News From Hungary! vol. 22

Yesterday was Brandon's email day, but Bruce and I had to make a long, all-day trip. Our washing machine broke down last week and, after a week of wearing dirty clothes while we tried to repair it, we finally decided it was time to throw in the towel and buy a "new" one. (Which, for us, means buying a used machine from someone else.) All the used machines we were interested in were somewhere along the Wasatch Front, which meant a three-hour drive, so we figured we'd do a little extra driving and go to Ephraim, too, so I could do a final fitting for Adreanna's bodice pattern (wedding dress!).

We were successful on both counts: The bodice fits perfectly, and we got our washing machine.

Anyway, all of this meant that I didn't get to see Brandon's emails until this morning (instead of yesterday). So here's what he has to say:

  

Facing the World

I have spent a lot of time reflecting this last week. This is largely due to spending roughly three hours traveling each day, but that is okay, I have to do the travel anyway. I have been spending the last two weeks wondering why God wanted me to have to deal with some kind of Parasite. (Side note, not just bed bugs, not just fleas, but both! *1) And there have been a lot of things for me to do while I have been doing nothing. I didn't realize it before, but I have been facing my mission, and perhaps even my life, as if I have to stand alone against The Whole World. (I feel this is the best way to describe it.) I have realized through all of this time that there are other people, and of course God is with me every step of the way, but I often have lost sight of that and have given the challenges I face in life a stony face with my chin set at defiance. I have pressed forward feeling as if each step was a blow delivered to some unseen enemy. I know that there have been times where I would use my actions to fight against my own negativity and claw my way forward. But now I think that I have been forgetting the help so freely offered to me. The scriptures teach that it is Meekness, Kindness, Longsuffering, Patience, and above all, Faith, Hope, and Charity, that will bring the blessings of God. Only upon the foundation of these things can miracles be brought to pass.

I can't say that I haven't worked to be these things, but I can say that I have been blind to the times when I have had these attributes in my life. I can't really remember when I have had these actively guiding my actions. I feel that when I hear of a problem, mine or someone else's, I instead of searching for the gospel, go to prove that the problem is not insurmountable. That isn't even true. It is kind of true. I don't really know what I am trying to say, but perhaps this.

I feel as if I have given everything. I feel like I work hard and pray harder. And yet I still have not received the blessing that I would like, and that is to see some kind of active result to the effort that I have put in. I cannot say that there have not been results. I have even finally heard of one of my old investigators deciding to be baptised. But I feel as if none of it has happened because of anything that I have done. 
But then I suppose that it isn't about me. *2

Love you!
Brandon.



Oh, if I weren't a missionary, I wonder what I'd be...

For if I weren't a Missionary, a hobo I would be.
I just couldn't think of what on earth I might be, but it did occur to me that right now in a foreign country I might not be able to get a job, so I might in fact be homeless if I weren't a missionary.

Well,
Sunday
We live in Kaposvar now and will be staying there for a while so I traveled early in the morning to get to church. Then I was the pianist for Sacrament meeting. I felt like I was a terrible pianist. But all of the members (who have been without a pianist for the last 7 weeks) let me know that they loved having someone finally play the piano, and that they would like me to keep practicing and playing for them. I don't think that it will be necessary, because the Szabadkai's are coming to an end of their mission and will be here in Pécs, so one of them will be able to play the piano. I hear that their daughter can play pretty well. *3
Then we went tracting and met this néni who let us in and listened to the whole lesson about the Restoration. She liked it so much (or liked us so much) that she said that she knew the Book of Mormon was True without even reading it. But even with that she promised to read the whole book anyway. She then told us to refer to her as Vilona néni (this is kind of like calling her grandma, but also a common title for old women) and bring our white shirts next time that we are over so that she can wash them for us. It kind of sounds like she might not ever be too busy for the missionaries. *4

Saturday
Weekend Schedule for the Bus. We didn't realize that the bus schedule changed for the long distance buses, and missed our bus. So I had to buy Train tickets to Kaposvár and now I am out of money. Hopefully I will get another allotted amount soon from the Missionary Savings Fund. but I don't know. Right now I think I have about 8-9 dollars total. And I have no idea about my own personal bank account.
Oh yeah, I also had to literally run to catch that train. It was going to leave in 10 minutes at the time that I heard about it. Thank you to President Szabadkai for saving our tails. I don't know what we would have done had we missed that train.

Friday
I had a bunch of meetings basically. There was weekly planning which took three hours, then MCM, a little bit of tracting, and finally three hours of travel.

Thursday
Travel to District meeting with the Kaposvár Elders, then District Meeting, followed by Looking people up who said we could come by to teach them. They told us that they are not interested in investigating the gospel after all. Sad. Ah well. Then we had Angol Óra and a long ride to Kaposvár.

Wednesday
The exterminator came by to kill all of our nasty bugs. Unfortunately this meant that we had to go live in Kaposvár for two weeks. Our solution, buying two 100 dollar bus passes that would let us travel between both Pécs and Kaposvár each day. The worst part of this being that I had to pay for it since Elder Fisher will be leaving and won't be able to reimburse that money at the mission office. The result, I get to have no money instead, I don't really see how this solves the problem at all, but I suppose that I will be able to reimburse both his and mine which means that next transfer I will have roughly two months of money to live off of. I will probably still only use one month's worth of money. *5

Tuesday
Did a lot of talking to people on the street, then we had a lesson with an investigator named Éva. She is super old, no problem with that, except all of the old people out here are really lonely and just want to talk to you. Often they want to talk to you even if they would rather that you weren't there. I don't know how to explain that but it happens.

And I guess this is all. I Hiked to the top of this old TV broadcast tower on Monday, and it was super cool. And super windy, I would send pictures but I forgot my devices that would allow me to upload them from my camera. So it will have to be next week. *6

Happy Birthday to my sisters!
Good luck with the Laundry machine.
Good Luck with the wedding preparations.

I love you all. You don't even know how much.
Sincerely,
Brandon.


Mom's Notes:

1. Poor Brandon (and Elder Fisher)! I got my feet eaten by fleas in a motel once (I'm guessing someone had let their dog in—which was against the rules in that room). It itches forever! And it's kind of depressing and frustrating to get eaten alive by bugs.

2. How often do all of us feel like it's us against the world? I'm sorry that he has felt this way, but I'm glad and proud to hear that he has reflected on this, and on his own attitude, and on what he could do to change and be better. How great that he can begin learning this now, while he is so young, instead of looking back on thirty, forty, fifty, seventy years and wondering how things could have been better. I am proud of Brandon!

3. I am a horrible mom who plays the piano, but didn't really teach her kids to play. We tried, but they never wanted to practice, and we all would postpone the lesson time, and put it off for later, and maybe after dinner...  But I'm glad to see that enough of it stuck that Brandon can play hymns in his mission! Maybe he will keep working on learning more when he gets home.

4. A little old lady who wants company and wants to take care of them a little doesn't sound like a bad thing. They can talk to her and give her lessons when they visit. And maybe she will think about what they say and want to keep learning more. But at least they are planting seeds.

5. Is that how it works? (The reimbursement thing. How is it that he'd get his and Fisher's reimbursement—that would surprise me. I will have to re-read carefully to see if I'm misunderstanding this.) I will have to see if I can get a message to him about how much money is in his personal account—and add a little more to it.

6. Hopefully there will be pictures next week!

And that's it for today's mission news. :-)