Week Three

Szíastok csáladom!

I hope you are all doing well! I brought a sticky note this time to help me remember what I wanted to talk about on this email. I've got a bad case of "missionary brain", where all I can remember is my daily Hungarian vocab and literally there is nothing else I can recall. So, sorry.

Anyway, I guess I'll answer some questions because I'm super nice.

1) Our zone is one of six zones (out of 44 at the MTC) moving to the "Y-View" apartments on the BYU Campus, and we will be the very first missionaries in the new "West Campus" that should be up and going by the end of June or early July. I feel like a pioneer! This is the first time in the history of the MTC that it will be expanding outward into another complex. Our zone is way pumped and ready to move in three weeks on May 28th!

2) Yes, my P-days are on Thursdays now, and I try to email around 9:30 or 10:00, whenever I get back from my temple session.

3) I have not seen Elder Brower, I think I saw Elder Purser the other day.

4) Yes, my schedule has changed due to the moving and what not, I'm still living in the Erastus Snow building but my classroom has movied to 10M (which is sick because it has a gigantic Hungarian flag on it). We have to get up earlier now in the mornings (6:15) but we have more personal study time in the afternoons and evenings, so it's kind of nice. Also, I'm LOSING weight. It's normal here, because everyone is stressing and not eating. I'm not starving myself, but I'm just never really hungry, unless it's at night, then I want to eat a rhino! But I've lost like 5 pounds...another Elder in my district has lost 20(!) pounds! It's weird, but they say I'll gain it all back in Hungary, and I'm totally ok with that!

Ok, so last Monday our District had a full SYL (Speak Your Language) day for the entire day. It was INSANELY crazy and difficult, but we found ourselves able to communicate what we wanted, or we just played charades until someone understood what the heck was going on! My district is the best, and so is my zone! I got my first MTC haircut last week (sorry, Missionary brain, so I forgot to tell y'all). Um, I'm still teaching my two Hungarian investigators: Viktor and Edit. When we were teaching Edit (pronounced Eh-DEET), I forgot to eat something that day and my stomach growled SO LOUD. I hoped that no one would notice, but Edit started laughing and said "Giacalone Elder, does hunger exist in your stomach no?" Atleast, that's the way it would be translated directly. I about died of embarassment, but you learn to shrug these things off and laugh. That's the way you survive out here is to just not to take anything seriously. For example, a Tongan missionary district was walking back from Tuesday Devo and one of the sisters tripped or something and stopped the group. In order to cover her up, they all started singing (at 9:30 at night) "Lead, Kindly Light' in TONGAN right by the statue of Samuel: so freaking awesome I about passed out. They attracted quite a big group. Temple is still sweet; nothing like hearing "bless the missionaries" during the prayer with 40-50 of us listening during the session!

I just updated my mormon.org profile to say that I'm currently in Hungary, because I'm a boss. Go magyarszrágrá! I love my Hungarians so much, and I haven't even met them yet! Super weird, but I have this bond with that small little country, and I CANNOT wait to say (in my broken Hungarian) how much our Heavenly Father loves them and how much Jesus Christ loves them. This gospel is literally the "good news", and it brings so much joy to my soul when I realize that I will be changing lives in a country where it's the norm to not strive for a better education, or a better lifestyle.

Mom, I think I found the kid who you said is coming to the MTC at the end of this month on Mormon.org (that's what we do with our free time after TALL study on the computer, we mormon.org profile stalk eachother). It's our substitute for Facebook, pretty much. Oh funny story, I was on YouTube listening to the MTC Choir singing something, and one of the videos it suggested for me to watch was "What makes you beautiful missionary edition" or something like that. I figured it was some funny parody, and since it was on my sidebar, I assumed that I could watch it (with YouTube here, they allow you to watch only church-related material, everything else is blocked). So, I clicked on it and it was some missionaries bearing their testimony and I was like "Oh, how nice". Then the REAL What Makes You Beautiful song started playing, by One Direction! It was so weird, usually I want to kill someone when I hear it (because it brings me pain, if you need someone to explain ask Bri), but this time, it just felt weird. It didn't feel right, and before I knew it I was clicking on some MoTab song and listening to it. I think that was when I realized that my old life is dead. My teacher, Grossen Testvér, said that once you leave on a mission your life really starts. The other day in our room, Neely Elder asked everyone what our guilty pleasure was. I said One Direction, and then Godderidge Elder said Justin Bieber! We are now natural enemies, but tied together for a coming purpose of preaching the gospel-the sacrifices I make for others, tsk tsk. ;)

Well, I hope all is well. I miss you guys, but I ain't coming home! Sorry!

Tudom hogy Isten szeret teged, ez midenkit!

Sok Szerettel,

Giacalone Elder.