The Very Hungary Missionary

Michaela Janae Whitaker

Szia from Pápa

Well, I've almost completed my first full week in Pápa. It's safe to say that it is A LOT different than Sopron. Quite honestly, it's been hard. It's amazing how close you get to a city and the people in it, in just nine weeks! I didn't think leaving Sopron would be a hard thing to do, but when I came to Pápa and had no clue where we live or how to get there, it kind of hits you that, "Wow, I'm in a new city, it won't be the same." Each week during weekly planning we set personal goals to work towards during the coming week.One of my goals that I made, before the transfer was to "Serve with happiness and without self pity." I knew that the chance of me going to a different city was high, so I made that goal with the intention to not think about what happened in Sopron, but to focus on my new area. I would be lying if I said that I completed that goal. This week has been full of "poor me, poor me," "I don't want to be in a different city. Pápa is nothing like Sopron and I don't know anyone," and "I want to go back to Sopron." It's been rough, but I am reminded of what President Hinkley's dad said to him, when President Hinkley wrote him saying that he was discouraged and he didn't exactly know why he was on a mission. His dad gave him a short, but very true statement and said "Gordon, forget yourself and go to work." These past couple of days I have thought of that statement often, and I know that that is exactly what I need to do. I need to forget myself and go to work. Because it's not about me, but it's about the people that I serve and the people that I serve around. I hope that I can apply President Hinkley's dad's words into my missionary work, and to not think about myself and how comfortable or uncomfortable I am, but to always serve others because through

One of my teachers in the MTC always told us, before we left to be "Happy in the moment." That has gotten me through a lot of harder times too. It's so true though. We dictate our own happiness. If we're unhappy, it's not anybody else's fault but our own. We can choose to be happy and see the postives from our trials or we can dwell in self-pity, like I did this past week. Let me tell you from first-hand experience, the first option is SO MUCH better! Be happy no matter what life throws at you. It makes this journey great and when you're happy it makes people around you happy and then everything is great

Missionary work is great, God is good.

I love you all,

Whitaker Nővér