A Position to Serve and Comfort

Hello wonderful world!

Well this week was a wonderful one! (All except when I got a little sick, but I'm fine now!)

One of the biggest happy moments/miracles of the week was Book of Mormon class on Wednesday night. So this was our first one, and we had invited everyone we could think of. And T and K both came! T participated the entire time and really enjoyed herself. Everyone there fell in love with her. And remember K? Well she is actually a member of the RLDS church (now known as the Community of Christ). She absolutely loved it and sat there with tears streaming down her face. At the end of the class, she looked at us and said: "It feels the same. What IS the difference?" We told her that we didn't know. And we spent another hour as she read off doctrinal points of the RLDS church and we talked about our beliefs. We all learned so much. Then, on Friday, we received a text from her saying that she didn't want to be at home and that she needed someone to talk to. (She has been going through marital problems.) We told her that we would meet her at the church and we ended up having a wonderful lesson about trials and faith. We gave her the "grand tour" of the church building, and she'll be back for Book of Mormon class this week. As we were walking around, she told us that she had been so alone, and that the day we knocked on her door was "a miracle" and that we were "her angels." I love her so much. And I am grateful to be in a position to serve and comfort at a moment's notice. What a wonderful blessing on missionary service.

The timing of K texting us was quite interesting. Sister Westbrook had just called us and had informed me that my registration date for school was in three days. Um. What. Total panic mode ensued for this sister missionary who thought that she could wait until home to think about real life and now had three days to decide what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. Stressful. Because I got my equivalent of an associates' degree before I left, I have to decide my major, pretty much, now. And so I felt slightly overwhelmed at the choice I had to make. Well, after meeting with K, and testifying that the Lord has a plan for each of us, and that He is in charge, I felt a renewed sense of strength and peace. I have decided on a path of study (which is subject to change) and I am finishing registering for classes as I type. Never a dull moment! But enough of that...

Another great moment was being able to attend the General Women's Broadcast and bring L and D along with us! It was a great meeting and they loved it. Something that really stuck out to me was: The Lord's plan should always be OUR plan. There is something so calming about that. And when life gets over-confusing, it is helpful to remember. He has a plan for each of us, and it is up to us to execute it to the best of our ability. We are happier when we are obedient and are close to Him. I love you all! Have a joyful week!

Sister Szilagyi

P.S. H wants to get baptized this weekend, so please pray for her and that everything will go well!!! =)

Pollen and Pioneer Outfits

"So. Much. Pollen."

"Yes. Our clothes, styled and paired the right way, can easily turn into 

pioneer outfits. Or sister-wife outfits... Awkward."

"Home sweet home! Smiling faces, beautiful places!"

Gators and Golf Courses

"​​GATORS! On the golf course!"

"​Reunited with my beloved Sister de St. Jeor! Happy St. Patrick's Day!"

One Thousand Mosquito Bites

Hello hello hello from this Beaufort, South Carolina sister missionary!

What shall I talk about this week? Well to begin, our mission president established a new way for us to set goals and account for them in our mission, and we have REALLY seen the miracles come from that this week! We were able to teach over 30 lessons this week! Back on track! :)
It's so wonderful to be able to follow someone that I know is doing the will of the Lord.

Some exciting events from the week:

-We went gator hunting on P-day and found three of them on the Parris Island golf course! I've been in the south this long, and still had never seen a gator, let alone three of them! It was quite the treat. Elder Saurey almost got munched because he got too close, but he survived. Elders...

-We had a wonderful zone conference in Savannah. Pollen season is upon yet again and I included pictures of our car. We had washed our car that morning before the meeting, and then 5 hours later.....? P.S. Sand fleas? Biting gnats? Whoo hoo. So fun. Poor Sister Woodard had bites all over her head and ears.

-On Tuesday, we celebrated the 173rd "birthday" of the Relief Society! (Relief Society is the women's organization of the church, and the largest in the world!) Our adorable Relief Society President planned the cutest activity, and asked us to be a part of the program. They had a pioneer dinner, a beehive piñata, and pioneer crafts. It was a great time!

-On Wednesday-Thursday, we went on exchanges with the Hilton Head Island sisters, and I was with Sister Walker again! Sister Walker and I keep following each other around to all of the same areas :) Oh yeah, I may have forgot to mention that Sister Woodard and I are Sister Training Leaders again, so much fun! The sisters in our zone are all rockstars! Anyway... we had some crazy miracles occur. Like visiting L in the hospital, and teaching the Word of Wisdom. L: "THIS is definitely wisdom! I don't know if I'm going to be perfect, but I'm going to TRY!" Have you ever taught a lesson while wearing a hospital gown and gloves? It's pretty great. I highly recommend it.

-And teaching a great lesson with A. The first thing he asked when we go to his house: "So, tell me about this Book of Mormon that I keep hearing about..." "Well A, that is exactly what we wanted to teach you about. Can we start at the beginning?" Even though he was really tired from work, the spirit was really strong and we set a baptismal date for April 18th!

-That same day, while trying to contact some referrals, we found the most AMAZING lady, named K. She is a member of the FLDS church (which has many of the same beliefs we do, but many key differences as well.) Neither Sister Walker or I had ever met an FLDS member before, and we were really excited to talk to her. At first, she wasn't having it, but by the end of the conversation, we were hugging and she's coming to the Book of Mormon class that we're having at the church. There isn't an FLDS church near where we live, so she hasn't been able to attend church, so she's really excited for the class

-We also met the most wonderful lady, P, who is suffering from early leukemia, and she just found out that the chemo that she has been enduring for the last 2 years has stopped working. But she is SO positive, and during her latest stay in the hospital, started a "blessings journal" where she began writing how God has blessed her throughout her life. Isn't she an angel?? How we met her was divine intervention. We had gotten out of the car to try knocking on her house, and her two dogs had ran out and started barking like crazy. Well, we are used to that, but as we got closer and closer, I started getting a little worried that they may attack. We walked on, and they backed off. At the door, her son said she wasn't home, and didn't know when she'd be back. Just then, P comes driving up the driveway. This whole "will this dog eat me or not?" episode caused us to pause long enough for her to come home. A great reminder to me that sometime events that seem negative at the beginning, are really the means of Heavenly Father executing His divine plan. And P, who doesn't attend church, is now praying about baptism. :)

-Another miracle this week occurred on Thursday. We had met T about a week and a half ago and she had not been happy to see us at her door. Well we went back and she let us in, and we were able to teach her one of the most spiritual Restoration lessons that I have ever been a part of. She had been taught her whole life that she wasn't supposed to "question God" or ask Him things, and that God punished you when you did. When we told her that He wants us to do that, and that is how we learn, I watched the tension and worry leave her body. We asked her, "If your son came to you and asked you a question about something that he sincerely wanted to know, would you be mad at him?" She told us, of course not. As she made the connection in her head that just as she is a parent, God is our loving Heavenly Father, tears filled her eyes. She kept telling us how happy and light she felt and pleaded with us to come back. I already love her SO MUCH!

-There are so many more things that I wish I had time to write, but the last person I will talk about is E. We were visiting potentials, and had a name and an address, and when we arrived, we soon realized that we had neither parts of our information matched where we were. We were talking with the man who lived there, when his friend (who had quickly started pulling out of the driveway when we had approached), yelled out of the car: "Y'all Jehovah's Witnesses?" This is a question we get quite often, by the way. We told him no, and explained who we were. What ended up happening, is that his friend went into his house, and E talked to us from his car for about an hour. And we got one thousand mosquito bites. He is studying to be a deacon in his church. We have an appointment with him this week. He's great.

I know that this is the true gospel of Jesus Christ. I am so grateful to have answers to people's questions and concerns. I know that this knowledge only comes from God, and I am blessed to be able to share that every single day. I love you all! Talk to ya next week!

Sister Szilagyi

In Love with the Houses, In Love with the South

"Everywhere we drive, I fall in love with the houses. 

And I'm always thinking, 'Mom would love these!'"

"I. Love. The. South."

Recruit Graduation

"Pictures from recruit graduation!"

"​Blurry, but imagine watching this while a very professional-sounding man's voice 

plays over a loud speaker, giving you a play by play of every action. And the drill 

instructors are just yelling their heads off at these guys."

Pass-Along Cards and Piers

"Can we talk to you about Jesus?"

"My companion is very small"

"​Along the waterfront in downtown Beaufort. Please notice the adorable, 

elderly couple strolling along, enjoying their retirement."

Proud to Wear His Name

Hello beautiful people!

Remember how I said I live in a gorgeous place? Well, it's true. Holy moly. I'm going to try to send as many pictures to try to give you an idea, but y'all are just going to have to come here one day for yourselves! Except for a few cold, rainy days, the weather has been sunny and between 75 and 83 degrees... um yeah, PERFECTION. When the world looks like this, it doesn't matter how many appointments fall through, or doors get lovingly closed in your face!

I wanted to tell you about a few exciting events and awesome people!

-The W/J family!
Okay, think back to over a year ago, when I was in Valdosta, this missionary met an amazing family: E, C, all of the crazy kids? You may remember the picture of the cutest little girl, L, with my coat on? Well, I get a text message from the AP's this week, telling me that E, K, and K would be getting baptized on Saturday!!!! AHHHH! The best part about all this is that I had told Elder Poti (who I had just served with in Macon, and had been transferred to Valdosta) before he left that he needed to go to the W's and help them get baptized. And then... MIRACLES! I was able to talk with the whole family over the phone and it was the most wonderful tender mercy. I am so happy for their family!

-L, D, and A
These three are all from Jersey, accents to match. L takes care of D and they are the sweetest ladies on planet earth. L is determined to make a change and get baptized. In her words: "I've been wanting to get with the Latter-day Saints for YEARS!" And A, L's brother, had just arrived when I met him for the first time. Raised Catholic, he was so open and excited to meet us. He told us: "What did I say when I got here? That I needed to find a church!" Some other quotes from A: "Well of course it's true! Look at their name tags - Jesus Christ! I bet you're proud to wear His name on your chest!" "No maybe's, no maybe's! Look at the light in their eyes!" Love that man. However, Satan knows how awesome they are and A had to go to rehab in Florida for 30 days , but he'll be back and baptized before you know it. And L was admitted to the hospital because she has an infection, and has to stay there 7 days :(

-D
We were walking out of an apartment office and I noticed a man in a wheelchair behind me. I started talking to him and he was real' friendly and said, "Oh, you're from the good church!" Um, what? No one says that. Found out that he was baptized when he was 8 and hasn't been to church since (and he's in his 50's). So it's basically like teaching an investigator. He got in a car accident when he was about 20, and became paralyzed from the waist down, but has the BEST attitude. He plays ice sled hockey (yeah, I didn't know that was a thing either), kayaks, has dune buggies, loves cars, and travels all over with his wife. He's awesome. His wife is not a member, and we gave D a copy of the Book of Mormon and invited him to come to church with his wife. They have just moved here from Michigan, and had been looking for a church, so it was perfect timing!

-Recruit graduation
We had some marine recruits that we'd been working with that graduated from boot camp this week, so we went to support them! It was the only day that was raining and cold (of course, those poor recruits), but it was a very cool experience! There is so much history and tradition on Parris Island. They even opened the ceremony with a prayer! Pretty awesome. And those happy faces after their last command was yelled at them? Priceless.

Some other random thoughts from this week:
-2 year old top-ramen doesn't taste all that bad.
-It ain't a real Saturday night until you're the only white girls standing in the line at Dollar General listening to "down, down, do your thang...." on the lady's phone behind you.
-Beaufort is the 2nd oldest town in South Carolina, and Forrest Gump was filmed here!

I've fallen in love with the South, y'all...

Sister Szilagyi

Spanish Moss and South Carolina Life

"Hello, beautiful Spanish moss, it's been a while."

"Parris Island!"

"The South: where there is a GIGANTIC church on every corner"

"Yeah, I'm surprised that this house hasn't been burnt down
by crazy Southerners as well..."

"My new companion! Sister Woodard!"

"Happy to be living the South Carolina life!"

Ms. M and Matching

"The P's!"

"B! He loves us, I promise"

"Ms. M, Ms. M.... I love this lady."

"C (she's awesome)! And Sister Bell and I always matched haha..."

"​The beautiful Sister W :)"

"Don't mess with us. We're real scary."

Huts and Hats

"Last P-day together at the Indian mounds in Macon!"

"Our crazy district... Miss these kids already"

"The one in the hat? Yeah, that was our AP..."

Water and Sunshine

Hello Hello Hello!

Greetings from the absolutely BEAUtiful Beaufort, South Carolina!!! Get it...?

Oh man oh man, I don't even know how to describe how I feel right now. I left the dirty, ever-so-slightly dangerous streets of middle Georgia (which I loved), and I now live in the most gorgeous, coastal port town in South Carolina! It reminds me so much of Charleston. And I am loving every second of it! My new companion is Sister Woodard, who I'm sure I've talked about in the past. We have served together in the same areas before and we are so happy to be together!

So many miracles have happened since I've gotten here!

There is water and sunshine (oh how I missed the water!), and we cover Parris Island (which is a Marine Recruit Boot Camp). Every Sunday we get to go on base with the recruits and teach anybody who wants to learn more, and it is basically my favorite thing on planet earth. Seriously. They are struggling physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually... and are so ready to hear the gospel. As they say, if you aren't religious before boot camp, you will be. We had over 20 non-members there on Sunday! SO AWESOME. And man, it's like a movie. Those drill sergeants just yell their heads off at those poor recruits, and becoming a Marine is stinkin' hard.

We are teaching so many wonderful people that I'll just have to tell you about next week, but stay tuned for amazing things! Love you all so much!

Sister Szilagyi

This is where I live. How lucky am I?

Transfers: Wait to Write!

Sister Szilagyi is being transferred this week. Please wait until we know her current address before mailing things to her! Thank you!

This Girl in the South

Hello beautiful people!

Some exciting updates from this girl in the south! Well... I have only just arrived in Macon, but I am being transferred again! I know I know, y'all are thinking: "What?? But she just got there! And she stays in all her areas for 7 months at least!" haha... but it is true. And Sister Bell is leaving with me. Macon is being closed to sisters for the time being. There are fewer sisters coming into our mission, so our mission president had to close 4 sisters' areas :( There will still be two sets of boy missionaries (elders) in Macon, but no sisters. And tomorrow I will find out where my new home will be!

All of this came as quite a shock to me. I had been feeling a little "off", I guess. And I wasn't sure why. I had been struggling in Macon for a while. But things were looking up! I had just learned how to get around Macon and not get super lost. I was just starting to form strong relationships with the members here and learn their names. We had finally found people that wanted to learn more about our message. People that were praying, and reading, and questioning. And then... I find out that I'm being transferred.

So for a minute, it didn't make sense. Why would Heavenly Father do this? What was the reason that I came to Macon? What had I accomplished? What is going to happen to all of the people that I have grown to love?

Sometimes, we have questions for God. And that's okay. Matthew 7:7-8 says:
7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

What does that tell me? It is okay to ask God questions. In fact, He encourages it. And not only that, but He WILL answer. You will find. A way will be opened. Understanding will come.

Sometimes, God puts us in a place that hurts. It feels like fire. It feels like pain. And we wonder why a loving father would do that to a child. We wonder why Heavenly Father would do that to us. Most of the important questions that I have had in life came to me when I was in a place of necessity. We may go a long time in life, years perhaps, without asking ourselves deeply important questions. Why? Because at that time, the answer isn't important.

It doesn't matter to me where the closest gas station is until I am running out of gas. Sometimes God lets us run out of gas so that we will search for the gas station. Sometimes, the only way for us to learn and to grow is by doing horribly hard things. But that is okay. Because God knows why we need necessity. He knows that is where desire is born.

It is for this reason, among many others, that I am a missionary. Every single one of us will encounter heartache, despair, trial.... no one is immune. And when that time comes, we search for answers. And it is in the gospel of Jesus Christ where we find those answers. I am only here today because I know that He is in control. All of this makes sense if He has a plan. And I testify that He does. I know that more strongly and deeply than ever before.

I am grateful for hard things. I am grateful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I am grateful that my Heavenly Father has a plan for ME. And I know that He has a plan for YOU.

I love you all!
Sister Szilagyi