Week 28: New Companion

Jó, jó, jó, jó!!

So jó (good) is pronounced the same way as yo in English so I think that is kind of funny haha but anyways I have a new comp!!! Elder Biesinger like I said last time! He is super solid at the language and super funny and I am stoked to serve with him!

We also had two new elders and a new sister in the Kispest district! Me and Sister McGregor were the only ones who stayed in Kispest so we had to show the missionaries around the grand city of Budapest! We did that on Wednesday! They are already doing awesome! Within a couple of days they are already setting up appointments and doing a fantastic job! 

We met with Szilmari László on Friday and he is doing great! We helped him understand the Holy Ghost and the Plan of Salvation! Super good lesson! We plan on baptizing him this week so we hope he is ready to accept that commitment! We also met with Vészkan János! He is a funny guy! He is a media referral and he kind of just accepts everything pretty well! He does ask good questions about things he doesn't understand but he is starting to understand!

What was sad was that we met with Marton László yesterday and he underwent some big surgery in his stomach! Me and Elder Biesinger were super sad to see the condition he was in! We ended up canceling his baptismal date because we were not sure when he would be healed! We gave him a priesthood blessing and the spirit was there! We hope and pray that he will make a full recovery so that he can be baptized! 

Thank you for all the prayers and thoughts! I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Sok szeretettel,

Elder Josh Ballard

Week 27: Transfer calls

Halosztok!!!

So we received our transfer calls this morning and I am staying in Kispest!!!! I will be companions with Elder Biesinger from my MTC group! I am super stoked to be companions with him! It was a great journey and a great experience with Elder Gajdos throughout this past transfer!!! He will be going to Szombathely! I am so grateful for him and the opportunity we had to be companions!

This week we went to the Budapest zoo behind Hero's Square and it was super cool! They have a ton of animals there!

Lili's confirmation was yesterday and it was incredible! She and her mother were very sick on Sunday morning but they were still determined to come to church for sacrament meeting! Before Sacrament meeting Lili sounded really bad but after the confirmation Lili was so happy and she looked like she was not sick at all! It is incredible that the Lord gives us strength when we do His will!

We do have another baptismal date! We have been meeting with a family the past couple of weeks and the father László wants to be baptized in April! He has been super sick but lately, after we have been meeting with him, he has been smiling and walking! It is incredible how much the Gospel of Jesus Christ transforms the lives of those who live according to it! I am excited to continue to help him!

Thank you for all the prayers on my behalf! This week was incredible!

Love,
Elder Josh Ballard

Week 26: Baptism

Hey hey heeeeey

So we had a baptism yesterday and it was glorious!!! Lili was so awesome and the whole ward was there to support it! It was so great to see everyone there to support and love her and her family! We are teaching her more this week but she was so awesome and so happy after it!

We went on splits this week and I went up to the north in Pest and had some fun there! I was companions with Elder Lawrence who is leaving in June around my year mark! He is super good with the language! They have the stake center in Pest and so we got to play some basketball at their indoor basketball court! We also had a ping pong match with their investigator so that was super awesome! Unfortunately Elder Lawrence lost but he wasn't too down. We did get a let-in on Saturday while I was in Pest and it was this nice bacsi who already received a Book of Mormon and read it twice already! It was incredible how we were able to find him because literally we chose a building in the midst of apartment buildings and he so happened to live in the building we tracted into! It is crazy how the Lord guides us! 

This week was great! I'm sorry the email is a little short but I love you all and thank you so much for all the prayers! 

Love, 

Elder Josh Ballard

Week 25: Heyooo!

Heyooooo!!!!

So Lili passed her baptismal interview (of course she is only 9) and

her baptism will be this Sunday after church!!!! It is a little different

than on Saturday but her mom wanted it to be after church so we are having

it at that time! We are super excited to have a baptism this transfer and I

am super blessed to be a part of it! We are meeting with her two more times

this week to help prepare her for it!

So this p-day we went to tour Parliament and it was so pretty!! There is

real gold in on the ceiling it is so pretty! At the center of the

Parliament dome is St. Steven's crown! We couldn't take pictures of it but

it was super cool! The Hungarian culture is super cool because it dates

back to around 1000 AD it is so cool!! After Parliament, we walked down

across the Danube to see the iron shoes which honors the people shot at

Arrow Cross during World War 2!

Dardai Ilona is also doing well! We plan on giving her a bap date this

week, we will see how it goes but she is progressing slowly but surely! We

taught about faith and she is super accepting of all of it and agrees with

it all she just has a lot of questions we are trying to answer and help her

to answer! We will teach about the Book of Mormon this week!

I apologize for not writing a ton I ran out of time but thank you for all

the prayers on my behalf I feel it everyday! I continue to pray for you all

as well! I hope you all have a safe and wonderful week!

Love,

Elder Josh Ballard