English VS. Hungarian : Being here for 5 weeks, we have started to really pick up some language! Without thinking, I now say things like yes and no, thank you, sorry, (the very simple words) in hungarian which i think is fun. For our district, it is so funny because we can NOT speak proper english anymore. Actually its not funny because not enough Hungarian is replacing it so we say words that arent even words and are in this weird limbo where our brains are like not working or something (?) haha I love it. In my journal the other night, I was talking about how tired i was from waking up at 6:30 for the past 30 days, and - without thinking - I wrote "NOT ENOUGH SLEEP AM I GETTING" I applaud any multi linguists out there and pray that some day I can master the art! I dont let it get me down though. Learning new languages have always excited me and Heavenly Father has blessed me with this opportunity! Our practice lessons go really well now. No more notes and not knowing what to say! Some days I say I want to go to Hungary right at that moment because I feel so ready but then other times I feel like i need to learn 500 vocabulary words in one hour. I think last week I was saying how cool it is to only not understand a word or two when my teachers are speaking (?) but this week I had a very humbling experience. We have TRC, where we teach members of the church and just give them a short lesson, and it was actually a lot harder than I thought! The people were actually previous missionaries that have recently gotten back from Hungary. And um they definitely speak on FAST FORWARD. It was so crazy because their vocabulary is so much more expanded than my limited church vocabulary. But besides my little panic attack with that, it actually gave me a lot of hope and motivation because I just need to keep working hard and one day (in the future) I will be able to speak Hungarian! It was a good reality check to say the least!
Tender mercy, teaching moment : Quick story. So my companions and I were walking to go back to residence to get ready for gym, and a woman came out from the building next to us and asked us to come in and teach a quick lesson to an investigator (a real one that would be hired to work with the missionaries) so they can see how she acts with us or something. We, of course agreed, and literally grabbed a book of Mormon and walked in and started talking with her. Her name was Sarah and she spoke ENGLISH which was actually new to us because we have yet to actually have a lesson in English our entire time in the MTC. As we started talking, it was so cool to feel all of the Hungarian words on the tip of my tongue and made me happy to know that if I would have had to teach in Hungarian, I could have. So we began to talk and get to know her and her concerns. Her biggest one was "When there is so much bad going on in the world, how is there a god?" And I found it so touching because that is something I think all the time. And right when she said that, I was like "How am I going to answer that?!" But being in the MTC, I constantly have a prayer in my heart and I started to think about all the bad things I used to think about that have happened to good people and what I felt inspired to share with her was that God is our Heavenly Father. And He loves us and would never want us to hurt or be in danger. But because He loves us so much, He gave us the ability to choose for ourselves and some people use that power in a negative way. But when bad things do happen to us, because we are given that agency, we can choose how we react to things that have been put in our paths. We can look at the trial and question why and feel pity on ourselves, or we can learn to grow from them and have a positive perspective on life. It is definitely easier said than done, but another gift God has given us is the Book of Mormon and the opportunity to pray to him and with that, we can get through those hard times. I didnt mean to say word for word what I said in the lesson, it was just a point I hadnt even personally thought about and as the words came out of my mouth, it was like I was learning too! I feel that being called to serve in Hungary and to speak this language has given me such a simple testimony of our gospel and that is a gospel of love. Learning how to express my testimony in the way I understand the principles of the church is such a blessing and I know that it will stay with me long past my mission.
5 weeks down - 4 to go!
Sunday : Sundays are one of my favorite days! Yesterday, Miller Elder, Aardema Elder, Mason Nover, Roche Nover and I sang Joseph Smith's first vision Magyarul (in Hungarian) and my heart was so full of love and with the spirit because I was able to bear my testimony through song and in my new language! We also write talks every week and get called on to speak and so Sunday morning is left to prepare them. It was a much needed confidence booster after this week to be able to write a 5 minute talk without too much trouble! Writing is definitely easier than speaking though I will attest to that haha. Halas vagyok Krisztusert es engestelesert. Tudom hogy a evangeliumot igaz. Szeretem ezt evangelium. Áldott vagyok , hogy egy része ennek a egyhaznak.
Book of Mormon : Elder Bednar gave us all a challenge to buy a cheap paperback book of mormon from the bookstore whenever we would have a question and to read it through, finding answers throughout the book. Being here and feeling the pressure to make sure I knew this was all for real (because I am going and teaching others about it) I felt the need to make sure my testimony was the strongest it can be before I leave. I bought the book and have already gotten through 50 pages in 2 days and each page is marked up with new insights I had never even recieved when I had read it before. So much of that book is so relatable to each and every one of us and you can find advice for everything in life from the teachings and experiences of other prophets and the revelation they recieved from God. My problem had always been that I did not have that desire when reading it before, but now that i have the strongest desire to know the truth, picking it apart and studying it is my favorite part of the day.
Anyway, the MTC is wonderful! I am so happy! I am ready ready ready! And I have loved hearing from so many of you! Mondays are the best days because I am given such wonderful words of advice and encouragement. I am so beyond blessed and appreciate it more than you know! I hope everyone is having a great start to the new year! I love you all and will talk to you next week:)
Minden Szertsegem,
Brooke
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