tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50610952605532697412024-03-13T10:57:59.801-07:00Braden's Super Cool Mission to Hungary!Evan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comBlogger110125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-88444866116721855592011-02-01T11:30:00.000-08:002011-02-01T11:37:48.926-08:00A Final Note from Hungary<span style="font-style: italic;">Sziasztok!</span><br /><br />This past week was a blur, a really sad blur. Saying goodbye to so many amazing people has been incredibly difficult! I can’t begin to describe my feelings about leaving Hungary. I seem almost bi-polar! One moment I’m really excited to go home and get back to school, and then the next moment I’m so sad to leave Hungary and the wonderful people here whom I love so much! I wish I could just rip Hungary out of Europe and stick it in Montana or Wyoming – that would be the best solution I think. It’s really depressing that I might never see these people again. I would love to come back but, sadly, there is no guarantee.<br /><br />It is really humbling to have people express over and over their heartfelt gratitude for me and for what I’ve done, especially since I feel like I haven’t done much to be worthy of such thanks. I’ve worked hard, and have tried to improve whenever I slowed down, to teach this wonderful gospel and share my happiness with the people of Hungary – that’s all. Serving here has been really difficult and stressful, but when I think about the friendships I’ve made and the good experiences I’ve had, the difficult times seem small and insignificant in comparison. I can easily say that my experience here in Hungary has been the absolute best experience of my life! I am so grateful that I had this opportunity to serve a mission! I thank everyone for all of the support, love, letters, and emails you have sent to me over the past two years!<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-77321279070682681162011-01-24T14:30:00.000-08:002011-01-24T20:12:50.273-08:00The Coolest Experience Ever<span style="font-style: italic;">Sziasztok!</span><br /><br />Yesterday was one of the best days of my mission! Does anyone remember that one crazy day in Érd I mentioned last summer when my companion and I were tabling and a drunk, homeless man volunteered to help us? The first person he approached was a girl named Nóra who actually came over and talked to us. She began meeting with us regularly and eventually became a strong investigator. But then she moved to France. I feared that might be the last I heard of her until I got a surprise email from her telling me that she was getting baptized on October 30th in France. Of course I was super happy!<br /><br />A few weeks after her baptism, she told me that she would be coming back to Hungary for a visit around Christmas time. I was hoping that I could meet her in Érd before leaving Hungary, but she never replied to my email. And then yesterday she walked into the branch house in Pápa for Sacrament Meeting!! My jaw dropped and I was almost speechless. Her timing was pretty good because I was giving my last talk in church as a fulltime missionary. After Sacrament Meeting ended, I got to talk to her and it was the coolest experience EVER! She showed me her French baptismal certificate and told me how happy she is. It was amazing to hear her talk about the gospel and the church and to see how strong her testimony is!!!<br /><br />During this whole time I was in shock to be talking to Nóra, my old investigator with whom I had struggled to teach the gospel and resolve lingering doubts before she basically just disappeared into France. And now here she was: a strong, dedicated member of the Church of Jesus Christ with a powerful testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel. To think that I was able to help her in the very beginning; well, there is NO better feeling in the world than knowing that you have made a difference for the better in someone's life! I still can't believe how fast yesterday went by, but I will never forget it. Nor will I forget my personal testimony that the scripture in <a href="http://lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/18.15?lang=eng#14">Doctrine and Covenants 18:15</a> really is true!<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-47138123909531512222011-01-17T13:00:00.000-08:002011-01-17T13:02:29.431-08:00Working with the Members<span style="font-style: italic;">Sziasztok!</span><br /><br />I don't have much to write about today since I just wrote a few days ago. Four of our investigators came to church on Sunday and they really enjoyed it! That’s pretty exciting.<br /><br />This week will be interesting because our mission president wants us to place special focus on meeting with the members so that we can build our relationships with them and get referrals from them. I’m sure that will be really fun because members can be the best missionaries ever! So please pray for us and the members here in Pápa this week!<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-60991764793422832732011-01-14T12:40:00.000-08:002011-01-14T12:42:54.645-08:00A Crazy WeekHelló!<br /><br />Well this week has been pretty crazy and busy which is why I didn’t have time to write until today. One thing that is kind of frustrating for me right now is that people have started referring to my mission in the past tense! My mission wasn’t great! It <span style="font-weight: bold;">IS </span>great! I haven’t left yet! It is really weird to think that I only have a few short weeks left – so I try not to think about it.<br /><br />Things in Pápa are doing really well. We started a branch family night that has really helped our investigators get to know the members and develop friendships with them. Such friendships are important because we missionaries eventually always leave, but the members don’t. The people we are teaching are doing well and getting more serious about studying the gospel! It is so neat to see them progress! I know that as they continue to come to church and read the scriptures they’ll gain a testimony and receive an answer from God that this really is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in its fullness and that with this gospel they can find true peace and happiness in their lives! This gospel has blessed my life in so many ways and it is so cool to see others progress and receive those same blessings!<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-59972775318578873532011-01-03T13:10:00.000-08:002011-01-03T13:13:51.753-08:00A Miracle<span style="font-style: italic;">Boldog Új Évet!</span><br /><br />Happy New Year! Life goes by way too fast!<br /><br />The coolest thing that happened last week was when Elder Austin and I along with Lackó, one of the youth here, tried to visit a few inactive members. We couldn’t get in touch with the one we looked for first so we decided to try to visit someone who had been on our minds lately. He was really surprised and actually very happy to see us. He invited us in and we had a super long program with him.<br /><br />To make a long story short, this less active member told us that he regrets leaving the church and that he was happier when he was fully active! He kept on saying that. Something happened to him recently to change his heart and now he recognizes what he had once had in the past but is now missing. He came to church yesterday for the first time in a while and everybody was super glad to see him! He had such a good experience that he wants to come to all of the activities! What super great news!<br /><br />The thing that was so neat about this experience is that we didn’t do anything! The Lord did all of the work and we just witnessed the wonderful blessings of His work! I really hope that this member will continue to come to church because he is such an awesome guy. So, the lesson for me is: don’t give up on people who aren’t active in the church. You never know when the Lord will step in and show us one of His miracles!<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-86827381187078214122010-12-27T11:15:00.000-08:002010-12-27T11:26:06.439-08:00Boldog Új Évet!<span style="font-style: italic;">Boldog Új Évet!</span><br /><br />I hope that everyone had a great Christmas! I did! It was really difficult to do missionary work though. Everyone was busy and so no one could meet with us. But on Monday we were able to find a really cool family while tracting and we had a really good program with them. So hopefully we'll be able to meet with them more!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK136WaiuI_-z8I_3Ibfj7U8oBK6KQw79Vmrv4mrVbPXLwfsunibbViqn0LVCGG_hLw9eFCqPRPlBxMSGegLAqWWXc5RsrjO0-oHO6-IJ7LcImRWcpjjOH6TtzI4WUCToePxsomLVqm8S7/s1600/IMG_6361_S.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK136WaiuI_-z8I_3Ibfj7U8oBK6KQw79Vmrv4mrVbPXLwfsunibbViqn0LVCGG_hLw9eFCqPRPlBxMSGegLAqWWXc5RsrjO0-oHO6-IJ7LcImRWcpjjOH6TtzI4WUCToePxsomLVqm8S7/s400/IMG_6361_S.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5555444796537904626" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Standing at the edge of frozen Lake Balaton.</span><br /></div><br />On Christmas day, my companion and I drove down to the Balaton! (Lake Balaton is the largest lake in central Europe and a major tourist destination in Hungary.) It was freezing! Literally. The wind was soooo strong and the lake was almost completely frozen over. It was a fun experience.<br /><br />Happy New Year!<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-85983272619775916692010-12-20T14:10:00.000-08:002010-12-23T14:12:08.998-08:00Boldog Karácsonyt!<span style="font-style: italic;">Helló!</span><br /><br />I don’t have much time to write today. My new companion is Elder Austin and he is from Mississippi. He’s way cool and we get along really well. Everything is going great here in Hungary! I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! Boldog Karácsonyt!<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-15693054591828189132010-12-13T11:55:00.000-08:002010-12-13T12:09:51.681-08:00Another Transfer<span style="font-style: italic;">Sziasztok!</span><br /><br />Well, transfer calls came this week! This transfer was a week shorter than usual so that the missionaries who are leaving Hungary wouldn’t have to travel during the crazy Christmas week. It is going to be really weird to see four of the missionaries from my Missionary Training Center (MTC) group go home on Wednesday. The way MTC assignments and transfers in the field work is that missionaries can choose to stay in the country for 15 transfers for a mission total of 101 weeks (three weeks short of a full two years) or 16 transfers in the field for a total of 107 weeks (two years plus three weeks). Four of the missionaries in my MTC group chose to serve for 15 transfers and one other Elder and I chose to serve for 16 transfers. More than half of my group is going to die (missionary slang for completing their service) in two days! That will really be weird.<br /><br />I’m going to be training again! That’ll be exciting. On Wednesday I'll find out who I will be serving with.<br /><br />Things are going well, but the work is still difficult. After handing out almost 3.000 – in Hungary, commas and periods are switched – fliers only about six new people came to our English class! We really need to figure out a better way to advertise. And as soon as we do we’ll be able to have a lot more success!<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-4690724532585799822010-12-06T11:30:00.000-08:002010-12-06T11:41:35.584-08:00Mikulás<span style="font-style: italic;">Helló!</span><br /><br />Last week was awesome! It snowed a few inches and that was great! The snow made driving a little interesting and REALLY slow, but even that was okay.<br /><br />My companion and I are trying to get more people into our English class program because it is really weak right now. We put an announcement in the newspaper and passed out almost 3,000 fliers, so hopefully more people will start attending soon.<br /><br />On Saturday we had a “<span style="font-style: italic;">Mikulás</span>” party in the branch house! <span style="font-style: italic;">Mikulás </span>is Santa Claus or Saint Nicholas in Hungarian. Here in Hungary <span style="font-style: italic;">Mikulás </span>comes on the night of December 5th and the kids get candy and stuff on the morning of the 6th. So you can all be jealous because I already got to see Santa!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFF9tAcSoJ9LgBeR0heVs-0MHT42vHgMlyKtq5Vzlt-u98gxBz8XFy3pCkxcs6GCOUPGveNQdPG-pT3-RjnZz1qDCTi9tDsJBluTRQdqR-fX6c9H3OHc62UlFt2JH-LowiA6tR_L4de5ba/s1600/P1020412_WS.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 346px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFF9tAcSoJ9LgBeR0heVs-0MHT42vHgMlyKtq5Vzlt-u98gxBz8XFy3pCkxcs6GCOUPGveNQdPG-pT3-RjnZz1qDCTi9tDsJBluTRQdqR-fX6c9H3OHc62UlFt2JH-LowiA6tR_L4de5ba/s400/P1020412_WS.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547654272945623714" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Sitting on the lap of </span><span>Mikulás </span><span style="font-style: italic;">during a party at the branch house.</span><br /></div><br />Our investigators are doing well. Unfortunately, one of them lives in a small village about 25 kilometers away from Pápa. It is extremely difficult for him to get to church because the bus schedules are so incredibly terrible. But we’re just going to give him time while we try to figure out some possible solutions. It is kind of a frustrating situation.<br /><br />Well, this week is sure to be fun! Pray for us and our investigators! I love you all!<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-73730912429035579432010-11-29T11:20:00.000-08:002010-11-29T11:24:11.616-08:00Thanksgiving in Szombathely<span style="font-style: italic;">Sziasztok!</span><br /><br />The past few weeks have been really neat! Two Sundays ago my companion and I drove one of our investigators home from church and his mom surprised us with a HUGE lunch. Her hospitality was awesome, but we already had planned to eat at a member’s house so it was really difficult to eat that second lunch! Hungarians are so nice! Then we drove to Győr because there was a new missionary who had come to Hungary a few weeks late because of a surgery. The mission office sent him on a train to Győr by himself and then we picked him up and drove him to his first area in Sopron! We then stayed in Sopron and went on splits with the missionaries there.<br /><br />Monday was really cool because I was able to meet with Marika and Bea whom I helped find and teach when I served in Sopron a year ago! They were baptized the week after I left Sopron and they are still doing great! It was so much fun to be able to meet with them again!<br /><br />Thanksgiving was great! We drove up to Szombathely and the Haslems, a senior missionary couple, cooked a giant American Thanksgiving dinner for us. It was great! We also watched the movie “The Other Side of Heaven” in Hungarian! That was pretty fun!<br /><br />Tomorrow is Zone Conference and I have to give a training so wish me luck!<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-91738725897862587922010-11-15T21:05:00.000-08:002010-11-16T21:16:06.422-08:00Hédi's Baptism<span style="font-style: italic;">Sziasztok!</span><br /><br />Last week was really fun! We had a lot of programs and were able to teach a ton, which is the best. But by far the best part of the week was Hédi's baptism!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCrxMN5-Nr7WUTV9jMnKTW5W5cnFyCJA2AplXMWvxAPnLPyHKPBM6HqJjTGWQHdDIgXxXpPFPd9rlo1jA0d4skH7GDbAuvZDau8g1FkRgeu4EQiiNn4WtOCO4V7vrksS7AO6qGAs9mkunk/s1600/P1020358_WS.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCrxMN5-Nr7WUTV9jMnKTW5W5cnFyCJA2AplXMWvxAPnLPyHKPBM6HqJjTGWQHdDIgXxXpPFPd9rlo1jA0d4skH7GDbAuvZDau8g1FkRgeu4EQiiNn4WtOCO4V7vrksS7AO6qGAs9mkunk/s400/P1020358_WS.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540380729462096834" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Left to right: Elder Murray (who replaced me in Érd), me, Attila (the ward mission leader in Érd — he’s a STUD), Hédi, Elder Saunders (the new elder I trained </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">in Érd </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">— he just moved to Békéscsaba), and Elder Allen (who replaced Elder Saunders in Érd).</span><br /></span></div><br />So, one of the people that I taught in Érd was baptized on Saturday and I was able to drive down and attend her baptism! First of all, driving in Budapest is CRAZY! Well, at least a lot crazier than in Washington. I made two wrong turns and had to suffer through an hour of traffic in Pest before I figured out how to get to the mission home in Buda. So that was interesting.<br /><br />It was really great to see the members from Érd again and to visit with them. Hédi was really excited about getting baptized, but was a little nervous too! The service went well and the spirit was really strong! It made me want to stay in Hungary forever! Hédi bore her testimony and it was so cool to see how much she had progressed since I first met her. Missionary work truly is amazing and it brings the best joy ever! This experience is worth more than all the money in the world!<br /><br />Hédi's baptism is pretty much the only thing that comes to mind about last week so I'll see you all next week!<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-61262733491645600852010-11-08T14:20:00.000-08:002010-11-09T14:28:48.713-08:00A Strong Testimony<span style="font-style: italic;">Sziasztok!</span><br /><br />Well, a new transfer starts today! Time just keeps on flying by.<br /><br />Everything is going well over here. Fast and testimony meeting was great yesterday! A super cute little kid, who is about eight to ten years old, bore a wonderful testimony! He told about preparing a talk for a special sacrament meeting a few weeks ago when the kids gave talks and sang songs. He had been having a hard time writing his talk when he remembered that he could pray for help. So he prayed to God that he could write a good talk. After that, he said that the words just came really fast. He really got into writing the talk and it ended up being really good! He said that he knows that God helped him and that his testimony was strengthened a ton! How cool is that?! The Spirit was really strong during that meeting – it was really neat to hear such uplifting testimonies.<br /><br />I had another interesting experience yesterday. My companion and I were going to meet a member of the church who hasn’t been coming to meetings all that regularly. I wasn’t looking forward to talking to another person I was sure was just going to throw out a bunch of excuses for not coming to church. It’s so easy to assume that less-active members are just using lame excuses to justify not coming to church – so I judged this man pretty harshly. I was really surprised when I actually talked to him and was able to hear and see and feel his testimony. I came to understand his work situation better and see that it really is difficult for him and he really does come whenever possible. He told me that one week he gave a talk in sacrament meeting and taught both the Sunday school lesson and priesthood lesson all on the same day because he didn’t want to turn anyone down since he can’t help out as much as he would like. He said that the lessons went well and he loved it. He is coming to church next week and will be teaching the Sunday school lesson and the priesthood lesson again because people had to cover for him yesterday. That’s real effort. The members here in Hungary are amazing!<br /><br />As I was thinking about this experience, it popped into my head that if I choose medicine as a career I too will probably have to miss church a few times because of circumstances that are out of my hands. So I learned a good lesson about judging people because I completely misjudged this awesome member. Improving and becoming more Christlike is a long and hard but wonderful process! So let’s all do a little self-examination right now and commit ourselves to be more forgiving, loving, kind, humble, and Christlike! Changing bad habits is always worth the effort!<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-19921221104051674692010-11-02T13:55:00.000-07:002010-11-02T14:00:07.222-07:00The Best Email<span style="font-style: italic;">Helló!</span><br /><br />I just got THE BEST email of my entire life! In Érd I knew a really cool investigator, Nora, who was doing really well but then she moved to France and I haven’t really heard from her since. But I just got an email from her and she said that she was baptized on October 30th in France!!!!! I am SO HAPPY right now!!!!! She’s the girl who a homeless person streeted for Elder Saunders and me. He told her to come and talk to us and she did! And now she has been baptized! I’m so happy for her!!!!!!<br /><br />Also, another investigator from English class in Érd is getting baptized next Saturday!!! I couldn’t be happier!!!! I’m in Budapest right now and our train leaves really soon so I have to go. But God lives and He is definitely a God of miracles!!!! He loves us! Being a missionary is awesome.<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-19640893365071924512010-10-25T13:25:00.000-07:002010-10-26T18:51:08.652-07:00More Red Sludge Cleanup<span style="font-style: italic;">Helló!</span><br /><br />Hey everybody! Things are going well here in Hungary. Elder Caviness and I went to Devecser again on Saturday. Everything is still red. I spent the day working with a few firefighters from Zalaegerszeg, a city southwest of the Balaton. There were about seven of us at this one house. We had a front loader with which we worked on the front yard all day long. After one full day of hard work we were able to get most of the sludge out of the front yard and a small part out of the back yard. But the homeowners have a pretty big garden that we didn’t even have time to touch.<br /><br />Hungarian officials have extended the state of emergency to December 31st, so we have plenty of work to do! But most of the people in the affected areas have already moved away and no one wants to move back, which is pretty understandable. We are all wondering what the long-term consequences are going to be for the ground, rivers, plants, and people who live here and for the people who have helped with the cleanup.<br /><br />The missionary work in Pápa is going pretty smoothly. The situation in Devecser has really distracted us, though. And since Elder Caviness and I are zone leaders, we have to try to help resolve any conflicts or contention among the missionaries in our zone. That is as hard, if not harder, than shoveling sludge all day long! So our focus on our own area has taken a hit and we need to work on that a bit. All in all things, are going well.<br /><br />Thanks for all of your support and love!<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-8021182155704395982010-10-19T13:05:00.000-07:002010-10-19T13:10:09.332-07:00Toxic Sludge Cleanup<span style="font-style: italic;">Sziastok!</span><br /><br />Last week was really crazy! We went to Devecser to shovel toxic sludge on Monday and on Saturday! It has been a really interesting experience. An especially cool thing is that people in other cities have actually come up to the missionaries on the street and thanked them for our help in Devecser! So hopefully this event will let people see that we are actually normal, kind people.<br /><br />On Saturday we had a small group of about fifteen people – which was perfect because we could stay in one group – and we were sent to an auto repair shop to work. There were about ten firefighters and ten other people from another group that were there too. We worked for seven hours straight! The shop owner’s house was right next to the shop. The family was pretty wealthy so they had LOTS of stuff. They had a storage garage that was completely full of furniture and clothes and we had to throw EVERYTHING away. Anything that you can imagine that could be in a house was covered in sludge. We just threw everything into piles so that a bulldozer could come and put it into a large container.<br /><br />Helping with the cleanup is actually really fun work, kind of like playing in mud – but you don’t want the mud to touch you. It’s fun, that is, until you remember that everything you see and touch and throw away used to be a part of someone’s life and now it is ALL gone. It is a really weird, humbling, and sad feeling to go through someone’s belongings and throw everything away.<br /><br />I have so many pictures and videos – I’ve already filled up a brand new 4 GB SD card! The only problem is that I forgot my camera at home so I can’t post any new pictures today!<br /><br />I am really grateful that I have had this opportunity to help these people physically and spiritually. Being a missionary is amazing!<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-63722918709169833362010-10-12T10:10:00.000-07:002010-10-12T19:02:57.598-07:00VörösiszapHelló!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEGzbAWkH7GBYHrn4xNlOiFhPMqupda8GPos9dWNDuENmP9BIdisQM1oTk85C-viDoqEWo5Puu5WQAOCb0_XgfFcFc1_mQEjbWakmlINTB-dfVNahDluCZImN3TUP4bjrRV1pMgcYjA-BP/s1600/CleanupInDevescer.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 186px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEGzbAWkH7GBYHrn4xNlOiFhPMqupda8GPos9dWNDuENmP9BIdisQM1oTk85C-viDoqEWo5Puu5WQAOCb0_XgfFcFc1_mQEjbWakmlINTB-dfVNahDluCZImN3TUP4bjrRV1pMgcYjA-BP/s400/CleanupInDevescer.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527210474323404098" border="0" /></a>Well, I’m sure that everyone is really curious about the <span style="font-style: italic;">vörösiszap</span>. (Literally: “red sludge,” but I guess everyone in America is calling it the toxic spill). Last week was intense to say the least. Since Elder Caviness and I are the closest missionaries to the towns that were affected, and since we are also Zone Leaders with a car, the responsibility to organize and coordinate a relief effort sort of fell onto our shoulders! So we spent about two days straight calling the Stake Presidency, missionaries, branch presidents, and bishops to figure out how many people could participate and how many supplies we had to buy.<br /><br />It all started last Monday when we were with an investigator and she told us that something crazy had happened in a nearby town called Kolontár. She said that there was some sort of toxic sludge spill. We drove to the area from the east through a city called Ajka, but the police had closed the road and we couldn’t get in. We drove around for a while and tried to go into Devecser, but the entrance to the city was closed – there were cars lined up along the road and no one was getting let it. The road into the town was completely red.<br /><br />A few days later we learned that people were being let into Devecser to help, so we talked to our mission president about putting together a relief effort. Friday morning we drove back to Devecser. There were police everywhere with protective masks, and they even had automatic machine guns too! (I assume that the guns were to make sure that no one did anything stupid because of panic.) It was really surreal to walk and drive through the town. I felt like I was in a war zone. Everything was red and destroyed.<br /><br />We went to city hall and talked to the people in charge of the relief efforts. They said that they would love to have a group of people come and help. We then talked to our mission president who told us that the church would be sending tons of money to help with the cleanup. He also told us that we were in charge for the time being. That’s when things got really hectic.<br /><br />We had our own relief plan, and then we found out that other branches and the stake all had their own plans too, so we had to coordinate them all and try to group them together. We had a small group planned for Saturday (okt. 9) with people from Veszprém and a few from Győr. Then on Monday (okt. 11) we would have a big official group from Szombathely, Győr, Pápa, Veszprém, Székesfehérvár, and Budapest.<br /><br />We drove to Tatabánya and met the senior missionary couple who work in the mission office and they gave us almost $2,000 and a small van so we could purchase and transport supplies for the groups. This was the stressful part because we had to buy boots, gloves, masks, and glasses for about 40 people and we only had about 24 hours to do it and there were only a few stores that sold those things with the quality and in the quantity we needed. Also, everyone else wanted to buy those things too. So we drove all over the place trying to get what we needed. In the end we were able to get almost all of the needed supplies.<br /><br />On Saturday we went to Devecser to work with the members from Veszprém. The security was more relaxed by then; none of the police had machine guns. We spent the day shoveling sludge from people’s yards into giant containers. As soon as we filled one container, someone would take it away and bring in a new one. People were still living in Devecser and it was crazy to hear and see them cleaning their houses and talking about what happened. Pretty much everyone wants to move since their houses and yards and belongings have all been destroyed. The worst part is that all of the land is probably going to die and no one will be able to grow anything – it will be extremely dead and devoid of green vegetation, so even if people could clean their houses the area would be miserable to live in. Kolontár is the little town right next to where the waste was stored and everyone is calling it a dead town. No one will be able to live there for a very, very long time.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSOYdooITebECH9k31pxwBcO4R5Lolv6tXOthozIvjfjY4OYXxpATOxZKmBL-KkssuLq5z_unpYwgkRo8Kji02PndCxcxe7qX8ZFT6AyfjID2jaDULEoUHguwRoQpkxpNVwVyjvHYdrdO9/s1600/InMyCleanupClothes.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 269px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSOYdooITebECH9k31pxwBcO4R5Lolv6tXOthozIvjfjY4OYXxpATOxZKmBL-KkssuLq5z_unpYwgkRo8Kji02PndCxcxe7qX8ZFT6AyfjID2jaDULEoUHguwRoQpkxpNVwVyjvHYdrdO9/s320/InMyCleanupClothes.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527211510953528930" border="0" /></a>Monday was the big day and it was really cool to see about 45 members from all over the northwestern part of Hungary come to help. We were split into two groups and the group that I was in went to the post office in Devescer. We pretty much stayed there the whole day getting furniture out and shoveling sludge. But we were also able to remove a lot of destroyed furniture and stuff from a nearby house. And since we came in such a big group we got to wear the yellow <span style="font-style: italic;">Mormon Segítő Kézek </span>(Mormon Helping Hands) vests! It was actually a lot of fun.<br /><br />Many are probably curious about how dangerous the sludge is. When it came out of the storage area it had a pH level of 13 out of 14 and so it was burning holes in people’s skin, but now after it rained twice the pH level has dropped down to 11 in many areas. So we can get it on our skin and not have any problems if we scrub it off with soap and water within about 24 hours. And now since the weather is a bit nicer, the problem is that the sludge is drying and the dust will cause cancer if you breath enough of it. But if we wear good quality masks, which we did, then we shouldn’t have any problems.<br /><br />Another big group is probably going back to help again this Saturday and my companion and I will be helping out every p-day until there is nothing left to do. Also the church is donating A LOT of money to the relief efforts. I don’t want to give an exact number because I’m not completely sure, but it is very generous. And very much appreciated.<br /><br />Please keep the people affected by this disaster in your prayers. They really need it.<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-80313868163990167382010-10-04T10:00:00.000-07:002010-10-12T10:08:44.680-07:00Life in PápaSziasztok!<br /><br />Last week was really good! Pápa is a really cool place! It reminds me of Sopron, just smaller. The branch is really small; there were about 15-20 people in church yesterday but they are all really cool! There was a really cool girl who went to college in Sopron when I was there and she was baptized last December with her mom and they live here in Pápa! So it is really cool to see them here again!<br /><br />We have a few investigators here, but our English class isn’t doing so well. We’re going to work hard and get it going and then we’ll be able to find more people to teach.<br /><br />I’m sure that everyone loved General Conference, but we weren’t able to see it live. We’re going to watch it in our branch house this weekend. I’m really excited!<br /><br />One of the interesting things about Pápa is that the people speak with a slightly heavy accent. This country is smaller than Washington state, but there are at least 4 different accents in the country! They aren’t difficult to understand though, but they are very noticeably different.<br /><br />I’m still trying to get used to the new area so I don’t have a ton to write. But I love you all and I love Hungary! It is such an incredible privilege to teach the people here about Jesus Christ and His restored gospel!<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-44398653009629362442010-09-27T14:15:00.000-07:002010-09-27T20:04:39.356-07:00Go West, Elder Anderson<span style="font-style: italic;">Helló!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRoUjKpRgRjC0CsTZGQe0jo80t2hUwdrHxEB8plUFrC0_i3pmIDjWBUCbc-ulnwJK3HYxetSKcgqVmoPRtgPTbAO4Cxw1n2qav4gWGWFn8BEnCS8d_QZctv3TeXAq3OSigVtRG_-0gietM/s1600/BudapestAndP%C3%A1paHungaryMap.png"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 123px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRoUjKpRgRjC0CsTZGQe0jo80t2hUwdrHxEB8plUFrC0_i3pmIDjWBUCbc-ulnwJK3HYxetSKcgqVmoPRtgPTbAO4Cxw1n2qav4gWGWFn8BEnCS8d_QZctv3TeXAq3OSigVtRG_-0gietM/s200/BudapestAndP%C3%A1paHungaryMap.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521707009860498562" border="0" /></a>I have interesting news! I’m being transferred to Pápa! My new companion will be Elder Caviness who is just one transfer older than me. We spent time together in the MTC! It’ll be a blast, especially since we can both speak Hungarian pretty decently! I’m kind of sad to leave Érd because I have grown to love the people and members here, but I know that they’ll be in good hands. Especially because Elder Murray from Stanwood will be taking my place in Érd! He’ll have a great time.<br /><br />Last Saturday we had a branch party in a park north of Budapest and it was really neat. The son of one of the members of the branch presidency has a kung-fu camp there and that is where we went. He came to the activity and brought a few of his students, and they did a really cool presentation for us. He is SUPER talented. He has won three kung-fu world championships and one Thai boxing world championship too. Through a bunch of interesting connections he was able to travel to China and study and practice with kung-fu masters for five years at a place called Shaolin Temple which has been around for 1500 years! So basically I wouldn’t want to get on his bad side. After he and his students did their presentation, he told some really cool stories about when he was training in China and what he had to do. Then we played soccer and had a lot of fun together. One of our investigators came to the activity and she had a really good time hanging out with the members. It was a big success!<br /><br />Our investigators are doing really well and one was finally able to come to church! She was struggling for a while because she is so busy, but she came this week and she really enjoyed it. When I asked her how it was she said that it was all <span style="font-style: italic;">igaz </span>which means true! I’m super excited for her.<br /><br />I have a firm and solid belief that Jesus is the Christ, our Redeemer and our Savior, and that He has restored His complete gospel to the earth. I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to share with others the faith that has blessed my family and me so much! Missionary work is awesome!<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-65247982995581988182010-09-20T15:50:00.000-07:002010-09-22T16:07:03.647-07:00‘Flyering’<span style="font-style: italic;">Sziasztok!</span><br /><br />Last week was pretty good. Fall is definitely here. The weather is getting colder, and that means that ‘streeting’ and ‘tabling’ are getting less effective. Elder Saunders and I printed a ton (1,800) fliers to advertize our English class. So now we go ‘flyering’ when no one is on the street and no one feels like talking to us in their houses.<br /><br />We made some really nice looking posters for our table and were really excited to go tabling this week. I was especially interested to see how Elder Saunders would like the experience. He said that it was the most awkward thing he’s ever done! Haha. And he’s right: it is pretty awkward. But that’s missionary work! I’ve heard missionaries say that a mission is a two-year awkward moment! Hahaha. That really is true, especially for missionaries who are bold. So tabling went well with Elder Saunders, but we didn’t have much success. The location where we set up our table is really bad, but it’s the only place where we have permission from the city to table.<br /><br />On Saturday we have a really cool branch activity planned! We’re going to a park where we’ll play soccer and volleyball and have fun. At least one of our investigators is coming with us, otherwise it wouldn’t be worth it to go. Things are going well with investigators, but we definitely need more people to teach! But all in all things are going really well here in Érd!<br /><br />As usual, I’m in a hurry and have to go now! I love you all!<br /><br />~Anderson elder<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQESmtYQkGZSa627E9l85YP4xP5-S6oK04jUw2qpDuK6kaUKpHAR9q-Lctl6Gaca70MktZpv4Wzuj4G5ue56eVVQ-A0poF3fnNyaE9msFPAulM0T6heoMp_12ymcBGaE0vlBX-OZAl1eop/s1600/P1040545_WS.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 370px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQESmtYQkGZSa627E9l85YP4xP5-S6oK04jUw2qpDuK6kaUKpHAR9q-Lctl6Gaca70MktZpv4Wzuj4G5ue56eVVQ-A0poF3fnNyaE9msFPAulM0T6heoMp_12ymcBGaE0vlBX-OZAl1eop/s400/P1040545_WS.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519877679385942418" border="0" /></a>Sweetest picture ever of tracting!!!</div>Evan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-46508665272273800492010-09-13T19:40:00.000-07:002010-09-14T19:46:45.520-07:00Inspirational Training<span style="font-style: italic;">Sziasztok!</span><br /><br />Last week was really fun! And the three-day training was really, really cool. We didn’t learn anything new; the lessons were just to help us teach to people’s needs instead of just saying the same thing to everyone.<br /><br />One of the most powerful lessons was about love and missionary work. This lesson taught us that genuine love and concern for other people need to be our main motivation. We need to find investigators because we love and care about people. We need to teach people because we are concerned for them, not just because it what we’re supposed to do. And we need to make sure that people understand and feel that we care about them, that we’re not meeting with them just because it’s our “job.” That was the overall theme of the entire training. It was really inspirational.<br /><br />It was also fun because after about an hour of training we would role-play and practice what we had just learned for another hour and a half. At the end of each day, my companion and I got to sleep in the mission home, which was a real treat because it is super nice and the beds are very comfy!<br /><br />Well, as usual I’m in a hurry. Elder Saunders and I are going to visit the Parliament building and we need to leave now. I love you all and will write again next week!<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-53654183710807930782010-09-07T07:45:00.000-07:002010-09-07T07:48:40.676-07:00Lovin’ Life in Hungary<span style="font-style: italic;">Sziasztok!</span><br /><br />Last week was really fun and we had some good success. Unfortunately, I don’t have any time to tell you about it. I have to go right now because the really cool training I mentioned two weeks ago is going to start in half an hour and I haven’t even read all my email yet. I just want to say that I’m alive, that I’m well, that our investigators are doing fine, and that I’m lovin’ life in Hungary! Love you all!<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-9912061744949573632010-08-30T11:15:00.000-07:002010-08-31T11:17:40.587-07:00Miracles<span style="font-style: italic;">Sziasztok!</span><br /><br />This last week was really fun! Elder Saunders and I found a new investigator and she is really cool! She has never been taught anything about religion or any sort of spiritual stuff so we get to discuss all the basics with her. It is really interesting trying to help her understand who and what God is. And who Jesus Christ is and what He did for us and what his atonement means for us. Everything is so new and strange to her, but she loves the feeling she has whenever we teach about the Gospel. We have really high hopes for her! She’s awesome!<br /><br />Also we had a really cool miracle experience with another investigator this week. We have been teaching her about prayer. We have shown her how to pray in her own words, making it a personal experience. Then yesterday she sent us the coolest text message ever! She said that she had just visited one of her colleagues from work because he was sick and pretty old. She bought some groceries and stuff for him, then said a prayer for him before leaving. When she got home he sent her a text message saying that his fever had gone away even though he hadn’t taken any medicine! She said that she was super grateful that God really did hear her prayers and that He answered them! How cool is that?! Now she has a testimony that God really does answer prayers! It is amazing to be able to teach people about the gospel and to see their faith in God grow as He works miracles in their lives! Being a missionary is pretty amazing.<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-36951785429117300942010-08-23T15:50:00.000-07:002010-08-23T15:53:00.687-07:00Greenie Fire<span style="font-style: italic;">Sziasztok!</span><br /><br />I’ll bet some people were surprised last week to read that I am a father! Haha. Missionary slang is great! So my “son’s” name is Elder Saunders and he’s from a town near Salt Lake City, Utah. He is so cool! He has greenie fire coming out of his ears! That means that he has a really strong desire to work hard. They do a really good job of preparing missionaries in the MTC. And he speaks Hungarian really well for a greenie too! I'm super excited to be able to serve with him. He has a lot of great ideas and is very good at following the Spirit. It is way fun to be a trainer!<br /><br />Oh there may have been a misunderstanding about my assignment as a trainer. I probably won’t be training for six months. It’s very possible that I will leave Érd and Elder Saunders in six weeks. I am a trainer this transfer, but next transfer I could go back to being just a regular missionary in another area.<br /><br />Some very interesting things are happening nowadays with regard to missionary work. The Church’s missionary department has come up with some really neat worldwide trainings for missionaries and we get to have them this transfer. So for three days we will be in Budapest being trained for almost the whole day about how to be more effective teachers and how to teach according to people’s individual needs rather than just teaching canned lessons to people. I’m really excited about it!<br /><br />Unfortunately, most of our investigators are on vacation, but everything seems to be going well with them. But we still need your prayers and love for the people here! I love being here and serving the Hungarians the best that I can!<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-48874570040393527722010-08-16T09:50:00.000-07:002010-08-16T09:51:24.088-07:00Trainer<span style="font-style: italic;">Sziasztok!</span><br /><br />I’M GONNA BE A DAD!!! Not really, of course. In missionary lingo that means I get to be a trainer for new missionaries! I’m super excited! In a few hours the greenie group is going to wake up at the MTC and get ready to get on the plane to come to Hungary! On Wednesday we’ll get paired up and meet each other. So that is some really cool news.<br /><br />It has been kind of cloudy lately and now the sun is out and it is HUMID! Even in the shade it is impossible to escape the heat!<br /><br />I got some really good news this week about one of our investigators! Remember the girl who went to France a few weeks ago? Well, she has been emailing one of the young women in the Érd Branch and says that she has been going to church and ward activities in France! That is soooo cool! She is amazing. Thank you all for your prayers!<br /><br />I forgot my camera cord, so I can’t send any pictures today. And now we have to hurry so that Elder Taylor can pack his stuff. So I love you all tons! Keep on praying for us! We need it!!<br /><br />~Anderson elderEvan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5061095260553269741.post-89248946714254703902010-08-09T12:30:00.000-07:002010-08-10T13:03:39.717-07:00A Few Pictures<span style="font-style: italic;">Sziasztok!</span><br /><br />As usual I am in a hurry today. Elder Taylor and I went to see a castle in a city called Visegrád north of Budapest this morning and it took a lot of time to get there and back. So instead of writing a ton, I’m going to take advantage of the “a picture is worth a thousand words” philosophy!<br /><br />We are losing investigators and having a hard time finding new people, so I’d like to ask you to keep the people of Érd and us in your prayers! We know that your prayers can help us and the work here!<br /><br />~Anderson elder<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKXoFArrON8qLfN1AXV4d0zRVD76CGQvmDoTFUAkq4pLivN2tjSP3sUB6ltyfz3-0NzQuhDWJyiGYtOcQ4kjrwO2Y588CWhevmh5zxY42L5vITIei0x2j3t7_STxhVpIwcj5jpZMqXrn-u/s1600/IMG_6202_W.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKXoFArrON8qLfN1AXV4d0zRVD76CGQvmDoTFUAkq4pLivN2tjSP3sUB6ltyfz3-0NzQuhDWJyiGYtOcQ4kjrwO2Y588CWhevmh5zxY42L5vITIei0x2j3t7_STxhVpIwcj5jpZMqXrn-u/s400/IMG_6202_W.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503866882919236498" border="0" /><CENTER>Lower part of the Visegrád Castle.</CENTER></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj01b7EY3jO9yXEameMbBCrcKP8EK8JZepWa-2WapoE45QVgW55YglxUmUCdVBBUuSskMoNvIJItmsDZq25PmawyQYNIqL3hupRXTCZTi1QEJgt9pjcuXWdkrU7ec32wXpr3xf5e7VHI_8T/s1600/IMG_6088_W.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj01b7EY3jO9yXEameMbBCrcKP8EK8JZepWa-2WapoE45QVgW55YglxUmUCdVBBUuSskMoNvIJItmsDZq25PmawyQYNIqL3hupRXTCZTi1QEJgt9pjcuXWdkrU7ec32wXpr3xf5e7VHI_8T/s400/IMG_6088_W.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503867713339060210" border="0" /><CENTER>During Zone Conference last week, we went to a really cool outdoor museum called Skanzen.</CENTER></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho3XiMJiM6vwg9ams5-oKEQ3_RuARA0B711XWrjtns_P7hUqk8XFtZG09mEXp5ehx_gu7aSgWdQ1FnQGyikfWLjuyPtEQLR-i9hAJCYylDBr9hPPGfR1jOwWNWQp14yDlf2e1X9VtnPwXv/s1600/IMG_6147_W.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho3XiMJiM6vwg9ams5-oKEQ3_RuARA0B711XWrjtns_P7hUqk8XFtZG09mEXp5ehx_gu7aSgWdQ1FnQGyikfWLjuyPtEQLR-i9hAJCYylDBr9hPPGfR1jOwWNWQp14yDlf2e1X9VtnPwXv/s400/IMG_6147_W.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503868229462801522" border="0" /><CENTER>We hiked all the way up to the castle in our missionary clothes – definitely not a good idea.</CENTER></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjpSzHR0w8mKUzytlm1l5d-_Uo8mLYqq2TXXnBfCHdy2QRGnpCq64ZVcowCW8Kogyqqo_ypUkfOpHMSJjH6r-nX6z2kFCOxWiHrZT6-UY2Xhb72jqYhu51pqmKWL4zHhSB6gWCFO8ycAiG/s1600/IMG_6158W.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 296px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjpSzHR0w8mKUzytlm1l5d-_Uo8mLYqq2TXXnBfCHdy2QRGnpCq64ZVcowCW8Kogyqqo_ypUkfOpHMSJjH6r-nX6z2kFCOxWiHrZT6-UY2Xhb72jqYhu51pqmKWL4zHhSB6gWCFO8ycAiG/s400/IMG_6158W.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503868503717997858" border="0" /><CENTER>At the castle looking out over the Duna – that’s Danube for you English speakers.</CENTER></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHDfs0lCyoeNOVS_HcsQ7ZRZSieEbdriyIJsCjzg98_PvrDTdnybdhgj4Q2FjuDGopKX4_deC3pyxpyY7mzucphLx-dI6uMGU9t8q2fZ35YDgh4y-J99nUDQUZE_XEwURjdvjVVpb6RERw/s1600/IMG_6159_W.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHDfs0lCyoeNOVS_HcsQ7ZRZSieEbdriyIJsCjzg98_PvrDTdnybdhgj4Q2FjuDGopKX4_deC3pyxpyY7mzucphLx-dI6uMGU9t8q2fZ35YDgh4y-J99nUDQUZE_XEwURjdvjVVpb6RERw/s400/IMG_6159_W.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503868878058602034" border="0" /><CENTER>Entrance into the main castle ruins.</CENTER></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfkdisQCDKm1b8Yb9aX6oDT7ngsjsEYccsvU7x2MWzFBw3O-YzM7jYyuIWkTkF3W91S4s98a0ROasNcyJZJgdQzjTL40YfFqJKH4GWBbB0RhYRYaJe_WH4l3DiurvQNIB0pfuXMKdj2nQ/s1600/IMG_6164_W.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfkdisQCDKm1b8Yb9aX6oDT7ngsjsEYccsvU7x2MWzFBw3O-YzM7jYyuIWkTkF3W91S4s98a0ROasNcyJZJgdQzjTL40YfFqJKH4GWBbB0RhYRYaJe_WH4l3DiurvQNIB0pfuXMKdj2nQ/s400/IMG_6164_W.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503869146388892258" border="0" /><CENTER>GO HUNGARY!</CENTER></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-mhp80oTvmLIrGrovDIzoAQM_mHcMvs7VxRes1hGp2oD596kYRCme07x6D5eAdTHe-F1VJj2UIiy4GoUkmA5ELXDMZv8S4ULqvUv6SrltyYK6Hru0vnhlGEu8TM32QI-u-9JJzRkYAg_2/s1600/IMG_6175_W.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-mhp80oTvmLIrGrovDIzoAQM_mHcMvs7VxRes1hGp2oD596kYRCme07x6D5eAdTHe-F1VJj2UIiy4GoUkmA5ELXDMZv8S4ULqvUv6SrltyYK6Hru0vnhlGEu8TM32QI-u-9JJzRkYAg_2/s400/IMG_6175_W.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503869386007190498" border="0" /><CENTER>Inside the castle ruins.</CENTER></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQU4X-BuMO25jbzYJ0j8BwWVBlSpd0xJeCxweKGcmzbl5id9qRPJ3p0t8nMB_UpCMiLLw2WWenubtTgXegOY5_EipAfKRvZm2EjzqsbbNZ9ynCLABByVV1yEYzxnkxSHl3tW5mpWth_N9g/s1600/IMG_6191_W.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 302px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQU4X-BuMO25jbzYJ0j8BwWVBlSpd0xJeCxweKGcmzbl5id9qRPJ3p0t8nMB_UpCMiLLw2WWenubtTgXegOY5_EipAfKRvZm2EjzqsbbNZ9ynCLABByVV1yEYzxnkxSHl3tW5mpWth_N9g/s400/IMG_6191_W.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503870441288008882" border="0" /><CENTER>Sometimes missionary work is really hard!</CENTER></a>Evan Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07771266828113638759noreply@blogger.com