First of all, shout out to my sister who got all up and MARRIED this week!! whaddup Erin Minhondo?!

First of all, shout out to my sister who got all up and MARRIED this week!! whaddup Erin Minhondo?! 

For this side of the world, this week was pretty fantastic if I do say so myself. I need to explain you guys my investigator named Dezső. hahahah every single time i meet with this man I fall in love with him. not in a creepy "I'm in love with a 63 year old man" kinda of way, more like a "Everything this 63 year old man does is adorable, and endearing" kind of way. Anyway, this weekend we went to meet with him, with one of our member present., And... The whole thing just went haywire. haha (also i dont think I have used the word haywire since 1904 and I feel like an old british néni sipping tea because I used that word) anyway,

we went to meet with him, and first of all, Sister Mason decided to open up her drink mid lesson while our member present was talking, But, the drink just exploded and she ended up with a giant puddle on her black pencil skirt, Meanwhile, I could not stop laughing, while she tried to express that it was in fact SODA that was accumulated in a pile on her skirt. Then our member present starting telling our investigator that she has seen ghosts. So... if you ask me THAT LESSON WAS A SUCCESS. But nobody worry because Dezső then came to church with us, and during testimony meeting a loud, jazzy phone started going off, which did indeed belong to Dezső. but he didn't know how to make the sound stop.  He just began frantically hitting his phone, searching for a way to answer it. Then when he did he proceeded to put the phone on speaker, and tell the person that he had to call him back. I love this man. 

This week I got to go on splits with Sister Schrad who is serving in Budapest, She was in the same group as Sister Jensen, the sister i trained, so I had heard SO much about her. She is the coolest person, and we met with this man named Páli, who has been meeting with the missionaries for more than a year.

  On our way over there, we felt like we should just have a DTR with this homie. we went in there, and talked about baptism, and how if the desires of his heart are to help others, to bear one anothers burdens, to wear the name of Christ for the rest of our lives, to tie covenants with God, what does he have against being baptized? (moziás 18) He told us that he will be praying about baptism, which is a huge step for him. I believe in splits miracles ladies and gentleman. 

Fun facts of the week:

1. An american family in the ward brought us a GIANT tub of peanut butter, and american cheddar cheese. 

2. we were walking on the street and these people came up and gave us delicous chocolate bar because we are women #nőnap 

3. I brought my guitar to angol óra (the english class we teach as missionaries) and we composed a beautiful song about sports with 16 hungarians

4. I love my companion kate mason.

SPIRITUALSÁG:

I have been thinking a lot about faith this week, what it is, how to find it, how to build on it, and how to keep it. In Hungarian, the word for faith is "hit" which is really frustrating, because it is derived from the word "hinni" which means "to believe" so when we teach hungarians about faith, all they hear is that it is to believe in something, but faith is SO much more than that. faith is an action word. "faith without works is dead" and i have found that to be nothing but true. Faith is something that is a decision. You have to decide to have a believing heart, and then you have to let the faith that you have, the little belief that you might feel, change you. You have to let it push you to become better.

szeretlek titeket. legyetek önmagatok 

with lots of love, 

Swenson nővér 

1.  What are your plans for Pday today?

we are going to this amazing place for lunch that me and sister mason discovered in downtown budapest, and then going to explore margít sziget

2.  Does this apartment have a washer and dryer?

a washer yes, dryers dont exist in hungary so no haha

3.  Do they have Stake Conferences there?
yes they do! my ward is the stake center

4.  What is your companions best quality?

we are NEVER not laughing. she is so organized, she has all of these really happy things that make us happy all of the time, she is such a real human being, but still such a good missionary, she is so fun to talk to, honestly she is just my best friend haha i am too lucky.

5.  Do mores hungarians speak English in Pest?

YES.

6.  What American food restaurants are there in Pest?

TGIF, pizza hut, subway, haha just weird things like that!

7.  Are all of your splits in Budapest, or do you go out to the country?
our zone is the budapest zone so we just stay in budapest, and it is actually the nicest thing ever!

8.  Quick...funny "meeting a Hungarian story".

uhmmm yesterday one in broken english told me and my companion that blonde is his favorite color ahhh

9.  What is one Hungarian tradition you want to keep?

I will always celebrate st. mikulás napja its where the kids on the 6th of christmas put their shoes in their window and if they were good then he will bring them candy!

10.  You just have to know how Loved you are...You do, right?

haha i think sooo!

TIP: If you live in Budapest, make sure you have a companion named Mason nővér.

TIP: If you live in budapest, make sure you have a companion named Mason nővér. Otherwise you will not have any clue what you are doing, how to use a metro, which bus to get on, and you will walk around in awe everywhere you go.

So you all need to know that this transfer is a dream come true. Mason nővér is probably the funniest human being I have ever met and we are having so much fun, working so hard, and living the dream. Pest is just amazing. I had NO clue how different serving in the city would be. We literally always have something to do, all of our transportation is metros, or buses or tram, There are ALWAYS people outside, it's fantastic :') Also,  sad fact minute: Mason and I were both trained by Withers Nővér, and she went home last week, back to the telestial world. isten veled míg újra látlak.

This week just went by so quickly. Thursday we had the first district meeting with our new district. our district is made up of me, Sister Mason from Laguna Beach, California,  Elder Ure from Highland Utah, And Elder Veres from Frezno California. so as you can tell they are all much cooler than me. 

Pest is a part of the International ward (yes i do mean ward, not branch, this thing is GIANT), and church was probably the weirdest experience ever, but so cool at the same time. The whole sacrament meeting is translated, so if there is a speaker speaking Hungarian, it is translated to english, and visa versa. I heard the sacrament prayer in English for the first time in over a year! There are tons of American families and they are all just so nice, and it is going to be such a cool experience serving in this ward. I felt like i was in this weird pot of americanness and hungariannes and at first I  thought it was so weird, then I realized that I, myself, am a weird mixture of hungarianness and americanness now so i guess its the exact place I should be right?

 

My spritual thought today comes from J. Devon Cornish the man himself. This was my absolute favorite talk last conference.

"Please, my beloved brothers and sisters, we must stop comparing ourselves to others. We torture ourselves needlessly by competing and comparing. We falsely judge our selfworth by the things  we do or don’t have and by the opinions of others. If we must compare, let us compare how we weare in the past to how we are today even to how we want to be in the future. The only opinion of us that matters is what our Heavenly Father thinks of us. Please sincerely ask Him what He thinks of you. He will love and correct but never discourage us; that is Satan’s trick."

This is so true. this quote has honestly changed my mission, and my life. DON NOT  compare yourself to anyone, that is never going to do any good. Focus on yourself. focus on becoming a better person day by day. Really just like Elder Cornish said, all that matters is what our Heavenly Father thinks of you. 

I LOVE YOU ALL. just remember that always. 

mind ezt mondtam ezeket a dolgokat Jézus Krisztus szent nevében, amen. 

sok szeretettel, 

Swenson Nővér

1.  So, what does one do in Pest on a Pday?

we are going to go out to eat, and bowling with the elders, and just explore this crazy place 

2.  Tell me all about your new WARD!!

haha i talked all about it in my email! kinda crazy that it is a ward right?

3.  Do you have a bigger apartment?  Same size?
its around the same size, but SO much nicer haha like it is incredible. 

4.  Did all of your stuff fit in your suitcase?

hahah i tried just so hard! i aquired so much stuff in veszprém

5.  How big is your district?

us and two elders!

6.  Where is your companion from?

Laguna Beach, California

7.  Does the hungarian sound the same in the city as the country?

yes it does!
8.  Are you a professional at riding hungarian buses?

hahaha no i literally just follow mason around everywhere, when she leaves i am going to get lost every single day

9.  Any dinner with members this week?

yes a member took us to IKEA cause i live in the most rendes place in the whole world

10. Did you know I live and breathe for Mondays!!!!

STORY OF MY LIFE 

"Hat, mit is mondjak?" What should i even say?

We got our transfer calls this morning, and I got a nice little call from President Szabadkai informing me that I will be going to the BEAUTIFUL, NAGY city Pest, with my dream companion, Mason nővér. She is one group ahead of me, and I need you all to know that dreams come true. I am SO sad to be leaving Veszprém, but i cannot wait for this adventure that this next 8 weeks is going to bring. 

This week I was able to watch one of our investigators, Rita, be baptized by her 18 year old son Oliver, who has been a member for a little over a year. You guys, I can honestly say it was a moment I will absolutely never, ever forget. Rita has just taught me countless things while we have been meeting her, I am SO humbled, and so grateful for the opportunity I have had to associate with such an amazing human. Some advice that she gave Oliver when he wanted to be baptized has stuck with me. She told him "If you want to be baptized, do it. but you dont go get baptized because the missionaries want you to, because you think I will get baptized, because its something 'different' to do, you get baptized because you believe in this, and you are going to live this the rest of your life"  and that is EXACTLY what she did when she decided to be baptized.

 I have never realized how much faith can change a person. It didn't matter what we were teaching her, or that it was even me and Sister Jensen doing the teaching for that matter, what mattered was that Rita had made a decision, and she had felt the spirit in church, and the prompting to change, and she did not look back. She quit coffee in 3 days, stopped smoking, and set the most touching example for me on how to live.  Also there was the most adoreable family that got baptized on Saturday that the Elders have been teaching, So saturday was basically the best day of all of our lives. Quite the way to leave a city AMIRIGHHHT?

In other news one of our investigators, who I promise is the coolest person i have ever met on this earth, drew a picture of me. Also I have this strong, passionate hate for cats, but she has a cat, Whos name is cat. He has one eye, and I actually think it's really cool and I don't know how this is happening.

Life is too good. now i am going to write some advice, that is mainly for me, but you guys can take what you would like from it. ENJOY where are are in life. live every single second of it. don't think forward, dont think backward, think right now, this day. make this day good. make this day happy. happiness is a choice. 

Next week i will be sending lots of love from my house in budaPEST. holler. 

-Swenson out

 

1:  Do you actually get a Pday on transfer week, or is your pday a moving day?

yes yes we do! its basically a day to pack, and say bye, but we still get one!

2.  Is your suitcase going to be able to make the move?

yes, we hope haha 

3.  How are your bedsheets holding up?

great!

4.  Are your winter shoes going to make it through the winter?

yes yes, but i am definitely going to have to get some new summer shoes, those guys did not make it through the winter haha

5.  Did you make sure to get good pictures of your apartment?

of course haha 

6.  What do you usually eat for breakfast?

literally every day i eat a yogurt, apple, banana, and oat parfait

7.  Has your schedule changed much since the new "flexibility"

honestly yes! its been amazing. 

8.  How many sisters are there in your whole mission?

around 27!

9.  Have you had any bad illness this winter?

surprisingly, no!

10.  Did you know I think about you ALL THE TIME?  I mean really, all the time.  Love you so much cutie.

hahaha TELL ME ABOUT IT. i love you toooooo!

First and most importantly I need to tell you all that I have received the information this week, while tracting a 10 storey in Hungary, from a man named Kereti Roland,  that Hungarian is the actually the language that we will be speaking in Heaven. So if I were you guys, I would start to study. I repeat, this is a very valid source i received my information from. 

Second, CAN YOU GUYS SAY ONE YEARRRRRRR??? I hit my year mark this week and its kinda the weirdest feeling ever. I feel like I might have been on my mission since Vietnam, but then I feel like I just left yesterday, time is a weird world on a mission. To celebrate we traditionally burned my skirt, and Elder Thomas and Elder Norris white shirts. 

This week we had interviews with President Szabadkai in Dunaújváros for the upcoming transfer next week. I need you guys to know that President Szabadkai is just the best guy ever, and he really just loves us missionaries so much.  I am SO grateful for him and the dilligent work he does for us missionaries, and the church here in Hungary.

This week I got an email from my brother in law (SHOUT OUT WHAT UP SPENC) and he said this "if you are ever having a hard time with something, actually make the mental step of deciding on purpose that it isn't hard, you'll be amazed at how much it helps! " and that is just something that has been on my mind so much this week. Our attitude, our mindset, our way of handling hard times, are absolutely our decision. we decide if we are going to be happy when we wake up in the morning, we decide if we are going to give all of our efforts to something. I can only speak from my own experience but out here on a mission, we have every single reason in the world to have a bad day, every single day. We are thousands of miles away from our home, our family, our friends, we are screamed at and our beliefs are questioned every single day. Haha honestly we could have a terrible 18 months out here on our missions, but its ALL about perspective. It's all about deciding to smile, to talk to that person you don't want to talk to, to tract that door you don't want to tract. WE decide what we are going to make of our lives. 

I HAVE SO MUCH LOVE IN MY SOUL FOR YOU ALL. have the best weekzz!!!

- LindZ monAy 

1.  All ready for your baptism this Week?

YES!!! everything is in order and we cannot even wait!!!

2.  What did you do for Pday today?
Hike around veszprém with Lászlo. super rad

3.  Do you Know what your branch president does for a living?

honestly.. haha no i do not!

4.  Do you have any youth in your branch?  Do they ever get together for activities?

yes we do, and yes they do! there is about probably 7 young kids in the branch, like high school aged 
5.  Do they ever talk about your mission getting iPads?

actually, president talked about it in his interview with jensen, that he wants them, but i dont really know whats going to happen with that haha

6.  What is your favorite Hungarian main dish?  Do you know how to make it?

absolutely paprikás csirke or töltött paprika . and yes i do holy get ready for the yummiest thing of your life

7.  What school is your companion going to go to after her mission?

BYU BYU BYU BYU

8.  Do you get the copy of your blog that I send out every week?

yes i do! and you are still the best ever for doing that!

9.  Do you think they have bigfoots in Hungary?
haha i actually have never asked that! they have all these weird hungarian myths and such so i would not be surprised.

10.  Did you know that I think you have THE best sense of humor...ever!!!!

haha 

Thank You

First of all i need to start this letter with a THANK YOU. I got all of the kind words that you all wrote me this week for christmas. (My package got lost in mail, haha what do we expect people this is a typical day in the life of Lindsi Swenson) But honestly, I just cannot get over how blessed I am, and how much I needed those, and how thankful I am for the amazing people my Heavenly Father has placed into my life. I just look up to you all so much its unreal. 

How does one accurately describe this week? I still don't know but I am just going to type and see what happens.  Haha this week started with the most disgusting weather I have ever seen in my life, like I am shocked that this whole country isn't in a deep hole of depression, but I mean I guess they kinda are, you know communism and such (awkward transition) annyyyway, we had another little tracting miracle this week, where our Heavenly Father just stopped me right in my tracks and told me "no lindsi, you're wrong, do it my way" and so we went to the complete opposite side of the city, and tracted this building, and found THE CUTEST little family who had this 14 year old daughter.    It took a total of 3 seconds before we were wearing tiaras, and sunglasses, and dancing to a Frozen song coming out of a toy car stereo (hahahaha the little girl is actually 4 years old but I accidentally typed a 1 and kept it because i like the idea of you guys picturing us dancing around like that with someone who would definitely be way too old for that sort of nonsense).

Right after that little miracle we ice skated over to our investigator Noras house, and I am not joking you, I think I had the most spiritual lesson of my whole entire mission. I have absolutely never felt the guidance of the Holy Ghost more apparently, I think ever in my life. 

At one point in time she told us that she feels like God and Jesus don't love her sometimes, and that sometimes they are not proud of her. I have never testified harder that God is so proud of her. I think honestly that was Gods was also telling me that he is proud of me as well. Hearing Nora say that he doesn't love her, was absolutely absurd to me! of course he loves her! of course he is proud of her! She is his daughter, Christ is her brother, and he payed for her sins BECAUSE he loves her.  But, how many times have I thought that exact same thing in my life? God really taught me so much in that lesson, and it just built onto my testimony so much that this is the true church.

 Nora ended up accepting our invitation, and driving us to church on Sunday!!! when Nora picked us up she told me that I was "shining" but that is probably because i had the biggest dumbest smile on my face because i was so excited she was coming to church. 

Rita is doing amazing and her baptism is still set for February 18. Rita will be getting baptized, and also a family that the elders are meeting with. We are soo excited. I tell you people there are just way too many miracles happening over here in the szep város of Veszprém. 

na, csillagaim, befejeznem kell, de hálás vagyok értitek. legyetek bátrak. ne felejtetek el hogy isten mindig néz le ránk, és mindig hallgat az imáinkra. azt meg mondtam őszintén. 

sok szeretettel mindenkinek, 

Swenson nővér

 

Questions
1.  Pday activity today?

cards with the elders!

2.  Do you just have one pillow to sleep with?  Is that enough?

haha i have somehow managed to find three so in this apartment i have been fine!

3.  So, what does your new schedule look like since your schedule change?

uhm, basically its our decision. we still have exercise, study, and now planning in the morning, and then lunch at somepoint, and dinner, but where we put our other studies like language, and 12 week, are our decision now. so it just completely depends on the day, and on the work!

4.  How is your shoulder feeling?

haha it is hangin in there!

5.  How is the rest of your body?  Knee, ankle????  My cute little orthopedically challenged girl!!

haha life is good, no complaints here!
6.  Do many hungarians in your city speak English?

uhm, yes there are a couple!!
7.  What is your favorite Hungarian goody?

linzerek oh my heavens i am obsessed with those. they are basically like a sugar cookie with some peach jam in the middle, but that description just does not do those bad boys any justice whatsoever

8.  What do you talk about in between knocking on doors when you are knocking on doors?

hahah usually we save all of our exciting life stories for tracting so we just talk about life basically!

9.  When you think of your area, what are you going to remember the most about it 10 years from now?

probably the GORGEOUS view of vesprém looking down from the castle and seeing all the gorgeous red roof tops that remind me so much of this cute countr