Sziástok!

Hogy vagytok?! How's it going everybody?!

 

I'm officially in the last half of my MTC experience, and it gets better everyday! I'm learning so much it's crazy. This gospel just gets more and more delicious to me as I study it more and more- I definitely feel like I'm the one being coverted over here! My district is so excited about the arrival of our new Hungarians next week- 8 Elders and 2 Sisters! I think we're just excited to practice our Hungarian with them more than anything, but we are also excited to meet more missionaries speaking Hungarian!

 

So this past week has been way fun. In TRC (Teaching Resource Center)  last week, my companion and I got to teach a REAL Hungarian! She was from a small town by Lake Balaton in western Hungary, probably one of the more beautiful places in the world. At first we were way intimidated, she spoke like a million words a minute and she had this weird dialect that made it way hard to understand. And this is where the awesomeness that is the gospel comes in-she absolutely LOVED us. She didn't care that I misunderstood her when she said something and I interpreted it as "tomato", and she didn't care that we totally butchered our reading of the Book of Mormon in Hungarian, the Spirit was in control and she was just HAPPY. She was fine with correcting our grammar and was just happy to be there! The Spirit really confirmed to me there that yes, I won't have this language down completely by the time I land in Budapést, but the people there are willing to help us out (I mean, how many kids do they meet that try to learn HUNGARIAN on their own time? Not many!), and hopefully my companion over there will help me too! So that really eased my fears on that subject.

 

Our BFF's in the Estonian district in our zone leave on Tuesday, we are all SO sad to see them go. They've been here for so long and just recently got released as zoneleaders. I mean, they were they ones that comforted us those first few days we were here, with them already having been here for like a week or two more than us. The Elders are so humble and willing to serve, and the Sisters are just plain hilarious! I never thought that I would find amazing friends on my mission like I have thus far. Estonia is about to get six shining spirits! Our zone is so tight, everyone knows eachother, and there's like 40 of us going to Albania, Finland, Hungary, and Estonia. Eastern Europe is in for a massive surprise! The Lord is sending His very best servants there...and I'm going too! Haha.

 

I am ferociously addicted to the MTC Choir version of "Lead, Kindly Light" on YouTube. Literally I listen to it all the time. I'm listening to it as I type this right now, too. Hey, it's a great song! Look it up, you can thank me in two years.

 

We SYL (Speak Your Language) as a district several days a week now, next week will be four days a week! We are so hardcore. Literally we are the only district that SYL's this much, but we really have no choice! We NEED to get this language down, and I'm so proud that our entire district is so committed to not speaking English for an entire day, several days a week. Sure sometimes it's just an awkward silence, but we are very dedicated. And I am way proud. I'm also king of doing charades! Haha.

 

So Neely Elder accompanies on piano for several missionaries on our P-Days, so I follow him around and I get to listen to some pretty sick performances. Just barely we got back from one where it was a tri-panionship of sisters with one of them singing "Come, Thou Fount", but get this: one is from Spain, one is from Thailand, and one is from Tonga. NONE of them spoke English as their native tongue, and that's the only way they communicated to eachother was in English! It was weird sometimes, but the Spirit really touched me because even though they couldn't communicate well with eachother, they LOVED eachother. I think that's what we need to focus on sometimes, to look through imperfections and recognize eachother's royal potentional. Those sisters taught me that this morning, and I hope to utlize their example in my lessons.

 

Well, this will be the last time I write to y'all from the normal MTC. Next week, I will be in the brand-spanking new "West MTC" in WyView on BYU Campus! And guess what, they've got an ice cream creamery that they are opening up to missionaries over there! I'm going to gain so much weight...but it's ok because I'm the Lord's servant.

 

Oh, and by the way on June 23rd, President Thomas S. Monson will be giving a global announcement to all the missionaries in the church. It just so happens to also be my first Sunday in Hungary! Keep your ears alert, prophets don't joke around. I don't want to say it will be something big, but my gut says it will be something big. What an exciting time to live in!

 

I pray for all of you every day, and I pray for the people of Hungary every day. I know that this is where I need to be right now in my life, and that the Lord always, always prepares a way for His children to return to him. The Book of Mormon has rapidly become my best friend here, I find so much peace in it's pages and comfort in it's teachings. It is 100% the word of God. Please, read it sometime if you have the chance. It has this awesome way of totally converting people to the Gospel, something I'm not so hot at doing, but that I'm working on. I love this church, and I love YOU.

 

But, God loves you more.

 

Sok Szeretettel,

Giacalone Elder,