My dear family and mother,
This week has been a weird one. It is my first full week of real missionary
work and it is a little overwhelming, but I had some wonderful experiences, and
I feel my testimony grow stronger every day of how this is truly the one church
from God on earth. I basically tell that to everyone I meet, but most people
just look at you like your a psycopath. I think it is funny when they make that
face. I wish I could take a snap shot of it and send it to you.
Turns out being the 2nd counselor isn´t too much more work.
We just have to ehlp with the MLS every week, and meet with a few more members
every week to get to know them. I still am struggling a little bit getting to
know people because of the language barrier. Hungarians still use words I don´t
know. :) But I did give my first talk yesterday. It was more, I go up,
introduce myself, and then bear my testimony. It went well I think. I think
they actually understood me. At least I keep getting Hungarians that come up to
me and say I have amazing Hungarian for only being here for two weeks.
Hopefully those compliments are out of sincerity rather than pity.
Why?!?!? Why, does BYU keep doing the same thing every year. Good thing I am
not home or I may just be upset about it. Also I finally had my first real meal
yesterday! It reminded me of your cooking, but of course yours is better. So
Elder and Sister Scott, who are the Senior missionaries here, made an American
dinner yesterday for Elder Wright and I, the district President who was
visting, a couple members, a new member, and a nonmember. It was sooo good.
Roast beef, potatos... the whole lot. It felt good to eat something like that.
In short, I wish I was there for those atomic buffalo turds.
My Sunday was wonderful because I finally got to take the Sacrament after a
couple weeks. I always feel my spirit starts to drag a heavy weight with all
the temptations, all the sins I do and see others do. The work I put on my
spirit is a burden to hold, but I always love the Sacrament, because I feel
that burden lifted, and I become relieved from any worry or sin as I renew my
covenants worthily. I am so grateful for the Sacrament.
Conference I will probably hear parts of a week after it happens when it has
been translated into Hungarian. That also means I´ll probably only hear it in
Hungarian, so I won´t really understand it. General Authorities use big words
which I won´t understand well in Hungarian. We will see how it goes though.
I want you to know I am really trying to do my best out here.
I should´ve bought a jacket when you told me Dad. Last Wednesday after doing
some tracting planning with the other missionaries here, we left our apartment,
with no jackets, at around 6:30pm to finish the day. It was lightly raining,
but it wasn´t bad. We were heading to an area that is about a 15-20 minute
walk. About 15 minutes in we realized we went the wrong way and at the same
time, the rain was really coming down. We were soaked, and becoming cold. That
is when I had my first changing moment in my mission. Although it was wretched
outside, with the rain and lightning, I had to make a choice. Will I end my day
around and 1hr and 15min early, or will I have faith in God´s commandments and
move on. Well I committed myself before coming out here I was not going to
slack off. My two greatest worries are one, when I leave my mission and pray to
God to ask if I did it well, he tells me back, I didn´t give it my all, and the
second, is if I agree with God. Well in that moment I told my trainer we have
to keep going. 10 minutes later we got to the street we needed to tract, and
started on the first house. Nothing, of course, I mean, that´d be too easy.
After that we just had people just come to there window and wave us away
because they didn´t want to come out.
Oh there is something you should know about houses here. Most houses here
you ring a doorbell at the gate that surrounds the house, and the people in the
house will usually come out and talk, or they´ll just yell out their windows,
or they´ll look out the window and then just ignore you. Very rare to get
let-ins, people are just more secluded here.
So here we are completely soaked yelling at people through a window in which
they can´t even hear me, and probably not understanding me because my Hungarian
is no good, and just wondering if anything will happen this night. Through out
this whole time I kept in my mind, "it´s always the last house, it´s
always the last house," and also was praying to God for a miracle. Well a
miracle came, and it wasn´t the last house. About at the 7th house we rang,
without saying anything, this lady runs out and unlocks the gate and rushed us
into her house to get us warm and dry again. (We were really weirded out by
this, because no one ever just runs out and lets you in. It´s more like,
"Nem Akarok! Nem Akarok! I don´t want! I don´t want!" As they slowly
back away from you like your holding a gun.) Anyway, were are standing in this
ladies house, dripping with water and she starts handing us towels and fruit
tea, and all this stuff to get us warm. After a few minutes of this I finally
asked if we could share a message with her for her kindness to us. We ended up
teaching her about the Restoration, and she was asking questions, and she
pulled out her 100 year bible that her Grandmother owned, and I was able to
bear many powerful testimonies, and it was the first real moment to be able to
teach somone the truth of the gospel and watch as their mind and their soul
became enlightened through their eyes. After about 40 minutes of teaching we
asked to end with a prayer (we did start with a prayer as well) and then we
left. This lady does have a husband and two sons in their 20´s living with her,
and hopefully this week we will be meeting with her again. But when we left it,
had stopped raining, and I reflected on what had happened and I am grateful
that we had decded to endure, because she probably would have not let us in if
it had not been for the rain. the rain was a gift from God so we could find
this sweet soul and help her, at least once, to feel God´s love. Even if she
doesn´t join, I think that experience has changed my life, and her life
forever.
Second experience worth mentioning in my short time with you was actually
yesterday. Yesterday we had no programs or anything planned. (They call
lessons, programs) We had 6+ hours to just find. It was really daunting to come
into a day knowing that you had a day like that. Well we did it. We started in
Ostoros to finish up an area, but after two hours this "official"
kicked us out, because he said we needed a permit. But we didn´t stop there, we
just went to another area in Eger and tracted there. We tracted for over 6
hours yesterday to only recieve two iffy numbers. I believe yesterday was more
of a day to prove to God that I will try to work for him. We have to prove our
faith to God, and then he grants you even greater blessings. I read a quote
from Elder Ballard from his book "Our Search for Happiness". It said,
"You can never do more for the Lord, than what the Lord does for
you." This means a lot to me, because I know God will strengthen me in
whatever I do. This quote is now on my mirror.
Well this has been my week, many hours of finding, with few lessons, but I have
learned a lot, and we have quite a few numbers to call, so we are hoping for
more lessons this week. Because we have been handing out about 10 BOM´s every
week these last couple weeks, our branch is almost out of BOM´s to give. We
can´t get more until next Monday when we go to Buda for new missionary
training. So we really are hoping for many lessons this week.
With much love and gratitude and love for all the love and prayers I feel from
you all
Nagyon szeretlek titeket
Decker
