Serving in Debrecen!

Hey! So, I only have a little time and it's taking forever to type because the keyboard layout is different here. We have an appointment in 30 min so Il'l just let you know that I'm doing good. My first area is Debrecan (I'm not sure if i spelled it right). The work here is really slow. There used to be 100 or so members but then a lot of bad stuff happened with the branch so now only 30 or so are still active. But there are a lot of great people here!

My companion is Elder Miller. He only has like 5 weeks left, so he runs the show. Our apartment is a mess and I have spent most of my free time trying to clean it. We have done a lot of streeting and other things to find people to teach. I like my companion. We get along well.

Packages get shipped to the mission home so you will need to try and get a hold of them for the address. If you send packages, you need to be clever packing things. From what I understand mail is stolen a lot.

Well, I got to go, love you!
Elder Oakes, Hungary Budapest Mission

Arriving in Budapest

PDay Sightseeing in Debrecen

Leaving the MTC

Leaving for Hungary Budapest on Monday!

HEY MOM!

Hey every one! How is everyone doing? I am excited to go to Hungary, not feeling nervous. We will be meeting in the travel office at the MTC at 11:30 am.  I think you are right that I should be able to call around 2:00 pm or so from the airport.

I got that belt like 3 days after I emailed you about it from Missionary Mall. It was super fast! I got your email about the shirt and will hopefully get it soon too so you don't have to send it to Hungary!

I think the bookstore in the MTC has calling cards. I'll look into that today so I can call you from SLC and from Paris. 

I loved the pics you sent of the stuff you did for Naomi's room, it looks awesome! I am so jealous I couldn't be there! I keep seeing things and thinking oh I can fix that... oh, no I cant I don't have my tools...I miss them!

Elder Oakes, Hungary Budapest Mission 

Have you started packing yet? You said you were going to send a box home. Did you already send it?

Yes and no. How is everyone?

We are good! Dad had an important meeting yesterday for work. Becca and Naomi are still grounded but getting along much better while they are grounded! :)  Naomi is on a countdown to her bday. The day you arrive in Hungary will be her bday! she wants you to call her on her bday. I told her you can't just call whenever you want :( Also, on a cute note, Naomi took a bunch of your artwork and Lizzy's to school so she could show all her friends how talented you guys are :)

Drew wanted me to make sure you got his email. He texted me yesterday. I think he forgot you had pday on Thursday now. 

That's awesome! Tell Dad he should ask for double what he makes! That way he could drive a mustang to work with his gotti (goatee) And, yes I got Drew's email.

He is shaving that thing off after trek! I can't kiss him with that stupid thing! It scratches the heck out of me!

Micsoda!!! Nem akarom tudni azt!!! 

What did you say?

Try and figure it out, it's more fun for me that way!

You do not want to know about it?? I cheated and used google translator. Here's one for you: De a szülei szeretik egymást egy jó dolog tudni! 

Something about loving each other and being a good thing to know.

Yep! It's a good thing to know your parents love each other. By the way, when you get to Hungary could you take a pic on a 3x5 with what your p day is and send it when you hit a WiFi spot? I would love that so I could know when I might hear from you.

We got your video last week of you solving the Rubik's cube. There were actually like 8 videos. There was also one of you combing your companions hair with your foot :) I didn't even realize you were doing that until dad said "Did you see the video of Bryce patting his companion with his foot and poking his ear with his toe?" He said that was totally something he would do! We loved seeing the interaction of you and your companions and the one of you practicing your Hungarian. We were trying to figure out what you were saying. Dad thinks he has it all figured out, he probably does...

Yeah, I have to break the videos into 30 seconds so I can send them. And sounds good, I got to go, love you!

I love you Buddy! Talk at you Monday :)

Calling Home for Mother's Day!!

Hey Everyone!

So the MTC presidency made an executive decision based on my persuasion and council. I have helped them to decide that its okay for missionaries in the MTC to call home on Mother's Day! So, on Sunday I will be calling you at 3:45 and I can talk with you for a half hour! Super awesome! So yeah!

Tell Grandma I said Happy Birthday! How is everyone doing? What is going on back at home? Tell Lizzy that the Rubik's Cube made my day! I can solve it without looking at it! hahahahahaha! Maybe I'll send a video of me doing it. I love you all! Thanks for everything else in the package it's all great! 

The pics I sent of the missionaries were just some people I knew, not me. We never really leave the campus except for P-Days so, no, I didn't see crazy ladies running around from women's conference. Tell Sis. Larson I wish I would have run into her! 

Tell Amanda I said way to go on the grad with honors! Let her know I said to keep going with it.

I have not yet received the shirt form the missionary mall. I think there has been a mix up or they are really behind. Ask them about that for me maybe they have the wrong address. On that note, I haven't gotten emails from some of the people who I was sure would be emailing me. If you see Josh Holyoak can you ask him to give my correct email to all of our buddies. daniel.oakes@myldsmail.net

I saw the video by the way it was awesome! It was great to see everyone on it. Make sure you post that on my blog.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrrLbp2BNuk

Love you all!

Elder Oakes, Hungary Budapest Mission 

OH MY GOSH I AM SO SO SO EXCITED!! I only read the first line of your letter...I am just so excited that you get to call on mother's day! You don't know how much that makes my day!!! I miss you a lot! It will be so awesome to hear your voice! Dang it, I'm crying...I just love you my boy! Did you really talk them into it or did they tell everyone they could call? I sent dad a text to tell him you were on and to tell him you get to call me on mother's day. He said he gets to call all of us...I told him I get to be selfish on mother's day :) 

No that was a joke they decided that for themselves. But it's awesome!

I'll double check with the missionary mall about the shirt and see if they have an expected delivery date and remind them again you are leaving the MTC soon.

Tell me about how things are going. I know you said the food is bad...what do you do on your pdays? How are you doing getting laundry done? Are all you and your companions/roommates getting along well still? Does Elder Cannon take pics? Are you in them?

He doesn't take many pictures. Our p days are pretty laid back. We knock out our laundry early morning so we have time to do other things in the day. There is a new art museum that opened at BYU that we are allowed to go to, then we are going to stop off at the BYU creamery! It's going to be pretty awesome. And by the way we just had Elder Holland come speak to us. He is a lot shorter than I thought... that didn't make it any less intimidating though when he threatened to hunt us down and put his knee in our thoughts if we didn't take our missions seriously. It was awesome! 

Oh my heck! He is my favorite!! He is a lot of people's favorite! Uchtdorf, Eyring and Holland are my top favorites to hear from, and you got to hear from two of them! Did you shake his hand too? 

I have to go I am over on my time. I love you, and I'll talk to you Sunday!

Ok, I love you too! Looking forward to talking to you Sunday :)

P-Days are Thursdays now

Hey MOM!

How are you and how's the family? What's new? Tell Lizzy I said to stick with her job til the end of school and maybe through summer that way she has money. It's kind of a nice thing to have, tell her to keep playing Pokemon too. I haven't gotten the replacement shirt from the missionary mall yet. I have an account with them that should have in store credit on it. I would like to get a belt from there. I will email some pics of the different ones they have so you know which one to get.

The raincoat has been a big help. I have yet to use the inside liner but its rained a lot. We have only gotten snow a few days but its been cool. Weather is crazy here because we are at the base of a mountain.

I am a zone leader now which pretty much just means that I meet with a lot of the district leaders and make sure all the elders are doing okay. Both Cannon Elder and I are ZLs so its pretty cool.
We wont get any new Hungarian missionaries until after we leave so nothing new will happen there. But we will all be flying out together. Other than that we don't know the details as we don't have our travel plans yet. One cool thing though is you don't need a visa for Hungary. I think they still get us one for an extended stay but we can just leave when we are scheduled.

I am sorry you are all sick, I know it's hard without me there, but I promise you can make it without me. haha jk But seriously get better everyone.

By the way Elder Waters is home on a 6 month delay. He can still go on his mission but for now he is back in New Zealand surfing it up.

LOVE YOU!

Elder Oakes
 Elder Oakes, Hungary Budapest Mission

Have you gotten sick at all there? 

I am pretty much sick every day. Its manageable though.

Really! I wonder why? Are you not eating well?

Mom, it's just processed cafeteria food all day every day for months on end. Pretty much everyone here is like that. We just brush it off with the comment "Man, this MTC food is killing us!"

Sorry the food there isn't better, you miss me, huh? :) Or at least my cooking!

I always miss you!

I'm so excited to see the video they are showing for Saturday night's stake conference! I'm skipping Naomi's dance competition and having her go with someone else so I can see it! I love hearing from you!

Love you, got to go now! I'll send some pics soon!
Here is the link for the video the stake put together of our missionaries:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrrLbp2BNuk