Transfer 13, Week 2

Üdvözöllek benneteket!

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

Hi everyone

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

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

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

I hope you're all doing great!

Elder Murray

Transfer 13, Week 1 (June 12, 2011)

hi all!

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

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

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

Elder Murray

Transfer 12, Week 6

Hi everyone!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Elder Murray

Transfer 12, Week 3

Hi everyone

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

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

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

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

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

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

Elder Murray

Transfer 12, Week 2

Hi everyone

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

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

Elder Murray

Transfer 12, Week 1

Hello everyone!

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

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

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

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

Elder Murray

Transfer 12, Week 1

Hi Everyone!

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

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

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

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

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

Elder Murray

Transfer 11, Week 4

Hi everyone

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

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

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

Elder Murray