Friday 4 May 2018

Week 35 in Békéscsaba (my last email from the mission field)

Hi!

Only one week left in the mission! We'll have our next p-day on Tuesday, so this is my last email. And I wish a happy birthday to Pablo!

Our week was quite busy. Along with the sisters, we participated in a service project at a seniors' home and talked about the U.S., Canada, and Australia, as well as about our church. We had some teaching appointments with investigators and less-active members of the church about faith and overcoming addictions. We also prepared many notes for the new branch president.

My last zone conference was on Friday and the subject was the study of the scriptures. At the end I gave my farewell testimony. It is odd that I am the oldest missionary in the zone / mission. I still remember when I was a greeny and heard the testimonies of departing elders and sisters. But it seems that these two years have passed quickly.

Monday 23 April 2018

Week 34 in Békéscsaba

Hi!

Something very special happened this week. Laci was baptized on Saturday, on a beautiful day! More than thirty people came to support him. Mariann and Edina gave good talks about baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost, and then we had the baptism. It was a very special moment for me to enter the waters of baptism with Laci. We had to repeat the baptism because on the first try Laci's forehead did not go underwater, so on the second time I made sure that he was a few inches deeper in the water. Then all came to shake hands with him. Everyone was so happy, especially Laci, his family, and church members. They've been waiting for this moment for a long time! Now the Lakos family is the first family in Békéscsaba where all members have records in the church! :) The next day he was confirmed as a member of the church by László, received the gift of the Holy Ghost, and also a beautiful blessing.

Laci's story is actually wonderful. A couple of years ago his wife was baptized and began to attend church with their little children, but Laci did not like the church and was not open to accept the gospel when I came to Békéscsaba. But around New Year's Eve, something changed in him. He started coming to church and we met with him and his wife, Böbi, to talk about strengthening family relationships. Those talks became gospel conversations as we began teaching him the missionary lessons. He started to pray and to read with his wife, went to church each week, and accepted a baptismal date. And finally, on April 21 and 22, he was baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost becoming a member of the Church. We all saw a change in Laci: He was happier, improved his relationship with his wife, became more open, and also a better man. This is the power of the gospel!

Friday 20 April 2018

Week 33 in Békéscsaba

Hi!

Another wonderful 25°C spring weather in Békéscsaba! The sky is blue, the sun shines, the weather is perfect. :)

On Tuesday we went to Szeged to have interviews with President Szabadkai. The next morning Elder Szuch went to Budapest, so only the two of us remain. It’s different with just one companion and there is so much more room in the apartment now. But surely it will be very strange to me when in three weeks I will no longer have a companion... :)

We went halfway to Szeged on Friday. We thought that we would have splits with the the zone leaders in Szeged, and when we were about to take the bus from Hódmezővásárhely, the zone leaders called us and cancel the splits, so we turned back. There are many interesting things that happen on the mission.

Tuesday 10 April 2018

Week 32 in Békéscsaba

Hi!

This week there wasn’t many interesting things happening to us but we had many programs, practically skipping from one to another, day after day. Elder Szuch is leaving home on Wednesday, so we went with him to say goodbye to many people, and in the process ate a lot of food. One sister in the church, Kati, taught us how to make stew. We bought the ingredients in the market, cooked together, and ate a nice pork stew.

Our investigators develop nicely. The zone leaders came on Saturday to interview Laci and everything is ready for his baptism on the 21st. It will be a big day. We also taught about the general conference, repentance, and the atonement of Christ for which we used an orange in water. On Sunday many came to church: 33 people in total, and many shared their testimonies. It's nice to see the meeting house slowly filling up. But it will be weird for me to be in church in Toronto with 133 people!

Friday 6 April 2018

Week 31 in Békéscsaba

Hi!

This was quite a busy week. We shared the Church's Easter message with many members and investigators and we focused our teachings especially on this message.

On Monday we went to many shops looking for a suit for Elder Szuch before he goes home. I even tried a few suits and Elder Szuch was able to find a good one.

In the middle of the week we got a happy surprise: the Family History Centre was built in our meeting house! The FM group bought two nice big Dell (touch screen) computers. We helped many members with their family trees and indexing, and we also worked on our own family history. The congregation is very excited about this center.

Saturday 31 March 2018

Week 30 in Békéscsaba

Hi!

This week we had quite a lot of programs sharing with people the Easter initiative and teaching about the commandments, the Book of Mormon, the plan of salvation, and prayer. Our young investigator who had a baptismal date has no longer one but we still meet with him. But in a part member family the father wants to be baptized, so this is very good news as we would finally have in the branch a full family where everyone is a member.

The zone leaders came this week for splits but they did not stay long because they had to go back to Szeged the next day. We painted the walls in the house of a member as a service project. On Sunday, President Lázar,  from the mission presidency, came to the service which was very good with all the speakers talking about Easter. But I'm glad that next week we'll have general conference and there is no need to prepare for meetings, etc.

Friday 23 March 2018

Week 29 in Békéscsaba

Hi!

The wintry weather came back. Monday was nice but by the weekend it was cold and rainy, and today the snow covered the ground.

This week, we taught on topics such as moral purity, the atonement of Jesus Christ, and scripture reading. We also helped a church member enter her family tree in familysearch.

On Wednesday there was a mission tour where Elder Paul V Johnson, area seventy in Europe, and his wife came to give us some training. Two zones attended this conference. They provided many good advises, for example, Sister Johnson said that when we talk about Christ in our teachings, a much stronger spirit will be present. Elder Johnson's instructions on different ways of teaching were also very valuable. That happened on March 15 but since we were on the train and on the mission home for a long time, we did not see much of the street celebrations that were going on that day. Of course we saw were many Hungarian flags, some demonstrators, etc. At the Keleti train station there was a large group of Polish people who came to support the government here and shouted "Ria, Ria, Hungaria” . They were giving away free beer but we did not drink. : P

Wednesday 14 March 2018

Week 28 in Békéscsaba

Hi!

Winter is over and spring came with temperatures of 15°C and sunshine. The grass starts to get green and there is a fresh smell of spring on the air.

This week was not too busy, that’s why I started this email with the weather haha. We only had one lesson with Tamás, an investigator from our English class, and we talked about the parable of the seed in Alma 32. He said that he wants to be baptized at the beginning of April, so that’s very good news. The rest of our investigators did not have time or were ill, and during transfer weeks we don’t have many programs anyways.

Friday 9 March 2018

Week 27 in Békéscsaba

Hi!

I got my last transfer call. As I wished and thought, I will stay here in Békéscsaba to complete my mission as branch president. I stay with Elder Szuch and Elder Rohner. Elder Rusz is going to Kaposvár. That was a surprise as new missionaries usually stay in their first city they serve. But of course all things have a reason, and even unexpected transfers can be good. It's odd that this is my last transfer and I'll be back home in 9 weeks. Home is no longer a fantasy, but an imminent reality. :)

This week, we held some teaching appointments about the commandments, conversion, and the change of heart (Alma 5). Interviews were held in Pest. The zone leaders came for splits, and Elder Biesinger and I tracted together and visited old investigators and less-active members. In the evening we played Bang and since there were six of us it was fun.

Friday 2 March 2018

Week 26 in Békéscsaba

Hi!

We had a cold front this week and the temperature was around –3°C. At the same time, there was a warm front at the North Pole and the temperature there was warmer than in Hungary!

Many interesting things happened this week, let me write about them.

Canning: We visited one of our investigators and made apple jam with him. It turned out to be quite good and we took some home! It was quite simple: we peeled the apples, then cooked them in a pan, added sugar and preservatives, and then put them in jars.

Ice skating: I went with Elder Rohner to the Decathlon store and there I tried a couple of skates and went with him for a minute to the try-zone. A couple of days later I and Elder Szuch went ice skating with the family of another investigator. It was a lot of fun, and the skating was good. There was a warm place too where the Winter Olympics were being broadcasted. :) Go Canada! And Hungary won its first gold medal ever in winter olympics. Great achievement!

Friday 23 February 2018

Week 25 in Békéscsaba

Hi!

Another chapter in Elder Gonzalez's mission! Now I have not one, not two, but three companions. QUADPANIONSHIP!

No, we did not get another greeny. And I did not make myself a clone. But one of the elders in Szolnok became sick and went home, so his companion, Elder Rohner was sent here by the mission president, so now we are four. It's a little tight and we have to do mini-splits, but it's all good haha. Elder Rohner is from Australia (Melbourne) and has been in the mission for a year. It's funny that now a Canadian, an Australian, a Hungarian, and an American are serving together. A small UN!

Sunday 18 February 2018

Week 24 in Békéscsaba

Hi!

This week we got a new (greenie) missionary in our companionship. On Monday night, President Szabakdai spoke to us on this phone about it and on Wednesday we went to Budapest to pick up Elder Rusz. He is 25 years old from the Buda ward, He used to work in the "Gringos Amigos" restaurant and I knew him and his sister when I served in Buda. Elder Rusz is a very good and smart missionary. He also draws very well.

We had a lot of programs this week and taught lessons to investigators, a new convert, a less active member, and also to active members, so we had a very busy week. In addition, we helped Bea and her family a lot. They just moved into our branch and their house requires a lot of work. We did a big clean up of the house and among other things emptied old bottles of liquor (pálinka).

Sunday 11 February 2018

Week 23 in Békéscsaba

Hi!

This week we found a new investigator and a total of four investigators came to church on Sunday, so it was a week rich in numbers!

We met with a young man from our English classes and shared with him the message of the Restoration. He has already read the first six chapters of the Book of Mormon and he prays. He said that he feels a lot better and sees positive changes in his life after he began to meet with us. A few days later we met with him and with his girlfriend again in a cafe house. We drank hot chocolate and he asked why we did not drink coffee, so we taught them about the Word of Wisdom.

Thursday 1 February 2018

Week 22 in Békéscsaba

Hi!

I’m down to the last 101 days in my mission, so tomorrow I’ll reach the last 100 days!

This week we had some good programs. We found a new investigator in English class and talked to him about the purpose of life, the Fall, and the atonement. We also taught a part-member family about the Family: A Proclamation to the World.

President Szabadkai came to Békéscsaba on the weekend and helped us teaching. He also conducted a Temple recommend interview with me and gave a talk in church on Sunday which was a very busy day. We took the sacrament to a member who was sick and visited inactive members, as well as a member who is in rehabilitation.

We went with an investigator and his family to watch a volleyball match. The Békéscsaba womens’ team is very good and have won many championships in Europe. They are the best team in Hungary. They played against an even stronger Italian team and lost. But despite the loss it was a good match. Yeah, and last week we watched a women's handball match too. The local womens’ team played against Dunaújváros, a much stronger team. Dunaújváros led in the first half but Békéscsaba attacked and defended well and managed to win. It was a very good and exciting game.

Friday 26 January 2018

Week 21 in Békéscsaba

Hi,

This week we travelled a lot. We went to Szeged for an interview with the mission president, but there was a snow storm, so President Szabadkai was only able to drive to Kecskemét. So we took another train there with transfers in Szolnok and Cegléd. The train to Szolnok was an old train from the communist era. The station and its surroundings were like a concrete jungle with ten-floor buildings. We finally arrived in Kecskemét where we had the interview. It was interesting because last time I was in Kecskemét, the weather was sunny, warm, and summerish, but now it was snowy, cold, and wintry.

After interviews, we went to Szeged for daily splits with the zone leaders. The next day we went back to Békéscsaba and had a lesson that went well.

Thursday 18 January 2018

Week 20 in Békéscsaba

Hi!

This week we had many teaching opportunities. We discussed several topics including The Gospel of Jesus Christ, Alma 32: Faith and Testimony, Family Prayer, Mormon Messages, and the Bible and the Book of Mormon. We are focusing a lot on families: investigator families and part-member families, and it's going very well.

We did a little service for one of our investigators cracking walnuts with him.

On Sunday, it was great to be at church. Brother Magda, from the High Council, came and spoke about reading the Book of Mormon. The stake and mission began a "Read the Book of Mormon!" Facebook page to encourage members to read from the Book of Mormon as a goal for this new year. In the second hour I visited the primary. A 7-year-old boy taught about the seven days of creation. At the end of the class we ate biscuits. It's good to go to primary! :)

Friday 12 January 2018

Week 19 in Békéscsaba

Hi!

First of all, I heard from you that there was –22°C in Toronto. Today the temperature here in Békéscsaba is 12°C! It has been a very pleasant and mild winter with spring-like weather.

Our week went well and I'll give a little account of what happened.

On Thursday we had our district meeting. We showed to each other our family pictures and set out the district goals. Elder and Sister Hick are a nice missionary couple who are replacing the Howells. Sister Robertson stayed and her companion is now Sister Tischner (also from Utah) who served in Pest and Debrecen before coming here to Békéscsaba.
 
Not many people came to English class, but it was still nice to teach the regular participants. On Friday, we studied Chapter 5 of Alma in institute and talked about the change of heart. An important principle is that there are those who get to the finish line faster than others, but all that matters is that we all arrive there as soon as we can, which is the same goal for all. This reminds me of the parable of Jesus in the New Testament when he tells us that there are people who begin to work in the first hour and others who start only in the eleventh hour but all have the same reward.

Friday 5 January 2018

Week 18 in Békéscsaba

Happy New Year!

It is very strange that it is 2018 already. This year I'm going home. I'm not lying, I'm excited about going home, but I also feel quite good here in Hungary.

I has been transferred.... Just kidding! I stay in Békéscsaba with Elder Szuch! I was very happy with this. For the last four months Elder Szuch and I have become very good friends and it is great to continue serving with him. (Nobody knows of two missionaries here in Hungary who have served together for three transfers or six months, so I think this should be written in the Guinness Book of World Records.)