Transfer 9, Week 7....?

yeah, so this transfer is a week longer because of Christmas, that's why it's week 7.
so, transfers is next week....President has already informed us that we are both staying, due to the fact that the new office couple is now here to replace the Garners, and we need to help them get settled in. It's going to be super wierd without the Garners around, but the Bagozzis seem really fun, so i'm looking forward to getting to know them. Not too much else going on lately.....pretty normal in the office this week (well, as normal as it can be....). let's see...i had something i was going to talk about, but it's not coming to mind right now.......................................uh...............................................(awkward pause........).......................................hm. well, i guess that's it for this week then. bummer. well, if i can think of it during the week, i'll shoot you an email. (this is going to bug me so much until i think of it.......i'd hold off sending this until i thought of it, but then i'd just forget to send the email.)
Well, i hope you all have a great week anyway, let me know how everyone's doing! I love you all!
Elder Murray
Oh! I remembered what I wanted to share-----Well, this past month, a young single adult from the Kispest ward passed away. It was completely unexpected, she was at the New Year's party, and two days after that, she was taken to the hospital, and then she died a day later or something. It was a really hard time for a lot of the youth here, because she had been really involved with a lot of the activities--she used to be the YSA President here in Budapest. So, with her death and everything, i've been thinking a lot about the Plan of Salvation, kind of going back to what i mentioned a few weeks ago when i talked about hearing the departing missionaries on their last night. these friendships we make go so deep that they can't possibly be limited to this earthly life only. Sister Wade, one of the senior sisters who works at the Center for Young Adults, has been helping the youth here a lot--she talks a lot about her husband, who died a number of years ago. She said he called his death his "graduation from mortality", and Pres. Hinckley came and spoke at his funeral, and talked about "what a beautiful thing is death, really." I can't remember exactly how he said it, but something about how if we only knew what kind of experiences await those who go on to fulfill their calling on the other side of the Veil, we would not mourn their passing. she also has a lot of quotes about angels, and one of them is from Bishop H. David Burton, which talks about how the angels that the Lord sends to aid us in our lives are not strangers, but people we had known in life. They are friends and family and that is a comforting thought.

Transfer 9, Week 4

Hello everyone

Sorry it's taken so long to get a good email out, things have been crazy. We've been all over the place with Christmas and New Year's, but things are settled down now, so i have some time to report the goings-on.......let's see.....we've had a lot of trips to the hivatal lately, which weren't too difficult, just super long.........we are definitely never going there unless we get there when it opens. Let's see, other news.......Christmas was really fun, I still got to enjoy all the cookies and fudge from home, and we even had some puzzles and a game or two of phase 10 (wow, it seems like forever since i've done either of those......). oh, and on Christmas eve, we gathered up in the top room of the mission home with pres. and his wife and we sang christmas songs.....it was so much fun, it was such a great day!
New Year's Eve was super fun, Elder Hintze and I had to stay at the Center for Young Adults until 4 in the morning to supervise their party. Sister Steck was doing face painting, so i got a giant pokeball on my arm (i wanted her to paint the enterprise or the Star Trek insignia, but she didn't know what they looked like, and when i tried drawing them, i absolutely butchered them). So, lots of music, lots of wandering around the mission home trying to find something to do, and lots of juice. oh, sister wade made slush, so we had a giant bowl of soda with that, and it was sooo good! it took me right back to holidays at grandma's house with uncle bret's slush--it tasted just like his. and then, at midnight, everyone got some children's champagne (alcohol-free, of course), and sang the hungarian anthem. it was the first time i heard it, and it was absolutely amazing! It was really cool to hear it for the first time, with all of these hungarian youth singing it. ah, it was super awesome! then everyone was clinking there plastic cups together, "Boldog Új Évet!" super fun. the next day was super pday, so we slept in a lot (well, i slept in until about 8.30......i can't seem to sleep much later than that....) and we gathered at the mission home with the other missionaries. it was really fun, we got a lot of foosball playing in, and we just had a great time.

Lately, not tooo much has been going on........a lot of super hectic days, and a lot of super empty days....not too much in between. but, i'm having a good time here. you know, when we're not pulling our hair out worrying about backing up the computers (yeah, we just installed windows 7 and had to back up the computers..............super stressful, i'm glad all my hair didn't fall out) or wondering what's wrong with the internet today (yeah, no internet for about a week and half....and, each day, there was a different reason). so, things are going good.

I hope you all have a great week, and i'll talk to you all next week!

Elder Murray

Transfer 9, Week 2 (i actually can't remember which week it is.....?)

Hi everyone

So, I am now in the office as a secretary. It was kind of hectic when I first came in two Sundays ago (the 6th). I got some training from Elder Ottley, then he left on Thursday. I kind of stressed out for the first few days, but then i realized that there's really nothing to get stressed about, so i'm fine now. I was with Elder Kubricky for the rest of the time, and then his replacement, Elder Hintze, got here last sunday (the 13th). I won't say that i'm not looking forward to serving with Elder Hintze, but I really liked serving with Elder Kubricky. I gained so much respect for him during the short time we served together, he's got so many great insights, and he's really entertaining. I was kind of super bummed-out when i found out he was leaving, but he's been here for a long time, and he was itching to get out. So, we kind of whitewashed the office--nobody can remember that ever happening before, so it's kind of interesting....we're both kind of learning as we go, so things are moving kind of slow right now, but they should start picking up. Let's see, what is there to know about the office......we're here from 8.30 to 5.30 (sometimes longer, depending...), we do computer stuff alllllll day, sometimes we get to take mail to the Posta (post office), so that's kind of fun. ha, it's kind of funny, there's this very specific route we take to the posta, and Elder Hintze made a comment the other day, just wondering how long it's been there and who discovered it, and then we got talking about Bug's Life where the leaf falls on the line. It was kind of funny. Yeah, so, that's the Posta (oh, and they just opened a Starbucks on the way to the Posta in the mall, so i can still get their apple cider.......a little taste of Seattle right there. :) Other than that.....things are pretty constant here at the office. the stuff that i'm mainly responsible for isn't too difficult, just have to follow directions. the biggest thing i do is probably getting all of the greenies registered and getting them their permits. that's always fun......it's just super wierd though, because i totally remember being in their shoes, and it does not seem like that long ago. let's see, anything else........we live right across the street from the mission home, so not too much travel time involved......

Ok, so this past week was transfers. kind of hectic, but manageable......i just had a lot of updating to do, and that was about the most difficult thing. But, we also had 9 missionaries leaving, and the office elders get to join them and the Baughman's and the garner's (the office senior couple) for dinner in the Baughman's apartment. It was really fun being able to have that last chance to talk with all of them, and then there was a departing testimony meeting, which was super spiritual and everything, it was just soooooo difficult, realizing that in the morning, they'd all be gone. That was the hardest part i think, having to say goodbye that night. It was always easier before out in the field, one zone conference they were there, and the next they weren't.....but this was awful, because it was their last night, and you totally knew that they were leaving in the morning....i definitely don't think that someone as young in the mission as i am should be allowed to sit in on one of those, because i know that i'll see them later when i go home, but now it just seems like they're gone forever. If i learned anything from that night, it was a better appreciation for the Plan of Salvation. Especially taking into account missionary slang (for example, when someone comes to the country, we say they're born, and then when they go home, we say they die), it just kind of helped me realize that in this life, we make incredible bonds of friendship with so many people, and if i didn't know that we would have an opportunity to meet again and continue that friendship, it would be super hard for me to deal with things like that. But, just like i'll see all of these missionaries after my mission, that's totally how the Plan of Salvation works as well--we don't have to say goodbye forever. So, yeah. there's my deep thought for the week. :)

I hope you all have a great week, hopefully i'll write again before Christmas, but if not, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Elder Murray

Transfer 8, Week5?

Hey everyone...

So, in case you all didn't notice, I didn't email on Monday.....the thing is....I came into the office. I'm the new secretary, and I had to come in on Sunday night for training. And, the office staff's pday is on Saturdays. so, sorry for the panic...... : )

Elder Murray

Transfer 8, Week 4

HI everyone!

Ok, I promised last Thursday, so here's the Thanksgiving run-through. We went to the mission home in Budapest at 8 a.m. so Elder Allen could practice for the Christmas concert. While he was practicing, I made the butterscotch pies. Well, the filling and meringue......Sister Steck and Sister Johnson made the crusts. Oh, funny story. So, the crusts turned out being........a little smaller than would have been desired. So, I poured in the filling for the first one, and it was totally even with the top of the crust. Then, I put on the meringue, and the filling started blurping out the sides. It overflowed a little bit more when we stuck it in the oven. We did the second one better - we saved some of the filling and meringue and just ate it while we waited for it to cook. After that little adventure, we went to an internet cafe to email, then came back and helped set up for Thanksgiving dinner. It was so much fun, there were so many missionaries there, and the food was so good, we all had a really great time. and, a few people even said they really liked the butterscotch pie. What do you know....... :) yeah, so, dinner was at about 3:00 and went to 5 or something......after that, a bunch of people went upstairs to watch some reruns of last years BYU football games. Elder Nikolov, Sister Johnson, Elder Ottley and I went to the MR3 radio station to listen to a live broadcast. It was an anniversary performance or something honoring Hungarian composers. It was pretty cool, there were about 20 people who attended. We got to sit right up at the front. A lady played the piano, and a gentleman played the cello--it was really cool. And, we all got to be on the radio! Well, not really......we just got to applaud before and after the songs, so that was on the radio. yay.......it was pretty cool though. The songs were really cool, and they both played extremely well. I'm really glad I got to go to it. Everyone else went ice skating after finishing the football game. So, that was thanksgiving. it was a long day, but super awesome.

After that, on Friday we had zone conference. That was super fun, especially since we were combined with the East zone. I got to see Elder Bird again, and Sister Crosley gave her departing testimony--I can't believe she's going home, that is soooo wierd. the mission is starting to get super young. It's wierd to see all the people in the groups above me and all the people in the groups below me. It's starting to get to where I'm older than most in the mission, and it feels super wierd. But yeah, zone conference was cool, and then we had gofri est. We talked to Csilla at that, and had a super awesome discussion. I'll just tell you all Csilla's story real quickly here......So, she just recently moved to Érd to live with her older sister so she could go to school in Budapest. During Elder Saunders' first transfer here, she always saw Elder Anderson and Elder Saunders on the street handing out english class fliers and talking to people. This was when Csilla had just moved to Érd, and from what she's told us, she was looking for a church. Somehow, she found out about english class and came. On her first day, both Elder Saunders and Elder Anderson had the distinct feeling that they needed to meet with her. So, they set up an appointment, and we met with her during my first week. All of our programs with her have been absolutely amazing, whenever we teach her something, she always agrees with it, as if it was something that she already knew, she just needed to hear it from someone. She was born a Catholic, but lived in England for a few years and attended a few different churches. She has basically gathered all of the truths that she has found in those, and now she's getting all of those confirmed by what she's learning, as well as learning new things. She is super awesome! It's really been a blessing for me to be able to take part in this with her. Every time we meet with her, it's obvious that she is moving closer and closer to baptism. One time at Gofri Est, she mentioned that whenever she comes to these kind of activities, she feels like she is at home--moreso than if she would be with her family. She asked about baptism, and what would change after she got baptised. This past Friday at Gofri Est, she pulled us aside towards the end, and said that she had gotten pretty much all of her answers, and she knows that it is true. It was a super amazing experience, Elder Allen and I were pretty ecstatic. so, that is Csilla. She really is an incredible person. Her family situation sounds absolutely horrid, but she has such amazing faith and hope in the Savior, that she is able to overcome most things that would discourage her or hold her back. We are super excited to see her story continue.

So, that's about it for this week. The Christmas concerts start this Friday, so we're all getting excited for those. Hopefully we'll be able to get everything organized for that here.

Well, I guess I'll sign off until next Monday. I hope you all have a great week, and a great start to the Christmas season!

Elder Murray

Transfer 8, Week 3

Hi everyone!
So, things are getting super crazy around here.......(oh, and sorry if you wrote to me and i didn't respond.....we don't really have a lot of time today). There's going to be a lot of christmas concerts around the country coming up here......I'm not doing anything in it, Pres wants it to be really professional. Elder Allen will play the violin, Sister Roderick, Elder Kubricky and Elder Rummler will be singing, Elder Ottley will be playing the guitar, and sister Bodily will be playing the piano. oh, and a hungarian member will be playing the organ, or accompanying on the piano. It sounds like it's going to be really cool, I'm super excited for it.
So, other than that, not much else.....pretty crazy, because Elder Allen has to practice A LOT for the concert, and we go up to Budapest A LOT so they can all practice together. It's getting kind of hectic trying to get everything worked out and coordinated, but we're managing...hopefully it will just be absolutely great.
Ok, so, other news.......oh, a member of the 70 was here (from Scotland--way cool accent) and gave a fireside, then spoke at both sessions of Stake conference. It was super cool. We brought Csilla to the fireside, and she really liked it. Afterwards, while we were eating Gofris, she started talking about how she's been looking for the right church and everything, and how whenever she comes to activities and stuff, she feels like she's coming home, and then she started asking what would change after she gets baptized.....Basically, she is super ready for this step, and we are so excited for her. Everyone absolutely loves her, and they've totally accepted her and help her feel like she's a member of the family. It was a really awesome discussion with her, we're really excited to see where the next few programs with her take us.
So, that's about it.........I guess I'll report on today's feasting on Monday. Until then, Happy Thanksgiving!
Elder Murray

Transfer 8, Week 2

HI everyone!

So, this week was pretty stressfull...I'll see if I can recap everything that happened.....

On Monday, Elder Saunders and I managed to get one of our investigators to Családi Est (Family Home Evening) in Budapest. It was pretty cool, I think she had a great time. On Tuesday, we had a 'farewell' program for Saunders with the branch mission leader and his family. That was pretty fun. Dinner was really tasty, and we had a good time with them.

On Wednesday, we went to transfers. That was good, as usual. Saunders found his new companion (apgood) and I found mine (Allen). Oh, and I got my new whip from Sister Crosley........:) So, transfers was good, we were in Budapest pretty much all day because Allen had a doctors appointment. After that, we got back and had angolóra, then got home. Thursday was good, we did a lot of fliering and had some great programs. On Friday, we had two programs, then took those two people to gofri est in budapest. They all had a super fun time, Elder Allen was in a meeting with Pres Baughman pretty much the whole time discussing a Christmas concert. (More about that later). We caught a later train back home and went straight to bed. On Saturday, we made food for the baptism (thanks again for the cookie recipe Sarah :), and got everything organized for that (pretty much, the most stressful day of my life.) We got to Budapest, the program went smoothly, the baptism was great, and everyone felt awesome. It was really a great time, the young lady who got baptized had an absolutely wonderful experience, and she said later that she never wants to forget it. We're so happy for her, it was really great. Sunday was also a good day, the same young lady was confirmed as a member and got the Holy Ghost. It was super amazing, she kept saying over and over again how grateful she is. It was a super great feeling, being able to take part in her conversion process, I'm so glad that I could be there to walk at least a part of it with her. Sunday night, we took her to a fireside in Budapest, which was awesome, then we got home and went straight to bed. Again. Yeah. We did a lot of that this week. We like sleeping, (not while we're supposed to be working of course, but when it's time to sleep, we sleep.) Today was pretty good, we went to Budapest (as usual), Elder Allen practiced for the Christmas concert, then we went shopping a bit. Not too much, but we had a fun time.
Ok, so, the Christmas concert. Pretty much, there's a ton of talent in Budapest right now (or in the surrounding areas in Elder Allen's case). One of the sister's in Pest is an absolutely amazing singer, I believe she has a cd out, the other sister is a concert pianist--I believe she is one of the best in the US or something.....and, both secretaries are (very) musicaly inclined, an Elder in Kispest is a very good......singer? (I actually don't really know, I just know he's involved in it somehow), and Elder Allen plays the violin. Oh, and there's a member who plays the organ like that's all he's ever done. So President wants to capitalize on that as much as possible, and is organizing a Christmas concert. Basically, these people all get together in Budapest every Monday to practice for 3 or 4 hours (I just hang out with Elder Peugnet--his companion is the other elder), and there are going to be 10 or so concerts around the country on the weekends leading up to Christmas. It sounds super awesome, I can't wait to see it. Just hearing the first practice today was super amazing, they really have a lot of talent. It's really going to be a great thing for people to be able to go to, I'm super excited.......although, I am wondering what I'm going to be doing while my companion is away.......ah, that's a problem for a later date. :)

So, that's pretty much it for this week........things were kind of hectic with transfers and everything, but they're starting to settle down, and Elder Allen and I are getting things going here in Érd. So, I guess I'll talk to you all next week!

Elder Murray

Transfer 8(!?), Week 1

Hello everyone!

For those who are wondering, that is an exclamation of bewilderment.....I can't believe it's my eigthth transfer already......wierd....

Ok, first of all, last week.....not too much going on......I carved a pumpking right before going to bed on the 30th, so we had one to celebrate Halloween with (then, on the first, we threw it down the garbage chute....hehehehe). Monday we weren't able to email......everything was closed because hey, surprise, it's a holiday! (so, everythings closed....) November 1st, All Saint's Day. Basically, Hungarians get together with family to honor their dead.....they go to their graves and absolutely cover them with candles and flowers. Apparently it looks absolutely amazing.....wish I could have seen one.....so, we ended up going to Budapest, going on a little hike (turned out to be a mini-marathon...about 5 km or something), then eating lunch at Ariba's (I don't know how to spell that, it's spanish). It was pretty fun, because a) it's legit mexican food and really tasty and b) our whole MTC group was there, so we had a little reunion and mini-celebration for reaching our year mark. It was a pretty cool day, not too much went on, but just kind of relaxing and fun. Oh, and we went down into the parking garage at the mission home, and I kind of taught sister Steck how to whip......she really likes it, I'm pretty sure I got her hooked....hehehe. But yeah, that was Monday....then, on Tuesday, we would have been able to email, but we had interviews with president. Those were good, we had some great trainings to review what we learned from last time, and then when we got back, we had a super awesome program with a family we tracted into. They were super cool, they ask really good questions, and they actually are looking to apply the things they learn. Super cool. Then, on Wednesday, we had angolóra......eh, same old stuff.....then, on Thursday, we had splits with the zone leaders in Dunaújváros....I went there and ended up having to conduct a baptismal interview.....so, kind of a surprise, but it was really cool. We had a pretty good split, I got to know a few people there, and the interview went well. One of our investigators also had an interview with the zone leader....she passed, and will be getting baptized this Saturday! Super awesome! and, super cool story from yesterday....so, it was the first Sunday, so everyone was going up to bear their testimony. A few people got up to bear their testimonies, and then there was a little bit of a lapse....she leaned over to me and asked if she could go up......I must say, it took great restraint on my part not to stand up and scream like a little girl who just got a pony for Christmas.....I managed to convey that of course she could, and she said that she was scared. I said she didn't have to be, just say what comes from your heart, and she walked right up there and bore her testimony! She said that she knew this church is true, and she shared a story about bearing her testimony to a classmate at college about the Book of Mormon! It was a super awesome experience, and everyone congratulated her afterwards, and she told us that it seemed like there had been a little voice just telling her over and over again to go up and bear her testimony. We told her that that is the Holy Ghost and that she will be able to feel things like that all the time after she is baptized. She is so awesome, she keeps saying that she never thought anything like this was possible (she was completely atheist before meeting the missionaries), and she tells us all the time that she hopes to one day have the kind of faith of that she sees in us. From the way things are going, she is well on her way! She is so in tune to things, and she acts on every prompting she gets. It has been super awesome to see her spiritual growth, especially in these past few weeks, and we are soooo super excited for her baptism on Saturday! Super cool!

So, that was last week......not much else.......today, we got transfer calls. Elder Saunders is going to Békéscsaba, and I am staying here to get Elder Allen. He's going into his 6th transfer, so that'll be cool to have an older missionary......I've gotten to know a few people from his group: I served around Elder Hommes in Székes, and I went on splits with Elder Davis a few times. They're super awesome, and I got to spend a little time with Allen in Nyíregyháza when I went on splits there, so I think it's going to be a pretty awesome transfer. I'm super excited to be able to get to know him better and see what he has to bring to Érd. I'm super excited, it should be a pretty sweet transfer.

So, that's the big news for the past two weeks....I'll let you all know how the baptism goes next Monday, and until then, I hope you all have a super great week!

Elder Murray