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.

This week, the story of the conversion of Nathanael in John 1 caught my attention:

“Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!

Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.

And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.” (John 1: 45-51)

First when Phillips tells Nathanael about Jesus, he is very skeptical, his opinion being based on what he knows of Jesus' hometown. But when he sees Jesus, he sees him as an honest, good man. After Jesus speaks to him, Nathanael becomes convinced that Jesus is the Son of God. Following his pronouncement, Jesus opens the heavens to Nathanael and blesses him with great faith.

These steps to conversion are similar to all of our conversions. First skepticism towards the gospel, or the church, or religion in general, which turns into being sympathetic (as in "szimpatikus" or agreeing with in Hungarian, not in the way of expressing sympathy: sorry, English is hard. I’ve been in Hungary too long haha), then a belief. Conversion is not an instantaneous process, but a sequence where one step leads to another and finally culminates in a testimony. It is only then that we are blessed exceedingly with the heavenly opening to us.

The church is true and God is good!

Lots of love,

Elder Gonzalez