I hope you've all had a great week! Congratulations on your baptism, Autumn! I thought about you ALL day on Saturday and I'm so happy for you! I love you!
This week has been so exciting and fun! Allen nővér (we learned you don't capitalize the 'n' on nővér in Hungarian:) and I had some great learning experiences this week that will help us become better missionaries. The days we have the most language success are the days we set very specific goals, pray frequently, and dedicate all of our time to the Lord. We have literally seen miracles.
One miracle we witnessed this week was on Saturday. We set our language goals for the day: to memorize 23 words, 6 'Extend an Invitation' phrases, and The First Vision. We knew these were close to impossible, but we prayed for the strength to accomplish them. Every place we walked, every break in class, and during every meal, we quizzed each other on the material. As we started the hour of language study that afternoon, we said another prayer. I don't know what happened, but for some reason, we were able to memorize and retain phrases from the First Vision so quickly! By the end of the hour, we recited it together in Hungarian. I felt so much gratitude and amazement that the Lord would bless us so directly and in such a real way. I testify that as we align our desire with His, He will give us strength beyond our own. Allen nővér and I look forward to the day we will be able to share the First Vision with someone in Hungary. We will be ready!
Allen nővér and I taught a 10 minute lesson in Hungarian this week! We got to know the person (our teacher pretending to be an investigator), said an opening prayer, asked him about his beliefs, shared a scripture, taught a truth, invited him to start praying to Heavenly Father, testified about this truth, and closed with a closing prayer. I can't believe what two short weeks has accomplished. Although it was choppy and simply memorized, I still felt the Spirit as I shared my testimony about prayer.
Our favorite phrase right now is 'line upon line', because it describes our week in a nutshell! Everything we do is a tiny drop in a huge bucket, yet it is progress! A fun experience that describes this happened on Monday: We read daily from A Mormon Könyve (The Book of Mormon in Hungarian) even though we only understand a couple of words: Jézus Kristus, parancsolat (commandments), fia (father), Nefi, etc. we learn more words daily. As we read, we saw the word kecske (goat) twice! We were confused so looked in the English Book of Mormon and read that it really had referred to goats twice! It was so fun to realize that we are learning a little at a time--line upon line.
Guess what?! We also learned the word for 'bag' this week--taska. I looked down at my MTC bag and realized the the brand is TASKA! WHAT?! Thank you, Sam, for letting me use your mission shoulder bag! Did you know it's Hungarian?? Everyone in our district was amazed and it was so awesome and we were all shocked!
There are 109 stairs up to our classroom on the 5th floor so we often choose to ride the elevator :) But so do a lot of other missionaries! We usually squeeze at least 25 people in there... It's a great chance to meet missionaries serving all over the world! We met elders and sisters going to Russia, Armenia, Denmark, and Czek Republic! and so many others!
We have a weekly service project, so this week we were assigned to take out trashes in the MTC offices. As we did the trash for the MTC president, I noticed that on his bookshelf was A Century of Honor (The history of the 100 year Latter-day Saints Scouting relationship). The book was set out prevalently on his bookshelf and it was like a little piece of home! Such a tender mercy. Thank you, Papa, for all you do!
This week's Hungarian word is csütörtök (Thursday!) Our teachers are AMAZING because somehow they helped our clumsy mouths say all the hard sounds in that word :) I'm so grateful for them!
We had two incredible devotionals this week: Sunday's was given by Brother and Sister Titensor in the MTC presidency, and Tuesday's was given by Brother and Sister Choi of the 70. The Spirit is always very present and I'm grateful for the truths they teach and testify of. The auditorium seats about 2000 missionaries and singing "Called to Serve" makes you want to jump up and shout for joy! In a few weeks all of these missionaries will be all over the world inviting people to come unto Christ, and these seats will be filled with 2000 new missionaries! and the cycle will continue!
Papa: I love you! Thanks for your email!
Mama: I hope preschool is going well still!
Ben: I hope work and classes are going well!
Sam: I saw Rachel from DHS and Cherry Hill and she said she'd say hi to you in Accounting!
Riah: How is DECA going? I loved seeing your jacket!
Nome: You're winning the letter record :) I hope you get my reply in the mail soon!
Baden: Did you go to any fun Centennial sport events this week?
Eli: How was your last soccer game? Any goals?
Avi: I hope school is going well! Did you mention you are applying to student leadership?
Autie: I LOVED ALL THE BAPTISM PICTURES! Thank you for sending them, Mama! I showed my district and they all love you!
Nico: Your name in Hungarian would still be spelled 'Nico' :) Everyone else's would have some weird letters!
Thank you for your emails, updates, and pictures! It is like a little window into life back at home!
I'm so grateful for serve with Allen nővér . She has taught me how to be a more sincere and humble follower of Christ. I'm also so grateful for the Hungarian people. Our teachers remind us frequently that we need to do our best not just for ourselves, but for Hungarians and most importantly for our Savior, Jesus Christ.
I testify that He has given me strength WAY beyond my own. I'm grateful for these weeks in the MTC and I look forward to sharing this knowledge with people in Hungary!
Love,
Francis nővér
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