Davis is his greenie.....he's in Hommes' MTC group, and he played football (maybe those of you who work at the MTC know who he is....i probably got his name wrong, there were a ton of new missionaries this transfer). So, after Tihany, we went to a city on the coast of the Balaton (don't worry, we had permission)...it was really pretty. after that, we came home and walked through a little festival thingy....it was for mayday, there was just a ton of little stands set up in the street. it was pretty fun.

So, that was our week.....not much else.....we're super excited for the baptism this week, and should hopefully be getting some new investigators this week......

oh wait! we had a pretty cool experience on Sunday....elder Bird and i were heading home from streeting, when some 23 year old guy just stopped us and started talking to us.....he was really cool, and we taught him a lesson in the park (like, about the gospel....we didn't beat him up... :) He was really cool, and wants to meet with us again....it was just a really cool experience, because it was the first lesson that i had taught on the street, and we had had absolutely no other success that entire day.....and a lot of stuff led up to us being where we were when we there.....it was really cool, and just goes to show that the Lord does prepare people to hear the gospel, and when we are receptive to the Holy Ghost, He will lead us to them.

Well, i hope you all had a great week, and continue to have a great time leading up to Mother's Day! Happy Mother's Day!

Elder Murray