I have this super annoying measuring stick...

Hey Family,

This week was crazy!!! And by that I mean nothing new really happened. One week of the transfer left, I think we are both staying.........The next transfer is 10 weeks long. Do not ask me how I am going to survive finding for that long. I do not know.

I brought the card reader...SO I CAN SEND PICTURES OF VESZPRÉM! I hope it works. Haven't tried it here yet.

Alright, I guess we could start with Sportsz Nap. WE COULD GO! WHOAH. We got out of our program early. Unfortunately I was STUFFED. I have decided that nothing I do here can prevent me from the onslaught of Jaaron's impending weight comments. I am always stuffed because people are always getting offended. Let me give you a run down of what happened at our last "Dinner" appointment:

( For our purposes only we will call this person " The Stuffer".)

Stuffer: " Would you like more food? I noticed you ate really slowly- it is probably because you were really enjoying the food."

Victim: ( I just had 2 huge pieces of pizza from member X and ice-cream for lunch...there is no way...) " Yes, Please. If you could fill me plate up halfway I would be so grateful. "

Stuffer: " You are so polite- take the biggest piece of bacon and I'll just stuff your plate for you. Don't be shy about anything-just help yourself."

Victim: " Thank you...."

 Stuffer: " I made 3 courses...

 Victim: " What th...?

 Stuffer: " And the dessert I invented myself and..

 Victim: " But...I...

 Stuffer: " and I bought you a bag of candies I expect to watch you eat in my living room."

 Victim:" ......."

Stuffer: " Oh, and that is chicken liver...."

( little gagging noise.)

Victim: " I am trying to lose weight?" ( Casual hint.)

Stuffer: " Me too. I do not eat after 3:00. I was just going to watch you two eat.

Alright. Cool.

It was good food. But I really did gag when I hit the chicken liver, I was so full and it took all I had to hold that baby in.  (  I really cannot stand that stuff. My first transfer when I couldn't read the menus and I was too scared to ask the more experienced missionaries I always ended up with something involving chicken liver. They thought I was so weird. )  I just feel like a chunk all the time. Good thing we walk EVERYWHERE.

Anyways so we got out early and booked it over to the park. It was super fun. My companion didn't want to play the first half and that is why I have pictures of myself playing. This is what I get for bragging last week....but we were getting near the time we needed to head home and we decided to go for one last goal. It was getting dark and I had my ward mission leader cornered by a bush and in a panic he boots the ball and just NAILS me in the right eye. Oh, man it hurt bad.  Probably not surprising to you all- I have only gotten nailed in the face a million times already. BUT I SCORED 2! WHOAH.  

I have a pretty little black eye that I use to my advantage while finding. It is weird though, because now every time the lights go out I can't see out of the bottom 1/4 of my right eye. It's just a big grey spot. I am thinking I may have damaged the cones/ rod cells ( Whichever one picks up light in the dark, can't remember for the life of me.) I am calling the mission nurse today, hopefully it is something that will go away in time.

Alright, the pictures I am sending are the views from our balcony. Also, there are a few from the Castle look out.

This week has been better with regard to finding. Our English class is growing! There is a little girl named Dorie that comes and is JUST like Brooke. Last week I helped her play smurfs in class and at the end she ran up and just hugged me. It was super awkward because I am a nun, but also super sweet. I miss Brooker. We tracted into a few people. There was a HUGE Hungarian festival on Tuesday so we had a weird holiday. Apparently they bake large breads...? I didn't hear much else about it.

The weather is getting colder and rainier, yes! We also got to teach an older man and afterwards he gave me a prayer book that was published in 1944. It is SWEET. Keeping that forever.

This week was a little frustrating for several reasons. Not all necessarily related to no investigators but that was definitely a hard part. I just felt like everything that I have been doing is nowhere near perfect. I have this super annoying measuring stick I keep with me and whenever I do anything I take it out and measure myself. It isn't a very fair measuring stick because the point of perfection is unreachable and I haven't hit that point yet. I was thinking in my Greenie Days that by the time I reach " This point" in my mission then I would be a perfect missionary. I think I tend to do that a lot in life too. But it has never come.

 I am snapping that puppy in half and I am adopting the Lord's method, which I think I learned so much about this week. I came home one day, and was just irritated and frustrated. I felt like the days previous I had not accomplished anything, and that the Lord must be becoming impatient with our lack of success, Why wouldn't he be? I was. He was probably sitting there with "his" measuring stick and tallying the amount of times I didn't talk to someone, the times I was scared, the times I thought about my family, or the amount of rejections because people couldn't understand what I said. I wanted to talk to him about it, but I just felt like I couldn't. I knelt down to prayer, but I didn't want to. Yeah, I know that was bad, but how could I pray to someone that measured me like that? Didn't he understand that I was trying? Didn't he understand that I missed my family like crazy, and that I couldn't speak this language as well as my companion, and that I had tried to be obedient? Didn't he see how much I wanted to find people and how I hadn't planned for the little mistakes that kept coming up? Didn't he love me? That was the real question. I just felt so let down, but I stayed on my knees because I had faith he wasn't that kind of person.

Then I had an impression to try talking to Heavenly Father as if I was talking to Dad. So I decided to try that. I pictured Dad and myself in one of our L.A.D.D. s ( long, awkward, dad, discussions- Yeah, I still remember those.) I then tried to tell him what was going on. I told him what had happened in the past week, and how I had honestly tried to do all I could. I told him I was disappointed with myself and that I made mistakes. I was going to start telling him how I was frustrated because I felt it was unfair the way he would judge me on those things and how he needed to just be okay with that because it was all I could do. But I just couldn't. Because I knew he wasn't. Dad was sitting there telling me that he was so proud of me for what I was doing, he was sitting there grinning and laughing about some of the stupid mistakes I made and saying, "Adley, that wasn't even your fault." or " Hey, that was hard, but did you learn from it?" or " You really can't take that so hard on yourself." It was a very interesting lesson for me. 

There is not such a thing as a ruler. A perfect person existed, but even the greatest sons and daughters of God in the history of time have never paralleled his flawless life. After this I could talk to Heavenly Father and I started by thanking him for his mercy. Something we all need from him, and from ourselves. I am starting to hate the saying. " Do your best." I will tell you why, because your best is an indefinite measurement and we are humans, definitely. My best measurements don't originate from me but from a higher power and I give what I can-yes, sometimes that is not a lot nor would I consider it my best, but I can depend on a little divine intervention to make up any difference. "My best" in all actuality is only considered acceptable when coupled with borrowed strength because if not it is indefinite and ineffectual.

I am so grateful for a Heavenly Father that doesn't measure me, like I think the human race is prone to measure ourselves. He is our Heavenly Father, and which one of us has an Earthly Father who would not be merciful to our shortcomings or give us a second chance?  Think of all those times Dad makes us haul logs! What if we volunteered to clear the whole forest? Think:  would he be mad if we got sick one day, worked slower another, got hit by a cold mud ball one of our sisters threw because she thought it would be funny and cried all the way home? ( HAHAHA, had to throw that one in there sis. Sorry about that. Seemed funnier in my head.) No. He's grateful we are out there working. Dad you are the best, and Heavenly Father is the best too.

Those are my thoughts this week. There were tons of others. There never is enough time.

Well I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all of your letters. I have inherited a very fine fam. Let me comment a little on what I read:

Granny Erickson: YOU BOUGHT A HORSE. You bought a horse. a horse. and. a wagon. Why couldn't I be there for your incredible random purchase? Do you know how much I respect your decision?!?!?! There is a reason we were not sisters....we might have gotten a little crazy. Was it a stray horse? I definitely would have sided with you on that one. ( Mom, can you bold that last part and then send it to dad.)

Jaaron: YOU FIGHT THAT SYSTEM BOY! Fight down to that last purple, pudgy, Obama grape! ( I am trying to remain relatively calm in this little cáfe, but boy the nerve of that man.......I'll give him a well balanced diet. A couple of slabs of meaty justice, veggies, encased in a knuckle- I am on a mission, I am on a mission.) I think you should strike or something. I can't believe people are buying into that. Siggggggggggghh. I am proud of you. That is crazy that you are driving? Be careful and..... have you been on a date? whistle. Man, you are a babe.

Péter ( Payter-as they would say over here.) - If I ever have to see another sketched picture of you with long hair I am going to cry....and maybe throw up a little in my mouth. 15 turkeys? What the? Hey remember when we saved those drowned turkeys with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation because we accidentally left the water bucket open? ( Oh man, dad would have killed us if they had died.) Yeah, those were the days. Nothing like a the "kiss of life" to save the ones you love. hahaha. Gross voltunk.

Granny F: You have been ALL over the place lately! Did you get my pictures? I got the coolest letters about Dad from Grandma. I know all the " Rob secrets". More to come, more to come.....

Adrienne: My monochromatic friend. I met someone here with " The tooth" his name is C. and when the sun hits him just right I can see the little gap that reminds me of an old friend in Missouri and her miraculous journey to finding the missing pieces in her life. hahaha. Alright, just kidding :) How did the operation go? Were you chipmunky for any period of time? I want pictures! You looked stinking gorgeous in yellow. Stay away from men, you might be called to one of the newer missions the " Engaged mission". Sounds a little intense szerintem.  ;)

Nathan: HEY. Haven't heard from you in a while bud? Mi újság veled? Here let me help you pronounce this so you can serve here one day too. ME- Ooey-shag vel-ed ( What is new with you?) Cool. Fluent you are. How is Spanish coming? I need to get a picture of you, the last one I saw you were holding a Seagull? How did you catch that thing? Maybe instead of the fly whisperer you can be the seagull whisperer? Think about it.

P.S.  Míklós ( Me klOSH)  is how you say Michael in Hungarian. Thought you would appreciate that.

Brookie!!! Alright, baby. What is going on? I am sorry I haven't sent a lot of letters! I am trying but I am a poor person out here. So I will right now kiss this computer and they should get there when mom reads this to you. Did you feel that on your cheek? It was probably a fly, but we can pretend it is a kiss, okay? Write to me and tell me about your Baptism? What dress are you wearing? Who is taking your pictures? Wow. So BIG. Nagy a hugam. ( My big little sister- Hug means little sis.) Alright WUV SISSA FOWIES

Oh man. I always go out of order and then I forget who else is in our family....

Oh right, Carissa. ;)

Carissa: Hey Beautiful. I am sorry growing up stinks. I am feeling that too. When you first get out on your mission it  is seriously like being born again. You are just a cute little Greenie- no none expects you to know anything and then one day you wake up and you are opening a city all by your lonesome. It is crazy. I am living another life. I die next July. Are you seriously picking me up...because I am so down- down like a hound. Also, I saw a crane today and for whatever reason it made me think of you on a skyride. HAHAHAHA. Can that be my birthday present this year? Can someone record that? Thanks. Hey, Life is rough. Hang in there Paly. ( Not sure if that is how you spell that but we can run with it.) You are going to do great, because you are smart, capable, and a kissy face....I mean. Where did that come from? Oh, right. What is going on with you and Natey-boy? Kaptam a képeidet. Got your pictures. You have some explaining to do missy.

ThomElder Fowers: Just about forgot. Where is your letter this week, man? I missed it? How is Coli ( haha. Get it? Instead of Cali, it's Coli- except I am pretty sure that is a nickname for a disease pioneers contracted. Hmmmm....maybe not.) How is that family you all have been teaching? WRITE ME. "I need to hear these words" ( Esme- Emperor's New Groove.) Is it gorgeous? I had to paint a picture once of Colorado, and it was gorgeous. I hope you are doing okay! Remember you are changing lives! (your own included.)

Shawn&Kara:  Enjoy marriage!

Alright. Mom and Dad and I am writing you separately. You two are special.

Alright, That was huge. I better get some good thoughts on that baby. Peter, your pictures were awesome.

Love you family.

7 MONTHS DOWN!!!! Booyah.

Love Sis. Fowers