The Path I Feard to See

Hi Family!

How is everyone doing? You are all super busy! I heard from a lot of you this week, and I feel like I should share this poem with you all. I have memorized it and whenever I am feeling down I recite it.

The Path I Feared to See

George Macdonald

I said, " Let me walk in the fields."
He said, " No, walk in the town."

I said, " There are no flowers there."

He said, " No flowers, but a crown."

I said, " But the skies are black,

there is nothing but noise and din."

And he wept as he sent me back,

" there is more." He said, " there is sin."

I said, " But the air is thick,

and fogs are vieling the sun."

He answered, " Yet souls are sick,
and souls in the dark undone."

I said, " I shall miss the light,

and friends will miss me, they say."

He said, " Choose tonight,

If I am to miss you or they."

I pleaded for time to be given.

He said, " Is it hard to decide?

It will not seem hard in Heaven

to have followed the steps of your guide."

I cast one look at the fields,

then set my face to the town.

He said, " My child, do you yeild?

Will you leave flowers for a crown?"

Then into his hand went mine,
and into my heart came he.

And I walked in a light divine,

The path I feared to see.

I love it so much! I recite it whenever I am in the middle of bustling crowds, or when I get a big breath of automobile, or when I am standing on a bumpy bus. I recite it because that is how I feel, I just want to walk in our fields! I want to go sit by the river and skip stones, climb a tree, go hunting, or milk a cow! I love sitting outside at night watching the stars, and seeing the lightening bugs. But that is not where the Lord wants, or needs me to be.

I would say I am home sick, but not for Missouri. This week we met with so many people that needed help. One of them was abused, another was getting kicked out of her house and  would have to live on the street, so many different situations! And I realized this week, how much I love peace. I love being comfortable. I think as humans we all love it. I realized though, that Jesus Christ, our Master, did not live in comfort. I am sure he did not enjoy not eating for 40 days, I am sure he did not enjoy watching his fellow Jews suffer, and I am positive that the Atonement was also not painless.

Christ said to take up the cross and follow him. That is how we become disciples of Christ. That cross might be a wrong decision, a  test, the MTC, the time spent in doing what the Lord wants us to do, or waiting for something to happen. I do not know what everyone's cross is. I just know that this life is not to be spent in the flowery fields. I know this. There are people that need our help, there are hands that are reaching, and there are lives to be touched. If we are true disciples of Christ we will shoulder that cross and race towards that town, and bring His light with us!

I already expressed this to Carissa, but I am sure that before we came here it was a peaceful place to be. I am sure we all loved and felt the love of others. But I know that the reason we came here was because we knew there would be something better. We knew we were heirs to a higher peace, and that with our Savior, we would find a complete joy. There are bad things that happen, but there is so much more good. There are so many more miracles and blessings. We have to bring that light to people. It was a dark world. Until Christ. Now we know that every wrong, injustice, or hurt will be completely healed. I am so grateful for Heavenly Fathers plan for us! HOPE ON.

Life is so good here! The work is hard, the people are beautiful, and the learning process is long! But God is here too! We have seen so many miracles this week. We were able to serve so many people this week! Heavenly Father is so great and he answers prayers.

I love you all. Elder Fowers, you are great!

Love Sis. Fowers

Pokey Pigs, Gypsies, Vegans and Macaroni sculptures!

Dad you are the Bishop?!?  That's so great! Good for you dad! You are going to be the best. Know that I miss you and that I think about you a lot. You definitely are "the Diplomat."

I am not really sure what my name could be, you all can decide :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARISSA!?!?!?! As they say in Hungary- May you live until your earlobes touch your ankles!

Seriously though, Carissa. I love you. Think back to the good old days: You getting stuck in between the bed and the wall and throwing up because you were laughing so hard at one of my comical renditions of a Rapunzel. The unfair massages rendered, the clothes shared, the mountains not climbed, the foods we never should have eaten.......sigh. I just hope you have enjoyed, as much as I have... our special friendship.

Oh, and a special shout-out to Tommy boy who should now have an address as Elder Fowers! WHOOOOOOOOAH. You are going to be great. You already are!

So much has happened this week. I guess I should start with the pokey pigs. So here in Hungary they have tons of wild hedgehogs that just run all over the place! I guess I just always assumed they were a pet-store thing. They call them pokey pigs- hence me calling them pokey pigs. So anyways, we were on our way home from a long day of streeting and I see this Hedgehog waddling across the sidewalk up ahead and I just started to run. My companions had no idea what was going on, so they came running after me and we ended up catching this hedgehog! Sis. F. picked it up and it was so stinking CUTE! We called him Árpád. Well we wanted to take a picture but our cameras were at home and we couldn't just walk around with a hedgehog so we decided to put it in my bag. Hahaha. So we streeted all the way home with a Hedgehog in my bag. ( his little prickles were sticking out.) We took some pictures and set the little guy free in our  garden.  I just do not know if I will ever stop bringing animals back home.

Another interesting thing here is the relationship between the Gypsies and the Hungarians. So the Hungarians do not like the gypsies at all. The Gypsies do not like the Hungarians. Even in the church it is hard. It makes it really hard to bring them to church. I do not think this prejudice is looked down upon here, it simply just exists. So different from America.

So Sister M. and I were on our own last Friday. We have only been here 3 months, and we are tracting, and streeting. Crazy. 3 MONTHS. So we started the day with some tracting and we were told to leave the building. Menjetek el! Get out of here!  Fun, fun. There are some really nice people here, but there can be some hard ones.  Then we went tracting some houses and we came across this gypsy family. At first they told us that the Elders ( who are both fluent)  had just come 10 minutes ago and that they were not interested. I just started to talk to them! It was incredible. I understood so much! We were able to set up an appointment with them?!? Wait! I do not know this language? What just happened? The Lord completely blessed us.

I forgot to tell you about this. Every day we leave our apartment the neighborhood kids chase us. It's a game we play with them. We have to make it to the gate. Sometimes they have buckets of water, and squirt guns- I do not know what it is with Hungarians, water, and missionaries. I will record it and send it. They are ADORABLE!

OH, and for those wondering- Vegan life is so great. I do not think I have consumed so many weird foods. I just need to learn how to cook these things up.

Oh. Can I have Carissa's address? Thanks.

I am realizing more and more on my mission my dependency on the Lord. I think it is so hard to realize that I can be this inadequate and have him love me so much. My companion was explaining this to me this morning, and I wanted to share it with you all.

She said it's like the macaroni sculptures you made in kindergarten, you spend all this time and energy creating something you think is just perfect and you hand it over to the Lord, and then in His perfect hands it just looks like a gluey, noodley mess. You did the best you  could, you put your heart into it and it is nowhere near the genius of Michael Angelo. That is how I feel all the time. I am trying to make this time and this mission a masterpiece for the Lord and it just doesn't turn out that way. There are a lot of missing noodles, some bare spots, and maybe a noodle or two not glued on right. In his hands it just doesn't seem like enough and then do you know what you realize? You realize he loves it!? He is so thankful for the artwork his little girl is giving him and just continues to bless her. I love him so much. I am trying to be better. But he loves me regardless.

I hope everyone is okay, and the wedding goes great!!!!!!! I have ONLY year left?!?!?! Trying to make it count. Love you all, Thanks for all the letters!

Sis. Fowers