Talk less, Smile more.

I have no time my friends and family, so this is going to be so quick, I am sorry, I know you all were just anxiously waiting the whole entire week for updates from me, but I have failed you. and if you could all stop YELLING AT ME. that would be nice. 

+~!!!!!HiGhLiGhTz!!!!!~+

1. we, the Pest sisters living in the 13th district, by the side of the Duna, are the proud new owners of a brand new, SAMSUNG MICROWAVE. ladies and gentleman dreams come true. it's stainless steel :')

2. we had splits in Dunaújváros and got fagyi a total of 3 times in a 24 hour split. if you do the math then yes you will realize that that is too much, but that i have no shame. 

3. We weekly planned by the Duna, and realized once again how we are WAY TOO BLESSED. 

This week I have realized the overwhelming power of the spirit in our work. I am so thankful to be able to be an instrument in the hands of God, and to be here in this beautiful ország. If you just let him, God will guide you, he will lift you, and he will help you. I believe that with my whole heart. 

sok szeretettel homies

Swenson nővér

1.  Pday activity today? we are cooking with sister szabadkai!! she is teaching us how to make my favorite meal hortobágyi palacsinták. 

2.  What do you do at district meetings? we ususally just takl about our work, our investigators, then we have some spiritual thing that elder jones does!

3.  Do any of the missionaries in Hungary have a car?  A bicycle???? cars? no one! bicycle, there are a couple of companionships!

4.  Do people in Hungary generally have their own cars, or do they use public transportation? uhm a lot of people just use public transportation for sure. 

5.  What is the funniest "no" you have ever gotten at a doorway? hahah probably the time that the man told me that he is a

6.  What time do you have to be in to your apartment for the night?  What time does it get dark? we have to be in our apartment by 9, and it has started to get dark around like 7ish? maybe a little later?

7.  Does your companion speak any other language? nope

8.  Does your mission president's wife speak English very well? yes she does, she is amazing

9.  How many times did you eat with members this past week? actually none this past week.

10.  YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!!! i adore youuuuu 

You can change your life if you can choose to be happy.

This week we had the absolute pleasure of having a member of the Presidency of the Quorum of the Seventy come and visit our mission. My testimony of prophets and apostles has been magnified this week. From the moment that Elder Kearon walked into the room you could literally feel that he was called of God. It was such an amazing feeling to be standing with a group of missionaries, who had all been searching for questions to be answered in a conference, with one of God's chosen prophets. i will absolutely NEVER forget this week. The things that I learned are beyond too lengthy to write in an email, but I do want to focus on one(or maybe two) of the points.

We THRIVE in opposition: you guys, think for about two seconds of the history of our church. Have we ever had a nice, flower lined path to walk unharmed to our destination? The answer is absolutely not. If you look at us statistically, we are so small, but that is what I am so grateful for. We do fantastic when we face impossible odds. I was thinking a lot about Joseph Smith. He lived a whole LIFE of opposition after his earth altering moment in the Sacred Grove, But I am nothing but thankful for that man's tenacity, For him facing the impossible odds that layed before him. Because of joseph Smith, I can be here today in Hungary, facing my impossible odds, and witnessing God's miracles every single day of my life. We as latter day saints thrive in opposition. Elder Kearon talked about Elder Ballard's perspective. His attitude when they go out to work is "lets go out and get ridiculed" this stemming from the apostle paul in the new testament. I LOVED that. I know that the normal world is a little bit different than missionary life, and you aren't having people reject you constantly about your beliefs, but we all face little types of opposition daily. and I think we should all apply Elder Ballards perspective. and hey, think of who we are taking all of this opposition for. It's worth it friends.

On a lighter note hahahah I GOT TO TALK TO MY BEAUTIFUL MOTHER AND PERFECT FAMILY AND CANDACE YESTERDAY and it was too good to be true. I feel it apropos to give my amazing mother the shout out she deserves. Every single time I show the hungarian people the picture of my mother, I tell that that she is the most Christ like person I have ever met in my life.

She is never not giving of herself, to help other people. She has been my rock out here on my mission, sends me more packages than I deserve.  There hasn't been a week where i didn't have a perfect email from her, and she wakes up at literally 3 in the morning every week to chat with me. I adore her, i want to be half as  good of a person as she is, and I get to see her IN LESS THAN THREE MONTHS.

sok szeretettel barataim, sok szeretettel

swenson nővér 

1.  So, what did you end up doing after your phone call for Mother's Day?

we got fed the most fantastic AMERICAN dinner (that involved hidden valley ranch) :') in the whole world. we even got a brownie trifle for dessert, GOD BLESS AMERICANS

 2.  What do you have planned for Pday today?

we are going to go to heros square with the elders wayyyy rad investigators. i am super excited!

 3.  What is the balance of Hungarians and Americans in your ward?  Are there any other nationalities that are pretty prevalent?

uhm, there is definitely more hungarians than americans, there is a guy from japan, and a couple of people from africa! but nothing much other than that!

 4.  Have the Elders in your district been out for a long time?  Except the greeny...Don't you have one of those? uhm not really actually! elder ure has been out for 4 months more than i have, then everyone else is at lease 2 groups below me!

 5.  When the American members have you over for dinner do they make American ish foods?

yes they do because americans just get it.

 6. When was the last time you had a pizza?

honestly, probably on the night we celebrated the night before the night before christmas in veszprém!

 7.  Do they celebrate Mother's Day in Hungary?

yes they do but its a week before american mothers day

 8.  Do you go to ward council in this ward?

we do as missionarys, yes, but me and sister morris live an hour away from the church and the elders live like 3 minutes away so they usually go.

 9.  Do you have a good ward mission leader in your ward?

yah he is doing great!

 10.  You are BEAUTIFUL.  Seeing you today made my mamma heart burst at the seams.  Love you so much.

you already know i love you, SO MUCH MORE. it was so good talking to you. 

Repült a hetünk.

But really this week went by so fast. That could be because pday wasn't on a tuesday this week but like why am I even typing this out nobody cares hahah. 

I don't have too much time, but this week on Thursday we had a photographer come and take pictures of me and sister Morris, like doing missionary work, So basically I am going to be the cover of the next Preach my Gospel people. Anette (the photographer) is the coolest human ever. She is from Australia, served her mission in Germany, and was so fun to be with all day. It was fun because we got to take her to see this investigator  named Dávid in the hospital. It was fantastic because the hospital we took her too was the sketchiest thing, like basically this huge unfinished building, and we just like walked right into davids place in the hospital. welcome to Hungary friends. 

We got to go to PÉCS for splits this week. Pécs is like the coveted city in our mission, It is where our mission president and his wife are from.  There is a reason why it is coveted. That place is beyond gorgeous. I went on splits with cute Sister Christiansen who is in her first transfer. We did this sort of finding where we flip a coin to tell us whether to turn left, or right, or where to go. 

I have officially become a néni this week. I learned how to do kézi munka and now all I do on public transportation is hand stitch little flowers into a cloth. mom are you proud of me? :')

We had this huge miracle this week!!!!!! We had a family of 10 come into our branch house this week and tell us that they wanted to be baptized!!! and that would be really cool if that really happened but it didnt, I just dont have anything else exciting to say this week so I thought i would throw something like that in here. I am sorry. i am not funny I keep forgetting that. 

SOK SZERETETTEL,

swenson nővér 

1.  Pday activity

we are going to ZARA. which is my favorite place in this ország, and then we are buying a board game with the elders and playing it all day and so basically its my perfect day haha 

2.  What has been your favorite Pday activity on your mission so far?

haha we were literally just talking about this!! i have to say the time during christmas when we went to Székesfehérvár and did a trap house, and played monopoly, or when we got to go to Tihany with a member and hike next to the balaton. 

3.  Have you ever given your testimony in the Pest ward?

yes i have! and its actually SO weird because i spoke it in hungarian and they translated it to english, and it was so weird to like, hear my hungarian thoughts coming back at me in english?

4.  What did you have for dinner last night?

haha i was lame and just made some eggs, nothing too exciting

5.  Do they have sushi in Hungary?

YES. but i have yet to go because none of my comps like sushi. :(

6.  Do most families live in apartments?

haha yah mostly everyone lives in a 10 story kinda thing. 

7.  How big is the Young women's group in your ward?

there is like 1 hungarian, and 2 americans!

8.  Did you have any good dreams this week?

honestly i cant remember haha i am so sorry. 

9.  Does the MTC feel like a lifetime ago?

hahahah yes and no, time does not make sense out here honestly. 

10.  You know how much you are loved....right?

every single day. 

This weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek was just the craziest thing i have ever been apart of,

This weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek was just the craziest thing i have ever been apart of, life is busy, but its better that way you know?

So this week we had the opportunity to give a training for two of the zones. We talked so much about the spirit, and a lot Elder Rasbands talk  about following those "first promptings". The reason I bring this up is that we had basically the same training planned for both conferences, and it was the cooolest thing to me to see how different the two trainings were. The spirit really will lead, and guide us, We just HAVE to listen, and we HAVE to respond. 

So you know our miracle from last week Hadija? Ah I am just in love with this woman. we met with her 5 out of the 7 days this week, and it is really inspiring to see her faith, and see her desire to just honestly know more about this gospel. One of the days we went to her,  she started out by saying, "I was reading the Book of Mormon this morning out loud with my daughter, And I was praying that i could feel specifically the feeling that I felt when I was with you guys last time. and I did. I know that this is true, I know that this book is true, and I want to be baptized! Tell me everything i have to do!!!" hahahahahahahhaha we were SHOCKED. I felt like I was being pranked literally, Like that kid of thing does not happen in real life. 

I also had another way cool experience, Probably one of the biggest miracles of my mission. We were teaching Hadija about the plan of salvation, and all the little parts. We were talking about Jesus Christ, and the atonement, and why it is absolutely the center of the plan of salvation, and the importance of the atonement. We were discussing that, and we kind of had a little disconnect. Hadija just did not understand why Christ HAD to suffer, and why he had to go through all of that. I was just praying so hard to be able to answer this VERY important question, and to be able to help her concern. I opened my mouth to try to give her an answer, and all of the sudden, this fluent hungarian was just flowing out of my mouth, and this PERFECT answer, that honestly not even I knew, came out of my mouth. After I finished speaking she just said "I get it now, that makes perfect sense." I mean, you hear these stories all the time, but until it actually happens you don't really believe them. I know that the gift of tongues is real. i know that God cares so much about all of his children, and that he knew how important Hadijas question was, and he wanted her to have the answer. It was such a cool, faith building experience. 

In other news, yesterday we got to go sing finding with the elders in the park, it was fire. we saved several souls in the process.

A bearded man kissed my hand for a total of 30 seconds and i felt uncomfortable and endangered.

A memeber showed us how to make paprikás csirke, and nöl kedli this week and it I will be making that for you all the moment I arrive in the Americas (land of the free home of the brave)

Hungarians think that you will get a cold any time you walk outside without a jacket, so my investigator gave me a jacket with more faux fur than should exist on any jacket. I felt like a pimp.

Sister jensen is TRAINING. so this week i got to meet my granddaughter. the joys of family.

I am so happy to be here, life is so good, and have the best week okay every single one of youuuuuuu!

szívvel,

Swenson nővér

1.  Pday activity today?

I get to show all the new people in our district the parliament and the bazilika and i cannot wait cause they are going to love ittttt 

2.  What was the holiday on MOnday?  How do they celebrate?  What do they celebrate? haha it was just hungarian labor day. literally they celebrated by having everything in the world closed haha

3.  Is your companion good at door approaches?

no she sucks. haha yes she is good!

4.  Do they believe in Bigfoot in Hungary?

i have yet to ask haha

5.  How far do you have to go for your district meetings?

so we live an hour away from our branch house cause budapest is gigantic, so we travel a ton!

6.  Is it warming up there in Pest?

yes jött a tavasz :')

7.  Do they have "Mexican food" restaurants in Hungary?

haha uhm honestly know, the closest thing is this place called "gringos" and its kinda like a cafe rio idea? but dont think for four seconds that it is cafe rio, cause that would be blasphemous 

8.  Do people make eye contact in Pest?  Would it be a normal thing to pass by a hungarian and they say Hi and smile? actually thats a huge thing i love about hungary! when you walk by people on the streets, or like going up stairs and stuff, you always say hello! i love it

9.  Where is your favorite place to run there?

we have this little park by our house that i do some laps on! its great, through the city buidlings, its pretty nice

10.  Did you know that your hair is STUNNING?  It is so long and so pretty!!!

hahaha FINALLY. thank you! its trying its hardest to get long haha

Two of my companions Died this week......

2 of my companions died this week, and my only advice to the world is don't love anyone, because when you love people then they leave you and it rips out your heart and you are left sad and alone. Okay i am kidding.. but really. just don't do it.

Can you guys say pest ROUND 2? My new companion is Sister Morris, and she is the best thing to happen to me. She is from Washington DC, loves to bake, play sports, and she is the best little missionary.  She is in her fourth transfer, and we have already had way too much fun. We have another 10 week transfer coming our way and 10 weeks doesn't even feel like the longest thing I could ever imagine. It doesnt even feel that way no. We got another set of elders in our district. He is training and he is a greenie is as green as a beautiful american football field. 

We met with some really cool people this week. One of the members, Margit, is the best member missionary in the world. So the situation is that a member of our ward passed away this past week, and at the funeral, her niece came up to Margit and wanted to know what we believe in. Margit set up a lesson for us, and we went over this week and taught her all about the Plan of Salvation, and we are going to meet with her 3 times a week because she said if she believes this all and she wants to be.. wait for it... KERESZTELKEDNI'D. bapbapbaptized people. I just thought that this was the coolest example of how we never know how much people are watching us, how curious they are about us, and how much comfort this Gospel can give in hard times. It was really cool to tell these people that they can see their aunt again. I love this gospel so much, and the joy the knowledge of it brings. 

It was earth day so we took a picture with a tree

It was 420 so we took a picture with some weeds. 

have the best weeeeeeeeeeeek and i will talk to you all in precisely 7 day. 

isten áldjon

Swenson nővér 

These are missionaries from Lindsi's MTC group!!!

1.  So, what are your Pday plans today? 

we are hanging out with the elders and playing tons of games and wea re really excited!

2.  Tell me about your companion...where is she from?  What does she like to do? 

 morris is so cute. she is from washington DC, she loves to bake, she likes sports, she went to byu for a year and shes going to be a buisness woman haha she is the perfect little human and we are having so much fun!

3.  How often do you go on splits?

 once a week! and now we get to go to the beautiful city of PÉCS and i cannot even wait

4.  Any funny Neni stories this week? haha honestly not really, but just watching your casual néni travel down the street is a funny néni story enough haha 

5.  How often do members get to go to the temple?

 honestly like once every couple of years, its like al ot of money to travel over there, and they dont get to go a ton!  Do they have routine temple trips?

 yes the branches try to go once every year for everyone who can go! it has honestly made me SO grateful for temples, and for where i live. 

6.  So, I watched this little video about learning Hungarian, and how it is the absolute toughest language to learn how they add letters to the front and back of words to make it mean something crazy different.....I have mad respect for you!!! 

hahaha yes yes hungarian is a fun little adventure. 

7.  What are you doing for exercise?

 MORRIS LETS ME RUN 

8.  IF you had to rate your cooking skills from 1-10....how would you rate yourself?  (Like versus other 20 year old women...not against like professional cooks) 

i am a freaking chef. where does that fall on the scale?

9.  How often do you have to wash your hair? i would rather not disclose this information to the general public

10.  Did you know that your smile LIGHTS UP MY LIFE??????  Ah, Love you lindsi!!! 

i love you so much more! 

Kellemes húsvétet!!!

First of all, I know it's a little late, and after Easter, but everyone should go and watch this video about #theprinceofpeace. I have shown it to literally every person I talk to (that will let me into their house, and that have internet, and that will let me use their computer.... details) but it is amazing. I have the biggest testimony that Christ lives. He died for us so that we could live again. He is the source of peace in this stormy world. He is the source of answers. and He is the source of happiness in this life, or in this life to come.

Wow wow this week has been one of miracles. We were able to do so much amazing finding, Separate from drunk bácsis petting my head, we were able to find 3 new investigators, and each and every single one was such a miracle find. I do not believe in coincidences ladies and gentlemen. It amazes me everytime how when someone lets us into their house, and when we start to talk to them, that we are so easily able to answer all of their HUGE live questions. This gospel is so simple. I know that the spirit is always leading us, whispering in our ears exactly what to say to these people. Every time after someone lets us in, I just feel like it was not my words that were said to those people. DO YOU KNOW HOW COOL OF A FEELING THAT IS?

Easter in Hungary is hilarious. So,  they have this little tradition called "locsolni" and the Hungarian men go up to the girls and spray them with perfume, and then the girls give them chocolate eggs in return hahah its hilarious. Yes me Mason and I did get sprayed....yes it was by my favorite investigator Desző, and yes i will remember it for the rest of my life.

We went to dinner this week at a members house, she is the stake relief society president  and she lives in our ward..., and she is AMAZING. Her husband made us kiwi jam, and this bean soup, and these fantastic austrian pancake things that made tears come to my eyes they were so good. 

We got talking with her, and she really just inspired me. We were talking about how much our looks and appearances, just do not matter. like literally. We were watching these videos of people who have absolutely nothing, and are so happy, and sometimes I am mad because my clothes aren't cute enough? haha like what? It was just such a huge perspective change for me. Do you think it is going to matter for one second in Heaven what we look like? Do you think its going to matter for one second how cool we were here on earth? haha i will answer these for you guys, no. no it wont. One of the coolest thing here on a mission that I have experienced is trying to look at people through Christ's eyes. Every single door we knock on I sit on the outside and i just try to love whoever is going to come through that door, because guess what? Our Heavenly Father loves them. and our Savior, and older brother Jesus Christ died for them. 

This is kind of all over the place, but basically I just had this huge perspective change, and it has made me SO much happier. I think that is one of Satan's biggest tools. he EATS at us, and our personal self confidence so much. God would never send us those types of feelings. Our Heavenly Father loves every single one of us. Even the cranky nénis, even the people who laugh at us on the bus, yes those ones too. He love us. And, that is the best part about this gospel. ENDLESS LOVE PEOPLE.

i love you all. have the best week please! 

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you just sit there and think about it, and you think 'well gosh dangit i am just way too blessed' cause same here

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you just sit there and think about it, and you think 'well gosh dangit i am just way too blessed' cause same here 

Monday we toured Parliament, which is where Hungarys Parliament meets together and discusses things about the law. I guess that's kinda self explanitory though ahha.... It was so funny because when we got to parliament, there were like 12 tickets for the English tour, but as we stood in line they just went down and down until we got to the front and in our angst watched it go straight to 4. Ah we had to wait for like 5 minutes while the lady was helping someone so funny. The tour was beyond stunning, Really... that building is outstanding. We got to see the only Coronation crown in the world that is worn by every King, and the reason for the crooked cross on the crest. 

We had such a good lesson this week with my all time favorite investigators (can i have a favorite investigator?) and our Mission President's wife Sister Szabadkai came with us. That woman is nothing but incredible. With Krisztián we talked a ton about decisions, and what we mean when we say we recieve "happiness" from this gospel. because of course we can get happiness from our cars, our motorcycles, boats, and all of those worldly things, but that's not what we mean. It means that honestly, we never really have to worry about the future, and what it will bring, becauswe we know whatever comes our way, for the good, or for the bad, it is a part of God's plan for us, és meg tudunk oldani mindent az Urral. 

this week we went to meet one of our investigators, but when we got into her house, there was this angry néni sewing that told us we need to come back another time... haha So we rescheduled and went out to tract instead. We did a couple of buildings, and then we were standing outside ringing the bells and this néni walks up to us and so cordially says to us "If you guys press one more bell, I will break your hands." Arent the Hungarian people so cheerful? Also,  right after that fun event we got on a bus home, and got off, when Mason said she felt something on her skirt, something wet. well yes, you guessed it. Mason sat on a puddle of pee in a public bus! yes that event did, indeed, happen. MAGYARORSZÁG. 

OKAY NOW FOR THE PART WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR. calm down, Kurt Volmar, I am indeed going to talk about conference! so here is the thing. during conference I had this overwhelming feeling of gratitude. firstly for my mission, that i could be here in Hungary listening so intently to the words of our prophet and apostles. I felt so thankful for Sister szabadkai, and President Szabadkai and for the grace, and how they run this mission. For my whole mission as well I felt thanks. All of my experiences, the good, the fantastic, the bad, and the moments I wanted to give up. All of it. I was so thankful for Heavenly Father's specific, individual, loving plan for even me! Just this human on earth that he loves so much because he is my father. I kinda looked at my mission as this quick course in learning and growing, and most importantly changing. Gosh I am thankful for the opportunity every day to change. I am thankful I was able to "choose the harder right than the easier wrong". I am thankful that my loving God and my Savior Jesus Christ didn't let me stubbornly be content with my life, and the place I was at home. I am grateful for all the nudges i recieved, the sure answer he gave me when i finally just opened my heart to his will. That was a HUGE lesson that struck me in conference. I just need to do what he asks of me. really, that's the reason we are here. I once again feel so spiritually motivated to be a better disciple of Jesus Christ. 

I think that is such a blessing that we all recieve and take away from conference. Which is so interesting. because the whole time we are recieving instruction on how to be better, but it is done with such a love, such a finesse, that we walk away feeling motivated, feeling like a million bucks, feeling like a loved child of our father in heaven rather than discouraged or scared of the amount of work that is ahead. I am just so excited for this spiritual boost to help me just tackle the last 4 months of my mission. I know and trust in my fathers plan for me. I know that Christ died for us, so that we could be resurrected, and atoned for our sins so that we can live again with him someday. I know that he lives, and leads this church. I have such a thankful, humble heart to be a child of God. 

this thing is a novel sorry about that I just got so excited to keep typing haha HAVE THE BEST WEEK. 

sok szeretettel 

Swenson nővér

1.  P days plans today?

interviews with president and going to the nagy piac to help mason get souvineers, and GOING TO LUNCH WITH WITHERS!

2.  Have you met up with Wither's yet?

hehe ^^

3.  Has spring come to Pest yet?????˘

ABSOLUTELY. oh goodness it is gorgeous here its unbelieveable

4.  Have you given a talk in your new ward yet?

not yet no, and i doubt i ever will have to this thing is gigantic!

5.  Have you ever served with Elder Seamons, the Elder that is coming home at the same time as you?

nope i have not

6.  When does this transfer end?

like two weeks on april 19 and i am SO SAD. 

7.  How is the guitar playing going?

so fantastic. its the reason i exist still

8.  How is your shoulder doing?

its been good! a lot better lately. 

9.  How often do you have meals with members in this international ward?

definitely depends. not nearly as much as my other places, but we have had it a couple of times

10.  Did you know that every minute of every day you are loved by this here mama!!!

haha did you know that literally every minute you are