Post-sickness week

Monday, July 15, 2013

Dear Family,

Post sickness week has been good. So we spent last Pday in Budapest because we were already up there for the doctor, which was really fun. We went to St. Istvanne's cathedral and went up to Buda Castle. Pictures are included.

More importantly, we have 2 baptisms this week! So excited. The Szolnok branch's goal was 10 convert baptisms this year which is huge because last year they only had 3. We have 2 baptisms this week and the elders have 1 (it is that boy P who I told the story about a month and a half ago, the branch president said it would be better if they teach him and that was a few weeks ago) so with these 3 baptism the branch will have had 9 this year, which is super exciting! Unfortunately a few of them are already inactive. Baptism is a huge deal but even bigger is retaining them and enduring to the end. Our baptism last time the 17 year old girl she has yet to take the sacrament since her baptism. She comes to church every week and always comes in a skirt or dress now but always comes late. so we are really working on punctuality. She is so sweet. already plays a big role in the branch and her heart is in the right place. Speaking of skirts and dresses V who is getting baptized this week bought a skirt because she didn't have one and everyone else wears one. It was so sweet when she told us that because we hadn't said anything. Another one of our investigators has been dressing more modestly because people in the branch have told her. It is kinda funny. Sister O and I just think come to church we don't care what you are wearing; we will talk about the modesty thing later haha. Speaking of church yesterday a woman we gave a pass along card a while ago showed up a church today. We didn't get our number or set up with her or anything but she came to church because she needed some comfort. I was playing the piano so I didn't really get to talk to her, but she ended up staying for all 3 hours.

We put L on bap date this week. He is the one who's birthday party we went to my first week in the country. We have been meeting with him endlessly lately and we were able to put him on a bap date. I really believe that since he has been keeping his commitments to read and come to church he has been able to progress. Unfortunately, he won't pray on his own. He says very good prayers when we meet, but it afraid of seeing a vision like Lehi and Nephi did in 1 Nephi, which is kind of really funny, but it is ok. He called us yesterday and said that he read because I am szigorú when we extend the commitments. Which means strict haha. He gets really distracted easily.

Remember that funky program I talked about a few weeks ago with Z brother's? They came to get her bike and we asked them if we could talk about prayer for 15 minutes and he prayed at the end. He is really interested so we set up with him this week, which is exciting. We are going on splits this week with the sister training leaders and I am nervous. It will be the first time I'll be away from Sister O and doing missionary work with someone else. But it will be good preparation for when we part ways at transfers in 2 weeks. This week is also a huge church party thing on Saturday. A ward and 2 other branches are coming and so is the mission presidency so it is like a huge deal and President Smith gave us permission to go if we only shop and email today instead of taking a pday. So we are having lunch after this and then just working the rest of the day.

We had zone training this week in Szeged, which is a further train ride for us than Budapest. So we have to wake up early and it takes the whole day, but it was really good. Szeged is a super pretty city and on the train ride there, we saw lots of sunflower fields.

I almost forgot to tell you all that we went to a wedding this week! A member invited us to her niece's wedding and President Smith said we should go because it was only a half an hour so we went. I didn't understand a thing, let's be honest, but it was neat. Very different from the weddings I have been to in the states.

We found the best ice cream place ever this week while we were tracting and trying to get into a building we kept seeing people with ice cream cones so I just asked them where the ice cream place was. Actually it was a dad and a daughter on bikes and I kind of superly weirdly ran after them and stopped them. Sister O was dying, but we ended up getting way good ice cream. Oh while we were tracting yesterday I made a woman cry. It was so said. It was my turn for the door approach and I borrowed a good Sister O question and asked her from where she receives happiness and she cried and wouldn't take the plan of salvation pamphlet. I felt horrible. We did more tracting than normal this week so that was fun.

Ok well I love you all! Have a wonderful week everyone!

Grigg Nővér

Sister O and I at Buda castle. We didn't realize we would be in Budapest last weekend so yes I wore the same skirt for 3 days. Thank heavens it was reversible.

We spent 1 night at the buda sister's apartment and they got feed by the Stake president so Sister O and I made palacsintas, which are Hungarian pancakes. Dad they remind me a bit of Swedish pancakes. 

The Parliment building. This is the view from the Buda side of the river from the castle district. 

Here is the gross concoction of meds I had to take 3 times a day. eww that is the bathroom at the mission home in case you thought ours was that nice. 

We spent a lot of time on trains this week with coming back from buda and then going to szeged. 

Here is St. Istvánne's cathedral and inside the cathedral. Don't worry, they still have his hand, which is what the other picture is. 

Here is lunch at an Italian place in Szeged that wasn't really all that Italiany

The elders were in Budapest as well for new missionary training for Elder Giacaloni so we met up with Elder Miller so there is a pic with the 3 of us 

This is the Szolnok crew in Szeged for zone training