This week I was going to write a thank you email. But Hannah's was really good so I'll just do what I do when my comp shares a really strong testimony and I can't think of anything else to say but he has awkwardly given me the spotlight. "I know what Hermana Hughes said is true." Instead of telling you how great you are I'll spend the little time I have to try to illustrate some things that made me laugh/smile this week.
Balázs committed to live the Law of Chastity.
Advent here in Hungary started so all the lights got turned on. Choirs sing outside the cathedrals sunday nights, and people are less surprised when we approach them late at night and ask them questions about Christ! This season is beautiful.
Also we had a weird spastic snow storm for thirty minutes just barely but now its decievingly sunny outside and looks warm even though its not.
I got the O'Briens birthday package and several Fluffernutters, then cultured my companion on what a Fluffernutter is. Then funny thing is we had exchanges and Ure Elder was looking in our kitchen and found the Fluff (he grew up in New Hampshire so he understands how incredible Fluffernutters are) and we were able to talk about what makes them so great as we each ate too many.
We are fasting with Tamás this Sunday for his father's heart to be softened so he can get baptised on the 10th! Yesterday he taught us the Plan of Salvation and shared his testimony about eternal families. He also came to church and prayed every morning and evening and read his scriptures a little everyday! It's so nice to be able to focus everything on these wonderful (closed off) people and I'm trying to enjoy every moment.
The family we home teach (they're American and don't speak Hungarian and are less than less active...) invited us to Thanksgiving dinner at the NATO base (which is weirdly hidden behind some trees basically in our tracting area...) But it was so good to eat Thanksgiving dinner with a bunch of Americans and Norwegians we have tracted into this transfer, hah. They also went to the military base in Italy last week and surprised us with a lot of American food they bought us there. One word: EGGNOG!!
I will try to explain the funniest tracting experience now. Theres no way I can explain it well enough but here we go:
We tracted into an ancient Néni who invited us in. We started the lesson and tried every way we could to talk about the restored church but she wasn't having any of it. Finally, after she showed us her hundred prayer necklaces and their secret powers, the death bed of her priest, too many pictures of this same priest man it got a little uncomfortable, then filled our hands with a secret stash of apples she revealed to us. In her garage I saw a huge Bible and pulled it out to try and at least teach her a little truth so we could bear testimony of Christ. I asked if I could show her my favorite verse and soon realized there were no chapter or verse markings in this edition. (Backround knowledge: Hungarians can barely read the Bible in Hungarian so missionaries trying to read it is usually futile). Oh its snowing again. Anyway, after realizing that this was not going to work I began to make panic signals (crazy abnormal eyebrow twitching with easy quick lip readable messages) to Ure Elder as Emilia Néni babbled about how she knows Donald Trump is at least 96 cause she heard it on the radio. Ure Elder quickly realized what I had been mouthing to him and decided to text a member and ask their favorite Bible scripture since finding one at this point was out of the question. By this point Emilia knew something was up so it was my responsibility to filibuster. I asked every question I could think of, I had her show me the contents of each of her kitchen drawers. For some examples of my filibuster questions here are a few: Where did cinnamon originate? And who found it? What are storks? Is it true they bring babies? (She did not catch onto that one so I gave up.) Why do people crush pepper? What is your favorite soup? What is your favorite food? What is your favorite kind of bread? After my 5 minutes filibustering stunt we got a text of a verse, read it, prayed, told her we had to leave 4 times, waited for her to look through every jacket she possesed for the keys, then finally left.
Life is so funny. Sometimes its not this apparent. But happiness is all around us.
I had this thought occur to me during the Sacrament that Christ already overcame everything. That truth means that with Christ we can overcome everything God sees fitting. It requires work on our part. Keeping the commandments, repenting, and enduring patiently with faith. But with Christ everything is possible Moroni 7:33.
This reminded me of some scriptures that helped me when I struggled to find this strength. They're in Isaiah 40:28, 29, 31 and they say:
"Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard that the Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creater of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is he weary?...
He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increases strength.
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.
I know this is true. I've seen it in my life and many others. God is so merciful. He loves us and He wants us back, but we must do our part.
Love,
Hughes Elder
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