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 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 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 

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 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

transfers again

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

I am leaving Szombathely. I am really sad. It has definitely been one of my favorite places to serve. Every place has been my favorite place after I leave it so I know that I have been in every place at the right time. I have been on the way west of the country and know I am going to the way East. I think this is the farthest city from the mission center in Budapest. Sad I am leaving because we should have 4 baptisms in the next 4 weeks here.

We had a good week. The six of us missionaries put on this branch program. It was an American night. It was super successful, there was tons of investigators there. The funniest part was that there was tons of American food and no one explained how to eat it Americanly. It was sooo funny to watching them east guacamole and salsa with a fork and without chips. I was talking to one of our investigators and asked where the chips were and he said he got hungary while waiting so he ate them. The didn't know how to put the syrup with the pancakes and every kept asking what you put the ranch with. Then we did rootbeer floats and everyone was horrified when we mixed the soft drink with the ice cream. And the drank the rootbeer plan and asked what is this sweet thing. Oh man it was so funny. I love the Hungarians. I was such a great time to have our investigators mingle with the members and strengthen their friendships.

Then the next day we had so many investigators come to church. 15. It was great! We walked with 2 of them to church. I have been teaching them for 3 and a half months now and it was great to finally get them to church so that they could experience the blessings of that! I just love this cute little family so much and I hope that they continue to work towards baptism. Our crazy prepared couple chose to come meet with us instead of go to the concert because they like the way they feel when we meet. so tender.

Speaking of baptism we had a great zone training in győr this week. I always knew that my purpose as a missionary is to find, teach, and baptize and that baptism is an essentially ordinance to salvation. But I guess I never really stopped to thing that these people literally can not live their Heavenly Father again. Everyone needs to be baptized! And sometimes because we are in Eastern Europe and it is harder to find people who are prepared to then help them be baptized we say we just want to help people to make their lives better. But we help them by leading them to baptism!  It put everything into perspective. That if I truly love these people and desire their salvation then I will do everything I can to help them towards making those covenants with Heavenly Father. Plus it helps me not be annoyed when Jeff's mission has 51 baptisms in a week and our mission has 16 for the whole year so far. It is fine.

Ok so funny. I almost forgot. There is a Hungarian missionary from the Szombathely branch serving in Hungary. I met her before she left. super cute. We meet with her parents. They are so nice. They feed us and the mom knitted us matching scarves. She was trying to finish them fast. The said they would come to church and we walked out of sacrament meeting and she is sitting on a chair knitting and I was like what are you doing out here. She goes don't worry. I got here. Heard the whole thing. and paid atttention. It was good. I just wanted to knit to so i stayed out here. I was like well come to sunday school, you can knit in there. And she sits down and the sunday school teacher was like what are you doing. She said someone said it was fine. The sunday school teacher goes who. I timidly raised my hand and said it did. Oops! haha. The scarves came out great! so cute.

Well I love you all and I hope that everyone has a wonderful week!

Love Sister Grigg

So I am sending home a ton of pictures because I am stealing them all from Sister Hinckley.

These was our both from the American night. our both was about holidays so we made valentines and hand turkeys with the kids. such a hit!

so i made that sign and apparently spelled turkey wrong and instead it said make thanksgiving children because it was some nickname for little children. opps!!

one set of elders made skyscrapers out of spegetti and marshmellows.

we did a puzzle last p day it was so hard

in győr there is this stand called chocolate island. nbd. it is the best.

Week 47

Monday, February 10, 2014

Dear Family,

We had a great week! We had interviews and went on splits, and then yesterday we got feed lunch and dinner. I felt like a missionary in America :) haha

I was a little worried for this week because we were loosing almost 2 full days with going over to Budapest for interivews and splits (we both stayed in Buda to work with the sisters there), but the Lord helped make everything happen that we needed to.

We came back from splits on Saturday and met with a referral. It was this couple that lives in a village outside of Szombathely, but they came to the branch house. It was one of the best restoration lessons of my mission! The spirit was so strong and Sister Hinckley and I were teaching really well with each other and both the Husband and the wife were feel  the spirit super strongly. They were in tears and were talking about how it is super important for them to find the right and true religion! They want to be baptized so we were able to commit them to a bapdate. They came to church the next day and only stayed for sacrament meeting, but without us telling them or prompting them they said they will get everything done this saturday so they can stay the whole time this Sunday! they taught themselves keeping the sabbath day holy.

A few thinks happened in the work this week that were miracles but kind of pretty private for the investigators so I don't want to put them on here. Such know that the Book of Mormon is amazing and changes lives! I love when people tell us that is spoke to them!

So how much would you all hate me if this was the end? Ok sorry!!

Love you all and Have a great week!

Sister Grigg

Week 46

Monday, February 3, 2014

Dear everyone,

Katie is a missionary!! How exciting is that? Two Sister Grigg's in the family at the same time. She is going to be a wonderful missionary! I am so proud of her decision to serve the Lord. I am sad I didn't get to listen to her whole farewell talk, but it was so fun to hear the sounds of her voice!

We had a great week! One of our investigators got baptized! B. He is 16 years old. It has been quite the rollercoaster teaching him and getting him ready for baptism, but I have learned so much about life and what it means to be Christian. I think it also helped me learn to be a little more patient. But if I am being completely honest I am still not that patient. Rough life. I am working on it. He is such a tender guy and during his baptism the member that spoke about baptism talked about how it isn't every day that you see a 16 year old boy make this serious of a decision. One who wants to follow the savior one that wants to put God first in his life and shows that make making covenents with him. It was really humbling experience to be a part of his conversion process. Looking back I can really see the Holy Ghost at work. Because in the end, it is the Holy Ghost that converts people. All we can do is try our best to invite the Holy Ghost so that our investigators can feel like.

Weather wise it was a rough week! It has been snowing like all week and than yesterday is was like raining but is was froozen but not quite hail. So we didn't walk to church yesterday we really ice skated. It is rough. When we are in a hurry, which is like all of the time. The walking is really hard. But when we aren't in a hurry than it is soooo fun! It is like being on an iceskating rank without the ice skates!

This week has been really neat to see they why the Lord can work through us if we let him. For example we walked with one of the sets of elders to one of our investigators so they could give her a blessing. And it was like a 40 minute walk so we decided to take turns talking to people that we saw on the street. Like every other person kind of thing. It was our turn so we talked to this cute girl and ended up talking for a good amount of time and set up to met with her on Thursday. It was neat to see how our mission corellation meeting ran long so we missed the bus so we had to walk so that we could talk to this girl. The Lord really is preparing the people of Hungary for the gospel. T a different investigator has had 2 bap dates and it currently praying about his third. I have been fortunate to teach him the whole time he has been an investigator and looking back the past 3 months with him it is amazing to see the difference in him even if he can't see it. He is just a better person because of the gospel. It was so neat to see him come to church yesterday when a good portion of the members didn't come because of the weather. How neat is that? I am prayins so hard that he will get an answer to his prayers and get baptized in the next few weeks!

Ok so life is great. we are working hard. the weather is horrible but we are blessed with a good amount of teaching. tons of funny things are happening. sorry I can't share them all. we ate rabbit this week! it tasted like chicken.

Love you all and have a great week!

Sister Grigg

Benji's baptism 

there is a bakery called boston pékség I don't know what it is doing in hungary

Week 44

Monday, January 20, 2014

Dear family!

We had a crazy but amazing week this week! We had tons of programs scheduled all throughout the city so we didn't really have time to take meals. I felt so guilty because I scheduled them and poor Sister Hinckley was just coming in new to the area. And then blessing of all blessings we got fed a bunch of times! so we didn't starve. The Lord was certainly looking out for us this week.

We had some crazy cool experience. I told you last week about the boy that B met on facebook and then picked us up to meet him. That was last monday and then he went to institute on Thursday and then we meet with him last saturday and put him on bap date! How wild is that. It was so cool. The read from the Book of Mormon and said that both times he read that the message had been directly for him. so he knew that the Book of Mormon was true. He is 29 and the member is 24 and then there was only member there that is 26. It was so power sitting in that room listening to these 3 young single adults talk about how the Book of Mormon has changed their lives. one of which isn't a member yet and the other two were only baptized a month ago! It was one of the most spiritual moments on my mission, and I feel so blessed that Heavenly Father let me stay in Szombathely to be a part of it! I am so grateful that I got to stay. We have some really great work going on, and it is so humbling to be a part of it. I really just feel like an instrument in the Lord's hands. He keeps guiding me to these awesomely prepared people. I people are ready for the gospel.

Going on that line we put Z on bap date this week too! He is the one that got a little confused when we taught him the restoration because he thought we wanted him to become a prophet. Well we went back twice last week with a member and we taught him the plan of salvation and he was beyond prepared to learn about that. He loves his family. He had all the right questions: there can't just be a good and a bad place, what happens with all my ancestors who didn't get to be baptized and it went on.The member was so excited by it all too. So we gave him a bap date and he pulls out his work schedule and says he is working that day. but let's plan it because he can get it off work to be baptized. I was like we can do the saturday before and the saturday after but he wanted that saturday. It was really great. We are hoping to start meeting with his whole family soon. He understands that they all need to be baptized to get to the celestrial kingdom so hopefully we will let us come over when they will all be home. I meet his wife and daughter once but not to teach them.

We did a church tour with a family that Sister Daniels and I found and have been teaching. They are waiting on their answer to know if the Book Of Mormon is true. They are really interested in the gospel and we have really been working with them. The Church tour was great and they are finally going to come to church for the first time this coming week!! I am so excited for them.

well I love you all and I hope you all have a great week!

Sister Grigg

I got to see Sister O at transfers. She specifically asked if this picture would go on the blog so I had to send it home.

before Sister Daniels left we got to take a few pictures with people

those are all padlocks on the gates of the cathedral in town. It is a Hungarian thing. I have seen it before in other cities. I need to ask what the tradition is behind it.

Transfer week

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

So I am staying in Szombathely, which was a shock. Everyone thought I would be the one to leave. But I am staying and Sister Hinckley is coming. We were in the MTC together for like 3 weeks she is just 1 transfer below me. I am really excited she is super cute. We were also in the same district towards the beginning of my time in Hungary when I was in Szolnok and she was in Kecskemét. Sister Daniels and I are sad to be departing we had such a good time together here in Szombathely. We saw some really neat miracles happen while we were together and found some very prepared people that we are still working with. She is going to Sopron and opening sisters there for the first time. It is closest city to Szombathely. So we will still be in the same zone, which is exciting.

We had a wild week this week. We found this guy tracting 2 weeks ago and met with him for the first time and we taught an awesome restoration. Probably one of the best ones on my mission. Sister Daniels and I were really rockin it the spirit was there super strong and he was really understanding and asking great questions. Then when we bap challenged him he didn't quite get it because he thought we were asking him to be a prophet. haha. riot. and he didn't want us to come back. I was just like no way. we are not loosing you. So we chatted and he said ok you can come back so we went back with a branch missionary and had a great lesson and he already feels like the Book of Mormon is true and he only read the introduction. I love how fast Heavenly Father answers prayers sometimes.

So our recent convert has been doing missionary work like no bodies business. The elders are meeting with her mom's boyfriend's family. And we have meet some of her friends. She brings new people to church everyweek. This week she went back to the homeless place and brought 5 men from there in addition to the 6 children (they aren't really kids though). so sister Daniels and I sat next to her and rigth infront of the homeless men. And they were trying to sing the hymns (a few of them were not completely sober) and for some reason I just felt the spirit so strongly. I have no diea why but it was a touching moment. Sister Daniels and i looked at each other trying not to laugh. We had the funniest experience this week. We got out of program and we had missed a call from her and so we called her back and she was like do you have time and we had dinner left that night so I was like yeah she was like where all you I have a friends who wants to meet you. so she came and picked us up and we went to the branch house. I was asking how they meet and they had met 30 minutes before on facebook. she was like on date and asked us to come crash it. haha. but we had a neat program with him and set up again for next week. She just wants to share the gosepl with everyone. It is great.

We helped a woman quite coffee this week. she is on bap date for march and her husband got baptised a few months ago. It was a great program. we had just figured she was living the wow because her husband was. She was super nervous becausein the past when she tried she would get really bad headaches. but we told her we would pray and fast for her. Her faith was strengthened immensly by this. It could seem like such a small thing to the Lord someone trying to quite coffee but since it was important to her it was important to the Lord and he helped her.

Love you all and hope you all have a great week!

Sister Grigg

the woman who quicked drinking coffee this week an her husband.

baptisms are the best

Monday, December 16, 2013

It was such a good week! Because I got to go to an investigators baptism in Pest! It was amazing. I was on splits with Sister Westover in Buda (which was great) and so we crossed the river and went. It was so great. She had also served in Pest and on the way there I just thought a lot about my time in Pest and how much I loved it. Sister Messinger and Magda and I had a lot of really cool things happen with our work while we were there. It was such a great period of my mission. It was the neatest thing to be at the baptism because it went like how Sister Messinger, Sister Magda and I imagined it. We invited a member our second program who then came regularly once a week. And after we walked out of that program we were like Stephen is going to baptize him! and He did! I said the closing prayer and afterwards Gábor said, "as soon as you started praying I thought, I know this voice and all those feelings came rushing back to me from all the times we met." It was so nice. I was just so touched that from my voice the Holy Ghost brought to his rememberence all the times I had met with him and taught him the gospel. It wasn't the words I said that he remembered but the fact that we had the Holy Ghost will us during all those times of teaching him the gospel. When he came out of the water I was just overwhelmed with love for him and so happy for him and making those covenants with Heavenly Father. I was standing next to Sister Magda who was one of my companions when we found him and taught him. We walked back into the chapel together with our arms around each other, smiling. I leaned over to her and whispered we did good. We were so young in the mission, didn't really speak Hungarain, and had no idea what we were doing, but we did good those 7 weeks. We worked hard, we found in him, and brought the Holy Ghost to our programs, which was all that Gábor needed.

 Going back was great. I got to see a few other investigators I taught while in Pest and a few members that helped us out.

This upcoming week should be a good one as well. We are going up to Budapest again for zone conference. We have to get up at like 4 in the morning and we wont get back til late. Which is a little stressful because it takes out a whole day of working. We are getting an investigator ready for her baptism on Saturday! We are so excited for her. She passed her baptism interview this past week and is excited for Saturday. I am so excited. She is one of the reason why I feel like I needed to come to Szombathely. It has been amazing to teach her the gospel and watch her progression.

Merry Christmas!!!

Love you all

Sister Grigg

So I got sick this week and the branch members and our investigators freaked out. I got lots of "gifts". One incident was super funny. It was 9 at night so Sister Daniels and I were planning for the next day, and we got a phone call from a member that said they were outside our apartment. Sister Daniels and I walked outside and there were 3 members while tea and medicine. It was super tender. And also they felt guilty because one of them was the person I got sick from. Hungarians literally make the best tea ever. Sister Daniels and I learned the secret so no worries.

Gábor's baptism in Pest!

more of Gábor's baptism

One of the members here in Szombathely, who Sister Daniels and I are obsessed with. She got back from her mission in Finland like a month ago.

selfie shot of the district, the old one that is.

last shot of the district before 2 of them headed off for transfers. the elders are now in a tricompanionship with a new elder.

Week 35

Monday, November 11, 2013

Unfortunately no pictures this week. Our email places has random closings so we had to go into the city to go to a different library (that you have to pay to get into...lame) and we can't send pictures here) 

We had an amazing week this week! Ok so there is way too much to write. But we had a great mini 3 week transfer together, and I am so sad that is has to end because serving with Sister Curtin and Sister Daniels has been amazing! I feel so blessed to have had the oppertunity to serve with both of them. Thankfully, Sister Daniels and I get to stay together, here in Szombathely!!! We are so excited! I will be finishing up Sister Daniels1 training, which is exciting. When the 3 of us got together we made the goal to put 5 people on bap date to be baptized before the end of the year. It was a lofty goal beause we have 1 bap date who had been living out of the country, without contact for the past 3 months. So we got to work and had a lot of faith.

I already told you about B, who I am naming my first child after. This past week we put 3 more people on bap date! Including the one who I accidentlly told that the Book Of Mormon had pictures of Brittney Spears! T is progressing so well and he is the coolest. In our programs we are able to be super spiritual with him, but he is funny so we still can laugh and have a good time. Then M who is Z's wife who got baptized right before I got here, also accepted a bap date. It is definitely up there one one of my favorite programs on my mission. We watched the restoration film which gets them every time. The spirit was so strong, we were able to ask great questions to get her to bare testimony. We didn't go into the program wanted to extend her a bap challenge but we were there and Sister Daniels bore powerful testimony about the Book of Mormon and the restored church, and then Sister Curtin and I were able to build off of each other well. Sister Curtin was giving me the look and the spirit was so strong and so I asked her there was silence for a bit and then she asked to be excused and we talked to her husband and I was so afraid that I had offended her and I was like how good I have read the spirit so wrong. I thought it was the gift of discernment. I felt horrible and then she came back in and said yes!! It was such a great moment. It was also such a great lesson with companionship unity, paying attention to the spirit, and the gift of discernment.

So we went back and had a second lesson with this really cool guy who we have officially named cool G.. it is on the teaching record. He was so awesome. Brought us out dark chocolate. We have a great program with him about the restoration. He enjoyed it. We are hoping to put him on bap date on thursday. He is an engineer and designs stick shifts for cars and also is a DJ on the side. like can you get cooler? besides R in Pest who travels everywhere. She is way cool. I love that the gospel attracts all these cool people! Funny thing about that program is that when we left he tried to give us money. so great and slightly offensive because it was only the equivalent of like 3 dollars. I guess we aren't worth that much. 

So winter has officially hit, and we offically are Hungarian because drinking fruit tea like no bodies business. I rained literally all day on Saturday and we were walking outside for most of the day so that was rough. We were soaked. And then yesterday was the windyiest day of my life. We were literally being pushed from the wind onward, which was cool until we had to walk against the wind. 

I think Sister Daniels and I have to speak in church on Sunday because all the Elders spoke this past Sunday. it is going to be rough. 

Well I love you all have a great week!
Sister Grigg

Week 33

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Dear Family and Friends,

I realize that I might have sounded a tad bit dramatic in the last email. I apoligize. But we all know that I am a dramatic person so I don't think anyone was surprised :)

Ok so sorry about the whole Tuesday thing again. We ended up having to go up to Budapest to do the whole residency card thing again because mine got stolen when I my wallet got stolen a few weeks ago. So we switched our Pday and came up a day early for Zone Conference. The area President came in for Zone Conference tomorrow so that will be exciting! 

So today was Pday and after the whole hivatal thing we went to the Opera House and took the tour! It was amazing! I love that my companions wanted to go! It was sooooooo cool. Seriously so worth it. The inside is so beautiful. We got to take the tour in English which was awesome so we could understand it all. Seriously that place is beautiful. Unfortunately we didn't pay for the wrist band to be able to take pictures inside, but they did do a mini concert of sorts and a woman sang 2 opera songs. AMAZING. I love the culture and history behind the building. It was built when Hungary was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire so it had to be smaller than the opera house in Vienna. Wild. But apparently it is prettier. 

So we also did missionary work this week too. No worries there.

Szombathely. It is pretty great. We are like right on the border of Austria so actually several of the kids in the branch go to school in Austria. wild. And then a few of our investigators go to college in Austria while living in Szombathely. So most people speak German. It was like a 3 and a half hour train ride from Budapest so plenty of time to get to know the new companions on the train ride. I am with Sister Daniels who got to the country in September and with Sister Curtin who has been in Hungary since January. Both of them are the best and great missionaries. Sister Curtin is the oldest companion I have been with, and unfortunately we will probably only be together for like 2 more weeks because this past week was just a mini transfer and the real one is in 2 weeks. wild right? So I am trying to just soak up all her wisdom and knowledge while I can. She is a great missionary. They both have done lots of traveling so it has been fun to swap stories. They both went to BYU before their missions and actually Sister Daniels is in the nursing program like me! She got accepted then left on her mission so she hasn't actually started the program yet, but it is still something great we have in common. We already have found a pretty great rhythm teaching and finding and things so that is pretty great. So fun fact about were we live. There is currently a senior sister from the Szombathely branch serving a mission in the country so we are living in her apartment so it is pretty nice. We have a piani maker and a dishwasher. not real life!!! so much lunch quality has gone way up. 

We have some great investigators. There is an awesome man who just got baptized and so we are really trying to focus on his wife and help her gain a testimony so that she too can receive the same blessings as her husband and then one year from when she gets baptized they can go to the temple. Right now we are trying to get her to let us teach to her instead of her husband. she is literally just the most amazing wife. she supports him 100%. she comes to church with him everyweek and it was so tender in our lesson to see just how much they love each other. It was really cool to see the great marriage because it isn't the culture in Hungary to marry. 

The Szombathely branch is super solid. They are wonderful. Bigger than Szolnok and they are just 2 melchizidek priesthood holders away from becoming a ward. 1 of which with be the guy I was just talking about who got baptized. 

We teach a few other great people and have been doing some good finding together. I love being companions with them! It is great being with someone who speaks the language so well. We had a let in while tracting together and I was just amazed and listening to her and then I remembered that I should probably help her out and speak too. haha. 

We have this one investigator who unfortunately missionaries have never taken her seriously. But she is super cute and has great potential. We met with her and it went super well. I feel like we are soul sisters. And so I made a deal with God and my companions that if she gets baptized I will name my first born girl after her. I can't tell you what the name is because you might not approve. But I love it. It was cool we bap challenged her and she was like well I guess I should probably came to church and so she came and brought 7 people with her!!!!! wild. It was great. 

Love you all and have a wonderful week!

Sister Grigg 

me at the step on the opera house. i am a little obsessed with this place.

This was the investigator that brought 7 people to church. She isn't related to all the kids but the rest of the kids are all one family. The 15 year old boy loved church. A family in the branch likes to have the missionaries over for dinner and their investigators so the mom was the nicest woman in the world and invited them all over for dinner and so this was at their house. The food was great and the family was so kind! 

Such an amazing week!!!

Dear Family and Friends!

This week was so wonderful!!

Let us start with the highlight of the week! Imre's baptism! President gave us permission to go to Szolnok so that I could be there for Imre's baptism. I have written about him home a ton. With when we first found him and his teaching process! It was such an amazing experience. We were waiting for the train in Budapest and I saw someone we baptized in June from Szolnok, which was such a weird coincidence, and it was great! And then we got on the train, walked to the hotel, where the baptisms are, and we walked into the room and Imre was standing there in his baptism clothes looking out the window. I just had flashbacks to the first time that I met him when we knocked on his door and then the first time we met with him in a program when he showed up wearing a super inappropriate shirt and reeked of smoke and then here he was wearing the white baptismal clothing, not a hint of cigerette smoke! It was so wonderful. He was so ready and prepared to get baptized. I got to talk to him for a little bit before. Then I gave the talk on baptism. rough.. but it was ok. haha. We sang in the choir musical number (which was almost everyone there..not a big deal) and the spirit was just so strong. I got so see a few of the Szolnok branch members again. And Zsuzsi, which was so wonderful. Biro elnők baptized Imre and unfortunately we had to be bap in Pest for another baptism so we had to leave right after that and couldn't stay for longer. But I got to talk to him for a bit before he changed, and he such talked about how excited he is to get the gift of the whole ghost and about how baptism isn't the end just the beginning and how he will be a church member the rest of his life and endure to the end. It was perfect! He is serious the best find ever. He was so prepared by Heavenly Father for the gospel. It doesn't mean that it was easy for him because he had to overcome a lot to get baptized, but I know how blessed he is for all of it! He is just such an amazing example to me and I am so thankful that I was able to help him along the way. I am so excited for him to get the priesthood! 

Ok so Pest is going really well too. Another highlight of the week was having lunch with a member and his friends. He invited us to his work place and bought us lunch (score number one) and then we got to chat with 5 of his friends. At first it was a little weird and hard because of the positioning of everyone to talk but then 2 left and we were positioned better and we could just chatt. They were fasinated about why we are here and things like that. Asked us why we came. And before my mission, when President Morgan asked us to say one sentence about why were choice to go on a mission I thought a lot about it and then after this lunch I thought a lot about it too. And an addition I came up with another answer. I am here in Hungary because I know that God has a plan for us. Christ is at the center of that plan and when we learn about God's plan and learn about our identiy as his children we see the world in different eyes and everything has meaning and purpose. I want other people to know about this wonderful plan of happiness! 

Ok so back to the lunch it was really neat. It wasn't the typically normal missionary work that we generally do like knocking on doors and talking to people on the street; it was great! I was also just so proud of this member because he was probably so nervous to have invited us to meet his friends! I think we will potentially get one new innvestigator so that will be fun to see what happens.

We met with this one woman from English class a few weeks ago and she has been bringing several friends to English class and we found out that they all know each other from the 12 step drug alchol anonymous program and the second step is all about finding God and the relationship with God so they are all interesting in meeting with is great! Different but really cool. 

Our main invesitgators with bap dates are progressing so well! They both fasted for the first time yesterday! so great. One came to church for the first time yesterday (he was at conference) and he goes I started my fast. It isn't too hard yet and Sister Magda's stomach growled. so good. A member showed him about the LDS gospel library app so he is way into that and he found LDS.org (he wouldn't let us give him the address because he wanted to google it haha) and has been rewatching some of the conference talks. so great. I love being a missionary and being able to help the Hungarians come closer to our Heavenly Father.  

Love you all and until next week!

Sister Grigg 

St István's basillica. because one time of seeing the creepy thousand year old hand isn't enough.

Our Zone leaders gave us a giant milka bar at zone training because our companionship got the most new investigators this past month! We are the youngest companionship in the zone...it just goes to show that the language isn't everything and the spirit is so much more important and does the converting.

today we walked be the American Embassy because our ward mission leader works there so we wanted to see that outside. what do you know... a statue of Ronald Reagan was there! Jon this is a shout out to you! Note how pretty parliment looks in the background.

Then we walked into the Opera House but unfortunately you can only see the big great cool part in tour so I don't know if we will be able to go back to see more inside but here is us in the main hall!

We went back to Szolnok so obviously I had to take a picture at the train station with the sign!

so that was a picture of Imre and I and the other picture was Biro elnők who baptized him, Sister Peterson my companion last transfer and then her greenie this transfer (who is in the nursing program at BYU a few symesters behind me! small world!)