Van egy ország, ahol álmomban jártam: Magyarország

Today, August 20th, is the biggest national holiday in Hungary. Today they celebrate the life of their first and most revered king. King Stephen did many things for the benefit of Hungary. His most notable act was probably was officially bringing Christianity to Hungary. He also made it easier for missionaries to travel through Hungary. He was eventually made a saint by the Catholic Church. They revered Stephen so much that a later king dug up his body and cut off his right hand and put it on display at the basilica in Budapest to remind the people of the goodness of Szent István.


There will be fireworks today along with a really cool airplane show on the Danube and plenty of drinking in Hungary today. This country that has been through so much throughout history needs something to celebrate. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity that I had to serve in that country among the amazing Hungarian people. Milliók áldása szálljon rád!

Obama Lies, Grandma Dies

So I thought with all of the protests going on at town hall meetings around the country I thought I would comment on President Obama’s slipping poll numbers and health care reform. First of all I am against socialized health care. "Obamcare" might not be that exactly, but it would create a slippery slope that would lead to socialized medicine. I had a chance to live in a country with socialized medicine for about two years. It sucks! Their hospitals were gross. Six people in a room with very poor care. I’ll never forget Kovács Maria and her story. She had a grandson with a myriad of health problems and he needed two operations immediately after he was born. In order to get the operation performed the parents had to pay money under the table in order to get a doctor to do it. So it really wasn’t free. People seek incentives. I learned that in Econ 110. Socialized medicine doesn’t work. Plus one proposed plan gives the government direct access to our bank accounts if people don’t pay certain fees. That should not be allowed.


In other news, Obama’s support is slipping. More people now oppose his health plan and his approval ratings overall are slipping. Shoot even the Russians won’t shake his hand.



Hillary Clinton has even come unhinged. When she was asked a question concerning what her husband thought on an issue she got very angry at the reporter. Turns out the translator just messed up the translation.



Finally, for most of the last four years of the Bush administration people protesting the war used the phrase (Bush Lied, Kids Died). Funny how those people protesting the war were normal Americans rightly exercising their rights. When the right protests however it is wrong and evil concoctions of the far right. What a bunch of hypocrites! There is a new slogan for the health care reform opponents: Obama lies, Grandma dies.



Regardless of this report I do think that Obamacare will result in poorer healthcare for senior citizens. Obama doesn’t even know what’s in the plans. This was all topped by the white house asking people to turn in people who express opposition to his plan. Hopefully I’m still alive tomorrow morning.

This Is Why I'm Fat

So my friend Owen has a knack at finding really random websites that are really interesting. He frequently visits Today’s Big Thing which has some pretty impressive videos. He also discovered This Is Why You’re Fat. It normally features really disgusting things like The Spamsicle and Dorm Food Casserole. One day however they featured The Pursuit Of Awesomeness Ice Cream Sandwich.



We talked on Facebook about it and even texted about how good it actually looked. So today I decided to pursue awesomeness. I didn’t have blueberries or raspberries so I mixed cherries in with my ice cream. I must admit that the final product was pretty awesome. It would have been easier to eat if the brownies were more cookie like, but it was still really delicious. Give it a try!

Is It Over Already

Monday was a really exciting day. I woke up late as usual. We just kind of hung around in the morning. I went out to my car to straighten up the trunk and accidentally locked the keys in the trunk. Thank goodness for AAA. Two hours later the guy arrived and broke into my car so I could open my trunk and get the keys. I can be such a scatter brain sometimes.



In the afternoon we made our way to Palmyra. Savannah and I did some sight seeing. We went to the sacred grove and the Smith family home. The grove was especially pretty. The weather was perfect. We also discovered a stone fence, which both of us had never seen before. That was pretty cool. After that we went to see Alvin’s gravestone. That made me wonder why they always put cemeteries on hills.



Then we went and picked up a really good pizza for dinner. It was a buffalo chicken and blue cheese pizza. We then went back to the hill and ate our pizza. I pretty much inhaled it because it was really good.



Then they had the cast talent show. That was a lot of fun. They had a lot of good and funny acts. Synchronized Swimming. Primary children doing the twist and shout. A lot of singing acts. I thought one of the best was a tribute to John Williams.



After the talent show and munch and mingle we went back to the Steele estate. Savannah and I snuck into her dad’s office to try and fax something. We weren’t exactly sure if it worked. Hopefully it did. Then I e-mailed some pictures to myself and went to bed. It was a really fun trip. I’m glad I had the chance to see the pageant which was really amazing and spend some time with great friends.

Oh Canada--Terre de nos aïeux, Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!

Sunday found ourselves at the Hill again. We had sacrament meeting with the whole entire cast and work crew. We got there early to get a good seat. Hunter made these in the car ride. They were actually a lot of fun.



After church we walked around for a little bit. I learned this really cool dice game and ended up winning which was really cool. Then we went to the seating area and talked with Mathieu and his wife and baby Ella. It was fun to see them and the baby. After that I got the backstage tour. I got to see the costume shop where a lot of the cast members get dressed. It was cool to see how well done they were. I also got to go behind/under the stage. I got to see where Sister Steele meets up with Alma every night. It was neat to see all of that. Then I talked to Owen on the phone. It was fun to talk to him. Then we had Thanksgiving dinner, which was really good. Then we had the fireside which was pretty interesting. Despite the rumors that David Archuleta was speaking, he wasn’t the main speaker.

Savannah had been talking about how weird last year’s devotional was really weird and not that good. It was about the Constitution and stuff like that. Well, we were destined for a repeat after we found out the opening hymn was The National Anthem and it was the same speaker as last year. We also had the treat of singing “Oh Canada” as well. That was exciting because Savannah’s dad decided that instead of singing the second verse in English, he decided to sing the first verse in French. He belted it out really loud. It was hysterical. The fireside ended up being about justice and freedom. It was pretty boring actually.

After munch and mingle, we headed back to Bloomfield. At around eleven o’clock we tried to have family prayer. It started with Brother Steele trying to gather all of the kids to the living room. It wasn’t so successful. John then decided to try and slit people’s throats with a knife. After finding out he wasn’t just trying to practice for the pageant, we discovered the John had his tote and chip card which made it okay. Then we had a super huge laugh about the difference in pronunciation between “done” and “dones.” That one lasted for a while. After a good spiritual thought we checked up on someone’s Facebook status to make sure that they were okay. Then after talking about a love of “hoeing” we actually said the prayer. That whole experience really made me want to have siblings. It was cool to see the closeness of that family.

After family prayer we played Mad Gab for a little while and talked and then we went to bed. It was a fun day. Only one more day to write about!

Saturday with the Steeles

So Saturday was another fun day hanging out in western New York. We all kind of slept in which felt really good. I had cereal for breakfast. It was a new kind that I had never heard of. It was Rice Krispies, but they were extra big. They were pretty good. Check them out. Then it started to pour down rain. Savannah and I went on a trip to Wegmans. 20 packages of blueberries later we emerged victorious. After we dropped of the goods, we went to a graduation party for one of Savannah’s friend. There I got to experience a staple of western New York: salt potatoes. It’s basically potatoes boiled in salt water and then when they are done they cover them in more salt and butter. They were amazingly delicious.



Then I dropped off Savannah at “the Hill” and I went exploring. Thanks to Danielle (my dad’s GPS thing) I ended up at the Erie Canal. I sat on a bench and wrote some post cards for a couple of hours. The weather was amazing. It really was a beautiful site and great day to be out there.

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Then I went back to “the Hill” to wait for the Pageant to start. Rosemary came around and asked for a referral. I’m sad to report that I didn’t giver her one. Sorry, but I am a really bad member missionary. It’s something I’m working on. Then Pageant started. It was pretty normal until Samuel the Lamanite came on stage and started prophesying about thunder and earthquakes. Well, they came along with rain. By the time I got back to my car I was soaked. After that they canceled the rest of the show. We went to Munch and Mingle and then went home and straight to bed, which felt really good.

“Whatever you shoot be sure it’s Remington”

I spent this past weekend in Western New York visiting one of my best friends and attending the Hill Cumorah Pageant. This week my blog will focus on my trip and adventures with the Steele family. I left on Friday at around 12:30 and hit traffic in Harrisburg and Northern PA. The traffic did give me an opportunity to admire the capitol.



It was a really nice drive. Pennsylvania really is a beautiful state. I was constantly amazed by the beauty of the scenery. Because of traffic the trip took seven hours instead of five. Anyway I got to “the Hill” as the locals call it and got something to eat at the concession stand. Nothing like an Italian Sausage with peppers and onions. Then I met up with Savannah and her friend who were already in costume.



It was pretty impressive. She also got me the best seat in the house: front and center. I was grateful for that because it was pretty crowded. The show was really impressive. I thought that it was going to be not so great, but like most things the Church does it was done really well. I really liked the tree of life scene. It was cool with the water mists and everything.



Then after the show I borrowed Hunter’s cast tags and snuck backstage and attended their nightly devotional. I got to meet some of Savannah’s siblings and her dad, who gave me a big hug. I felt really welcome to say the least. Then we headed over to Zion’s Camp and attended munch and mingle. It was kind of awkward when someone came and asked me my name since I technically wasn’t supposed to be there. The Steele’s straightened it out though and I didn’t get kicked out. After munching on some good snacks, we headed to Bloomfield where the Steele family lives. Remington rode home with Savannah and me. I think that he has the coolest name in the world. “Remington Steele.” We basically just went home and went to bed. I got to sleep on a really comfortable couch. I was pleasantly surprised.



I also learned a lesson that night from the example of a sixteen year old. I went to brush my teeth and I saw Remington reading his scriptures. That really had an impression on me. Even though it was super late he was still taking time for the important things in life. That made me realize that I needed to work on my daily scripture study and prayer. I need to put forth the effort to make it a part of my daily routine. Thanks a lot Rem.