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

February 2012 in Kispest

February 27, 2012


Family!! 
I love you all so much! What an amazing week this has been! So much has happened this week!

Livi, one of the members here, referred us to this awesome family! She knows the mom from work, and invited her and her 2 daughters to come to church! The daughters love church, and they've come the last 3 weeks now! We went over to their house this week to teach them about the restoration. The lesson was really great, and the father stayed in to listen as well! The girls have been reading out of the book of Mormon for their primary class, they are ages 9 and 11. They love the scriptures! The parents both took a Book of Mormon as well, and invited us to come back to teach another lesson next week! :) 

We are meeting with a new lady Edit. I think I may have written about her in a previous email. Everyone here in Hungary has the same names so we are actually meeting with two Edits (Edit from Békéscsaba and Edit Néni-the older lady who is teaching us Hungarian embroidery)  The younger Edit called us a few weeks ago wanting to practice English. She speaks really well, and our first lesson with her was really great. We've had 3 lessons with her now, and she seems to be really interested in what we are teaching her. For our last lesson we asked her to read Moroni chapter 7. We said that if she had any questions while she was reading she should write them down and we could talk about them next time. Well, she read! and actually brought a whole list of questions for us! We were able to help answer a lot of the questions for her. Its really great because you can tell that she really wants to find answers! Sister Hanson (one of the senior sisters) came to the lesson with us. She boar strong testimony and was a great contribution to our lesson. 

We had our farsang buli (party) this week! Farsang is basically a big celebration where people dress up in costumes to "scare away" the winter. Its basically like Halloween for the Hungarians. We had a ward part on Saturday. Sister Kramer and I dressed up like Hungarian candy! (well kind of). :) I was a pöttyös túró rudi, which is this really popular chocolate bar they sell here. It has túró in it.. which doesn't really exist in America- but it would be like chocolate and cottage cheese. I thought it was weird when i first tried it.. but now i really like it! :) Kramer nővér was a Milka bar. The ward party was really fun though. There was one man there, János, who was a friend of a member. He was older, probably in his 60s but he spoke perfect English. His member friend wasn't at the party, so I decided to go over and talk to him. We struck up a conversation, and soon enough we were talking about the gospel. He told me that he had heard a lot about our church, but couldn't see what made us different from any other church. I responded first off, by telling him that one thing that made us different from other churches was that we believe in a living prophet today who leads and guides the church, just like they had during bible times. This struck up lots more questions- I guess he had never heard this before. We continued to talk for probably 45 min. I was able to bear strong testimony to him and answer a few of his questions. Almost all the questions that he was asking me can be answered through the knowledge we have of the Plan of Salvation. How grateful I am for all the answers we receive though the gospel to some of life's greatest questions. He said that he was interested in learning more, and gave me his information to call and set up another time to meet with him next week. :) 

Along with all the things we had this week- Zone conference, the ward party, district meeting... Sister Kramer and I were still determined to get Super Standard. By Sunday we had achieved all the goals except for one. We just needed one other lesson. We had two lessons scheduled for that day- but they both fell through last minute. With only a few more hours left in the day we were determined to find someone who would meet with us. We called just about every investigator we knew, but no one was able to meet last minute. We even went to look up a family, but that was unsuccessful as well. At about 7pm, we figured that we had tried the best we could but would probably have to settle for not making our goals completely and try again next week. We debated on teaching a few bums on a park bench... but decided that would probably not be the best idea. We started walking back to our apartment, when I decided that maybe we could go into one of the 10 stories by where we were walking and try a random door. I had heard of that working for missionaries before- so I thought why not now?! Sister Kramer confirmed that it was a good idea, but when we went to get into the building- it was locked. Just then however, a group of people came walking out, and opened the door for us. Once we were in we stared at the elevator numbers. "Quick Sister Kramer, What's your favorite number?!" "Why don't we just try the whole building since we're in here?" she said. We concluded that was the better idea- so we started at the top and worked our way down. Not much luck- until we got to the 5th floor. A man answered. There were a bunch of people walking around inside, and we introduced ourselves and told him we had a message about Christ that we'd like to share with him. We talked for a few minutes about faith at the door, and then he asked, "So it's important to believe in something then?" We said "Of course." and then he replied and said, "well why don't you come in then?" He let us in and we were able to teach him about the Book of Mormon and why we are here as missionaries. He seemed really interested, and invited us to come back again. Some of his kids seemed interested in coming to our English classes too! We talked for about and hour and then left after closing with a prayer with them. It was definitely a miracle from Heavenly Father to help lead us to that door. I know that he has a hand in this work! I've only been let in like that 3 times on my mission, and so it doesn't happen all that often. But God knew we were praying to reach our goals and to find the people who are ready to hear the gospel. 

So we did it!! Yay!! My first week getting Super Standard! I feel proud of us. It was a lot of work, we didn't get much time to stop and rest this week- but it was definitely worth it. I can see that our hard work is beginning to pay off. We are teaching a lot of really great people, and I am hoping that we can help find those who are genuinely interested in learning about our message and eventually accepting the gospel into their lives. 

Well, I guess that's about all for this week. Dad and Holly, I got your cookies and Grandma's cookies! Thanks so much. I shared them with all the Elders at the mission home and they were all really grateful. :) Mom, I'm glad you got my package! That is strange that it was ripped open.. but I'm glad everything made it safely there. I did put in a few pictures? I'm not sure if those made it there or not. But that chocolate apples are delicious aren't they!? They are suppose to be crunchy.. if they weren't you can put them in the freezer and they taste better. maybe i can send you some more if you can't find any in America. Princess!- thanks for the picture! You are so gorgeous! Your baby bump is SO cute!! I am so excited for you both! I love you tons!! 

I hope that you all have a wonderful week. Talk to you soon!

Sok Szeretettel,
Sister Tiffany Johnson 

P.S. Sorry I forgot to bring my camera to send pictures today.. but I will try and send some more next week! :) 

 

February 21, 2012

Hello Family! 


This week was great!!!  Here are just a few of the highlights from this week:

Sister Kramer and I actually went on splits with Christensen ELDER this past Tuesday.  As a zone leader, he is allowed to go on splits with a sister companionship, and we had to do it this past Tuesday (which ironically happened to also be Valentines day) because Schwieger Elder was starting his assistant to the president duties a day earlier than Christensen Elder was getting his new companion.  So we became his companions for the day! We had a really great day time though!  We had a few programs set up, and Elder Christensen really helped us with our investigators.  It was really great to teach with him, actually, because he is way more experienced in the teaching and the language.  He asked a lot of really good questions that made our investigators really consider the importance of our message.  It was really nice to teach with someone experienced again, I have to admit. 

We also had a program at the Westsik's.  They thought the three of us were super funny and insisted that we take a picture (see attached haha).  We had split inventory at the end of the day, and he told us that we are both doing great with the language and teaching (which was nice to hear.  Sometimes I think we are a little hard on ourselves).  He challenged us to be more bold in our programs :)

We had an awesome program with a girl named Timi this past week.  She is so prepared.  We have only met with her a couple of times, but she has been reading from the Book of Mormon and told us last time that she believes that it is true scripture from God!  We talked a little bit about baptism with her and hope to give her a baptism date this week sometime!

We had a cute néni (older lady) teach us Hungarian embroidery this past week.  She was so cute, showing us how to do every stitch.  And even how to seperate the embroidery floss haha.  She also fed us shortbread cookies and peach jam.  Yum.  This lady is so sweet and honestly interested in learning more about the gospel.  She has come to Sacrament meeting a few times and has a lot of questions! 

Sister Kramer and I gave the spirtual thought at Gofri Est this past Friday.  We were only asked a couple of days before and tried to come up with a good idea.  We decided to share a thought from "It is Better to Look Up" from this past conference. (It is a great talk- you should check it out!)  It talks about how we should look to God for our goals and relief.  There is one story about how a bunch of people wrote things that were weighing them down on pieces of paper and then tied them to balloons and let the balloons go.  So, we gave everyone a balloon with the Hungarian translation of "It is better to look up" on it.  We also put a picture of Christ on the ceiling and talked about how we can look to Christ and His Atonement for relief.  It went really well, I think.  The crazy thing is, we were kind of nervous.  And then we got there, and there were more than THIRTY people there!!!  (There are often only about ten)  There were institute teachers from all over Hungary and Romania here for a training. The large amounts of people didn't really help our nervousness... But it went really well :)  A lot of people participated and it was great.

Also, Bogi came to english class again this week so I was able to give her a Book of Mormon! I wrote my testimony in it for her, and marked a few of my favorite verses and chapters. She was really excited to get it, and said that she would read from it! She also wants to meet with us! We are going to try and set up a time to meet next week! 

Anyways, we had a lot of great programs this week!  I think Sister Kramer and I are really getting the hang of this missionary thing. We were really close to getting Super Standard this past week, and we have a goal to try and get Super Standard every week this transfer!!!  I think all of our hard work last transfer is paying off this transfer :)  We have a lot of really cool investigators!  I will keep you all updated!

I love you all!!!  Have a great day and week!!!

Much Love,

Tiffany aka Sister Johnson 

P.S. also, everyone is wearing slippers in the photo with elder christensen because hungarians are afraid of being cold, so they never walk on their floors bare footed. haha they give slippers to all their guests so that their feet don't freeze. 

A Valentine's Day Present from the Mission President 


On February 14, 2012 I received the following email from President Baughman, Tiffany's Mission President:


Dear Dear Sister Boyer:

     I am happy to inform you that  Sister  Tiffany Loren Johnson  has been called to serve as a Senior Companion in the Hungary Budapest Mission. She  is a diligent and effective missionary and has demonstrated great enthusiasm for the work and a love of God and the Hungarian people.

     I am delighted to have Sister  Johnson  take on this new responsibility and know that it will be a growth opportunity for her .

     It has been such an enjoyable experience for Sister Baughman and me to serve with Sister Johnson. Thank you for your ongoing support while She continues to serve the Lord in Hungary.


Warmest regards,

Gary S. Baughman

Mission President









February 13, 2012


Szervusz Family!! 

Wow, another transfer gone by. This morning we received transfer calls. Sister Kramer and I will be staying here in Kispest for another transfer together! I am excited actually, because I feel like we are finally starting to get the hang of things. Lots of things are switching around though. One of our Elders is becoming A.P. and my old companion Sister Johnson goes home this week!! President Baughman gave me permission to go to her departing testimony, so Sister Kramer and I were able to be there for that. She is so awesome! I learned so many things serving with her. I have been blessed to have some really amazing companions, I know that we will all continue to be friends forever even after the mission. I'm excited to see what happens with them after their missions, and where their lives take them. 

Well, this has been really good. I went on my first Splits with the Sisters in Pest. For splits we switch companions, normally just for the day. So I went to Pest to serve with Sister Hudspeth, and Sister Kramer stayed here with Sister Hall. Splits are so fun I decided! :) Sister Hudspeth was my ősi in the MTC (she was the group just older than us). Wednesday night we split, and then slit back Thursday afternoon. I went to a program with her and one of their investigators, Kati. She was an older woman who speaks very good English. Our lesson actually started out in English. We talked about her belief in God and about what she had read from the Book of Mormon. She had met with them quite a few times before this, and we were teaching her about the Plan of Salvation this time. Well, that was the plan, but sometimes plans for lessons change based on the investigators concerns or questions. I asked her if she believed in God, and she responded by saying she did... but only about 70 percent. She then went on to ask us why God allows so many people to suffer in this life. She told us about many things that had happened in her life and in the lives of her family, she asked about war, and why God doesn't stop these things from happening to us. We talked to her about agency and the atonement, and told her that agency is a gift that god has given us, and that some people choose to use their agency for good but others use it for bad. We also read Alma 7:11-13 and talked about how Christ has felt all of our pains and trials. While these all seemed like right answers to us for her question, nothing really seemed to be addressing her concern. We talked about how God can help give us strength during trials, but still she didn't seem to be getting the answer she needed. We all paused for a moment. After it was silent for a few seconds Sister Hudspeth began to speak. I am sure that the words that came out of her mouth after that were directly from the spirit. She went on to explain how no one said this life would be easy, she brought up the life of Jesus Christ and the lives of his apostles and disciples, the life of Joseph Smith. Each of them were great examples of good people, who suffered through hard things during this lifetime. And Christ, who was perfect, suffered more than we can even comprehend. She talked about how trials are an important part of this life that each of us must go through. I wish that I could write exactly what she said during the lesson, but one thing I do know, is she was given the words to say through the spirit that were exactly what this woman needed. I am grateful for Sister Hudspeth's example of being open and worthy to receive the spirit, and then having the courage to speak the words she was given to say. It was really great to be able to go on splits with her this week. :)

It has been a little warmer this week, and so far not too much more snow, even thought there is still a lot on the ground. I think one of my favorite parts about this week was that I was able to meet and talk with people about the gospel in the most random places. An old man on the bus asked me about my name tag this week, and I was able to talk to him about who we are and give him a Book of Mormon. And then when we were buying our groceries, the lines were really long! In front of us was a lady who was obviously a teacher, and was grading a huge stack of her students papers. Somehow we stated a conversation, and by the end she took a Book of Mormon, and said she would read it! I love when people say that "elolvasom." "El" is a prefix in Hungarian for entirely. So if someone says "olvasom" that means i will read it. But if they say "elolvasom" that means they will completely read it! :) There is your language tip of the day. haha anyways, she was a really nice lady, and seems interested in our English classes as well. I feel like this week the lord has just been placing people in our path to talk to. Which has been really cool. 

Our investigators are great, but they all seem to be progressing really slowly. We are trying to figure out what we can do to help them, and how we can get them all to come to church. There was a really cool 16 year old girl we met with this week! She's been reading from the Book of Mormon and is actually in Helaman! We had a really great discussion with her about why the gospel is important and what it means in our lives. She says when she reads the Book of Mormon she has a good feeling, but isn't sure if it's true. She said she has never prayed about it, so we asked if she would commit to do that this week and she said she would! I'm hoping that we can help her recognize the answer she receives. 

Well, I guess that's about all the exciting news for this week. It will be good to stay here a few more transfers. I hope that we can help find those who are really ready for the gospel here in Kispest. 

Mom, thanks so much for the package! You are awesome. The journal is perfect and it's nice to have my iPod here. I am so glad our mission president allows us to listen to music. The talks you sent were really great too! I love the "forget me not" talk by Uchtdorf. Also, I'm so glad you are taking care of all my friends while I am gone. I'm really glad Jill is able to go over there and spend time with you and Dave and everyone. Granny B, thank you for your email! I hope that Grandpa Lynn has a wonderful 21st birthday! haha that would be so cool to be born on a leap year. Dad and Holly- Holly, congratulations on your new calling! and Dad that's really cool you are finding so many people to give the Book of Mormon to. You both are such awesome member missionaries! Oh! also, I received the nicest letter from an old man in your ward! I think his name is Richard Norton. haha He sent me a simple letter with 5 dollars and a peacock feather in it! He said that he really loves both of you, and hopes that he can be my new 85 year old friend. :) His letter totally made my day. I am going to try and write him back soon. Well, I think that's about all. Oh also, I was wondering if Alan and Princess have come up with any names for their little baby girl!!?.. I mean they can name her after me if they really want to, haha but I just wanted to hear what ideas they have come up with. Well, anyways, love you all tons! talk to you soon! 

Sok Szeretettel, 

Johnson Nővér 

P.S. the picture is sister Hudpeth and I on our splits day! We stoped at a pizza place for lunch with the elders there. It was delicious!! 

February 6, 2012




Hey Family! 

It is beginning to finally look like winter here in Hungary! This week has been freezing!- and we've had tons of snow the last few days. I'm finally able to bust out my winter coat! The other day reached about -13 degrees C, or like 8 degrees Fahrenheit. With the wind and all the moisture in the air it feels super cold! Hungarians are afraid of the cold. Old ladies always ask us if we are freezing, and lots of the times in their prayers they ask Heavenly Father to bless us so that we don't freeze. haha 

This week has been good- but reaaallly long. haha Sometimes the weeks just fly by, but for some reason this week wasn't like that. We had lots of people meet with us this week! But the work is just a little more slow-moving here in Kispest. We met with two of our investigators- Béla and Ilona. They are married and devout catholics. However, Béla has read the whole Book of Mormon, and both of them say they have prayed about it and know it's true. They both want to be baptized... but they still go to catholic mass every week.  They are such nice people, but we can't figure out how to get them to come to church! Well, this week we decided to teach them about a modern-day prophet and about priesthood power. This was a topic Sister Kramer and I hadn't had much experience teaching, but we thought it might help them to understand what sets our religion apart from other churches. We met at our church house, and the beginning of the lesson was going well. About half way though though, we didn't feel like they were really understanding what we are trying to say. It's hard explaining a new topic, with very little vocabulary. Luckily though!- Sandor, a member of the Bishopric was there at the branch house. We asked if he had a few minutes to come in and talk with our investigators a little more about the priesthood and how it works. He was happy to help us. I was so glad that he came, because he was able to address all their concerns and help answer their questions. He even went through the articles of faith one by one with them, which was a genius idea! I'm not sure why I never thought to do that before. They began to have more and more questions for him, and they became intrigued with what they were learning. I think things are started to click with them now and they are becoming more excited. They called us a few days later and said they want to meet again soon because they have come up with a lot more questions. :) I am hoping they will come to church next week! They couldn't make it yesterday because Ilona was sick. Hopefully we will see them there soon though! 

After English class this week I met two really nice girls about my age from one of the other classes. They were super nice girls, and asked me a few questions about the profi class. We talked for a while and then I decided to invite them to fiatal est the next night. Fiatal est is a night we have at the church for young single adults. I didn't really expect that either of them would actually come.. but then the next day one of them actually came!! Her name is Bogi, and she is 17. Really nice girl, and we ended up becoming really good friends. I got a chance to ask her a little about what she believes. She said she believes in God, but doesn't really go to church. I wanted to give her a Book of Mormon, but decided I would wait until I got a chance to write my testimony in it and maybe mark a few of my favorite chapters. I think she had a fun time though! Hopefully she will come again next week! :) 

We met with a few other really cool people. There is this new lady, Edit we met with on Sunday. She is from Békéscsaba!!! and seems really interested. We had a really awesome lesson with her! She seems really excited to start reading the Book of Mormon. 

ANYWAYS, that's about all... OH! I beat our district in bowling today! :) I scored a 145! haha I was pretty proud of myself. Also, mom i got your package!! Thanks so much. You are a life saver! I didn't get a chance to read the note you wrote in it yet, but I'm excited to hear about the experience you had with the ipod. Oh Diane! Guess what!?.. Small world. SO, one of the Elders in my district- Jake Pendalton use to work with Jeffery at in-and-out in AF. haha I just found that out and thought it would be funny to tell you. Crazy, the connections people have. That's about all I have for this week though. Hope that you are all doing well! Talk to you next week! 

Love you lots!

Sok Szeretettel,

Johnson Nővér

January Brings Change

Happy New Year in Hungary 2012 

 Tiffany has been called to serve in Kispest, Hungary

She will be a great asset with her 

positive attitude and her excitement in being about the Lord's Work

Here is a bit of information of Kispest, Hungary

Kispest forms the largest part of district XIX (Hungarian: XIX. kerület) of Budapest, Hungary.

Kispest's inhabited history predates the Hungarian settlers and Sarmata and Avar .

The whole settlement was destroyed during the Mongol invasion.

The next few centuries it was used as a royal hunting ground.

In 1723 Antal Grassalkovich bought the Szentlorinc hamlett, a small chapel and the Gloriett the only survivors from this era.

After the Grassalkovich family died out, the place often changed hands.

In the 1850s a Belgian Bank subdivided the area.

Károly Herich engineer, Ministerial aid, József Egger engineer, and Lajos Rózsa barrister bought the subdivision and they sold it in 1869 as Colonie-Klein-Pest at an enormous profit.

In 1871 the Kispest village was established when it broke away from Vecse.

In 1873 received a 'large village' status.

In 1880 it had a population of 1800 and although Pestszentlorinc left Kispest in 1909, it rapidly grown to 30,000 by 1910.

In 1911 Kispest became district centre of Erzsébetfalva, Csepel, Soroksár, Pestszentlorinc and Dunaharaszti. In 1908 Sándor Wekerle politician and Prime Minister and Minister of Finance at the time begin the development of the Wekerle settlement, which is still an outstanding example of early 20th century mathematically designed development.

Originally the development was intended for working class settlement, but only middle class people could afford it at the time.

Kispest under went rapid industrialisation during the time between the two World Wars.

The Population reached 50,000 by 1920.

In 1921 it became a city.

Due to the large industrialisation in and around Kispest the township suffered heavy damage during WWII due to large scale carpet-bombing by the Allies.

From 1st January 1950 Kispest became the XIX district of Budapest. 

Pictures of Kispest and a first letter from our Missionary

January 2, 2012

Szia a csaladom!! 

Well, it's a new year! Can you believe it?! It's been an interesting week getting adjusted to all the changes that are happening, but things are going really well.! Transfers were on Thursday. We spend mine and Elder Weston's last night in Békéscsaba with one of my favorite families- Edina and Tibi and their kids. Tibi is investigating the church, but Edina has been a member for a few years now. They are such cute parents, and they have the most adorable kids ever! It was strange taking the train to transfers, I felt sad leaving all the people I have come to know so well and love so much there. I know we will continue to stay in contact, and who knows?- maybe I could serve there again!

Transfers were fun! It's always great seeing all the other missionaries and getting to talk to friends. I was able to see everyone from my MTC group! They all seem to be doing really well. It was sad saying goodbye to sister Johnson and the Elders in our district. We have all grown really close and have become great friends. I have learned so much from serving with them. I know we will stay friends for eternity. 

Sister Kramer and I are having a great time though! We are still pretty new at everything, but somehow we are able to manage. It's really fun serving with her since we both were in the same MTC group together, and we already know each other pretty well. My first night in Kispest we had a program set up with some of our investigators at the hospital- which Sister Kramer had never been to, and neither had I... we mostly use the transportation here to get around- vilamoses, buses, the metro. So we were trying our best to find the right bus stop. We got a little lost and took about an extra hour to get there... but eventually we found it! That's what happens i guess when you stick two missionaries in their 3rd transfer together. haha We had a great program with them though. Sister Kramer speaks really well. So together we are able to speak and understand most everything- well all the important things anyway.  

Friday we did some tabling! Tabling is always an adventure. Most people are busy with their own daily schedules and don't really like to stop- but the ones that do are usually pleasant and really nice to talk with (most of the time). I was able to talk with quite a few people that day. There was a bum who was talking to one of the Elders. He turned and asked if he could talk to me. I said sure. At first i was a little nervous to talk to him, I didn't know who he was and I wasn't really sure what he wanted to talk to me about. He asked me what it is I am studying in school. I told him. Then he began asking a few other questions. As our conversation went on I began to feel less afraid of him. He seemed to be sober, and we began talking about life and family and the gospel. He told me about his family, and how he ended up on the street. He asked me what we do as missionaries, and why i decided to come on a mission. He asked about my family and if I missed them. It gave me a lot of opportunities to bear my testimony to him. I was able to talk to him about eternal families, about why this life is important, about the Savior's atonement and how we all can progress and be better. I told him about the prophet, and how i was called to Hungary through revelation from God. I told him why I love being a missionary and why the work is so important to me, and how the gospel has blessed my life. I even talked to him about the word of wisdom and how our bodies are a gift from God, and that's why we don't drink or smoke. He seemed surprised when I told him I’ve never done any of those things. I committed him to quit... he told me he smoke 15 cigarettes a day! i suggested he could tapper off. He said he never thought about it before. Everyone smokes here in Hungary, even all the young kids. It’s pretty sad, but who knows? Maybe he'll try and stop. 

We talked for a while. Somehow, I was able to understand and communicate all these things to this man in Hungarian! Some days I am so amazed at how much the Lord is helping me to learn this language. I know that he was really listening too- and thinking about what we were talking about. It helped me to recognize that everyone needs the gospel in their lives, no matter who they are or what situation they may be in. The gospel can help people find purpose and joy. It can bring light where before there were none. I am grateful for the conversation I had with that man on the street. Who knows if he will ever accept the gospel in this lifetime, but I know the spirit was there with me, and testifying to him through me.

The ward here is Kispest is incredible. It is a fully functioning ward!- with a bishopric and counselors, relief society and priesthood organizations! It's quite a big change from Békéscsaba. It's really amazing to see though. Everyone in the ward is so friendly! The bishopric was standing at the door greeting everyone with hugs and wishing them happy New Year. Its like a big family here, I think I am going to really grow to love it. 

I do miss everyone in Békéscsaba, but I know there are people I am meant to meet here. I know that Sister Kramer and I will be pushed to do a lot this transfer, but I think it will be good for us and I know we will learn a lot. 

I also received the Christmas packages! Thanks so much! Diane thank you for the peanut butter and the vitamins, and for the scarf you made!!- I love it! I've worn it basically everyday since I opened it. It is really beautiful and I like the color. 

Mom, thanks for everything! The pens were especially helpful, and I was so grateful for the candies and things and for you taking the time to wrap each one. :) 

Dad and Holly, thank you for the pajamas and for the picture frame!! That will definitely be great with all the pictures I am taking. Can you also tell G-ma and G-pa Johnson I am so thankful for the cookies and the books they sent! I actually started reading one of them and I really love it! It’s filled with all these inspirational quotes and there are some really great stories in there. I am going to write them a letter soon to thank them. 

Love you all! Talk to you next week!!

Sincerely, 

Sister Tiffany Johnson

Kispest, Kos Karoly ter (please translate:o)

January 9, 2012

Dear Family,

It's been a tough week. But tough, in the way that it was exhausting but i learned a lot. I never realized just how much work my trainers did in our companionship, until all of that responsibility was placed on my own shoulders. Now, it's up to Sister Kramer and I to find people, set up appointments, teach lessons, and work together to do all the things we have learned from our previous senior companions. At first, I was excited and scared to be co-senior with Sister Kramer. We are still both very new in the mission, and while i can speak the language somewhat, there's still a lot that I don't understand. It takes a lot of concentration trying to comprehend what people are saying, and sometimes I am impatient with myself as I am learning Hungarian. I want so badly to discern the needs of our investigators here, but its hard to know their needs when i can't understand all that they are saying. At times I am surprised with how much I do understand though, and it is helping me learn to rely a lot more on the spirit than my own knowledge or abilities- which is a good thing i suppose. The members have been a big help too. When we have a member present with us in lessons, its always helpful to have them share their experiences and testimony, and of course they speak perfect Hungarian, which is nice too. 

 It is fun being companions with someone who i already knew and was friends with from my MTC group. While this week has been full of new responsibilities for us, Sister Kramer and I always seem to find opportunities to laugh during the day. Which is always a great relief. I am convinced that what my last companion always said is true, "if you're not laughing, you're not doing it right." Missionary work is filled with funny moments, it's good to find a balance in working hard, but still being able to laugh at the mistakes we make. I had a friend who told me in a letter, that it is a great feeling to not know what you are doing, but to know you are doing the right thing. In summary that is exactly how i feel. I am still very new at all these missionary things, I had great trainers who helped me learn to work hard, and now I have to apply all that I have learned. It is a comfort for me to know, that while I do not know everything, I have the companionship of the Holy Ghost to help guide and direct us to where we need to go and what we need to do.

The members here are incredible, and we have great Elders who are the zone leaders, who are always willing to help us. Yesterday in church I was so amazed at how, even though everything is in Hungarian, and the ward here is on the other side of the world, the spirit is still the same. It is such a ward family here, and everyone is very supportive and welcoming of each other. It's amazing to see how much the church really is growing, even in vast parts of the world we aren't always aware of- like Hungary! 

We met with some of our investigators this week. They are all really nice people, but none of them seem to be really enthusiastic about our message. We need to find a way to help them become more excited about the message we have to share. We did a lot of finding this week too. I know there are people here in Kispest who are ready for the gospel!- we just need the Lord to help us find them. 

GOOD NEWS!!!!- 4 of our investigators in Békéscsaba are being baptized this Saturday!! Katalin, Julcsi, Zsuzsa, and Marika! The first three were put on bap.date during my time there, but Marika has decided to be baptized too! I am so excited because President has given us permission to go down there and see them for their baptisms this weekend! What a miracle all of them on the same day! I just love these women so much, I'm so happy they've decided to take this step in their lives.

Well, that is the update for this week. While i feel an extra amount of weight has been placed on my shoulders, I am grateful. I have learned so much just in this first week serving here with Sister Kramer. I know we will both grow a lot during this transfer, and it will help us to set the pace for the rest of our missions. I am thankful for the confidence our mission president has put in us. I know that with the Lord's help, we will find success here in Kispest and be able to live up to the responsibilities that we have been trusted with. 

Sincerely,

Sister Johnson 

P.S. I attached some pictures. The family is Edina's family i was talking about in one of my past emails. I LOVE THEM! Brigi and i look like sisters in one of them. They are such a sweet family. then there's one with Sister Johnson and I, and one with my new companion SISTER KRAMER! :) 

Tiffany, Sister Johnson, The Elders and Edina's with her family

Sister's Johnson and Johnson

Sister Johnson and her new Co-Senior Companion, Sister Kramer

January 16, 2012

Dear Family,

   So, a couple things came up today and I don't have a lot of time to write. This week was really incredible. Yesterday were Katalin, Julcsi, Zsuzsa, and Marika's baptisms in Békéscsaba. It was such a blessing to have the opportunity to go. I was so happy when President gave me permission, because Békéscsaba is pretty far from my new area, but it was such a special day.

Because the branch in Békéscsaba is so small we don't have a baptismal font there. I remember the search for the font when I was there was pretty unsuccessful. Normally people will allow us to rent a pool for the day, but we had been having a hard time finding a place. Luckily we were able to find a place. The funny thing though, was that the only place we could find was a hotel, and so the baptisms were held in a Jacuzzi.

 I can't imagine what amazing faith these women must have to be in this tiny branch with only 2 priesthood holders, and to be baptized in a Jacuzzi! But that just gives you an idea of how amazing they are.

   It was so great seeing so many of the people I love there so much, and to be there for this amazing step in the lives of these women. The baptismal service was simple and small, but really beautiful. We had a small testimony meeting and a few talks were given. The other sisters and I sang "Come Thou Fount" in Hungarian, and the spirit was really incredible there. Afterwards we were able to stay for church, and for the confirmations. Both the elders that gave the confirmations are in their 6th and 7th transfers here. I can imagine it was intimidating to them to give a blessing in a language that is not their own for the first time. But they both did great. The spirit truly directed their words, and it was a really special experience for me to be there. I have seen these women grow so much.

 Looking back I can remember Julcsi praying for the first time, or Katalin asking so many questions about the book of Mormon and just loving to read from it. When they all came to church for the first time, or when they made the decision to be baptized. They have all grown so much. It has been such a privilege for me to be able to be a part of watching them as their testimonies have grown, and witnessing them as they accept the principles of the gospel and work to change their lives. Looking back, I know it wasn't me that changed them at all, but it was the spirit they felt from our message that made them want to change and helped them to gain their testimonies. Someone explained to me once, that we as missionaries are like road signs, we simply guide people to the truth and they have to use their agency to choose which direction they decide to follow. Our message and the Book of Mormon stands on it's own. It is a message of truth, and I know that those who diligently seek are able to find the truth in it.

   This mission has blessed my life in ways I cannot completely express in words- and I still have another year to learn so much more and meet so many more amazing people! I was so blessed to be a part of these women’s' lives, and to have them as a part of mine. I have built amazing friendships with them that I know will last through the eternities. And I have learned so much from each of them. I have also had some really amazing companions that I have built great friendships with and who have taught me so much. I know that success comes through hard work, and diligence, and faith in the Lord. I am so grateful for my companions who have been such great examples to me, and have helped me to strive to become better each day. This work is so true, and so much bigger than I am. I love being a missionary and I am learning so much everyday. I am so glad that I have so many of you supporting and praying for me and our investigators out here, it means so much and I know that it is helping to bless our efforts. 

I love you all so much!  

Talk to you all next week.

Sok Szeretettel,

Johnson Nővér

January 23, 2012

Hey family!

I don't have a lot of time to write today, but I promise I will write more next week! This week was good though! Sister Kramer and I taught the whole Fire Department full of firemen! haha well, actually 4 of them. But they want to learn more, and we set up to meet with them again this week! Things are going well though. We tried to reach Super Standard this week, and came so close! All we needed was just one more investigator at church, and we would have had it. But we will try again. We did a lot of streeting and tracting this week though, to try and find some new investigators to teach. We ended up getting lots of new numbers, and set up with some new people for next week. We were even let in while tracting a 10 story! The lady was really interested and kept saying it wasn't a coincidence that we came to her door that day. She told us she had been thinking a lot about God, and it was a blessing we showed up at her door. We are planning to meet with her again this week. 

I wish I had time to write more and give you a better update, but I will have to do that next week. For now, just know I love you all lots and things are well here in Kispest. 

Have a wonderful week!

Sok Szeretettel,

Johnson Nővér 

A Beautiful Day in Budapest visiting the Parliament Building

January 30, 2012

Hey Everyone!!

It's been another great week! This past friday (the 27th) was our 6 month mark! I have now been a missionary for over 6 months! Can you believe it?! Time is passing so fast! 

This morning we went on a tour inside the Parliament building and walked around parts of Budapest. It is fun being in the city and getting to see all the fun tourist sights. The air is freezing cold!- but still no snow. We've had a little here and there, but the weather has been generally pretty nice for the most part. This week... I'm trying to think of what stories I should share with you. Generally each week is the same. We go out and find, have appointments, help out at church events.. do missionary work. So really, there's not much that's all that new this week. We had some really great programs though. We met with this lady Timi. She seems really interested in the church. She had recieved a Book of Mormon from some other missionaries a while back. She read the introduction and the testimonies in the beginning. We had a senior sister come with us to teach the lesson. It turned out to be really great that she was there. Her testimony added such a great spirit into the lesson. I think Timi really felt it. She told us she was really close to her God-father who passed away a few years ago. Ever since he died, she told us she has had a lot of questions about why he died and what happens after this life. We told her that the answers are in the book she was holding in her hand! We told her next time we could talk about the Plan of Salvation, and what happens after this life. I'm really excited to meet with her again. How cool that our message has the answers to so many of life's "unanswered" questions! She is really interested in learning more! One thing I really loved that she said was, when she reads from the book, it is different from other books she's read. She said that even by reading just a small part, her mind begins to be opened to all these new ideas and she starts thinking about lots more. We told her, that is what makes the Book of Mormon so special. Even though it was written so long ago, it was written for us. And the stories and things we read in it, we can apply to our own lives. And as we read the spirit can help us to learn those things which we need to understand. 

We also had Zone Conference this week. I actually love Zone Conferences! We talked a lot about how to be more effective teachers, and talked a lot about the Plan of Salvation. President Baughman checked up on Sister Kramer and I to make sure our young companionship was still doing okay. We told him things were going well. I really do feel like I am learning a lot. I am actually hoping that Sister Kramer and I will get to serve together at least for next transfer too. I feel like we are finally starting to get the hang of things here in Kispest. The language is coming along too. I feel like I have good language days and bad. Its like the language turns on and off in my brain sometimes. Some days I can speak and understand so much, and other days I feel like everyone is speaking some crazy language that is definitely not hungarian. haha But overall I feel like I am improving. Sister Kramer says she has noticed a difference in my speaking even since I got here to Kispest, so that is good i suppose. :) 

We went to visit the firemen again yesterday! There were only 2 there this time- János and Tamás. They are awesome though, and really interested in what we are teaching them. They read in Alma 32 like we had asked them. We talked about the importance of faith, and how faith often starts out small but as we continue to search and learn, our faith can grow. They had LOTS of questions for us. I was really glad we had a member (Livi) come with us. She was able to understand more then we could and give them more in depth answers to their questions. They agreed to meet with us again next week! They even showed us around the fire station afterwards! We were able to climb in the trucks and things! :) I asked if we could slide down the fire poles but they said you have to be a registered fireman to do that. haha oh well. I'm excited to meet with them again. They both prayed in the lesson too! Tamás said the opening prayer, and Janós said the closing. I am hoping soon we can get them to come to church with us! 

Well, that is pretty much the update for this week. Not too much more to say. We were able to have a conference call with my MTC district for our 6 month anniversary! They all seem to be doing really great. I really love everyone from my MTC group. Luckily, I still get to see most of them a lot. 

Scott, I got your letter from the priests! thank you. It was.. well.. interesting. haha but really nice of you all to take the time to wirte me. I will see if i can write a letter back sometime. Dad and Holly, that is so cool you were in Lebanon. Dad, how come you never took me anywhere cool like that?! You both go to so many incredible places. Mom, it sounds like things are going really well with you all. Thanks for sending my package! I'm so happy you found my iPod! It will be so nice to be able to listen to music again. 

Oh ya! and guess what!? The office elders here were able to put "Insanity" on a usb drive for me! So my companion and I bailed on P90X and have decided to do Insanity! Our goal is to be ripped by the end of next transfer. We'll see if we can stay motivated enough or not. We tried the "Insane abs" this morning... it was insane. haha 

Anyways, I love you all! Thanks for all your support and prayers! További szép napot! vigyázzatok magatokra! 

Sok Szeretettel,

Johnson Nővér 

Kramer Nővér and Johnson Nővér 

Inside The Parliament Building

She's Still Turning Heads as Well as Melting Hearts of Iron