1) I haven't posted a thing in about 2 years...
2) Today is my 6 month mark of being back from my mission!
I decided to start blogging again because coming back from a mission is a little confusing and I need a way to organize the craziness that is in my mind. It's not even that what I'm thinking is so crazy, more that that it's running around in my head all crazy like.
So to start I decided to change the title of the blog from "A Day Without Laughter is a Day Wasted" to "A Day Without Realization is a Day Wasted" because while I greatly enjoy the contribution that Charlie Chaplin has made to the world and while what he said is true, I just think there is something more monumental than laughter on my mind lately.
I'm going to try to not make this too wordy because I know that I never read something long but at the same time it's been two years!
So first of all, I served a mission and it was awesome. It was by far the hardest thing I've ever done in my life and pounded me into the ground but I took great comfort in the fact that the same Hand that broke me down is building me back up into something much more awesome.
Don't get me wrong, a mission also brought a lot of joy and yes, laughter. The joy is eternal and often exactly what I needed to just get me through a difficult time. Here's what that looks like:
This is a picture of Zsofi, me and Lala in Szombathely.
Ahhhhh this kind of happiness is the special kind that sticks with you forever. Zsofi is a hilarious investigator and Lala is one of my best friends in Hungary. She was baptized while I was in the MTC and is one of the most beautiful people I know, inside and out! She helped me through some very difficult times and is still one of my best friends (I just wish she wasn't so far away!!!!)
And this:
is also what a mission is about. This is a picture of Dori getting ready to be baptized. Such a happy day! I remember when I first met Dori she didn't know if God existed and now she is the Young Women's President in Debrecen. I'm SO proud of her. I felt like my companion and I just became friends with her and then the Savior took over and God wrapped His arms around her.
And this:
is Viki. She's been a member for many years and has had her faith tried in many ways and has not given up. She moved to Dunauj while I was there and came to church and everything just fine and then the Relief Society President asks us to meet with her and she expressed some of the difficulties she'd been having. You would never think while talking to sweet Viki that she had a trouble in the world but she bore more than she let on. It was with Viki that I actually had the most remarkable experience of my mission. I'll dedicate my next post to that experience because I realize this is getting a bit long.
So I just wanted to share one experience from a few different aspects for a mission. The first was when I was new and met some great friends who built me up when I was low. The second was when I was able to see someone come unto Christ and the third was when a member taught me how God is aware of every one of us. All missionaries have many experiences like these in the 1 1/2 or 2 years they serve and I thought I'd just share a few of mine.
So YAY! It was awesome and now I've been back for 6 months! CRAZY!
