May 26, 2014

Some of the beautiful architecture here in Budapest!

An amazing old church

The pictures of these buildings don't seem to do them justice. 

They are just stunning, some of the most beautiful things I think I've ever seen! It is just amazing!

 Just like a postcard! The beautiful city of Budapest!

A cherry tree! Definitely the most delicious 

cherries I've ever tasted!

Our smelly little bathroom in our apartment haha. 

It's only going to get worse with the hotter weather!

Wow, it's hard to believe I'm writing this from across world from you! Ah! I'm in Hungary!! I made it safe and sound! By the way, it is taking me so long to write this because the keyboards are so different over here! It also has every word underlined in red. We're just in a computer lab down the street from where we live and so you pay to use the computers!. 

Oh my goodness! I don't even know where to begin! I love Hungary! Everything is so different here, I can't believe it! Ok, I'll start at the beginning! The plane ride was pretty good, I slept for just an hour, so I was pretty tired by the time we got to Paris! We only had an hour there, so we just ran to our next flight! There were so many of us and so many bags we all had, it was a miracle that we all made it! Oh and I saw the Eiffel Tower while we were landing! So cool!! Paris was sooo humid! It felt like I had just put on lotion it was so hot! The plane ride was so hard to not fall asleep on the way to Hungary. I fought through it though!! I am a lot more used to the time now though. I was super tired those first few days for sure! We have an hour for lunch and dinner each day, so I would just eat real quick and have a power nap haha so it was a huge help!

It was so amazing to see Hungary for the first time out of the plane window. I just had no idea what was waiting for me down below, who I would meet, where I would live, who my companion was, just everything! I had the worst butterflies ever! When they made the announcements, I was sitting close to Gonzolas Elder (the one who knows Justin and speaks Hungarian) and he said "that's Hungarian!" I listened and my heart dropped, it didn't sound close to anything I had been taught! He laughed and laughed after and said just kidding that was actually French! haha I was sooo relieved! Then Hungarian came on and I knew it was Hungarian! I could only pick out a word or 2 here and there though! 

When we landed, President and his wife were waiting for us. They are so so sweet! Everyone was so amazed that all of our suitcases made it with us! It is beautiful! Everything is so green over here and there are flowers everywhere! It's super super humid, so I have just accepted the fact that I'll have poofy hair for the next 16 months! haha We were all looking sooo rough that first day too! We weren't thinking straight either and I felt so bad for everyone trying to talk to us! We went to the mission home and had our first Hungarian meal! It was noodles and chicken with paprika sauce, it was super good! I really like the paprika too which is good because apparently it's going to be in everything!! haha The Bagozzi's from Cardston were there too! So great to see them again when everything else was so new! She gave me a big bear hug!

We went to the river (Duna) and went to see the Parliament buildings. It was stunning. Wow, all of the buildings here, I don't think I've ever seen buildings so beautiful - the pictures so do not do them justice, but hopefully it works to send you some! I couldn't believe looking at everything that I would be living here for the next 16 months. It all just seemed like a dream to me! (well, that also could be because we were all half asleep from the night before) haha 

We actually stayed in a hotel that first night because there were so many of us, I couldn't wait to shower! When we got to the room it took us about 3 minutes just to figure out how to turn on the light. Then I couldn't figure out how to get the toilet to flush, or how to turn the shower on! haha Then when I finally got the shower on, water went everywhere because there was only glass on half of the shower and the rest was just open! It was obvious I wasn't home anymore!! 

We went "streeting" the next day!! My butterflies had just gotten worse and worse! The first man I stopped saw my name badge and said kátolíküs vagyok! He put his hands over his head and ran away! haha What he said was,"I'm a Catholic! He only had 3 teeth in the front, top and bottom! Oh boy! The next man I tried to talk to had a big mustache. I introduced myself and a spider crawled out of his moustache!! haha he said “no” real quick and I wasn't too heartbroken to see him leave!

Ok, so as far as the language goes, it's so hard. I can understand a word here and there if they are talking about the gospel, but I just stand there nodding my head and smiling and pretend like I can understand! I just watch my companion, if she nods I do, if she is sad I'm sad, if she laughs then I laugh! haha It's so bad, but its all I can do! I thought that the language would just be a lot of people not understanding what I want to say, but it's the opposite!! I just don't know what anyone is talking about, so I have no idea what to say! I know it will come, but it is so frustrating right now! I have never been the person to just not talk when I meet someone or to just stand there in a conversation, but that's completely me now!

Oh my companion!!! Her name is Megan Butterfield, she is from Utah and is adorable and I love her! Heavenly Father knew that I would need someone like her. This is her very last transfer until she goes home, she has a blog too, check her out! She is so patient with me and the language. She isn't sitting beside me so I'm not just sucking up, she is just so laid back with everything too. She is amazing at the language too, so she has been a huge help to me. I just feel so bad because she is pretty much teaching lessons and tracting alone! I want to contribute so bad though, so I just have her ask me questions in the lessons so I know what they are talking about and I can say a sentence or 2 or bear my testimony about it. I just sit there in lessons and pray for the Spirit to touch them that they will recognize the truth of what we're saying. I know that's the biggest help I can give. 

So we're serving in Dunáújváros! When I told some of the missionaries where I'm serving first, they all just said, "Oh, I'm sorry!" It was so sad! So Duna, that's what we call it, is where the Communists were building. It is an industrial city so it is just filled with factories and ten story buildings! They have metal factories close by us, so there is an awful smell here.. always. We took a train to Duna. I loved driving through the country, there is just so much new to see and it is so green and beautiful! So we actually live in a ten story building. It's tiny and cute! The elevator is so so sketchy though! haha you could squeeze 3 people on if you had to, but it is so awkward when you do because you're always touching! haha it hasn't broken yet though, so, so far so good!

 There is a new smell on there everyday too. Our bathroom smells the worst though, it's just a little toilet in a little room and it always smells like paprika and some other mix! We have tried everything, we can't get it away! haha There was a note from the Sister's before us warning us about it too! Oh well, you just learn to take a deep breath before and not breathe while you're in there! It has a shower with just a shower head that you hold in your hand, does that make sense? Like it's not on the wall, so you use one hand to hold it and the other to wash your hair! It takes some getting used to! I've already gotten a lot more used to the smells outside, it's just really bad in the ten stories when it gets hot! It's hotter in the buildings than outside! So we're white washing this area which means we're the first sisters in a long time to serve here, so we start with nothing, we just go! It's so funny though, because since we're both new we have no clue where anything is!! We get lost all of the time! We also live in a really rough part of the city, but I know that it doesn't matter where we live, the Lord is protecting His missionaries! It's also so funny to hear people try to say Schnoor!

The first day or 2 we just tracted, every day, all day, trying to find anyone we could teach. We just pick a ten story, go to the top floor, and knock on every door. If you mention religion or they notice you're missionaries, right off, they will slam the door in your face! So we just say that we're new, (which is so obvious when I talk haha) and that we're wanting to get to know people and want to ask just a few questions. They still normally say no, but there is sometimes that one person in each building who will give us the time of day. Oh, and when you knock on a door you have no idea what will be on the other side. No one wears clothes in their house. No one!! haha I have already seen more men in little undies than I thought I would my whole life! haha No shame here!

There is a man named Jósef who let us in. He said that he isn't religious and he doesn't want religion in his life because he is already too old. He said he doesn't know if God exists, but if He does, he has a lot to thank him for. Super cool guy! He was really closed off at first, but at the end my companion said the prayer and he said I would like to add to your prayer... then started praying! He thanked God for us and prayed that this might be the start of something new in his life and to help him know if this is true and a good thing, which was so cool, because we hadn't asked him to pray for any of that and we really hadn't taught him much. Hopefully we will be meeting with him again this next week!

Another lady talked with us at her door for a good 30 mins. She is only about 4 foot tall and has the biggest round, beautiful, eyes. Her name is Terí. She loves her dog more than anything. It looks just like Ryan's dog Charlie and always has its hair in a pony on top of its head with a bow! She looooves to talk! She mostly talked about her dog the whole time and what it will be like when the dog dies. She agreed to have us back though! We taught a lesson and talked about the Book of Mormon. She loved hearing about it and would just nod and stare with her deep eyes, then talk about her dog some more.. she agreed to read the intro and Moroni 10. We asked if we could come back on Wednesday and she said "and Saturday too!" haha she is so cute!

Ok, the other person we met with is named János. Wow! He is he a character!!! He has been meeting with missionaries for a few years now. We have been to see him twice. He said he believes everything he has been taught and knows it's true, but he doesn't want to follow any commandments. He is super short and so cute! He has the smiliest brown eyes! In our lessons he asks the funniest questions, so out of the blue! The first time I bore testimony to him about why I decided to keep commandments. He smiled and touched his heart when I talked about living with my family forever. When I was done he just tilted his head to the side and wiggled his only top front tooth and asked if my teeth were real or fake.... haha so hard to not burst out laughing! When I told him they were real, he didn't believe me! He said he wants me to give him my teeth so he can wear them and get all the ladies... he is such a character! He is so full of questions. In the middle of a discussion, he will ask, "what did you learn in school, what do

 Canadians look like, do we wear bear skins in Canada?" He poked a mole on my comps arm and asks "what is that, why do you have it, where did it come from?" haha He said I look like I'm really good at sports, so I asked him which ones he likes to play. We didn't understand what he said so then he said, "oh, I'll show you. haha I thought he was going to pretend to shoot a hoop or something, but he goes up to Sister Butterfield and told her to stand up. She stood up and not a second later he had his arms around her and was lifting her up in the air!! haha I felt like I should help but I was laughing too hard! He comes about up to her chest, and he pretty much just arched his back so she was propped up on his belly! She was just laughing and turning red. He put her down and jumped real quick, swung his arm around her neck and brought her down into a headlock! I had no idea he could move so fast! By this point I was zero help and had tears streaming down my face then he turned on me and had me in a head lock! I was sitting down at the table though, so he was pretty much just hugging my head against his stomach! Oh my, I love János!! We laughed for most of the way home.

So the first night, we went to a Family Home Evening with the Elders and a family. For food they had bread with peppers on it and a red kinda brown spread. It smelled so strong and tasted like a mix of spicy and horse radish and the relish. I ate all of it, but it was for sure NOT my favorite. I couldn't understand them to know what I was eating but found out after it was just plain fried fat! So glad I didn't know what it was when I was eating it! Sorry Dad, but apparently they love just thick lard or fried lard on all of their bread, so I gotta learn to love it! The other foods I've tried have all been great! We have been to dinner once and they had this fried meat that was in really big perfectly round balls. I was a little worried at first, but it was sooo good! The food tastes extra good since I've pretty much been living on honeynut cheerios for the last week! haha We're getting some more groceries today, so no worries Momma!

Everyone kisses each cheek when you say hello. I think it is so sweet! I love it, the little kids all do it too. It's a little awkward when the boys all lean in for a kiss! haha There are some real flirty boys here! I don't have to speak the language to figure that one out!

When we were walking down the street there was a huge tree that had branches covering the sidewalk. When I got closer I saw that it was a cherry tree!! I had to try one.. it was so delicious! I ate so many cherries right from the tree! I wish you could have been there! I know that's one of Dad's favorite things, no chemicals, and so so fresh! They tasted better than candy. Everyone owns dogs here too! I see little Charlie's everywhere! There are some terrifying ones too! I've jumped behind my comp many times!

In Hungarian, they say snails blood, instead of chill out or calm down... haha so funny! Jay told me about her endownments on Saturday!! That is the best news and I wish I could be there too!!!!! I hope everyone can make it up for that! Chantelle keeps the letters coming, she is a sweetheart! How the mail works is all the letters go to the mission office and just wait there until we come in to Budapest, so it might take another week to make it to me, but Sister Butterfield sent something home and it was there in 2 weeks! So hopefully not too long! So where we are, there are actually just us and then one set of elders, so we do a lot with them they are really great too, but we're not with any other missionaries in a district. There is a little branch here! I met so many people before and after church, we actually had to go up and introduce ourselves and bear a short testimony, I was nervous, but only because I still couldn't speak! I just said how I'm very new so I know that I'm hard to understand, but I want to bear my testimony. I just did a really short one and talked about Christ, his Atonement, and Joseph Smith. Lots of people came up to me after and I couldn't understand them, but they said the word testimony and were smiling, so I hope they understood it!

I think I’ve answered most of your questions, sorry this is so long! It was so good to read your letters! I love hearing about home!! I can't wait to see the changes on the house and those flower beds sound adorable! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BRAYDEN AND RYAN THIS WEEK!!!!!!!! Give them some Birthday spankens for me!

I love you so so much, stay safe, stay strong, know how much I love you all!!

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