Old mission reports number 3

Dear Friends and Family,

Here is our third mission report from Budapest for the period 16 to 29 Oct 06:

In order to get our drivers license we needed to get an eye exam and blood pressure test from a physician. There is a health clinic across the street from us where other missionaries got their test so we decided to go there to get ours. We had one of our office Elders call to make an appointment and were told just go in at 8AM and wait in line. We went at 8AM and there were already many people in the waiting room, most just to have prescription refills validated. We spoke with an old lady in German who knew we did not know the procedures and gave her a mini-restoration lesson. Finally, after about an hour we got in to see the doctor. Speaking only Hungarian, Elder Dukelow explained we needed eye exams and blood pressure tests for our drivers’ license. The doctor, a woman in her late 50’s or maybe older, said she understood and asked to see our drivers’ licenses. Elder Dukelow explained that we did not have our drivers’ licenses yet and we needed these tests so we could obtain the licenses. After several iterations of this discussion, Elder Dukelow called an Elder on his cell phone to get translation help. The Elder explained the doctor needed to see our US drivers’ licenses to fill out her forms.

We produced our US drivers’ licenses and then had a long discussion, all in Hungarian, about how our licenses were still valid and we did not need to get a new license because we could drive with our current licenses for a year. We finally convinced the doctor we wanted to get Hungarian licenses now and she agreed to give us the tests. The eye test was a joke. We stood on one side of her office and read a huge chart on the other side with her help. Elder Dukelow did not even have to cover one eye. A person would need to be seriously vision impaired to fail that test. Elder Dukelow was afraid he would fail the blood pressure test because of the strenuous discussion preceding the exam but all went well. Now we still need to get the license exam which has been postponed twice. The exam is given in a small town outside Budapest where our driver trainer has made “special arrangements” which basically means no one fails.

While Sister Dukelow has been busy learning all the ins and outs of being Financial Secretary for the mission, Elder Dukelow has been busy finding apartments and negotiating contracts. Last week we had some success and some disappointments. The successes came with people who accepted our standard contracts and signed them without many questions. The disappointment came when we tried to rent a very nice, large apartment, close to the mission office for the Mission President’s assistants that was on the top floor of a building built in1914 without an elevator. This apartment would have been ideal for our missionaries but the owner wanted to be paid without him giving us receipts. He did not want to pay taxes on his rental income which is 25 per cent of the rent paid. I told him I was sorry but we could not do business without receipts. He said fine then add 25 per cent to the rent and we could have the apartment. I told him we could not afford the apartment if it cost 25 per cent more because we were already on the border of the mission guidelines for housing. The real estate agent who was helping us said that apartment rents posted on the internet were always listed without taxes. She continued that rentals were normally handled without taxes or receipts. I responded that the 50+ apartments the mission rents in Hungary are all done with receipts and using normal banking transfers to pay the rent. Everyone walked away from that meeting disappointed.

The next day we had another contract settlement scheduled for the Giauques, a wonderful new senior couple who had just arrived and were being assigned to Szeged on the Serbian/Romanian border. Although they will be paying for their own housing, we were using the mission’s standard rental contract because it permits a 30 day termination notice. The owner is a young man named David who inherited the apartment from his recently deceased father. David is probably in his mid-twenties, speaks perfect English, and is studying hotel management in Lucerne, Switzerland. Not that it makes any difference, but David is the most handsome young man I have ever met. He has beautiful blond hair, perfect teeth, and flawless skin. He is also very polite and intelligent. I asked when we first met in the mission office if he wanted to be paid in cash without receipts. He was baffled by my question until I explained what had happened the night before and then he understood. He has no problems paying taxes as it is the cost of living in a democracy.

Two days later President Gasser comes into our office and tells us we will need two apartments by 1 Nov in Hodmezovasarhely (beaver fields market place is the translation) near Szeged and another apartment in a city named Zalaegerszeg in western Hungary. I immediately went to work on the internet to see what I could find on my favorite real estate web sites. There were no apartments listed in either town. I looked at bulletin board type web sites where people can post their own ads and found some places which I then had the Elders call. I talked to some real estate offices in Zalaegerszeg and explained what I needed but got no encouragement because there were no available apartments meeting our needs to be found in that city. The President and Sister Gasser got in their car and drove 3 hours to Zalaegerszeg to see the town for themselves. Sunday morning, 29 Oct, the President tells me he will not send missionaries to Zalaegerszeg but instead he will open Kaposvar, the city where I lived when I was in Hungary with NATO.

The mission is just buzzing with excitement because of the opening of two new cities, the first in six years. The first stake conference was held last week and it was a great spiritual feast. Anyone who wants a copy the 10 pages of notes taken during the visit of Elder Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve can write to us and we will send them the notes. Here is a small sample of what he said:

The Holy Ghost is the true teacher. We have a role and a responsibility to be reliable conduits of His word. We are as extension cords which connect the power of heaven to those who are seeking. The words we speak can help them make the connection. Then we need to get out of the way and allow the Holy Ghost to testify of the truth of what we are saying.

It is important for us to smile and be happy because we know what the plan of happiness is. He shared a story about one of the Twelve Apostles. A granddaughter was sitting on his lap and she asked if he was happy. He replied yes and then she said, “Tell your face you are happy.”

This is what Elder Bednar had learned about prayer since becoming an Apostle. He learned that prophets pray like little children. They exercise child-like faith in God. The brevity, simplicity, and sincerity of President Hinckley’s prayers would probably shake the testimony of some members of the Church who believe the longer the prayer the better.

We need to stay in the middle of the “straight and narrow way”. Many Latter-Day Saints tend to stray to the left and get sloppy in their observance of the commandments. Far worse are those who stray far to the right and become religious fanatics, especially those who pick some single aspect of the Gospel and pervert it using obscure scriptures to support their distorted ideas. The ones on the left can be reached and lovingly called to repentance and many respond to the invitation to return. Those fanatics on the right are so sure they are right; they do not respond to counsel and are usually lost.

We are now confident shoppers (most of the time) and go to big stores similar to a super Walmart and little stores such as the green grocer in the next block where we buy our fruits and vegetables. This little vegetable store is in a basement and during the day, much of the produce is on tables on the sidewalk. We carry our own shopping bags with us because you have to buy the bags from the store if you forget to bring yours. The big stores have huge varieties of goods and there are so many choices it makes comparison shopping a time consuming process. The big stores post signs on the shelves saying cheapest item but sometimes the quality of the cheapest item is not worth buying. There is a huge selection of fruit syrups that are used to mix fruit drinks, 1 part to 8 parts water.

Catch-all paragraph: We are on-line at home now which is a blessing. We have had some nice gentle rain after a month with no rain, another blessing. We get visitors at the mission office now and then, tourists and curious people. Last week we were visited by a LDS film team that is making a movie about a German boy who stood up to the NAZIs and was beheaded for his actions, the only LDS member to die for his resistance to Hitler. Many parts of Hungary look like pre-world war two Germany and that is why they will make the movie here.

The demonstrations in Pest had no impact on us on the Buda side of the Danube. On 2 Nov 1,000 farmers are bringing their tractors to the Parliament to protest low farm subsidies. That should tie up traffic for many hours. We hope they stay out of our neighborhood.

Last week we were accosted by a middle aged man in the train station who wanted us to give him money. He spoke good English, was clean shaven, well dressed, and appeared to be physically fit. His plea was he needed help because he had to live on the street since his parents were dead. Elder Dukelow assessed this person to be a con-man and not truly a needy person and told him if he lived on the street that was because it was his choice and not because there were no alternatives. He went back to his argument that because his parents were dead he had no home which might be true but there are plenty of possibilities for a person with his skills and abilities so we left him to try his luck on the next people who look like Americans. We went to bed that night with a clear conscience.

The heat in our building was turned on 15 Oct. Unfortunately for us, there are no thermostats in this building so we have to regulate the heat by opening the windows. Our neighbor below us leaves his front door in the stairwell open because he is on the street level and cannot leave his windows open. Sister Dukelow wants to turn off one or more of the radiators in our apartment. Elder Dukelow explained he had this same problem in the hotel in Kaposvar and it cannot be easily fixed because all the heating radiators in the building are on a single circulation system and to stop one would stop them all. Besides that, the radiators have no turn off valves. This is socialist plumbing at its best. Everyone gets the same heat or cold.

Today, Sunday 29 Oct, was a very busy day for us. We attended the Buda Ward (Hungarian) in the morning because a sister who was recently baptized was confirmed. She is from Germany and is very excited about joining the Church. We then attended the International Ward (English) and spoke in Sacrament meeting. After that we attended another baptism and to wrap up the day we attended a concert by our missionaries who sang about the restoration. We have been dropping invitations in various places in our neighborhood and many people showed up with these invitations. The concert was great and the chapel was completely filled with many non-members. Sister Dukelow got two names of non-members who are interested in attending the planned Christmas concert. We will try to give the people more than just good music.

We walk about five or six minutes from our apartment to the mission office and usually pass about 10 to 15 people on the way in each direction. Sister Dukelow is determined to smile and greet each of them. Most just ignore us but more and more are responding with a smile and return the greeting. Who knows how soon someone will actually want to talk with us but we are determined to keep smiling and saying hello.

We are getting another senior couple on 7 Nov. We need at least four more senior couples in our mission. If there are any of you reading this report who can serve, will you talk to your bishop and turn in your paperwork now? Some people think they may have no skills to offer as a missionary or they cannot learn a language. The only skill you need is the ability to love people and to live your religion. The language barrier is less than you might think because here most of the young people speak English. The mission costs in Hungary are fairly reasonable ($1800 per month is the average) and a couple can live very cheaply if they are assigned outside Budapest in one of the mission district branches where the rent is only about $350 per month for a nice apartment. This is a vibrant mission with an inspired mission president and truly hard working and dedicated missionaries who are stepping outside their comfort zones every day. Come and join us.

Best wishes to you all

Love

Elder and Sister Dukelow