I'm not in Buda anymore!!!

I cant believe I am not in Buda anymore! I miss it a lot. But I am loving Duna. It is a lot different than Buda but I am already loving the people here! They are awesome! Duna is a lot smaller than Buda and it is very quite. Its a little more than an hour car ride away from Buda. It is gorgeous here and right by the Danube river which is good and bad. It is beautiful but it also means it has a LOT of misquitos. LOTS! I am becoming pro and killing misquitos. There are just 4 missionaries here...sister Chamberlain and I and Elder Christensen and Elder Pendleton. They are all awesome! I love my companion! We get along super well. She also went to BYU Idaho before she came here and she is going out in Education. She is also from one of my old roommates homeward in Chicago so she knows my old roommate and her little sister. She is super cool and a really hard worker! It is going to be a really good transfer!

The branch here is awesome. There are about 30 people who attend church regularly. On the ward list they have about 153 people/families that belong to the branch so we have a LOT of work to do. 10 years ago there used to be 2 wards and I am not positive on what happened, but now there is just one branch. It is the coolest branch though! The people are so close to each other and so friendly! They all just love the missionaries too.

We dont have a ton of investigators - we do a lot of tracting and streeting here but our investigators that we do have are amazing! We had a baptism on Saturday and that was super exciting for the branch here! Everyone came and was so excited for her!  She has a 5 year old little girl who is adorable - blonde hair, blue eyes. It was a great baptism and she looked so happy! They met her last transfer. It was a really good day and the ward has just really accepted her and been so good for her.

The highlight of my week was meeting with a couple of new investigators. They have 4 little kids who are adorable! The missionaries found them streeting about 2 weeks ago and had one lesson with them before I came and it went over really well. We went and taught them again this week and it was the greatest lesson. The mom and 3 of the kids were the only ones that ended up being there and we taught her about the BOM. It was awesome and she just kept saying how good she felt when she heard what we were talking about. It felt like everything we were saying to her has been things she was missing in her life and she loves us visiting because she feels so good. At the end of the lesson we taught her how to pray. It was the sweetest experience for me. She has twins that are 3 years old and a little boy that is 5 so it had been a little crazy trying to teach through the lesson. But when she prayed, all the boys were quiet, everything was so still and calm and we all felt the spirit so strongly. After she got done saying the prayer she couldn't believe how good she felt and she was asking all sorts of questions about what she felt as she said the prayer. She said it had been a long time since she has felt that good and felt so much peace. She has had a pretty hard life and been through some pretty hard things. And they also all came to church on Sunday. It was so good! I went and sat by them and was helping her with her kids so that she could listen to the speakers and her little 5 year old son and I were drawing together. He loved it! When sacrament was over, the mom said they had to go and the little boy did not want to leave my side. He almost started to cry because he wanted to stay and said he felt good there. He is the cutest boy ever! She loved church and was really excited for us to come and teach us more. And all the members welcomed her and were so nice to her. I love being a missionary!!! I just already love these people so much! There really is nothing like bringing so much happiness and peace to peoples lives....that is what I get to do all day. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY!!!

Another cool experience we had yesterday was tracting. I have never really done tracting before and I was just a little nervous to do it. Sister Chamberlain kinda showed me how it went for the first few doors and then she made me do one. I think we may have woken the person up from a nap or something because they were not very happy with us and they werent very happy that I couldnt speak Hungarian either. It was really hard so I as a little scared to do another door. But I got up enough courage to do one more door and I was just praying that I could do my best speaking Hungarian and feel okay about what I said even if we got rejected. When the lady opened up the door I just thought to myself 'here we go again. this is going to be brutal.' She opened the door, saw our nametags and started shaking her head no as I was speaking. But I kept going and was able to say perfect Hungarian and communicate with her perfectly. She stopped closing the door, looked at me really funny while I continued to speak to her and then opened the door and told us to come in. I was shocked. I still am. Sister Chamberlain has gotten 3 let ins the whole time she has been here. She has been here for 3 transfers. I just could not believe that she let us in. Sister Chamberlain had to push me twice to go inside cause I was just so shocked. We went in and talked with her. She has had a really life and said she had been praying to God but she just felt like he existed but doesnt help. It was the coolest lesson and she said a prayer at the end and said she felt good. She told us how weird it was for her to let us into her house...she never lets anyone in and she didnt know why she did. It was a really awesome experience for me! And she is letting us come back again this week so hopefully things will keep going good!

I have just been so incredibly blessed as a missionary. I really miss Buda and our investigators and people there that I grew to love, but I already love the people here in Duna. Its amazing how fast you can come to love people when you serve them. Its so hard to describe what being a missionary is like...is it so hard but so rewarding at the same time. It been a hard week because I feel like I have kinda been a greenie all over again, even with the language too, but I have also been able to just love people more easily. I am so excited to serve in Duna. The people here are awesome! And I'm excited to work really hard. Really hard. We get to do a lot of tracting and streeting so I'm really excited to do that because it is going to really help me in all aspects of missionary work. I just have the greatest life ever! I love being a missionary!

Thanks for all the letters and support! I love you guys tons! Have fun camping next week! Happy Birthday on Friday Laurie Lou! Love ya tons! :)

Falslev Nővér

We went to troféa's last p day for my last day in Buda. It is a traditional Hungarian all you can eat buffet that is really nice. The first picture, the dark brown stuff is cow cheek (it was pretty interestesting). Then Sushi, then completely raw fish (ya i couldn't eat all of that). There is also cold fruit soup in the background. The fruit soup is DELICIOUS here! 

Paprika chicken (the piece of meat toward the back) it was delicious! Then the other is SHARK!!!! I ate shark! It tasted like rubber.

A member and me! She is the greatest! She really wanted to see me before I left! I just love her so much! She is the greatest! I am going to miss her tons! Ah...I just love her!

This is what Duna looks like from my apartment window. There are 10 story apartment buildings EVERYWHERE!!!! On the very left hand side, I dont know if you can really see it, is the steel factory. That is why pretty much everyone that does live here, lives here. Its really easy to get lost here for me because all the buildings look pretty much the same.

This is a huge pizza we got after district meeting for the 4 of us! Super good pizza!

This is in the elavator....i killed 10 misqutos on our 15 second ride up the elavator. And one of them and quite a lot of blood in it and got all over me so I wiped in on the elevator. I am going to love misquitos this transfer!!!!

This is also Duna. Really green and really pretty! While I was standing her for this picture, I was being eaten ALIVE!!!! Right after this picture we ran home literally swatting ourselves from all the misquitos because we forgot misquito repellant. I feel like i have chicken pox some times when I get so itchy. Also the bag I got is a tisza bag that is made specially in Hungary. You cant get them anywhere else in the world. 

Sister Chamberlain. This is where we eat dinner because we have no table or anything. Its cooler on the ground though so it works! We are both going to learn how to cook this transfer because neither one of us really know how. So this was our first attempt at burritos and it turned out good! 

Sister Chamberlain and I! She is the greatest!

My last week in Buda :(

Oh man....where to even begin with this week! It has been the greatest week ever and I am so sad that it is over. On Sunday, I was sitting in sacrament by one of our investigators and I just had this overwhelming feeling of love for the people I have come to know here in Buda. I love the ward, I love my companions, I love my district and the elders here, but most of all, I LOVE my investigators. I just had an overwhelming feeling of love for them and it helped me get a little taste of what the Savior feels for them and for me. And after I felt that, I knew I was going to be transferred. And I was right. We got transfer calls this morning and I am going to Dunaújvaros with Sister Chamberlain. I am really excited to be serving with her and to see more of Hungary but I am really sad to be leaving my companions and my investigators. Sister Fresh and Sister Behunin are staying in Buda.

I called some of our investigators this morning and some of the church members here to tell them I was leaving. It was so hard. I had a hard time holding it together while I was talking to them. I realized a lot this week that even though I cant speak the language and I cant understand what they are saying, they love me because I am happy and I am teaching them something that makes them happy. I had a really good talk with Sister Behunin this past week and she just told me that I will never be fluent at Hungarian. None of the missionaries ever are. She can understand pretty much everything and she can speak in a way that people can understand her but she is not fluent. I cant be so focused on learning the language because I will never be fluent. I need to focus on loving people and listening to them. I learned a lot of that this week. A lot of our investigators this week just said how much they loved us because we were ALWAYS happy. Missionary work is so hard but I am so happy. I have never been happier in my life than how I am right now. Going out and serving people and talking to them everyday and helping them laugh - what else could be better than that? I love being a missionary. I am really sad to leave my investigators and the members here. I called one of our investigators this morning to tell him I was leaving and he was really sad. I about lost it on the phone when I was talking to him. I have been teaching him the whole time I have been in Hungary and he said he really wanted me to be here for his baptism. We haven't set another date with him yet but he wants it to be next month so hopefully i can come back and see it. He was just telling me on the phone what a good missionary I was and how much I have taught him. He just told me a bunch of stuff and how he really wanted to be a missionary too and make people happy just like I have helped him be happy. It was really hard to say goodbye to him and his little sister. Then, the whole time we have been teaching him, he has really struggled to say my last name. I always have to help them pronounce my last name. And then on the phone he just said 'Szia Falslev Nővér' perfectly and that was when I lost it. I didn't realize until I called him this morning that I am making a difference to someone here in Hungary. And its the worst because now I have to leave. I just really love these people and am so sad to leave. But I know i will come to love the people in Duna as well and also my new companion there. I just wasn't prepared to say goodbye to everyone today.

Duna is going to be a lot different than Buda but I am really excited to go there. All that I know about it is that its called the 'New Duna city'. It was named after Stalin but they changed it when they got their freedom. It used to have 2 wards there but unfortunately a lot of people went inactive so I think there is just a branch there now. There is just 1 sister companionship and 1 elder companionship in the district so that is going to be quite different from Buda. We have one of the biggest and best districts in Buda and we do a lot with all the missionaries. But it will be a great learning experience for me! I am really excited.

So this week has been great! We got to do a lot with the YSA this week. They are so great and have been helping me learn more Hungarian. They came out and tabled with us and that was really fun. We also just had tons of good lessons with our investigators. I love being a missionary! There is someone from   our english class that we are teaching and its pretty much been only fresh and I teaching him because Behunin has been gone a lot. But we taught him and he just loves learning about the gospel. He said it all made sense to him and he felt so good when he meets with us. We asked him to read 1 nephi 1 by the next time we met and he read through 1 nephi 6 and was asking us tons of questions. He is so cool! All of our investigators are just doing so well right now and are progressing so much. Its hard to leave.  One of our investigators gave us a memory book to write in for him. Another investigator gave sister Fresh a cute skirt and wants us to come to a work party so we can share the gospel with her friends. She is awesome! I just love her so much and am really going to miss teaching her. We also got to have an icecream party with one of the members here and we went running in the morning with her too. She also took us shoe shopping because behunins shoes were falling apart. She is the greatest member ever and she has helped me so much! When we went running, we ran together and my companions were a little ahead of us and we just talked about everything. It was so good to talk to her and get to know her. I just LOVE ALL the people here! But I will still be able to keep in contact with them hopefully.

We also got to go see a ballet in the opera house on Saturday. It was so good! So professional. It was snow white and the 7 dwarfs and the dancers were so good! It was really funny. The stage props were the best I have ever seen. We also got to go paddle boating last week with the elders for p day. It was so much fun! It has just been the greatest week ever and helped me realize how much I LOVE being a missionary. It has been the greatest blessing in my life. Unfortunately one elder went home this week and another sister from my MTC group is going home. I am devastated for her. She is the best missionary and I have learned a ton from her but she is really sick so she is going home. That would be really hard.

I am so glad that Jasons wedding went so good. They look so happy and it looks like it was such a great day! I made sure to take pictures of where I was on their special day :) I am so happy for them! And so happy they got married in the temple. You will have to send me pictures in the mail of it so I can show them to people here. People love seeing pictures! Especially of temple marriages.

Well I love you all! I love being a missionary and love my life right now. I have never been so happy and i wish I could just show you all everything! Hungary is the best! I love the people here, their culture, just everything about them! I love you all and miss you tons! Hope everything is going well. Hope you have a great week.

Falslev Nővér

This is the best district ever!!! I have had the best transfer ever! I am sad to leave them all! But i will have good new experiences.

Me in front of the mission home on Jasons' wedding day. The other missionaries wanted to be in the picture too. They are hilarious! 

I got your letter with the pictures of jason and shelece going through the temple the same day as their wedding. It was just perfect timing! I wanted to still be part of their day even thought I am halfway around the world. 

The opera House

Video of Noemi

Some people have asked about this video of one of the converts that Sister Falslev worked a little bit with, so if you would like to watch it, click here.

BUDA IS THE BEST PLACE EVER!!!!!

Szia Family!

It sounds like you are all doing great back at home! You will probably have a busy with with Jason and Shelece's wedding. I love them both so much and am so excited to get another great sister n law!!! I'm sure it will be a great day! I got their wedding announcement and it looked really nice! I am going to carry it around with me all that day and take pictures of where I go on their wedding day. You will have to make sure to send me pictures of the wedding. Especially at the temple....people would love to see what weddings look like at the temple here because the temples are pretty far away for everyone. In Hungary also, you have to get married civilly first before the state will recognize it. So members have to get married in the temple and civilly. So its 2 wedding days! How would you like to do that?

This week has been pretty good. I love my companions and we have just been having so much fun together. I am really going to miss them if we get transferred. I think I am the one leaving....we aren't sure. I hope we stay together but I am pretty sure I am leaving. We have 3 new sister missionaries coming in next transfer. They want to try and open 2 new areas to sisters. I guess we will see what happens!

So our investigators are doing good. We had a really good program with one of our progressing investigators and his family this past week. The program started out a little rough....his mom got pretty angry with him when we were explaining to them that when he got baptized he would be a member for the LDS church and not catholic. She didn't like that very much because they were born catholic and wanted to stay catholic. But sister Behunin just calmly told her  that we are not taking away what he already believes. We are just adding more. We told her more of what we believed in and by the end of the program she said she wants to really get baptized but she needs helps quitting smoking and drinking coffee. She is totally supportive of him getting baptized now. And she is going to talk to his dad to make sure he approves also. It was a really great program.

We also met with another one of our investigators again. She is the greatest and so patient with Fresh and I learning the language. She was watching me try and talk to some of the members yesterday and I still had no idea what they were saying but I was trying really hard to understand and afterwards I went to talk to her. she told me she just thought it was really funny to watch us try and speak to the investigators (mainly I think because I have also learned a lot of sign language with my little Hungarian i have learned haha!). She is so funny and she is also learning English so its nice because we can both practice helping each other learn a different language. I think that is something that has actually made us grow closer...she sees we struggle with things and she thinks it is awesome that we don't give up even when it is so hard. She is such an awesome investigator.

We got quite a few new other investigators but we may be handing off a few of them to the elders....we'll see what happens. Sister Behunin is leaving pretty much every day this week - tonight she leaves to debrecen, comes back late tomorrow. Then wednesday she has to do some training for all the missionaries all morning and then right after that she leaves to szölnök (this is her birthday and we wont even get to see her!) and then she gets back late thursday night. So Fresh and I are going to have a great time teaching our programs together haha! It will be really good for us but it will be really hard as well. So we should have some good stories!

So this week has also been a little crazy because the Duna river has been flooding and it is really bad. Hungary declared a state of emergency and has been sandbagging like crazy. On our way home from meeting with one of our investigators and his family, we had to walk for forever because they were closing down metro stops because of the water. It has covered up roads and its getting really close to flooding parliament too. On Saturday we all got to go to Margit siget to sandbag. The ward rented a big bus for us all to go on and all the missionaries and people in the ward came to help. I am so incredibly sore but it was such a good experience! I am so grateful you guys taught me how to work! I never thought I would miss it so much but it feels good to work hard and be sore. We did that pretty much the whole day on Saturday. It was an awesome experience for me because this random lady came up and asked me to help fill the bags. She only spoke Hungarian and as we were working together I found out that she had 3 teenagers and her husband had just died a few years ago. She started asking me all sorts of questions about our church and what we were doing here and where my family was. She thought it was amazing that a bunch of young people would come out and sandbag all day. Her son that was 18 tried to get his friends to come but they wouldn't. She was also impressed that we left our families and saved our own money to come out and serve. She started asking me all sorts of questions and everyone around us was also Hungarians and so they started asking me questions. Somehow I ended up as the only missionary working with the Hungarians....everyone else was working on the next pile over so I could still see them but I couldn't just get one of the older and wiser missionaries to speak and answer all their questions for me. I was surprised by how much I could answer. I couldn't answer all their questions but I did my best. And I know the lady recognized that. We became like immediate best friends and she said she wanted to find out more about our church. Unfortunately she lives out in Kispest so we cant meet with her though. She was just awesome and before she left she made sure to find me and wanted to get a picture with me. It was a really big tender mercy for me and helped me to know that I am making a difference. Actions speak louder than words! As soon as we got back to our apartment, it DOWNPOURED! For a long time! Our street was pretty filled with water. So we are pretty sure that our sandbagging didn't really do all that much for the island...it is probably underwater by now. It was about 3 inches away from flooding with we were sandbagging. But we weren't there as missionaries to save the island from going underwater. We were there to serve and work and teach people even while we were doing service. It was such a great experience! And if I stay in Buda, I will get to go back and help with the cleanup :) that will be fun! It is crazy how much it has flooded. Boats couldn't go under the bridges. The road we had traveled on just the day before was completely submerged and today they have started to close down the main metro stations. It is crazy!

Well I hope you are all doing great. I love you all lots! I hope Jason and Shelece have the best day they have ever had on Friday. I love them so much and am so happy they are getting married in the temple. I wish I could be there! But I know that this is where I need to be right now. I love you all so much. I was reading this morning President Monsons talk in the Priesthood session and he was talking about how a mission is a family ordeal, not just mine and it is so true. I could not be the missionary that I am without the support of such a wonderful family. You are all such amazing examples to me and have taught me so much. I love you all!!!

Falslev Nővér

Me in front of some cool graffiti in the park by our apartment.

this is pork rine...the butt of pig. at least that was what we thought it was...we still arent sure. We went out to eat and they made all the food in this wagon thing. It was a good experience! haha! 

flood....this is where the train had to stop. You can see all the road signs and the water covering the road. This is the road that you can no longer see anymore. The water rose over 3 feet in one night. 

The road i am standing on no longer exists....it is underwater now! 

'Mormon helping hands' These were the vests that we got to wear when we went to go do service. So cool! I wish we could have kept them!

The lady that I met while sandbagging. She is awesome!

Some of our group looking at how high the water was. 

Sandbagging in action! There was so many people! We got a lot of work done. We were exhausted!

This was how high the river was when we left. They have an outside running area outside this fence. That is how high the river is. It is probably all under water now though from all the rain we got later that day. 

This is what we do while we wait for our investigator to be done with baptisimal interview. We were there for over 3 and a half hours. SO LONG!!!! We were so bored!

A sign the elders made for Sister Behunins birthday since she wont be here on wednesday. They are so nice! Funny poster if you can read it.

This is what the elders got sister b for her birthday. She is TERRIFIED of E.T. Pretty funny! She ran away when she opened the box and found it in there.

Szia family!!! This week has been such a good week! We only have 2 more weeks left in the transfer....it has gone by so quick! I am hoping to stay in Buda with Sister B and Sister Fresh but we dont think that is going to happen. I will most likely be getting transfered. We will see though.

This week has been super good! Our investigators are doing awesome! I love them so much! We met with one of our progressing investigators a couple of days ago and he taught us and the member the plan of salvation and the gospel of Jesus Christ. He wants to be a missionary so bad! He also brings his little sister and she refuses to pray but he is teaching her about prayer and how important it is. He will be such a great missionary and he is a great example to his family! Unfortunately we couldn't meet with his family yesterday so hopefully we will be able to sometime this week.

We also had two other programs with another investigator. She is awesome and every time we finish with one of her programs we all feel so good! She is so ready for the gospel. She asks questions about everything and she is really sincere and wants to really know if the church is true. She also brought one of her friends to a program with us. She told us yesterday that she really wants to have a happy family. She has been going to doctors and reading lots of books about how to have a good family life but she said she just doesn't feel right about them. Then she told us that she loves seeing how happy the families are here and she wants that in her life. It was an awesome program!!! I love being a missionary!

Fresh and I also had our busiest day so far with Behunin being gone. We had 5 programs and english class that we did on our own. It was super hard and we were both exhausted but I really do believe in the gift of tongues! We were able to understand most of what was being said and we worked really well with each other teaching. We have a long ways to go but we are doing it! The language is so hard but its not the most important thing. People can really feel if you just love them. We met with a new investigator yesterday and during our program he kept pointing to sister Fresh and I and saying something about us not speaking Hungarian (he sounded a little angry and so I thought he was getting mad about us not being able to help very much in the lesson haha) but he was really saying how awesome it was that we would pay to come all the way out here and be in a country that we didnt know, not be able to understand a thing, and be trying so hard. He was super impressed. And he said that he could just see a difference in us. We couldnt say anything but we could be happy. It was a good lesson.

We also got special permission to go to Kecskemét on Saturday for 2 baptisms. Sister B found and taught both of the people getting baptized so we got to go with her to see the baptisms. It was Fresh's first time seeing a baptism in Hungary and it was my first time out of Buda. Hungary is GORGEOUS!!!! Going to the country was so different. I love the city but the country is beautiful too! They have fields of flowers and it was really cool to see all the houses and countryside. They have a ton of forrests here but they arent like forrests back home. All the trees are planted in straight lines and it is because the Soviets planted all the trees like that so that no one could run and hide in the forrests. Kecskemét is gorgeous. It is a pretty small town but it is so clean and quiet. They just got a brand new branch house and it is gorgeous! The baptism was so great and the people they are awesome. They have about 50 people come to church every week and they are all just really close with one another. I loved it! It was so much fun to get to see some other places in Buda. We got a lot of fun pictures.

I just love being a missionary and having this experience. It is so incredibly hard and I feel very inadequate most of the time but I have learned that the Lord really knows each and everyone of His children. We all go through trials for a reason and they can make us stronger if we allow them too. I am so grateful for my Savior and for the opportunity He has given to me to serve the people in Hungary. They are amazing people who have been through a lot in their lives. I love them so much!

I am so glad that you all got to go through the temple as a family. I miss the temple so much and hope that one day a temple will be in Hungary. Family really is the most important thing. We are so incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful and supportive family and to be able to be sealed together for time and all eternity. I am so grateful for the Gospel. And I am so incredibly happy that you were all able to go through the temple together. I cannot wait to be able to have our WHOLE family go through when I get home and then we Jan either gets married or goes on a mission :) I love the temple! Make sure to enjoy it as much as you all can for me! Love you all lots!

Falslev Nővér

Eating at a really good restaurant in Kecskemét with the kecskemét elders.

My first time on a train in Hungary!!! The trains are pretty much exactly like Harry Potter trains.  

We had a lot of fun on the way to kecskemét because we got a compartment to ourselves! It was so fun!

On our way to kecskemét. You cant really capture how pretty it is on a camera especially when you are moving on a train.

The branch house in Kecskemét. Really small but so beautiful! The members are so proud of their branch house!

Kecskemét had fountains and beautiful building everywhere! It was such a clean city!!! I loved it!

Sister Fresh and Sister B. We went table last night, June 2, and we were freezing!!!! It is june and it is really cold.