When Parker looks like Davis:

We're having a great time here in Miskolc. Thanks to technology, we have had an easier time keeping in touch with returning members and our friends of the Church. We have been using group chats, sending personal spiritual messages, following up with people who didn't come to Church, sending pamphlets, inviting to activities, and teaching more frequent, shorter lessons to people. It's really been awesome!

I want to share a chain of tender mercies that we experienced this week. Early on in the week, we were looking through our old "People with Interest" sheets and clearing those up when I came across the name of a young man named Robi. Elder Peery and I had talked with him on the street back in March and we got his phone number. I had tried to call him back in March with no success, and didn't think anything of it. Well, here we were at the end of June and I was about to just delete his number from my phone, when I thought, "What do I have to lose if I try calling one more time?" Well I called and he answered! He remembered who we are and we set up a meeting for Saturday.

That, to me, was huge!

The next tender mercy in the chain came when we went to the meeting. We had planned to meet near a big statue in the middle of town and unfortunately, he didn't show up (he texted us later saying that something came up, which is better than nothing I suppose). As we all know, when someone doesn't show up, you go to your backup plan, and God will do the rest. We were about to start street contacting when we ran into an old friend, Zsolt. We were able to talk with him for about 20 minutes and we showed him a video about Jesus Christ's Church that answered some of his questions.

That was also huge*.

Finally, as we were on our way home, we ran into another one of our friends and we were able to answer a question she had about the Bible, which revealed more of the "ice-berg" of concerns she has with the gospel. Her question helped me realize that she probably feels a lot of unnecessary shame and guilt because of some past circumstances, and that we could totally help her feel peace and freedom from those feelings! The best part is, we have been meeting with her doing English 30/30 lessons, and after this interaction she said, "Why don't we skip the English part and just talk about the Gospel next time?" We have strong feelings that she will join the Church and be baptized as she meets with us more frequently and learns the fullness of the gospel. Her mother is also inactive, and this might help her to come back unto the fold!

Things are going great with the youth as well. We had a game night that we helped Edina arrange and there were 22 people who came! It was a huge success.

I am so grateful to be a missionary. It has been a life-changing adventure and I've learned so many valuable lessons. I love the Gospel and I love my Savior and know that He always stands ready to help us and walk with us through anything. As I've learned more about what that really means, I've felt a stronger connection with Jesus Christ and with my Heavenly Father. They really do love us, so individually.

Huge**.

Szeretettel,

Elder Burnett

*Don't like my use of the word "huge" here? Tessék használni (go ahead and use) some other options: incredible, inspiring, special, marvelous, noteworthy, assuring, comforting, memorable.

**I think really the list of words that could replace this one could be endless. Maybe "Life-changing" would be the most appropriate substitute.

Whew, it definitely feels like June... We've sunny weather in the high 90s and it is HOT! Lucky for us, our apartment has air conditioning, which is a huge blessing. Seriously...

-Got to go to Budapest for a mission leadership council, which was fun. We talked about ways that we can effectively implement the new technology we get to use, how to work better with members, and made plans to be more efficient. It's always a good time :)

-On our way home from that, we met a really nice man from Ecuador. He's a student here in Miskolc and we talked with him the whole way back to Miskolc. He was super nice and because of our new technology, we were able to exchange Facebook information and keep in touch with him!

-We also had exchanges with the Szolnok Elders and I got to serve with Elder Beck for the day. We had a great time, as we always do on exchanges.

-Someone stopped us and started talking with us in Spanish, so that was a new experience for us haha.

-We had a YSA pizza party which was super successful! We had some friends of the Church and inactive members there and it was a great "next step" for some of the people we're working with. Besides that, who doesn't like a good pizza party?

-There have been tons of festivals and concerts and programs going on here in Miskolc. I'm not sure what for, but the Hungarians love to celebrate at any opportunity!

-We saw a man driving and playing a moving piano down the street. What a world we live in hahaha.

Something that I've been thinking about recently is being prepared. I love the talk "Your Priesthood Playbook" by Elder Gary E Stevenson. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I'm not really into sports. I'll watch it if everyone else is, but I'm not very invested in it. I know most of the rules of the games, but you'll never hear me saying, "They just need to establish a running game!" and meaning it. Anyway, despite that, the analogy that Elder Stevenson uses in this talk really stuck out to me. It just makes sense.

Professional athletes spend hours refining their tactics and strategies. They learn counter plays and are prepared to not only play offensively, but also to react defensively. Likewise, we have to learn how to play on the spiritual offensive, as well as defensive. I had never before considered sitting down and thinking, "Alright, if I'm faced with 'x' problem, how am I going to react?" and making a plan based on my answer. Elder Stevenson mentions having had made the decision beforehand, in the moment of temptation or trial, it will be much easier to follow through with our plans and we will be able to respond better.

Another talk that goes hand in hand with this one, at least in my mind, was "Where Will This Lead?" by President Dallin H. Oaks. I love the story of the squirrel. (if you don't know what I'm talking about, go and read the talk!) Everyone just sat around watching the squirrel, and when the inevitable happened and the dog caught the squirrel, THAT'S when everyone tried to prevent the tragedy. 

If we have a playbook and we have a plan, we will be able to act before tragedy strikes. By knowing the plays of the opposition, and equally important knowing how we will respond, we will be able to foresee and prevent potential setbacks in our personal progression.

We can prepare best by living according to the teachings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, studying the scriptures and words of modern Apostles and Prophets, regularly attending Church, serving others, and praying every day!

Like the Nephite armies in Alma 50, we can fortify our lands before the battle!

I love my mission. I have learned so much about myself and about my place in the world and in the eternities.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Go make a playbook and fortify yourself. As you do so prayerfully, the Lord will guide you and help set you up for success!

Sok szeretettel,

Elder Burnett

So we started the week out with another trip to Budapest, because we got to escort an Elder up there for transfers. While in Budapest, I got to see some old mission friends and we got back in time to teach a lesson to a returning member. As we were going up the giant escalator from the subway into Széll Kálmán tér (the big square near the Mission Home), a man in front of me lost his balance and fell toward me, but I was able to save him from an embarrassing fall, so I guess that's how I was how I #LitTheWorld this week.

Being the only missionaries here in Miskolc has been a lot of work, but in turn a lot of fun. We're still making time to find between teaching appointments, and we've seen tons of miracles already. The highlight of our week was definitely Norbi's baptism! Elders Peery and Hudson came up for the baptism and the service was great. Elder Peery baptized him by water, and I had the privilege of baptizing him by fire (confirming him and giving him the gift of the Holy Ghost)! We are so excited for Norbi. He knows so much about the Gospel and has a real thirst for knowledge. It was such a blessing to teach him and I am so grateful for the experience.

 

 

Our Church services this week were also amazing. President Klinger of the mission presidency came to Miskolc for our Branch conference and gave an amazing talk. Here are some highlights from his talk:

- Each of us has 24 hours in every day. What makes the difference is how we use that time we've been given.

- Salvation is entirely personal. You are the "main character" of your life, and God is working with YOU. Everyone else is a side character, and you are likewise a side character in the lives of everyone around you. This doesn't demean the value of anyone's role or life, but it does imply that our relationship with Deity is not influenced by Deity's relationship with others. In other words, God has all the time in the world to focus on YOU; and your neighbors, friends, and family, too!

- What blessings do we sacrifice on the altar of comfort? Would I be blessed by sacrificing my comfort for someone else's benefit? (hint: the answer is yes, you would be!)

- When we place a priority on God, everything else falls into it's place in your list of priorities.

- Saying, "I don't have time for it" is basically just saying, "it's not important enough to me."

- The Spirit can be with us only as much as we live clean lives. The more aligned our will is with the Father's, the more abundantly we can feel the Spirit and therefore the greater its influence will be on us.

 

That last thought was actually a theme throughout my week. Even before President Klinger talked about it, I was thinking about a question I read in the new "Come Follow Me" manual. The question was, "How would my life be different if the Holy Ghost had a greater influence on me?"

The list of ways my life would be different could really be endless. I believe that I would be more kind, understanding, and patient with myself and others. I would be more willing to help, and quicker to respond to the needs of others. I would be happier. I would feel more peace. I would feel closer to Heavenly Father. I would be more grateful. I would bear my trials with hope.

These are just a few ways that my life would be different if I paid more attention to the Holy Ghost. The partner question to this is, "What things do I need to do/change so that the Holy Ghost can have a greater influence on me?"

I'm grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and grateful for Him and His influence on me in my life. Because of Jesus Christ, I have hope and peace. 

I can't help but lay in bed at night and think about these things and feel overwhelming gratitude.

Life is good!

Szeretettel,

Elder Burnett

Bonus funny story: Tons of people baked süti (baked goods, lol) for the baptism and there were tons of leftovers that naturally fell into our possession. Well, Elder Brown and I were cleaning up after the service and noticed a drunk man laying in the grass outside of the Branch house. We decided to bring him a plate of süti, and he very happily accepted it hahaha. Hey ate everything on the plate and kindly placed the plate near the door of the Branch house before taking off.

This has been such a fun week! Last Monday we went to a little bob sled place... I don't really know what to call it, they just call it a bob sled. Anyway, it's like a 2 man roller coaster and you are in control of the speed. Elder Peery and I were in one cart and I was in charge of the speed. The guy who ran the whole thing gave us very direct instructions. "Push forward to go faster, pull back to slow down. You can go REALLY fast, but you won't fall off."

He was right about both of those facts. We went full send and I never pulled up hahahaha. We went REALLY fast, but we didn't fall off. It was a good time.

That same day we went to Eger for exchanges again and I got to be with Elder Castellano. It's so fun to just go to a new city, especially one as beautiful as Eger, and have the whole day open to work with a new person. Elder Castellano and I go way back (all the way to Sopron, almost a year ago!) and had tons of fun.

While we were in Eger, we got a phone call from President Hettinger. Everyone knows what a phone call from President Hettinger the week before transfers means... Elder Peery was called to serve as the Assistant to the President! He's my second companion in a row to go up to serve in Buda, so this week was a throwback to Debrecen when the same thing happened to Elder Smith.

Similarly to the Debrecen days, I was put in a trio (the third trio I've been in in the past 3 transfers at that! Ha!) with Elders Brown and Brollo, who are also serving here in Miskolc. We've had a ton of fun together! I can't tell you everything, because I don't want this to be a novel, but I'll hit you with some highlights.

So some background first:

Elder Peery talked with a bácsi named Péter on the bus the other day and he invited us over. We also met this guy named Jani, who meets with his friends every Wednesday to talk about Christianity and things like that. Both of these meetings were scheduled on a day when we had exchanges with the Szolnok Elders, Elders Fales and Allen. We weren't sure what to expect from the meeting with Jani and his friends, so we called it "the lion's den" because it was possible that the situation could turn into an interrogation about the Church or something like that. Anyway, the other elders went to the lion's den and we went to meet with Péter.

As we were with Péter, someone rang his bell. He got up and answered the door, and invited one of his friends in. We weren't expecting to teach anybody except Péter, but of course we were happy to have more company! As we were talking, another person came; and then two more! Before we knew it, WE were in the lion's den! There were 5 people in all, 4 bácsis and a néni, and they were so polite and very interested in what we had to say. We taught them simple truths about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and bore testimony of the Book of Mormon and before we left, they each wanted their own copy!

The coolest part is that 3 of them came to Church this week! That's like every missionary's dream...

And just to calm your nerves, the other Elders had an equally amazing experience with Jani and his friends.

What an amazing week.

So, today is transfer day! I'm staying in Miskolc until the end and I'll be serving with Elder Brown as a Zone leader and District leader. It's going to be a party! Also, we're downsizing to 1 companionship in Miskolc, so we'll have double the work. I'm ready to sprint to the finish line!

I'm so grateful for my mission.

Szeretettel,

Elder Burnett