The weather is beautiful right now! Blue skies, warm sun, and the river is sparkling. I love Hungarian springs!
We had a Zone Training last week! All the
missionaries from Szolnok, Kecskemét, and Békéscsaba all congregated
here in Szeged to get a training from the Zone Leaders. It was super
trippy because I had already served in Szolnok and Kecskemét, and I knew
the missionaries/senior couples that are stationed there! We had a
great training on prayer, and afterward went out to eat at the mall. I
always love when we all get together.
So the amount of weird things going on with our
apartment continues to baffle me: 1) our fridge literally freezes
everything you put inside it, and we've tried to change the settings but
nothing helps 2) for some reason our gas bill was ridiculously high
last month, but we know that can't be accurate.. 3) Our sink is clogged
and 4) our washer leaks.
And just barely, we found out that our microwave broke. Great!
Speaking
of our humble residence, our upstairs neighbors have this great habit
of blasting that song that goes "bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gonna do?
whatcha gonna do when they come for you?" every day at 8:30 AM in the
middle of my personal study. Just recently I found out that it's a yoga studio...ok, but seriously, who does yoga listening to that?! So weird!
Fun story of the week: So in our branch there is a
really, really old néni (or lady), I mean,she is 93 years old, and she
come regularly to church. She won't get baptized but really like our
church. I don't really know how else to explain it. Anyway, she comes to
the investigator/new member Sunday School class. We just so happened to
be talking about Priesthood that day, and she mustered all her 93-year
old strength to stand up, and with a really shaky hand pointed at the
teacher and yelled: "JESUS DID NOT CALL APOSTLES TO BE PRIESTS. WE DID
NOT, NOR DO WE NOW, NEED THE PRIESTHOOD. THE BIBLE SAYS SO. WE HAVE
EVERYTHING IN THE BIBLE, AND THE OTHER BOOK (Book of Mormon) DOESN'T
TALK ABOUT JESUS. WHY DO YOU GUYS READ IT ANYWAY?" She then sat back
down. The whole class was just awkwardly quiet. The investigators were
totally lost, they thought she was a member! Finally, someone shared a
scripture in the Bible about the priesthood and it was all figured out.
But still, that lady was terrifying! Also hilarious...
Spiritual story of the week: We are still meeting
with our fun Serbian friend, "V". We had taught him the Restoration and
then we did the Plan of Salvation. I was worried the entire program
because he never had any questions. Sometimes this can be a good thing,
say, in like a university or college. But when you are teaching someone
about eternal salvation, then they need to start asking questions, or
you (as the teacher) need to prod questions out of them. I don't know,
it's weird to explain. At the end of the program, I asked him if he had
questions. He said he had none, that it was very "világos"...I don't
know what that is in English..."enlightening", maybe...
That wasn't what I wanted to hear. So I tried another approach, I asked him what he thought it meant for him,
as "V". What it meant for his family. I don't really know where these
questions came from, but it provoked something from him. He sat there
for a bit thinking, then he said "This single lesson has answered all my
questions that I have in my life. I know what I need to do now. I want
to be nicer to people from what I've learned." Bazing! THAT is what I
wanted to hear. He also told us that before he had been really hesitant
about meeting with us, but now he wants to learn more and more!
...and, it's my year mark this Thursday! I cannot
believe it's been a full year since I've put my badge on for the first
time. Time goes by so fast, and the past 12 months feel like a blur. I
really feel like I just figured out how to be a missionary, and half my
mission is gone! It's insane. I've never been happier in my entire life
than now. That is a fact. I'm so excited to see what's on the
"other side of the hill" and what my Heavenly Father has in store for me
in this last year as a missionary.
But, we all know, that it's not about what's waiting on the other side, it's the climb.
I may have just quoted Miley Cyrus. #noregrets
I love you all! Be safe, and have a great Easter!
Sok Szeretettel,
Elder Giacalone
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