Sunday, January 22, 2012

Sister Bagozzi and Sister Hudspeth


Since we had our YA New Year's Eve Party on Friday night we were still able to have our own New Year's Eve party with the missionaries on December 31st. Sister Bagozzi is always a good sport. Here she is trying on Sister Hudspeth's mask for the evening.

New Year's Eve Party


Of course no party would be complete without food. We had plenty of that. We tried to get everyone together for a picture but of course it was hard to get them all together. We think about 80 people came to the party so we were happy with that.

New Year's Eve Party



One of the games they played was an obstacle course. They had all kinds of things in the way including people. I'm always amazed at how much fun they have with simple games. It was hysterical watching people get in the way and stay in one position for several minutes while others manuvered around them. Very fun game.

New Year's Eve Party



As part of the decorations for the New Year's Eve Party, they cut out figures of people dancing. It looked really cool. Then they made confetti out of the paper and wrote the words " Boldog Uj Evet" with them. I thought it was a very clever idea.

New Year's Eve Party



Our New Year's Eve Party was alot of fun. The best part was we had many YA help us get ready for it. They helped with food, decorations and games. The girls are making Pogacas. They are small Hungarian rolls with cheese on top. They are very tasty.

Elder Johnson and Elder Olsen


These are two of my favorite Elders. Elder Johnson and Elder Olsen. Elder Johnson served in the office as one of the secretaries. He didn't like decorating which was sad because we had a lot of parties therefore lots of decorating. But he always had a good attitude and was so fun to work with. Elder Olsen was lots of help with the loom hats and scarves. His mom taught him to knit and crochet so he was so helpful with that project. He always had good advice about which yarn to use. I'm going to miss them.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

New Group of Missionaries

When a new group of missionaries come to Hungary, Sister Baughman serves them dinner in their apartment. This time there was a large group so we helped her with the dinner. They are a super group of missionaries. They are excited to be here and ready to get to work. The Assistants are at the front of the table - the rest had only been here for a few hours. It was fun to get to meet all of them before they left for their assigned areas.

Christmas Caroling

Another activity we did in December was Christmas Caroling. We went over to the Mall and sang as people were coming to shop. Several people stopped to listen. While we were singing the missionaries would try to talk to people or at least give them a Pass Along Card. Afterward we went back to the Center and had Hot Chocolate and cake. It was a fun evening.

New "smart" Elders


I'm not sure what brought on this idea but one day these 3 decided to buy black rimmed glasses. They said it made them look smarter. So I had to get a picture of their new look. The funny part of the story is they all went into Claires together to buy them. Can you imagine what the clerk thought when she saw 3 guys come into their store??? Elder Olsen is in the chair, with Elder Beaumont ( near the tree) and Elder Johnson on the couch.

Hot Chocolate - before Transfers

Sister Deleon, Elder Olsen and Elder Johnson were all being tranferred to a new area. So one morning we took them to Starbucks for Hot Chocolate and cinnamon rolls. It was super cold outside so it was nice to take a break and warm up.

Christmas morning

The Office Elders and the Assistants came to our apartment Christmas morning to open their stockings. There were 3 Office Elders at the time because Elder Johnson didn't leave until Wednesday. We had a great time. On the couch - Elder Van Wie, Jackson, Smith and Johnson. Sitting on the floor - Elder Wanlass. Super nice young men. We love serving with them.

Christmas Football Game


The day after Christmas our Zone had a Football game. They called me that morning to see if I wanted to come watch. It was way fun. I tried to get action pictures but it was too hard to get close and stay out of the way. At the end of the game they tried to show me how to catch and throw the football. That was the funniest part of the whole game.

Bishop's Son


One night the Bishop of the Buda Ward was at the building. His little boy was with him so I asked if he could have a cookie. He loved it. Darling little boy- The Bishop is a returned Missionary who served in Hungary. His wife is Hungarian. He's doing a great job as Bishop. They have 3 cute little boys.

White Elephant Gifts



This was another fun White Elephant Gift at our Christmas Zone Party. Elder Clavel got the braids and Elder Bouck got the antlers and red nose. They were good sports about it and let me take their picture.

White Elephant Gifts



For part of our Christmas Zone Conferences we had a White Elephant Gift Exchange with each Zone. It was so fun to watch. I went to most of them. The top one is Elder Allen with his pink bowl. He's one of the least feminine guys you will ever meet. It was the perfect gift for him. The next is Elder Conklin. One side of the picture "Girls from the Ensign" - the other side is a picture of the Savior. The note said " One side for every day - the other side for apartment checks". It was a very clever gift.

Matching Sweaters


This is Sister Roney -- She was at the Mission Home for Christmas Zone Conferences so when we saw we were wearing matching sweaters -- we had to have a picture taken.

Primary Class


This is the Primary class I taught one Sunday. It was a little tricky trying to get a picture. I had the camera set on automatic so I couldn't see who was or wasn't looking. Darling little kids. The next Sunday - Stephanie ( in red) saw me at church and was so excited. She told her mom, "there's my Primary teacher" I wish - it was so much fun. All you do for two hours is color, play games, eat snacks, sing songs and have a 3 minute lesson. It can't get much better than that.

Pecs - Christmas Play

This group of YA drove 2 hours to put on a Christmas play for us. The Baileys ( older couple on the end) are serving in Pecs at the Center there. They brought the Play with them from the states, had one of the YA translate it into Hungarian and then performed it for us. They used the sheet as a backdrop and projected pictures on it from their laptop. It was very cool. When they lit the fireplace the fire turned on. When the dog came into the house, there were barking sounds. They really did a nice job. There were also two investigators who had parts in the play - so that was great.

Ward Christmas Party



This lady and her friend made a Christmas ornament for everyone in the Ward - with their name on it. I don't even know how long it must have taken them. In addition she has 3 small boys whom I'm sure were not real helpful with the project. But everyone loved getting an ornament after the party.

Ward Christmas Tree


Andras does everything for the Ward. He even decorated the Ward Christmas Tree. He didn't want me to take his picture but I did anyway. He's a super nice man. He's always cleaning or setting up chairs or something to help out in the ward.

Ward Chrismas Choir

This is me singing in our Ward Christmas Choir. It was pretty funny because I don't sing and I surely don't read Hungarian very well. But I had a good time. There were lots of people in the Choir so hopefully no one could hear how I was doing.

Our Christmas Tree


Our Christmas Tree. We found one small enough to fit in our apartment. We were also able to find a tree skirt to cover the table. It was very fun having a tree for Christmas.

Gyros Sandwiches

One night the Elders took me to get a Gyros Sandwich. I had heard about them before but was afraid to go because the place looked a little questionable. But turns out the sandwiches are delicious and I lived to tell about it -- so we're good. I've only been once but the Elders go there all the time. Each sandwich costs about $2.00 so it's right in their budget.

Children's Home

This was another one of our Service Projects. We made hats and scarves and delivered them to a home. I'm not exactly sure the situation of these girls. Some are orphans but others do have family but just aren't able to live with them for different reasons. We were only able to visit the girls room that night. We left a bag for the boys as well. The boys you see in this picture are the YA who came with us. It was a great experience. We sang Christmas Carols and played games. They told us we could come back again which we were happy to hear.

Brother Kucskar


This is Brother Kucskar's family. He is our Seminary and Institute Director. He is responsible for about 8 countries. I don't know how he does it. He's a super nice man. He also has two sons but they were nowhere to be found when it got time for pictures so I just took it with his wife and daughters.

Helena Rohr's Baptism


This family is from Germany. Their oldest daughter just got baptized. They are living here for a few years. Stefan ( the husband) has a job working for a water company. Christiane's ( the wife) parents came for the baptism. Her mother only speaks German. I tried to talk to her but couldn't understand a word she said. Pretty funny - super nice family. Amy - the little girl in purple was in my Primary class.

Christmas Picture

I guess this is my Christmas card for this year. St Istvan's Basilica is in the background. It's one of the biggest churches in Buda. As you can see they really decorate nice for Christmas.

Children's School



One of our Service Projects we did in December was to visit a school in Pest. We took them shoes, clothes, coats and blankets. We played games with them, colored pictures and read books. It was pretty funny because I don't read very well- at least not in Hungarian. The little girl sitting on my lap just kept giving me the strangest looks. I'm sure she was thinking " good thing you're here at school, because you need help with your reading"

Elder Beaumont


This is Elder Beaumont. He came into the Center on his P-day with this matching outfit. So of course I had to have a picture. He said he didn't buy the shoes and shirt to match but I suspect there's another version to that story. We also have a sister missionary with pink shoes and pink shirt. My goal is to get a picture of them together.

Christmas Cookies



One night for FHE - Csaladi Est we decorated Christmas cookies. For some reason none of the girls came. It was way fun watching the boys figure out how to decorate cookies. The funniest thing was Elder Bagozzi trying to help them. He was unintentionally showing them how to hold the bag "wrong". But everyone had a good time. It was so much fun that I decorated more the next day for our apartment check treats.