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