Transfer 10, Week 4

Hi everyone!

well, not too much going on over here....pretty average week in the office............but, i do have a super cool story. I think some of you might know Hédi, (she is a new convert who lives in Érd and usually comes to family night and gofri est). The branch mission leader in Érd challenged her to share the gospel with somebody, and she said that she would try (she said that she's always scared to talk to people about the gospel, but she is soooo in tune with the Spirit and is able to follow it so obediently...) she was riding the bus home, and a girl got on carrying a book with a picture of Jesus on it...so, after waiting a while to work up the courage, Hédi started talking to her about religion and stuff...turns out the girl is religious, and they had a little discussion about the church. Then, when she was at school, she was talking with a girl who had a crucifix or something on a necklace, so Hédi asked about it and was then able to answer some questions the girl had about our church. and then, they were practicing a dialog thing in her german class, and the girl she was practicing with had a scripture reference written on her notebook, so they started talking about faith and stuff, and the girl even asked for a Book of Mormon! It was so amazing hearing her relate these experiences, it made me so happy to see somebody who I helped become acquainted with the gospel now turn around and share that knowledge with others. The amazing thing with the latter two girls is that Hédi has known them for a while now, and before this hadn't even considered that they might be religious or even interested. It was so inspiring to hear these experiences from her, I am so proud of her! She even said that she really wants to serve a mini-mission...she said that she has all of July and August off from school, so i told her i'd try and figure out when she could go. I am so excited for her, she was so prepared to recieve the gospel, and now she has truly seen the benefit it has been in her life, and she is willing to do anything that Heavenly Father asks her to.

so, that was my little miracle for the week. it was soooooo awesome to hear her relate those experiences, the whole time, i was just thinking about how excited i was for her! she always talks about how she hopes that she can be like Elder Saunders or Elder Anderson or myself, but actually, i'm just grateful for her example to me. i learn so much from her, i am so grateful that i got to know her.

that's about it for this week. oh, hopefully the pictures worked, it's the deathstar and a member who dressed up as obi-wan for farsang.

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

Elder Murray

Transfer 10, Week 3

Hi everyone!
Well, not too much happened this week....we had zone conferences this past week, so we got to see everyone, that was a lot of fun. The zone conferences were also really great, we reviewed the things that we learned at the three-day trainings back in september, did some role plays, the usual. Sister Baughman gave a training on how to lead music, since a lot of the people in charge of it out in the branches don't know how to, so now we can go and teach them. it was really funny, because we did some practice ones, and on the 2/3/4th beats, it just kind of looked like a mess, but then on the upbeat, everyone raised their hands, and it just looked really comical. so that was a fun part....the role plays were really good, we did one on teaching through the guidance of the Holy Ghost, so we had a "missionary" sitting facing an "investigator", and the "Holy Ghost" sat behind the "investigator" and held up ques for the "missionary". it was pretty fun, and really helped illustrate how much the Holy Ghost helps in teaching.
so, every night this week i've been helping the senior sisters get ready for the farsang party (farsang is kind of the hungarian equivalent of american halloween......although, they don't go around asking for candy....i guess the only similarity is that they dress up.) so, we made a Death Star pinata, and i must say, it turned out pretty sweet......the party was really fun, one of the members made a ton of donuts (they were super delicious!) and it was really fun to see the different costumes. my camera died pretty early through everything, but i managed to get a video of a group of members from Tatabánya who put together a dance. it was pretty cool. so, all in all, a pretty fun night. i think that one wore me out more than the new year's one, even though we got home a lot earlier from it. the senior sisters said it was probably the best party they've ever had. it was a lot of fun.
so, that's the news for this week...i'll try to get some pictures sent off pretty soon here.
well, so long until next week!
Elder Murray

Transfer 10, Week 2

hello everyone!
well, not much else to report this week.......not too much out of the ordinary going on. We had a really good time streeting on Wednesday night; didn't get any contact information, but i gave a girl some information about English class, and she seemed pretty interested. Sister Steck and Sister Hansen have finally made it off to Békéscsaba (they reopened the sister companionship there, so they had to get a new apartment, so while the elders there were working that out, the sisters stayed with the Buda sisters). so, they're gone. that's about the biggest news this week. Next week, we're having a Farsang party in place of gofri est (Farsang is sort of kind of not really similar to halloween....everyone dresses up in costumes....that's similar, right?) The theme for it is Egri Csillagok Háborúja, which translates to something along the lines of "Mouse Star Wars"...apparently there was a movie/book called "Egri Csillagok" (the english translation was "Eclipse of the Crescent Moon") about battling the Turks or something, so they combined that with "Csillagok háborúja" (Star Wars), so people can come dressed up as Turks or something from Star Wars......we're not allowed to dress up, BUT............Sister Harris wants me to decorate the pinata which is going to be.............wait for it...............The Death Star! ooh, i'm so excited! so, that makes up for me not being able to go as a jedi.............so, i'll report on how that all turns out next week.
I guess that's it for this week.........i hope you all have a great week, and I'll talk to you all later!
Elder Murray

Transfer 10, Week 1

Hello everyone!
yeah, so, it is officially my tenth transfer here in the country! it feels super wierd, in two transfers, i'll be as old as my trainer (missionly speaking) when i served with him! wierd.....
ok, well, you all may be happy to know that i finally remembered what i wanted to say last week! Although, i may have already talked about it.............but who cares! "waita minute, P. Sherman......what does that even mean?!" "well, i don't know.........but who cares! I remembered!" ok, so, the new office couple got here on Saturday night! (a week ago). they seem super fun...their name is Bagozzi, and they are from Canada! woohoo! everyone loves the Canucks! but, they got to spend a weekend here with the Garners, and now they're the official office couple! The Garners have gone home....it feels so dang wierd that they're gone, they've been here since before i got to the country......it just seems wierd to have someone new here.....but they seem really enthusiastic, and we're really excited to have them here and help them get settled in. so, yeah, that's the big news.....the other news.........we just had transfers, and Elder Anderson, Elder Kunz, Elder Wéber, Sister Shurtleff, and Sister Wolfe all went home, along with the Haslems and the Garners. I can't believe that they're all gone..............i guess, when i came to the country, i met these missionaries who, it seemed to me, had always been here and always would be, and now that they're gone, it really emphasizes how short a time we're here for........crazy...but, there's one consolation......Elder Garner used to be a math professor, and they now live in Utah, a short distance from BYU, and he's available for free tutoring! I'm definitely going to need it..........plus, it will be just super awesome to get to go visit them when i'm at BYU.....but, until then, we'll have a blast with the Bagozzis!
well, that's about it for this week......transfers was super hectic, as usual, but we managed to live through it again. Oh, there is a little news...........Laci, a member here in the Buda ward, really likes to organize outings, so we're going to go see Cats in March! in Hungarian! it's going to be super fun, i think we have about 30 people going so far. they've gone to quite a few other plays since i've been here, but we've always had something else that we needed to do, so we weren't able to go....but, we're going to this one! so, somebody remind me to write about that, since we'll be seeing it Saturday night, i won't be writing about it until a week later........but yeah, i'm super exicited!
alright, I hope you all have a great week! talk to you all later!
Elder Murray

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