Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Dear wonderful family,
I just want to tell you all how much I
love you and appreciate you. The new missionaries came in this past
week, and I have spent some tearful hours (for one of the new sisters
not me) with a new sister because her family is not supportive of her
dission to serve a mission at all. They have sent her angry letters
and so she dreads getting mail. I am so glad you all are supportive
and wonderful because I don't think I would enjoy being on a mission
near as much if you weren't. I am thankful that when I get mail, I
look forward to opening it at the end of the day rather than hidding
it in a corner and only opening it once a week because I don't want
to break down. I love you all so much! Seriously.
Ok so this week has been a little
rough. There just has been a lot going on. Remember how last week I
said that it was the best ever well that night when we went to class
one of our teachers told us that we were not speaking from the heart.
I was heart broken and almost lost it right there. I felt like I had
been putting in my whole heart and soul into learning Hungarian and
teaching our investigators. They are literally all I think about,
beside the sister I have responsibility for in our zone. But I guess
I just needed to figure out how I could express those feelings when I
teach. So I've been working a lot on eye contact. Do you have any
idea how hard it is to look someone in the eye while trying to speak
in a language you can't speak in? Well a lot of you do. It is really
hard. But it is getting better. We had 21 new missionaries, half of
which were sisters, come into our zone so that has been good but
challenging. So Friday I received a blessing from our zone leaders
and it was wonderful. I am so thankful for the priesthood and the
wonderful things it has brought me in my life. Dad thank you for
always being worthy to be able to give us blessings while we were
growing up. I know that we having been truly blessed because of that.
On Saturady we are going to teach Zsolt more about the priesthood
because his baptismal date is coming up and he "received" a
blessing last week to help me quit smoking (which he is doing awesome
by the way) and so maybe I needed to have a trying 2 days so that I
would ask for a blessing and be able to better teach from the heart
on Saturday when we talk about priesthood. Ok so about Zsolt. Last
Friday when we taught him during the midst of my rough 2 days he was
struggling with like the samething I was. We we were going to
teach about fast offering but then once we got in there we realized
we just needed to address his problem. And seriously the spirit was
there so strong and I know that I was teaching from the heart because
I totally teared up. I felt like that lesson and what we taught was
more for me than for him but I know that he received the strength he
needed from that. He just felt like he wasn't prepared for baptism,
that quitting smoking was too hard, and that he just didn't
think he had it in him to be a Mormon. So we talked a lot about faith
and I kept testifying that the Lord would never give us a trial that
we couldn't overcome and that through the atonement Christ knows
exactly how we feel and that Heavenly Faith gives us trials for our
benefit so that we can learn and grow. Trials and challenges are for
our spiritual growth. (remember that was all in Hungarian so that may
have contributed a bit to the whole tear thing), but it was wonderful
and gave me what I needed as well to get through the weekened which
was so good and everything else has been so good since. I know that
the Lord is mindful of us and what we need. He had my teacher make up
a fake problem so that Nover and I could teach that lesson and so
that I could testify of what I knew and apply it more in my life.
So it is conceration week. And let me
tell you no english is hard. I considered writing this whole email in
Hungarian (you can change the keyboard so all the accents would have
been right and jazz) but then it probably only would have been like 5
lines longs. And that would be sad (nagyon szomoru). Nover and I came
up with goals and things we are sacraficing this week and we know
that the lord will bless us spiritual and with the language because
of the diligence and effort we are planning on putting in. Our usi
did so well with consecration week but our Fins kinda failed so we
are trying to be like our usi. Speaking of we got 10 kicsi! It is so
fun! the 4 nover live with us and it's super fun. and then there are
6 elders (one of which Katie has met, small world). It is really fun.
Plus some of the elderek are good at volleyball so gym is way fun
again. After the Fins left it was slacking for a few days. :) They
are so excited for us do start concecreation week because that means
that they will be learning tons so it's nice to have their support.
Not being able to express and communicate the way you want to is
rough, but it is only day one. I'll let you know how the rest goes
next wednesday.
Tomorrow we get travel plans!!! I am so
excited. Since we are getting to the downward slope of things. Our
teachers have been teaching us secular worldy things (I was going to
say real world but the mission is real world because what is more
real than the salvation of souls?) like we learned how to shop but
really the whole excersize was to get us to share the gospel and know
that we are missionaries always every second of everyday. It was
really neat. Sharing the gospel with that pretend store owner so
super easy and just flowed so well. It made me super excited for
hungary and really thankful for the fact that I will have a trainer
who will understand everything that they are saying. haha. We have
been practicing tracting a ton which is good.
Dad I loved what you said in your
letter about when you where in the airport in Sweden. And fun that
you and mom are singing in the choir. Thanks for emailing me pictures
of the dog and cat mom. I literally busted out laughing when I opened
them. And the other were great too. It sounds like it was a fun ward
activity. And that would be perfect if you could get the box while
you are here. Let me know when the last day you can pick it up is and
I will make sure it is at the place and I will give you more details
about what that place is once I find out. Oh shoot I should have done
that today. Ok well I'll tell you in the next email. When will you be
in Utah and for how long?
Ally thanks again for doing the blog.
You will probably here me say that a million times over the next 16
months but I got a letter from Susan Bell this week telling me about
how much she loves it. So thank you so much.
Funny thing. Jellen has sent me two
batches of family names to do endowments for. This time when he sent
them he sent cinnamon rolls as a bribe. riot. So my zone has done
like 40 of his family names. I am so grateful that we get to go to
the temple once a week and I can't believe that I will only go 1 more
time for the next 16 months of my life. Wild. It is weird to think
about. I know that the blessings we receive there and the ordinances
preformed there are for time and for eternity. I am so grateful to
Joseph Smith who restored all of those and to the early saints who
sacrificed so much so that we could partake of them. 2 sundays ago we
watched mountain of the lord and that was like my favorite sunday
movie as a kid. The one about the salt lake temple with wilferd
woodruff. So good so I am feeling very sentimental about temples
because next wednesday is my last time.
ok well I don't really know what else
to say. I am fast so I am really running out of steam, especially
because we can go to dinner in 10 minutes. ok glimpse into my life.
szeretlek titeket!
Grigg Nover.
no pictures this week because I don't
know where my usb thing disappered to. problem. no worries though.
do you think you could all send me a
letter containing you testimony? I want to put them in my
testimony journal so that I can read it through out my mission. The
dear elders have funky paper so if it wouldn't be too much effort to
hand write I could just tape them on in there.
Thank you!
Sister Grigg