6 Months!

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

8/18/2014

Family!

I literally should title every week miracle week.. But seriously.. this one deserves it. -- But first I just wanted to say that I loved all of your guy’s emails and it was super fun to read all about what you did! I’m jealous that you get to watch shark week... although it’s probably good that I don’t see it for two years and maybe that’ll give me a hope of being able to get in the water in Hawaii. ha well see :) 

I’m super proud of all the bros! and all the hard work and effort that they are putting into basketball. and it’s super exciting to see the success that you are having! -- to be honest.. I am starting to really miss high school sports! ha it sucks! especially basketball! I’m going to miss it like crazy when it starts. I’m going to be like.. but hey! that’s my court! ha --- so max! make every second count! 

SO now for me! I don’t even know where to start!!!! so many miracles happened!!!!! and we truly worked our tails off our here! 

I guess I will start with the biggest news! GET THIS! SO on Tuesday of this week we were meeting with his 12 year old girl teaching her English okay.. and her grandma walks in..... and after we got done teaching her we sat down and started talking with her grandma.. she pulled out her book of Mormon and we started to get a really good convo going about the book of Mormon... and she said that she has read the whole thing and that it is the only book that gives her comfort in her life... long story short she has been through a lot in her life.... and she said that she knows that it’s from god. apparently she was an old investigator from like.. 10 years ago. as we were talking about the book of Mormon and telling us that it is the only thing that gives her comfort... and that she knows that it’s true... I had a thought come into my mind that I should ask her to be baptized. just plain and simply ask her if she wants to be baptized. don’t throw in the priesthood.. don’t make it fancy.. just ask her. so I said the simplest line in Hungarian "meg fogsz keresztelkedni?" and she said " meg fogok!" and I was like.. what the?.... I couldn’t believe what she said! so I asked her again! and she replied the same! I asked her 3 times.. not kidding.. just to make sure I wasn’t day dreaming. and it was actually real! GET THIS part.... so I sat will you get baptized on sept. 20th? and then right after I said that I felt that it should be way... sooner. and the next thing that popped in my mind was august 23rd. I was thinking that it was a long shot... right before I said it. but I said it anyway and guess what.. we are having a baptism this Saturday! it’ll be the quickest baptism in Hungary! we had to call pres to get permission. because usually people have to come to church at least twice before baptism. but she came yesterday... we had 7 investigators in church yesterday.. and then we called pres and he said it’s all good to go! I’m so pumped! so we asked her who she wants to baptize her and who does she want to confirm.. and she said I don’t care! she said that 10 times and then we told her she had to choose.. ha-ha and she just okay! how about you (pointing to me) do the confirmation and you do the baptism (pointing to elder Nichols). so I get to do another confirmation! ha-ha I am super excited but honestly.. it is sooo hard doing those. ha but I am pumped! it’s so crazy how it happened!  

then another quick story along the same lines... with the same person. another miracle. a few days later.. I guess she slipped. and she did something to her back that made it so she could hardly walk and sit down. ( we are meeting with her and her granddaughter every day. just so you know)  and we came in and she told us what happened and she honestly looked like she hurt it pretty bad.  we had the impression to ask her if she would like a priesthood blessing. and we described what it is to her and she said that she would love one. and then I had the feeling to describe even more how it works to her. and tell her that it works according to her faith. and that the power is real. just right before I laid my hands on her head... I literally felt something come into my body, my soul. it filled every little space. as I laid my hands on her head.. and gave her that blessing.. when she got up.. the spirit was so strong and she stood up and pointed to me and said (obviously in Hungarian) " when you put your hands on my head... I felt... ( she spent 10 min trying to describe the spirit) this warm.... feeling go from the top on my head all the way down to my spine where the pain started and the pain went away." --- after she said that.. my comp and I looked at each other and were in awe. all we could say that it was the power of god. 

this lady has super strong faith. miracles have happened and literally.. we have done nothing. I feel like the lord has literally just used us. I feel like I did absolutely 0 work. it is amazing to see. and those experiences I will never forget. God lives. Christ lives. This is truly his work. and the power of the priesthood is real. it is a real power. it is divine. it is god power. and god has trusted US, those who hold this holy priesthood, with it. God loves all of his children.. but he only TRUSTS a few of them with his power. therefore... TRUST... is greater than love. if you can love someone.. and then trust them. that’s the greatest form of love. so shortly put.. we are blessed more than we realize. 

let’s see.. okay! so there is this member that has been on a trip for ever but she finally came back and her name is barbs... and this whole week she bought us dinner... haha it was sooo sweet:) we ate out at the best places in győr! it was super good :) saved tons.. of money :) ha I love members! 

it’s been raining TONS.. over here. which is so nice because it has kept everything super cool. it’s been a really weird summer for Hungary.. usually it’s super-hot.. and everything. but it’s rained tons.. :) it’s nice! 

this week.. like I said. we got fed tons. not just by barbs though! I honestly did something that I’ve  never done in my life before.. I actually prayed for strength to eat the food. haha we would go to appointment to appointment.. and they would unexcitingly feed us! it was insane! so I just thought that you guys might laugh at that. 

oh! okay, dad, mom, and Hannah. get ready. you’ll love this. so I had to teach one of the English classes by myself this week because the other elders didn’t show up. they were splits and were running late. so I had to teach the profi class! it was super easy because they all speak pretty good English and we just talk about subjects and practice speaking. BUT. we got into the subject of family.. and I pulled out my picture book ( because I always carry it with me) and we looked at them... and first of all.. they were shocked at how good mom looked. and they were shocked at how young you were. they thought that you were my sister. it was hilarious.. I wrote down what they said right after so that I could tell you! ha they were shocked because people do not get married young here. so that’s why. and then a few seconds later... they said well.. your dad looks really good too! but your mom is amazing! haha I busted up laughing. I was like.. my dad is going to love hearing this one! haha so anyway. super funny! and then I have a pic of Hannah in there too! because they always ask if I have a girlfriend or something and so I just put on in there of Hannah with the rest and ha they said that she looked gorgeous and they couldn’t believe how good we look together.. I was like... yeah. that’s right. ha :) anyway!+ super funny! 

then you got the pic of the service project that we did for 4... freaking hours. holy cow. I thought I was going to die! ha the wood was sometimes wet... we chopped wood for hours.. stacked it.. and man. they had tons of wood. because that’s what they use for their heater in the summer! we were obviously out in a little falu. it was fun :) but my hands and for arms for some reason still kills. I got baby hands or something. I got really good at chopping wood though. got that swing down.) 

that was my week! along with zone training! that was good! I lead everyone in mid zone training stretches.. everyone loved it. I made it fun. ha anyway!

my spiritual thought this week comes form 3rd nephi 13.  verse 26, 27 mainly, 28. and 30. 

which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? 

and why take ye thought for raiment? consider the lilies of the field and how they grow. they toil not. neither do they spin. 

wherefore if god so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if ye are not of little faith. 

it really it me this week. something new. honestly.. who can think to himself.. I want to be another inch taller and it’ll just happen because he thought it? that doesn’t happen. who can think that he wants ANYTHING.. and it suddenly happens? nobody with nothing. who can think that he wants success.. and it just happens just by thinking it? it doesn’t work that way. every good thing that we obtain... we obtain from god. therefore.. everything good that we have in our life... every little thing... the clothes that you have right now, that you are wearing... is from god. everything good is a gift from god. --- therefore.. for me. success... ( and for you in anything in your life) success.. is a gift. success is a gift from god. it is not something that we do our selves and is something that we can boast about.. it is a gift from god. therefore if you want success... you be obedient. you are humble. and then you ask for it. and god will give it to you. ( this applies to anything in life, business, work, family, knowledge,etc. ) 

Christ has said... for your heavenly father knows all things that ye stand in need of. but seek ye first the kingdom of god.. and his righteousness.. and all these things shall be added unto you. 

there is a lot of doctrine in these verses.. but that’s something new that I picked out this week. EVERYTHING.. success.. is a gift from god. we as missionaries.. can’t just think and wish that we will have success.. and it’ll just come.as a basketball player we can’t just think that we wish we could be 1 inch taller and it’ll just come. all these things are gifts from god. and god has promised us that if we seek his kingdom. and his righteousness.. he knows what we want. he knows what we need. and he will take care of us and bless us if we simply.... are obedient. it’s a simple formula that I wish to suggest to all of you this week! 

I love you all! 

Watson elder! 

8/26/2014

Family!

What’s up family! Are you all ready for school????? its soooo crazy that school is already back in session! Summer flew! And school flies! And when this school year ends.. I will only have 9 months left. That is insane. time is flying. Especially this last transfer, it was the fastest transfer that I’ve had. But I survived another one! I am staying in győr for another transfer! by the end I will have been here for a long... time! But Nichols and I are rocking it out here in győr so president decided to keep us together! It’s going to be a way fun.. way fast transfer! 

Good luck to everyone in school... it’s always a fun time of the year. New classes. New friends. and new experiences. but then it gets old.. and then we hate it. ha so enjoy it while you can! :) I expect straight A.s from everyone! 

I loved all the pictures that all of you sent me this week! :) it’s so much seeing pictures and VIDEOS! I got your video that you sent me of you guys doing that weird challenge! haha it was so funny! I started laughing way hard! and I told my comp about it and we are going to try to do it. and then we will send a video back to you guys :) it’ll be funny.. we’ve already got a lot of ideas ,)  so be ready for that! here is my question.. how did you get the video to fit in an email? 

I’m glad that Hannah brought over all of your gifts! I hope that you like them! just a little something from Hungary that I thought you guys would think it was cool.   --- the FHE lesson sounded amazing.. and looked amazing... dad,) haha loved it! 

the weather here has been crazy weird! it hasn’t been hot since... like in June! when I first got into the country! after that.. it has been raining... ALL week every week! insane! it has kept it really cool. but it’s even starting to get a little chilly in the mornings. for personal study I have to go put sweats and a sweatshirt on! it’s crazy! and I don’t imagine it getting warmer again so I think I might be in for a really cold winter! -- it’s good to hear that the weather is cooling off back at home too. I love those cool summer nights. 

Hannah, MOM.-..... don’t worry:) I am watching out for cars! I promise! our bikes are broken.. well.. stolen... so we have to walk everywhere now and it’s not as dangerous :) ha so I am being safe! love you guys:) 

so yes! my companion’s bike got stolen this week.. we were  teaching English class...  and then there was a little birthday party for one of the members and we were at that.. and during that... one of the members came running in and told us that our bikes were stolen! and I was like.. no way... we went out there... and my comps was gone! they cut the lock and took it! idk why they didn’t take mine though.. because mine was 10x better. had a way softer seat! but yea! his is gone! and then one of the members called the police.. and the police here do nothing... so we had to wait forever for them.. and talk to them.. and yeah. long story short.. we are out of bikes. and I’ll tell ya what! our bikes were NOT CHEEP! bikes in Hungary are super expensive. for one of our bikes it is 80,000.00 ft. so that’s like 400 bucks for an okay.. kind of bike! crazy. anyway. so no more bikes for a while! kind of sucks. we are so much more effective with bikes. it’s okay though! 

Tons of things happened this week! I don’t even know where to start! 

so the baptism actually happened this week! It was like... the perfect baptism story with only one little bump in the road. and that was coffee! she was a regular coffee drinker and the Wednesday before her baptism we taught her the Word of Wisdom. we were both super scared that that would kill the baptism for that Saturday depending on how she took it. so as soon as we started talking about drugs.. and alcohol... and smoking.. and she said that she didn't do any of those! so that was great but it also really surprised me! but then we got to coffee..... ha and her reaction was pretty funny. ha she kind of freaked out for 2 seconds.. but then she actually accepted it! ha she said.. "oh that’s no problem.. I can drink it cold" hahah it was sooo funny. then we had to re explain everything to her. ha but then a miracle happened. she actually really accepted it this time and said that she wouldn’t drink coffee anymore. and guess what. she stopped immediately. and she hasn’t done it sense. insane huh??? truly a miracle. sometimes she tells us she misses it really bad because she makes coffee for her husband still in the morning. but she doesn’t have any of it. it’s crazy! then everything went perfectly to the baptism! we couldn’t believe it was actually happening! I mean heck! we’ve only met her like a week ago! and we haven’t even made a progress record for her yet! she was so prepared all we had to do.. is just show up. just another testimony that god has been, and is preparing his children. and we are truly just harvesting the field that is white and ready. __ so we made it to Saturday. we had to get everything ready.. programs.. clothes... the font.. everything! and she showed up.. and it was a super spiritual meeting before she got baptized... she leaned over and told us that she really feels it now. and that this is a powerful feeling. she said that then. And then after her baptism she got out and ran over to me and told me how warm she felt. and you could literally see the difference in her eyes. she was ecstatic. luckily tons of members came and gave her tons of support. they all love her. I’m so glad that the members came and supported her. the actual bap. was great.. I was one of the witnesses. then on Sunday. she showed up again. and she was super excited for the confirmation.. and I was super nervous. ha so we got up there.. put a chair up in the front... and then the bishop, and the second councilor came down with me and my companion to be in the circle. and honestly... there is really just... nothing.. no feeling quite like it. it’s amazing how strong the holy ghost comes in at those moments. I felt it working all the way through me to her. and miracles took place. for one.. I spoke perfect Hungarian. I didn’t mess up once and the blessing and all that I said was way longer than the first time I did it. and then after the blessing she got up and she was crying. the spirit was so strong in the room. and I guess I said the right words that heavenly father wanted me to say to her. it was perfect. ______ so all in all.... it was a perfect baptism story in all aspects! the lord works in mysterious ways. And literally... he is the one that does all the work. we did absolutely nothing.. besides be there... to help her get baptized. definitely a story that I will remember forever. 

other than that... we met some Americans on Saturday!!!! it was a sister who served here 4 years ago and she was with her husband. it as great to actually meet American church members. and guess what! they took us to McDonalds to eat dinner! haha I was feeling like an American missionary for 2 seconds. ha it was great not having to make your own food!:) so that was super fun. we got to translate for them in sacrament meeting. it was good practice for me. 

then... here is a funny story that I’m sure all of you will like! so we were walking around this round about in the city by the river.. and I saw some tourists and some people trying to help them. (me being the nice guy that I am... I love to help tourists because 99% of them can’t speak Hungarian) so I point them out to elder Nichols and I have my head turned walking and pointing at them... and the next thing I know... I run right into this street poll!!!!!! and it was no soft thing either.. like... I bent it a little bit. and it was rocking back and forth. and it hurt bad. and it was loud. my comp starts to laugh way loud.. and then they look over and they started to laugh at me.. it was so funny and so embarrassing. haha so that’s one of the funny moments from this week. 

anyway. that is a short version of my week this week. tons of work.. tons of success.. and tons of fun. that’s a perfect week on the mission right there! 

for my spiritual thought.. well.. as I was thinking of what I should give for a spiritual thought this week... the only thing that came to my mind was what I seemed to teach the most about this week. and that is temples.. and marriage. idk why, but this week was full of teaching about temples and about marriages and family.  so I guess that is what it’ll be about! 

so first thing that I want to share is that duty... = joy. when we are doing our duty... we are happy. when we keep gods commandments and when we are doing what god wants us to do.. we are happy. because we are blessed. and blessings make us happy. therefore... duty.. is joy. 

here is 2 things about Hungary... first... families are really rare. because it is so expensive to get married over here so no one gets married. and people.. don’t have morals over here... so there are tons of divorces.. there are tons of kids without parents.. there are tons of bad situations going on here all the time. that’s why this week we talked tons about marriage and about temples. and the second thing... is that when they talk about marriage.. they use the word kotni.. which means.. to tie. which I think is really cool. so when we get married.. we tie ourselves to the person that we are going to marry. and people in Hungary have a really hard time grasping that concept. when things get hard.. when they have a kid.. when money is low.. they ditch. they try to do something else. they give up. when they have a fight between each other.. they never forgive each other. they never help each other. they never love each other. I have literally been to programs.. where two spouses will get into fights right there in front of us. 1 its awkward.. and 2 its sad. it’s like.. really? you guys are married! what are you doing??  you look like 2 2 year olds.  so they are obviously missing something in their life. they are obviously short minded when they fight. or give up. or ditch. because if they had the eternal perspective.. they wouldn’t have given up. they wouldn’t have ditched.. and they wouldn’t be so mean to one another. 

so long story short.... those of you who are married... when things get rough.. when money is low. when your companion does something really annoying (I’ve experienced it haha ) when you hit a bump in the road... do not ever let us loose that eternal perspective. let us always remember that when we are married... we are tied... to each other (in a sense of being one). and when rough times come.. heck. double tie that not and hold on. because things will never get better if we give up. that day of perfection.. that day of peace.. that day of happiness.. will never come if we give up. we have to embrace the faith.... that one day it will be okay. that one day.. will be your day. but that day will never come if you give up. families are the central unit to this gospel and to heavenly fathers plan. and marriage is the thing that connects us down he line for eternity. it is not an earthy thing.. it is an eternal thing. __ do not lose the eternal perspective! don’t give up. double tie that knot. do whatever you have to not give up. because things will work out! it is the saddest thing to see when families are split. when kids are confused. half of my investigators are like that. and it literally breaks your heart. it’s like.. look what it could be like if you could only work through it together? if you could only forgive each other. if you could stay faithful to our spouse. etc. 

  I like to tell a young couple who are being married that in the marriage relationship they ought to look first to one another, as they do across the altar during their marriage not first to their parents, not first to their siblings, not first to their friends, but in solving all of their problems, they should look first to one another, because the unity between them under the presiding, loving authority of a Heavenly Father in that triangle… is what will get them over the inevitable problems of marriage.

I love you all! have a great first week of school!\ be safe!

sok szeretettel

 Watson Elder 

9/1/2014

my dearest.. most loving family and friends.. but really. whoever is getting this email is my family.. so family!! :

what a week! school is back in session here in Hungary. there isn’t as many people out on the streets. it is raining.. and when it rains.. it doesn’t just rain.. it DUMPS. so my jacket.. and my umbrella have been becoming really handy :) 

I love hearing all about your guys weeks.. and all that you have been doing! :) I’m glad that the first week is down and out of the way! and I think dads email got me fired up the most.... haha I can’t believe that you are really going to be buying AR15s. haha that is the best. you have to promise me that you will buy me one!!!!!!! okay??? promise???? that is the sweetest news ever. I bet the bros are freaking out about that! ha  -- anyway... -- anyway. it looks like you guys had a party and I’m glad that all went well! 

a little bit about my week... like I said it has been raining all week.. we were walking back to our apartment to get changed.. and on the way back we walked by a bus stop.. and there was this mom.. and two kids there waiting in the rain. as we walked past.. I guess I had a really great idea that I was excited about and I said "HEY ELDER!!!" like kind of pretty loud.. loud enough to startle the kids... because they kind of flipped out for 2 seconds and I was like.. bocs! (sorry) and that’s when I recognized that they were kind of disabled kids. anyway. we walked on past them.. and as we got to the pic cross walk to cross the street.. I had a feeling to go back and talk to them and see if they played basketball. well I hesitated for 2 seconds and we were already crossing the street and when I got to the other side I was like.. hey elder we got to go back. but he was like we have to hurry because the other elders are going to be meeting us at our apartment right now to then go to another program. but I was like no.. we got to go back! and so we stood there and waited for the light to go green so we could walk back..( they probably thought we were crazy.) but then we went back and started talking to them and they were the coolest kids ever and they were super excited to hear that we are going to play basketball.. and their mom was super excited too. and so we set up a time to play with them next Saturday. it’s going to be awesome! ----- lesson.. DO NOT HESITATE.. OR PUSH OFF.. a prompting of the spirit. 

then.. we were at the hijo.. a restaurant that night.. and there was this black guy standing at the front door. and the other elders were like.. we need to go talk to him! but no one would get up so I decided to get up and go talk to him! and come to find out.. he is actually American.. who I splaying EUR ball over here on a team! and get this. he played at Un. of Virginia.. and then he played aau ball on team Florida! and he knew dream vision! crazy huh??????? so we had a cool convo about that.. and he asked me who I was and what I was doing here.. and then we exchanged phone numbers and he invited me to come play a friendly pickup game a like a week or 2.! ha crazy huh? I hope I’ll be able to go! I still have to check out where it is.. and all that. but it would be a great finding opportunity,) :) ha 

other than that.. during tabling I talked to Cain.. or well. his friend.. or a false prophet.. or all three. it was the craziest thing. he ever spoke English to me. that was a fun, interesting convo. 

then on Tuesday we got a tour of the main city building and that was super cool there are pics on Facebook by Victoria if you want to check them out. 

so that was about my week. 

my spiritual thought this week is about LOVE. first off all I love all of you and especially mom and Hannah. and grandma’s ,):):) ha  

but here are my thoughts on love this week. love is interesting. what is love? how do we get it and what really is the power of love? the two great commandments are first to love god.. and then to love your neighbor. what originates from love.. that is so great? 

I’ve found.. that love... is kind of like any other gift. take faith for example. love is like faith. it is a gift from god. it is also the most enduring and (I think) the most powerful attribute.. or virtue. 

when we love our family.. when we truly love them.. or someone.. or something.. some things come automatically.. like we help one another. we talk to one another. we watch out for one another. we don’t fight. we are forgiving. we strengthen one another. we show our love physically and spiritually. we spend TIME with one other. the thing we love most.. will be what we spend our time... doing.  there is nothing as energizing, as sustaining.. as supporting.. as confidence building.. as the power of love. loves influence.. has a huge powerful effect on the human mind and heart.  with love... we can overcome anything. our fears. our doubts. our discouragements. when two people love each other.. when a family loves each other... with that pure love.. they can overcome any obstacle that is placed in their path. they can overcome any short comings. any lack of money. any lack of education. any lack of support. with love.. we can overcome anything. 

and if we love god.. we will obey his commandments. we will pray to him. we will auto keep all the other commandments that he has for us. because we love him and trust him. so there is really only one commandment god has ever given us.. and that is since he loves us so much.. that he gave his only begotten son so that we can become like him.. all he wants in return is for us to love him. now.. is that really that hard? considering from him all our blessings flow? I don’t think so. 

I love all of you! have a great week this week! be safe! round 2 of school! go get it!+ 

Watson Elder. 

9/8/2014

szia én családom!!!!:)

what’s up?! I hope all of you had a great week this week. from all of your emails it sounds like you all had a fun, busy, eventful week. peach days.. football game. temple. parties. school. I’m glad that all of you are having fun! :) 

this week in Hungary it has been super rainy again!! it just doesn’t stop over here! this whole week we would be soaked in our white shirts. we did bring our umbrellas.. but it started to rain so hard and we were so far away from our apartment, with no programs, that we just got wet anyway! - transfers are almost here again... not next week, but the next one. It’s so crazy how fast this transfer has gone! I guess that’s what happens when you get two people who work together really well. 

dad asked for me to tell all of you more of what I eat on a normal day. so here it is! I wake up and have a huge bowl of granola, muzli. then I have a banana. then I would have a post workout meal of eggs and protein shake. then I would eat sandwiches, pasta, or something carbi for lunch with fruits like apples n stuff. then I would eat chicken, beans, veg. for dinner.  then I would buy a bunch of these jó reggelts that are like granola bars for snacks when we go tracking or something for a long period of time. 

as far as the rest of my week went... and get this. on Wednesday.. we went to a local school where one of our youth in the ward attends. and he told us when they get together and play basketball. so we went over there and we started to play with them and we just.. wrecked em. ha they were.. like seniors in high school. it was tons of fun. (don’t worry, I am being tons more low key with my eye)  and by the end they were all asking me questions and we gave 6 books of Mormons out to all of them! and we planned another time to meet! 6 new investigators just like that! basketball finding is the way to go!

we did a lot of finding this week. as we do every week. But we have found that finding is the most effective, the most fun, when you seriously try to follow the spirit and get in tune with those heavenly waves that are being sent down to us. And I have found that the more you do it, and the more you practice it.. the more clearer they become. seriously, for example, this week. we were walking up to this building that we thought we could tracked. and as we got to the door I didn’t have the best feeling about it. the spirit left me and it was the most distinct feeling. it went from a warm feeling in the heart.. to nothing in a split second. so I told my comp and we turned around and paused for a second. the spirit came back and gave us the thought to go down this one street and to the right. we followed that prompting, and we found this young guy in his 30s watching his kid at a playground. we talked for a good 30 minutes and he loved everything that we shared. and he said  hey listen! you come to this pizza place, I’ll give you a free pizza and you can teach me more about this. since he works all the time that is the only time he could learn. ---- that is a really simple example of a great principle. it was like playing that hot and cold game with the spirit. 

this week, and month, I have found tons... of opportunities to strengthen this ward! and I have learned a lot of lessons from all the youth in this ward. I have had the opportunity to get really close with the young men in this ward and we have become lifelong friends. I set it as a goal to help them all go on missions by the time I leave győr. and these last two weeks they all accepted to go on a mission and we, together, have printed out all their paper work, met with the bishop, and each Thursday and Thursday night I meet with them to help them fil out their papers. it is truly a miracle in itself, which has blessed this whole ward. there are 4 young men now putting in their mission papers at the same time. 2 of these young men went from not wanting to go at all and focusing on school and work.. but now their hearts have changed.. and they are going. working with these guys have made me super happy. because I know how much a mission will bless their lives, their families, their future families, and their ward and the country of Hungary. -- this last Sunday, fast Sunday, since it’ll probably be the last fast Sunday for me in győr I got up and bore my testimony about the doctrine behind missionary work. and why we do it. and what comes of it. and how we are blessed. I also shared d and c 18 with them. after I got down, those 4 boys got up and each bore their own testimonies on missionary work and why they decided to go on a mission. and then the bishop ( who doesn’t usually speak at all, that has also been one of my goals ,to strengthen the priesthood here) got up and bore his testimony on missionary work and about these boys. they truly have caused a miracle to happen within the ward because of their decision and sacrifice to go on a mission. it is the coolest thing to see and be a part of. 

there is one of our investigators named Cindy. and she is 14 and just started school at a new school. she is getting baptized in 3 weeks. and she is super solid in the gospel. as we were meeting with her one day after school. she came in really depressed. and we kept asking her what was wrong. and she wouldn’t tell us. but as the meeting went along.. she opened up and said that she has no friends. because all of her old friends drink, party, and do bad stuff. and she has made a commitment to stay away from all of that. and there is only one other youth age girl in the ward, so she literally has 0 friends. the only one in her family that is a member is her sister. so obviously this is a really hard situation involved with sacrifices to keep commitments. as I was thinking what to say, 2 things came to my mind. charity, and selflessness. which.. well.. are hand in hand really. I told her that if she wanted to make friends. true friends. I gave her this commitment with this promise : that if she read 1 cor. 13. if she forgot about herself and focused on serving others and helping others in her school room. she will be a light in the midst of darkness and she would make lifelong friends. -- I want to share this with  all of you, because I truly believe this is how we be influential, how we make friends, and how we do true missionary work. 

my short spiritual thought comes from the life of our savior. 

as Christ grew up as a young boy, we have like.. 0 records on his boy hood except for these verses, and Jesus increased in wisdom, and stature, and in favor with god and man.... and the incident at the temple at 12 years of age. James e talmage says, his boyhood was actual boyhood, his development was as necessary and as real as Thea t of all children. over his mind had fallen the veil of forgetfulness common to all who are born to earth, by which the remembrance of primeval existence is shut off. the child grew, and with growth there came to him expansion of mind, development of faculties, and progression in power and understanding. his advancement was from one grace to another, not from gracelessness to grace. from good to greater good, not from evil to good. from favor with god to great favor, not from estrangement because of sin to reconciliation through repentance and propitiation. 

Christ gained knowledge upon knowledge by study, and gained wisdom by prayer, thought, and effort. 

Jesus was all that a boy should be, for his development was unretarted by the dragging weight of sin, he loved and obeyed the truth and therefore was free. 

I loved this because it showed that Jesus had to grow.. and gain that knowledge.. just like we did. but he was 100% obedient ( as we see in his example with his mother marry) , he worked hard, stayed away from idleness, and went about doing the fathers business. he wasn’t corrupted with sin, which sets us back in our progression. he was literally unretarted from sin because of his righteousness. and from that.. he was able to gain more knowledge faster and faster. The veil of forgetfulness gradually receded from him because of that knowledge which he did gain. 

I would like to suggest to all of us.. that we all have that same capability. that ability to become better. to become perfect. to become like our heavenly father. if we follow the path that the perfect man set for us. study, pray, think. avoid idleness. do the fathers work. be obedient. stay away from the damning power of sin. it’s as simple as acting like a son or daughter of god. because that’s what we all are. we are his children with his capability. 

Christ has said, come follow me. for I have set an example before you.  

I love all of you! 

be safe this week! 

Watson Elder.