Pollen Angels

Hello wonderful people!

Some of the places in the world/around the United States currently have snow, and what do we have in Georgia?? POLLEN. EVERYWHERE. Snow angels? Forget it, what about pollen angels? Because you could absolutely make them. Anywhere you wanted. The whole world: cars, houses, streets, people... is coated in a layer of yellow. And Spring has indeed sprung. Here is a picture of my shoes after walking from the church to the car:

And as always, the church sign of the week:
"Party in Hell cancelled due to fire"
HA.

We had quite the eventful week this week: so much good, and a little sorrow. On Wednesday, we met at the church for a meeting and were told that one of the families in the other ward had gotten in an accident with their moving truck. An oncoming truck was taking up too much of the road, and she swerved to avoid it. A back wheel went off the road, and she over-corrected. The truck pinwheeled, and flipped three times. It was completely demolished. I have never seen anything like that in my life. And all of their belongings were strewn in a muddy ditch. All of us missionaries plus other members ended up going out to help. And we got special permission from the President to stay late. We ended up filling up an entire dump truck full of ruined things, and we got home around 11:30. It was amazingly sad. But such a miracle because no one was seriously hurt. It was such a testimony-building moment for me of one of the many reasons why Heavenly Father has set up His church in this way. Within a few minutes, and a few phone calls, about 40 members showed up and got to work. Charity is the pure love of Christ. And there is nowhere that I get to see it more than in His church. I love it.

I included pictures because words don't really capture it:

The rest of the week was pretty wonderful and I will include some very poorly-structured snapshots from my brain:

C and her friend D coming to our Book of Mormon class that we hold every Thursday. We sit around in a circle of chairs, and read, and talk and smile and laugh and cry.

The amazing B. That first lesson sitting at the kitchen table in that adorable blue house with the white trim and white porch and white rocking chairs on Oliver St., holding hands and just crying our eyes out. Her eyes piercing me to the very core. Like Dumbledore eyes, ya know? Talking about cooking, and fried chicken, and Christ. During the second lesson she cooked us fried chicken, rice, collard greens, corn, and sour cream biscuits. YUM. Halfway through our lunch, she started singing her "testimony song" right there at the table, old-black woman gospel-style. Doesn't get much better than that.

Ms. H wanting to work towards baptism on the 26th of April because she wants to make sure she's "right with God." She prayed to know if what we were saying was true, and the thought that came into her mind was: "You already know."

Having major street cred here in Valdosta. Oh yeah, people know us. It's awesome to be stopped when you're driving/walking around the south side, people hollering "Sisters!" Whether it be T on his bike, pulling his "buggy" filled with food or A on her front porch.

Sitting on that big, cozy couch in the W's living room, teaching the Plan of Salvation. And then teaching the squirrel song to L-bean, the one my mom teaches to her preschoolers.

Life is good. I see miracles every day. I see the true change that people experience when they believe in God and trust that He has a plan for them. When they begin to realize that there is so much more to this life. When they become happier, and that happiness changes everything. I love you all. Go give someone a hug today. The world is a beautiful place filled with people that are even more beautiful.

Sister Szilagyi

This is my favorite store in Valdosta:

The Best

Happy St. Patty's Day! I am currently sitting in the church building, typing this email, wearing green dollar store necklaces and a glowing/flashing green bracelet that is only just slightly distracting. Thought I'd let y'all know.

Church signs of the week:
"Is the bread of life on your menu?"
"Prayer is a weapon that should never be concealed"

Southerners. I love them.

So the work has matched the weather this week. Sunny and glorious. Except for now it's storming and pouring and there's a flash flood warning, but ignore that.
A few stories for you thoughtful and kind readers:

The N Family:
So remember that amazing family that we ran into/found in Morven? Well... the amazingness never ceases, and they moved to Valdosta! Like, one day, we went for an appointment that we had scheduled, and they weren't home so we called them and they told us that they had moved! Umm... what? But then we found out that they moved 7 minutes away from us and about 5 minutes from the church! AWESOME POSSUM. The Lord has really had a hand in preparing this family. In a recent lesson we had, we asked the family if they think there is only one true church on the earth, and read Ephesians 4:5. They really understood it and loved the truth that they felt. I knew they were different from the very first time we met them. Mr. N actually stayed and participated, and it is pretty rare for the husband/father of the family we are teaching to sit and listen, much less participate. Anyway, he's probably the one that's most excited out of everyone in the family. We asked the them to pray specificially if we were sent from God and if The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-Day Saints is His true church. To which Mrs. N responded: "I think the answer's going to be yes." So awesome. She said that she could see that we believed what we said and that she could see that we were different. As we were leaving, Mr. N (who is the bald, skinny, old, has worked hard all his life, and quiet thinker type) said: "We'll see you on Friday, and more than likely on Sunday too." They didn't make it to church this week, but they're planning on Book of Mormon class and church for this week. They're wonderful.

C:
So, I'd been feeling a little bit discouraged for a while and then this week, I went on exchanges with the Sister Training Leaders. Which just means that we switch companions for 24 hours. The point of this story is that Sister Parke (who I was paired with) is a ROCKSTAR. Seriously. She's one of the most amazing missionaries I have ever met/have had the pleasure of teaching alongside. Every time I am with her, I learn about 6,000,000 things. And this time was no different. Her positivity and spirit really helped me, and we were able to see SO MANY MIRACLES within that 24 hour period. One of those was C. She was on the list of potential investigators that we have from years ago and she was one from 2011. Sister Parke and I knocked on her door and she came out on her porch and we ended up talking for about an hour. She had just moved to back to this place 2 weeks ago, and she asked us how we knew. We told her we didn't but Heavenly Father did.

Update on the W Family:
We went over to their house this week a couple times. And one night we watched the Restoration video. At the end, K said: "Wow, that was a really great movie. Are there others like this?" This is the 15-year-old, too cool for school, K! It was hugeeee progress. Everyone said that they understood the story of Joseph Smith and his role much better. And their family is really coming along, we're so excited for them.

Things are wonderful here in Georgia. I love this gospel with all of my heart. I have never been happier, hardships and all. Missions are the best. THE BEST.

Massive hugs,
Sister Szilagyi

Puppies and Love

"Sometimes I get to hold cute puppies. And I enjoy that."

One Happy Camper

Hello world! How is it out there? Is it cold? Is it scary? Because here in Georgia it is just as toasty as a piece of toast. And perfectly pleasant with no scary things. Okay, a few scary things, but I am very brave.

Another great week. Because every week is a great one if you want it to be. Here are some fun events that I wanted to share with your lovely faces:

The first story is called: "The day when we got fed three meals in a row and I ate so much that I spent the night in the bathroom." That's pretty much the extent of the story but I guess I'll provide some details. So, the reason why we scheduled three meals in a row is because two of these meals were with couples where one is a member and the other isn't, and we are teaching them. And they could only have us over on this particular day. So we just told ourselves that we would make it work. And we sort of did. I mean, I had to loosen my belt three times throughout the night/remove a safety pin that I was using because my skirt was too big. WELL, not after 2 and a half meals it wasn't. Anywho, by the time we got home, I wasn't feeling super great but my plan was to just sleep it off. And I almost did, except for at one in the morning, I awoke and just felt like, "NOPE." And ran to the bathroom. My head and the toilet had a fun hangout. The end.

The W Family. Oh man, they are so great. I can't remember if I have told y'all about them yet, but they are the ones with 8 kids, 4 from her previous marriage, 3 from his, and they have 1 together. Anyway, we decided that this week when we went over, we were going to have the family act out the story from the Book of Mormon where Nephi retrieves the gold plates from Laban. And oh boy, was it a hit. Everyone got involved, even dad. The best part was that at Book of Mormon class the night before, we had been reading in 1 Nephi Chapter 2 and Mama W (who is a loud, blond, ex-cheerleader/hilarious interior designer), was reading verse 16 out loud and this is what happened: "I, Nephi, being exceedingly young, nevertheless being large in stature... Hey! That's K!" K is her 15 year old son who looks like he is 22. Seriously, he has a beard and everything and looks like an NFL player. So K played Nephi, and we had the rest of the kids play various characters. Things got particularly exciting when O (age 8 going on 30), was dramatically passed out on the ground as Laban and K cut off his head with a pillow. They are just the best family. And they are all praying about baptism!

The last story is called: "Let's go check out the Azalea Festival and see if there is anyone we can talk to. Wait 20,000 people come to this???" Yeah, this festival which is located in Valdosta, GA right near VSU, is held once a year, and there were SO MANY PEOPLE. Frankly, it was a bit overwhelming. But we did our best, and were able to talk to tons of people and teach many lessons. It was awesome. Plus, we were invited to two parties. Holla. But seriously, we had some amazing miracles. My personal favorite was J. He is one of the volunteers with the Air Force that was helping out with the festival. Sis Waddoups and I were walking down the sidewalk, when we passed him and he actually turned around and ran to us. He pointed at our nametags and asked if we were missionaries. We said yes, and then he told us that he was Mormon and had just moved to Georgia and was trying to find the closest church building! He was so excited to see us and we were so excited to meet us! It was clear that he hadn't been to church/involved in a while and the fact that he stopped and approached us was super awesome. We were able to give him all the info he needed and a new Book of Mormon. It was a wonderful miracle.

I am just trying to soak up every moment of this wonderful time that already feels like it's going by too quickly. But I am one happy camper. Today, don't forget that you have a Father in Heaven that loves you, and a Savior who walks beside you. Also, I just wanted to give a shout out to my Dad and new Step-Mom, Keather! Happy Wedding! Can't believe that I finally get to live out my childhood dream of being Cinderella. Except that my stepmother is kind of the opposite of evil. In fact, she's pretty amazing. Love you both!

Love y'all bunches!
Sister Szilagyi

A Pretty Wonderful Week

Today has been a pretty wonderful week. Nearly perfect weather, fantastic people, and then I got this news today:

"Dear Natasha:
Congratulations! You have been admitted to Brigham Young University..."

AHHHHHHHHHHHH! I had to put my head between my knees because I thought I was going to pass out, I'm so happy. I have been trying to focus 100% on my mission, and leave everything else behind, but it was difficult when I was so worried about where I was going to attend school/live when I returned. But, Heavenly Father has done it again. And I am so amazingly blessed. So the plan is to attend BYU Provo when I return from Georgia. However, that is a long ways away, and now I can go back to focusing all of my mental/emotional power on serving the people of Georgia!

But back to the important stuff!!

Church sign for the week:
"We may not be Dairy Queen, but we do have the best Sundays"

A few stories from a week in the life of Sister Szilagyi, Missionary for The Church if Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

Ms. L: This week, we were sitting in Ward Coordination and our phone started ringing repeatedly. By the third time, we knew something was up and excused ourselves. The Nashville elders were calling us to ask if we could go visit Ms. L (one of their recent converts) who had been rushed to the ER. All was okay, but Sister Waddoups and I ended up staying with her and talking to her about her faith for quite a few hours, until we had to go home. I was so glad that we were able to go so she didn't have to spend that time alone in the hospital. She is just the sweetest lady ever.

Service Saturday: So for those of you that are unaware, I LOVE service. LOVE it. There are few things that make me happier than carrying boxes or raking leaves for someone else. For some reason, the activity becomes so much more enjoyable when they are someone else's boxes or someone else's leaves. Anyway, this Saturday, the Young Women held a "yard sale" in the church parking lot to raise money for their Girl's Camp. I thought I knew what a yard sale looked like. I was so very wrong. Let me tell you, you have never experienced true yard-sale-ing until you have been in South Georgia, on the first Saturday of the month. It was nuts! I have never seen anything like it in my life! The line of cars that was streaming into the church parking lot never ceased. It was wonderful. So we helped with that, and talked to tons of people. And then it was off to help a lady and her family move. She's friends with the bishop, and not a member, and had quite a few belongings. We ended up loading/unloading to huge U-Haul trucks, as well as taking apart/reassembling a trampoline. I had a great time! We had three sets of missionaries there and a many kids from the nearby Baptist church. Nothing like the community coming together!

Heart-break: Probably the hardest thing that I've experienced on my mission thus-far is not being able to save every child I meet. I've told you all about the kids at that one apartment complex we always go to, and every time we go and have to leave, it doesn't get any easier. One little boy in particular, T, has captured our hearts. Every time we visit, no matter the time of day, he will drop everything he's doing and run to us. And he wants us to go and teach his family soooo badly, but his mom won't let us in. Last night, he sped over on his bike and jumped off and hugged us with all his might as usual. And just to give you an idea of the environment he's in, this is the projects, and we've seen the cops visit his house, etc. But he was hugging us and just standing there beaming. And I looked down into the eyes of this perfect, kind, sweet, loving little boy and I said, "T, you know we love you right?" And he nodded. "How much do you think we love you?" He looked up and said,"A lot?" And I said, "That's right, but how much?" He shrugged, "I don't know... probably more than the whole world!" I told him, "That's right! We love you sooooo much!" And then I asked him, "How much do you love us?" And he said, "Probably more than the whole city!" Hahaha. Man, heart-break.

For one final thought: "There are no extra points at the end of life for doing it all by yourself."

This is one that I have been putting my heart and soul into trying to internalize. I am very much a do-it-yourself-er. Folks, life is infinitely better, infinitely happier, and infinitely easier if I rely on Him and go to Him first. Try it out. I promise that if I can do it, you can.

I love you all so much.
Sister Szilagyi