9/15/2014
Hello
my dearest family back at home in good ol Brigham City Utah,
It is literally insane
to think that it has been 6 months since I have left all of you and stepped
into the mission field. It is really crazy to look back in my journal and read
and see all the miracles that have taken place. All of the amazing stories and experiences
that I have been though. All of the trials and hard ships that I have been
through. All of the challenges that I have had to work to overcome. 6months and
I can speak Hungarian well enough to be alone and not really worry about it. I
have seen people come unto Christ. My view on missionary work, on the gospel,
on people, on events, on doctrine, have all taken a different look, view. It is
hard to see much of a change in yourself from week to week, but when you look
back from the beginning it is awesome to see the growth that has taken place. I
wouldn’t say I have changed much.. but I would say that I have become better in
every aspect of my life. I have gained new attributes. I have gained new skills
( like cooking :) I could always cook.. but cooking good haha ) like... being
even more patient with people and when certain events take place. I have gained
more of the eternal perspective. I have learned and gained a greater, if not
THE, definition of sacrifice. I have realized the true value of family and
relationships that we have with each other. I have understood better the
attribute of charity, and love, and going about doing good works. my testimony
of the savior and his atonement and on the restoration and joseph smith have
grown tremendously as I have shared it, even in a different language. I have
come to know on a very personal level.. that Christ has suffered for all of our
sins and pains and grievances. and that he has provided.. and has planned a
perfect plan of happiness for each one of us. I have realized how much I love all
of you. I have realized how much you all have sacrificed for me and all the
things that you are doing and have done for me. these last 6 months have definitely
been the hardest 6 months of my life.. even harder than 2 a days. .or anything babyish
like that... but it has been probably the most benefiting thing.. the most
rewarding thing.. because especially because I have grown in my relationships
with all of you. especially my parents, my brothers, and Hannah. I believe the
saying is true... you really don’t realize what you have.. FULLY REALIZE...
what you have,.. or how much you are blessed with.. until it is temporarily
taken from you. I’m lucky enough to be able to return to my family and loved
ones. because truly... family.. and loved ones are what makes people rich. I
love you guys!
so a little about my
week! sounds like all of you had a busy week! love hearing that! ha glad everyone
is healthy and well :) -- I am healthy as well.. I hope that I don’t curse
myself.. but I haven’t got sick once. not even with a cold or anything. it’s
been crazy. I have been crazy blessed.
so this week! I have a
lot of awesome things that I want to share with you all so I will go through
these kind of fast!
so this week was the
first ever.... European woman’s conference. it was held in Germany. and Bednar
was there... and a couple other apostles. it was the coolest thing. it was on
the sport translation.. which they did pretty good with all the apostolic language
all the apostles use. I could understand just about all of it. it is impossible
to translate perfectly from Hungarian to English.. so when you get my letters..
and some of it is in Hungarian.. good luck :) ha google even struggles. but it
was sooo cool to see. and all of our youth went.. even our girl investigators
went! it was insane! I’m so shocked that they stayed! it was 2 hours long.
elders Bednar's talk was amazing. even in Hungarian.. becuase that’s what we
listened it in, it was great. we are very blessed for the woman that we have in
our lives :) ,)
then.. well. finally
the cops called us in for an interrogation on our bikes being stolen. it was a
good 30 min. interrogation.. which. the meeting was pointless.. what are they
going to do with that info? ha it’s probably already in another country by now.
ha but we had that Wednesday morning. was exciting.
then... we had zone training
this week.. president decided to come. it was heled here in győr. it was nice
so we didn’t have to travel. it was good... kind of routine I thought.
Saturday night we went
to one of our investigators house.. and they had this dog. kind of big. and
they decided to take it on a walk. and as we were watching them.. the little
girl (7 years old ) was walking it. she rapped the leash around her wrist. and
it was all good until the dog saw another dog it didn’t like.. then it took
off! and the girl got dragged on the cement for a good 15 feet till I ran after
her and the dog and stopped the dog and grabbed the leash to pull it back. it
was kind of scary. she was all scrapped up n stuff. luckily I was a little in
front of her as she was walking it and then it took off and just went right
past me for a little ways till I caught up to it. crazy.
then Sunday.. we met
with the bishop and the councilors. which was great. finally they are starting
to do more. always has been one of my goals. we made a ward mission plan with
them. which.. dad.. what is ours? it made me think.. and heck! I’ve never made
one before! idk what they usually look like!% and obviously they didn’t! so
pretty much I made one! ha hopefully it’ll be good. actually I now it will be
:) ha kind of have to get creative to get this ward involved. it’s fun
though.
that was about my
week! kind of general! transfers are next week! so pday is on Tuesday next
week. get my call that morning. probably be leaving. which is sad.. I have
mixed feelings. but I’m excited. this transfer has flown. we have 3 people
really close to baptism. and sindy and goldi are getting baptized in Oct.
11. which sucks because I will miss it. other than that.. we have 12
progressing investigators.. tons of programs.. tons of good stuff going on in
győr!
so for my spiritual
thought this week I want to talk a little about forgiveness.. and happiness. I
hope and pray that you all will be able to pick something out.. and or learn
something new as I say these things.
I have been thinking
and reading a lot and teaching a lot about these two subjects. we have
one investigator right now that has a grudge.. from a past bishop.. that she
just can’t get over it. so here are my thoughts.
hatred always fails
and bitterness always destroys. what other thing.. what other virtue.. or
characteristic.. does this world lack more that the capability to forgive.. to
forget.. and to extend mercy? what difference would that make in this world if
we could obtain these characteristics.? how many homes.. how many families..
how many relationships could be saved?
where tiny molehills
of misunderstanding grow into mountains of arguments. where people gain and
hold onto grudges that they hold on to for years.. maybe even an life time.
where people spend a majority of their lives blaming others.. nurturing grudges...
and planning for redemption.
in my opinion there is
no genius.. or even peace.. in holding a grudge. or planning a comeback. and when
people may say.. " I don’t get mad.. I just get even" yeah.. that
might make a laugh or two happen.. but it only promotes retaliation and like..
a one.- man- upship. rather than mercy.. forgiveness... and
forgetfulness.
but there is great
wisdom in restraint in turning the other check and in the process trying to
overcome the evil with good. --- how many relationships.. how many families..
how many divorces... could be saved if only a small measure of repentance and
forgiveness would be exercised? I know that forgiving.. and forgetting.. and
extending mercy is not always easy. that it may not come quickly. put I promise
all of you that if you will search for it with a sincerity of heart.. it will
come. I encourage all of you to read matt. 5: 38- 41. matt 5:43-44. and matt.
6:14-15.
for this level of compassion
and love.. and forgiveness.. to turn the other check.. and to go the extra
mile... it requires a self-discipline almost greater than we are capable of
giving. it requires the ability to let go of our pride. it is not easy to
reach.
every parent should
read the story of the prodigal son found in Luke 15. over and over and over and
over again. have we not all made mistakes? have we not all lived beneath
ourselves from time to time? and have we not all also been in a position to
extend a hand of forgiveness and fellowship?
fortunately, for us.
we have been given the atonement. and we have been given to the power to rise
above all those trials. and wounds. the willingness to forgive is a sign of
spiritual and emotional maturity.
I challenge each one
of you, to think of one thing, that you have held... or one thing that has been
wrongfully thrown at you. one thing that is un fair. one thing that.. instead
of planning to get even.. or holding it for a life time.. instead of hating.. and
despising.. to love. to turn the cheek. to go the extra mile. to forgive and
forget. for true forgiveness cannot be achieved without forgetting. there is no
true forgiveness without forgetting.
love all of you
and I love my savior. I am grateful for his atonement in my life and the lives
of those we teach. and in all of our lives. for we all... will.. at one point
or another.. call out in desperate need of mercy. And forgiveness.. and
forgetfulness before our savior for our sins.
love you!
Elder Watson .
9/23/2014
OK! everyone get your
google maps out.... and be prepared to look up pictures and info on my next
city, next chapter, in my mission! this morning we received our transfer calls
and my possibilities were almost limitless. and I was called to go to Széged!
it is the farthest city to the south that we can go! it is right on the border.
I’ve heard that it is a beautiful city. I will be serving with Elder Extrem. I
have met with him one time at a zone conference a while back. he also served
with elder carter once. he is going home in November.. so this next transfer.
and so I will be his last companion. he is a good guy and I am excited to serve
with him. we are actually white washing... into the city. that means that he is
coming from Pápa and we are both bran new to the city.. which means that we
will have no idea where anything is.. which that’ll make it an adventure!
we will probably get lost once or twice. we will have to start from scratch!
which is fun. usually president white washes when there is no work going on in
the city.. so he tries to get bran new people with new visions and dreams.. to
get the work back and going. so I am super excited. I am sad to leave gyűr
though.. luckily we already said all of our goodbyes on Sunday. I have definitely
made some lifelong friends here. and I am super blessed and grateful for all
the experiences.. and all of the blessings and miracles that I have witnesses.
and all the growth that I have gained. it has been a great journey here!
-- when I get there I will be sure to take tons of pictures of everything! don’t
worry :) this week will be interesting for sure! so tomorrow morning we will
get on the train.. w3it hall my freaking bags.. and head to Buda and meet up..
then take even a longer train ride to szeged. we don’t know where the apartment
is.. nothing. investigators are nonexistent. it’ll be fun :) next Mondays email
will be interesting :)
so I am so glad that
everyone had a great week and I am sure that the temple dedication was amazing
to attend! haha there is temples everywhere you look! for people here that
would be a dream. I miss seeing or going to temples.
so this week was super
busy.. and super.. fun. and super.. exhausting.
this transfer.. with
me and elder Nichols has been really successful and we have got a lot of work
done. and knowing that this week would probably be the last week together..
during weekly planning we set some pretty crazy goals. so the average.. for the
mission.. of giving out book of Mormons is like.. 5 per week. well.. we decided
40. we got 46. ha and they weren’t just thrown out like candy.. they were well
placed book of Mormons.. and we had about... 76% of them being new
investigators, return dates, and phone numbers. it was super successful. we
also wanted to give it our all this week. and just go out with a bang. so we
counted up all the total possible working hours that we could possibly get..
that means.. we take off hours for studies. for meal times. for district
meetings. church and stuff. there was a total of 51 working ours for the week.
that is also including p dy. we only work 3 hours on Pday. so that was that!
51! and we names it.. 51 FOR THE SON. because "super standard" for
the mission is 35 working hours and a working hour is either teaching or tracing
or streeting. so that is a total of 8 hours of doing that per day. after you
have studies.. and meals.. there is 8 hours to possibly work. anyway.. we
busted our butts.. we even got sick half way through with a cold and ear aches
and stuff.. but we pushed it and we got it!!!!! we had 20 other lessons, 6
people at church. 5 new investigators. 9 member presents. 5 RCLA.s and 21
finding hours. it was super crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it was exhausting! I’m grateful
that the lord blessed us with the strength to do it. and blessed us with
success. each and every day.. as we worked as hard as we could.. we met people
who were ready to receive the gospel. people who have been prepared. we
witnessed a lot of miracles. it was an amazing week! we got our goal and gave
51 working hours for the SON! it should be a normal.. we are called to be full
time missionaries.. it should be like that all the time. of course there is
service projects.. but still.. the lords time is all the time! It was a
spectacular week!
here are some random
things that I wanted to write about the week!
some of the programs
we had.. seemed, in the moment, going nowhere... but at the end.. when we say a
prayer.. we look up and the investigator is crying. just goes to show that
prayers can do some powerful things.
we also went on splits
this week.. that is when my comp got sick.. and then got me sick. I went with
elder hancey into his companionship. it was fun. I don’t really like splits
that much... sometimes they are really in-effective.
mom.. Hannah, don’t
worry! I got over my sickness! it was just a cold.. and a little ear ache and
stuff like that! it’s starting to get really cold her really quick and everyone
is getting sick. it’s supposed to be in the 30s this week. crazy!
this Sunday.. there
was this guy from Davis Utah in our ward that showed up. I guess he was on a
business trip or something. we got to translate for him! -- speaking of Sunday..
it was a crazy day! we were asked to teach Sunday school to the youth. that was
super fun. we talked about Christ like attributes and did some activities.. and
talked about hit remedy and josivuseg! it was a super good lesson. then.. for
some reason for priesthood meeting.. we were waiting in opening exercises...
and none of the leaders showed up.. I guess they were in the meeting with the
stake presidency, becuase they were there.. and they forgot to tell someone to
start the meeting or something. anyway.. a half hour goes by.. and I just get
up and said alright! let’s start! we sang and prayed.. announcements.. and all
that jaz! ha it was crazy. so I got to lead that meeting.. under my own authority..
haha anyway! then after.. we got a big pic with everyone there since I was
going to leave! idk if you have seen it yet or not.. I will send it in a
minute!
we played some
basketball this week. I got some good pics. I kind of ended up dunking it one too
many times.. I’ll send ya a pic of my wrists. it was super fun! on
the way there I ran into this old drunk guy at a stop light.. and he came up to
me and said.. "fogunk harcoling?" meaning.. are we going to fight? ha
and he was shaking his fists at me.. and I was like.. haha " nem,
kosárlabdázzunk :) " haha it was way funny.
lately.. with those
four that are going on missions.. we have been calling some of our ligetitest..
investigators in.. the ones who are getting baptized.. and we had the boys role
play. and we also brought those little kids in. it was great practice for them.
it’s so cool and fun working with them :)
tracing.. like I
said.. we did tons of it. we walked sooo much. ha but as we asked for success.
and gave it our all... we got that success. and get this. haha okay.. we
found.. probably the biggest house in Hungary. it was on its own property.. it
was a huge.. mansion.. and everyone said that some Hungarian ambassador.. or
someone way HIGH lived there. haha my comp looked at me.. and I was like.. with
a smile.. " LETS DO IT :) " ha we walk all the way up there.. enter
their gate.. and knock on the door. this 28 year old girl comes out and is
super nice. her husband.. is like 47 or something.. kind of weird.. but they
were big hunters.. and we got into a good convo about that.. and they wanted to
invite us to go hunting! and then they invited us in and gave up drinks and
stuff! and we had a great talk about the book of Mormon.. and we exchanged
contact info.. gave them a book of Mormon.. they loved us. we are planning on
going back! super crazy! haha I have a good pic of me after that visit that I
will send you guys :) it was a napoleon dynamite " YES.." look :)
ha
Saturday.. we got haircuts
again and taught goldy and sindy because they are getting baptized in a week or
so. then after.. we walk outside.. and there is a HUGE.. lightning storm!
vagy.. electric storm! ever seen one of those!??? the cloud are crazy! and
there is no noise.. just tons... of flashes of electricity! and it lights up
the whole sky! it is soooo cool! I’ve never seen anything like it! and it doesn’t
make boom noises or anything! crazy!
anyway.. that was a
quick update on my week this week! :) I am out of time but I can’t wait for
next week’s email! :) and ps.. I will probably be in széged to skype :) coming
around the corner!
for my spiritual
thought... I wanted dot talk about faith and optimism.. and the power of
faith!
I pray that hopefully
someone reading this will get something out of this.. and we will learn
something new!
President Gordon B Hinckley
said " my plea is that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully
the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life, we accentuate the
positive. I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, and that we
still our voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment and
endorse virtue and effort." what said.. is that negativism sells.
people love it more than positivism. look at the news for an example. we all
look for the gossip.. saying " OH HE DID WHAT??'" -- a sustained. and
steady diet of negative point of view has serious repercussions. it influences
our attitudes, outlooks, and our standards and values. along with negativism..
is criticism. criticism.. to me. seems to be the prelude.. to divorce, to
rebellion. and the catalyst to failure! why not.. instead of talking about the
bad things.. talk about the good things. and talk about potentials? what
difference would that make in the world? what difference would that make in America?
in our families? in our relationships? to stop seeking out the storms of life..
but to look through the clouds and find the sunlight. optimism brings that
enduring feeling of hope. I found this one talk, through a member.. it
was by this leader of England.. at the time the German attacks. and it was a
desperate time for England. England wanted to give up. but this was their leaders
response. " we shall not flag or fail.. we shall fight in France, we hall
fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and
growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may
be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we
shall fight in the fields and in the street, we shall fight in the hillside.
this guy saw the
victory thought he dark clouds. when no one else did. we must look. we are
creatures of our thinking,. we CAN talk ourselves into defeat, or we CAN talk
ourselves into victory. ours is the choice. we must look and have faith.
honestly. let’s think about it. could not any of us say that if we had greater
faith.. in god.. who with him we have such a strong faith that he gives
us power to accomplish anything... if we had greater faith in HIM... we could
do better than we are now doing? there is no obstacle to great, no challenge
too difficult. if we have that kind of faith. faith is a power! it’s not some kind
of philosophical thing! it’s a power! Christ has said.. he who has faith in
me.. shall have power to do all things whatsoever is expedient in me.
if there is any one
thing that you or I need, to help us find success and fulfillment in this
world.. it is faith. the kind of faith that moves us to get on our knees to
plead with the lord for guidance, and then, having a measure of divine
confidence... to get on our feet and go to work to help bring to pass those
desired results that we all want! that’s the kind of faith that I am talking
about.
let us all strive this
week to gain that kind of faith. let us practice it.
I love you all!
Watson Elder.
9/29/2014
my csodalatos
family!!!!!
wow! what a busy week
is was this week! I loved all of your guys emails that I got! it sounds
like it has been starting to rain a lot and it’s starting to look like fall!
can you believe it’s already October almost? that Christmas is almost right
around the corner again?
For me this week kind
of felt super long.. but at the same time it felt super short! and I
found out that I hate.. packing. ha and carrying your stuff on those trains and
all he transportation that they have here is a nightmare. but I made it safely
somehow in szeged!
so this was my day on Wednesday.
I woke up at 6 o clock. I got ready and stuff and finished packing and made the
train at 7:30 to Budapest. we all got to kelleti train station and we
waited for everyone else to show up. I went out to eat in the mall that they
have close by and then I had to run to the mission home, on the other side of Buda
pest, to get my new phone and to get the apartment keys! because apparently we
actually opened up a new companionship. which will get to that in a minute.
anyway. I went with another elder that needed to get to the mission home too to
get his driver’s license and my comp hadn’t shown up yet. so we went through
the underground trams under the river, and then we walked to the mission home. Budapest
is a mess. it is so busy and so crowded. kind of like new York or something
like that. then I ended up having to wait at the mission home for like 3
hours waiting for the senior couple, who were in the new greenie missionary
meeting, to get my stuff from them. soon as I got that.. and the other people
picked up their license and their new car.. I had them take me back to kelleti.
well.. I made the mistake of ridding with elders who never served in Budapest.
so well... long story short, we got lost and it took us about an hour to get
back. ha as I got back, I met with my comp. we had to go to a completely
different train station on the other side of the city to get a train that was
going south to szeged. we made the trip over there and got on the train for a 3
and a half hour train ride from buda to szeged. super long. by the time we got
to szeged it was super dark and we had no idea where to go. ha the zone
leaders picked us up and took us to the apartment and as we entered.... it was
a big junk. it was so messy.. so dirty.. spider webs everywhere... no one has
cleaned this place in like 10 years... that kind of look. anyway, we went out
to eat again that night because it was like 8 o clock and we had no food.. no
nothing so we had no other choice. then we just came back and got our bedding
out.. choose 1 out of the 5 beds that we have, which is not too big of a
difference because they all are kind of terrible, and went to bed. the next
morning we went shopping and unpacked and started cleaning. oh yeah! and half
of the lights in our apartment didn’t work either.. so that’s where my head
lamp came in handy. ha so we couldn’t see anything! it was a long day! lots of
traveling.
to make long stories
short... each day since then.. for comp study.. we have been cleaning our apartment.
we have thrown so many things away... we have got new cleaning supplies because
there was none here... ( luckily they are all re-embersable ) and we cleaned
the spider webs.. probably killed like 100 of them. we called our land lord and
they came and fixed the lights.. the fuse was just out. small fix. then we
cleaned the kitchen.. mopped.. re washed a lot of things. cleaned out the
fridge. JUST TONS OF CLEANING. and Organizing. ha it is looking really good now
:) it went from one of the crappiest things I’ve seen.. to one of a pretty dang
good looking place :) ha for an apartment in Hungary on a mission.
anyway. so we have
done tons of cleaning. we have an AC and we actually turned it on the first
night. ha its getting super cold here.. like.. down in the 30s. someday. and we
are starting to wear warmer clothes. people see us sometimes and they think we
are crazy. -- the apartment is super nice though.. its super big and open. I
like that. my bed isn’t tooooo bad. could be tons better.. but its livable. I
got all my books.. pictures.. out on my table.. as you could see in the
pictures. I’m all situated. and it actually I thought it would take longer to
adjust.. but it was super quick. the first night I couldn’t sleep at all! but
everything is super good now!
we had our first English
class... which was cool. we are teaching the intermediate class. there are some
cool people here. we are getting a new building that was just built. so
we are moving into that church building next week. super excited for that. its
super nice.
we came in, and as
opening up a new companionship... we have 0 investigators.. 0.. everything really.
ha so this last eek.. and this upcoming week.. we have been tracing all day
every day. we have walked more in these last three days.. than I have my whole
life combined. ha although we have been exhausted.. we have seen miracles take
place. we ended up this week with 3 really new and really sweet legit new
investigators. I will tell you a story about one of them for my spiritual
thought in a minute. :)
our elders that are
with us in our district are cool! they definitely. my comp is elder ekstrom. he
is from Alaska. he is super cool and totally down to work hard and to
have a great last 2 months of his mission. I was happy to hear that :) one of
the elders in our district reminds me of randon. ha its hilarious.
on Friday. As we went
finding.. we ran into this college library.. they have a huge college here in
szeged. tons of people speak English. I’ve even met more Americans going to
school here than I did in gyur. szeged is a beautiful, super clean city. its
bigger than gyur. and mom.. my address is futalmadas 30 :) ha --- anyway. we
ran into this library. and we went in to check out the emailing.. and
computers.. and they are letting us email for free.. for however long we want!
its supper nice and it saves me a ton.. of money. ( and yes, transfers are
expensive.. especially at the end of the month! have to buy all’ll new food..
all new crap. it sucks. but we got money today, so I’m good :) -- also in szeged there are a ton of awesome..
buildings. you could see some in the pictures that I sent you. I will take more
because there is tons more. this city really is super cool. it’s definitely one
to go to when I come back.
Saturday, we had our
first sport nap and they take it super seriously here.. ha there are even 40
year old guys out here going super hard playing soccer. it is so funny. I just
stand out of the way so I don’t get hurt. they are super good at soccer though.
that’s for sure.
anyway! I made it to
szeged! I’m all adjusted in our apartment. on Sunday we got to meet
the ward and I got to introduce myself in sacrament meeting.. it was awesome :)
haha I decided to throw in " so I love to fish... and so if anyone wants
to take me fishing one time... call me!" ha and right after sacrament
meeting 3 people came up to me and was like I love fishing! and we talked about
fishing for a while. ha soooooooo my mission goal of going fishing once might
come true this transfer. ha -- ward is super nice, super cool! everything is
well here in szeged! :) there is nothing to complain about! :)
so for my spiritual
thought this week I wanted to share an experience that me and my companion
had this week, and the convo and the feelings that we had after the experience.
this happened on Saturday.
on Friday night we sat down in our kitchen table and I pulled out the map and
we started our nightly planning. as we started we started with a prayer and we
specifically asked for guidance on where to go and where we could find those
people who have been prepared. because heck! this city is huge and we know here
nothing is at.. and there has to be prepared people everywhere! you just have
to find them! so we prayed for that and I had a feeling come to me shortly
after that that we should go down in this specific area across the bride on the
left side. it was still a big area to tract but we took that as our answer and
we planned it. that next day, we went out and started. it took us like 25 min to
walk there. and for some reason that day we were already super tired, sore, and
it was already getting hard. ha but we kept going. we knocked on about 10 doors
and every one of them was either not home.. or they just shut the door on us.
we then, had the feeling to go down this one street and ring one of the bells
at this apartment complex. we rung the first one and we waited for about 5 minutes.
the next thing we know there is this pretty jacked (muscle) guy walking out the
door with some dry cleaning and some other things in his hands. he comes to the
fence and he was like (hey, how can I help you? are you searching for anyone? )
and then I started to talk to him and tell him how we wanted to talk to
everyone today and blah blah blah.. (in Hungarian) then he said ( well you
speak really good Hungarian, and I don’t think these bells work. I just came
out because I had to go run some errands.) then as I started to tell him that
we wanted to talk to everyone about this special message that we have and about
this book called the book of Mormon he stopped and he was like.. ( well I’m
budest. and I don’t want to change religions.) and he was really turned off.
but then I decided I would start talking to him about working out. because he
was big I assumed he did. and he did. he taught kettle ball. we talked about
that for a minute.. and then he started to ask questions about us. and why we
are here and etc. as soon as he found out we were American he started speaking
his English to us. ha he spoke pretty good actually. then.. this is when it
started to hit. this is when he finally trusted us a little bit and he opened
up. he said that when he was in 11th grade he went to America as a foreign
exchange student and he stayed with a Mormon family in Arizona. and he said that
he had a really good experience with them. then he came back.. got
married. and him and his wife wanted to go back to America. so they did.. and
that family, the Mormon family, was nice enough to host them for a little bit.
after a while.. it was too hard to find work and his wife was having problems..
and they decided to come back. well.. I guess his wife ( Hungarians will tell
you crazy stuff like this in your first meeting.. some of the stuff I’ve been
told is crazy ridiculous.) she has had
this problem before they were married... but he thought he could handle it. but
now he couldn’t and well.. 3 days before we talked to him, they divorced.
he has 2 kids. one 6 year old and one 3 year old. he went then, into talking
about how his life is super hard and he is trying to rearrange it and re
organize it. and as soon as he said that.. it hit me really hard that this is
the man that I was supposed to find today. his name is Tomas. long story short,
we talked to him for a little longer. And we turned him into being not
interested.. to meeting with us again. as soon as he left, because he had to go
run errands, my comp and I looked at each other in awe. we couldn’t believe it.
we started talking to each other about this: IF WE didn’t show up.. on this
exact day, in this exact moment, in this exact place.. when he was walking out
of the door to go do dry cleaning, and if we hadn’t have done what we did the
night before.. and if we would have given up or went another route.. or
anything different than what we did.. we would not have found this man. as you
can see.. from a young age this man has been being prepared.. and has been
introduced to the gospel. and now, in his curtail changing moment in his life..
we show up on his front porch. ---- it was a big testimony builder and faith
builder for me and my comp. we talked about it for the rest of the day. the
rest of the day we tried and we had absolutely 0 success. we were sent that
day.. to find Tomas. --- the lord has a plan for each one of us. he loves us.
he is looking out for us. he is putting things in our path for one reason or
another. he is making sure that we have the happiest brightest future we could possibly
have. I was foreordained to come here, at this specific time, to meet and to
talk to and to find specific people. The lord is mindful of all of us. as you
can see this man has been introduced 3 times to this gospel. he has been
prepared. as we go out every day.. and work. and find. and tract.. even if we
feel like we have no success.. we get doors slammed in our face every day. we
are at least giving people an opportunity to hear this gospel. and because of
that.. we are doing what we have been sent here to do whither it is to plant
more seeds.. or whither it is to harvest. whither they accept to be baptized..
or it’s just not their time yet... we are doing the lords work, in his own time
table , with his standards. we are truly servants of the lord entitled to his
revelation. He loves his children!
have a great week this
week! be safe!
Watson Elder