Sister Luncheon

We had a Sister Luncheon with us Senior Sister Missionaries and two groups of Young Sister Missionaries.  We took Sisters Skiba and Mackay and Sisters Galleon and Kimball to the Strudle House for lunch.    

Raspberry Soup was the appetizer!

                                         

                                                             Making Apple Strudle

We had fun watching Apple Strudle being made.  First he threw it in the air, then held it up so it became very long. 

Next, he spread the dough on the table and added the apple filling.  Once the filling was on it, he rolled it up and cut it into sections to bake.

After lunch, Sister Galleon, Sister Kimball and I went to Saint Stephens Basilica. It is a huge church - the third largest in Hungary - and very pretty on the inside and out. It is named after the First King of Hungary who did a lot for Christianity in Hungary.  The chapel has a statue at the front that we thought at first was a statue of Jesus, but it was a statue of Saint Istvan. So basically, the whole church is like a monument honoring the King. 

Saint Stephens Basilica

An alter with a beautiful tablecloth inside the church.

   A ceiling section with beautiful paintings. 

More beautiful paintings and statues on the walls.

At the front of the chapel was a statue of Saint Stephen

After walking through the church, we walked up 364 steps to the tower!  After about 200 steps, we came to a flat section and thought we were at the top, but then we turned a corner and there were many more stairs.  Those just seemed to go on forever, but we finally made it.

                                                        Sister Kimball and Sister Galleon

After reaching the top, we walked all around the entire church to see

an amazing view of the entire city of Budapest.

Sister Galleon and Sister Kimball with a view of Parliament to the right of the tower.

One of the clock towers and Sister Hanson with another view of the City of Budapest.

We could see Szent István tér, the one we walked up to get to the church; with Parliament,

Gellert Hill, and the rest of the city in the background.  The view was worth the climb!

Although Saint Stephens was a beautiful building, I was disappointed.  I can’t imagine going to church each Sunday and being reminded of a King instead of the Savior.  It made me think about an account in Mosiah 29 where the people honored King Mosiah so much that as he became old, they wanted him to appoint one of his sons to be a King over them.  When none of King Mosiah’s sons would accept the honor, King Mosiah told them that he would continue to be their king for the remainder of his days.  But, he said, “Let us appoint judges, to judge this people according to our law; . . .for we will appoint wise men to be judges, that will judge this people according to the commandments of God.”  He did this because “it is better that a man should be judged of God than of man, for the judgments of God are always just, but the judgments of man are not always just.”  King Mosiah loved and served his people his whole life and then wanted to make sure they would be safe from unrighteous kings after his death.  He didn’t want them to honor him - he wanted them to honor the Savior.   I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ that teaches us what is most important in this life.  Even though they are amazing and fun to see, it isn't the beautiful buildings.  It's about remembering the Savior and trying our best to follow His example of quietly going about loving and serving others.