Brooke’s email: brooke.gertsch@myldsmail.net
Let me just start off by saying that this week had so many ups and downs. But hey - ilyen az élet! (That’s life!) It started off with my 21st birthday. LEGAL - woohoo! haha seriously means nothing to me. I feel the exact same. But I was the luckiest because we had Zone Training in Budapest that day, so I got extra hugs from Sister Szabadkai - I couldn’t be happier!
Sister Smith made me a birthday cake!
Unfortunately, the morning of my birthday I woke up with the flu that lasted for the rest of the week. Happy 21st birthday to me!!! My sweet companion made me palacsinta's (hungarian pankcakes) before Budapest also I think I had a fever in this picture Mom haha
But ain’t nobody got time for that. I had to take a sick day to recover the next day. But then that night, I had no choice but to decide to feel better because we had dinner planned with one of my favorite families in the ward. We took the bus out to their house with their son, Bence, and when we get to the house, he tells us to go straight into the kitchen and so we do. I walk in and the entire Dercsenyi family as well as the Mecseriék, another family in the ward, were all there with sparklers and sang the Happy Birthday song in Hungarian! They had thrown me a SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY! and let me tell you - I was not expecting it in the slightest! A birthday I will never forget. I have such incredible people in my life. I don’t know how I got so lucky!
So that was one of the ups. One of the downs, is that because of certain circumstances, we no longer have any progressing investigators. Not a fun feeling. So our days are now filled with a whole lot of finding! But I have an amazing companion and we are both so motivated to find those that are ready to hear about the gospel.
Just 2 days ago, this old man let us in while tracting. We were so excited. He was adorable. He spent about 15 minutes just showing us different things all over his house. As we were looking at pictures on his bookshelf, we just so happened to come across a Book of Mormon that he had received many years ago. So right then and there, we were able to go over the Restoration of the Gospel and touched on the Plan of Salvation because he had just recently lost his wife. Everything was going so smoothly it almost seemed too good to be true! Meeting with this bácsi was exactly what I needed as a reminder that there are people out there open to listening to us and gave me so much motivation to go find them.
FUNNY STORY FROM THE BACSI WHO LET US IN - so halfway through our conversation, Sanyi Bácsi leaves the room to get us something to drink. He comes back in with a bottle of sparkling water and another bottle full of dark, mysterious liquid. I asked what it was, and he laughed as he poured us both a glass saying “grape juice” (….aka “wine”). We told him we don’t drink alcohol and he hands us the glasses anyway. He was SO insistent that we try “just a little taste” and that we “had to celebrate our new friendship”. Don’t worry Mom and Dad - you will be proud to know that I firmly declined and did not drink the wine my new friend tried to force me to drink! I really do feel a lot of potential with him thought, we are just going to go back and teach him the Word of Wisdom, haha. Gotta love tracting stories!
Best Friends reunite! Welcome to Hungary Roche Nővér! Roche Nővér with with me and Mason Nővér in the MTC but she wasn't able to come to Hungary with us due to medical issues. But she is FINALLY HERE!!!
Elder Ure and I had matching shirt/tie!
Well thats it for this week! HAPPY MARCH!
Love you & Miss you so very much!
Sok Szeretettel,
Gertsch Nővér
**On Pday we explored Gyor a little. Here are a few pictures of this beautiful city!
3/13/2017 - Trusting in God and His timing
Well, I will be honest when I tell you - this week was a harder one. We started it off so ready and motivated to find, but then finished with the exact same results. At the end of each day, it was so hard for me because we had tried our absolute best to find people to teach. We tracked building after building, talked to so many people on the streets, and kept going and pushing through all the rejection. Never have I EVER felt so ready to find someone and teach them about the gospel. All day everyday, I am constantly praying that the next person we talk to will be “the one”. My faith and trust in the Lord is the strongest it has ever been. With this little bump in the road, it would be so easy to get upset and mad at this and that people are not being placed right in front of us. We are giving the Lord our all and feel like it is making no difference whatsoever.
After a long day of tracting, I confided in my companion with all of my frustration As we talked, we were instantly comforted when we looked at our situation in a different light. This entire last week we had the option to stop after the first building...Give up when the 10th person said they were in a hurry. But we didn’t. (Don’t get me wrong, I still let myself get down inside sometimes.) But as I said before - I gave Him my all. I am trying my absolute hardest and I am proving to the Lord how much I love Him and how dedicated I am to His work. And for that, I am incredibly thankful. Because as I look back on this week, I can see and I can feel, how hard I tried and I know Heavenly Father sees it too.
BARBS. realest of homies.
The whole mission is just an 18 or 24 month period to really show Him where your heart is. There is going to be trial after trial, week after week, of no work, and faith will be tested. But after the trial of your faith will you then receive your reward.
The Domjánék, a less active couple that we met with this week
Andi - a less active member we meet with
Roli!
So now I start a new week, even MORE ready and excited to find those that the Lord has prepared. Trusting in God and His plan AND His timing is not always the easiest. But I know that if we do that, He will be with us every step of the way. Blessing us with strength, patience, comfort, perspective...the list of blessings goes on and on.
Splits in Szombathely
I hope you all have a wonderful week. Excited to share some stores next week!
A néni gave me her pantyhose because I wasn’t wearing tights and she was so worried I would freeze…..
Love and miss you all!
Sok szeretettel,
Gertsch Nővér
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