Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Transfers!

Transfer calls came in today, I'm leaving the big city and headed out to Kaposvár! I'll be sad to leave here but that sounds like a great place as well. Elder Depallens served there for 6 months earlier in his mission and had great things to say about it. I will also be able to serve with the Millers, the senior couple that knows Grandma and Grandpa and is in Aunt Ann's ward, for their last transfer.

It will be wierd leaving this city, I have learned a lot here and come to really love this city and the people here. This really is a labour of love. There is all sorts of ridiculous stuff we have to deal with out here that sometimes is not the most enjoyable, but when we love God, Jesus Christ, and the people we serve with and among, things will work out. Miracles will occour. It's no coinsedence that the two great commandments in the law are really just to love everybody.
I also have been thinking a lot about the plan of salvation, something I have studied and learned a lot about on our mission. We had some really good programs teaching that in the last week, I love it when investigators ask questions and really want to know more. And I love even more that we can answer their questions with the great bounty of knowledge God has blessed us with. The scriptures and living prophets are an incredible thing. I am also looking forward to General Conference this week, I hopefully will understand a lot more of it this time then I did 6 months ago. Should be awesome as always.

One quote I read the other day that I really liked from President Joseph Fielding Smith - "It is our duty to warn all men and endeavor to teach them the truth, so that those who will not hearken may be left without excuse". And this is speaking to all members, not just missionaries, we just have the special responsibility to do it even more.
Another fun member quote. I introduce myself as Elder Parkinson. "My mother had that disease". Starting conversations is so easy out here.
Also, some pictures finally.

Love you all, have a great week!
Parkinson Elder

​My district here in Buda, Elder Depallens is the 6th from the left, the one not smiling.

​Found your store Dad.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

The Sun is Shining, Mostly



Greetings again from Hungary. This past week flew by super fast, and I can't think of much to write about. It was good though. Also, the weather has been beautiful the past week.

We had a partial solar eclipse on Thursday. It was in the middle of a Zone Training but they took a short break in the middle so we could all run out and look at it. I think it was 60% covered or something at the peak, enough that we could tell, mostly we just blinded ourselves. I heard it was better farther north so maybe they had a good view in Norway.
I had a fun experience with some people who wanted to Bible bash after English class. Part of me wanted to start Bible bashing back but I decided to stick with bearing testimony instead. It was interesting talking to them, because they were super nice people and I feel like they were really just concerned for my soul. And they had some good ideas, pretty much believed in the great apostasy, just didn't know about the restoration. I told them to read the Book of Mormon, hopefully they do. 
Investigator quote of the week - "Where's the book that says life is easy, I want to follow that one". I can understand him on that one. My companion proceeded to make a great analogy to Mario so it all went well.
Closing thought on supporting out leaders. I was thinking of how people always give the example Sam in the Book of Mormon and being a righteouss follower. I then I thought that example would be better if we made it Samwise Gamgee instead, mostly because he's a hobbit. Que insperational clip of him carrying Frodo up Mt Doom. Our leaders carry priesthood keys of power to direct us, and although we can not carry the keys for them, we can carry them, if we support and uphold them in the work.

I'll be emailing on Tuesday next week due to transfer calls.
Have a great week! Smile!
Parkinson Elder

Monday, March 16, 2015

Holidays and a bunch of spiritual stuff

We had some big holidays this week. First and foremost was Pi Day of course, I knew it was coming but actually forgot about it until partway through English class, and I then explained the significance to the class. I think they sort of got it. We also had Hungarian Independence Day yesterday (also the day Ceaser died right?), we sung the Hungarian National anthem in church. Super pretty, but I had no idea what the words were. I should learn that.

Other big thing from yesterday, the new Hungarian law went into effect about working on Sundays. I'm not sure exactly what it entails, there were still some places open, but for the most part places are shut down. The playground by our apartment was the fullest I've ever seen it.

We had an awesome meeting on Wednesday with President Kearon of the 70, he talked a lot about the little things that we can improve, how to do better at finding and teaching, improving our mornings. I learned a lot that I need to apply to my work, I felt super spiritually pumped up afterwards. We had some really good programs afterwards. 

I have learned a lot this transfer about boldness when teaching, something Elder Depallens does very well. The most important thing is love, because if that is there and the investigator feels it then we can pretty much say anything we want. People only get offended or uncomfortorable if the love isn't there. The second thing is clarity, I think the Norwegian Elder Parkinson said something like that a few months back, how boldness is teaching simply and clearly. I feel like sometimes we try to teach the gospel in a round about way to avoid certain subjects or explain away certain doctrine. In my experience that doesn't work well. Simple clear doctrine will stand by itself, and if we present it with love, the Spirit will bear testimony of it to their hearts. Also, most (if not all) truth can only be really known through the Spirit. I have realized there is a very big difference between "knowing" a truth and having the Spirit make a truth known unto us. It's the difference between someone who knows the church is true and someone who actually lives the gospel. Let's all go for #2.
Well that just turned into a big spiritual thought on a bunch of stuff I've been thinking about, one more thing along those lines. The Book of Mormon. In the conference President Kearon emphasized the importance of explaining on a personal level why the Book of Mormon is important, not just saying it is this cool new scripture. I was thinking about that I realized that every day when I read the Book of Mormon the veil becomes thinner. Heaven becomes closer. Every day I don't read it the veil thickens again. Yeah, the book of Mormon is awesome.
One final quote I loved, I think from President Benson or Monson or some prophet. "True doctrine, understood, will change behavior faster then a study of behavior will change behavior". Very true. If we really understand doctrine, it will bring about change naturally.
Love you all, have a great week! Enjoy the start of spring.
Parkinson Elder

Monday, March 9, 2015

Birthdays!




First off, Happy Birthday to Mom! I hope it went well. It was a week of birthdays this week, Elder Depallens turned 24 (yeah he's old) yesterday. Sunday birthdays are awesome, because we sent out a mass text to everyone telling them it was his birthday and so they should come to church. It worked all right, we had a couple of new people come, including our athiest investigator! We also had a guy from English class randomly show up and stay all 3 hours, he said he'd be interested in meeting this week, hopefully that works out.
Other then that this week was a little slower then usual. My companion's knee was killing him during the week, he had surgery on it a few years back and it was acting up again, so that slowed us down a little. Luckily he's feeling better now, we're thinking it was just the change in the weather, it's getting a lot warmer suddenly.
I did get a lot of good studies this week, I focused a lot on revelation, I found a really good talk by Elder Oaks from Oct 2010 conference, on how revelation comes personally and through the priesthood. Super good talk. I'm super gratefull for all the scriptures we have. With those and the words of modern prophets we can find answers to pretty much any question. It just might take some time.
We have Elder Kearon of the 70 coming down this week for a missionary conference, that should be awesome. He was the one who gave the conference talk a few years back about being stung by a scorpian because he was wearing flip flops instead of shoes. Awesome talk. I'm looking forward to that conference a lot.
Also, little note on member missionary work. We have a member here called M. He is the only member in his family, but now both his parents are meeting with us and have baptism dates for May, his brother and brother's wife now want to meet with us, and his cousin and her family should now be meeting with the missionaries in another city. All because of M's decision to live the gospel and be a great example to his family. Yeah, he's awesome. Every member a missionary!

Have a great week!
Parkinson Elder

Monday, March 2, 2015

Follow the Spirit

We had an awesome week again. For some reason when I write these letters all the seems to come to mind is Saturdays. Either Saturdays are just always extra good or I have a terrible long term memory.
Anyway, some Saturday highlights. In the morning my companion finds a cockroach in our bathroom. He decides to try and kill it with a can of spray deoderant stuff and a lighter. The cockroach was unharmed, our trash can ended up on fire. Cockroach 1, Man 0. Half an hour later while heading to sport nap (soccer with missionaries, investigators and members), my comapnion redeems himself by jumping off the tram and chasing down a man he had just seen get off the stop before. It was a super cool experience to witness, we found him on an empty side street, bag on the ground, half kneeling and crying. Elder Depallens ran up to him and gave him a hug, bore his testimony about God, and asked how we could help. We talked a little, and gave him some Kleenex and our number. Awesome example of following the Spirit to be an instrument in God's hand to help his children. I don't know if we'll ever see him again, but he needed some help, and God led it to him. We then had a baptism! Sos Éva, an older lady who had been meeting with the missionaries for about 6 months. That was super cool, it had been in question if it would go through or not but everything ended up going smoothly. It was an exhausting day.

Other non-Saturday stuff. On Sunday I had the awesome experience of being able to give Éva the gift of the Holy Ghost, I was very nervous before hand, but it went well. Super cool.

On Wednesday we had a member come out with us for the whole day. It was super cool, he is trying to prepare for a mission, and he was a huge help. One program we were talking about getting answers and out of nowhere he turns to the investigator and says "I challenge you to pray everyday for a week". He told him to come to chruch too. I don't think he'll have a problem with being bold enough when he get's out. Awesome guy.

In a program this week we had a man ask us where our calls came from. At the same time Elder Depallens and I say, "ugh, the prophet". The look on his face was priceless. We then gave him a better explanation.

We had another awesome program with that athiest man from last week. I love athiest investigators, I feel like I can understand them super well. We actually got a decent commitment out of him to read all of 1st Nephi and to pray about some personal decisions in his life.

That's about it, I love you all! Go follow the Spirit and help someone out!

Parkinson Elder