This week in Provo

This week's update will include information from an email Josh sent as well as a letter he wrote to us that we got yesterday.

First, his email that he wanted passed on to everyone:

Hey everyone
So far I've only been able to hear one apostle talk. It was Elder Bednar. But since this week is the week where all the new mission presidents are here for training, I heard that apostles will be walking around the MTC and that Tuesday's devotional is now going to be this Friday and the Prophet is going to speak. That will be so awesome.

Just a pre-sorry. Since I've started learning Hungarian I spell wrong sometimes, like "prophet" is "profet" and stuff like that. It's weird.

Well I've got 5 weeks done today and still have a few days short of 6 left. Ah, I want to be out in Hungary right now. Tomorrow is the TRC day, which is where we go practice teaching, and recently returned missionaries volunteer to help. So we teach them, but tomorrow is the first time where it's all Hungarian. No English at all. csok magyarol. ugh. I now see why this is one of, if not the hardest, language to learn. Well it's coming slowly but surely.
One of my teachers told us what our first day will be like.
We will basically get to Budapest and go to the mission home with the same group you were in the MTC with and then you will go to some hill/mountain that has a statue, I'll get the story straight before I tell you all that story, but we basically go up there and look at all of Budapest. I can't wait to see that.
Well, everyone needs to write me. You look so forward to mail because you have almost nothing else to look forward to.

My address is:
Elder Josh Hosch
MTC mailbox #127
Hun-Bud 0803
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604-1793
Bye love you all except you Tim, lol

In his letter he was excited about the fact that the ancient ones, or in Hungarian they are called Osi's, are going to be heading to Hungary on Monday (June 22nd, which is now past). The Osi's are the missionaries who have been there the longest. Then the next group will leave for Hungary two weeks later and Josh's group, which all entered May 20th, will be the Osi's and they will get kici's, or "small ones". It's sort of like in high school when at first you're the freshmen and then you move up through and eventually become the seniors...he and his group are about to become seniors! Just one more group and then Josh's will be the next to fly to Hungary.

He's having a pretty good time, he said it's fun when you start learning the basics of the language and teaching the Hungarian people (he doesn't feel quite so lost). They still can't play much basketball, they can play a speed game and 21 but there's still a worry over the swine flu so they don't want a lot of contact. Josh said he doesn't know if he's grown but can touch his forehead on the basketball rim (I'm assuming when he jumps). I hope he's careful, I can just picture him knocking himself out or something by smacking his head on the basketball rim...

Josh's email at the MTC is magasman@myldsmail.net. (magas in Hungarian means tall one.) If you can't or won't write any other way, then write him on that...he said he's not getting a lot of mail other than his family and he desperately wants to hear from his friends and neighbors and loved ones. It would be better if you wrote through dearelder.com so it wouldn't take up his computer time to read emails, but if you have to email him directly at his magasman@myldsmail.net address it would be better than not writing him. You're also free to email to me at cyndihosch@cox.net and I'll get it to him.

Let's recap:

regular mail
dear elder email system
magasman@myldsmail.net email address
email me and I'll forward it to him

Lots of ways to write, no excuses!!

Josh is scheduled to be in the MTC about 75 days and he's almost at his halfway point, it will go quickly from here for him. He also said 2 guys that were on his high school volleyball team are now in the MTC, too, that is fun that he knows more people there. He already knew Taylor Buerger from York, PA who has now flown to Kobe, Japan...it's great to know somebody in there!

Christmas comes early in the MTC

I was up in Utah over the first weekend in June because my best friend's daughter was getting baptized. While there, we went shopping for a package of goodies to send to Josh. We went to Sam's Club, Costco, and Walmart...and my friend Rachel got Josh HUGE packages of:

Pringle's snack packs
Lay's chips, variety of flavors
gum
Twizzler's
individually wrapped, iced sugar cookies
sleeves of little powdered doughnuts
individually wrapped muffins
M & M's (the HUGE bag)
Oreo cookies (I think...there's so much it's hard to remember!)
and
beef jerky

And I'm talking about HUGE packages of each item...not just a sample!

Josh emailed on Wednesday and said that the "small" package from Aunt Rachel arrived...and it was like Christmas! He got a call from the mail room and was asked to come down and get it because it was too big for the lady in the mail room to deal with!! I'm sure he was wondering what in the world could be there...and when he got it and opened it he just kept pulling one thing out after another. We all wish we could have watched him the whole time to see his reactions. Maybe he took pictures, if so we'll post them when we get them. Communication seems slow even though he can email weekly and write, etc.

If you've been on a mission you might remember the MTC experience...if you went foreign you probably remember that after a few weeks you were ready to GO. Josh has a while left but is already anxious to get going! Ken said they teach you about your country and language and get you so excited to go that it's all you want to do...and yet there's so much to learn and it takes time. He's having some incredible experiences, though, which he keeps saying over and over again. He knows he's in the right place for him at this time.

Keep writing him a lot, he needs the moral support from everyone. Feel free to send him pictures!!! I'm not sure he needs many treats, though...HAHA!

By the way, May 20-August 3rd is a little over 10 weeks. Josh is nearing his 5th week...so he's almost halfway through his MTC experience.

Letter from Josh

We received a letter from Josh about his day on Tuesday, June 9...

"Wow is all I can say. Mom, I don't know how great your birthday was but your birthday was awesome for me.
It started off as any other Tuesday with gym at 6:30 am and class all day with the exception of eating, but then we had our Tuesday night devotional.
Dad I can't thank you enough for encouraging me to sing in the MTC choir. Like normal we practiced before dinner, then went to eat. After eating we returned to the building/gym where they were holding the devotional. People arrive early for good seats, but being in the choir you get in every time, so we can still show up only 15 minutes early and get great seats. Well since people show up like 30-45 minutes early, we sang until 7. About 5 min before we started, a man got up to the stand and said "we usually don't stand to sing the songs of Zion (then he raised his brow) except for when a general authority walks in." Then almost 10 seconds after we started singing, everyone stood up and I looked down and Elder David A. Bednar walked and started to sing with us. Never before have I felt so amazing about seeing someone with authority like that. You know I've met famous people. When I met Donovan McNabb, even for the 2nd time, didn't compare--just the power I felt as Elder Bednar walked in was incredible. Just the respect that I and all the other missionaries have for who he is and what he represents made me really think, how can this not be absolutely true?? Then, near the end of his talk he spoke about how the spirit he feels is the same that we do. So as we talked about it afterward, I thought, even if we dont' talk to somebody, they still might see us on the street and just like I looked at Elder Bednar and thought it was amazing who he is and what he represents, that the person that looks at me as I walk by might feel the same and it might be memorable because of who I am and who I represent. I know that was a long sentence.
Well, anyway, he is a great and funny guy. He has incredible stories."


He goes on to write some personal things to me and Ken and continues to ask for letters from his friends and he especially wants pictures!!