A Good Hard Week of Work in Buda!

This week we were able to get some good work done in Buda.  We were able to go on an exchange in the city of Miskolc which was good (I was able to work with Elder Robinson).  Other than that, we were able to stay here in Buda and were able to put our shoulder to the wheel and push along as the song says.  We were able to have a lot of teachings this past week and were able to find some good people. We were able to find two new investigators who have an absolutely amazing story. About 40 years ago they were living in Germany and the missionaries taught them. The mom/wife in the family was going to get baptized, however, they moved back to Hungary and the Mission President at the time (in Germany) told the missionaries not to baptize her because the church was not yet established in Hungary. Years passed and the main missionary that taught her stayed in contact with her through letter writing, however, they eventually lost contact. Recently, the daughter in the family was on facebook and miraculously reached out to the old missionary (his name is Rick). Rick planned a trip to come to Hungary, and introduced us to the couple at church a few Sundays ago (Rick was actually Elder Fitzgerald's bishop when he was like 5 years old, crazy right). We met with them twice this past week and discussed the Restoration and the Book of Mormon. They both were able to come to church and it seemed like they really liked it.

We were also able to have multiple investigators at church this past week.   They all seemed to enjoy it and some stayed all 3 hours. We were able to meet with one of our sister investigators this past week and it went really well. We were able to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ and really focused on repentance. We talked about how the test in life is in doing those things or those commandments that are the harder ones for us to follow, even when we do not fully know the reason for them. She told us that the hardest thing for her to follow is going to be the commitment of being a full time member (especially attendance at church when she has a lot of things going on). We told her that this is the path that God wants for her and she said that she has a new motivation to be able to want to do these things. It is looking really good with her.

We were able to meet with our Ukrainian investigator a couple of times this past week and he is also doing really well. We taught him about chastity and then dropped in another night and taught about repentance and what it means to truly repent. He had a night last week where he kind of relapsed with the word of wisdom and he felt guilty and weak. We told him that God will forgive us as many times as we truly repent, however, a part of true repentance is developing the resolve within ourselves to not make the same mistake again. We talked about how here at the beginning of his process of repentance and accepting the gospel, God is going to place tests in his path to see how he responds. We discussed how when we past one test, then the other tests get easier, we just need to always keep our guard up.  He is still doing so amazing.  We have brought up baptism a few times with him now and he says that he does not want to be pushed with it but that he wants to keep learning and that it will come.  While that sounds like an excuse to not be baptized, he is truly progressing and is going to be ready to make that commitment.

We also were able to meet with another local investigator this past week. He was really happy to see us and feels the spirit when we are there with him. He is doing well and seems to be progressing. He has been reading from the Book of Mormon and has been praying. He is still struggling quite a bit with smoking and has not gained a super strong testimony about the prophets of the church yet. He feels the spirit though and he seems to be changing for the better, we just have to keep extending commitments and faithfully help him to keep those. We were also able to meet with some other people this past week and they doing well for the most part.

 We are going to keep serving as hard as we can each and every day and will keep striving to find the elect. They are out there! I am doing my best to become the best missionary I can be, I am not perfect, but with diligence and the Lords help, he will make up the difference.  Humility is such a big part in doing this work on a day to day basis. The Lord is there and is totally willing to support us, however, He asks that we have a broken heart and contrite spirit and then He will extend his arm of mercy unto us. It is sometimes a natural man tendency to say to ourselves, "I did this well, or I did that well", however, in this work all glory should go to God and I have seen that when I am humble and give it all to him, He continues to bless and honor us! 

I love you all so much!  Have a great week!!!  

Gentry elder 

Romania looks a lot like Hungary!!!

It was a conference filled week but it was super awesome!  We were able to give a training on the Divine Companionship of the Holy Ghost from Elder Holland (I mentioned it last week).  It went super good and the missionaries said that they learned a lot which was good to hear.  We had a fun little journey this past week!  As missionaries here in Hungary, we do not get visas, however, we get what are called Residency Cards.  On the residency cards, they give us a date for how long we are able to legally stay in the country (mine does not expire until like September of 2018 so I am way good).  Elder Fitzgerald's (and all the elders' in his group), however, expires before his/their release date and so we had a problem.  The lawyer came up with a solution that if they left and went to a county not in the Skanzsen (like the EU but for countries like Hungary) then you get an additional 90 days of residency.  So Elder Fitzgerald and his group planned to go to Romania on Wednesday and then Elder Bagozzi had a genius idea!  I can drive here in Hungary if I have been in the country for under a year, and so Elder Bagozzi had be ask President if I could go to Romania with them in order to get a fresh year on my residency (in order for me to keep driving).  President thought it was a great idea and had me go with them!!  It was really fun, we crossed the border, had to buy a quick little pass thing (I streeted two Romanian people while going to the bathroom) and then we came back!  Now I can legally drive for the rest of my mission, whoop whoop!

 Due to conferences, having to go to Romania, and exchanges, we were not able to meet with a lot of people this week, however, the teachings that we did have went very well. We had a really great lesson with our investigator from Ukraine this past week. He was actually going to cancel the teaching due to a bad headache, however, he wanted to give us part of a watermelon he got from his work place (the thing was so big). We went over to go and get the watermelon and he said, "well, you are all here right now, why don't we just have a teaching with each other right now!" We were happy to hear that and started the teaching. It turns out that the reason he had a head ache was because he was drinking alcohol the night before and was hung over. He told us that whenever he goes out to drink (he does not do it very often) he feels really guilty and feels not worthy before God. We were able to testify to him about the word of wisdom and the wonderful affect that it has had in our lives. We were able to discuss the physical and spiritual blessings that we see from living it. To finish the lesson we challenged him to live the word of wisdom until the next time that we met. He agreed to give up all of it (except the tea for this week), and was really excited to do it. In his closing prayer, he was so repentant and it was so amazing to hear (it was one of the most amazing prayers I have ever heard from an investigator). He is so humble and he wants to improve and change his life so badly. A couple days later, we were speaking on the phone and he told me, "I have been living the word of wisdom and I feel amazing, I am going to keep trying, well in fact, I know I will keep living the word of wisdom!" It was so amazing to hear! He was able to attend church in Pest and he really loved it again. He is progressing so well and we are hoping that we can give him a baptismal date for the 26 of August. 

We were also able to meet with a couple of the Recent Converts this last week and they are doing well. We also met with a really great new investigator this past week. One night, we were walking home from a lesson and we were standing at a cross walk waiting for the light to turn red. A teenage girl and her mom walked next to us and I felt like I should talk to them. Right when I started to talk, the light turned green and so I was able to testify to them for about 30 seconds. The girl got our number but did not give us hers. About a week later she called us and told us she wanted to meet. She told us that she knew it was not random that we met on the street and in the teaching when she felt the Book of Mormon, she immediately felt a power coming from it. The lesson went well and we are going to meet with her again tomorrow. This week, President gave a training about finding based on a talk Elder Anderson gave.  Elder Anderson said that people are being prepared everywhere, we just the have the job to open our mouths to be able to find them. This is such an amazing work and it is so amazing to be able to see the miracles that come from serving with all of my heart, might, mind, and strength.  We are really trying to focus on finding youth right now.  They are so open to hear the message and are so humble and willing to change.  One of the things that I have learned so much over the course of my mission is the importance of Humility mixed with hard work.  If we are humble before God and show Him that we are willing to improve and become better (and then work for it) he will work miracles with us and it is so cool to be able to experience!  

Have a fantastic week!  I love you all so much!!  

Gentry Elder

CONFERENCES!

Hello my amazing family!   I am so glad to hear that Andrew and Bethy got the casts off and can now tear it up on the court and on the field!  It was a really good, busy week for us and we were able to see lots of miracles and prep for lots of trainings!  

To start off, we were able to have a fantastic exchange with the Elders in Miskolc. I was able to go back with good ol' Elder Ure and the exchange went really well. One of the things that I admire so much about Elder Ure is his ability to listen and to apply what people say to the gospel. I was amazed at how well he can get along with those people that we meet and at how well he is able to testify of the gospel to people. He is very calm and collected when he speaks with people and he really does a great job at teaching “that portion that shall be meted unto every man” (like the scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants says).  As I come to look at my mission more and more, I am so grateful that I was able to have him as a trainer and then later to serve with him as Zone Leader.  I know that the call was inspired of God and am so grateful for the things that he helped me learn.  He is a stud!

We were able to meet with our investigator from Ukraine 3 times this past week. All of the teachings went really well and his faith is growing at a very fast rate. We spoke about the Plan of Salvation a lot and about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is reading so much from the Book of Mormon and one night he planned to read only a few verses but he told us he could not put it down for like an hour and a half or so. He says he will be baptized, he just wants to keep learning more and more and wants to make sure this is the path that God wants him to take. He went to church in Pest this last week (because it is in English) and he absolutely loved it (I got permission to attend with him and it was super weird hearing some church in English). In one of our lessons this past week, I had one of the coolest experiences of my mission when he was talking about the feelings that he has when we meet with him in his home. He told us that when we are speaking with him, we can answer all of his questions in a way that amazes him. He says that when we are in his presence and when we are talking to him, he feels this clean energy coming from us and he told us that he has not seen that in other people in the world. He told us that he wants to be able to have the cleanliness and the spirit that we have and that he can tell that we are truly happy and clean (even in the way we think). He is just so amazed that a 19 and 20 year old boy is able to have the spiritual maturity that we have. The whole time when he was saying this, I knew that the reason he felt this way was not because Elder Fitzgerald and myself were clever or extraordinary or anything like that, but because the spirit was with us and he was feeling that. It is so amazing the way the spirit can truly carry us in a lesson especially when we don't even know what to say or even how to say it. I am just so grateful that I have the constant companionship of a great companion, Elder Fitzgerald, and the constant companionship of another great companion, the Holy Ghost. It truly sets us apart from the ordinary people of the world and the humble seekers of truth can truly be touched by its influence. It is a gift that I want to be with me at all times and at all places because without it I am nothing (like it says in Helaman 4:13 and 24-26) but with it I can do all things the Lord would have me do. It is so vital in the work.

We were also able to meet with another investigator his past week a couple of times and both of those teachings went well. He is also doing well and we were able to have a special fast for him yesterday in order for him to have the strength and the support to be able to quit smoking. His faith is very strong and he wants to change. He was not able to come to church this past week because the transistor on his car stopped working so hopefully he can get that taken care of and can come next week. We also were able to meet with a sister investigator this past week as she was able to return from her vacation from the Balaton (the big lake in Hungary). She feels rested and refreshed and is ready to continue to learn about the gospel. We spoke about the Atonement and the effect that it can have on our lives and it went pretty well. She told us that she would be coming to church, however, was not able to come because she slept in. We also met with our another investigator a couple of times this past week and he is also doing really well. He was able to come to sacrament meeting and from what I heard (I was in Pest) he really liked it. He struggles with keeping commitments to read, however, he committed himself to read a little bit every day and we are anxious to see if he does so.

We were able to have our missionary leadership council this past week where Elder Fitzgerald and myself were able to give a training to the missionary leaders around the country.  We were able to talk about a talk given by Elder Ballard at the mission president's seminar about what it means to be a true leader in the gospel compared to what the world views as a powerful leader.  We were able to discuss how the Lord looks on the inward heart and how we develop that inward integrity by being examples of the believers at all times and at all places (especially when nobody is watching because that is true character right there).  Then today and for the next four days, we have the chance to present a training to the entire mission on a talk given by Elder Holland on the divine companionship of the Holy Ghost and how it is essential to have in the work (without it the Lord forbids us to teach).  He said that the Holy Ghost cannot be like an old sweater that we take out of the closet when we are going to go and teach a lesson and that we take off when it is done, rather it needs to stay with us at all times a in order to build that true character (I compared it to football and how there are some kids that want to only receive the Friday Night Lights glory but they don't want to put in the work during the summer or throughout the week.  When they want to suit up and play on Friday night it just does not work, they will get wrecked and so will we in this work if we do not have the spirit).  It went well I thought!

I love this work and you all so much and hope you all have a wonderful week!

Elder Gentry 

July is flying by (kinda rhymes)

Hey everyone!!  Thank you for your great emails!  I always love reading them so stinking much, they are some of the highlights of my week!  It was as really great week for us and I will include as much as I can!  

We were able to go on exchanges this past week with the Elders in Szeged.  I was able to work with Elder Hughes and the exchange went great!  His parents might be Kyle Taylor's mission presidents, I know there are many missions in the Philippines, but you never know.  We were able to do a lot of finding where we really focused on teaching our message in such a way that those we were talking with understood why were there and how this could truly help them in their lives (through asking a lot of questions).  We worked as hard as we could and got 11 potential investigators! We also had a great teaching with one of their investigators where we were able to teach about the Atonement and the relevance it had for her.  Elder Hughes is a stud and a great missionary!  

We were also able to have a good week here in Buda.  We were able to meet with our investigator from Ukraine 3 times this past week and he was able to come to church.  All of the teachings went really well and he is really progressing.  The part in the gospel that really interests him is about progression and becoming a better person.  We have brought up baptism with him and proposed a baptismal date, however, he said that before he commits to anything he wants to keep learning and be sure of his decision.  He also says that before he gets to that level of baptism, he wants to be fully ready to commit to living a good life and following the path that Christ showed us. We had a really cool experience on Saturday night when he said that when we meet with him, he feels calmness and peace and when we are not around him then he feels different (almost depressed).  We taught about the feelings of the Holy Ghost and how the Holy Ghost speaks to us through calmness and peace and how the reason that members of the church are so happy is because they have the Holy Ghost with them as their constant companion.  He was able to come to church like I mentioned and he said he liked it (however he said he might want to go to the Pest ward because it is in English).  He met a member named Tatyana who is also from Ukraine and speaks Ukrainian.  They got along really well and explained lots of things about the church to him.  He is progressing well and we are going to keep meeting with him.

We also met with another of our investigators a couple of times this past week.  He was also able to come to church, however he only stayed for the 1st hour.  We were able to discuss what true repentance means and also the importance of the Restoration (we showed him the film which he seemed to like).  He is doing well but just seems to be really hard on himself from time to time.  We were able to give him a blessing and Tamás from the ward came with us and was able to give him the blessing.  We were able to discuss with him how with the help of God we can stay on the gospel path and recover even when we fall and need to return back to it.  He is doing well and I hope that he can continue to find the strength to overcome what he is working on.  We were also able to meet with another of our investigator’s this past week a couple times.  He is also doing well but unfortunately was not able to come to church and was not able to read any of the things we gave to him.  We are probably going to start to less-frequenting our visits with him and are going to try to find the roadblock that is keeping him from keeping commitments.  We also met with all our recent converts in Buda this past week and they are all doing well!  We also met with a new investigator who lives in Szent Endre .  He is an older man who has seen a lot of hard trials and agreed to let us talk with him. 

President mentioned something about having investigators learn for themselves how they feel the spirit and how we teach them the doctrine and then they come to feel it is true on their own. Elder Fitzgerald and myself have been discussing a lot lately how when investigators (or anyone for that matter) come to find out something for themselves, they receive internal validation and the concept is more likely to stay in them and have more of a powerful effect on them.  I noticed this a lot with mathematics back home.  When I received guidance from a teacher and then took the time to personally study out a concept that was hard for me to understand, with time I eventually thoroughly understood the concept and did not easily forget it.  I think it is the same with those we teach.  We teach them how to find the answers and then they have to put in the work to find them for themselves (which is why commitments are so important).  I feel like those that do this process are the ones who become truly converted. 

I love this work and I love my Savior Jesus Christ.

Elder Gentry 

Time is Flying!

We had a great week!  We were able to speak to a ton of amazing people and were able to find so many amazing people!  One of which was an amazing man from Ukraine who moved to Hungary in January 2016. His family (wife and two young children) still live in Ukraine which is really hard for him because he loves them and misses them very much. He told us that he has been looking for direction in his life and he thinks that the gospel could be the answer to what he has been looking for. He is a really good Christian man that has really high standards and wants to constantly improve himself. He thought that because of his hard situation, God was turning his back on him, however, we testified that God was not turning his back on him but was giving him this trial in order to make him grow stronger and become better. We testified of the Plan of Salvation and how this is the only way that we can achieve lasting happiness in this life and in the life to come. We have met with him 3 times the last 3 days and are going back tonight in hopes to give him a baptismal date. He is very prepared and wants this for his life. 

We were also able to meet with another of our investigator’s this past week and that also went well. We were able to discuss prayer, scripture reading, and Sabbath Day observance and it went well. He thought that he wasn't doing enough in regards to not coming to church or praying twice a day and he thought that we were mad at him, but we told him that we are not mad at him at all but that we encouraging him to do these things because they are going to bless his life more that he can know. We are going to have to change his baptismal date, due to the fact that he was not able to come to church and also because he told us that he really needs more time to quit smoking, however, I have the faith that he can continue to improve and eventually enter the waters of baptism. We were also able to meet with another of our investigator’s twice this past week and both those teachings went well. We are making sure that he can fully understand everything and are making sure to explain things simply and slowly. We are meeting with him again tonight and are excited to keep seeing his progress. One of our investigator’s has been away for a bit and I really hope that when she comes back she will have a clearer mind and that she will want to make the next step of baptism. She texted us that she is really excited to keep meeting when she gets back and I am hoping that she can really start progressing. 

Sorry to make this short, but I do not have a lot of time!  I am going to keep serving as hard as I can and am pumped to continue to see the hand of the Lord in this work!  I love you all so much, have a great week! 

Gentry elder

Office Elders

Went back to Győr!

It was a good week for us here in Buda. We were able to go on a daily exchange this past week with the Elders in Győr. We were there over the 4th of July and the Győr Elders were nice enough to cook us burgers and corn for some good 4th of July food (American style!). We were able to meet with Roland and he is doing really well (he even came tracting with us which was a blast!). He loves to go with the missionaries during teaching appointments. 

We were able to meet with some of our investigators this past week and they are doing really well. One that I have mentioned before has faith that  is absolutely incredible and he is truly prepared by Heavenly Father. He continuously wants to improve and he wants to be able to change his life for the better through baptism and through daily repentance. Like has been mentioned before, the biggest struggle with him is quitting smoking. From what we could tell, he had a better week last week and then this week he struggled a little bit. We told him that before his baptism, he would have to be completely off of smoking and drinking (does that occasionally with his friends) and he told us that he thinks that he can do it. We made a baptismal calendar for him and we are going to be frequenting our visits with him (at least 2 times per week but maybe 3). The other hard part for him is getting to church, however, he wants to come and his shifts at work from now on should allow him to be free on Sundays. He is such a great guy.

Another great investigator that we met with allowed us to discuss Prophets and the security we can feel on a day to day basis knowing that we have a living prophet here to lead and guide us. We spoke about watchmen on the tower and how the prophets are here to warn us of danger and here to see the things that we cannot see. Even though we may not always see what they see, our testimony comes when we obey them and when we see the positive consequences (they are watchmen on the tower). She absolutely loves meeting with us and she always says that we say the things that are exactly applicable to her and her situation. I know that she knows it is true and I also know that she knows that she needs to be baptized. The thing that is hard for her is the commitment aspect of it. I pray that she will be able to feel the good of living this amazing gospel and the desire that she will have to want this in her life will outweigh the fear of commitment. She is going to accept it, I have the faith. 

We were also able to meet with a couple of new investigators this past week who seem to be pretty interested. One of them believes in a lot of yin yang stuff and we decided that the next lesson with her we are going to do our best to set expectations and to also hear her expectations of why she thinks that we are there. We feel like the best way to go with her is going to be testifying of truth (especially the Plan of Salvation) and letting the spirit take the rest. It is just a bit difficult with her because she believes in a lot of things that it is hard to be able to relate to every point in the gospel. We are going to listen to her sincerely and then respond in a manner best suited to fit her needs. The other we met through streeting and he said that he had met with the missionaries about 9 years ago and would like to meet again. We set up a time to meet and it went amazing. He has done a lot of searching in his life, and has gone to a few different churches. We taught the Restoration and he really liked it and listened sincerely. We felt like we should ask him to be baptized and he accepted the invitation. We are going to give him a baptismal date this upcoming lesson. 

Overall the work continues to move forward! We are doing our best to remain obedient, be diligent, open our mouths at all times and at all places.  In Preach My Gospel there is a quote by Elder Oaks that is one of my absolute favorites. It is at the end of Chapter 8 when he talks about how missionary work is like fishing (we are fishers of men after all). He says that when some people go fishing, they spend most of their time just traveling to the fishing spot and sitting on the shore of the lake trying to get their fishing equipment ready to use. He said, however, that there are some fishermen that get to the lake and do so effectively and right when they get there they put their fishing poles in the water and start fishing. He goes on to say that the longer our poles are in the water as missionaries, the more fish (people prepared for the gospel) we will find. He said right when we leave our apartments, our fishing poles should be in the water, I really like that and have a huge testimony of it. Elder Fitzgerald and myself have a goal this week to be able to contact a total of 500 people while finding. We felt like that was a good goal for us to try to achieve this week and we are excited to be able to see the blessings that come from it. I can truly say that I am the absolute happiest when I just go out and just give it my all to go and find the elect that my Heavenly Father is preparing (there is no better feeling than being on the Lord's errand).  This is truly the work of the Lord and I am honored to be a tool in his hands for these two years. I am far from perfect but I am doing my best to improve on a day to day basis. I love this work so much!  I love you all so much and hope you have a fantastic week!

Happy Birthday America!!!

Well, the transfer is under way and I am so excited to see what this transfer is going to bring for us and for the mission as a whole.  The mission is in a really good place right now and I truly believe that miracles are going to happen this upcoming transfer.  Elder Fitzgerald and myself are very excited to be staying together and will keep serving to the best of our abilities. 

We were able to meet with a few investigators this past week and they went really well.  We have had some trouble trying to set up with one particular individual the past few weeks, however, she had some time to meet and the lesson went really well.  Right now in her life she says that she is looking for calmness and peace.  She is planning to go on vacation soon in hopes that that it will relieve her stress and anxiety.  We were able to teach, however, about how to experience the peace and the joy that the gospel brings into our lives on a daily basis and how even when we have a lot to deal with we can always make time for God.  We testified that even though taking the path of the gospel is not easy it is worth it and will bring her the lasting peace that she so desperately desires in her life.  At the end of the lesson she said that she felt so calm and that she did not know how we did it.  We told her that we are inexperienced but that we just testify of the things that we know to be true because we know how much they can help her and bless her in her life.  We are hoping to be able to continue to meet with her on a more consistent basis.

We were also able to have a fantastic teaching with another of our investigator’s this past week.  We were able to teach him about the Atonement and about the 2nd half of the Plan of Salvation.   We were able to testify of the cleansing power of the Atonement and how we need to put off the natural man from day to day.  We were able to teach of the chance that we have to be able to return to live with our Father in Heaven by following the principles and ordinances of the gospel.  It went really well and we were able to extend a baptismal invitation of August 5th which he readily accepted.  At the conclusion of the lesson, he told us that when we started teaching about the Plan of Salvation, there was something in him that just told him it was true (he said like when you learn how a heart or lungs work you just automatically believe it because you know that it is true).  He said that he believed it right away and that it just made sense.  Then he said, “I bet that that was the Spirit right?”  We told him that it was (so cool).  He is progressing really well and he is doing better with living the word of wisdom.  He is a good person and I have the faith that he can enter into the waters of baptism.  

We have many potential families that we have been finding as well (many of which are actual investigators that have been hard to meet with).  We are going to make a big effort this week to contact as many potential investigators as we can and we are trying to continue to meet with many of our former investigators.

The weather is hot as ever and we are pumped to work this transfer.  I love you all so much and wish you a great 4th of July.

Gentry Elder