The Good Shepherd - December 31, 2019

Flash back to Zone Conference (last week) There are 3 zones in Hungary and a total of about 80 missionaries. There were 53 baptisms in Hungary last year!

I can't believe it's the beginning of another exciting year! I will be a missionary every single day of the next year! 

The day after Christmas, we had a "Return and Report" meeting at the mission home. Every new missionary in my MTC group and our trainers had a meeting to assess our progress and learn from our leaders. Every meeting with President and Sister Hettinger is inspiring and we left feeling ready to conquer the world! Or at least the streets of Hungary :) During the meeting, Sister Hettinger emphasized the difference between spepherds and hirelings (John 10:11-15). There are a lot of insights in these verses! 

This is a great street :) The mission home is down the sidewalk on the right! 

This week we helped a ward family unpack into a new home with the other Pest sister missionaries. I helped unbox and organize tons of Hungarian books of every shape and size--old, new, classics, informational, journals, etc. It was so cool to think that there is a whole culture literature that no one else in the world really knows about. 

That's how I feel about so many aspects of living and serving in Hungary. These streets and people and homes and churches and buildings have so much history behind them, and I wish I could learn about it all! It's fun to learn bits and pieces here and there, and to gain an appreciation for everything they have gone through. It also helps me be more sympathetic when people are not very open to our message. They have good hearts though and work hard. 

We had a lesson with a new friend, Brigitta, this week about the Plan of Salvation. Every time we teach a lesson, I just feel so grateful that we know these truths and can share them with others! As we taught about the premortal life and the Spirit World, we shared scriptures from the Book of Mormon and President Uchtdorf's talk "You're Great Adventure". Brigitta had wonderful questions and was so open to learning. I hope that she continues to progress! 

Sister Christensen finished her mission today! She's been serving in the Pest ward with Robertson nővér and we are so sad to see her leave. Kellmer nővér and I stayed at their apartment last night, and helped her catch a taxi at 3:30 am for the airport. Today we helped clean their apartment for the next transfer and did some fun wandering looking for 2020 calenders. It's been a fun preparation day as a trio! 

The transfer calls came this morning, and Sister Turnin from Finland will be serving in Pest with Sister Robertson! It will be another exciting transfer as I continue training in Pest with Kellmer nővér--a good place with good people. 

Boldog Új évet kívánok! Happy New Year everyone! 

Love, 

Emma Rae

Francis nővér

Csendes éj 🌟(Silent Night) - December 26, 2019

Boldog Karácsonyt! Merry Christmas!

“Lo, in the Silent Night a child to God is born,

And all is brought again that ere was lost or torn.

Could but thy soul, o man, become a Silent Night!

God would be born in thee and set all things aright.”

Thank you, Mama, for the nativity advent calendar! Every night I added one piece and added the baby Jesus last night, just in time for Christmas Eve. In Hungary, the Christ Child brings the gifts the evening of December 24th and all the children dress up as shepherds and wisemen and go door to door singing, similar to Halloween in America. What a sweet reminder of the true meaning of Christmas! 

Blue Skies and Happy Smiles - December 16, 2019

We had a beautiful blue sky day last Tuesday and it felt so good! I think I had forgotten how beautiful a bright blue sky is. Most days are cloudy, foggy, or smoggy, but on our morning run that day, I looked up and knew it would be a good day 😊

FEF (YSA) with two new friends. We wrapped boxes of chocolate for volunteers at a local animal shelter.

That being said, the next day we woke up to rain so decided to do 'bus finding' instead of normal street finding. We chose a bus and hopped on! Kellmer nővér sat in the seat behind me, so we both had an open seat next to us. Pretty soon, a nice Hungarian grandpa sat down next to me. At first my heart dropped a little because most Hungarian grandpa's are pretty stubborn and set in their ways. Regardless, I turned to him as he sat down and said, "Jó napot! Hogy vagy?" (Good day! How are you?) He turned to me with a big smile and started speaking Hungarian I didn't understand. I did understand (thank goodness!) his questions about my accent and why I was in Hungary, etc. But later Kellmer nővér told me that he had turned to me so surprised at first and asked how we knew each other and I guess just assumed we were already friends from somewhere :) Isn't that so cute? I invited him to the special Christmas sacrament meeting on December 22nd, then we jumped off that bus to catch another and start another conversation. The adventures you have on a mission :) 

Kellmer nővér and I wrapping 40 Book of Mormons for our district Christmas finding activity. 

I also found out this week that I've been pronouncing 'hálás' (grateful) the wrong way, so in my prayers I've been saying 'I am a fish, The Book of Mormon' or 'I am a fish, my family', instead of 'I'm grateful for The Book or Mormon and my family'. Whoops... Thank goodness I was corrected haha!

We love our crock pot and warm soup 😋

Linh is still doing so well. We met with her randomly last night and asked if we could stop by for a minute. We ended up teaching her about dispensations, apostasy, prophets, priesthood power, and so much more! In the MTC we only practiced these lessons in Hungarian, so I was nervous to teach in English. I was suddenly SO grateful for the time I spent reading Preach My Gospel and taking notes and paying attention in Seminary and Mission Prep (thank you brother Kohler)! "Knowledge carefully recorded is knowledge available in time of need" (PMG xi). As we talked about the Atonement, Linh shared her Buddhist beliefs about reincarnation and how in each suffering in life is for transgressions of past lives. However, as we compared the two beliefs, she said, "Ya, I definitely prefer what you are saying!" I still am so in awe about how someone can literally come from ground zero, and gain a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Only something true can cause a change like that! The Savior strengthens, enables, redeems, and guides us every day and in every situation. 

District finding activity! We talked to so many people about Light the World and by the end had given out 50 wrapped Book of Mormons. 

Boldog Karácsonyt 🌲

The Giver - December 9, 2019

Sziasztok! 

I hope you're all doing well and starting to catch the Christmas spirit! A fun thing about Hungary is that since they don't celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas time has been in full swing ever since I arrived. Seeing decorations, Christmas markets, and old snowy streets reminds me of Elder Holland talk from the Oct 2019 General Conference. I hope we always remember the meaning behind the hustle and bustle. This is such a special time to celebrate that sacred night. The prophecies were true! The Christ Child really was born and God really had provided a Savior for the whole world. 

Légy a világ villágossága is also in full swing! There are so many unique ways to share information about Light The World. This week we tried a few different approaches and they all turned out so well. For our családi este (family night) activity with the ward we made gift bags with Milka bars, gloves, and Légy a világ villágossága card. The best part was that the Sebők family came! They hadn't been to church in a while and were such a wonderful addition to our night of service.