Saturday 31 December 2016

Week 2 in Kaposvár

Merry Christmas to everyone once again!

It was very good to Skype with you on Sunday and it is always a big "morale boost." We talked about a lot of things, so this will be a short email.

We baked chocolate chip cookies on the 24th and we took them to the home of our investigators and members. Everyone invited us in and gave us a lot of treats, especially "szaloncukor" (Hungarian Christmas candy). We taught about the
the birth of Jesus quoting from Luke 2. That night a member family invited us to a delicious dinner.

Friday 23 December 2016

Week 1 in Kaposvár

Hello everyone!

First of all, it is official: I am serving now in Kaposvár with a new partner: Elder Harris (California). This is his second transfer, so I will help finish his training.It was a very busy week with lots of interesting things happening. 


On Tuesday we took the newly arrived missionaries out streeting with us and that is always fun. This group seems excited and I am sure that they will do well. One of them was Elder Saito, from Brazil, who was an exchange student in Budapest a year ago. He said that Miguel was the first missionary whom he saw in Hungary. He also read from my blog!

Monday 12 December 2016

Week 12 in Buda

Hi,

Transfers are next week.
I think it is more likely that I will stay here in the office. But transfers are always unpredictable, so we'll see.
 
I have completely recovered from whatever I had last week and I feel good.
On Wednesday we had our zone field day, so all the missionaries in Budapest had a day off. We played sports like volleyball, soccer, and ping pong, ate pizza, and watched Finding Dory. It was all really fun.
 
In the evening we sang again at the Széll Kálmán square and I think I gave out more than a hundred pass-along cards in an an hour and a half, so it was a success.


Tuesday 6 December 2016

Week 11 in Buda

Hi everybody,

It’s almost Christmas!!!

First of all, my companion and I were ill over the weekend. We got some food poisoning but we are good to go now!

We had quite a few programs this week.

Last Sunday we found a new investigator. Tibor is his name and he is an older man who is very kind and wants to quit smoking. His wife passed away a couple of years ago. He said that he was going to come to church on Sunday and he came!  

Sunday 27 November 2016

Week 10 in Buda

Hi all,

On our P-day last week we went up to János-hill to the lookout tower there. The view was nice, although the sky was a bit cloudy. Then we took a ski lift to get back. It was a fun day.

On Sunday we went with a member to visit two people in the hospital and give them the sacrament. They were really grateful for it and it was a good service opportunity.

On Tuesday we visited the bishop’s home and that was very good. We talked about the Book of Mormon and challenged them to give away a copy with their testimonies written on it.

Saturday 19 November 2016

Week 9 in Buda

Hello hello!

This week in the office I focused a lot on landlords and apartment issues, translating a letter for one of the senior missionaries, doing the packets for the group of missionaries going home in December, and selecting pictures for the Christmas slide show.

Elder Nordberg goes home in December at the end of this transfer. He will end up serving 25 months in Hungary. I enjoy working also with Elder Römer and the Bagozzis in the office.

We had splits with the zone leaders. Elder Lawrence and I taught an investigator about prayer, and then for English class we taught the people about sports. While tracting, we met this cool French man with whom I exchanged a few French words and we explained to him our purpose as missionaries. Elder Lawrence spoke to him about baptism in a straightforward but natural way.

Sunday 13 November 2016

Week 8 in Buda

Hello!

There are some big changes in the office. Elder Römer, from Switzerland is now the new office elder replacing Elder Nordberg.  Elder Römer came to Hungary one transfer before I did. He speaks Hungarian very well. Elder Nordberg is staying for about a week and then he finishes off his mission and goes home. The Simkins who are the missionary couple serving in the office are going to Eger for the rest of their mission, so now the Bagozzis (who are Canadians by the way) have come up here to Buda. They have served in Hungary twice before, also in the office.

Sunday 6 November 2016

Week 7 in Buda

Hi all,

This was an interesting week.

On Saturday we watched Meet the Mormons with the ward. The turnout wasn't the best, but it was a really good movie.

On Sunday the speakers for the sacrament meeting were very good. During the second and third hour of meetings I translated for a couple of English-speaking members. In the afternoon we went tracting and took a short hike in the Buda hills. It was mostly just regular forest, but the autumn colours were really nice. We also stumbled onto this cool big meadow/valley. The hike was about 5 km or so, not very long, but it was really fun.

Sunday 30 October 2016

Week 6 in Buda

Hi,

Last Saturday, for our P-day, we climbed up Gellért Hill and enjoyed an awesome view of Budapest and the fall colours. Sunday was the 60th anniversary of the 1956 Revolution, so there were Hungarian flags all around the city.

We went to a hospital with a member on Wednesday to visit his aunt who had a broken leg. We talked with her and read some verses from the New Testament. It was a good service opportunity. Hospitals in Hungary are definitely much different from hospitals back home and this one was pretty old and low-tech.

Saturday 22 October 2016

Week 5 in Buda

Bonjour tout le monde!

Before I write about this week, I am going to backtrack a bit and give some more details about the choir performance of the Southern Utah Heritage Choir in Budapest that I forgot to write about last time. There were lots of Americans in the audience who were members if the church and after the presentation, they and the performers treated us like heroes. They shook our hands, hugged us, took pictures, and asked us lots of questions. I think that I got more hugs that day, than all the other hugs I have gotten so far on my mission haha.

On Sunday we went to a city southwest of Budapest called Érd to visit my grandma and uncle. It was an awesome visit and it was great to see them.

Sunday 16 October 2016

Week 4 in Buda

Hi all,

In the office I continued the usual office duties like preparing welcome packets for incoming missionaries or letters for missionaries going home, baptismal records, managing referrals, talking with landlords, translating for the Simkins (senior missionary couple), and doing miscellaneous small tasks.

District meeting went well. We talked about charity and love, the Book of Mormon, and did role plays. We also gave RM (returned missionary) advice to Elder Evans which was fun and had pizza afterwards.

Sunday 9 October 2016

Week 3 in Buda

 Hi,

This week was business as usual in the office. I mainly worked on making the packets for the incoming and departing missionaries. I also updated a ton of media referrals and called missionaries up who weren’t contacting theirs.

I really enjoyed General Conference. Before conference I wrote down a couple of questions and it was really neat when I received answers. My favourite talks were the ones given by President Nelson and Elder Yamashita. I liked how the messages were really direct and plain with a big focus on Jesus Christ. For district meeting our topic was conference and we did some role plays about prophets and apostles, and then had a discussion about what we liked in general conference.

Other than that, not too much happened. Here in the office, we don’t often go on wild adventures. But I do like it here. Monday will be Canadian Thanksgiving: we have nothing planned for that but I am sure we will eat something delicious that day.

All the best,

Elder Gonzalez

Saturday 1 October 2016

Week 2 in Buda

 Hello!

It was another busy week at the office. We had zone training, so for three days every missionary in Hungary came up to Budapest. Elder Nordberg gave an excellent presentation about our work in the office. There will be a Book of Mormon challenge for the members in Hungary. This will help the missionary efforts in the country a lot. There is a member here in the Buda ward who is a great example to all. He always carries a copy of the Book of Mormon so that he can share the message of the Restoration with others.

I met my friend Dallas (aka Elder Leavitt) at the conference and he's doing great. It was really cool to see him. A police officer came to zone training and talked about bicycle safety. He made it a really entertaining presentation, especially when talking about all the exceptions and how Hungarians don't follow the traffic rules.

Sunday 25 September 2016

Week 1 in Buda

 Greetings from Budapest!

This has been a busy week at the office working with Elders Orsen and Nordberg. There is a whole lot to do here. I am in charge of "birth and death packets" for missionaries coming to Hungary or going home, and I am also the referral manager, among other things. Elder Olsen taught me how to do everything but there is still a lot to do and learn. Work never runs out here. Elder Nordberg is in charge of all the registration of missionaries to their cities. The good thing about working in the office is that I am able to quickly get to know all the missionaries. And looking at all the mission stats is cool. I use Excel a lot and am doing some basic SQL (database programming language).

Saturday 17 September 2016

Week 14 in Pécs ... Going to Budapest

Hey!

This is going to be a quick email, but I am in Buda now in the mission office working as an office elder! President Szabadkai called on Wednesday about it, and it was really surprising. But I am glad that I get to serve in Budapest, and the office will be a lot of fun. In the last few days in Pécs we had some teachings, most of the programs fell through, unfortunately. But our work with less active members is going pretty well. I said my goodbyes on Friday and got on a train to Budapest Saturday morning. I traveled to Budapest by myself,  so for 3 hours I went solo. Since Saturdays are p-days for the secretaries, I got another p-day today which is awesome!

Tuesday 13 September 2016

Week 13 in Pécs

Hi everybody,

This week was really fun. While tracting there was this cat that followed us for like 5 minutes and it definitely made tracting way more enjoyable. With an investigator we did a ping pong balls and rice object lesson to talk about church and priorities. During tabling I gave out a Book of Mormon in Turkish  to a university student learning Turkish. A less active member we met on the street took us out to Burger King for lunch and we watched together The Prophet of the Restoration. It was a super great movie. For English class we took the class on a field trip and ate giant crepes (thin version of pancakes). I went on splits with Elder Krueger which was cool since he was my brother's old companion, also here in Pécs. We also started a program with two less active so they quit smoking. We are praying will work.

Monday 5 September 2016

Week 12 in Pécs

It has been another awesome week of missionary work!

On Monday we went to the zoo in Pécs as a district and the monkeys there were hilarious. The zoo is still under construction. We also got a media referral. They are an awesome family and they are golden! We went on Friday to tract in Mohács (first missionaries there) and after that the father drove us to his home in Kölked. The family is very important to him. They have 2 little girls and are moving soon to Balatonfüred, so the elders from Veszprém will be teaching them the gospel. But that's okay: it matters that they are taught, not who teaches them.

There is also a young guy we are teaching who was a member referral. He's super legit and is reading from the Book of Mormon. (Member missionary work is so important!) He is a pro soccer player too. Now we have 8 investigators and the work keeps getting better.

I gave a priesthood blessing of healing to a néni (older sister) and it was so amazing how the words just came out and felt the spirit in the room. It was a great experience.

Monday 29 August 2016

Week 11 in Pécs

Hi everybody,

We didn't have internet access last week, so my last email came through the office elders in Budapest to whom I sent an USB with a text file for dad.

Last Monday we tracted a lot and had a cool experience: we got onto a random bus and I prayed in my head to know which stop to get off. I was prompted to get off at the fourth stop. It was a nice American-looking neighbourhood but it was rainy and dark. We met an elderly gentleman at the last house who said he would like to meet with us again and gave us his phone number.

Another spiritual experience was that Elder Paul told me that its helpful to say a prayer in your head while teaching. I did just that for one of our lessons and new ideas popped into my head which was super cool.

Tuesday 23 August 2016

Week 10 in Pécs

Hello!

We had transfer day this week. In the morning Elder Fitzgerald's train left and I spent the morning with Elders Martineau and Krueger. We made palacsinta (Hungarian crepes). After Elder Paul arrived and unpacked, we ate in an awesome gyros place. Elder Paul is a great guy: he's hard-working and it's easy to get along with him. He's an experienced missionary who knows a lot about mission work. I called Dallas, a.k.a Elder Leavitt, in the evening and talked with him a bit. He's doing well.

This week was really successful: we found 2 new investigators (now we have 5 in all). We had 9 programs (one day we had 4 teachings), and we gave out 10 copies of the Book of Mormon. We tracted a lot and on Saturday we tracted for 3 hours straight. This is legit lol.

Tuesday 16 August 2016

Week 9 in Pécs

Bonjour tout le monde!

We got our transfer calls today and I am staying here in Pécs. Elder Paul will be my new companion. This is his last transfer before he finishes his mission. He was an AP before coming here. Elder Fitzgerald is going to be a zone leader along with Elder Priest in Szombathely. It has been a great 9 weeks and the time is for real flying by so fast. Elder Fitzgerald and I basically started out with nothing and now we have around 6 teaching programs a week. I've had so many great spiritual experiences and funny stories, and I know there will be way many more to come. Sister Peterson is going to train and Sister Hawker is going home. Elders Martineau and Krueger are staying together.

Last week, during P-Day, we visited the university in Pécs. It was really cool but it felt weird being at a university campus again. I have to admit, I miss York. A senior couple, the Petersons, visited our apartment to do a checkup and we passed it with flying colours! It helps that our landlady has an arrangement with a cleaning lady to come once every 4 weeks but we still clean too.

The sisters had a baptism scheduled for Saturday, but since their investigator didn't feel ready, it got cancelled at the last minute. We went to a funeral in a small village called Tengeri. The brother of a member was being buried. It wasn't a grand religious funeral, just a simple one. At the end, we sang "Nearer My God to Thee" with the member.

Monday 8 August 2016

Week 8 in Pécs

Last P-day we went to the Pécs cathedral and the inside was really nice. We went up the tower and the view was great. After that we went tracting and we got a let-in! The lady who answered the door was in her 60s and said that she respects us, but she is Calvinist. However, she accepted a Book of Mormon and said that she would love to meet with us again.

We had interviews with the mission president on Tuesday. It went well and President Szabadkai said I would probably stay here in Pécs. He also said that after the next transfer he will come with me to where my Hungarian family is from to help me do genealogy work.

Monday 1 August 2016

Week 7 in Pécs

Hi everybody,

Last P-day we visited this Turkish mosque that got converted into a catholic church and then we visited a synagogue. There you have it: world religions in one day!

On Tuesday we went up to a small town 1/2 hour from Pécs called Komló and taught an inactive member there. Then we ate pizza with our branch president. We also tabled near the main square this week. It was really effective and I talked to a ton of people of a variety of cultures, ages, and religions. We gave our some copies of the Book of Mormon and a few people gave us their phone numbers.

Lots of people we talk to aren't interested in our message. They say no, I'm catholic, or just wave us off. So it's really important to always have a positive mindset. If someone is polite, I don't feel bad about the rejection at all (and if they're not nice, I laugh it off).

Another day we brought some bundles of water and milk into the home of a branch member and I gave her a priesthood blessing of healing. I was nervous (it was my time giving a blessing), but I felt the spirit strong in that room. We then ate watermelon and we shared a spiritual thought from the Liahona magazine on prayer.

Week 6 in Pécs

 Hello!

The hot and humid weather is back here. Lots of water and shade are essential. On Tuesday we went up to Buda for zone training and then we had splits with the zone leaders in Dunaújváros. I was with Elder Jensen. In the evening we tracted a 10 storey building (not the whole thing) and then we met some teenagers. I taught them some English slang and they taught me some Hungarian slang. We also biked there, which was really fun. On the way back, we took a bus. The trip was 3 hours long, but the bus was super comfortable.

On Saturday we visited an inactive member and we ate schnitzel. It was really good stuff. Lots of missionaries in our district are getting sick, but my companion and I are doing fine. We also played soccer with the branch members and the turnout was good. On Sunday we taught a lesson to an investigator who was a really nice old woman. She made us great food and she talked a lot about Hungarian history and sang some folk songs.

This week I've been looking through the area book and member records a lot and really feel as if I'm getting lost in the work. During meals, studies, and free time, I looked through the information. I even had a dream of the area book on time hahaha. Also I was making phone calls to inactives and then when I got to the last person, I said a prayer in my heart. The person answered the phone and he said he'd gladly meet us next week. Prayer works! :)

Tuesday 12 July 2016

Week 5 in Pécs

Hi everybody,

Here in the mission field time is flying by so fast. I've already been in the country for over a month. We tracted every day this week. We talked to an old lady who was crying a lot over the deaths of several family members of hers. It was a unique feeling and I felt that God really does love this woman.

While Elder Fitzgerald and I tract, we sometimes talk about the doors and bells: which ones are cool and which ones are not. It's really funny and helps the time go by. We also met a drunk guy on the street who said that he's Jesus. Yeah, sure.

The weather right now is really hot. We were in Bányatelep, near Somogy, and we asked an old man for water and he let us in. We talked and he said that he used to be an officer in the army. A few doors down the road a couple gave us cold Coca Cola drinks. It was a really nice gesture and my challenge for you all is to do something nice to the missionaries back home. Lots of people on the street think that we are parking enforcement officers which is way funny.

Week 4 in Pécs

Hey!

This week went well and I will tell you some of the adventures that happened to us.

We knocked on a very old apartment and there were still Russian letters on the door! We talked through the door to a very old man who called us in for a moment to show his Bibles. We gave him a Book of Mormon for his collection. Outside, we talked to a group of older ladies and one said she had seen me there before. So I knew that she had definitely met Miguel! We found out that Miguel had given her a Book of Mormon when he served here about a year ago.

One day I decided that we should randomly take a bus and so we ended up in a small village near Pécs that is called Somogy. It is a very nice place, very rural and charming. A lot of dog barked at us, but we managed to talk to a lot of people.

Elder Fitzgerald and I cooked roast chicken with potatoes. We also made Hungarian crêpes (palacsinta). Many people invited us for lunch or dinner. One day we had four programs. :) The freezer in our apartment needed to be defrosted, so we melted the ice with a hairdryer.

Tuesday 5 July 2016

Captain Gonzalez reports!

Hey!

I am starting to get used to being a missionary in Pécs and it is has been going well. On Monday we tracted in the rain, so we focused on apartment buildings. The older people were really grumpy because 8 o’clock in the evening was already too late for them, haha. On Tuesday we taught 3 lessons! That doesn’t seem like too much in some other missions, but here in Hungary it is great. Just ask Miguel! My brother has been of a great help in getting appointments for us and meeting people here. One of the people we taught was a member called Éva whom Miguel asked us to visit. Csaba, another member of the branch, came to teach with us. We also met with an investigator called Marcsi. When I phoned her, I said to her that I’m Miguel’s brother and right away she wanted to meet with us! The third person was another investigator called László who had many questions on things like polygamy and raising from the dead but we read together from 2 Nephi 31 and ended up giving him a baptismal date of August 6. It may get pushed to a later day, but that’s the goal. :)

Wednesday was greenie training in Budapest, and it was good to meet with the other new missionaries who came in my group from the MTC. On Thursday we taught anoher lesson to János and at the end we talked about Bud Spencer and Terrence Hill. (Bud Spencer passed away recently.) We also talked about a lot of old TV series, movies, and books that I have watched and read in Hungarian with my family in Toronto. He was very happy about it. Thanks, mom, for the knowledge of Hungarian culture that you gave me!  Then we taught English class. I really enjoy teaching English and at times it’s a lot of fun. During streeting Elder Fitzgerald borrowed some teen's skateboard and I took a sick picture of him on it.

Monday 27 June 2016

Hey!

Hi!

A week has passed in Pécs. On Monday I gave away my first Book of Mormon and this week we gave away five of them. On Tuesday we went to Budapest for zone conference. It was about how to be like Jesus. For lunch we ate Subway sandwiches like the ones Miguel makes in Toronto, hahaha. By the way, on the way there I found a 2000 forint bill on the street. :) Miguel sent me a list of people he knows in Pécs and
we met Niki and Lili (investigators) on Wednesday. They were nice and even gave us chocolate biscuits. Along the way, I saw a minaret in Pécs. I am not sure if one can go up. We went to the Zsolnay quarter and it was very nice.

Thursday was very hot: 40 degrees Celsius. Aunt Gizi (in Hungary the older ladies are called "nénik" or aunts) invited us for lunch of fruit soup and pizza.
We read to her a talk from the Liahona and she said that next Sunday she will come to church. We also met János, the chorister of the branch. We felt sorry for him because he is quite sick, but still played the drums and read the Book of Mormon with us. We taught English classes and it went well. On Friday, we had a meeting and President Makkai, our branch president, read to all the missionaries the Facebook message Miguel sent him about me hahaha. The people here in Pécs are really very nice.

Tuesday 21 June 2016

Greetings from Pécs

A lot of things happened in the last week:
 
Friday: This was my last trip to the temple. Since Hungary does not have a temple, it won't be until 2018 when I will have the chance to go again.

Saturday: My last day of classes at the MTC.


Sunday: Last day
at the MTCAt sacrament meeting I gave a talk on faith and the atonement, my last formal talk at church in English for the next two years. I also taught the priesthood class.

Monday: I woke up at 4:00 a.m. and got on the bus at 5:00. My companion and my MTC friends came to say goodbye. Then we took a train and a bus to the Salt Lake City airport.
From there we flew to Minneapolis, then to Amsterdam, and finally to Budapest. Before the flights, I was able to call home which was great. On the flight to Amsterdam all of us missionaries sat together and the time passed quickly. I did not sleep much but I did not get sick either. :)

Friday 10 June 2016

Last Week in the MTC

Hello everyone!

First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIGUEL!!!

I'm doing great here in the MTC. Hopefully all the photos and videos went through OK. A lot has happened here over the past week.

Time is flying by so fast. Every day this week has seemed so quick. For TRC we are teaching Patricia. She's an amazing lady and a golden investigator, so to say. She reads all the pamphlets and scriptures we give her plus way more. Patricia is super easy to talk to and we have great discussions. It's pretty cool because in addition to the regular lessons, we got into deeper questions like science vs religion, how God has shown glimpses of truth to people all over the world (eg. Buddha, Mohammed), why the apostasy was so long and what happened to the good people then, and near-death experiences. Thanks so much Mama for all our discussions late at night! They helped a lot with answering her questions.

During our first lesson, we were planning to talk about the Restoration, but because Patricia was talking a lot about life after death, we did lesson 2: The Plan of Salvation on the spot instead. It was really cool teaching on the fly, with no pamphlets. But it went really well and the message really comforted her. When we talked about the spirit world, we renamed spirit prison spirit school 'cause it's a place of learning, not a prison! We're also teaching Samson and he's a great guy. It's super cool how sometimes we go over something in class, such as role playing invitations to go to church, and then talking about that during TRC lessons. Also, Patricia and Samson were invited to be baptized, and they said that if they get answers from God that our teachings are true, then they will accept, which is awesome! Even though I'm teaching in English, not Hungarian, it's still good because I get to learn tons of teaching skills. I'm pretty comfortable teaching lessons now and TRC is one of the highlights of my day.

Friday 3 June 2016

MTC Week 1

Hello everyone!

First off I'm gonna write about what I did this week before answering questions y'all wrote.

This week sure has gone by fast. Lots of classes and teaching. I sent a schedule, so that you could have an idea of how much time I spend where. Basically a ton of classes and study and a little bit of time for everything else. I'm no a tie tying pro and each week in the MTC I use a different tie. I can iron too now, so all's good in the hood. I can get around the MTC easily now. It's really quite small, but every building looks the same.

On Sunday we watched a talk called “Character of Christ” by Elder Bednar which was super good. It's about how in hard times we would normally turn inwards and complain, but Christ would turn outwards and help others. It was a great talk and it made me want to be more like Christ. I'm also in the MTC choir and we are practicing a new song called “One by One” by Elder Bednar. Next week he's gonna come which is gonna be awesome! On Tuesday night there was a devotional with Elder Bennett of the Seventy. I was in the choir and you can probably see me singing "Sweet Hour of Prayer" if that devotional is available online. I looked at the camera a bit and smiled haha.

We have something called TRC where we teach investigators. Some of them are legit, but a lot are members. They all get paid, so it's not too realistic, but still it's a good experience. We have Austin, who is a Baptist and I think is legit. Our very first lesson was kinda shaky as we talked about the Restoration, but the 2nd time we had a more low-key, Bible study sort of discussion where we read 2 Nephi 31 together. It went really well and the next lesson we taught him the plan of salvation. He was kinda surprised by all the Biblical references of the plan of salvation we gave him. So it's going really well with him. I'm pretty sure our other investigator, Catherine, is a member by the way she answers questions. Still it's a good experience and we've taught her the first two lessons already. My teaching is improving a lot and sometimes words just come into my mouth as I talk. They have cameras in the room so our instructors are watching us haha. One time I'm gonna give the camera a thumbs up and a wink. We gave them both Book of Mormons, so now my count is at 3.

My teachers are Sister Bain and Sister Allred. They're great. We read 1 Nephi 2 together and discussed how Lehi and his family leaving Jerusalem for the wilderness is kinda like missionaries leaving their homes for two years to serve the Lord. I can basically substitute Nephi's name with mine in 1 Nephi 2:16.

Tuesday 31 May 2016

First Few Days in the MTC! (First Book of Mormon and I'm a Zone Leader!)

Hello everyone!

I'm a bona fide missionary now with a name tag! I already emailed y'all about the airplane trip there, so now I'll talk about what happened after.

The flight to Salt Lake City was really cool. I saw huge mountains, deserts, lakes, and rivers on the way. The geography was crazy and I was mind blown. I never saw such big mountains before.

I met formerly Elder Nyman, now Daniel, at the airport. We went to Temple Square in downtown SLC and I saw a bunch of cool church sites including the Temple, the Conference Centre, visitor centres, the church history museum, the tabernacle, and a bunch of church sites. It was really cool. Seeing the Christus statue was amazing. As I looked at the statue I felt as if Jesus were looking down on me. There was also a video about the first vision that combined all the different accounts into one. It helped me better relate to Joseph Smith and strengthen my testimony that he restored the true church of Jesus Christ.

Daniel has a beautiful house and it's really big. There's also a sweet view of the mountains there. We drove down to the canyon and hiked there a bit. We went around a lake, but the trail was really slippery and muddy, so we couldn't turn back. We ended up crossing several streams at a dozen different points. We got a bit wet, but it was a fun adventure.

The next day we went to the Draper temple to do initiatories. It's a new temple, by a mountain and it was really nice. Utah's way different from Toronto: tons of huge mountains, less people, bunch of temples, and chapels everywhere! Lol there's also a bank called Zion's bank here. And no skyscrapers either.

We had a lunch at a buffet pizza place. The workers are all mormons, so missionaries all eat free. We then visited BYU campus. It was interesting how every building was named after a prophet. Way different than York haha!

Then the time arrived and I went up to the MTC. I said goodbye to Daniel and then they gave me my missionary name tag soon after. Woohoo!

Getting to the MTC

Howdy hey hey hey!

I made it through security in one piece. :P I'm waiting now for my plane to board and am using one of the tablets in a cafe.

I want to let you know that I love you and that I'll keep you in my heart always. Be happy, smile, and remember that I'm doing the Lord's work. Stay safe and healthy: I promise to take good care of myself too. ;)

Chloe, ponderizing this week is 1 Nephi 3:7. God will not give us a task that we cannot do. I can serve a mission and I will return home with honour. :)

Szeretlek,

Elder Felipe Daniel Gonzalez

AKA Elder Gonzalez 2.0

AKA The cooler, better, faster, stronger, handsomer, taller, and obviously more humble one. ;P

(You're still great Miguel haha xD)

P.S. Woohoo! Here we go! :D