Monthly Archives: July 2014

Sister Whittaker’s 1st week in Hungary!

July 28, 2014

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I finally made it safely here in Hungary. Getting to Hungary was quite an adventure. We missed our flight to London, which put us back a few hours but it was exciting to talk to people all through the airport. Our flight to London was about 8 hours, which seemed like an eternity. We finally made it to Budapest, got to meet our wonderful mission President and his wife and headed over to the mission home.

The next morning we got to meet our new companions and find out where we would be living for the next 2 months. I cant tell you how blessed I feel to have such incredible companions. I was put into a trio again because so many sister missionaries went home and they didnt have enough trainers. I am so lucky to have the both of them. First, Simons Nővér – She is the sweetest thing in this world. She has only been here for 2 months and she is a dynamite when it comes to missionary work. My other companion is Geröly Nővér, she is from Hungary and speaks Hungarian!! She has been an absolute blessing for me because I have been struggling with the language. She is darling and I cant believe I got them as my companions.

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The first day in Budapest was quite the adventure. They assigned us to a city called Békéscsaba which is a 3-hour train ride from Buda. The Hungarians don’t believe in air conditioning which made the train ride quite fun. I don’t think I have ever sweat that much in my life. Finally after our long journey, we settled into our apartment, unpacked a couple things and we were back on our feet to spread the gospel. If you know me, I am a shy, quiet person who likes to keep to myself. Heavenly Father has truly given me the gift to not be afraid. My favorite thing in the world is to go street contacting and tracting. My companions and I switch off who will stop someone and tell them about the Church. I usually start off with the same sentence, give them a big smile and then let my companions take over. The Hungarians talk so fast I can only pick out a couple words but all is well and I have full trust in the Lord. When you have Heavenly Father on your side, you don’t need to fear. Someone will listen and someone is prepared to meet you at that time. Just be faithful, be obedient and be bold and he will guide you. 
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I see a miracle every single day here in Békéscsaba.There are days when I gets hard and you are having no success, but then there are moments that make it all better, like this time: We had been tracting for hours and we were having no success. Until finally we knocked on a sweet little old ladie’s door. At first, she didn’t want to let us in but after a few minutes something in her changed. She let us come in and sit down. Now mind you, she is 85 and it just hurts you inside to see her walk. Yet, she still got up many times to grab us some tea and crackers. She told us about her family and how her husband and her two children died years ago and she is all alone. We got to know about her and got all her information. I do’nt know all that she said but I do know that the sprit was there and it was indescribable. She gave us this book full of beautiful paintings and then this hand sewn tablecloth that we now have on our table back at our apartment. As we sat there I just started to cry because of the love I felt from the generous old lady. I then told her köszönöm szépen (which means thank you very much and really the only thing I know how to say) and she then started to cry and thanked us over and over again for coming over. We get to see her again next week which I am so excited about. There are times like that, that are priceless. 

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On Thursday we teach English classes which is a blast! They get a good kick out of me trying to speak to them in Hungarian. We have a lot of fun!

It was my first Sunday here in Békéscsaba and I got to finally meet the ward members. It is such a tiny ward that church is only two hours long and they only have one priesthood holder who is 15 years old. I got to bare my testimony in sacrament and even if it was simple, they understood every word.

I love it here, the missionary work, the people and I am so lucky to be a missionary. There are days when its hard but then you have experiences that make it all worth it. Everyday I see a miracle, big or small and I have truly learned to enjoy life and what it gives you.

Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement. The work is great, moving along and I am doing wonderful! Be safe and enjoy every second you get in life because you will never get that moment again.

I love you all!

All my love, Whittaker Nővér

Sister Whittaker’s 8th (and final) week at the MTC

July 17, 2014

Szia Friends and family!

I can’t believe the time has come for me to finally embark on my adventure to Hungary. I leave on Monday at 6:00 a.m. we fly to Chicago, then to London England, then home sweet home. I can’t tell you how blessed I feel to be able to be a servant of the Lord, and that He has trusted me enough to teach in this difficult language and to spread the gospel to people who have had such sadness and sorrow throughout their lives. What an honor!
I have truly loved the MTC and I am dreading the day when I have to say goodbye to my zone, my district and all the many other friends I’ve met along the way. I have come to know my Heavenly Father like never before, and the spirit I have felt is indescribable. I feel so much gratitude for the experiences I’ve had here and the little miracles I’ve seen everyday. Enjoy the MTC, because it really is how you make it.
Thank you for all the love and support, you will never know how much it means. I love this gospel with all of my heart. I know that God and His Son Jesus Christ live and they are with us every step of the way. I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet and that he was willing to die than deny the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. I know that when we pray, God hears every word and He will always reach out his hand when we ask. You are never alone, and I know that through Jesus Christ, we can conquer anything that is put in our path. I know that Christ didn’t want to suffer, He asked His Father if it could be done any other way, unfortunately there wasn’t any other way but He still did it. He loved His Father enough and He saw the eternal perspective.
This is my last email until I get to Hungary. Be safe, enjoy this beautiful life full of hardships and happiness, and always remember that you have a loving Heavenly Father waiting for you to just ask for help and guidance.
God be with you all!
All my love, Whittaker Nover!

Sister Whittaker’s 7th Week at the MTC

July 10, 2014

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The week has just flown by and I leave in 11 days. I am beyond excited to get out into the field and to start bringing the Hungarians to Christ. It has been wonderful week, and the language is getting better and better each day. Speaking of languages, we started consecration week where for a whole week we can’t speak any English, just straight Hungarian. It has been hard, and at times frustrating but it gets me prepared and ready.
My 4th of July was wonderful. Thank you mom for all the wonderful treats and decor which everyone loved from my district. We had an incredible devotional, followed by beautiful musical performances from other missionaries. They then surprised us with a movie – 17 Miracles. If you haven’t seen it, I definitely recommend it. Also, get a box of tissues ready because it’s a crier. They then had another surprise after full of ice cream bars and fireworks. What a night! We all ran outside in time for the fireworks from the stadium to go off and it was wonderful. I sat there in awe of what a perfect night it was with the air, the people around me and an incredible holiday to celebrate. I have never felt so grateful. I am so proud to be an American. MERICA!
We had two amazing devotionals this week! On Sunday we were able to hear from Josh Wright. What a champion! He is a professional pianist and when he plays, you are absolutely mesmerized. He played 4 songs for us and each one touched me in some way. We also had the privilege to hear from Elder Neil. Anderson. He spoke about the spirit and ways to heed to its promptings. Recently, I have been so caught up on how I can learn the whisperings of the spirit. He mentioned in his talk that Virtue is everything. You don’t have to learn how the spirit works as long as you are living your life pure and good and then the spirit will just flown in.
At the MTC they have “real” investigators walk around campus to help the English missionaries get practice. Well, last week my companions and I were walking back to our apartment and a man by the name of Dominic stops us and starts talking to us. He is the sweetest thing in the world. We then got talking to him about his life and he asked if he could see us again. Well, of course we said YES! Today we had the opportunity to each Dominic and wow, it was incredible. I didn’t mentioned that Dominic is a non-member. A REAL non-member. He told us that last night his wife had a dream where she was in Hungary and she was in a room with three sisters. God really does work in mysterious ways.
I have seen the hand of God this week then ever before. As we are getting ready to leave I am so full of excitement and nervousness. I know that Heavenly Father will be with me the whole way. He will never leave, but rather pick me up when It gets too hard. I love this gospel with all my heart. I know it is true and that God and His son, Jesus Christ live.
I hope you all have a wonderful week. Be safe and enjoy the life God has given you. Life is so precious and beautiful.
All my love, Whittaker Nover

Sister Whittaker’s 6th Week at the MTC

July 4, 2014

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Szia family and friends!

This week has been absolutely incredible. The language is still a struggle but each day my companions and I are all improving. I leave in three weeks! Wow, that is a scary thought but I can’t wait to meet those amazing Hungarians.
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This week was great and my companions and I were able to leave spirit prison (The MTC) for a few hours. My companion, Briney Nover has been having back problems since her previous car crash about 7 months ago. She never was able to go see a doctor until just Monday. That morning before class started we went to the MTC Clinic to have her get checked. The doctor wanted her to go get a few X-rays because it looked worse then he thought. We left the MTC and headed over to the BYU Clinic where she got a few X-rays. The doctor was right, it was worse then he thought and she has Scoliosis. The doctor didn’t want to have it be anything worse so he sent her to get an MRI at the Riverwoods Urgent Care Center. Yes, we were able to leave the MTC. That was a scary thought. What is even more weird is that I could have walked home right then and there. As we sat in the urgent care waiting room a man walked in and started filling out some paperwork. My companion and I were just giddy with excitement because this could be our first, REAL person to teach or at least plant a seed. We asked the man if he was LDS and he replied he was Buddhist and that he’s been to our church a couple times. He immediately got called back to the doctors and we were heartbroken we didn’t get to talk more with him. After he left my companion and I were determined we would talk to him when he got out of his appointment so we planned out exactly what to say. We said a prayer together, asked for guidance and most importantly, had faith. About five minutes later we see a man walk in with a young boy. The man was wearing very worn out clothes, he had many piercings and tattoos, and he looked like someone who’s gone through a lot. He walked over to us and asked for a pen and paper. We got talking to him, asked him where he was from, all about his two sons who he adores and his horrible addiction to drugs and his music career. He completely opened up to us. We asked him if he’d like to talk to missionaries and he said YES! He’s been in such a dark place for so long, he loves God and wants to find happiness. He is such a champion! Something absolutely amazing… He said that he was outside walking and he felt an impression to go inside the Urgent Care Center. He walked inside, looked right at us and had a desire to talk to us. He mentioned that when he looked at my companion and I, we had such an amazing ora about us, that we had a special light. After about an hour of talking to him we got up and gave him a Book of Mormon. He said, “well, I’ve got nothing to lose”. We promised him that it would bless him, protect him and bring him so much happiness. Gunnar wrote down all of his information and we referred him to missionaries in the area.
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I can testify to you that God really does answer our prayers. God knows each of us, our challenges, needs and we when need Him the most, he will send someone to get us out of the darkness. I know that Gunnar was suppose to meet us. We may never know what happened to that incredible man, but I hope that Gunnar felt the love I had for him. As we were talking with Gunnar, I didn’t look at his tattoos or piercings, or judge him for the mistakes he’s made. I had so much love and appreciation for him and I looked at him as though Heavenly Father would. It was a remarkable day and a day I will never forget.
God really does work in mysterious ways. I am so glad he sent Gunner to meet Dohm Nover and I.
Thank you again for all your love and support. You’ll never know how much it means.
-Whittaker Nővér