August 10, 2015

Hey!

So wouldn't ya know it, I tried to use the new handy-dandy voice recorder to send more stuff in less time... and the file size is too big. Guess I'll have to split the recordings into separate files so that it's easier to send through email... guess most of the news will have to wait one more week... :P

But for the most part, other than that, we had an awesome week! Being in one small, old, broken apartment with three guys is a little bit intense, and we have a pretty long commute to get to the place where we do most of our missionary work, but I guess that's just the way that life generally works when you live in a big city like Budapest haha. Elder Mellor and Elder Dietrich are both awesome, and they've been super nice and willing to do running and training in the mornings for a little bit of time before we shower and get ready for the day. We've gone running, played basketball, American football, and lots of soccer (Hungary). We even found a little running track across the street from where we live! It's not a perfect oval, there's a few random turns in it. It's not a regulation 400m either, and there's only the one lane, but it's so much better than nothing! Pretty stoked about that! Tried it out with some new running shoes here and it was a good morning. :)

Church on Sunday was CRAZY. Buda is a fully functioning ward, so different than almost every other city in Hungary. There were probably about 100-120 of us at church on Sunday, and the building was packed. Unlike Nyíregyháza or Érd where we waited and waited for someone to want to learn about us, there were people coming to church curious about what our religion is. Such a different atmosphere, but that was cool to see.

Today for p-day, we went to see Gellért Hegy with the rest of our district here in Buda. The view from the top is the very best in the whole city, and it's a nice little fifteen minute hike to get to the statue at the peak. Lots of fun.

Elder Gonzalez, my trainer, is currently one of the secretaries of the mission right now, meaning that he works a lot with President Szabadkai and everyone else in the mission office. As a little joke this week, we found a printing shop and had them make a stamp that looks like those old-fashioned ones that you might find in an old courthouse somewhere or something... you know, the wooden ones that have a separate stamp pad and all? Anyways, we made him one that says "Secretary Gonzalez Approved" and stamped some papers with it in the office this week as a little prank for him. Then we gave him the stamp, and I think he liked it. It was fun. :)

Everyone that we've met with so far here in Buda has been really nice and friendly. Some of the people that we meet with live far away, and the transportation in Budapest is kind of a mess sometimes. Regardless, they're all really cool and they come from far away to meet with us and learn about the cool things that we believe in. Super awesome. :)

Oh, and I'm 19! Whoo hoo!! Not a little kid anymore!;) We had pretty much a regular day on Thursday, but we came home and I made homemade spaghetti sauce from fresh tomatoes, garlic, oregano, and basil that we found in the vegetable market here in town, and had some really good tortellini noodles with spaghetti sauce at home. Then, we celebrated with some sparkling cider (kind of like Martinelli's), and shared some Chick-o-sticks from America and traumatically scared our German friend, Dietrich, with a candy called "Cow Tails." He thought they were real for a second. :)

Other than that, the week was awesome! Hope you're all doing great still and that you're happy, healthy, and loving life. Have a great week, talk to you again soon!

Priest Elder