Good gosh.
Where do I even start?
1.) I guess apologies are always a good place to begin. On Friday we got a text from the zone leaders that Tuesday would be PDay instead of Monday because Monday was a holiday, so sorry I didn't let ya'll know in advance.
What was this holiday? You may ask.
Well, it just happens to be the most WICK-WACKED holiday ever. Seriously.
Literally, the Monday after hűsvét (Easter) is reserved as a day when all the men go around to "water the flowers." Who are the flowers? The women. I KID YOU NOT. "Wait....what?" You may say.
Stick with me, it gets better.
Men seriously go around and recite poetry to women and then SPRAY THEM WITH PERFUME AND SPLASH THEM WITH WATER so they can "grow." Just when you're like, "Well, that's sexist out the wing-wang," in reciprocation the woman are supposed to give candy, money, or eggs back to the men. Like, what the wick-wack? The branch president literally came over to our apartment in the morning and did this to us. Also so did random gypsy kids while we were tracting trying to get money. I just can't.
Apparently there's another smaller, less-celebrated holiday here in Hungary wherein the men beat the women with willow switches until the women make them food, though, so like I guess by comparision the whole flower-weirdness is like a winner over that, but I just couldn't with the whole thing. Anyway, Happy "National-Hungarian-Spray-A-Random-Woman-On-The-Street-And-Tell-Her-A-Creepy-Poem-And-Hope-She-Gives-You-Money-Or-Candy-Like-It's-A-Sexist-Version-Of-Grown-Up-Halloween" Day.
2.) Szombathely (aka "Saturday Place" in Hungarian) is crazy. Seriously crazy. What does this mean? This means I fit in well. Yesterday, after family home evening with the branch we decided we wanted to play basketball. So we did. In full-on proselyting clothes. I straight-up got stuffed by a man in a suit and a tie and a nametag while trying to lay-up the ball with a skirt and tights. What is life. (Just kidding. These are excellent questions. What is life? Where do we come from? Where are we going? All these answers and more at mormon.org ;)
3.) For approxiamately the past six days, my heart has ached for Békéscsaba. Commitment issues are real, my friends. Though my nine weeks there were painstakingly short, the memories are remarkably sweet and I'm grateful for the lessons I've learned. Carle Nővér's Pro Tip of the Week: Always learn from the past---but never try to recreate it. Because your future is just as bright.
4.) GENERAL. CONFERENCE. IS. THE. BEST. I got to watch parts in English, and parts in Hungarian depending on if my investigators were there or not---but it was sostinkingawessoomme!! OHMYGOSH did President Monson make me temple trunky out of my mind! There was a brief moment wherein he announced that there would be three new temples and hadn't said where they would be yet wherein the world stood still and everything was frozen and all my hopes and dreams were wrapped up in the possibility that maybe MAYBE there would be a temple in Hungary----no dice. We'll keep trying. Two things I will not take for granted again: General Conference in my own language, and a temple in my own country.
Also, I can't even with the mind-blow that was Elder Holland's talk. Too much too handle, it was so gooooood.
5.) Hűsvét. Easter.
There are so many things I could say about the holiday that commemorates the most significant event in the history of all that was or will be---but I really just want to say:
I know Christ lives.
I know He rose on the third day.
I know because of this, death hath no sting; the grave no victory.
I have found strength in this knowledge when I've felt that I had no strength left at all.
And I'm grateful for the tremendous opportunity to share that knowledge every single day.
Bring it on, city five.
Tudon hogy a Mormon könyve igaz!
Szeretet mindig,
Carle Nővér
p.s. my new companion is Dohm Nővér from Minnesota! She's awesome and did her freshman year at BYU with me! I love her!