Hello Happy Momma!!! 1st Letter from Gertsch Nover (Sister Gertsch AKA: Brooke!)

Hi there!  This is Chris, Brooke's mom and I will managing Brooke's blog while she is away for 18 month serving her mission in Hungary!  I will basically just be posting her letters and a few of the pictures she sends home for anyone who would like to keep up on her adventure!  
Today was definitely a very HAPPY day when we received our first real email from Brooke, or Gertsch Nover as she is now called for the next 18 months!  

Family & Friends-

I have been trying to write this email since the third day of the MTC! We only have one hour on Thursdays to email and try to get everything in and Im not sure if that's possible but I will try! From the moment they grabbed my bags and walked me into the MTC, I had no chance to really look back! (which I consider a good thing haha)

 Okay so here's the low down-

Companions: Mason Nover (new-ver) Her and I met on social media before and became great friends so going into the MTC, I already had a friend! She is so sweet and thoughtful and is SO incredibly detail orientated and on top of things. I hope some of that rubs off on me;) 

Roche Nover. Probably the most witty and crazy people I have met. But then when we start getting into the spiritual stuff, she has such profound thoughts and gives great hugs. 

Roche Nover, Gertsch Nover & Mason Nover 

All in all, they are such blessings and we are all so different yet the same and I really thank my lucky stars for them! Oh but one thing I am having a hard time with is not being able to go to the bathroom myself...not really sure why I can't go on my own I promise to be careful...but its all good! I will survive haha.

District: The district is all of the missionaries going to Hungary. And can I just say, what a group?! We all are so motivated to learn the language and are helping each other to grow so much spiritually. Last week I said we were already a family, but that wasn't even the half of it compared to a whole 8 days with them. I am also having a really hard time NOT hugging the elders. Because they are so awesome and we are such great friends and all I get is a handshake. something to get used to!

Hungary, Budapest District 

Class: So we walk in the first day and this young guy says something that sounds like just consonants and points to a chair. So i sat down. THEY STARTED TALKING IN HUNGARIAN THE MOMENT I WALKED IN and I have yet to hear one word of english come out of their mouths. I have one teacher named Robinson Testver(brother) and he is so sassy. I am the only one in the class that will, out loud, try to guess what he is saying and 9 times out of 10 I am way off. but he is so great. so patient, and we really feel the spirit when he speaks with us. I have only been speaking hungarian for 7 days and now can understand a lot (not all) of what he says and lessons with him flow so well. Besides the actual learning of the language, we also started teaching an investigator named Evelin. and guess what- the first lesson was assigned for us to teach in HUNGARIAN. i capitalize that because I was so shocked and nervous and scared. I couldn't even remember how to say hello. We ended up writing the entire lesson and just reading things and taking about 5 minutes just trying to pronounce a sentence. I wish I had time to tell you all the experiences I have had with teaching, but I will just tell you my favorite. From where we started, it is so incredible to see the growth in both the language and my testimony. Yesterday was our last lesson with Evelin and last minute we decided to go in without notes. Now I'm not saying that our lesson was super good. it was a bunch of us noverek saying "Jesus Krisztus el" and "isten szeretem teged" (christ lives and god loves you) but we were able to look into our investigators eyes and bear our simple yet strong testimony of what we know to be true and I hope she felt the spirit I was feeling because I start to cry just looking back at it. Also, I was super worried about gaining weight in the MTC so God blessed me yet again with putting my classroom on the 5th floor! So I climb 5 flights of stairs 3 times a day. thighs of steel baby.

Language: okay. so I think Heavenly Father is really testing me and my faith because he put my classroom right next to the French missionaries. As I walk to class I hear them speaking French and I get so bummed because I totally knew french and am in love with the language. In class, my teacher would laugh because i could not roll my r's. they were in the back of my throat from when I had switched to french and i sound like I speak a different language. oh and when I prayed for the first time, I definitely accidently said "a nom de jesus christ" and you guessed it- FRENCH! and not hungarian. This week was a lot better than the last when it comes to language and i am so amazed to look back and see how far I have progressed in such little time.

Food: I am not a picky person! And i dont want to say anything negative about the MTC because i love it. but if it tells you anything, my favorite thing that i have had here is the chocolate milk! haha I have it with every meal. 

There is so much more I want to say and not enough time! The MTC is such a great place and i was able to sing in the choir for devotional and to stand with 250+ missionaries and our voices so pure and strong, I feel the absolute luckiest to be a part of this. I miss you all terribly but almost never have time to let myself get down which is a good thing! You are in my prayers and I hope you have a wonderful christmas. 

My motto- Sukerulnifog! (It will all work out)

Sikerulnifog - "It will all work out"

Love love love,

Brooke