No Longer the New Kids on the Block and Housing Update

Sunday after church we went to the house of ward members for dinner with the Elders.  It was nice to feel so welcomed by Barnabas and Zsuzsanna Kaáli.  We had a very good traditional dinner of pig broth soup and noodles (tasted pretty much like chicken ramen), Rakott Kelkáposzta, and then Gesztenypüré or chestnut puree for dessert. Everything was very good and it was relatively easy to communicate between their limited English and our even more limited Hungarian.  We were very grateful to have the missionaries there also who offered much needed translation several times. 

     

Hungarian Layered 

Savoy Cabbage Casserole 

Rakott Kelkáposzta

Gesztenypüré or chestnut puree

It's hard to believe that we have been in Hungary for 4 Sundays already.  One Sunday in Budapest and 3 Sundays in Miskolc.  We are no longer the new kids on the block.  Not only did Elder Ribar go home last week, but we found out on Sunday that our two Elders that have been a tremendous help to us were leaving the next day.  It was as much a surprise to them as it was to us.  We will miss them. They have helped us greatly as we adjusted to Miskolc, the city, the ward, and getting our residency permits, etc.    They also went with us to several houses/apartments and translated for us.

Train Station in Miskolc

Last night we picked up two new missionaries at the train station.  Elder Jones and Allred, have only been in Hungary for 3 months each so they are not only new to Miskolc, but new to Hungary.  We met them at the train station, loaded their bags in our car. They took the villamos  to their apartment where we met them to help them get their bags up to the new apartment. We have a very small car so they did not fit into the car with their bags.  

We then took them to dinner at the same place, Bitany Joe's Hamburgers, that the previous Elders took us just a few short weeks ago on our first day in Miskolc.  It seemed really strange that now we were the ones telling them about the ward. They are very enthusiastic and excited to be here.  We look forward to getting to know them and serving with them here. 

under the water heater

Now for an update to our housing situation:

We have spent the last two weeks looking for a new place to live.  We have adjusted to our current house and even decided that we would be fine with staying here except for one problem.  There is a cabinet in the kitchen that is full of black mold. The hot water heater has been leaking for quite some time which has resulted in the mold problem and warping the kitchen countertop.  It seems that water problems seem to follow us.  

hot water heater

in kitchen cabinet

This might not be all that serious, but with our water problems at home and the precautions that were taken to insure that no mold growth started, we are concerned that an already growing community of mold might not be a healthy situation. We are also quite worried about our ability to communicate to the landlord our concerns and getting the situation properly resolved.  Needless to say, we really don't want to be here while they fix this problem.  We've spent enough time recently with the remodeling of our home in Scottsdale.  We don't want to deal with that here.

The Apple House

With all the being said, we found a very nice little home much closer to the church and in a nice neighborhood.  The only problem is that it is not furnished. There was not even a refrigerator and washer, but we asked for an adjustment in the rent or for a refrigerator and washer to be put in and they said they would put in the refrigerator and washer. The kitchen has been newly remodeled.  We will be the first ones to use it.  We call this the apple house because the first time we saw it there were lots of apples in the house that were drying/freezing.  It smelled like apple cider.  The back yard is a small orchard of about 6 apple trees, a couple peach trees and a cherry tree.  There is also a grapevine next to the front door.  Can't wait for spring when everything is green and in bloom.

As soon as we get approval to move in, we will begin the process of moving and starting to look for furniture.  It won't be elegant or expensive - just a few items of necessity.  I can't wait to finally get settled and unpacked.

Farewell Elder Ribar

Miskolc district farewell photo.  Elder Ribar (back left) goes home tomorrow.   We have only known him a very short time but he is a great missionary and he will be missed.  Elder Siemens on the right will be getting a new companion tomorrow.

We spent the evening tonight watching the missionary training broadcast together.  The Elders rejoiced when the new changes to the missionary daily schedule was announced.  They are still expected to spend about the same amount of time for personal study, exercise, companion study, language study, etc, but they have more flexibility as to when to do it.

Elders Larsen and Lister (in the middle) were so patient and helpful today in helping us get our residency papers (over 3 hours this afternoon in government offices.) And we thought the MVD was slow.  They have also helped us in our search for a new apartment.  I'm afraid we have still not had any luck in finding the right place.  

Elder and Sister Moser, Elder Ribar, Elder Larsen, Elder Lister, Elder Siemens

Humanitarian/Welfare Training in Budapest

We just finished up a fantastic week of training in Budapest with our supervisors, Elder and Sister Healy.  They flew into Budapest from their area office of Frankfurt, Germany, and we drove from Miskolc through thick fog and snow to Budapest.  We spent four full days learning the ins and outs of our new assignment.  

During this time, we met with 3 of our NGO partners and are very excited to begin working with them.

SOS Children's Village - is a wonderful organization that provides aid to children in all stages of need.  The interesting thing about this organization is that I had found them on the internet and became very interested in what they do even before coming to Hungary. SOS Website

Menedék - Hungarian Association for Migrants - works with Refugees in aiding them to adjust to their new life in Hungary.  Menedek Website 

The Pro-Cserehat Association - was founded in 2009 in Hungary. Pro Ratatouille is a community based organic agricultural program for disadvantaged Roma and non-Roma people, which also aims to spread sustainable developmental models among small village communities. Pro-Cserehat Website 

The last day after a morning of training, we took a tour of the Parliament Building and also attempted to take a Hop On Hop Off Bus Tour of Budapest. After three stops though, we were informed that the tour was over and we were several miles from where we had parked the car. We proceeded to get a partial refund for our tour, went out to dinner and took a taxi back to our car. Certainly an adventure to remember.

Picture highlights of the week:

Trying to figure out how to pay the parking fee.  A Hungarian woman finally came by and offered to help us.  She even offered her money since we were short of coins.  We had just learned that is quite common with people here.  After our meeting with SOS, we returned to our car to find out that we had a parking ticket (only $12 - thankfully).  We were later informed that cars register their license plate number and pay a monthly fee so that they can park on the street.  We had no idea. We should have known that the parking place right in front of the office was too good to be true. - - - the rest of the story - Paying for the parking ticket was an all new adventure.  We had to go to the Posta (post office) to pay, but in order to do so, you have to take a number electronically by choosing from several different options (of course all the options were in Hungarian).  Luckily we were able to find someone who spoke English to help us "push the right button" so that we could wait our turn. 

Inside the Parliment Building

The Parliment Building

The Parliment Building from the Buda side of the Danube River

We have had some interesting food experiences.  Most of them good.  Some not as good. In the center picture are hot dogs -- extra yummy - as in better than Costco and only cost about $0.75.  The bottom center is hot chocolate - regular and white chocolate.  It was almost as thick as hot fudge sauce and tasted about the same.  Yummy but not what was expected.

Click on the link to see:  Budapest at Night - January, 2017  

Thank you, Healys for the fun and informative week. We have found new friends and look forward to working with you on our humanitarian projects over the next several months.

Bridges of Budapest

Our First Home in Hungary

Miskolc, Hungary
January, 2017

Humble beginnings.  A bit of culture shock, but we are remembering that it is in the middle of the winter and everything looks very bleak.  We are not used to that either since winter is the most beautiful time of the year in Arizona.  The first few days were bitter cold with temperatures as low as they were in Provo.  I think we brought the cold weather with us as the week before the temperatures were about 20 degrees higher than they were in Provo.  The people here say they can't remember when it has ever been this cold here.  Lucky us!  I guess we are being baptized by fire - or maybe it is by ICE!  Yesterday, January 13th, we had about 18" of snow.  Everything looks beautiful now covered in a blanket of fresh snow.  I'm sure glad I brought my warm coat.  I'm amazed that I haven't really been all that cold - even at -12 degrees Celsius!  That's about 10-12 degrees Fahrenheit.

Humanitarian/Welfare Training in the MTC

After our week with Preach My Gospel training at the MTC, we spent the next week doing Humanitarian/Welfare training.  The first day we went to Salt Lake City and had lunch at the Joseph Smith Building.  We were supposed to go to the Welfare Center in the morning, but Jon was sick so we opted to pass on that.  The training gave us an overview of our responsibilities.

We are amazed at all the wonderful things the church does to help the poor and needy throughout the world.  We are looking forward to serving and being part of this great work. Check out this link to see what the LDS church is doing:  LDS Charities

Our Humanitarian/Welfare Group
Left-Right
Shurtlif (Romania)
Rollins (Jordan)
Moser (Hungary)
Scott (South Africa)

It's Official - We are Missionaries

Our plane left at 11:20 and we arrived in Salt Lake City at 1:35.  A great big thank you to our great friends, Bard and Nancy Davies for meeting us at the airport and driving us to the MTC.  Nancy was my first roommate at BYU so many years ago and we have been best friends ever since!

We arrived at the MTC on the afternoon of December 26, 2016.  It was a beautiful sunny day with new snow.  

Christmas lights at the MTC.  First day wearing our name badges.

Who knew that going to a BYU Basketball game was part of the MTC experience.  Thank you Dan and Diana Paxton for the fun evening.  BYU vs Santa Clara.  89-59 - Thanks BYU for a great game!

Our District - The Pierces (serving as Office Couple in Boston MA Mission, and
The Hummels (serving as MLS missionaries in Spokane Washington)

Of course we can't leave the MTC without the cheesy picture pointing to where we are going. 

Budapest here we come, ready or not!

Last day at the MTC - we had about 12 inches of snow while we were there and temperatures
 in the teens.  Burr - it was cold.  Looks like Hungary might not be so cold after all.

It is so cold! Can't wait to get to Hungary where it has been 20 degrees warmer.  First, fitting all the luggage into the car - quite a challenge, but our master packer, Elder Moser, was able to do it with room to spare -- at least enough room to fit a small purse.

Last day at the MTC, and then off to Budapest on January 6th at 4:50 pm

with an expected arrival time of 3:45 pm the next day in Budapest.

Happy New Year!! - First Letter to Family

It has been quite the week. Our first week of our mission completed. We started the week with beautiful blue skies and new fallen snow. Yes, it was very cold, but the beauty of the new snow more than made up for that. After only 1.5 hours of sleep the night before, we were grateful we arrived late enough in the day to just catch the end of the last class. We were quickly oriented and sent off to unpack and have our first experience in the MTC cafeteria. The food is far from gourmet, but it is not bad. The rooms are very similar to a hotel room with a queen sized bed, dresser, table and chairs, and bathroom. All the senior missionaries are housed in their own building that is just above the bookstore, mailroom, and fitness center. The basement has a good-sized workout room with weights, and about 20 elliptical machines as well as several bikes. The third floor – where the senior missionaries stay has a room with a couple treadmills and stationary bikes.There is also a lounge area with refrigerator, microwave, computer, tables and couches.

The security at the MTC is something to be noted. Every time we enter a new building, we need to swipe our card to gain access. The card is even required to use the elevator. I knew there was a guard gate but had no idea that the security once you were in the MTC was so tight.

We began our training at 8 am on Tuesday morning. It was very different from what I had expected. I guess I was kind of expecting a lot of “gospel doctrine” type classes. Instead we had wonderful teachers and classes that were exceptional, motivating, and filled with the spirit. We were not taught the gospel but rather how to teach the gospel and invite others to Christ. I have gained a whole new respect for missionaries and what they do and how they teach. I have been so impressed with the entire MTC experience. There have been numerous “uncomfortable” and “out of my comfort zone” experiences. We had to prepare a talk in less than 30 minutes (luckily I didn’t have to actually give the talk) We had several “role play” experiences where we had to get to know someone in 15 minutes and then were given 10 minutes to prepare a 20 minute lesson for them. That was very intimidating for me, but I decided with Dad as my physical companion and the Holy Ghost as our spiritual companion, we actually had a really good experience with these role plays.

Tuesday was a very long day. We began at 8 am and didn’t finish until the devotional that night was over at 9 pm. So we basically ate breakfast, sat in classes for 4 hours, ate again and then sat in classes for another 4 hours, then ate again and then went to the devotional. Sleep was very welcome again that night. Elder Arnold of the Seventy spoke at the devotional. He spoke about going home from your mission with “no regrets.”

Thursday night, Dan and Diana Paxton picked us up to go to the BYV vs Santa Clara basketball game. It was a good game, but it was especially good to be able to spend time with them.

Early Saturday afternoon, Bard and Nancy picked us up to take us back to their house for the long weekend. We spent New Year’s Eve with their family at Eric’s new house. It was fun to see all the Davies kids.

We were supposed to have Humanitarian/Welfare training all next week, but the MTC failed to realize that Monday is a holiday and all the church offices are closed. So, we have the day off and will spend an extra day with Bard and Nancy. We are also going to lunch with Bill and Mark. So that is a nice benefit. Although I think I would really rather have been able to have the full weeks’ worth of training, since we don’t really have a clue what we are supposed to be doing once we get to Hungary.

Tuesday we will spend the day at Welfare Square and then the rest of the week we will be back at the MTC learning whatever else applies to our actual assignment.

There were only 20 senior couple at the MTC last week. Most of them have already left for their various assignments.3 other couples will be trained with us as Welfare Missionaries. There are a few couples that will be office couples and they stay for additional training as well.

I’m sure this is probably way more information than you are interested in, but rather than write letters and then journal entries, I will just do it all at once. I’m still trying to figure out the best way to share pictures and “journal” our experiences. Facebook and/or Instagram will work, but I’m hoping to keep a little more detailed account than I think is appropriate for Facebook so I think I need another avenue in addition to those. Any suggestions as to the best way to do this?

I almost hate to say this, but I understand now why it is said so often. The MTC really is awesome! It has been a great week.

Miss you all and love you all. Parker and Dee – happy birthday wishes are being sent your way!

Sok Szeretet,

Mom, Jane, Nema, Moser Növér

(same person -- many names)

PS – Dad says hi! And amen to the letter.