Autumn- Budapest Hungary June 6, 2011

Ó NÁPOT MINDINKINEK!!!

Well this week was crazy. ABSOLUTELY CRAZY! Every week really seems to be, and I know I say it all the time but life is so full of surprises. We got transfer calls this morning...and...well....the Rodritz duo has come to an end. She is being ripped from my arms, tears and all...but its awesome cause she is opening up a new area Dunaújváros!! She is starting a new area with a mini-missionary (we think) So her and a native Hungarian are opening the area...but its perfect cause that means (well we are REALLY pushing/praying for it) that we will be reunited next transfer and I can KILL HER!! (mission term for sending someone home, since its her last transfer) So we are really hoping this is only a temporary separation.

But the goodnews is I am staying in Pest and getting Sister Jordan, which is EXACTLY who I was hoping to get. She is tahitian (well her parents are, but she lived in Utah) and shes really cool and sweet and fun. Ive only spent a couple minutes with her before, but Ive heard rave reviews about her. So it is a perfect situation, especially If Roderick and I will be reunited next transfer. So Roderick is going to prepare our Summer Home in Dunaújváros and I am going to be on my Tahition vacation in Pest.

So Roderick gets ripped from me on wednesday so the next couple of days are going to be insane with her getting everything ready and saying goodbye to all the members. She has been here 10 months, so these people are attached and love her so much. But I know that me and Jordan Nővér will win their hearts back and wipe their tears away.

So this week our Hell's Angel/Construction worker man IS ON BAPTISM DATE!! We asked him when he wanted to be baptized and he said "tomorrow" haha... well thats a little soon. So we said August 6th, that was waay too late for him. So we settled on July 30th. His name is Lázslo and he reminds me a lot of my grandpa, just sassy and big tough guy that wears overalls all the time. So Im so happy to see Him loving the gospel. and also we are working on a little romantic connection with Him and another convert in the ward. We conveniently introduced them in the last lesson with him, and sparks were flying. So we're hoping to get a love connection going. We offer so much as missionaries, eternal salvation AND AN ETERNAL COMPANION! Its a TWO FOR ONE!

Our biggest event this week was quite dramatic. This man was referred to us from the office elders, and he dogged us on 2 different appointments...so we were sure he wasnt going to show for this 3rd. To our surprise he shows up, and we all sit down and he starts pulling out all of these legal documents (mind you I can understand maybe 25% of whats going on...very little) He told us his wife had died 6 years ago, and his son died last January and these documents were his will. He was willing everything he owned to the church. Which was weird, he was a younger guy, maybe 50s..not like dying anytime soon. So the conversation starts to get heated (mind you I can only tell from their body language) He is pulling out document after document showing them to us. Then he is getting really heated and I look over at Barbye (our awesome new member who was teaching with us) and she starts just crying. and sister Roderick starts crying, but not like feel the spirit crying, like panicked crying. I was so confused. Then sister Roderick keeps saying "listen that is a big decision, there is another answer! There is another way! We can talk to the Bishop!" She was pleading with him. and I had no clue what was going on, but I just had the feeling that this man was suicidal and he was going to kill himself. So I can see Barbye and Roderick just begging him to think this through. Then I immediately start going into Trauma nurse mode, thinking of all the worse case scenarios. We've got a crazy man here whose family has died, he has no job, he has no money, and he's suicidal. I am worried that hes going to get impulsive and pull out a weapon...and then I flashed back to the Bishop in california that got shot because a crazy person came into his office. So needless to say, I was a tiny bit panicked. He was really mad and so I had no clue what was going to happen. I got out my camera and started to film him underneath the table so I could see if he had a weapon on his waste, and I started thinking like I could use my pen as a defense, and throw my bible at him to startle him. oh man. my mind was just thinking of all these crazy options. mean while Roderick is in full on negotion mode, just begging him to calm down and not be impulsive. I am praying my GUTS OUT the whole time. Then Barbye pulls her fancy ring off her finger and gives it to Him to sell. She was insistant for Him to sell it so he could get money for diabetic medicine he needed. He wouldnt accept it, and then finally Roderick said "Look at the picture of Christ on the wall" he said " yeah Ive been looking at that for the last 30 minutes".. then like out of nowhere, he just calms down. stops arguing and insisting he needs to die and just says "maybe I need to come to church, maybe I need to be apart of a group that can help me because I just feel alone. A group would make me feel so much better"...then he said " I would really love to get one of your bibles". We gave him a book of mormon and shared a few scriptures. I put down all my weapons..haha. and He finally said he was not going to kill himself, he was going to see if this church could help him instead.

PHEW!! dang. It was intense. Roderick translated for me later that he was saying that this meeting with us was he final act in life and he was going to leave and jump infront of a train after this. No wonder they were so panicked, good thing I was oblivious and in protection mode. I had an escape plan ready, weapons in hand... I was going to save us no matter what. Good thing the spirit protected us instead and softened his heart. Wow it was INTENSE!!!

That is the kind of craziness that goes on here. Life is CRAZY I TELL YA!! and awesome.

Well I will send an email with pictures too. LOVE YOU ALL!! HAVE AN AWESOME WEEK!! Wish me luck with all of the transfer changes.

Love

Sister Papritz
--

Alden MTC June 1, 2010

Hey Family.

Its another hard working week at the MTC. honestly i am trying to think of what to say. not a lot more has happened that is different for any other week. we have been working hard studying chinese. we teach every day. right now we have two progressing investigators, Qiu weimin and Yan hailan. it is so amazing to teach in chinese. the spirit has been so strong as we have taught. both Elder Montalto and I agreed that we had our best lessons this week. our chinese is at its best so far and now we can teach by the spirit. as i told y'all last week we are part of a pilot program that requirers more of the missionaries. we are expected to learn alot of the chinese on our own with some mentoring by the teachers. so over all it is very hard work. we are studying all day.

last friday we had TRC, it has changed since everyone else has been here. now we teach lessons. we teach real people real lessons. in chinese. this last week was mostly members, but there was one room that had two investigators. i did not get to teach them but it is just amazing how we are even able to teach them in chinese and have them feel the spirit and understand us.

last tuesday Elder Russle M. Nelson spoke to us. it was amazing. from the moment he walked in the room you could feel the spirit, and when you looked into his face you could tell that he had a testimony of Jesus Christ. Honestly I dont remember exactly what he talked about but what I got out of it, was to represent the Lord at all times. I am here on the Lords errend and I most testify of him.

As for the rest of the week. I was planning on auditioning to sing for devotional but it ended up that that tuesday the choir decided to sing "This is The Christ" which is what i had been practicing. so obviously they were not going to choose someone to sing it again. however i decied to audition anyways. but when i got there the Elder auditioning right before me sang "This is the Chirst" along with three other people that day. but when I sang the Sister who was listening, started crying. i was very supprised. after hearing that song three other times I would think she would be sick of it. but when i was done she sat there speachless. then she told me and my accompinist that that was the best interpretation of the song she had heard. she told me that they most likley would not choose me to sing it this week but that Since i had a few more weeks left they could still have me sing it. and then she also asked if i had any other songs that could sing right then she would love to hear them. sadly they didnt have a song that my accompianst could play or that i could learn that fast. but they bought me some music that i sang back at home that i am audtioning for this week. it is very interesting how that worked out. because when i heard the choir practicing that tuesday, i was frustraited and annoyed that i would not be able to sing it. but after Elder Nelsons talk i realized that i was singing the song for myself and not to bear testimony of chist or to bring the spirit. i felt that i was able to sing that way at the audition and my accompianist was able to play like that because we decied to perform it as a testimony, not just a performance.

well that is my spiritual thought of the week. I am doing great here. I love it. I love the spirit that is here. by the end of the day i just want to shout the truth of the gospel from the roof tops. i know i have been blessed to be able to speak chinese. i know that by the gift of toungs i have been able to teach a lesson every day in chinese. i love This gospel and i know its true.

Love you all

Elder Alden Papritz.

Qiu/Pan/Yang Zhanglao.

Autumn- Budapest Hungary May 31, 2011

HELLO EVERYONE!!!!!

Well this week was our BEST WEEK in pest. Most success we've had the entire time Ive been here, had some awesome miracles and tender mercies. and obviously tons of HILARIOUSNESS too. I asked Sister Roderick how we are getting so much success when everyone always said the work would be so slow here and she said "these People are just diamonds in the rough" and its so true. We found a lot of diamonds this week, some of those diamonds without teeth.....but diamonds none the less.

1. On wednesday we were out in some random part of Budapest that wasnt full of buildings and I SAW A SUNSET!!!! a sunset I tell ya! The first time I have seen one of those since Ive been here. We are stuck in the middle of the city usually, which I love...but then we were outside the city looking for a random house and saw the gloriousness. We were watching it from some traintracks, and then a man yelled at us "GET OFF THE TRACKS YOURE GONNA DIE!! A TRAIN IS COMING!!"... as if we wouldnt have seen/heard a train coming. kinda killed the mood. but still, the sunset was awesome.

2. Like 4 weeks ago I wrote how we found the Hell's angel/construction worker guy on the street. Well we lost contact with him for a few weeks and then RANDOMLY i saw him on the street. I was so happy! We set up with him and he said he had been reading our book. Well come to find out he had read THE ENTIRE book of mormon TWICE!! not once, TWICE! all of it. It was marked up all over the place, and he said he hadnt called us cause he was in Germany...but not to worry cause he was meeting with missionaries there while he was away. AWESOME! He was basically teaching us out of the Book of Mormon, and telling us all about the characters and stories..and we asked him to be baptized and he said "Meg!"....which in Hungarian is like a really definite YES!.

3. We are also teaching this other really rendes guy who is a Tai Chi master. LIke the people you see doing the sissy kind of karate in the park. Thats this guy! Hes the leader of it. So next week we are going to be doing Tai Chi in the park. Im so excited!! and he is also progressing really well. Such a deep thinker, like his mind was just BLOWN that God is our Loving Heavenly Father. Like he couldnt comprehend that. He said he needed to go to the park and just think for a few hours. haha. it was cute.

4. On our way home one night we saw a Pigeon laying in the middle of the sidewalk dying! Like full on taking its last little breaths, we watched it for 20 minutes, Roderick kept saying we couldnt let it die alone. She sang it little songs to comfort it in its final flight to heaven like "blackbird singing in the DEAD of night" and "God Be with you till we meet again", we felt really bad. We sat on the steps of the Catholic church it was dying in front of..and then gave it its last rights or something like it. and then tomorrow we are having a proper burial for it. Its name was Gali short for Galambos Gábor... (you know youre on a mission doing when having a funeral for a pigeon is an exciting event)

5. We are teaching this other wonderful girl, well 28 year old, named Linda who is so cute and normal and has a job and car. Which is rare. She carries the book of mormon everywhere because she feels SAFER with it near her. She reads it at work. and last time in her Prayer with us she said she has been searching for this for 10 years. I just want to hug the heck out of her. She is so awesome. She Found us through english class, its so crazy how the Lord just leads people to us. We just sit back and let it happen.

6. Had my first BAD food experience. We were eating at some families house and they served these meat dumplings. Its looked like big dumplings that you would put in chicken and dumpling soup but inside was a MEAT SURPRISE! like little bits of who knows what, and then little crunchie somethings. I dont think it was supposed to be crunchy. Well it started off good, then I finished my plate. The dad made some motion to the pot and I thought he was saying TAKE SOME MORE! SO i dove in and took more. But then I realized nobody else was taking more. But it was already on my plate. So I started eating, and the meat surprise, was not as satisfying the second time around. then everyone was finished. and they were all staring at me while I ate. At this point i was CHOKING it down eating it so slow with huge gulps of juice in between. Then everyone gets up from the table and leaves...even my companion. They all get up and leave me alone, at the table, to finish my extra serving. With this look of like "that pitiful american" (well not my companion) The wife thought I didnt like it cause I was eating so slow, and Roderick just starts laughing and walks out of the Room. I felt like the bad kid whose parents leave them at the table to finish all their vegetables. but it was me and meat surprise. I was looking DESPERATELY everywhere for a plant pot or an open window to throw the stuff into. Roderick told me later all they had asked me was whether or not I liked the food, they werent telling me to take more. silly me and not understanding this language. I finally choked it all down. but it was disgusting.

Well thats about it for this week. LOVE IT HERE. loooooove it. Having fun and living it up. I know the things I am learning here are changing my life. and I know im going to be a Dang good wife and mother because of this. (if I may say so myself). Its the best.

Love. Sister P.

Word of the day: csigavér (chiga vare) It is slang for "Chill" and literally translated means "slug blood".

Cultural Tip: I forgot to mention people here do the whole Kiss on both cheeks thing. Its called Puszi here. So I am totally kissing people on the cheeks all over the place. Even people you dont know, you just kiss them when you meet them. Weird lack of personal space, but its cute.

Favorite Food: I REALLY love fruit soup here. Its like cold soup just filled with fruit and fruit broth. Its called gyümülcs leves.

Austin - Kenosha Wisconsin - May 31, 2011

Dear Family,

A very fun and successful week on this last full week of the transfer. It's crazy that we will be getting transfer info this Saturday, these transfers are really just rolling. Yesterday all the libraries were closed because of Memorial Day so that's why my email is coming a day late. So since we had an extra few hours yesterday we went to a barbecue with some of the members of the branch here. They had delicious barbecue and tons of watermelon we played games and then we had a little Family Home Evening afterwards. It was a way fun night. It was way funny, I thought, because there were some young women from the branch there and I noticed my companion getting pretty familiar with them. Just figuring it was small talk or whatever and then I go over there and he's talking about dating, holding hands and kissing. And I was just thinking, What the heck is he doing?? I mean, I kind of got a kick out of it hearing the stories of his "over 40 girlfriends" from this cute little shy awkward new missionary. haha. Then later at the barbecue one of the daughters from one of the families came up to me and told me to talk to him about not talking about stuff like that because it made her uncomfortable. It was the same girl that Elder White held hands with during a Catholic style prayer a few weeks ago and he has kind of brought it up every time we are around her haha. Sooo I had to explain to her that he doesn't mean anything by it. But, woops, looks like I just got a little player of a boy.

A funny story from a few weeks ago, I was at an FHE with a family and I was talking afterwards about desire and how your actions are a reflection of your desires; I don't remember exactly what I was saying but I what I wanted to say is that I had the desire "to fly" which is "volar" in spanish but I said that I had the desire to "violar" which means "to rape (people)" aaaand I didn't realize what I said at first until I realized all the sisters where looking at me in horror. I quickly explained myself and now they have never let me forget it. They will come up to me at church and tell me, "You have been flying around lately, have you?"

Okay, I got to go, we are in a bit of a rush today since this isn't our usual email day.

I'll talk to you all lateer. I will explain more stuff later.

-Elder Papritz

AMy - Tianmu, Taiwan May 29, 2011

Qin ai de jiating,

This week I have been spiritually fed. On Wednesday we had the wonderful opportunity to attend the temple. I have always loved the temple and not being able to go every week like I did at home has been hard. I love serving in the temple and being able to feel the Spirit so strongly. It also made me think of my dear family and the eternal family that we have. On Wednesday Sister Liu and I after the temple watched a movie called the Emma Smith movie. I reccomend it. It is really good. She was such an amazing women. She had so many trials, more than many of us will face and yet she remained faithful through it all. On Thursday I had my interview with President Grimley. We talked about me going home in December and he said something really funny. He called our group of four Sister Bready, Tanner, Riggs, and I a nickname. Basically it is the name for the four people after Chairmen Mao died in China who tried to take over the government. His wife was included with three other men. haha I'm glad our foursomes nickname is associated with overthrowing governments. I prefer the Fantastic Four.

We also had the opportunity to learn from Elder Jensen of the Presidency of the Seventy in mission conference or revelatory meeting. First it was so great to be able to see all the missionaries especially Sister Bready who was sent to Huailien which is the farthest south you can go in the mission. We got our little group of four back together, Sister Bready, Tanner, Riggs and I which was great. Elder Jensen talked a lot about having the Spirit to be wtih us as we teach. He talked a lot about how it is critical that we have the Spirit to be with us and how as we don't elevate ourselves above our investigators we will both be etified together. It was a great meeting! I wish I could write all my notes from it. He gave a talk in the November General Conference about the Holy Ghost and Revelation so I invite you all to read it.

As for this week investigators wise. Brother He had his baptismal interview this week and passed!!! He will be getting baptized on Saturday. I am so excited!! He has a lot of faith and desire to change and to have an eternal family and baptism is the start of that. Pictures will come next week of his baptism. We experience a little heartache yesterday when we found out an investigator family didn't want to meet with us anymore. It is a family who have three daughters and a son. The mom and one daughter who has health problems have been really interested in the Gospel. We taught them the first lesson and was really excited to teach the Plan of Salvation since they had a lot of questions about their purpose in life. When we called to confrim the third daughter, who is not interested at all in the church and opposes, answsered the phone and told us that they didnt' need our lessons!! She said that they have their religion and we have ours and we didn't need to come by anymore. Their father passed away recently and she said it would make him angry if they switched religions on him. ugh!! He problaby has already accepted the Gospel and is waiting for them to accept! Sister Liu and I were really bummed. I hope to go over and visit them in maybe a week or so when this third daughter isn't home. They need the Gospel especially the Plan of Salvation!!! Other than that our other investigators are progressing a lot.

Well I hope that you have a great week. I love you all. I know that this Gospel is true and will continue to go forth until it fills the whole earth. It has already started and I am so grateful to be a part of it. I know that despite the challenges in the world through the Gospel of Jesus Christ we can recieve answers to our questions. Especially about our purpose in life and our relationship with God. I know that Jesus is the Chirst. I love this work!!

All my love,

Yang Jiemei

Alden MTC May 17, 2010

hey Every One.

so this is it my first email as a Missionary. this week has been so amazing. first of all our district is part of a new pilot program that they are starting here. they are practicaly pushing us into the water. we had to teach our first investigator in chinese on friday. his name is Kong yi and he is great. so far we have taught him 3 times. all in chinese. it is amazing to see how blessed we are as missionaries to be able to teach a lesson in a foreign language that most of the Elders in my district have not even look at.

my companion is Elder Montalto (Meng Zhanglao) he is just great. he is working so hard to learn chinese. he has never look at it or spoken it before. he took spanish in high school and thought he was going to go Spanish speaking. but i guess the lord had other plans. i know he well do great. he has already learned so much.

so going back to the first day. it was very hard as it got closer to the time to enter the MTC. there were alot of tears form my mom and me. as we left the parking lot near by where we said our good byes and headed toward the MTC i felt like i was walking the green mile. it was so painfull. but as we pulled into the MTC all of my fears were gone and i was ready to go. so the actual good by at the curb was not as painfull. since then there has been no time to stop and feel sorry. this program they the have got us new elders on keeps you busy 24/7. here at the MTC i have found many people that i know for school. my companion always points that out when there is another person that i find i know. my branch president here is Brother Baker. he was Amy's Branch president here and he remembers her. also my teacher is Sister Chang who was also Amy's teacher. she is great. i could not think of any one better then her. she is very funny, but she is very spiritual and always shares a strong testimony. classes here are faichang hao ( very good.) class is all in chinese except in guided studies and doctrine but even then our teacher tries to talk in chinese. now i know how to testify, pray, make commitments and give promises. but outside of class i have learned a lot of vocab for the lessons. i am 100% positive i will be able to teach all of the lessons by the time leave. one of the coolest things about my district is our diversity. we have a companionship from New Zealand, and a missionary from Tahiti, he only speaks french and very little english but he is doing great.

well that is about it. a lot of work and a lot spirit. the MTC is every thing I was told it would be, every thing i thought it would be and more. plus the food is really good.

i am so grateful to be serving a mission and to be her at this time. i know i have been bless greatly.

Love you all

the newest member of the papritz army.

Elder Papritz (Qiu zhanglao)

Austin - Kenosha Wisconsin - May 16, 2011

ARMY OF 4

Man that was weird. I just had to enter in all of my siblings emailing addresses and they were all their mission email. Cheers to Elder Alden Papritz for making it a hambone (bowling reference). Beer and cheese all around!.

Elder White and I had quite a bit of success even though I had a lot of problems with my Crohns. I woke up 3 days of the week with absolutely terrible stomach pains and tightness. I constantly feel like I have to go to the bathroom but then nothing happens.

We had a lesson with an investigator we found this week while contacting a member referal (what a miracle that was!) and him and his wife are just a darling, intelligent couple with a cute little daughter named Juliana. They were just glued to every word we said. It was so cool, she took notes again during the lesson and was writing down scriptures that we talked about and names of prophets and things. She had run in to some stuff on the web, which I warned about last time, but she was so good about understanding the explanation and willing to still work with us. They both read in the Book of Mormon and, in fact, the wife prefers to read in English and so she just went to the library and checked out an English one. So incredible, I love them both.

This week our members stepped up sooo much, especially with it being rainy and me not feeling well. They took care of us and gave us rides to appointments, gave us plenty of referals and brought family and freinds to church. Church was especially cool because this Peruvian family just moved in to the branch and they are way cool. One of them is a return missionary that served in Spokane, Washington. I loved talking to him and learning Peruvian Spanish words and stuff. Then there was a way cool Dominican guy that I had no idea was on the stake council. He helped me teach gospel principles and he was way smart and had a lot of cool stories from his mission in The Dominican Republic.

There was a bunch of other stuff that happened but I can't really remember and I'm out of time. I'll just make a bigger email next week.

Much love,
Elder Papritz