Week 75

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Dear Family,

Well this is it. The last email I will send you as a missionary! Like talk about nutty. We had one program this morning and then we have 2 later today and that will be the end of my missionary work here in Hungary. This is so strange.

Get ready for some sappyness. 

So this week was super hard work wise, well no everything wise. Because it was a holiday everyone left the capital so a lot of our investigators couldn't meet and for some reason finding was not very fruitful this week. It was rough, not going to lie. With trying to keep my thoughts focused on the work and keep from being trunky. At some points I totally felt like a failure of a missionary. so that was rough. But the Lord is so aware of all of us. Throughout the week at random times (in an art musuem on the holiday, a member texting, during language study, during the firework show) He kept giving me confirmations that I served my mission well. That he was proud of me and the work that I was able to accomplish here in Hungary was what he sent me here to do. They were such small, powerful, spiritual moments throughout the week. I am grateful that I got to go through this hard week inorder to obtain those treasured spiritual moments. It was how I always imagined it would be. Getting the confirmation from the Lord that I did what he sent me here to Hungary today. I love my mission. I am so grateful for this year and a half when I have had the oppertunity to serve the Lord with my whole heart, might, mind, and strength. I don't want it to end. You know it is so true. The joy you receive from sharing the gospel and helping to bring Heavenly Father's Children until him is like no other. 

I love you all and of course I am so excited to see you!!!

Don't judge me too hard if I can't carry on a conversation any more. Like I have no idea what normal people talk about when they talk.

See ya on the other side :)

Sister Grigg

Oh yeah church was super good this week.   Barnabás who got baptized last transfer passed the sacrament and spoke in church. It was so neat to see the progression in him. He is also getting a calling on Sunday. The enduring to the end part so totally the best part and sometimes we are priviliged to see it for like month. It is so neat.

The relief society here loves me so they had me bare my testimony and say the closing prayer it was super cute. I have totally gained a testimony of relief society here in Buda. seriously. before my mission wasn't really a fan. I always went but like I thought it was kind of lame. but here i really understand the purpose of it and have seen how it can help. I love my mission. It isn't possible to write it all down. 

ok now I am done.

Week 74

Monday, August 18, 2014

Dear Family, 

no time to write this week. because wednesday is a huge holiday here that is our pday next week and so we can only email and shop today and email time is cut down short. but the point is it was a good week. i love you all. and wish you a happy st. istvan's day!!!

Love you! 

Sister Grigg

We went to Esztergom last week on pday. Behind us is slovakia!!! say what.

it was a beautiful cathedral. 

Week 73

Monday, August 11, 2014

We were led by the spirit to a super cute family this week. so that was awesome. 2 week old baby and they want us to come back again in 2 weeks. everyone is traveling to the balaton right now. nbd. 

ok well sorry for the short email! 

Have a great week everybodayyy!!!

Sister Grigg

what? like how cool is this picture? fine, I am so artsy.

Week 72

Monday, August 4, 2014

So the nuttiest thing ever happened this week. Tuesday it was pouring rain. Our programs for that day had either dogged or cancelled so we had 3 hours of finding to do after dinner. We walked out of our apartment and it started down pouring. so we said a prayer asking were we should go tracting. we all felt like we should go this one way. so we went. had terrible luck. no one was letting us in even into the building. we kept going up the hill tracting the buildings we felt prompted too. It was approaching the time when it wouldn't be ok to keep ringing doorbells and on the comps goes lets do this last building. no luck. right across the street was a pretty yellow one so I said last one and then we go streeting. and this young guy answers and we told me we were doing a survey could we ask him a few questions and he said sure. (and we have permission to go into a guys home the first time if we get let in while tracting) he asks to switch to english because it turns out he goes to college in LA. he said we had perfect timing because he just wrote an essay about our religion. I was like Mormons? because most people in Hungary have no idea. He asked how we knew to come and I told him that we had prayed about where we should go and the Lord led us here. He goes oh know why it is because my dad is mormon. I said I had no idea. So we talk to the kid for awhile and then his dad (who is less active) comes home and we introduce our selves asked who sent us. I said God. We prayed asking were we should go and got lead here. He says nothing and walks into the kitchen. I was like oh he is going to kill us. Turns out he is a world reknown spine surgeon and they had a beautiful home. He comes back with super classy beverages and then sits down and we all start talking. It turns out he was the first branch president in Hungary. He was the only church member in the country when Hungary was dedicated for missionary work so he was with Elder Nelson when he dedicated Hungary and they are still good friends. 2 months before he had dinner with the Mission president and Stake president and their wives. His son had no idea about any of this. We had no idea about any of this. He tells us his whole story that his son had never heard before. Turns out his wife was the first person baptized in Hungary after WWII. the son had no idea. He told us why he is inactive. He did so much for the church here in the beginning it is so sad he is less active. The spirit was so strong while he was telling his story. It was such a blessing to be there. I know that it wasn't by chance that we knocked on his door and that the Lord led us there. Gave him that oppertunity to bare his testimony to his son. It was amazing. I know I still have 3 weeks left here, but it was like the Lord's way of telling me that I did what he wanted me to do here in Hungary. I love the feeling of following the spirit. Because of that I really feel like I have been a successful instrament in the Lord's hands here in Hungary. Obviously I am excited for the last 3 weeks!!! 

Have a good one!
Sister Grigg

gellert hegy
 just missing one set of elders and that is all of us in the buda ward

Here's the new companions. I know that you all have been dying for a picture! 

Sister Cox (the greenie) me and Sister Magda

Last pday we went to Gellert hegy, which is the place where Hungary was dedicated for missionary work. In the mountain there is also a church cave. So we took a tour of that. It was really cool.

These were our favorite elders last transfer out of the tons that are here in the city. And then this is one of their investigators that is getting baptised this Saturday. How cool right?

Week 71

Monday, July 28, 2014

Dear Family, 

This week was really good. Transfers were nutty. We helped the assisstants take the new missionaries out streeting, with Sister Fowers leaving, and other meetings it was all nutty. It was a neat experience to help them out streeting their first time though. 

My new missionaries name is Sister Cox. She is from a tiny little town in Southern Utah. She is great. Wants to work hard and is eager to get a hang on being a missionary here. Sister Magda and I picked up from where we left off even though it has been like 10 months since we served together last. nutty. and we were in a tricompanionship then too. 

The transfer has started off pretty well. We met with a few people that Sister Fowers and I had found the previous week, and two of them are already progressing so well! It was really neat to see. One woman told us about how she has been having nightmares and since we gave her the Book Of Mormon she has been reading every single night and hasn't had any since then. How cool is that? The Book Of Mormon helps in all kinds of ways! 

Sad day. Our most progressing investigator that came to church last week for the first time absolutely hate church and then this week when we meet with her told us that she is done with all of this. So sad. 

An area seventy spoke in the Buda ward this week (perks of serving here :)), and it was so neat. He talked about what the Hungarian saints need to do to be preparing for a temple here in Hungary. 

Love you all! and Have a great week! 

Sister Grigg 

Week 70

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Dear Family,

We had a good week! Sister Fowers is leaving me for America. I can't believe she is going home. These past 9 weeks have been some of the best 9 weeks of my mission!! I love her so much, but in 6 weeks we will be reunited at BYU so it is fine. 

I staying Sister Training Leader here in Buda, but it is going to be soo different. I don't have a companionship who is also a sister training leader. Instead I am getting a new missionary. So I will be training again. And then I am getting another companion. so back to the tricompanionship days. President doesn't know how it is going to work yet with splits and things like that. 

We had an investigator come to church right for the first time, and she was our most progressing investigator right now.. Accepted a bap date this week, but she absolutely hated church so we will see what happens. So interesting that some people feel the spirit so strongly in church and yet someone else who listens to the same talks absolutely hated it. 

My favorite investigator ever dropped us this week. It was soo sad. Through a text message too. We were tracting and no having much luck. Then we got the text and then 2 doors later we got let in by the cutest mom ever with her 9 month old son. So that was really perfect. Such a good program and we are going back in a week. We gave out a few more book of mormons than usually and all the people we so happy and surprised to ge them. They were so grateful so it was such a great feeling to give them out! We focused a lot on the spirit this week in finding and we had a lot less success, but the quality was a lot better. So that was cool.

An area seventy came and did a fireside here and since we serve in the city we got to be invited. It was so cool. Very spiritual uplifting meeting. 

Love you all and have a great week!
Sister Grigg

Week 69

Monday, July 14, 2014

Dear Family,

It was a great week! We went to Győr and gave a training. It was the nuttiest day ever. We went to one train station and missed  train so then went all the way across Budapest to a different station and magically caught a train their that was faster so we only made is 5 minutes late to the Zone Training!! Heavenly Father really is watching over us. 

The Spirit was a big help this week too. One of our investigators we hadn't had contact with in a week and so we decided to go see her. We set aside time but then felt like we should go early but we already had another program scheduled. We cancelled it and went and saw and put her on bap date! It was a good thing that we went when the spirit told us to because she wouldn't have been home at the earlier time. 

We went tracting and it was super rough that day. We kept getting yelled us and so we were trying to find a good building and finally got let in to a building. And we had a short program with an older woman who totally was just being nice and let us in. We were putting english fliers in the mailboxes on the first floor and were going to walk out but then we felt like there was somewhere else in the building. So we went to the elevator (which was suuuuuper sketchy) and went to the top floor, but it wouldn't let us get off so we went the the next one and the first door we knocked on the woman said no, but we kept talking and then she let us in. Turns out her sister is a church member in Romania. And she promised she would come to church in 2 weeks while we were there. It was cool because we really felt like we were an answer to this woman's sister's prayers.

Some other cool things with the spirit happened this week too. but no time!

Love you all and have a great week :)

Sister grigg

Here are 1 pictures from Barnabás's baptism 1 week ago. He was so funny and kept joking around that he was going to jump over the railing into the font and get baptised that way.

Week 68

Monday, July 7, 2014

Happy Birthday America!!! (and to Katie)

We spent 4th of July in Hungary with a Mexican eatting tacos. It's fine. haha

It was such a good week!

Barnabás got baptised! He is literally one of the most prepared people ever! The baptism was so perfect and then his confirmation yesterday was even better! There were such wonderful things in it about his life and the temple and eternal families. It was great. 

We went on splits again this week, and I went with a Hungarain. It was cool to spend the 24 hours with her and just speak in Hungarain. It was really fun. 

We switched our Pdays last week so on Saturday a couple from the ward took us to Skanszen (I have no idea how to spell that) it was the the Hungarian version of Sturbridge villiage. I kid you not. They had taken stuff from all around the country from the 1800s and brought it to this place. There were people in coustume blacksmithing, making bread, and other such things. It was cool. And we went to a a marczpin museum. There was Elvis made out of marczipan. how nutty is that?!

We have another investigator that is progressing nicely too so we are hoping to give her a bap date this week! 

Love you all lots!

Sister Grigg

Week 67

Monday, June 30, 2014

Dear Family,

We moved apartments this week which was a little stressful! We have a baptism on Saturday which is super exciting.

Happy Birthday to Katie and Jenny! 

I am so grateful for commandments this week! For a few different reasons.

We having been teaching an investigator at this members house once a week and on Sunday the member came up to us and told us that we should have soften the commandment of tithing and such. It was so interesting because The commandments do not come from us missionaries. We are just the messengers. The commandments come from God and the scriptures are what he says about them. And I have learned that teaching someone the commandments is a wonderful thing and that they can receive so many blessings in their life from them and that they can be free of guilt as the start repenting and living accordingly. So who are we as missionaries to deny our investigators these wonderful expereience. Sister Fowers and I have been talking a lot about this. 

I got the biggest testimony ever of Family History this week. We met with a recent convert and the ward family history consultant, and it was so cool so see her entire her family tree online. The spirit was so strong! Sister Fowers and I made the goal to spend 30minutes every Sunday when we get home doing family history. 

ok well love you all 

sister Grigg

Week 66

Monday, June 23, 2014

Dear Family, 

As with all good weeks they have their hard times. After finding out about Grandma Klein's death. I have been thinking a lot about the Plan of Salvation and the Spirit World since she is wasn't a member. Do you think that they start getting taught the gospel right away? I am so thankful for all the times that I have taught the Plan of Salvation on my mission, and I am thankful that I have a testimony of it and that I know it is true. I hope she accepts the gospel in the spirit world.

Our investigator passed the bap interview obviously. He is so prepared for the gospel. We went to teach tithing, and he goes oh I read about this online. Then in church yesterday the bishops wife talked about family history and those new cute my family packets and he goes oh I am registered on myfamilysearch. I found it yesterday and started looking for my great grandparents and filling in my family tree. Like who does that? How cool is that? He is so prepared. His baptism would have been this week, but his friends weren't going to be able to come so we pushed it back a week so his friends can come. Like how cool is that. 

We had some new people in church was is always exciting because it helps so much in their progression. 

Nutty story. We have this one investigator on bap date and he has meet with the missionaries before several times. He says he really wants to get baptised but hasn't come to church because he said his mom wont let him (he is an adult). So we went over to his house with a member to teach the mom and his mom gave him permission to go. Then we left and he says I don't want to come. I have other stuff to do. We had been thinking about dropping him because we don't necessarily really think he was progressing and so this was the end. We had already explained that he can't get baptized without coming to church. We told him that we couldn't meet anymore. And he was like I am done with the church (he has met with missionaries before) and going on and on. And then Sunday morning he showed up to church! nutty right. so hopefully he comes again next week and starts progression towards his bap date in July.

Love you all! 

Sister Grigg 

Week 65

Monday, June 16, 2014

Happy Father's Day!

This week was super good. We went on splits again withe the Győr sisters this time. It was good. We taught 2 law of chastitys but the went super well. One was with a woman so we brought a woman member there to have her talk about the blessing that she has experience in her life from living the law of chastity. I learned so much! It was so cool. I mean I already knew the obviously blessing some I have already experience and some I will in the future. She is probably in her 40s and she was saying that since she joined the church 2 years ago she hasn't had a relationship last longer than like 3 months. But it is a good then because they wouldn't have worked out anyway but it she hadn't been living the law of chastity then they probably would have dragged out and been like 2 year relationships. So it is saving her time. It was so neat to hear her testimony. I hope I explained that well.

We streeted along the Duna (danube) river this week. It actually went pretty well. It was an impromptu thing. 

We have been getting different members more involved which has been a super good thing and awesome for our investigators. We will have a Baptism in a week and a half. He is one of the most prepared guys ever! It has been the coolest ever teaching him. We like really aren't even teaching him, he is doing it all. He was the other chastity lesson. I gave him a family proclamation and he goes oh I already read this online. Like say what. And he watch some conference online, felt the spirit super strongly. He already invited people to his baptism. We didn't have to ask him too. Like how cool is that? We are finishing teaching him this week and bap interview will be this week too. We are so excited for him.

Ok well sorry for the shorter email this week. Mom was online so we emailed back and forth.

i am a babe. i know. it helps when there is the rockin background.

we went to the hospital in a rock last week. it was super neat. it is underneath Buda Castle so it like really is in a cave. I was a Nazi hospital during world war II and then it was used during the 1956 revolution... just google it.

Bogi and us after the "I am a Mormon" filming (2 weeks ago)

Sister Daniels (remember her? we served together in Szombathely) came up because she is training. She got to spend the day with us today while her new missionary was in new missionary training. It was so fun! We got permission from President to cross the river and go to Parliment. So we went and took a tour of the inside of Parliment. It was so pretty. All the English tours were sold out so we did it in Hungarian.... it was mostly understandable. some fine details like what kind or wood it was were lost on us.

Week 64

Monday, June 9, 2014

Dear Family,

Ok so this week the coolest thing ever happened. Bogi came up last Pday to be in an  "I am a Mormon" one of those thingys. They filmed it in the mission home, and the plan was we would came to get her to go to lunch. We got there, and they weren't done filming and Bogi goes this is the missionary that baptized me. And they were like what really, well if she is here lets have her be in it to. So we spent and hour and a half last pday filming for an "I am a Mormon" video. So cool. They said it will online in September. it was so fun. Reinacting our first program, when we put her on bap date, when she brought Péter to meet with us. They filmed her write on facebook and sending the links to people to invite them to church or to meet with us. It was such a cool expereince. And then we finally got to go out to lunch. It was so good to see her again and talk. She is just such an awesome example to me of member missionary work and sharing the gospel. 

Today is a holiday in Hungary. The celebrate pentecost. So everything is close except for this internet cafe. So we have to go grocery shopping tomorrow. 

Really cool. That investigator who came to church last time got his answer in church that the Bom is true, the church and everything. We had him pray about a date in June and July for baptism. i was like Ok so July and he goes why july? June is good for me. So he is getting baptized in 3 weeks, and we also have to switch him to kispest. the rule is they have to go to church there atleast once before their baptism and then the baptism has to be there. So we talked about it and he is deciding when he wants to switch to the kispest elders (there are no sisters there). It is sad but ok because it he will get baptized whether or not we are the ones who teach him.

Our work is going to take a little dip because we have to pass over 2 bap dates this week. one to the pest sisters. 

There was this all day ward activity on Saturday and we went for a little bit and brought an investigator. It was so fun! The little girls in the ward love me. which is neat because last week in you letter mom you were talking about Young Womens. I think it is just because I have long hair and the can play with it. They came up to me in church the next day and were like when are you coming over? i was like uhhh we need to talk to your Mom. But then that would have been super awkward if we had gone up to their mom's can just been like oh yeah your daughters want us to come over so like when? So I told them to tell their mom's. (sister Fowers already told me I am the worst), but it worked after Relief Socitey they came up to me. haha. 

We met with the cutest girl ever! She is like 5 days older than me and we streeted her like a week and a half ago. She was with her son's dad's cousin. And he goes we aren't believers and walks away pushing the stroller. She goes," What? I am a believer." and talked to us. We met with her twice last week and she is so prepared it is nutty. Loved the restoration. She was filling in the blanks. She has a 2 month old son and has been reading the BoM outloud to him at night. So tender. And guess what? She is from Nyíregyháza. Funny that when I leave there I start meeting tons of people from there. I am so excited for her to keep progressing in the gospel! We are hoping to give her a bap date this week.

Ok well love you all and hope that you have a good pentecost (we don't celebrate that in the states do we? it was a bigish (not huge) deal in Jerusalem when we were there but that is a little more understandable because that is like where it happened)

Sister Grigg

the internet is too slow to send pictures today. sorry!

Week 63

Monday, June 2, 2014

Helloo!

Sister Fowers really likes to email so I hope you are ready for a long email this week :) 

It was a great week. Z had her bap interview on Tuesday and so we got the whole thing together in 2 days and the Baptism was friday and she was confirmed on Sunday. It was super great! I'll send a picture later. Nutty thing. Someone had a violin so I played a musical number and it was the first time I have played in like 16 months' talk abouty nutty. The baptism was lovely. I love baptisms, they are so simple that is the perfect environment to feel the spirit. 

We met with the coolest, most prepared guy ever this week. we streeted him our first week together and then we meet with him for the first time this week. He speaks like a billion langauges, is from blangladesh but was born in England and raised in Libia. nutty. So he doesn't have a christian background so teaching him is interesting. it is really good. though. We had our first program and had a rockin restoration. we read moronis promise with him and he goes why did you chose these verses I already believe it is true. so cool. we were coming down the stair in the branch house and he was looking at all the pictures and everything on the walls and there was a picture of the first vision and we were like this is what we just talked about. He goes I have goosebumps I feel something. and then he came to the baptism the next day looked it. after the service we were talking about it and how she was getting the the gift of the holy ghost on sunday. He goes what is that. and we explained what it was and told him that he felt it when he was looking at the picture. He is sooo cool. We are meeting with him tonight. I have been thinking for a few days of how to teach a plan of salvation to someone without a christain background it should be good. Plus we are going on our first set of exchanges starting tonight. The Szombathely sisters will be here with us. I am going on splits with the new misisonary so it should be fun. 

We had an interesting case this week. We have a bap date that we planned some rockin member presents with because that is what she has been missing a little in her progress. she cancelled them all and I asked why and she was like I don't care about meeting other people. It was so weird. She had meet them at church last week. So when we met the next time we talked about baptismal covenents and part of that is having friends and the spirit totally softened her heart and she agreed to have a member at her next program. And the next day at church she did a good job and going to met new people and talk to them instead of us dragging her around to meet people. 

We have this other super cool guy that unfortunatey doesn't like on our side of the river so we have to switch him over. It is a bummer because he is progressing really well. We did a church tour and we started it off and the time before we had bap challenged him and when we followed up on it he told us that he tried asking God about the Bom and baptism and he didn't know what his "sign" would be but he shared an experience he had and asked if that could be his "sign" it was cool. He had a rockin time at church. I asked him if he got his answer and he said yes! so cool, and we will put him on bap datetomorrow. The switch over has to be done classy because he is progressing so well. we don't want it to hinder his progression. Sister Fowers like to comes up with intense "game plans" for church. and they have been known to switch mid-church.i was on "Barnabas duty" during sunday school. being a missionary you like have licsense to do some awkward things.so I did some forced friendsshiping between him and a recent convert who had yet to be in the fellowshipper role. so good. 

I love Buda. I love serving with Sister Fowers. We are so different and have done misisonary work differently, but it is really cool seeing how we can bring our strengths together and how well we are doing together! And how great we get along.

Oh remember that cool couple that Sister Rupard and I found on splits in Debrecen. They are getting baptized in July and have come to church every week since then and the woman bore her testimony in church there and thanked God for answering her prayer by having Sister Madline and Sister Robin for knocking on her door. so cool right? 

Have a great week! 

Sister Grigg

Week 62

Monday, May 26, 2014

So life in Buda is great! I love love love my new companion. Her name is Adley Fowers. She is from Missouri and has 10 siblings!! real life. 4 of them are adopted so don't like faint or anything. She also went to BYU. We are working so well together so we had a rockin week last week, found a tons of new investigators, and this week is looking pretty good so far too. 

My biggest fear about coming to Buda was that it isn't a little branch but a ward so how would I get to know the members. But Sister Fowers and hi made goals and plans and we rocked church yesterday! it was the coolest ever. There is a family that always invites the assisstants over for dinner on mondays, but they uninvited them to invited us! (ok so maybe the dad would not be home so the assisstants couldn't go anyway...but that is just a small detail) It was great to see the members we asked to befriend people do so. It was cool. 

President suggested we start doing these things called "pop-ins" where were from 8-9 we stop by members homes (but don't go in) tell them about an investigator that lives close by and ask them to pray for them and befriend them if they come to church. so we tried 2 last week and asked them both to pray for the same investigator and in our next program with her she goes "can I be baptized next Friday?" Sister Fowers looks at me and goes I've never baptized someone on my mission. is it possible. I've never had someone get baptized without it before being announced in church (that is just the way they do it in Hungary) but we talked to the ward mission leader and said if she passes the interview (which is tuesday) sure. So here we go. We are hoping to have a baptism this week, which would be a great way to start the transfer. This is the first time I have gone into a new area and there has been work so it is super cool!

ok well love you all!
Sister Grigg

Sister Fowers decided I would look good with bangs. I decided why not? I need some change. So she cut my hair last night. I kinda like it. What do you think? We look good together.

the senior couple (the Jensens) from Nyíregyháza

two of the girls from the branch came to the train station wednesday morning to say bye. they were in skirts because they were going to go do visiting teaching later. how tender right? I love them both so much! 

Week 61

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Dear Family,

So it is back to the big city for me, but this times I will be on the Buda side of the river! I will be serving with Sister Fowers, who is 1 transfer ahead of me (this is her last transfer) and so we were in the MTC together for like 3 weeks. I have always wanted to serve with her so I am super excited! Oh and I will be a Sister Training leader.

This week was good.

Cool thing of the week. We went on splits. I was in Debrecen with Sister Rupard. We had lots of finding time, and we really wanted to make it effective finding. So we tried to follow the spirit. She lead us to a part of the city and we were walking and I was like the way the building right infront of us feels. We get in and it is like massive 10 story. It was one of the most sketchiest buildings I have been in. We started tracted and she is like we are going to get let in on the 9th floor on the right side. We finish the top floor and at the end there were 2 women knocking on the door right next to us and we were like oh hey to start talking to them and they go we are cops. they were pounding on that door. so we just went down to the 9th floor. and no luck on that floor but there was a really nice guy that let me use his bathroom. we got to the 8th floor and on the side that sister Rupard said we would get a let in we did! we chatted with this cute couple for a while and they were like where is your church and I was like can we come in. so they let us in. We had a rockin program. sister Rupard and her companion went back 2 days later and then they came to church last week too! 3 days after we met them! which is like unheard of for Hungary! It was so neat. So there is a very specific story. Sister Rupard said the program was so good when she went back and that they are so prepared. It was neat to be a part of this couples start in the gospel.

We went to the Zoo this morning. You all know how much I love zoos! like so much. so I am sooo happy right now. haha. love zoos. 

ok well have a great week!

sister Grigg

This is one of my favorite néni's in hungary. everyweek she would walk up the stairs and I would greet her for church and ask her how she was. She would always say. "so good now that I saw you and am here". She helped us out in a few programs too. She left church early so I didn't get time to tell her that I would probably be leaving so we stopped by her apartment yesterday. And she goes this is perfect I never started cooking this earlier but something told me.. Klari get cooking already. And now it makes sense because your her. So she end up feeding us lunch. She is just such an amazing example to me of living the gospel. Her live is hard, but it is no questions asked she lives the gospel, comes to church everyweek alone, pays her tithing. She has been saving up money for 14 years out of her retirement every month to make it to the temple in Germany and finally at the end of the summer she will be able to go. She started crying when we talked about me leaving so then I cried too. She has no idea how much she helped my testimony!

we went to the zoo with sister Jensen this morning!

Happy Mother's Day (Again)

Monday, May 12, 2014

Happy Mother's Day,

I hope that all the Moms had a wonderful day. It was so good to skype home! 

The Gospel Changes people. It is official. So remember how we are meeting with a hoarder. Well this week we went back over, and she had been reading out of the BoM, praying, and came to church, and she made a couple of comments that she never would have made 3 weeks ago when we first met. She said she is realizing that if she ever wants to have a clean apartment she needs to throw away the things that aren't necessary. And then yesterday there was a bunch of clothes at the branch for the memebers to take, and I was just praying that her and her daughter wouldn't take any and she goes member we should bring some of our extra clothes here too! Like talk about progress! We made them a bap calendar last week and they are obssessed with it. It is super cute to see them check off everyday that they have read the BoM and prayed. The 13 year old daughter and I get along so well. I helped her with her chemistry homework for 5 minutes and the perodic elements have way different names in Hungarian! My chem TAing at BYU came in handy! 

The missionary couple incharge of Humanitarian projects in Hungry came to help out a place here in NyÍregyháza so I spent the day translating. (obviously sister Feil was there too) They bought power tools for a disabled organization here. A man that works there takes parts of old cars and other things that people throw away and builds like go-cart/bicycle like things for them to use for excersizing because they can't do it the normal way. I'll send some pictures. I have never been shopping for power tools in English let alone in Hungarian, but it all worked out, witth the Lord's help. And then there was someone there from Ukraine who was really American and he heard us translating so then I helped him buy some power tools as well. so funny.

Ok well love you all lots!

Next week is transfers so I will be emailing on Tuesday! 

Sister Grigg

and here is some of the boxes we were able to throw away from the our investigators apartment. the one that hoards. here is a member that came with us. such a champ.

 this is one of the bike like things but this one actually isn't a bike at all. oh well.

Happy Mother's Day

Monday, May 5, 2014

So this week was hard. We got dropped 3 times in 3 days which was rough. One of them was by one of our most progressing investigators. He was the one that came to church last week for the first time. It was so sad. The program started off so well. He received a testimony of the BoM. He had no doubt that is was true. He knows that Joseph Smith is a prophet and that he restored the church and that the church is the only true church on the earth and is Christ's Church. And he said so baptism would be the next step but there isn't going to be one because I talked to my family. And this needs to be a family thing and you've notice that my wife has stopped sitting in on our visits. And they don't want us to keep meeting. They don't want me to continue this and I would rather save my marriage and have a good relationship with my son. So hopeful in the future maybe We all can do this. And so that was the end of our meetings. It was so sad. I was bearing my testimony and crying because the spirit was so strong and he felt it but wasn't willing to follow it. And like I can't blame him. That is a hard choice. Poor guy. I am reminded of an investigator who decided to get baptized even though her mom might throw her out and see did and her and her mom now have a stronger relationship. he asked me to say the closing prayer because he feel the spirit strongly when I pray is what he said. And we were kneeling in his living room with a member and I cried during the prayer and just pleaded with the Lord to help him and his family. Plus they found out his wife has cancer and he might have cancer they will find out this week. It was just so sad because I know that the gospel is the think that will help them the most in their lives and he saw it too but his wife and son didn't. It is ok I firmly believe that in several years they all will be baptized. 

And another drop program the woman wrote us a very strongly worded letter and read it outload to us. A member was there for that one too. rough life. I was like wow no one has ever made me take back a Book of Mormon before. It was so interesting. haha. oh well. I just can't help but think she will get to the spirit world and think what was I thinking!! 

Then the other drop program (I told you rough week) was also with a member. all three members were different. And they were both talking about Ukraine under communism and the soviet union because they are both from Ukraine. It was so interesting to hear them talk. And so sad. And then to hear them talk about their lives her. Again the gospel is the think that would help her the most and she doesn't understand that, but we do. I just wish I could put my heart in these people for like 30 seconds so they can understand no feel all the things that we feel about the gospel how much it can bless and help. 

a ray of sunshine was that mom and daughter that we found at easter came to church again this week and committed to a bap date this week! That was super excited. 

Oh get this. We helped them clean their apartment this week. Oh yeah. They are hardcore hoarders. I asked if I could throw things away (because aunt lynda taught me to loooove throwing things away) and they kept saying no so I stopped asking and just started putting things in boxes and setting it outside the apartment to throw away when we left and I did and then when we went back 2 days later the 13 year old said I watch when you threw away the boxes and I know that you did and I went and got them out of the trash. Dang it! I should have walked them to a further dumpster. haha. so that was a riot. 

Ok love you all!

Sister Grigg

sister maxfield sent me some pictures from our day together in budapest a few weeks ago. 

last pday we went on a statue hunt in nyíregyháza

one of my favorite investigators the one that dropped us this week. it was so sad.

Week 58

Monday, April 28, 2014

Dear Family, 

This week was good. 

An investigator that Sister Moffatt and I tracted into came to church this week. It was great. He is more reserved, and we brought a different member with us to one of his programs with us this week. It was a recent convert so as part of the prep I asked him to offer to walk to church with the investigator. Sometime as a missionary we are really just friends makers, but it is fine. It ended up working out perfectly. 

This week was also hard. We decided to take a little break with one of our bap dates. She came back from Easter and had decided that she didn't want to be baptized any more because she doesn't think that is matter what church you belong too. That was hard. I totally teared up as I was baring my testimony of the restoration. She had just told us she was pregnant with her third child which she had been prayer for for months. She bore her testimony of how much sister missionaries have helped her because she has met with several. And I know that she will be baptized someday but now it just not her time. I suggested maybe we take a break. I didn't want to and we weren't planning on it because her baptism was supposed to be this weekend but during the program suggesting a break kept popping up in my mind. And she agreed and said that she was going to tell the Jehova's witness that she wants a break too. I just sat there thinking why do I feel like you have been cheating on me this whole time! oh well. It is just hard when we know that the gospel is the best thing for her and her family. agency sometimes is the worst. 

We found some really cool people this week. One was a guy that we streeted on Easter, and he is an older man. He didn't want to meet in the branch house so we met with him on a bench twice last week. It went super well. I just get really distracted on the bench. I told him that so hopefully he will be cool with going to the branch house the next time. He was the most amazing prayer. Who know that if you say "say the closing prayer" in command form (which isn't rude in Hungarian) they are more likely to say it than if you say "would you like to try and say the closing prayer" 

Remember the investigator who got baptized in Szombathely, and I am going to name my first daughter after her because of the deal I made with God. She is rockin life out in Szombathely. For her birthday she asked all of her friends and family to come to church and so 34 people came to church that week of her family and friends! She just wants everyone to have the oppertunity to hear about the gospel. She is such an amazing example to me of member missionary work. To her it isn't missionary work, it is just sharing the best thing in your life with everyone. 

ok well love you all tons! 

Sister Grigg

Happy Easter!

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Happy Easter everybody!!!

So in Hungary they celebrate Easter on Sunday and Monday so everything was closed yesterday so we couldn't email or grocery shop so here we are today emailing. So here are some funny Easter Hungarian things. They don't do the Easter bunny. But Monday morning the men spray the girls. In the smaller villages and towns they pour water onto the women. And in the cities most of the time they just spray women with perfume. haha. The pouring and the spraying is supposed to help the women "blossom" and grow. If you are a woman you are supposed to give the guy that sprayed you or poured water on you an Easter egg. A chocolate one. So lame right? women do not get chocolate for easter in Hungary. like how does that make sense? So yesterday the elders sprayed us with perfume and we gave them chocolate eggs. 

It was a really good week. We tracted into a mom and her daughter a few days before Easter and they let us in so we were planning on sharing the BoM with them and the read out of 3Nephi 11 when Chirst appears in America after he has been resurrected. So we start talking about the BoM and she goes oh I have one. I saw it in the trash and took it out because I felt like it was a Holy Book but I didn't know what religion it belonged to. Nutty right? She took it out of the trash and cleaned it up like a week or 2 before we knocked on her door. Wild right? talk about the Lord preparing people. so we walked with them to church on Sunday, and they stayed for all three hours. It was great! We met with them yesterday and the little girl is 13 but so smart! I really feel like we are there for her to help her grow up in the gospel and to then break her bad family cycle and have a wonderful family of her own some day. 

Church was a super spiritual experience for me this week because the day before I had kinda of been complaining to the senior sister her about how we keep finding people who are depressed, super poor, jobless and just have all kinds of problems (abortions, prostitution, drugs, suicide attempts, being abused, doing the abusing you name it and I feel like I have run into it here with our investigators) with that make it so hard for them to accept the gospel and especially when they are so stubborn and won't do the things that will help them like reading the BoM, praying and coming to church. I was just like why can't we find some super put together family and baptized them. It would be so much easier. And I obviously knew that Christ suffered,died, and was resurrected for all of us and for everyone, but then it just hit me so much harder during church. That Christ died for everyone, especially those that struggle and let us be honest we all are struggling with something. So it was a great church week, which sometimes are hard to come by listening to church in another language. I am so thankful for the Savior and what he did for us. I am so grateful that he Lives! that he loves us and knows us. I am grateful for the Easter season and that I get to be a missionary and share this wonderful message with the people of Hungary. 

I love you all and hope that everyone had a great Easter! 

Sister Grigg

Remember how my boots broke my first week in Nyiregyháza, while the Elder that teased me the most shoelaces broke on the way back from Easter dinner.

We played frisbee with the elders yesterday and here is keeping in align with hungarian Easter Tradition. If it is too little to see Elder Richards is spraying Sister Feil.

Week 56

Monday, April 14, 2014

Dear Family, 

No time this week. 

I got to spend the day with my mtc companion, sister maxfield and her companion sister Naegle which was great! 

On the train ride back home this mom and her cute 6 year old daughter sat next to us and the 6 year old loooooved me and so I spent 2 hours playing with her. She was an angle sent from heaven because she asked all the right questions. 

---why do you speak funny?

---what are the black badges you wear?

---why do you wear them?

unfortunately, they weren't from our city and lived and hour away. Right before they got off the train (we stayed on going further) i told her I had an easter present for her and gave her a pass along card with a picture of the savior on it. She goes it is jesus.  The little girl kissed it and her mom said they would hang it in her room. I told the mom that there was a website on the back it she wanted to learn more and she said she would look at it. 

it was tender. 

Ok love oyu and have a great easter!
Sister grigg

sister maxfield and i

selfie at parlament

Week 55

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Quite the week this week! 

Transfer day (again) I can not wait until this mini transfers are done! but we are staying together so it is like uneventful. But obviously good. This coming week will be a little nutty. It is already Tuesday. We will be in miskolc for zone training on friday and then in budapest sunday and monday for new missionary training for Sister Feil. Since we are so far away president invited us to spend the night Sunday. 

We found tons of new investigators last week which was great! Now we just need to get them progressing and to church. It was hard because one of our bap dates kinda of like disappeared. So frustrating because he was doing so well and seemed so into it and so sincere. Hopefully in the new coming weeks things will change. And then the woman we put on bap date's husband said no! I was like are you kidding me. I hate agency. (obviously not but yeah) That got me thinking a lot to the type of guy I want to marry and so on. So I learned a lot for that experience. We were praying like crazy for her and then today we talked to her and she was like so I kept talking to my husband and she said that in the end it was my decision and he won't forbid it. So that was just an answer to prayers. In a week the Lord really soften his heart. So we are going to keep working to help her be ready for May3rd. The next hurdle is the mother in law. so we are going to fast together this weekend for that one. oh mother in laws. Mom I hope you are a good mother in law and I am thankful that Jenny and Ally have good mother in laws.

We had a tiny miracle yesterday. Well no a large miracle. Last week we went tabling with the Elders and I talked to the super nice woman and we set up for last week and then she reshedulced for yesterday. It had been a rough morning for Sister Feil so I was a little nervous for how this program was going to go would she be able to speak and bare her testimony, but she pushed through it. And this woman is one of the most prepared people I had met on my mission, which is so cool! She asked great questions and then we bap challenged her after the restoration and she was like yeah you know I think I will. I just feel like this is the right path for me right now and that I need to do this, that God wants me to do this. So then we gave her a date and she said she would prepare for it. may 3rd kept popping into my head the whole lesson so that is what I said. That is in less than a month and all we have taught is the restoration! but the spirit prompted us so hopeful we will be able to get her ready. She is so nice and said that she agreed to meet with us because I look like a friend she has from Australia (which Mom, reminded me of you Jan Griggs all over the world). So  Heavenly Father was really preparing her. I will keep you posted to what happends!

Loved conference it was amazing!!! I am so thankful for the guidance of a living prophet. And that the council he gives really comes from our Heavenly Father. What a blessing! 

Love Sister Grigg

This was our conference experience! Luckly it doesn't matter how or where you watch conference, Just that you get to hear from the prophet and apostles.

so nutty story. This is one of Elder Ward's (you know Jeff's friend, he is on a mission from La Canada too) converts in Ukraine. Like 3 months ago I got a phone call from her because she was in nyíregyháza vistiting. but that was when I was still in szombathely. I did not understand who she was. because she said that she knew my brother in Ukraine and I was like I definitely don't have a brother in Ukraine. Then she showed up on Sunday visiting again and I was here. She saw my name tag and explains it again but this time said that she knew my friend. Then she showed me a picture of him, and I was like oh yeah I do recongnize him he is my cousins good friend. So then she took a picture of me and a video of me to send to him when she goes back to Ukraine. So I am sure he will look forward to getting a picture of me. haha. small world though. oh Eastern Europe

interesting week

Monday, March 31, 2014

Dear Family,

So this week has been filled with interesting ones. 

Starting off, we went and visited this women we had found tracting a couple of weeks ago. She completely opens up to me at the beginning of the visist. Tells me that she took a pregnancy test and it was positive. It would be her 6th child, which is totally unheard of in Hungary, having that many kids. And she said she is going to the doctors in a couple of days to have is confirmed. She is praying that is it a mistake and that she got a disease and her hormones are out of wack or something. And then proceeds to tell me that if she is really pregnant she is going to get an abortion. She is married but said that they can't handle the financial stress another child. She didn't understand how it happend with breastfeeding her youngest. And yes went into when her husband had last had sex. It was interesting. I just had no idea what to say. I had just met her. We introduced the BoM to her and told her to pray about the baby thing, read, and ask God what she should do. I said abortion wasn't good but literally had no idea what else I good say. Afterward I felt bad that I wasn't more like, "Don't do it!"

We are now helping another investigator quite smoking. He is on bap date scheduled to happen in 2 weeks, but I am thinking we will have to push it back a couple weeks because he went MIA for 2 weeks. But we found him again (he doesn't have a phone and we would always meet with him in the branch house so that proved to be a little stressful but with lots of pray and listening to the spirit we found him again). He is really committed to this. Came to church and stayed for all 3 hours. We had a great program with him afterwards and one of the other young single adults in the branch. When he gets baptized he will be the only younger guy in the branch, which would have to be hard. Also great for him because their are like 5 young single adult girls in their early 20s. haha. 

Sister Feil extended another bap challenge this weekend, and our investigator accepted. She has meet with sister missionaries for a while but no one could committed her to baptism because she doesn't want to do it with out her family. So we had a great lessson talking about the positive influence women have on their families and read 1 Nephi 7 where the daughters of Ismael soften Laman and Lemuels hearts when they wanted to kill Nephi. And she said that she will be baptized in a month if her husband gives his blessing and support. We promised that by her good example her family would follow later. The day before we met her husband and 2 sons on the street, which was a small miracle because I had never met the husband and older son before. So hopeful that is a good sign. 

We went to Tokaj this moring with the missionaries from Debrecen in our district and went hiking. It was way fun but I am already sore! It was surprisingly step. We went whipping at the top and I was horrible at it. oh well! 

Have a great week!
Sister Grigg

Week 8

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

I'm sitting here in sacrament meeting typing out this letter because
since we have iPads we can read and type out the letters we receive
and send but we can't send until pday which sounds super reasonable to
me. I'm writing cause I'm trying to stay awake. It's so hard it hasn't
even been a week and I'm so tired all the time. My new companion is
awesome but we wake up ten minutes early to go running in the morning
and it's just super hard for me to get used to! I'm trying but I'm a
little frustrated because I can barely understand the many different
accents so when I'm in lessons it's hard for me not to zone out. So we
basically have more missionaries here than actual people it's so funny
we are the only Hermanas in our ward but there are 4 sets of elders
they are pretty neat. The people are really nice and they do feed us a
lot but I'm always hungry, es una problem para mi. All the women here
have a custom of kissing on the cheek and I'm getting used to that but
it's hard to remember! The iPads have plethora of church stuff on
there like every single general conference talk ever and everything
you could possibly want! We have taught all less actives but one
lesson actually was with a investigator even though she wasn't ours
because the elders were fixing her bed so we taught but now she's
getting baptized on April 12th so that's good for them! She's so great
we really didn't teach her much she was super ready! Her husband is a
recent convert and they moved from the Dominican Republic were
everyone is from, but he was baptized there, now he works at the
temple which is so cool by the way! We are going to try and go in 3
weeks because we already have so much planned for our next couple of
p-days! So the elders and Hermanas here have a major problem with only
needing like 2 hours of sleep and I get made fun of for wanting to
sleep until 6:30! Like come on they all wake up early and play sports
together and I just want to kill myself, I probably will die from lack
of sleep. The city is full of people and I'm still not used to Harlem.
Everyone says it's a great area but it's just kinda full of weirdos
walking up and down the streets. I'm starting to see a weird sense of
humor from the missionaries here. So only our district has the
assignment of teaching only a certain demographics and ours is single
Latina women and boy are they talkers! You ask them one question and
they are off and you lost tHe lesson! So difficult so it's super easy
to just fall asleep... I need to work on my hearing skills because
Puerto Ricans and Dominicans talk fast! So my mission president is
super awesome both he and his wife are like second parents they really
take care of us which is sweet. Thanks for all the support!
Love Hermana grigg

Sent from my iPad