Monday, 10 June (10 Days Left)
Well, in ten days I’ll be home. I can’t remember
too much about today. Because the Carpenter’s were gone for a while in
the afternoon, we wound up stuck in the office. We had a Staff Meeting
this morning. In the evening once we made it out, we finished calling
everyone in our Area Book. Despite our companionship being open five
times longer than Szolnok, we had less than half as many numbers. I am now half-way done re-reading my
journals. My miracle is that today Heather left for Africa, to spend the
next two and a half weeks in Kenya. I’ll beat her home now. It will
be interesting to hear what experiences she has.
Tuesday, 11 June
Each day now brings me closer and closer to the end of my
mission. Our monthly Book of Mormon shipment of 610 copies arrived this
morning, so we got to haul them all downstairs. It was my last Zone
Conference today. President Smith gave a training on obedience, followed
by Sister Smith on enduring to the end. The Assistants talked about desire,
and Sister Hardy focused on companionship exchanges. The Zone Leaders had
the last training on commitments. At the end of the conference, Elder
Swett and I gave our departing testimonies. It was surprising
intimidating! Well, so much for my mission transforming me into a
fearlessly confident lion. We learned
today that a sister from Kecskemet recently opened her mission call and has
been called to serve…Magyarországon! Looks like we’ll soon have a
Hungarian Elder and Sister. Today I translated a page long legal document
President Smith received. Legal talk is hard enough to understand in
English. In Hungarian it’s near impossible. We didn’t have any time
to teach or proselyte today. Elder Loveday finished making cinnamon rolls
in the evening. My miracle today is that I have very little left that I
need to do before the end of my mission.
Wednesday, 12 June
Two dogs today. Today was also Zone Conference for
two of the other four zones. It was my last chance to see many of the
missionaries from the southern areas. We met with S today. A came
with us to help, which he definitely did. We focused the discussion on
the Restoration and the Holy Ghost. A appeared to be able to get through
to him in parts where we couldn’t seem to connect. We spent the rest of
our day translating and helping around the office. Unfortunately, we
didn’t have any time to proselyte today. My miracle is the progress I’ve
made with the language, even in the office, despite not being able to use it as
much as when I was in the field.
Thursday, 13 June
One cancellation today due to E becoming sick
again. In the morning we had apartment inspections. Due to the
Carpenter’s and Smith’s being gone, we were stuck in the office all day.
We met with I and M. R came to our program. We mostly talked about
temples and the Holy Ghost. After their
program was my last Angolora class. The class was once again smaller,
with only eleven attending compared to the twenty-seven at the start of the
transfer. In the late evening, we received a call from President
Smith. He let us know that Elder Magda has been called to take my place
as the new secretary. The miracle of the
day is that I have one week left and each day will be different with
significant steps in each: Friday – Elder Magda arrives; Saturday –
last preparation day; Sunday – final time attending church in
Hungary; Monday – main training day; Tuesday – Transfer call
day; Wednesday – last day!
Friday, 14 June
With the third and final Zone Conference being today,
with everyone else from the office attending it, Elder Loveday and I were left
to hold down the fort. We met with another S today (the one from several
weeks ago who said God had “washed his hands” with us). Our meeting with
him today went significantly better than last time, concluding, after a lesson
on obedience and commandments, with S saying he would join the Church if it
were not for one thing: the temples. He insisted that he cannot accept
how secretive the temples are or how we perform ordinances for the dead; claiming
it is undoctrinal and that Christ always taught openly and not in secret.
I don’t agree with either of those statements, but currently S is convinced
about them.
Conclusion:
Well, this is my last preparation day, my two year mark,
and my mission concludes on Thursday. I hope that all you readers have
enjoyed the entries and have been somehow enlightened or uplifted from
them. I’ve loved my mission and am so glad that I have had this chance to
serve the people of Hungary as well as the Lord. I’m sad to bring an end
to my service as a full-time missionary, but am excited to come home and see
many of you again! Thanks for reading!
-Shipp Elder
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