Week 34

Hello all!

     Well another week has come and gone and what a week it has been. I hope that it has been just as good for you as it has for me. I am learning each week and that is something I hope to do for the rest of my life. I have had many opportunities to learn more about the gospel, and to find the "tender mercies" of the Lord. What a blessing it is to be here in Hungary.

     Tuesday: We met with Z and he brought up a very interesting subject. He said that he knew a kid in high school who just recently committed suicide. This was very sad to hear about, and it always is. But the question came next. He asked if there was any way to do his temple work so that he could have the opportunity to accept the gospel in the next life. Wow. I could not believe what I heard. Here he is, Z, a 23 year old male who is not yet a member but wants to give his friends a chance to accept this too. He is a very strong man, and I look up to him. Then we went over to N's house and she made us a little dinner and then we all made pancakes!:) Well, I made pancakes and showed them how haha. But it was super fun because we got to hang out with her and her sister and talk about random stuff! And also the church and what is inside of it. N leaves to Latvia in August and I hope she continues to meet with the missionaries. That would be really good to hear about.

     Wednesday: We met with professor E and watched the Restoration film with her. She really liked it and you can tell at the end of that film that the Spirit is always brought into the lesson. I love that film and I love how we can use it in our lessons. What a blessing. Then we met with Z again and this time he told us he stayed up late reading in Alma! Boom baby!!! He just keeps moving forward! Elder Cutler and I then went and sat in Szécseny Tér(the square in the city) and just talked for like the like 10 minutes of our day before we went home. And the funny thing was that a woman who was wearing toilet paper on her head kinda like the shape of a veil on a bride came to us and asked in English if we could join her for a picture because she is getting married tomorrow. So we said why not ha. That was super funny. And we got the church in their memories forever in a picture:) Wahoo!

     Thursday: Ha, today we met with Z again and this time he came with a presentation about "Chanel". This luxurious brand. We talked about it and learned about it and it was quite interesting. I learned a lot about perfume and cologne and now I feel like an expert;) Ha, not really. There is a lot of complicated stuff in that field of study. Then we met with E and E again and talked a little about the Book of Mormon. They were super nice and unfortunately had to leave early. Then we met with the other E haha, and she is super cool too. She told us of some really good restaurants here in Pécs and stuff like that. She too had to leave early though. Next time:)

     Friday: We went to district meeting and Elder Cox gave the spiritual thought. Like wow. I have never heard anything so awesome in my whole life! He is a really good kid and he really knows his stuff. He talked about Christ and the Atonement being like Calculus. For all you nerds out there, he related derivatives to the Atonement. Because everytime you take the derivative of a function for example, y=x^2, then it turns into y=2x because of the power function. Well, what happens is the line that is not straight (y=x^2) is then made straight by taking the derivative of it. And that is what the Atonement does! It takes all of our faults and our weaknesses and makes them stronger! Makes them in line with the Savior. And he also said that the word derivative actually means "from the stream" and we all know that Christ is the living waters. So what do you know! It all relates!!!!:) Then we met with Z and he told us he was feeling like he was 70% to baptism now! That is going great! Then we met with S and it was good to meet with him. It had been a long time and we talked about some friends he had and we invited them to meet with us too:)

     Saturday: We woke up nice and early and went on a hike with E and some friends she invited! This is the professor E:) The hike started at 7am  and ended at... 8pm. Ya, it was 40 K or about 25 miles. Ya it was super long and our bodies felt terrible afterwards ha. But the good news is we got to have fun in nature and see more of Pécs and what she has to offer, AND! Talk to E and her friends about the church! Oh how I love these kind of days! We talked to so many people about the church and about why we are here and a lot of people found in interesting and want to meet with us! I cannot wait to hear from them! Also on this hike, I had a lot of time to think. And I thought about how Joseph Smith too was in a beautiful grove of trees and the kind of things that happened to him there. I also pondered on the trees, and how strong their roots were to help them grow nice and tall. That is how our testimonies need to be, like roots in the earth. When our testimonies are strong, then it is much harder for something or someone to knock us over. But if we are weak and small, then someone can bend over and just pluck us out of the ground. Let us all look at ourselves and find the weak spots, and follow the Savior's example and make them stronger:)

     Sunday: We went to church and professor E came with us:) She had a really good time and liked it a lot. She came up to me and Cutler before she left and said to me that secretly in March she was super happy that I stayed. She was sad Elder Thomas  left, but she was super happy I stayed too. I was so beyond joy to hear that. This weekend has to be one of the best in my whole life. I love the mission. I  love this church. I love my family, my friends, and my companions. I love this people. I know that Christ lives. There is no doubt in my mind. And there is no doubt in my mind that he is coming again. I look forward to that day and await its arrival. I love you all, and miss you.
 

Nichols Elder