Kispest Week Twelve (Week 102)

lf you could have a patronus, what would it be? Mine would be a Hungarian Pulli dog. If you don't know what dog that is, look it up! I guess there was one in a Dr. Pepper commercial, the Hungarians are going crazy about it. I WANT ONE SO BAD.

The members are really starting to let the referal gates open and we are getting so many new "legit" people to teach! Many people whose spouses are faithful members and hadn't been interested in the discussions are suddenly opening up to us! Heck, we even set a bapdate with one of them last week! Setting those kind of goals with our new friends are a strange experience by all regards, mostly because...well, I won't be here anymore :( but, it'll all be ok.

Last week we did a zone training on what we learned from zone conference. We "gathered the children together" and poured our hearts into this training. I sure do love my zone. I consider them my good friends. I gave my departing testimony in front of them.

That was weird...very weird. I cried. We'll leave it at that. 

Last week was so beautiful. I know it's hard to describe a week as that, but it really was. Everything that went wrong the week before it was made up for, sometimes even doubled, with what happened last week. The power of prayer, when coupled with obedience and working hard can do miracles. This is the Lord's work, and in the words of Elder Kearon "sometimes he signs His work". For example, we set a goal for two new baptismal dates last week. We got five. Five. Most of them I won't even be here for, but that's ok. It's a strange sensation seeing the work go forward...without me. :( :) ! ?

Elder Zwingli brought up from his personal study something that I really liked. He talked about the Council in Heaven before we all came down here and started this grand adventure and we chatted a bit about those who were "Noble and Great". During our lunch break we were in the city and we sat down on a bench overlooking the river and talked about what it meant to be Noble and Great. In the end we boiled it down to those who were Noble and Great were those that endured, those who went against the crowd and followed God's plan and those who set an example for their brothers and sisters to follow.. So my "dying" challenge to myself and to you all is to be just that, "Noble and Great". Because you all are.

This week is my last week in Hungary...mixed emotions. Scared, a little nervous, and excited for what awaits me next week. But...I get to celebrate my birthday this week!! Yay! I'll be 21! Holy ancient.

Love you all...see you later! Some of you sooner than you think :)

Sok Szeretettel,

Elder Giacalone

Pics

Weekly Planning got a little...cold

Walk in the park by the US Embassy

It's me and the Lion from the "Firework" music video....and Elder Zwingli's finger..

Planning a baptism

Kispest Week Eleven (Week 101)

As much as I love Hungary, I am not going to miss it when people yell at me for not wearing a jacket. Like, swearing and calling me an idiot. Seriously, why do you even care?? Haha.

We had Elder Patrick Kearon of the Seventy come and visit our mission last week! Oh my gosh guys, it was AWESOME. So spiritual and everyone was touched. He is such a charasmatic British man! He said "Fantastic!" like fifty times! WOO. He used a scripture from...somewhere in the Bible...about how sometimes we need to ask Christ "What Lack I Yet?". It was very powerful and made you want to just look into your soul and want to do better. After the meeting, the zone leaders met with him for a special MLC, and it honestly answered some questions that I had been having recently, not just about helping my zone but also about...the "after-life"...

People always tell us as missionaries that we're weird. Whether we are knocking on doors, teaching English class or stopping people on the street. In one of our programs last week an investigator said this after being taught the Plan of Salvation: "I really, really like this...but it sure is weird. You guys are weird, too!" We really are a strange people, and I think that missionary work can seem strange to people as well. But it's the BEST, most WONDERFUL work in the world. The Gospel can come off as strange, with it's many "do's" and "don'ts", but we know that it brings so much happiness into our lives.

Even Elder Kearon said this just last week: "We're strange, we're peculiar...and I don't think you know just how wonderfully strange you are."

I know with all my heart that this Gospel is true. I love being weird :) I'm sad that I only have two more weeks of full-time service as a missionary. I'm excited to go home, but also nervous, and tinged with a bit of fear of the unknown, but I've still got time left!

So...be weird! You've all got it in you :) and smile! It's a wonderful time to be alive.

OMG I almost forgot...we had to shovel COW POOP last week on a farm in the boondocks! Second time on my mission, folks!! 

Sok Szeretettel,

Elder Giacalone

Kispest Week Eleven (Week 101)

As much as I love Hungary, I am not going to miss it when people yell at me for not wearing a jacket. Like, swearing and calling me an idiot. Seriously, why do you even care?? Haha.

We had Elder Patrick Kearon of the Seventy come and visit our mission last week! Oh my gosh guys, it was AWESOME. So spiritual and everyone was touched. He is such a charasmatic British man! He said "Fantastic!" like fifty times! WOO. He used a scripture from...somewhere in the Bible...about how sometimes we need to ask Christ "What Lack I Yet?". It was very powerful and made you want to just look into your soul and want to do better. After the meeting, the zone leaders met with him for a special MLC, and it honestly answered some questions that I had been having recently, not just about helping my zone but also about...the "after-life"...

People always tell us as missionaries that we're weird. Whether we are knocking on doors, teaching English class or stopping people on the street. In one of our programs last week an investigator said this after being taught the Plan of Salvation: "I really, really like this...but it sure is weird. You guys are weird, too!" We really are a strange people, and I think that missionary work can seem strange to people as well. But it's the BEST, most WONDERFUL work in the world. The Gospel can come off as strange, with it's many "do's" and "don'ts", but we know that it brings so much happiness into our lives.

Even Elder Kearon said this just last week: "We're strange, we're peculiar...and I don't think you know just how wonderfully strange you are."

I know with all my heart that this Gospel is true. I love being weird :) I'm sad that I only have two more weeks of full-time service as a missionary. I'm excited to go home, but also nervous, and tinged with a bit of fear of the unknown, but I've still got time left!

So...be weird! You've all got it in you :) and smile! It's a wonderful time to be alive.

OMG I almost forgot...we had to shovel COW POOP last week on a farm in the boondocks! Second time on my mission, folks!! 

Sok Szeretettel,

Elder Giacalone

Beautiful Pest

View of Pest

Kispest Week Ten (Week 100)

I HAVE BEEN A MISSIONARY FOR 100 (ONE HUNDRED) WEEKS.

That is insane!

So this past week was full of heart-to-hearts. Some with investigators, some with members, some with other missionaries, and even some with my dear companion. I felt like last week was all about communicating and figuring out what people wanted or needed me to do to help them. We prayed a lot last week that we would know what Heavenly Father would want us to teach His children, and we knew He helped us a lot last week.

Last week we made some chicken noodle soup and wanted to bring it over to one of our investigators with a leg problem. We knocked on her door forever and her dog was barking like crazy, but she didn't answer. Sketch. So we figured that maybe she was in the hospital again, as she wasn't answering her phone calls either. Elder Z took Elder N to the nearest hospital to see if she had checked in there, and I took Elder N (there are two lol) and a member and we kind of just wandered around the neighbour hood for a bit until the member offered a prayer for guidance. Elder N said that he felt we should go back one more time. We started knocking and ringing her doorbell. No answer. Then something weird happened, it was like someone was standing by my shoulder and said "Say her name". So I started yelling her name like some crazy lunatic. The others were like "What are you doing?"...then the door creaked open super slowly and her face creeped around the corner. Turns out that she had been in the bath and hadn't heard anything until my voice came through her bathroom window. Awkward. I still don't know how she couldn't hear the bell, but we were just happy to get a hold of her.

So that was cool. We went up to Gellert hegy this morning. It's like a mountain (I would say large hill instead but whatevs) right by the Danube river. We took lots of pictures and I just stared at the massive city that lay stretched out before me. I really, really love this city. It's like my favorite area. Heavenly Father has blessed me with so much lately. I can't believe that I only have three weeks left! That's nothing! I have no idea what to even think about. Guess I'll just keep trucking along until I kick the bucket. That's all I can do!

BUT SERIOUSLY. 100 WEEKS??

Love you all. Life is beautiful and Heavenly Father loves His children. The gospel is here to help us be happy in this life and so that we can return to live with Him someday. I love being a missionary, and it's sad to think that it's ending. But, I'll keep going!

Sok Szeretettel,

Elder Giacalone

Recent pics

Parliament for daysssss!

We went to an island in the middle of Budapest called Margit Sziget. Aren't we soo cute??

Nigh time at the bridge

Kispest Week Nine (Week 99)

My dears,

You guys, why are blessings so real? Nowadays, I get a lot of "dying advice" from old returned missionaries who talk about what they did their last month in their mission. Sadly enough, I have arrived at that point where 30 days from today, I report to the airport. Anyway, they all talk about how these last few weeks are where you see the most miracles and also the most trials. This is true.

Last week, one of our bapdates like vanished. Off the radar. No idea where she went. We knocked on her door and called her like crazy. Finally I got a hold of her and she had hurt her leg and was in the hospital. Those days when I didn't know what was going on with her were the worst in my entire mission. I realized then just how much I worry about others out here. Back at home, I don't think it would've bothered me a whole lot if a stranger hurt her leg, but out here it can ruin your entire week. We fasted and prayed that she'd be ok, and she's doing ok now. Whew. I'm pretty sure I lost like five pounds just stressing about her. But that's good, cause I need to lose weight. #dyingprobs

"D" and her daughter "M" are getting baptized! Woo! On Sunday, she wanted to bear her testimony. I was a little nervous because hello, investigator going to bear testimony, but I let her go. She went up and was just so awesome. She was like (paraphrased) "Hi, my name is 'D'. I'm an investigator, but I want to get baptized. I know that there is no such thing as chance, and that all things happen for a reason. I know Heavenly Father loves me as His daughter, and (looking at us) I'm grateful for His 'boys' finding me in English class and asking if I wanted to learn more about their church..." So by this point I'm bawling. Naturally. The members are all, like ALL OF THEM SWIVELED AROUND IN THEIR CHAIRS AND JUST STARED AT ME. ALL 90+ OF THEM. And they all just smiled and nodded as if to say "Atta kid. You got her."

And I think that's just the tip of the iceberg with what happened last week. Lately, I've been going through some serious home makeover of my testimony. Heavenly Father has been so good, so good to me. He's helped me learn this crazy language and help some His children come home. I love Pest. I love it so much. Sometimes we are tracting, or streeting in the rain, or riding the Metro home, and it just hits me: this is all ending. That just stokes my flame to keep going hard.

I can't wait to see what these last thirty days have in store. Bring it on.

Sok Szeretettel,

Elder Giacalone

Kispest Week Eight (Week 98)

This week has been a really, really cool week. Like, serious amazingness is going down in Kispest.

We met with an investigator last week on splits and taught her  the Word of Wisdom. She went into the program having already heard about it from members and said that "without my green tea in the morning, I cannot function". And then pretty much said "convince me about it". Then, out of the blue a member walks into the room (this is in the branch house, forgot to mention that LOL) and says he wants to bear testimony of the Word of Wisdom. Then they just had a massive question and answer exchange for like five straight minutes. They kept looking at me, as if waiting for me to stop them, but I let them keep going. Then the member left because his infant daughter...well, messed herself. So he ran out of the room. The investigator just looked at us in silence. Elder B and I bore testimony to her of God keeping His promises contained in the Word of Wisdom, and of keeping promises in general. She looked up and said "I'll stop drinking green tea." MUSIC TO A MISSIONARY'S EARS EVERYBODY.

Another cool thing! Almost a year ago, I was serving in the city of Szeged in the south. I loved Szeged. I still love, and miss very much, Szeged. It seems that some of my investigators from the past are being re-contacted by the elders there and are meeting and progressing again! SO HAPPY.

We had a moment last week tracting where I knocked on a door in a ghetto 10 story building and a lady answered the door with her husband like hovering over her shoulder. I had just gotten out that "Hello! My friend and I are from America, and we are-" when she literally yelled "BYE!" and slammed, literallyslammed the door shut. Then we heard her telling her husband how pathetic I looked, how horrible my accent was, and how weird I was dressed. Talk about slam to my esteem. Elder Zwingli just kind of rubbed my back and said let's go to the next floor. So we go down a floor. I'm still incredibly mad at this lady, I mean who does she think she is? I was just done with that day. We had a program that we needed to leave for in a few minutes, and I wanted to leave. Then I thought that I'll do one more door. Sure enough, it was one of those awesome families that let us in and wanted us to come back.

What do we learn from these moments? I shared this story in a district meeting in northern Pest while on splits with the elders there. I said how we go through times like this when we are just done with everything and want our day over with. And it's right then, right when we are done, that there is someone just waiting for us to talk to. In real life, I mean not "missionary" life, sometimes God has things planned for us right when we are ready to give up and quit. But in all reality, there's something (or someone) right around the corner, or just down a flight or stairs, ready to hear you or what you have to say.

So keep an eye peeled :)

Lots of love and Sok Szeretettel,

Elder Giacalone