Monday, February 4, 2019

Elder Jake Hough, 2.4.19--week 28


"That moment when you realize…."I have made a terrible miscalculation…"
SZIAAAAAAAAAASZTOKKKKKKKK AGGGIEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!!! 
I hope everything is going good for you all in texas. I really do. I hope that it is warm and the sun is shining and the tank is clean and that everything is handy dandy. But I also hear its been negative 40 in the states valahogy (somehow) and so I must hope that it is not the case for College Station. But if you all have hit the Ice Age whil I was gone that would be quite unfortunate for me. I may even have to stay in Hungary. Only time will tell!
To start this wek off, it was miracle filled. We have seen the goals we set be achieved and people we teach progressing and it is just so amazing to be an instrument in the Lords hands and to see these things come to pass. We have found 7 new people this week, 9 the last week, and we are really jsut so blessed and I must give thanks to my God who is providing us with the success we are seeing. We have had a lull in activity with the people we are teaching from last weeks email, but I would like to say, that it is only in hungary where  with in one week of finding you will find a buddhist, aethiest, muslim, satanist, and patriots fan all in one week. Crazy stuff happens here Im telling ya.
Everything started taking off this week on saturday when we went to go look up a less active  or now termed returning member in a small town outside of Hungary called Orószlány. We took the train planned our escape so we wouldnt get stranded like the last time we were there with Peery Elder my trainer, and we took off. We are there, jsut starting our fast so feeling a little drained but excited, and about halfway through the train travel of 20 min I noticed a dude on the opposite side of us squinting in our direction. At first i was like "ok dude whatever we are missionaries we know we look a bit different" but then a couple minutes later the thought came: "You should speak with this dude, thats the thing we are trying to push in the misison is finding everywhere including trains. And those other missionaries leaving always said that trains are a magical place to find people." So I start thinking about what to say for a couple of seconds, and as I turn my comp Beck Elder is already on top of it and I was like YES LETS GOOO and we stated talking to him, he asked which religion this was we explain it , and we get off with him as well. Then as we were walking off the train I turn to him (Beck Elder) and ask where he thinks the address of the returning member is so that we can find them, and he pauses, tries his phone, no luck. I thought well theres that and then this dude out of nowhere is like "Dudes Ill help you get where you are going, lets start asking people". So for the next 2 hours basically we tried finding this address, we talked with this man about religion, his beliefs, him and his family, and just joking around with him as if he had been our friends for forever. Didnt find the place but we got  an idea, and then as we were separating I asked him if we could meet and talk more about him and our message and why we are who we are (because he had marveled at the fact we were 19 and speaking hungarian to preach about Christ) and he said with a smile "Gyerekek, benne vagyok, mi a számatok?" (For those of you who dont read archaic, he said kids Im down, whats yalls number?") And then after that he took us to a coffee shop and I explained we are fasting and what that means and that we dont drink coffee. adn he marveled and was baffled even more haha! Dope guy, he reminded me of Robi when we met him. Prepared, ready and open. The only problem is he doesnt get data to call until this friday, and its super risky when they say Ill call you, and he lives in a different city, but I had no worries really with him. I trust he will ring us. Hes prepared. 110%. And then we found someone else in that trip. So pretty fruitful visit despite not finding the returning member. But When you have a plan and you go, God can guide you and Throw people into your path when you are moving. Hard to do that sitting in th apartment thinking about what to do. So that was a really, really cool experience. 
The next story is more of a nod to the above subject line. So yesterday we had to cross town to get to this complex called Gál István Lakotelep, and its basically a concrete jungle of 5 and 10 story buildings, and I had only been there once, and the feeling there was not a pleasant one, but there was a member there we needed to visit so we were determined to do so. But we bike there and Im in my winter coat and I am just SWEATING because its so big and because it was literally 12 degrees Celsius, so like I was dying in that coat. I take it off at our bathroom break in the branch house, and then leave it there and determined to pick it up on the way back from a mcm meeting with Lala, a dope member here. It had previously rained but jsut stopped, and really nice volt-it was. Dang Hungarian haha! But anyway, we get to this building and we get in, try to find the member but failed to, but found 2 new people in under an hour, which is unheard of in tracting in hungary, but this is not our work so whatever is needed is going to happen! But we leave the building heading towards lala, and it was BUCKETING rain, the temperature had dropped probably 10 degrees, and the rain was almost flat in the sky from the wind...all I had on was my thermal garments and a long sleeve dress shirt. Thus I had made a terrible miscalculation of the weather at that time. I stood there under the apartment shelter thinking about it, realizing there was literally nothing I could do we started walking to 20 min back to our bikes, got on them, and then in this blizzarding rain storm biked into the wind the 20 minutes back to lala. I will say it was really not pleasant, and I was a little worried about the possibility of getting sick, because the influenzy is serious right now in europe, and I was in the cold storm with NOTHING. So I prayed. I prayed that I would be forgiven for my silly oversight and lack of preparation for the storm because we had no idea of knowing, and I asked that the present situation would not worsen and affect the progress of those we have been teaching and who we will find. That was it. I could do nothing else but pray. And bike super fast, but we get to lalas, he helped me change out of my wet everything and after the meeting biked home and jumped in the warm shower and now Im feeling pretty good. A little headache, tired, but other than that nothing. Super grateful nothing bad has happened up to this point, and that the power of prayer is real. When we get stuck in situations that were not intentional and we know its bad, Heavenly Father still loves us, and if it be his will that we are delivered from that situation or thing that we accidentally brought upon ourselves, he will extend that arm of mercy, if we but call on Christs name for help. In any situation. spiritual, physical, anything. Hes our father in heaven. Hes waiting for us to ask for his help. We just gotta do it!
Other than that, super dope week. I am loving this mission more and more, and this area more and more. Unfortunately, my time in tatabánya is probably coming to a close as I am approaching my 6 month mark here by the end of the transfer, which usually means that I will leave. I dont want to though. I could sit here my entire mission and be perfectly content with that. But because of this fact I am working harder and harder and continuing the efffort to give it everything because this means everything to me. I know this work is Gods work and that he guides the gathering of Israel today. 
Love yall, til next week! Eat your vegetables!
Hough Elder

the pictures are first me holding a python that one of the members owns that we taught (Super pretty smake), some hungarian words for you all to learn from english class!, beautiful tatabánya, the good ol classic elevator selfie, and me in the clothes that lala gave me to wear after the storm wreckede me. I look pretty ridiculous haha!


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