We've had a week full of adventures again! Dang straight we're gonna find those here, too! :)
So Érd is not your typical missionary city. It's a suburban area with a lot of quiet people, and stereotypically it's an area of slower work and little progress. In response to that, we've been coming up with all kinds of new methods to get people to talk to us:
1.) We wake up in the morning early when the old Hungarian ladies just start to sell their flowers and fruits on the street. We get dressed in a shirt and tie and buy a few bushels of flowers from whoever is selling them that day. We separate each flower, and walk around the city giving everyone and anyone we see on the streets a flower and saying "Happy Monday or Tuesday or whatever day it is." A lot of people are super surprised by a random stranger dressed nicely giving them a flower and telling them to have a nice day. It's a good way to strike up a conversation with just about anyone. We get a LOT of smiles this way.
2.) We had two bikes in our apartment, but both were in bad repair. We walked around the streets with our broken bikes asking people if they might point us in the direction of a bike store. The bikes needed a lot of work and were pretty beat up, and didn't quite match our clean shirt-and-tie outfits, so people also started talking to us that way. When we eventually found a store that sold the parts we needed, we talked to the store owner about how we were a long ways from home but had an awesome reason to be here. Invited him to come visit us sometime at church, family night, game night, sport day, or English class.
3.) Walk around the city. A lot. When we start to get tired and we've got a good sweat going from the humid, hot weather, we knock on the doors of the homes in the neighborhood and ask if we might be able to receive a glass of water from the family that lives there. Usually, no one will turn a pair of thirsty strangers from the street away from a drink of water, and it gives us a chance to get to know new people that we otherwise probably wouldn't necessarily meet on the streets.
4.) Now that our bikes are fixed, we just ride around the city looking for people to help in the garden or to find any kind of service opportunity. Chances to do a good turn to someone are never in short supply.
5.) We'll sometimes walk down the street greeting everyone that we know in English. We often get stopped by someone asking if we speak Hungarian. When we respond that we speak both languages, we sometimes get asked to teach them English as a second language, which is another great way to meet new people.
6.) We'll go out to a courtyard or a square somewhere and pull out my whip from Hortobágy. The loud noise attracts attention VERY fast... the record was one cracked whip, 12 seconds. People who see usually want to try themselves, and are interested that Americans are teaching them how to use a Hungarian traditional whip. Another good conversation starter.
7.) We walk around the city in shorts and a t-shirt, carrying a soccer ball and inviting everyone we see to come to a pickup soccer game at the park.
And the opportunities just go on!
These are just a few of the new ideas that we've been using this past week, and that's mostly what we've been up to! We're having a lot of fun spreading happiness to these people who are so often without enough of it in their lives. And it strikes up some great new friendships! :)
Anyways, not much more time left to email today, but I hope you're all doing great at home and that you're finding your own ways to spread happiness and make someone's day better! Love you all! :)
Priest Elder
Went to the science center for p-day and learned how to fly, so that's a thing
Playing with Zi Zú, our investigator's dog!
The American family in the branch here took all the missionaries
out for dinner at a real, legit burger place! Super nice of
them to take such good care of us. Thank you, Palmers!
Teaching some of the little primary kids in the
branch how to balance spoons on their noses
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