Wow, this week has been crazy!!! First of all, I am in SZEGED now! And I am IN LOVE with this city!!! But, I will backtrack and tell you how this love story all began:
First of all, I was still in Kispest at the beginning of this week (transfers are on Wednesdays in my mission). So, I had to say a lot more goodbyes this past week. It was so hard to say goodbye to people who have become family to me (I maybe cried again). But, I know that this won't be the end of our friendship. I will probably be back every now and then, we have the means to communicate, and, most importantly, I will always love them :)
Anyways, so I had tons of goodbyes to do and I had to pack and get everything organized before I left, so, to make a long story short, the first part of my week was VERY busy and VERY tiring (physically and emotionally). To skip over all of that, though, we can just go straight to me and Sister Johnson lugging my GIANT suitcases on a vilamos to the metro (where, neat moment, btw: boy sitting across from us totally had a bag with "Hartford, Conn" written on it. TOTALLY random, but fun!) up a ton of stairs to the mission home (THAT was quite the adventure! Thankfully, I had lightened one of the suitcases! Otherwise, I am not sure we would have made it :P) for transfers! We headed over to the train station in a group to meet with our new companions and switch and to say hello and goodbye to other missionaries. (Which, btw, Christensen Elder, who I served around for the last two transfers, went home! It is SO WEIRD that missions end! I mean, missionaries have been going home my whole mission, but it is weirder when someone I know leaves. It makes it more real, I guess.) Anyways, after about a billion pictures and hellos (it is fun- I know more and more missionaries every transfer!), and goodbyes (gave Sister Johnson a GIANT hug! It has been a fun and growth-filled couple of transfers with her!), Sister Papritz and I teamed up and left. Well, actually, we left to lunch with some of the other sisters. And THEN we left Budapest. I took my first train ride in the country! It was looong (Szeged is just about as far away from Budapest as you can get... about a 2 1/2 hour train ride). But it so fun! Sister Papritz and I talked the ENTIRE time (which, actually, is a pretty good description of our entire week together haha!). We arrived, dropped my stuff off at the apartment, then went to some meeting. Then came home and talked some more as I unpacked :P
Basically, this week has been so great! Everyone told Sister Papritz and I that we would never be companions, but we are and it is so fun! (We learned a fun story about our being put together by President, by the way: Apparently the APs told President a few weeks before transfers that we wanted to serve together, just to let him know, not thinking he would actually do it. President put our pictures together on his "transfer wall", looked at it, and said, "Oh, that's good... Really good... Tooo good." and then left us up together the entire time he was figuring out transfers! And, then obviously, put us together! But that does kind of describe our companionship-- "tooo good" haha) We are already great friends (to illustrate our compatibility, we have only "disagreed" on one thing: love of sushi haha), we are able to teach together so well (there is such a difference being with someone who understands, who can speak, and who is a great teacher), we both love to laugh, and we both love to work :D A lot of people have been asking if I am bothered by going junior, but really, we have decided we are "co-juniors" haha (Papritz's terminology). Actually, we are in a super cool position as the most senior sister companionship in the mission. (We decided that we are basically like the sister APs of the mission haha.) In addition to our area, we have the responsibility be a good example for the rest of the mission and to help out the other sister companionships where we can.
This week has been filled with lots of work and fun all mixed together-- we have had tons of programs, fliering for English class, we went to an investigator's ice dancing show, church (where two new members were confirmed!), and ONE session of General Conference (the ward here has about 50 members and they are just going to wait for the translated DVD of conference to watch next Sunday. So, last night, we and the Szeged elders (Beaumont Elder and Moffat Elder) went over to the senior couple's apartment to watch it online while eating waffles.)
It is different here in Szeged than in Budapest. The city itself is very pretty. We live right in the Belváros (aka the nice downtown) which is right on the river (the Tisza) and we are surrounded by colorful buildings (I kind of feel like I am living in Disneyland haha). Our apartment is in a beautiful building that we call the "palace". It is FULL of young people, due to the universities here. I love it! A lot of our investigators are young! I am excited for this chance to connect with my own generation!
Anyways, I will send more stories and pictures of this place and my new companion next week! (Out of time today, sorry!) Just know that I love this work! I love this gospel! (And check out conference! You all are so lucky that you can easily access the words of the prophet! Take advantage of that blessing!)
Love you all!
McKenna aka Kramer Nővér
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