Eger is pretty cool....definitely one of the prettiest cities i have served in...probably because it is the seat of the Catholic church in Hungary....so, lots of Catholics who really don't want to change their religion...but, we meet some people who are always willing to chat on the street. so........we'll see how things go. it is actually pronounced like "egg", and then say "er" pronouncing the e the same way as in egg. Egg-air. that is also pretty close.
hm...blessings i have recieved from serving a mission.....i would probably say one of the biggest is definitely having the opportunity to learn Christlike attributes and then look at myself and see what i need to change...of course, i have the opportunity at home as well, but i really feel like being on a mission kind of magnifies every aspect of that. then of course, there's learning about the gospel. Another big one (actually, probably one of the biggest) would just be an increased desire to share the gospel. It has never really seemed like a commandment to me before, just a really good idea, but everything on my mission and in general conferences has been basically yelling at me that yes it is a commandment and i need to share it with as many people as i can. it's also been really cool to see that desire grow in people at home - like with Lynell, for instance. that was super cool to hear about her missionary experiences. and, i have felt a super strong desire to share the gospel with my friends at home as well. so, i think that that would be one of my greatest blessings. and then of course, all the people i meet and grow to love. it is going to be super hard to say goodbye to this country. Hungarians always say that it may be difficult to become their friend, but once they have accepted you as their friend, nothing will ever break that friendship.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Transfer 16, Week 3 - Oct 24, 2011
Hi everyone!
ok, so, it's officially week 3 now.....week 2 was......good. Pretty much the whole week, Elder Pendleton and I were out on the street. and, we got one phone number. it was cool though, the guy from whom we got the phone number actually stopped and talked to us for 5 or 10 minutes. he was super cool, he's attending the college, maybe about 20 years old, and we just had a cool conversation about why we're here and what we talk to people about. we actually have a program set up with him for tonight, so it'll be interesting to see where things go. pretty exciting! other than that, not too much going on...we met with a less-active who is probably one of the most fancy bácsis i have ever seen.....super polite, speaks really nicely in his really deep voice, and just an all-around cool guy.
So, that was about it for working stuff....Sunday was....interesting....so, we had a meeting about an hour before church, and we realized that the Gudgells were coming and that they would need a translator, so I got voted for that since i'm the oldest missionary. then, it was discovered that they needed a teacher for Sunday school, so i was also assigned that. then, just as sacrament meeting was starting, the member blessing the sacrament came over and asked if i would be the other person to bless. So, i basically didn't have any time to relax at church. it was a lof of fun though, it was the first time i blessed the sacrament in hungarian at a church meeting, it was my first time translating a talk in sacrament meeting, and it was my first time teaching an actual sunday school class. so, a lot of first-timers on Sunday. I really enjoy translating though (except when i've been doing it for a while really fast, then my brain just gets fried), and i definitely gained a better appreciation for Sister Smith, because she got roped into teaching a lesson last minute just after she had gotten to the country. i can't really say i enjoyed teaching the sunday school lesson (it was actually probably one of the most boring ones the memebrs have ever attended), but i think i learned a lesson - be prepared for everything, especially the unexpected. kind of a difficult lesson since i'm still kind of learning not to procrastinate.....but oh well.
so, yeah, that was our week in a nutshell. not quite sure too much how this week is going to go, but we'll get some planning done and try to do what we can.
i hope you all have a great week!
Elder Murray
ok, so, it's officially week 3 now.....week 2 was......good. Pretty much the whole week, Elder Pendleton and I were out on the street. and, we got one phone number. it was cool though, the guy from whom we got the phone number actually stopped and talked to us for 5 or 10 minutes. he was super cool, he's attending the college, maybe about 20 years old, and we just had a cool conversation about why we're here and what we talk to people about. we actually have a program set up with him for tonight, so it'll be interesting to see where things go. pretty exciting! other than that, not too much going on...we met with a less-active who is probably one of the most fancy bácsis i have ever seen.....super polite, speaks really nicely in his really deep voice, and just an all-around cool guy.
So, that was about it for working stuff....Sunday was....interesting....so, we had a meeting about an hour before church, and we realized that the Gudgells were coming and that they would need a translator, so I got voted for that since i'm the oldest missionary. then, it was discovered that they needed a teacher for Sunday school, so i was also assigned that. then, just as sacrament meeting was starting, the member blessing the sacrament came over and asked if i would be the other person to bless. So, i basically didn't have any time to relax at church. it was a lof of fun though, it was the first time i blessed the sacrament in hungarian at a church meeting, it was my first time translating a talk in sacrament meeting, and it was my first time teaching an actual sunday school class. so, a lot of first-timers on Sunday. I really enjoy translating though (except when i've been doing it for a while really fast, then my brain just gets fried), and i definitely gained a better appreciation for Sister Smith, because she got roped into teaching a lesson last minute just after she had gotten to the country. i can't really say i enjoyed teaching the sunday school lesson (it was actually probably one of the most boring ones the memebrs have ever attended), but i think i learned a lesson - be prepared for everything, especially the unexpected. kind of a difficult lesson since i'm still kind of learning not to procrastinate.....but oh well.
so, yeah, that was our week in a nutshell. not quite sure too much how this week is going to go, but we'll get some planning done and try to do what we can.
i hope you all have a great week!
Elder Murray
Monday, October 17, 2011
Transfer 16, Week 2
Hi everyone
Wow, it feels so weird to write 16 up there, super unbelievable.
So, my greenie's name is Elder Pendleton...he's from American Fork, Utah. He's a pretty fun guy, I'm looking forward to serving with him and helping him along. I'm sure he'll be fine with everything, he's got a good base in the language to build off of and there's a new program now for trainers/new missionaries that we're going through, so I'm sure that he is going to be a stellar missionary.
We are in Eger right now, it's between Budapest and Miskolc, and we opened up a new companionship in the city. It's a bit of a daunting task, I've never whitewashed before, it's kind of difficult coming in and working from ground zero. But, I'm confident that as we work hard and seek the Lord's help and guidance, we'll be able to see miracles happen here. We're going to be focusing on meeting with members for the time being (outside of finding time) in an attempt to get to know them better and hopefully help them share the gospel with others. I'm not really sure what else to do in terms in finding, I guess we'll just try everything out and see what works.
So, not much going on this week....oh, funny story though, we actually watched General Conference on Saturday and Sunday. The smaller branches get it on dvd a week afterwards and then watch it like normal, so it was time here to watch it. It was great to see some of the talks again and to see others for the first time. It was so awesome, I can hardly wait for the Liahona to come out so I can read them again!
So, that's about it....I hope you all have a great time, let me know how things are going!
Elder Murray
Wow, it feels so weird to write 16 up there, super unbelievable.
So, my greenie's name is Elder Pendleton...he's from American Fork, Utah. He's a pretty fun guy, I'm looking forward to serving with him and helping him along. I'm sure he'll be fine with everything, he's got a good base in the language to build off of and there's a new program now for trainers/new missionaries that we're going through, so I'm sure that he is going to be a stellar missionary.
We are in Eger right now, it's between Budapest and Miskolc, and we opened up a new companionship in the city. It's a bit of a daunting task, I've never whitewashed before, it's kind of difficult coming in and working from ground zero. But, I'm confident that as we work hard and seek the Lord's help and guidance, we'll be able to see miracles happen here. We're going to be focusing on meeting with members for the time being (outside of finding time) in an attempt to get to know them better and hopefully help them share the gospel with others. I'm not really sure what else to do in terms in finding, I guess we'll just try everything out and see what works.
So, not much going on this week....oh, funny story though, we actually watched General Conference on Saturday and Sunday. The smaller branches get it on dvd a week afterwards and then watch it like normal, so it was time here to watch it. It was great to see some of the talks again and to see others for the first time. It was so awesome, I can hardly wait for the Liahona to come out so I can read them again!
So, that's about it....I hope you all have a great time, let me know how things are going!
Elder Murray
Monday, October 10, 2011
Transfer 16, Week 1
Hi everyone.
Ok, i'll start with this last week...not too much news, we had a pretty average week. It's super weird to think that this was the last week of this transfer...super strange.....but yeah, not too much going on this past week. Just visiting a few inactives, meeting with the normal round-up. It was a pretty calm week. So, yeah. Ha, on Sunday, we went in to help with primary, and it kind of just turned into a question-and-answer session with the two teachers in there.....but, it was good for the kids too, the one boy sounds super excited to serve a mission, i think he really liked having us there.
So, this morning we got transfer calls. Elder Diamond is staying here and getting his kicsi Elder Bouck. Sister Török will be going back to Pest, and Sister Johnson will be training a new missionary. I am going to Eger to open up another companionship and to train a new missionary. I'm kind of super nervous about it, but i've been to Eger a few times on splits, I know a few members, the senior couple there is super rad, and I've served around Elder Hommes when he first got to Hungary (he'll be in the other companionship). So, yeah, that's the big news for the week. I'm really excited to be training, just kind of nervous. I hope I can set a good example and everything for him. Plus, it's super weird to think that I only have 6 weeks left......Elder Lundeen goes home on Thursday, that is super weird, i can't believe he's going to be home! dang.
so yeah, that's about all the news for this week. Things will be interesting.....next week I'll be emailing from Eger! until then, i hope you all have a great time!
Elder Murray
Ok, i'll start with this last week...not too much news, we had a pretty average week. It's super weird to think that this was the last week of this transfer...super strange.....but yeah, not too much going on this past week. Just visiting a few inactives, meeting with the normal round-up. It was a pretty calm week. So, yeah. Ha, on Sunday, we went in to help with primary, and it kind of just turned into a question-and-answer session with the two teachers in there.....but, it was good for the kids too, the one boy sounds super excited to serve a mission, i think he really liked having us there.
So, this morning we got transfer calls. Elder Diamond is staying here and getting his kicsi Elder Bouck. Sister Török will be going back to Pest, and Sister Johnson will be training a new missionary. I am going to Eger to open up another companionship and to train a new missionary. I'm kind of super nervous about it, but i've been to Eger a few times on splits, I know a few members, the senior couple there is super rad, and I've served around Elder Hommes when he first got to Hungary (he'll be in the other companionship). So, yeah, that's the big news for the week. I'm really excited to be training, just kind of nervous. I hope I can set a good example and everything for him. Plus, it's super weird to think that I only have 6 weeks left......Elder Lundeen goes home on Thursday, that is super weird, i can't believe he's going to be home! dang.
so yeah, that's about all the news for this week. Things will be interesting.....next week I'll be emailing from Eger! until then, i hope you all have a great time!
Elder Murray
Monday, October 3, 2011
Transfer 15, Week 6 - Oct 3, 2011
HI everyone
So, I forgot if I name these for the week starting or ending....we are currently in week 6, so that'll work. Anyway, so last week was kind of super busy....on Monday, we went to Hortobágy (yeah, I bought another whip :) then to Debrecen so Diamond elder could buy some Tisza shoes.....I didn't see any I liked, maybe I'll just end up buying a bag or something....
On Tuesday, we had a semi-normal day.....not too much going on......we got our training for district meetings finished at about 10:30 that night, then worked on it more the next day as we drove to Nyyíregyháza.....we went on splits with them, Elder Moffett went back to Miskolc with Diamond, and i stayed with his greenie, elder Shipp. It was pretty fun, he's a really great guy. the next morning, Diamond came back for me, then we went straight to Eger for District meeting and splits there....we actually went on blitz, which means that we all 4 stayed in Eger. it was really fun, Elder Hommes is a good guy, it's weird to think that the last time we went on splits, i was in my 3rd transfer and he was in his first...weird..... i can't believe how fast time goes by....Elder Lundeen actually goes home next week! super unbelieveable.....anyways, we finished with that, went back to Miskolc, got the sisters, then drove out to Debrecen. yeah. super long car ride.....it was cool to see the stars though, since the cities are so spread out, there's a lot of places where there aren't any lights, so it's really easy to see the stars...i'm pretty sure we saw the Milky Way as well...it was super pretty. but, we got to Debrecen, spent the night there (not exactly too fun sleeping on a wood floor with nothing under you, just going to throw that out there in case anyone is planning on something like that.) then we had district meeting in the morning, went on blitz, did some guitar playing/singing/fliering in the belváros (Elder Wiscombe did most of the guitar playing and singing, but i did pipe in on the singing as well....) that was a lot of fun. then, we got back to Miskolc in time for Branch evening where a mini flour fight erupted.....we cleaned it all up, don't worry. Saturday was also great, we met with a few people, then there were two sessions of general conference, the Relief society and then one other, so the Sisters watched those, Elder Diamond and I made chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon rolls for Sunday. Sunday was super awesome, the whole day was spent at the branch house, in between sessions we ate stuff that the members had prepared earlier...it was so delicious, and it just felt like a giant family gathering. the talks were all so amazing! the entire priesthood session was kind of a call-to-arms, so amazing! i can't wait for the Liahona to come out so i can read all of the talks!
alright, so that's about it for this week...we're going to the Nyíregyháza zoo today, which is supposed to be the best in Hungary...i'm really excited....they better have a giraffe feeding or something... :) i hope you all have a great week!
Elder Murray
Monday, September 19, 2011
Transfer 15, Week 4
Hi Everyone
so, not too much this week....it was consecration week, so the goal was to meet with as many members as possible. It was a lot of fun hearing all of their conversion stories and just getting to know them better. Yesterday after church we had lunch at the Szamosfalvi family's house, that was a lot of fun. Afterwards we went to Kazincbarcika and met with a few members out there, that was fun. This whole week was just a blast, I feel like a lot of members are more excited about the work and more willing to help.
So, a few people asked how my birthday was....it was pretty fun, we started out with Elder Diamond making a german pancake for breakfast and sticking a candle in it.....then, after we finished emailing, we went out whipping for a bit.....we finished with family home evening at the branch house. The other missionaries and the members here put together a little surprise birthday party with cake and balloons, so that was pretty fun. ha, and Sister Johnson put together a photo album of last transfer, which was completely ridiculous, so that was super awesome....i now have evidence proving when i went crazy. ha, just kidding. it was a super rad transfer though. pretty fun. oh, and i almost forgot! we had a gofri est on Friday! it was super fun. we got the recipe from Sister Smith (ended up quartering it because they have to make so many in Buda and we weren't expecting too many people) and made a lot of waffles. It was really fun, kind of a fun way to say goodbye to Sister Vass - she went back home to Veszprém Saturday morning, which is also when Sister Török came to serve with Sister Johnson. She's super rad, she probably laughs even more than Sister Johnson. So, it's a lot of fun around here. at least, there's usually always someone laughing.... :)
so, that was about it for this week.....i hope you all had a great week!
Elder Murray
so, not too much this week....it was consecration week, so the goal was to meet with as many members as possible. It was a lot of fun hearing all of their conversion stories and just getting to know them better. Yesterday after church we had lunch at the Szamosfalvi family's house, that was a lot of fun. Afterwards we went to Kazincbarcika and met with a few members out there, that was fun. This whole week was just a blast, I feel like a lot of members are more excited about the work and more willing to help.
So, a few people asked how my birthday was....it was pretty fun, we started out with Elder Diamond making a german pancake for breakfast and sticking a candle in it.....then, after we finished emailing, we went out whipping for a bit.....we finished with family home evening at the branch house. The other missionaries and the members here put together a little surprise birthday party with cake and balloons, so that was pretty fun. ha, and Sister Johnson put together a photo album of last transfer, which was completely ridiculous, so that was super awesome....i now have evidence proving when i went crazy. ha, just kidding. it was a super rad transfer though. pretty fun. oh, and i almost forgot! we had a gofri est on Friday! it was super fun. we got the recipe from Sister Smith (ended up quartering it because they have to make so many in Buda and we weren't expecting too many people) and made a lot of waffles. It was really fun, kind of a fun way to say goodbye to Sister Vass - she went back home to Veszprém Saturday morning, which is also when Sister Török came to serve with Sister Johnson. She's super rad, she probably laughs even more than Sister Johnson. So, it's a lot of fun around here. at least, there's usually always someone laughing.... :)
so, that was about it for this week.....i hope you all had a great week!
Elder Murray
Monday, September 12, 2011
Transfer 15, Week 3 Sep 12, 2011
Hi everyone!
Ok, so, not too much happening this past week.....pretty much the usual stuff, nothing out of the ordinary......We did have district conference on Sunday, which was super awesome. Members and missionaries came from Eger, Nyíregyháza and Debrecen to Miskolc, and President and Sister Baughman were there as well. It was so cool to see everyone and to get to talk to members I'd gotten to know from splits from last year - most of them remembered me, so that was pretty cool. The conference was so awesome, the talks were really inspiring. They started with some testimonies from the youth, one of them had just gotten baptized on Saturday, that was really neat. Another was baptized not too long ago, he had a super awesome testimony to share. After them, a recently returned missionary from Nyíregyháza (he just got back from Romania) gave his testimony. He is so awesome, he is going to be such a blessing to that branch. The rest of the talks were all great as well, but those testimonies at the beginning really stuck out to me. After the conference, everyone had sandwiches and snacks, so we had a lot of time to talk to people. That was so much fun, I really enjoyed it. Then, the Nyíregyháza elders needed a ride to the train station, so I drove some over there, then a member drove the rest there (that was kind of an adventure, I had to direct them to the train station over the phone....kind of interesting...but, they made it :) Then, another elder had ridden with them, so he jumped over to my car and we drove back to the branch house just in time for him to join the rest of his group on their bus. Kind of a stressful afternoon, but way fun at the same time. Afterwards, we made some cookies, met with a member in Kazincbarcika, then with a family out in Polgár. It was way fun, a pretty long day, but totally awesome.
So, that was about it for last week....I'm not sure what all is going on this week, other than the basic stuff....Oh, Vass Nővér (a mini-missionary serving with Sister Johnson) will be going home on Saturday, so they'll be up in Budapest. We're excited for Sister Johnson's new companion, but we'll be sad to see Vass Nővér leave, she was a lot of fun and a really great missionary.
Alright, well, that was about all the news....I hope you all have a great week!
Elder Murray
Ok, so, not too much happening this past week.....pretty much the usual stuff, nothing out of the ordinary......We did have district conference on Sunday, which was super awesome. Members and missionaries came from Eger, Nyíregyháza and Debrecen to Miskolc, and President and Sister Baughman were there as well. It was so cool to see everyone and to get to talk to members I'd gotten to know from splits from last year - most of them remembered me, so that was pretty cool. The conference was so awesome, the talks were really inspiring. They started with some testimonies from the youth, one of them had just gotten baptized on Saturday, that was really neat. Another was baptized not too long ago, he had a super awesome testimony to share. After them, a recently returned missionary from Nyíregyháza (he just got back from Romania) gave his testimony. He is so awesome, he is going to be such a blessing to that branch. The rest of the talks were all great as well, but those testimonies at the beginning really stuck out to me. After the conference, everyone had sandwiches and snacks, so we had a lot of time to talk to people. That was so much fun, I really enjoyed it. Then, the Nyíregyháza elders needed a ride to the train station, so I drove some over there, then a member drove the rest there (that was kind of an adventure, I had to direct them to the train station over the phone....kind of interesting...but, they made it :) Then, another elder had ridden with them, so he jumped over to my car and we drove back to the branch house just in time for him to join the rest of his group on their bus. Kind of a stressful afternoon, but way fun at the same time. Afterwards, we made some cookies, met with a member in Kazincbarcika, then with a family out in Polgár. It was way fun, a pretty long day, but totally awesome.
So, that was about it for last week....I'm not sure what all is going on this week, other than the basic stuff....Oh, Vass Nővér (a mini-missionary serving with Sister Johnson) will be going home on Saturday, so they'll be up in Budapest. We're excited for Sister Johnson's new companion, but we'll be sad to see Vass Nővér leave, she was a lot of fun and a really great missionary.
Alright, well, that was about all the news....I hope you all have a great week!
Elder Murray
Monday, September 5, 2011
Transfer 15, Week 2 Sep 5, 2011
Hi everyone!
alright, i don't have much time, i don't know why i always save this email for last, but somehow it always works out that way....this week was pretty good, kind of crazy with transfers and everything.....we're all getting settled in now, things are getting back to normal....Elder Diamond seems to really like it here, so that's good, and Sister Vass is really liking being a missionary, even if it's only for a few weeks...she wants to get her papers started this January to serve a full-time mission, so that's pretty exciting. Sister Johnson is enjoying serving with her.
alright, so, news.....hm......we tried getting some kind of service thing set up with the college here in Miskolc, but we just heard back from the head of foreign languages there, and she said that there's nothing we can do right now....bummer...but, Elder Diamond and I are planning on going out to some falus and talking to the leadership out there to see if we can help...we were able to help with the flood last year, so hopefully we can bring that up and see if there's anything else we can do. i'll keep you posted on that. Other than that, not too much new stuff.....we should be calling all the people we handed out book of mormons too sometime this week, so i'll let you know what the results of that are this coming week. yeah, so, that's pretty much it...not too much going on out here.....
Have a great week!
Elder Murray
alright, i don't have much time, i don't know why i always save this email for last, but somehow it always works out that way....this week was pretty good, kind of crazy with transfers and everything.....we're all getting settled in now, things are getting back to normal....Elder Diamond seems to really like it here, so that's good, and Sister Vass is really liking being a missionary, even if it's only for a few weeks...she wants to get her papers started this January to serve a full-time mission, so that's pretty exciting. Sister Johnson is enjoying serving with her.
alright, so, news.....hm......we tried getting some kind of service thing set up with the college here in Miskolc, but we just heard back from the head of foreign languages there, and she said that there's nothing we can do right now....bummer...but, Elder Diamond and I are planning on going out to some falus and talking to the leadership out there to see if we can help...we were able to help with the flood last year, so hopefully we can bring that up and see if there's anything else we can do. i'll keep you posted on that. Other than that, not too much new stuff.....we should be calling all the people we handed out book of mormons too sometime this week, so i'll let you know what the results of that are this coming week. yeah, so, that's pretty much it...not too much going on out here.....
Have a great week!
Elder Murray
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