Today was a great day of religion. I enjoyed going to the LDS church here, which you will see pictures of below. There are three LDS wards in Budapest. I gave some thoughts today on sharing the gospel during Sacrament Meeting - I have had the chance to talk about the gospel with many people while I have been here (more in France as I spoke the language there). Today was my last Sunday here and even though I was only here for a few weeks I made some great friends. After church, I went with my Bihari family (the family that I live with) to a Hanukkah party. The Bihari's are non-practicing Jews. The Hanukkah party was at their cousins's house, who are Orthodox Jews. Among other things, this family strictly keeps the Jewish Sabbath Day holy, avoiding all work from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. They have timed lighting in their home so that they don't have to switch on lights, etc. Most male Orthodox Jews wear the kippah, the small cap. On Hanukkah (from Wikipedia): "Hanukkah is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a unique candelabrum, the nine-branched Menorah or Hanukiah, one additional light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. The typical Menorah consists of eight branches with an additional raised branch. The extra light is called a shamash (Hebrew: שמש, "attendant")[4] and is given a distinct location, usually above or below the rest. The purpose of the shamash is to have a light available for use, as using the Hanukkah lights themselves is forbidden."
I enjoyed the simple Hanukkah ceremony, in particular because I learned more about a religion that has always been very interesting to me. [5]
With Brother Kovács in front of the Budapest stake center, the first stake center in Hungary
Budapest Stake Center
Preparing the oil in the Menorah
Lighting the Menorah
Of the three rows, the one to the right is for the father and the two others are for the two sons of the family.
