Temple

 

Sarah with the Válóczi Family at the Temple

(Róz, Sarah, Feri, Anna)

Among all of the fun adventures we had while in Europe on our honeymoon, one of the highlights was definitely being able to be at Feri and Róz's sealing.  When I was Feri's escort at the temple last April, I would have never imagined that I would back there in Frieberg the next year at their sealing.  I've been amazed at the change and the spiritual progress I have seen in Róz's life over the last year.  

I think that as a missionary, there is often such an emphasis put on baptisms, that when you find someone who tells you that they don't feel ready to be baptized, you will dismiss them and in your mind and tell yourself that they may never be ready to accept the gospel because they aren't ready now.  I know that this happened to me multiple times with different people I thought, and now as I look back, I realize that if I were an investigator, I would probably be one who would wait a long time before getting baptized, realizing that it is a commitment for your life in addition to being a covenant with God.

Some people are like Feri and willing to act as soon as they hear about the gospel.  Others are like Róz and need the time to really research and ponder not only the things they are being taught, but also the consequences that come along with making such covenants with God.  As I look back, I sometimes wonder how Feri was able to join the church so quickly, but do it with such a full commitment.  The Saturday night that we got back from Freiberg opened my eyes to this a little bit.  Sarah and I had been inside doing a little unpacking and whatnot, and then I went outside and saw Feri on the back porch.  At first I thought he was asleep, but then I realized he was just deep in thought.  I asked him what he was thinking about.  He told me that he was just reviewing the past week in his mind, thinking about what he did well and what he could do better.

I thought about all the times I had heard this counsel in church - to regularly review our behavior to help us improve - and then I thought about how many times I have tried to follow that counsel, yet having it be "regular" is something I struggle with.  As we talked, I realized that this is a very regular practice for him.  For someone so self-reflective, I think it would be a lot easier to commit yourself to someone after a short amount of time, because he probably pondered deeply about it in those few months before his baptism than many do in a few years.  I am so thankful for Feri and for the example he is to me in my life.  Thank you, Feri.

 

When I was in the temple last April, I received an impression to give Róz a Hungarian translation of the Triple Combination that they sell there are the temple distribution center.  I gave it to her thinking that it would be years before her baptism.  Heavenly Father knew otherwise.  He knew that she had been pondering the principles of the gospel over the last year and a half, and that the Triple Combination was just what she needed.  I left Freiberg on April 27th and on May 16th Róz emailed me to tell me she was getting baptized June 12th.  Her conversion didn't occur in those two and a half weeks, rather it had been happening ever since she met us in the summer of 2008.  What happened in those two weeks was that she decided that she was ready to make that covenant with God and be baptized.

 

The Válóczi Family - Róz, Feri, and Anna

One of the most exciting pieces of news for me in this whole trip came when we got back to the place we were staying on Friday night.  Anna had moved from the place she was before to the same house we were in, and when we got there she told me that after spending a lot of time that week talking with a young man who was there with his family about the church, she is starting to feel interested.  I think what helped a lot is that this particular young man comes from a similar situation as Anna.  His father joined the church in the late 90's, his mom joined in 2006 and he got baptized in 2008.  Not the typical situation in either case and it is usually the wife who gets baptized before her husband, but I think Máté's perspective on the church helped Anna a lot.  I don't know that I should admit it, but Anna was another one of those people whom I had dismissed in my mind when it comes to the church, but yet again, I could be wrong (as is very common).  We'll have to see what the future holds.

Another blessing of going to the temple was that Sarah and I both got to be escorts for members from Tatabánya going through the temple for the first time.

Edina, her daughter Zsofi, Me, Sarah

Sarah was the escort for Edina Heizer, who is an English teacher in one of the schools over there, for which Sarah was very grateful.  I wasn't the be translator in the world, so I think Sarah enjoyed having someone she could speak English with.

Lala, Me, Sarah

I was the escort for Lajos (Lala) Vánkó.  I had never met him before this trip but I felt that we got to know each other very well on our way to and from the temple as well as the experiences that we shared there.  He is a great guy with such a friendly personality that it's hard to not be his friend.