Spring Has Come to Kispest

May 21,2012

Hey family!

Wow.. this has been a full week! We have done so much, I know that i won't be able to write it all- but I'll at least be able to fill you in on a little of what's happening here. 

So, first of a little history of Dunaújvaros... back in the day this place was exploding with missionary work. There use to be 2 branches here with over 100 members in each branch! I guess when the missionaries first came in this city, everyone was really interested, and it was almost like a fad to join the church- because it was the "new American religion" that everyone was hearing about. Well now, we only have one branch with about 30 members. I guess because a lot of them didn't really have solid testimonies when they joined. So there are a ton of inactive member here. So, a lot of the work we do here is working on re-activations. Which really is just as important as new baptisms. We spent a lot of this week riding around on our awesome bikes haha looking up inactive members who haven't been heard from in years. Lots of our search was unsuccessful. There were a lot that weren't home, or that had moved, or just didn't want to have anything to do with us or the church. But we did meet some awesome people along the way, and had a couple of them invite us in for a lesson! 

Tuesday we spent part of the day tabling. We have a table with signs about the Book of Mormon, eternal, families, and free English class. We were able to talk to a ton of people. I started off by fliering for English class, and talking with people about the Book of Mormon who seemed willing to stop and listen. I talked to 2 people who seemed really interested and said they would try and make it that night to the English class we were holding. Another man walking by at first seemed really angry with us, he said he didn't want anything we were offering, and started talking about how God doesn't exist because he has a son that is sick and wasn't getting any better. I felt bad for him and asked why he doesn't believe in God. He talked to me more about all the hard things going on in his life, and how he felt that God didn't answer any of his prayers. I talked to him more about what we believe and showed him the Book of Mormon I had in my hands. Sister Roney and I had prepared a lot of the Book of Mormons before tabling- we wrote different questions in them and marked the scriptures that answered them. Like- Does God exist? Why does God allow sin and hard things to happen to us? What is the purpose of life?.. Things like that. I showed him the marked scriptures and told him how the Book of Mormon helps us to find comfort and guidance in our lives. I showed him the testimony I had written in the front. I wasn't sure if he would take it or not, since he seemed so solid in not accepting anything from us in the beginning, but when I offered it to him he seemed so surprised and said he would gladly read it. By the end of our conversation his countenance had completely changed. He was smiling and seemed so much brighter and more happy. That is one of the best things about being a missionary... watching how our message and the spirit can literally brighten people's countenances. :) 

The 2 people from the street ended up coming to English class! We were able to get both of their numbers and we set up to meet with one of them later today actually! :) The other one said he really enjoyed the class and said he had never heard anything about the Mormons. He seemed interested in learning more, so we are going to try and see if he would like to meet with us too! :) 

Wednesday we streeted, and somehow we seemed to be in the right places at the right times. We received 5 finds that we are going to contact this week! They all seem genuinely interested too! We also met this young kid named Beni. He looked kind of big and intimidating, kind of like a gangster. I gave him a flier and invited him to English class. I thought he would be scary or kind of mean, but we started talking with him and asked if he knew any English. He said he knew a little. We all happened to be walking in the same direction, so we continued to talk to him. He turned out not to be scary at all!- but was actually really nice! He asked a lot of questions about why we were serving missions and what we believe. He didn't believe in God, but we told him about our testimonies, and he seemed surprised that neither of us had ever drank or smoked. He said his parents weren't religious either so he had never really grown up praying and things like that. He walked with us probably past where he was going haha but we had a really great conversation. He ended up taking a Book of Mormon, and said he might come to English class. It was cool talking to him, who knows, maybe we started some sort of curiosity in him about a belief in God? If there's one thing I've learned on my mission, its that you can never judge a book by it's cover. 

Well, Friday was one of our best days. We went looking for less actives, and had all sorts of cool experiences. We rang the wrong csángő (its like a outside doorbell to an apartment building) for one of them. We were looking for a lady named Ilona, but the confused man on the speaker ended up coming down to see what we wanted. We talked to him for about 20 min. about who we were, and more about our church. He seemed interested in learning more, he took a Book of Mormon and gave us his phone number so that we could set up a time to meet later. :) (We ended up finding Ilona's csángő a few minutes later)- it was the next door over. haha Oh well, the awesome things that come from wringing the wrong doorbell. :) 

2 of the less actives invited us in to have a lesson. We even reset up with one of them to meet this Saturday. He seems to know a ton of the members, and showed us pictures from when he was an active member. We found one of them who he used to be friends with that is going to come with us to our lesson with him on Saturday. :) The other lady was named Judit. She was really nice, and gave us her number so that we could come back another time. It's a process getting people who have left the church to come back.. but I think it's a good start that they let us in. :) 

We met with some of our investigators too. They all seem to be really slow progressors, so we have our work set out for us. I'm hoping that some of these new finds will be promising. 

I know this church is true! I love missionary work. I know that through the atonement of Christ we can receive strength beyond our own to make it through tough things. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and that Moroni's promise is real. If people sincerely pray and ask God if the book is true, he will answer them through the power of the Holy Ghost. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have and the opportunity I have to serve a mission. It is the best thing I've ever done. I love you all tons!! Can't wait to hear from you again next week!! Take care!

Sok Szeretettel,

Johnson Nővér

Thanks Dad for the vests!

P.S. Dad- Thanks for the mission stories! :) I started reading through some of them, 16 pages is a lot. haha it costs us to print pages so if you could mail them that would be awesome. But if not, I can probably just print them off. 

I sent a picture of our awesome vests. :) and Sister Roney and I went on a bike ride in the morning last Tuesday with one of our investigators to this random castle with all these animal heads haha so i took a picture with one. Anyways, love you all lots! Talk to you soon! :)  

May 14, 2012

Hey Family!! 

It was so great talking to you all yesterday! Scottie and Princess I still love you both!! Sorry I wasn't able to get a chance to talk to you. But things are going well here in my new area! I've been sick for the past week just about, but I finally feel like I am getting better. Transfers was pretty rough with being sick. Probably the worst possible time to come down with a crazy cold or sinus infection or whatever it was. But I'm glad it's finally letting up now though. 

Dunaújvaros is actually really beautiful and green. Our city is right along the Duna! I took a picture at Duna park where we streeted a bit the other day. Its really actually a pretty city. There's a lot of hills here, and we will be riding bikes a lot. :P Should be fun. haha I probably need the exercise though anyway. We have helmets and these awesome yellow construction vests that we wear. haha I'll try and send a picture of us in them next week. 

There are some awesome members here in Duna. The Tomaék let us use their computer yesterday to Skype. They are hilarious. Mom got to hear a few words from Judit on Skype yesterday. She attempted to speak some of her English. haha They made us palacsintas (Hungarian crapes) and showed us some of their family pictures. Judit's son Fanzi is inactive and hasn't been to church in quite a few years. They are such hilarious nice people though, I really enjoy going over to their house. We are going to try and help Judit prepare for the temple and get Fanzi back to church. :) 

Friday we had a ward party. It was mostly for all the kids in our ward here, but I was able to meet most all the members. Everyone is so friendly!! They had a lot of fun stuff for the kids to do- face painting, games, food, a puppet show! haha close to the end i joined some of the kids painting at the table. I drew a portrait of Elder Weston as a joke, but then afterwards everyone wanted me to paint a portrait of them. haha I ended up doing something like 7 people I think. It was really fun actually. :) We met with a few RCLAs and some just a couple of our investigators this week. It was hard since I've been sick. But this week we have a whole bunch of programs set up, so it should be really great. 

Elder Weston

Sunday was stake conference. Every seat was full all the way to the stage in the back! And even then we had people standing in the back to hear. It's amazing how much the church is growing here. I really hope that someday soon they will have a temple here in Hungary!! That would be so awesome! I got to see a lot of the Kispest members at stake conference, so it was good to get to say goodbye again. Also! I don't know if you remember me talking about Elder Jenei from the MTC- But we met a Hungarian in the MTC going on a mission to England, and our group became really good friends with him there. Funny story though!- I met his mom and brother at stake conference yesterday!! haha they stopped me in the hallway. I was confused at first because i didn't know who they were, but i guess they had recognized me from a picture Elder Jenei sent them in the MTC. lol It was fun to talk to them  and hear how he is doing on his mission in England. I remembered him saying his family was from Győr, but i never thought i would actually run into them. lol Small world. 

It was a little sad leaving Kispest, just like it was hard leaving Békéscsaba- but I think there are a lot of great things that will come from this new city. Sister Roney and I are going to have a lot of fun I think. :) I sent a picture of Adrián from Kispest. He is probably one of the most solid investigators we had when I left there. I'm really sad I won't be there to see him progress, but he's in good hands with the sisters there now i think, and he's really already doing a lot of it on his own. I think he's beginning to recognize the spirit. :) It kind of stinks to leave an area right as things begin to pick up... but I know the work will be able to move along here as well. Anyways, that's about all I've got this week. I love you all tons! Granny B- thanks for the birthday package!! :) Hope to talk to you all soon!

Much love,

Sister Tiffany Johnson 

My New Area of Dunaújvaros, Hungary

May 7, 2012

Hey everyone!

So, transfer calls came again this morning! Turns out I am leaving Kispestand going to serve in Dunaújvaros with Sister Roney! Sister Roney was inthe group below me in the MTC. She is super nice and I'm sure we are goingto have a great time serving together. :)

This has been a good week. One of the longer ones. I think we were really anxious to know what was going to happen at transfers. The weather is beautiful here now. We've had some really hot days even! Only I think it's taking a toll on my allergies. My face feels like it might explode today,and I've been sneezing non-stop. But hopefully it will pass before I leave for my new area.Kispest has been really great. We seem to have a few investigators here now that seem to be really progressing. :) Adrián met with us 3 times just this week! He has a lot of questions and seems really interested. He normallycomes to English class on Thursdays, but texted us before class this past Thursday and said he wouldn't be able to make it to English class, but thathe would still be coming to our lesson with him afterwards. When he showed up, he had read the chapter we assigned him and said that he wasn't able tocome to English class because he needed to read. He didn't want to come to our lesson without being prepared with what we had committed him to do. Howcool is that?! We are hoping to meet with him again tonight. :) We also went on splits this Thursday. Sister Jeppson came and served in Kispest with me for a day. We had a fun time. She was in Sister Roney's group in the MTC. I learn a lot every time I go on splits. Sometimes it's really great to switch up companions and see how other missionaries findand teach. Sister Roney is fearless, and willing to talk to anyone she sees. She also speaks the language really well! One of our MTC teachers Brother Daybell and his wife were here in Hungary for a few days! We got to catch up with them on Friday when they were hereat the mission home for Waffle night with the youth. It was kind of weird seeing them outside the walls of the MTC. But they were both really impressed to see how far we have come, and how great the work is moving along for us. :) We were finally able to meet with Fanni. Fanni was on bap. date a few mothsago in Buda. The Buda sisters passed her over to us since she lives here in Kispest. I think she's having a hard time switching over, so she hasn'tshown up to meet with us much. But we were able to meet with her twice this week. She seems to have a strong testimony of the church, she's just a little hesitant about being baptized for some reason. But we are working on helping with her concerns.Missionary day was this Saturday. We have it usually about once everymonth. It's a day when the ward members come to help the missionaries street and table. This Saturday only one ward member showed up to help - Éva. She is such a solid member though. She was a great help the whole time we were there. She handed out about 11 Liahonas and a couple Book of Mormons. We were able to get some new finds too that we will be able to callnext week. Well, that's about all the update for now. Mother's day is on Sunday!! HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!  


Well, I love you all lots. I'm excited to hear from you! Have a fabulous day!


Szeretettel,
Johnson Nővér

 Nővér Gallion and I

April 23, 2012

Kedves Családom, 

This Friday will be my halfway point. How crazy is that? It honestly feels like just last week I entered the MTC. Although. Looking back I can see how much I have learned and am continuing to learn since then. I just can't believe how quickly the time is flying. Each transfer seems to pass more and more quickly. Sister Gallion and I have been working really hard. At the beginning of the transfer we dropped a few of our investigators who were only meeting with us mostly to practice English. It's been tough working to find more people to teach and kind of starting over from scratch in a way, but we have been able to use the extra time to find some really cool new people who are genuinely interested in hearing about the gospel. 

Adrian, one of our new investigators seems really awesome. He is keeping all the commitments we have given him, and seems to sincerely want to learn more about our beliefs and find out for himself if they are true. In our lesson with him this week, we watched the Joseph Smith movie and talked about how the Book of Mormon came about. He was completely honest with us after watching the film, and told us that he didn't really like it. lol He said it was too unbelievable. We told him we understood that it was a difficult story to believe, but boar our testimonies of it's truth and told him he could receive an answer that it was true through prayer. After talking a little more about the Book of Mormon, he told us that he felt like Joseph Smith could not have written the whole Book of Mormon himself without some sort of higher power. We committed him to read and pray about the Book of Mormon, and told him if he asked with a sincere heart the Lord would answer him. He seemed surprised that we seemed so sure in promising him a positive outcome, but he committed to try this week. :) We are meeting with him again tomorrow, and found a member that is willing to come and teach with us. I think it will be really good for him to hear a recent convert's testimony and conversion experience. :) 

 Edit came with us to a member's home for dinner last Wednesday. It went so well! They made us a delicious dinner, and made her feel really welcome and comfortable in their home. After we ate, Edit had some questions from church last week. They had talked about temples and the priesthood, both topics we hadn't had a chance to teach her about yet. Béla and Boróka helped us to answer all of her questions. Béla actually served a mission in Utah a few years ago. He received the plan of salvation with her and emphasized the spirit world. We talked about why we need temples, what type of work we do there, and what a blessing they are in our lives. By the end Edit was smiling, and you could tell she was beginning to really understand and see the big picture. It was so cool to see her light up as all the questions she asked were being answered. On the way home we asked how she liked it. She told us that she enjoyed it very much. We told her that there were a lot of new things we talked about and that she learned that night. She responded and said that they were all things she knew before, but because of God's plan she had forgotten them, and is learning them again. :) I think everything is really starting to click for her. I am so grateful for Béla and Boróka, and all their help. There really is something so much more powerful about a lesson with a member who can bear strong testimony about the things they have come to know to be true. That is one thing that really amazes me. The church is so new here in Hungary, almost every member here is a recent convert. I always love hearing about how they heard about the gospel and how they received an answer that it was true. It's such a cool experience to get to be a part of that for others. 

Friday we went on splits with the sisters in Buda. I got to serve in Buda for a day with one of the mini missionaries- Sister Török. She is from Budapest and is a recent convert of about a year. She's 20 and speaks only a little English. It was such a blast to get to serve for a day with her! We spoke in Hungarian the entire time. I thought it would be difficult, but I found that we were actually able to communicate really well! I learned so much serving with her!- even though it was only for a day. She helped me so much with the language, and she boar powerful testimony on the streets and in our lessons. We spent a lot of time laughing and having a fun time too. She is an incredible example to me of how true this gospel is, and how it truly can change our lives and hearts. I am amazed with how much of a strong testimony she has. I don't know if I could have the type of faith it takes to be a convert to the church, each one that I meet here is an inspiration and a great example to me. I hope one day that I can serve with a mini Hungarian missionary! That would be such a party! :) 

Well, I love you all. Things are great here. Thanks for all of your emails and for your support and prayers. Take care and I hope to hear from you next week!! 

Lots of Love,

Sister Tiffany Johnson 

This is from our song we played at The Wheelchair Event. It's not the best picture ever haha but you can see my awesome guitar!! :) The other one is with Török Nővér who i went on splits with this week.

April 16, 2012

HellOOooOoo family!! 

Mi újság??! Today we spent the day with our district walking around the city and taking all sorts of pictures. We stopped at a park near hero's square and had a picnic! The sights in the city are really beautiful. Sometimes its crazy to think that I'm actually all the way out here in Hungary. As a missionary we kind of get into the everyday routine of missionary work, and I forget that I'm in this amazing country on the other side of the world! That's why I love p-days! We get to take a second to walk around and see all the awesome things this city has to offer. 

There were a some really great things that happened this week. First of all, Edit came to church!! It was her first time coming, and she came to all 3 meetings with us. By the end, she had a lot of new questions, but said that she really enjoyed it. She has begun to make some really great friends here in the ward as well. I am so glad the members here are so kind and welcoming to our investigators. They are a big help in our finding and teaching. 

Mani is doing great, and seems to be adjusting as a new member here so quickly. She has found some ladies in the ward to be her friends, and is going to start attending our ward's institute class with them. She is really excited about sharing the gospel, and wants to come help us on our next ward missionary day.

We met with Adrian on Thursday after English class. He is so awesome! He kept all the commitments that we gave him and had so many great questions for us. We talked to him about the apostasy and restoration, and about why we need prophets. He seems really accepting of everything we are teaching him, and even prayed for the first time in our program! It's always such a special experience to hear someone pray for the first time. Especially when you can tell that they really felt something. 

Well, sorry that this email is kind of short, but I'm glad to hear you all are doing well. Dad, that was a pretty crazy picture you sent from beaver hunting. haha I'm glad you had a good time though. I hope that you and Holly had a fun time in Japan. Holly, you will have to keep me updated on your friend who is taking the missionary lessons and let me know what happens with her. That is really exciting. Mom, I'm glad you and Scott had a good trip to California. That is still so crazy to me that Scott is driving! AHH! I donno, still kind of weird for me to think about. But I'm glad you both had fun and that you made it back alive. ;) You'll have to tell Scott to send me an email or write me a letter sometime soon! I feel like it's been way too long since I've heard from him. 

Anyway, I love you all tons. Take care and talk to you all next week!

Much Love,

Johnson Nővér

April 10, 2012

Dear Family,

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter! It's finally spring! A perfect time to remember the Resurrection of the Savior.The weather here is finally turning warm and everything is green! :) It's so nice to go outside and not have to put on a bazillion layers to stay warm. Even though in the winter everything looks dead and dark, we can always know that spring is always right around the corner. 

Mani's baptism was on Saturday! And her confirmation on Sunday. Everything turned out really well. We had lots of members there to support her, and she was so excited and so happy to be getting baptized! The water was a tad bit nippy. haha Before the baptism while we were trying to fill up the font, only cold water was coming from the faucet. So we attempted to boil water on the stove in large pots and pour it in.. but it didn't make much difference.I think she was a little nervous to get in the cold water, but everything went smoothly, and afterwards she told me that she didn't even notice the cold water but that she felt that the Lord had blessed her so that she wouldn't freeze. lol She has a very solid testimony and wants to share the gospel with others. The Lord definitely had previously prepared her to accept our message, she was ready for everything we taught her- she is truly a miracle. I hope the Lord can help lead us to others like her. :)

This week we were able to meet with lots of new people! We set up and had programs with all the people we met with on the streets a few weeks ago!- Our most promising is Adrian. I sat by Adrian on the Metro a few weeks ago and gave him a Book of Mormon. He had been speaking with a friend about how he was open to learning about religions not 20 minutes before I sat down and talked to him. He is completely open to learning about the church. He had read all of the introduction, and the scriptures I had highlighted in the book before our meeting. He even looked up a Book of Mormon study guide from our church website! He said he wasn't going to just give up on us in 2 weeks, but that he would hear us out. Our first lesson was very good and he had lots of questions. We assigned him to read a chapter from the Book of Mormon and he asked if he would be receiving these kinds of assignments when we met. We said yes and he was totally cool with it, and said he would read what we gave him. We're so excited about him. 

Turns out László and his wife (who we streeted last Sunday) are actually Jehovah's Witnesses! haha We had an interesting program at their house. They were both very nice though and offered us juice and crackers as we talked to them about the bible. I made sure to come prepared with my English bible and plenty of references that we thought might be good for them. When we walked in their house we saw their walls lined with big brown books that looked like encyclopedias. When I asked László what they were, he replied that they were just another part of his bible study. "What did we get ourselves into?" we thought...There is only one other religious group here in Hungary that would be so dedicated to the Bible... The Jehovah's Witnesses. We later asked what religion they were, they confirmed what we had thought. We talked for a while about the Bible, they asked us plenty of questions and we did our best to respond- some of them replying that we needed more time to research and find an answer. We talked a lot about a living prophet and how we believe that God's words never cease. They seem to feel that there has to be some sort of evidence before they can believe, and that there is no need for a living prophet today. Anyway, we did set up to meet with them again, and are actually going over later today. Our message will be: The Book of Mormon is our evidence and they can know if it is true by reading and praying about it. Wish us luck! They were so friendly though and their dedication to studying the Bible has helped me want to be more studious in the scriptures.

Sister Gallion and I have continued to meet all sorts of awesome people during our travels around the city. We met a really nice man named Ádám who is married with a 3 year old. He took a Book of Mormon, and we gave him a card we have with a Facebook page that has more information about our church. We also met these three brothers that were here on vacation from Mexico. They spoke English and we began to explain to them more about our beliefs and about why we are here as missionaries. They had never heard about any of our beliefs before and asked us a lot of questions. I didn't have any English cards or an English Book of Mormon to give them, but I gave them one of our Hungarian cards, and showed them the small red English Book of Mormon that I carry around with me. When we got to our stop one of the brothers asked for a book in Hungarian, the doors were about to close but I quickly pulled it out of my bag and handed it to him. Who knows?- maybe they will try and find one in their own language when they get home?

Well, Lots of other crazy things happened this week, but I don't have time to write it all. For now, I love being a missionary and I love getting to share and testify about the gospel wherever i go! The church is true, and the work is moving along here in Hungary. I love you all and hope you are doing well! Talk to you soon!


P.S. Thanks for the pictures! Tala is adorable!! I can't wait to meet her when I get back! Also, Michele if you are reading this thanks so much for the Easter candy from your family!! My companion and I were so grateful that you took the time to think of us! :)

Sok Szeretettel,

Sister Tiffany Johnson

This is one of our investigators EDIT. She is awesome!! She is keeping all the commitments we give her, and even came to general conference with us last week! She is so nice, and really wants to find out if what we are teaching her is true.

Gérgő is the red head. Who would have thought Hungarians have red hair?! He's our ward mission leader and he's only 18! But he is a super cool kid and does a great job. 

Transit in Hungary

Every once in awhile, you just have to stop and enjoy the beauty that surrounds you!

Sister Kramer and I on the day of Transfers

Twice a year different districts in Hungary can throw out all their trash and old furniture onto the street and people come around and pick it up. It's pretty strange and kind of discusting... but I guess it's easier than having a yard sale? 

Sister Gallion and I before Mani's Baptism

March in Kispest

March 26, 2012

Hello Everyone!

Okay, wow.. I'm sorry, I've been having issues getting my emails out lately. But I promise I haven't forgotten you all, and I really have been writing every week. But Hopefully all my emails will go through today. You will just have a lot of reading to catch up on. :)

Anyway, So this Wednesday is the start of a brand new transfer!! Transfer calls came today. We found out that I will be staying here in Kispest, and SISTER GALLION my companion from the MTC will be coming here to serve with me!!! I am so excited! We are going to have such a blast! I love Sister Gallion so much! I am really sad that I won't be serving with Sister Kramer anymore though. I cannot believe how quickly our last 2 transfers together have flown by! I guess time flies when you're having fun. We have learned and grown a lot together, and we will definitely continue to remain good friends even though we will be serving in different areas. She will be going to Szeged to serve with Sister Papritz.

Anyways... So this week! This week has been really great! I've been able to meet some really awesome people in the most random places. On buses, on the metro, on the street. For some reason I've been able to share the gospel a lot more with people just while walking around and traveling places. We try and do this everyday of course, but I was able to find so many people that were really willing to listen and wanting to learn more. There was one man on the bus who I talked to. I didn't have enough time to give him a Book of Mormon before our stop, but I gave him a pass along card and invited him to English class. A few days later he called back!! He is coming to English class this week, and I am hoping we will be able to set up a time to meet and talk more about the gospel. There was another man I met on the metro a few days later. I started a conversation with him and he asked what I was doing here in Hungary. I told him how we are missionaries here and we started talking about the gospel. He got off at our same stop, so Sister Kramer and I talked to him for about 20 min about the gospel. He seemed really interested, and actually told us that just a few days before he had talked to some Jehovah's witnesses, and was discussing with a friend about religions, and then he met us and received this book. He seems really cool and exchanged numbers with us so that we can set up a time to talk more about our beliefs. And then on Sunday, Sister Kramer and I needed to give away one more Book of Mormon to reach our goals. We tried stopping everyone to find someone that was interested, but we weren't having much success. I felt exhausted from all that we had already done that day, and all the other work we had done during the week. When it was about time to go home I felt like giving up, but decided to talk to just one more person. I spotted an older man in a suit walking down the street with a brief case in his hand. I decided to see if he would stop to listen to me. Surprisingly enough, he did. I told him how I was a missionary for our church and asked if he was religious. He said that he was, and I went on to ask if he had ever heard about the Book of Mormon. He said that he had, somewhat, and asked me why there is need for another book when we already have the bible. I told him we believe in the bible to be God's word, but that the Book of Mormon is a 2nd witness to the bible. I talked about how the Bible explains about Christ's ministry in Jerusalem, and the Book of Mormon is written by ancient prophets in the Americas, who Christ also appeared to after his resurrection. He seemed somewhat confused, but interested. I offered for him to take the Book of Mormon. He wasn't willing to take it, but said that we could come by sometime to talk to him and his wife more about it. He exchanged numbers with me and gave us his address to stop by sometime! We didn't end up being able to find someone to take our last Book of Mormon, but to me we still reached our goals. I am excited to talk to this man and his wife more about why we need the Book of Mormon, and hopefully help answer some of their questions. :)

We had lots of great programs this week. Mani is preparing to be baptized on April 7th!! She is so ready. I am really happy for her and this decision she is making. I know that Sister Gallion and I are going to see a lot of success in this coming transfer! I am excited about all these new people we have to meet with. I hope that they will have a desire to learn more and read from the scriptures. Thank you so much for all your support and prayers! To my big brother and his beautiful wife, I am so happy for you both!! I'm so sorry that my email didn't go through after you had little Tala. But i love you both, and I am so happy for you!! Dad, Tell Grandma Johnson yes I got her cookies!! They were delicious, as were the ones from Holly and you. All the elders were very grateful that I shared with them. :) Besides that, I guess I will talk to you all next week. Mom, thanks so much for the email about conference. I really enjoyed reading about the talks that were in the Young Women's session. I love you all TONS!! I hope you have a wonderful week! and I hope you get my email this week. ha ha!

Talk to you soon!!

much love,

Sister Tiffany Johnson

March 19, 2012

Okay, now for this week...

I hope that everyone is doing well! We had a lot of fun this week. Sister Kramer has a friend who is in a study abroad program just next to us in Vienna, we received permission to have lunch with her here in the city this week. So I got to meet her and some of their other friends. We actually went to an Italian restaurant for lunch, haha but it was a lot of fun. Thursday was a big holiday in Hungary to celebrate Independence here, so we had a SUPER p-day. Super p-days are like a p-day, but only they last the whole day long!!! We spent the day with the A.P.s and went up to Tihany and the Balaton- a giant lake here in Hungary. Of course as missionaries we couldn't get in- but it was really beautiful. We also went to a castle in Csesznek. It was build sometime in the 1500s, and is now mostly just broken down walls. But we had a lot of fun climbing the walls and taking lots of pictures. Friday at fiatal est (or our young adults' activity) one of the members Dia taught us all how to draw. So we all drew portraits of each other and set up different scenes to draw. It turned out somewhat funny. They all were very unique. Sister Kramer and I also sang in church yesterday! We wanted to sing a hymn of somesort, but didn't have anyone that could accompany us on the piano. I don't know that many hymns on the guitar yet, but I came up with my own way to play "Abide with Me Tis Even Tide." So I played and we sang together. I think it turned out pretty well. We were hoping it would get a lot more of our investigators at church- but we still had a few who made it. :) A few of the senior couples came too, so we had a few fans in the audience. We made a video of it on my camera, I'm going to try and email it to my mom and see if she can put it on my blog.

Besides just playing this week, we also worked too of course. Mani- our new baptism date is incredible. She is so excited to get baptized, and loves reading and learning and coming to church. She came this Sunday even though she was sick. I'm really happy she wants to be baptized, she will be a really great addition to the ward here.

We also had a really great lesson with one of our investigators Csaba. He's been meeting with us for a while now, but has been one of our slower progressors. In our last lesson with him we ended up talking a lot about prayer. We planned a completely different lesson, but we were reading about Enos and i felt prompted to ask if he had ever prayed to know if God existed. He told us that he hadn't. And after that a lot of his other concerns came to the surface. We told him that if he sincerely wanted to know if God was there listening to him, he needed to pray and ask to receive an answer. We promised him that if he asked in faith, and really had a desire- that God would answer his prayer. I am so glad that we were able to have that simple lesson with him this week. I'm not sure how we missed this earlier. But for prayer, or the gospel, or the plan of salvation, or anything else to really mean anything to us- we have to know that there is a God who loves us, who wants to hear from us, and desires our success and happiness. He told us he would pray this week!- So hopefully he does. :)

We also met with a new investigator that was handed over to us from the Buda sisters- Fanni. She is in her 20s and is on bap date actually for sometime in the end of April! She has a lot of energy, and a lot of personality! She loves the gospel and has a strong testimony. We just need to help her feel more adjusted into the new ward here in Kispest, but I think she will like it here a lot.

Well, that's about all I have for this week. I love you all! Sorry again that my email didn't go through last time. But take care and I will talk to you next week!!

Love you tons!!

-Sister Johnson

P.S. Mandy is engaged!!??? WHAT!!? I cannot believe this. She needs to write me ASAP! lol who is this boy?! He better be good to her. This is so crazy! K well, I'm sad I won't get to be there. But I want a wedding invite!!

March 14, 2012

This week Tiffany sent pictures and just a quick note. She is busy and doing well and loves the people that she's serving with and for. They are becoming dear friends. Here is some of the content of the last email and the pictures...

...Caving with Kramer Nővér and the Elders

March 12, 2012

Hello Everyone!!

Wow.. This has been such a crazy week!! So, I guess i will start at the beginning of the week... We had such a fun P-day last week! We went with the Elders to these caves just outside of Budapest. But these were no sissy caves- we did lots of crawling through tiny spaces on our hands and knees- lots of times having to inchworm or army crawl ourselves through to the other side. Sometimes we'd have to turn our heads sideways because the spaces were too small to go through. But it was a blast!! I decided I love caving. We had an awesome tour guide, and it was just the 5 of us so he took us to the more difficult parts of the cave.There was one place they called the sandwich... which i now realize why they call it that. haha We had a really fun time though. We also went up to Janos hedgy. It is the highest point in all of Budapest. We planned to take the chair lift up.. only when we got there, we found out they weren't yet running... so we had a nice hike up. haha I about died.. but the view from the top made it all worth it.
Tuesday we met with Mani, our new Bap. date. She is incredible! and so ready to be baptized. She was introduced to the church through a friend, and has willingly accepted everything from the moment she found the church. She loves the bible, and knows just about every story and all the teachings in it. She said she never felt there was a Church that had all that she was needing in it, until she found our church. She is excited to start paying tithing, and says she use to drink coffee and green tea, but is willing to stop now to join the church. She is so excited to be baptized and I am really happy for her. She is already starting to make some great friends in the ward, and I think she is going to be a really solid member.
We met twice this week with the family that was referred to us from Livi. They are such great people. The two girls love the scriptures and love coming to church! The parents are really attentive in our lessons and are reading from the Book of Mormon! On Tuesday we had a great lesson about prophets and how we can build testimonies. We watched the restoration film with them, and Vivi (one of the daughters who is 12) said that she believes it could possibly be true! We talked about the importance of prayer and the holy ghost to receive our answer about the Book of Mormon. Saturday they cooked us Hungarian food and asked me to bring over my guitar. We had another great lesson about faith, the parents had read from the chapter we assigned in Alma 32. We ate lots of great food, and had our own personal talent show! The girls danced for all of us something they were learning from their dance class, and then we played and sang some songs together on my guitar. It was a really fun program.
Wednesday Elder Christofferson came to speak to us! All the missionaries were there from every part of the country. It was the first time the whole mission has been together since President and Sister Baughman have been serving here. We had a meeting for just the missionaries earlier that day. We all were able to go up and shake his hand and tell him where we are from. After he let us ask him questions about the mission, and about missionary work in general. It was really cool to hear so personally from an apostle of God. That night he spoke to the stake. Right now there is only one stake in Hungary, so there were people from all over the country who had traveled there to see him. I have never seen so many investigators and members in the same place all at once. It was really incredible. He said a lot of really great things. One thing that really stood out to me was at the end he left the people with a blessing... he said, "I bless the parents and grandparents here that as you strive to teach your children the principles of the gospel that they will grow to honor them, and that as you pray for your children the Lord will hear your prayers, and as your children pray for you the Lord will hear their prayers as well." It reminded me of the scripture in Malachi 4:6 "And he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers..." It was like a prophecy being fulfilled right before our eyes. I thought that was really cool. One other thing he said that I thought was really powerful was, "If Joseph Smith were here tonight and could see us, I think he would say that it was worth it." He talked about all of the things that Joseph Smith went through to try and spread the word of the gospel throughout the world. And after all of the persecution and suffering- looking at how far the gospel has come since then, he would say it was all worth it. The gospel is now in Hungary! The Scriptures are in Hungarian!... but not just that, the church is growing here! It's incredible. And not just here... but it so many different places around the world! It was a really spacial experience here for all the members and investigators to hear from an apostle. I'm really glad he came to speak to us.
Thursday, we had lots of programs. It was kind of a crazy day. We were able to visit the Westiks. One of my favorite member families to visit with. They are the ones with the picture of Christensen Elder on Valentines day.. and the ones with the apples in our mouths. They are such a solid family. Their dad is actually a member of the stake presidency, he's a really nice man too. I just love their family. They have 2 daughters Lilla and Luca. Lilla is getting married this summer in June, she was just proposed to this past week!! I also teach an English class every Thursday by myself. It is a little intimidating... but I'm starting to get the hang of it. My students are the more advanced English speakers, they are all really funny. But sometimes they come up with some interesting questions and like to debate about English grammar principles. The languages are really different, so sometimes it is weird for them to try and understand why we speak the way we do. But i do enjoy teaching them! They make the hour pass quickly.
Friday and Saturday i will skip because this email is getting long.. But Friday was Gofri est with the youth. We have a spiritual thought and eat Gofri (waffles). Saturday was Tai chi in the morning and Fiatal est that night (It's kind of like a FHE for the young adults). Sunday we met with Bogi's family after church!! Bogi is the 17 year old that came to English class, and then showed up that Saturday at fiatal est a few weeks ago. I also wrote my testimony in a Book of Mormon for her. But she invited us over on Sunday for dinner with he mom and sister! It was such a great program. They are some of the nicest people I have met since I came here. They fed us so much delicious food and they asked us a lot of questions about our missions and about the church. We shared some from the scriptures with them, and cleared up a lot of their misunderstandings about the church. Lots of people think we are Amish here for some reason. Anyways, they all took a Book of Mormon before we left, and invited us to come back again! :)
We had dinner that night with another member family that I love! Béla and Bóroka!... (Yes, we ate a lot of food that day). But they are a younger couple. Béla actually served his mission in Provo and Spanish Fork! They are probably going to go back this summer to visit... oh and mom, I told them that they could come by and visit you all when they are there! They said they probably would. They speak perfect English and I know you would just love them!! So, I hope that's okay. But I'll give you more details when that day is actually closer.
Anyways... that was my crazy week! Missionary work is so fun!.. but sometimes really exhausting. Some days I would give anything to just be able to crawl in bed and take a nap. But we can't do that as missionaries. I know that the Lord gives us the power to keep going. I really love this work. And I'm really excited about all the incredible things that are happening here. I love you all so much!! I hope that you have a wonderful week!! Talk to you soon!

Sok Szeretettel,

Sister Tiffany Loren Johnson

"...The first picture is with Kramer Nővér, Luca, and I at the farsang bűli we had last week in the costumes we made. Luca is little red riding hood or (they call her Piroska here), and we are Hungarian candy bars. the second picture is with Edit Néni. One of the coolest old ladies I have ever met! She is the one who is teaching us Kézi munka (or Hungarian embroidery) she's also come to church a few times! We took this picture a few Sundays ago. The 3rd picture is of Zsaklin and Dóri. Zsaklin is a recent convert, and her friend Dóri is one of our investigators. They are super sweet girls, and come to a lot of our activities. And the last picture is with Mani our new bap. date and a member Éva, who has become one of her really good friends and is a great help in our lessons."

      Luca is little red riding hood or (they call her Piroska), Johnson Nővér and Kramer Nővér

Kramer Nővér Edit Néni and Johnson Nővér

Zsaklin and Dóri with the Sisters

              Kramer Nővér, Mani (Just Baptized), Éva (a Branch Member) and Johnson Nővér

March 3, 2012

Hey everybody!

This is going to be my shortest email to date (which will probably be a relief after all my other novels that i send) but we just had a CRAZY P-Day!!!  And now we have basically next to no time to email!

However, we still had some awesome highlights:

-Last week for P-Day, we went laser-tagging with our zone.  Kispest district ROCKED!  We were undefeated :)  It was quite fun!  But that's probably the least important highlight haha.

-We have a baptismal date now!!!  One is the lady passed over from the Pest sisters.  Her name is Mani and she told us that she has been searching for the true church for a long time now, and is so glad to have found the true one.  She prayed about baptism and decided she wants to be baptized on Easter weekend!

-The Pest branch house had an Open House event.  It was so cool.  The members put it all together and it was so cool.  A lot of people came to the branch house to check out our church and what we believe.  There were different themed rooms explaining different parts about our church (like Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, family history, etc.)  We were able to talk to a whole bunch of investigators at once and bear our testimonies to them.

Anyways, sorry this is so short!  I will send a longer one next week (with TONS of great pictures I have from the past few weeks!).  Cool things coming up: Elder Christofferson, one of the apostles, is coming to Hungary THIS Wednesday!!!  We are going to have a special mission conference with him and he is going to meet with the stake.  It should be soooo cool!

I love you all!

Love,

Sister Tiffany Johnson