A piata(town square) in Timisoara.
Romanians dressed in the traditional costumes. Ross wrote, "Maybe I need to get one of these outfits." I will believe it when I seen it!
One of the many "massive churches" found through Timisoara and RomaniaMonday, April 30, 2007
Sites of Romania
A piata(town square) in Timisoara. Romanians dressed in the traditional costumes. Ross wrote, "Maybe I need to get one of these outfits." I will believe it when I seen it! One of the many "massive churches" found through Timisoara and Romania
More Photos
Bloc-knocking in the old Communist-built housing
" At Camelot, a medieval restaurant where we ate like men with only knives for forks and wore bibs and drank out of flagons."
With Andy, an investigator, after they had gone bloc-knocking.
Photos from Romania
Ross with his first trainer Elder Selck.
The chapel where the Timisoara meets.
The baptismal font - Wow! I don't think I have seen another like it!
A Pretty Busy Week
Hey All!
It's been a pretty busy week. I'll try to fill you in. We've got all of our English classes going now. Elder Garrett and I teach two beginning classes on Saturday morning and an advanced class Tuesday evening. The two beginning classes have about 15-20 people each and our advanced class has 4. It's pretty fun, I get to learn a lot of Romanian while teaching, I'm sure I learn as much as they do!
Yeah, I'm learning to navigate Timisoara better, but my companion is really good with maps and directions so he already knows the city better than me and I am the follower again. I don't why, but I don't remember how to get places too well. All the streets and blocs look similar to me. Our numbers weren't too good this week. Definitely not where I wanted them to be, but we improved and I'll do my best to improve again next week. This last week, our District Leader went to Arad for a meeting with the Zone Leaders and all the DLs. They came back with some goals for our district which have made me want to work really hard to meet them. We also have a goal (which is actually a rule, which no one ever told me about,lol) to only speak Romanian outside of the apartment. I've been doing pretty well at that, but it's pretty awkward. That's pretty crazy about your 2nd companion dad. He sounds A LOT like mine. He speaks really well, but doesn't like to speak Romanian. So the day is weird, me speaking in Romanian, and not well either, and him just talking in English. Well, I'm doing my part.
The branch is really cool here. There are about 40 or so people every week. There are a lot of older women but there are some families, too, and youth. I love the people here! Oh, and there are a LOT of youth in this town, because it's a big college town. The branch president here has been in his calling for 8 years now and he is ready to be released. Because he has been president so long, he has a lot of ideas that aren't right. Mostly traditions that he thinks are doctrines. Like last Sunday, Elder Garrett said the sacrament prayer but he wasn't facing the table straight on so the President made him re-do it. Anyway when we try to correct him on anything, small or big, he gets really offended. It's a big problem, because he is showing all the signs of going inactive if he gets released. He's a really great guy, though, that really wants to help. It's pretty sad.
Oh man, last night, we were invited to a Baptist baptism by one of our investigators. The first hour was all singing with this rock band they had, pretty weird. Then, when we got to the baptisms...it was just straight up wrong. The priest wore all black while he baptized them. He raised his left hand to the square when he gave the prayer and as soon as he started to dunk the person the rock band broke out in song. Then there was a interpretive dance done by some youth. One kid was Jesus, I guess, and they crucified him. It was pretty...well, it wasn't spiritual at all and not a good presentation of such a sacred Man as Jesus Christ. Overall, I felt pretty empty during the service, but it was pretty interesting to see. They definitely didn't try to claim they had the true gospel of Christ. In fact, they said that they needed to change the gospel for the new generation. It was an experience.
Dad - That is VERY exciting about the basketball tournament! Tell everyone congratulations for me. Thanks for your email and for sharing a little about your mission and your attitude there. It is nice and it helps me to hear that. Thanks! Oh, quick question for the physical therapist. If I am trying to build some size, is it better to do push-ups every day or every other day to rest my muscles?
Mom - I look forward to those tapes, thanks. And I appreciate your long letters so keep writing them! That's pretty exciting getting a new car. Too bad it costs money, too, lol. Oh, hey I need P's home address so I can send him a letter. Thank you!
J - Sounds like you tore it up at Neighbor to Neighbor! That's good to hear. And nice planning on the ODS tags, lol. Sounds like they are really good, though. I like the idea. Well, tell me how it went.
S - Your school's finally dedicated, huh? About time! lol. That's pretty exciting you get a cell phone for the week, and yeah, J definitely doesn't need help going over his text limit, haha. No, I haven't read Glory Field. Is it good?
E, A, W - You guys can share one :) How are you all doing? I thought about you guys on Sunday. I sat by a little girl, probably W's age and we talked about our favorite hymns and which ones we liked. She would point to a hymn and I would hum the melody and we would decide if we liked it. It was extremely fun, one of the happiest moments of the whole week. I hope you little runts have an awesome week. I really miss you!
Well, I sent a package(finally!) to you guys. Doesn't have a lot, but a few things. Thanks! Okay, for Mother's Day, I call you guys. What time is good for you that Sunday? Is church at 9 for you now? Well, let me know. I can't wait!!
Ok, I'm going to put up some pictures now. [Ross posted the photos on a photo website. I am hoping to be able to post some of them on the blog.] Thank you for everything! Have a good week everyone and choose the right! I love you all!
It's been a pretty busy week. I'll try to fill you in. We've got all of our English classes going now. Elder Garrett and I teach two beginning classes on Saturday morning and an advanced class Tuesday evening. The two beginning classes have about 15-20 people each and our advanced class has 4. It's pretty fun, I get to learn a lot of Romanian while teaching, I'm sure I learn as much as they do!
Yeah, I'm learning to navigate Timisoara better, but my companion is really good with maps and directions so he already knows the city better than me and I am the follower again. I don't why, but I don't remember how to get places too well. All the streets and blocs look similar to me. Our numbers weren't too good this week. Definitely not where I wanted them to be, but we improved and I'll do my best to improve again next week. This last week, our District Leader went to Arad for a meeting with the Zone Leaders and all the DLs. They came back with some goals for our district which have made me want to work really hard to meet them. We also have a goal (which is actually a rule, which no one ever told me about,lol) to only speak Romanian outside of the apartment. I've been doing pretty well at that, but it's pretty awkward. That's pretty crazy about your 2nd companion dad. He sounds A LOT like mine. He speaks really well, but doesn't like to speak Romanian. So the day is weird, me speaking in Romanian, and not well either, and him just talking in English. Well, I'm doing my part.
The branch is really cool here. There are about 40 or so people every week. There are a lot of older women but there are some families, too, and youth. I love the people here! Oh, and there are a LOT of youth in this town, because it's a big college town. The branch president here has been in his calling for 8 years now and he is ready to be released. Because he has been president so long, he has a lot of ideas that aren't right. Mostly traditions that he thinks are doctrines. Like last Sunday, Elder Garrett said the sacrament prayer but he wasn't facing the table straight on so the President made him re-do it. Anyway when we try to correct him on anything, small or big, he gets really offended. It's a big problem, because he is showing all the signs of going inactive if he gets released. He's a really great guy, though, that really wants to help. It's pretty sad.
Oh man, last night, we were invited to a Baptist baptism by one of our investigators. The first hour was all singing with this rock band they had, pretty weird. Then, when we got to the baptisms...it was just straight up wrong. The priest wore all black while he baptized them. He raised his left hand to the square when he gave the prayer and as soon as he started to dunk the person the rock band broke out in song. Then there was a interpretive dance done by some youth. One kid was Jesus, I guess, and they crucified him. It was pretty...well, it wasn't spiritual at all and not a good presentation of such a sacred Man as Jesus Christ. Overall, I felt pretty empty during the service, but it was pretty interesting to see. They definitely didn't try to claim they had the true gospel of Christ. In fact, they said that they needed to change the gospel for the new generation. It was an experience.
Dad - That is VERY exciting about the basketball tournament! Tell everyone congratulations for me. Thanks for your email and for sharing a little about your mission and your attitude there. It is nice and it helps me to hear that. Thanks! Oh, quick question for the physical therapist. If I am trying to build some size, is it better to do push-ups every day or every other day to rest my muscles?
Mom - I look forward to those tapes, thanks. And I appreciate your long letters so keep writing them! That's pretty exciting getting a new car. Too bad it costs money, too, lol. Oh, hey I need P's home address so I can send him a letter. Thank you!
J - Sounds like you tore it up at Neighbor to Neighbor! That's good to hear. And nice planning on the ODS tags, lol. Sounds like they are really good, though. I like the idea. Well, tell me how it went.
S - Your school's finally dedicated, huh? About time! lol. That's pretty exciting you get a cell phone for the week, and yeah, J definitely doesn't need help going over his text limit, haha. No, I haven't read Glory Field. Is it good?
E, A, W - You guys can share one :) How are you all doing? I thought about you guys on Sunday. I sat by a little girl, probably W's age and we talked about our favorite hymns and which ones we liked. She would point to a hymn and I would hum the melody and we would decide if we liked it. It was extremely fun, one of the happiest moments of the whole week. I hope you little runts have an awesome week. I really miss you!
Well, I sent a package(finally!) to you guys. Doesn't have a lot, but a few things. Thanks! Okay, for Mother's Day, I call you guys. What time is good for you that Sunday? Is church at 9 for you now? Well, let me know. I can't wait!!
Ok, I'm going to put up some pictures now. [Ross posted the photos on a photo website. I am hoping to be able to post some of them on the blog.] Thank you for everything! Have a good week everyone and choose the right! I love you all!
Monday, April 23, 2007
New Companion, etc.
Hey Everyone!
It's been a crazy, extremely busy week! First of all, thanks everyone for the all the emails I got this week. It was really nice to hear from everyone and to feel a part of your lives. Ok, I guess I will just go chronologically.
Last Tuesday, Elder Selck spent a lot of the day getting him packed and the rest of the day visiting members and investigators(unfortunately, many of them weren't home). Then that evening we had the last night of English sign-ups. They went pretty well, about 125 people I think.
That night we took a sleeper car to Bucharest and got in Wednesday morning at about 7. We went to the Elders' apartment in Sector 1, where Elder Rose(from my district in the MTC) stays. We chilled there for most of the morning, eating breakfast and talking with elders that came from other parts of the country. We were all waiting for turns to take a shower, especially after taking a train all night. Then we went to KFC(pretty Romanian, huh?) for lunch. Afterwards we hit the mall for a little bit(there were 7 of us). Oh and David, a member from Timisoara, went with us because he is a mini missionary this transfer.
Anyway, transfer meeting finally came and now I am with Elder Garrett. He's a really cool guy, super easy to get along with....but he doesn't really follow the rules. He rolls out of bed at about 8 every morning, after I've already studied for an hour, exercised and taken a bath(I miss showers). But he's really good at talking with people when we have discussions. I might have to step it up as a junior companion and do more, but it'll make me grow. Our first week together now over, our numbers weren't very good, but a lot of that is my fault. When I was with Elder Selck, he always lead and did most everything so I didn't learn my way around the city too well, so Elder Garrett and I spent a lot of time figuring out where everyone was. But now, we are good to go and this week is promising.
We had our first English classes on Saturday. They were really awesome. Because the sisters were gone getting x-rays(turns out Sora Beck has a bruised bone), we had 4 elders for 3 classes, which is no problem, I taught with Elder Woodhouse. He is a super good teacher and makes it really exciting for the students. They laughed a lot and learned a lot, it was great. Transfer before last, he was in Moldova and he got A LOT of practice there. From what I heard at transfer, the work is going really well there and they have some baptisms coming up.
I got your package at transfer. Thank you! [It was our Easter package, a bit late because packages go to the mission home.] One of the first I did when I got home was to build my LEGO car, lol. I set up Ammon on my study desk, too. [We sent him a Book of Mormon action figure.] Thanks for the CD, haven't listened to it yet, but I will. Oh, and the chocolates and jelly beans. Thanks! Especially the jelly beans, you can't find those here.
That is super cool that there are so many guys in our ward preparing to go out on missions!! Our ward is going to be especially blessed and so will all those families. Man, it's good to hear that and also about how the missionary work is going back there in Oregon. I got an email from B.H, he talked about that a little bit, too. He asked to hear how the work was going, so be sure to tell him or forward my emails. I guess he probably knows about the blog.
About the work, this last week was pretty slow, because of transfers. Also, our investigator pool isn't very big, 6 or 7, and almost all of them are really hard to set up with. Maria seems to have dropped off the face of the earth...she wasn't at church again and she won't answer any of our phone calls. She has a cell phone and we can tell she just hits the cancel button. It's really sad, because we thought she was doing so well and were ready to give her a baptismal date. Who knows, and the Besois and the Radovans are super busy and really hard to meet with. We just need to keep working with all of them as much as we can and do a lot of finding this week and get some new investigators. We don't have anyone with a baptismal date right now, but hopefully we start to see some success. Until then, I'm going to just work my butt off.
Oh, and I had my first talk yesterday. It was supposed to be 10 minutes and it was on my favorite parable and so I picked the prodigal son. I was going to talk a little bit, read the parable, then apply it and teach what we can learn from it. When I got to church, it turned out that I was the last speaker, didn't know that when I was preparing! So I was supposed to talk longer or shorter depending on how much time was left. Turned out I had to make it way shorter, so I had to summarize what the prodigal son was about in my own words, something I hadn't prepared for. It went pretty well and it was a good experience for me, because I wasn't able to use anything I had written down and I had to give my talk a different way. But because I prepared, the Spirit helped me while I spoke.
Dad - Happy Birthday! Sounds like you had a pretty good b-day, even got the Trooper speakers fixed. Lol, mom is very thoughtful. Being a guy, I rarely come up with good gifts. Man, I can't believe those Rockports lasted as long as they did! How long total was that? That book does sound good, "The Mormon Way to do Business," is it good? Final Four! Sounds like the team is doing well... and you barely made it into the tournament in the first place! [It is the ward basketball team.] Keep me updated.
Mom - Yeah, those Romanian superstitions are pretty true. I don't know about being to have one window open even. I've been in a taxi or a house where a window was open. And yeah, a lot of people have cotton in their ears, it's pretty weird. And yeah, they usually bundle up pretty warm, I guess next winter I'll find out if they get mad when we don't bundle enough. Oh, and yeah, AA batteries are easy to get here. Sounds like everyone is doing well.
J - Wow, prom dinner at Chuck E. Cheese. Did you get anything cool as a prize? Sounds like your prom was really good, what was the theme? Yeah, I don't know that I really have advice for you for oudoor school. I remember two other guys had the troublesome groups. Mine was pretty chill, just one emotional breakdown, lol. How did your last track meet go?
S - Are you excited for girls camp? When is it and where is it? Did you guys raise a lot of money for it? What kind of services did you do at the auction? Sorry, lol, lots of questions, I've never been to girls camp! Well, have a good week.
E - Man, you got a ton of stuff for your birthday. I'm glad you're having fun with it. You're a Wolf now! Good job! What comes after that? I forgot. So you made cookies to pay for girls camp, huh? I didn't know you got to go. That's pretty cool, I guess. Tell me how it is, ok? Lol. Just kidding, you're a champion. Have a good one.
A - I am doing very well over here in Romania. Thanks for asking! Easter was very good for me and I got lots of food. Wow, you got a 5 on a test! You ARE excellent. I'm glad you like school and taking tests. That will make life easier in the future. Keep me updated.
W - Hey bud! Super Kid of the week, huh? What does that mean? Do you get to do special things? That is really cool that you like to ride your bike so much. I miss riding a bike, but I couldn't do it here. I'd probably get hit by a car and that wouldn't be good. Lol, thanks for telling me about your wiggling ears, when I come home you have to wiggle your ears for me before I will give you a hug. So, be ready.
Well, everyone, the sky is extremely blue outside and it is a beautiful day. I feel really excited and hopeful right now in my life. And like usual, I am filled with gratitude for the many, many blessings I have. I'm ready to get this transfer under way and try to pay back the Lord a little of what he's given me. I hope you all have a fantastic week and I love you all! Thanks again for everyone's emails. They meant a lot.
The Luckiest Man Alive,
Elder Ross
It's been a crazy, extremely busy week! First of all, thanks everyone for the all the emails I got this week. It was really nice to hear from everyone and to feel a part of your lives. Ok, I guess I will just go chronologically.
Last Tuesday, Elder Selck spent a lot of the day getting him packed and the rest of the day visiting members and investigators(unfortunately, many of them weren't home). Then that evening we had the last night of English sign-ups. They went pretty well, about 125 people I think.
That night we took a sleeper car to Bucharest and got in Wednesday morning at about 7. We went to the Elders' apartment in Sector 1, where Elder Rose(from my district in the MTC) stays. We chilled there for most of the morning, eating breakfast and talking with elders that came from other parts of the country. We were all waiting for turns to take a shower, especially after taking a train all night. Then we went to KFC(pretty Romanian, huh?) for lunch. Afterwards we hit the mall for a little bit(there were 7 of us). Oh and David, a member from Timisoara, went with us because he is a mini missionary this transfer.
Anyway, transfer meeting finally came and now I am with Elder Garrett. He's a really cool guy, super easy to get along with....but he doesn't really follow the rules. He rolls out of bed at about 8 every morning, after I've already studied for an hour, exercised and taken a bath(I miss showers). But he's really good at talking with people when we have discussions. I might have to step it up as a junior companion and do more, but it'll make me grow. Our first week together now over, our numbers weren't very good, but a lot of that is my fault. When I was with Elder Selck, he always lead and did most everything so I didn't learn my way around the city too well, so Elder Garrett and I spent a lot of time figuring out where everyone was. But now, we are good to go and this week is promising.
We had our first English classes on Saturday. They were really awesome. Because the sisters were gone getting x-rays(turns out Sora Beck has a bruised bone), we had 4 elders for 3 classes, which is no problem, I taught with Elder Woodhouse. He is a super good teacher and makes it really exciting for the students. They laughed a lot and learned a lot, it was great. Transfer before last, he was in Moldova and he got A LOT of practice there. From what I heard at transfer, the work is going really well there and they have some baptisms coming up.
I got your package at transfer. Thank you! [It was our Easter package, a bit late because packages go to the mission home.] One of the first I did when I got home was to build my LEGO car, lol. I set up Ammon on my study desk, too. [We sent him a Book of Mormon action figure.] Thanks for the CD, haven't listened to it yet, but I will. Oh, and the chocolates and jelly beans. Thanks! Especially the jelly beans, you can't find those here.
That is super cool that there are so many guys in our ward preparing to go out on missions!! Our ward is going to be especially blessed and so will all those families. Man, it's good to hear that and also about how the missionary work is going back there in Oregon. I got an email from B.H, he talked about that a little bit, too. He asked to hear how the work was going, so be sure to tell him or forward my emails. I guess he probably knows about the blog.
About the work, this last week was pretty slow, because of transfers. Also, our investigator pool isn't very big, 6 or 7, and almost all of them are really hard to set up with. Maria seems to have dropped off the face of the earth...she wasn't at church again and she won't answer any of our phone calls. She has a cell phone and we can tell she just hits the cancel button. It's really sad, because we thought she was doing so well and were ready to give her a baptismal date. Who knows, and the Besois and the Radovans are super busy and really hard to meet with. We just need to keep working with all of them as much as we can and do a lot of finding this week and get some new investigators. We don't have anyone with a baptismal date right now, but hopefully we start to see some success. Until then, I'm going to just work my butt off.
Oh, and I had my first talk yesterday. It was supposed to be 10 minutes and it was on my favorite parable and so I picked the prodigal son. I was going to talk a little bit, read the parable, then apply it and teach what we can learn from it. When I got to church, it turned out that I was the last speaker, didn't know that when I was preparing! So I was supposed to talk longer or shorter depending on how much time was left. Turned out I had to make it way shorter, so I had to summarize what the prodigal son was about in my own words, something I hadn't prepared for. It went pretty well and it was a good experience for me, because I wasn't able to use anything I had written down and I had to give my talk a different way. But because I prepared, the Spirit helped me while I spoke.
Dad - Happy Birthday! Sounds like you had a pretty good b-day, even got the Trooper speakers fixed. Lol, mom is very thoughtful. Being a guy, I rarely come up with good gifts. Man, I can't believe those Rockports lasted as long as they did! How long total was that? That book does sound good, "The Mormon Way to do Business," is it good? Final Four! Sounds like the team is doing well... and you barely made it into the tournament in the first place! [It is the ward basketball team.] Keep me updated.
Mom - Yeah, those Romanian superstitions are pretty true. I don't know about being to have one window open even. I've been in a taxi or a house where a window was open. And yeah, a lot of people have cotton in their ears, it's pretty weird. And yeah, they usually bundle up pretty warm, I guess next winter I'll find out if they get mad when we don't bundle enough. Oh, and yeah, AA batteries are easy to get here. Sounds like everyone is doing well.
J - Wow, prom dinner at Chuck E. Cheese. Did you get anything cool as a prize? Sounds like your prom was really good, what was the theme? Yeah, I don't know that I really have advice for you for oudoor school. I remember two other guys had the troublesome groups. Mine was pretty chill, just one emotional breakdown, lol. How did your last track meet go?
S - Are you excited for girls camp? When is it and where is it? Did you guys raise a lot of money for it? What kind of services did you do at the auction? Sorry, lol, lots of questions, I've never been to girls camp! Well, have a good week.
E - Man, you got a ton of stuff for your birthday. I'm glad you're having fun with it. You're a Wolf now! Good job! What comes after that? I forgot. So you made cookies to pay for girls camp, huh? I didn't know you got to go. That's pretty cool, I guess. Tell me how it is, ok? Lol. Just kidding, you're a champion. Have a good one.
A - I am doing very well over here in Romania. Thanks for asking! Easter was very good for me and I got lots of food. Wow, you got a 5 on a test! You ARE excellent. I'm glad you like school and taking tests. That will make life easier in the future. Keep me updated.
W - Hey bud! Super Kid of the week, huh? What does that mean? Do you get to do special things? That is really cool that you like to ride your bike so much. I miss riding a bike, but I couldn't do it here. I'd probably get hit by a car and that wouldn't be good. Lol, thanks for telling me about your wiggling ears, when I come home you have to wiggle your ears for me before I will give you a hug. So, be ready.
Well, everyone, the sky is extremely blue outside and it is a beautiful day. I feel really excited and hopeful right now in my life. And like usual, I am filled with gratitude for the many, many blessings I have. I'm ready to get this transfer under way and try to pay back the Lord a little of what he's given me. I hope you all have a fantastic week and I love you all! Thanks again for everyone's emails. They meant a lot.
The Luckiest Man Alive,
Elder Ross
Monday, April 16, 2007
Transfer Calls
Hey All!
Today was the day for transfer calls! My companion is transferring out and I am staying for another transfer. I wonder who my new companion will be. Anyway since I am staying for at least six weeks, you can send mail if you want to my specific address. I got a letter at my apartment from L. this last week, it was very exciting to get. So, tomorrow I go to Bucharest on a night train, get there Wednesday morning, have transfer meeting, get my new companion and catch another night train and am back working on Thursday. It's gonna be wild! I'm excited.
To address some questions, the service we went to was Orthodox. It was pretty different but way fun to see. Definitely an insight into the culture here. You remember how many people here are Orthodox, like 88% or something. On Easter we had dinner with the Shaws and another American couple(they're older). They know each other from work. Brother Shaw runs pig farms over here in Romania. Pretty crazy huh? They've been here about a year, I think, and will be here a couple more.
Lol, no, I didn't teach the Shaws about the egg fights, but I told my companion about them. Lol, that's pretty funny about the raw eggs, Mom.
[Thanks to the paternal side of the family, the kids have egg fights on Easter morning. Two kids each hold a hard-boiled egg and count to three, then hit the other egg on its end. The one with the whole egg wins. Here is the note I included in Ross' letter: We forgot to tell you about our Easter egg fights. I hard-boiled over three dozen eggs and put them in the frig until we could dye them Friday night. That night, after the dying was done and the kids were asleep, I was putting them back in the frig. I couldn't figure out what happened to 10 of them. On Easter morning, J and W were doing an egg fight when J was covered with a raw egg! When I had told S what cartons to grab out of the frig for dying, I wasn't clear enough and she grabbed a carton of raw eggs. In order to continue with egg fights, we had to break the bottom of the eggs to check if they were cooked or not. ]
I can't really think of anything else I would need, thanks for sending me those things and tell K thanks if that's how it gets here. I guess if you could find one (I'm always trying to add to my morning workout.), a pull-up bar would be really awesome, one that goes in door frames and such. If not, that's fine.
Ok, we are working with a few people right now. The most prominent being Andy, a Romanian that speaks English as well as I do. He has been taught everything like 3 times, comes to church, Outreach, FHE, everything and absolutely knows the Church is true. But he's 17 and his mom won't let him be baptized. We are going to visit her soon and we'll see how that goes.
Then we have Maria, we found her bloc-knocking and she came to church twice, then missed the last two weeks. She has set up with us three times where we showed up and then she wasn't home. It's frustrating because she is really open to the message, just doesn't really the importance of it yet. But we've had a few good lessons with her and hopefully get a bunch more. We want to give her a baptismal date.
We've started working with the family Radovan. A younger couple with a small child(a rare find here) and we've had 3 lessons with them. They are open but very busy. I really hope they progress. One more older couple we've been teaching are the Besois. They(mostly the wife) listen carefully, but they haven't been doing any reading so they can't progress much until they do that. Anyway, that's kind of the rundown. It's been hard to have a lot of lessons because this last week we've been handing out English fliers(classes start soon) like crazy. Each companionship had 8000 to pass out.
Well, I've had a super good transfer with Elder Selck and I've learned a lot from him. It's too bad he's leaving but at the same time I am very excited to have a new companion to learn from as well, but in a different way. Every missionary teaches and acts way differently. The rest of my district here in Timisoara is the same. Only Elder Selck is transferred.
Dad - Thanks for all your support and encouragement, especially with the language. It's coming along. With the new transfer, I want to set a goal to only speak Romanian, all the time. It will be hard, but I think after a few days it will become easier and I'll start to think in Romanian too. I'll tell you how it's going next week. Have a good birthday, Dad! I love you.
Mom - Sounds like you are very busy, as usual. Oh, yeah, my comp had made pies before but I did it, too, even made the crust. They tasted very good, as did the brownies we handed out. You've taught me well, Mom! I love you!
J - Man, bro, that's pretty rough about the rash and swelling. Must look pretty wild. How long have you had it? I hope you get better soon. [J developed some sort of allergic hives Sunday pm. We don't know what caused it but its getting better.] That's really cool about making videos, for fun and for high school TV. What are they about? Congrats on officially getting your eagle certificate! When is your court going to be? love ya, man.
S - That is super cool you got a pen pal. [From her cousin who is serving a mission in Hong Kong.] Does she live in Hong Kong then, or mainland? Sounds like you are very busy with plays. I'm sure you are a super good actress. Did you have some parts in some of J's videos? Keep up the awesome outlook on life and have fun doing all the stuff you do.
E - I heard you got to go to a baseball game. Did you like it a lot? Were there some good plays? Lol, I never liked watching baseball but I'm sure you had lots of fun, especially with Dad and W. Keep an eye on them!
A - Hey cutie, I heard you are doing well. Don't forget to listen to Mom and I'm sure life will be much happier. Have a good week, A, I love you.
W - Hey buddy. How did you like the baseball game with E and Dad? Did you cheer really loud? Lol, have an awesome day, little champion and work hard in school. Oh, and always be nice to all your friends!
Well, everyone, have an awesome week! And tell that punk P to write me. He hasn't done it yet. And we'll see who's more muscular when we meet again. I'll have to wrestle him, lol. And probably J, too. Ciao. I love you all!
--Elder L
Today was the day for transfer calls! My companion is transferring out and I am staying for another transfer. I wonder who my new companion will be. Anyway since I am staying for at least six weeks, you can send mail if you want to my specific address. I got a letter at my apartment from L. this last week, it was very exciting to get. So, tomorrow I go to Bucharest on a night train, get there Wednesday morning, have transfer meeting, get my new companion and catch another night train and am back working on Thursday. It's gonna be wild! I'm excited.
To address some questions, the service we went to was Orthodox. It was pretty different but way fun to see. Definitely an insight into the culture here. You remember how many people here are Orthodox, like 88% or something. On Easter we had dinner with the Shaws and another American couple(they're older). They know each other from work. Brother Shaw runs pig farms over here in Romania. Pretty crazy huh? They've been here about a year, I think, and will be here a couple more.
Lol, no, I didn't teach the Shaws about the egg fights, but I told my companion about them. Lol, that's pretty funny about the raw eggs, Mom.
[Thanks to the paternal side of the family, the kids have egg fights on Easter morning. Two kids each hold a hard-boiled egg and count to three, then hit the other egg on its end. The one with the whole egg wins. Here is the note I included in Ross' letter: We forgot to tell you about our Easter egg fights. I hard-boiled over three dozen eggs and put them in the frig until we could dye them Friday night. That night, after the dying was done and the kids were asleep, I was putting them back in the frig. I couldn't figure out what happened to 10 of them. On Easter morning, J and W were doing an egg fight when J was covered with a raw egg! When I had told S what cartons to grab out of the frig for dying, I wasn't clear enough and she grabbed a carton of raw eggs. In order to continue with egg fights, we had to break the bottom of the eggs to check if they were cooked or not. ]
I can't really think of anything else I would need, thanks for sending me those things and tell K thanks if that's how it gets here. I guess if you could find one (I'm always trying to add to my morning workout.), a pull-up bar would be really awesome, one that goes in door frames and such. If not, that's fine.
Ok, we are working with a few people right now. The most prominent being Andy, a Romanian that speaks English as well as I do. He has been taught everything like 3 times, comes to church, Outreach, FHE, everything and absolutely knows the Church is true. But he's 17 and his mom won't let him be baptized. We are going to visit her soon and we'll see how that goes.
Then we have Maria, we found her bloc-knocking and she came to church twice, then missed the last two weeks. She has set up with us three times where we showed up and then she wasn't home. It's frustrating because she is really open to the message, just doesn't really the importance of it yet. But we've had a few good lessons with her and hopefully get a bunch more. We want to give her a baptismal date.
We've started working with the family Radovan. A younger couple with a small child(a rare find here) and we've had 3 lessons with them. They are open but very busy. I really hope they progress. One more older couple we've been teaching are the Besois. They(mostly the wife) listen carefully, but they haven't been doing any reading so they can't progress much until they do that. Anyway, that's kind of the rundown. It's been hard to have a lot of lessons because this last week we've been handing out English fliers(classes start soon) like crazy. Each companionship had 8000 to pass out.
Well, I've had a super good transfer with Elder Selck and I've learned a lot from him. It's too bad he's leaving but at the same time I am very excited to have a new companion to learn from as well, but in a different way. Every missionary teaches and acts way differently. The rest of my district here in Timisoara is the same. Only Elder Selck is transferred.
Dad - Thanks for all your support and encouragement, especially with the language. It's coming along. With the new transfer, I want to set a goal to only speak Romanian, all the time. It will be hard, but I think after a few days it will become easier and I'll start to think in Romanian too. I'll tell you how it's going next week. Have a good birthday, Dad! I love you.
Mom - Sounds like you are very busy, as usual. Oh, yeah, my comp had made pies before but I did it, too, even made the crust. They tasted very good, as did the brownies we handed out. You've taught me well, Mom! I love you!
J - Man, bro, that's pretty rough about the rash and swelling. Must look pretty wild. How long have you had it? I hope you get better soon. [J developed some sort of allergic hives Sunday pm. We don't know what caused it but its getting better.] That's really cool about making videos, for fun and for high school TV. What are they about? Congrats on officially getting your eagle certificate! When is your court going to be? love ya, man.
S - That is super cool you got a pen pal. [From her cousin who is serving a mission in Hong Kong.] Does she live in Hong Kong then, or mainland? Sounds like you are very busy with plays. I'm sure you are a super good actress. Did you have some parts in some of J's videos? Keep up the awesome outlook on life and have fun doing all the stuff you do.
E - I heard you got to go to a baseball game. Did you like it a lot? Were there some good plays? Lol, I never liked watching baseball but I'm sure you had lots of fun, especially with Dad and W. Keep an eye on them!
A - Hey cutie, I heard you are doing well. Don't forget to listen to Mom and I'm sure life will be much happier. Have a good week, A, I love you.
W - Hey buddy. How did you like the baseball game with E and Dad? Did you cheer really loud? Lol, have an awesome day, little champion and work hard in school. Oh, and always be nice to all your friends!
Well, everyone, have an awesome week! And tell that punk P to write me. He hasn't done it yet. And we'll see who's more muscular when we meet again. I'll have to wrestle him, lol. And probably J, too. Ciao. I love you all!
--Elder L
Monday, April 9, 2007
Happy Easter!
Hey All!!
Easter has been pretty fun here...and pretty different. The whole week leading up to Easter was hard because most people are cleaning and preparing for Easter and it was hard to get discussions with people. Then Saturday we were told not to go bloc knocking because of Easter and so Elder Selck and I spent the morning making some brownies to take to some of our investigators. We put them in little bags and stapled a picture(old pass-along card) of resurrected Christ outside the tomb to it.
It was cool to take that to our investigators and share a quick spiritual thought. It was just a good way for us to show we care about them. After that we went back to our apartment and make a couple pies for the dinner we had last night. We made a pecan and a banana(actually we made two banana pies, but we kept one to ourselves:).
Then we went with the sisters to a couple of their lessons, one to a less-active and one to an investigator. It was cool to have so many testimonies there, probably intimidating, too! Sister Harrison(she's a greenie too) speaks super well, it was cool to listen to another boboc talk. After those we went back to our apartment and changed. Then we went to the church to hang out until midnight mass or whatever it's called. We listened to music and played ping pong, which I am absolutely pro at now.
The mass was pretty cool, there were thousands of people there, it was crazy. At midnight the church bells starting going off and the priest came out and starting lighting candles. The flame got passed back until everyone had it. The sisters didn't have any candles so I broke mine in half and ended up with the thin half, lol, and it burned out before we left. It was a fun thing to see, not too exciting but I got some very cool pictures.
Earlier last week, I went on an exchange with Elder Ryttersgaard, one of the zone leaders. He's from Denmark and he's a really cool guy and an awesome missionary. I learned a lot from him. We were at Arad for the exchange and we hung out a little bit with an old elder, Manning, who was back visiting. He's a way cool, plus he payed for our food. We went to this pizza place and I got a medium pizza and it was huge! So naturally I ate it all and then helped Elder Ryttersgaard finish his. Haha, I defintitely outate everyone else. Oh and a weird thing, you put ketchup on your pizza out here. They don't have sauces and so you put ketchup on. It's not too bad. I kinda liked it.
Real quick, whenever you send a package, I could use another journal(or two). The one I have will probably last me another transfer but not more than that and it can't hold a lot more paper so a new journal is better. I think I'd like a bound one this time, maybe bigger, lol, I write a lot. And my lint roller is getting low, I'll want another one probably. Oh, and if you can send me my mission prep notes, that would be great. Thank you!
Dad - Thanks always for your great letters. I especially appreciated your last one filled with gratitude. It's something I needed to hear because I am so incredibly blessed as well. Thanks! That is very cool about the church baketball game, I am definitely jealous and miss playing with you and with the other guys as well. I love you, Dad.
Mom - Thanks for being amazing! I love you. Haha, thanks for passing my message on to P. [His friend who has been attending BYI-I. The message was "Tell the punk to write me!"] I can't wait to hear from that punk. To answer your question, I don't really know what Easter Monday is, but stuff is closed today. We're not in the internet shop where we usually are because it's closed. It's way lame. Well, Mom, thanks again for everything you do.
J - Sounds like you are owning life, like usual. What events are you doing in track? That is way cool about your voice lessons. How is that going? Thanks for sharing that missionary moment you had with me. I'm proud of you. Have a great week, J! I love you.
S - Thanks for the email! Haha, I laughed when I read that you came back alive after taking the kids to the easter egg hunt. I miss those little rascals. No jelly beans, huh? They don't have them here in Romania. Sad, huh? Well, good luck with your movie project on our family. I want to hear more about it. I love you, S.
E - Happy Birthday!! Man, it was one year ago when you turned eight and I got to baptize you. Thanks for being my first baptism! That is way cool that you got a suit! Are you going to send me a picture of you wearing it? You better! Have a good week, E. I love you.
A - I heard you got a ton of candy for Easter! Are you going crazy with all the sugar? How is your book, "You are Priceless"? I think it describes you! I love you, A. Keep being a cute girl and don't forget to do your chores!
W - Buddy! How are you doing? Mom told me you got a book that was all about you and me. You have to read it to me when I get home, ok? Keep being a sexy 'lil beast, ok? lol, I love you little man.
Well, everyone, I'm glad you had a great Easter and I love you all!
--Elder Ross
Easter has been pretty fun here...and pretty different. The whole week leading up to Easter was hard because most people are cleaning and preparing for Easter and it was hard to get discussions with people. Then Saturday we were told not to go bloc knocking because of Easter and so Elder Selck and I spent the morning making some brownies to take to some of our investigators. We put them in little bags and stapled a picture(old pass-along card) of resurrected Christ outside the tomb to it.
It was cool to take that to our investigators and share a quick spiritual thought. It was just a good way for us to show we care about them. After that we went back to our apartment and make a couple pies for the dinner we had last night. We made a pecan and a banana(actually we made two banana pies, but we kept one to ourselves:).
Then we went with the sisters to a couple of their lessons, one to a less-active and one to an investigator. It was cool to have so many testimonies there, probably intimidating, too! Sister Harrison(she's a greenie too) speaks super well, it was cool to listen to another boboc talk. After those we went back to our apartment and changed. Then we went to the church to hang out until midnight mass or whatever it's called. We listened to music and played ping pong, which I am absolutely pro at now.
The mass was pretty cool, there were thousands of people there, it was crazy. At midnight the church bells starting going off and the priest came out and starting lighting candles. The flame got passed back until everyone had it. The sisters didn't have any candles so I broke mine in half and ended up with the thin half, lol, and it burned out before we left. It was a fun thing to see, not too exciting but I got some very cool pictures.
Earlier last week, I went on an exchange with Elder Ryttersgaard, one of the zone leaders. He's from Denmark and he's a really cool guy and an awesome missionary. I learned a lot from him. We were at Arad for the exchange and we hung out a little bit with an old elder, Manning, who was back visiting. He's a way cool, plus he payed for our food. We went to this pizza place and I got a medium pizza and it was huge! So naturally I ate it all and then helped Elder Ryttersgaard finish his. Haha, I defintitely outate everyone else. Oh and a weird thing, you put ketchup on your pizza out here. They don't have sauces and so you put ketchup on. It's not too bad. I kinda liked it.
Real quick, whenever you send a package, I could use another journal(or two). The one I have will probably last me another transfer but not more than that and it can't hold a lot more paper so a new journal is better. I think I'd like a bound one this time, maybe bigger, lol, I write a lot. And my lint roller is getting low, I'll want another one probably. Oh, and if you can send me my mission prep notes, that would be great. Thank you!
Dad - Thanks always for your great letters. I especially appreciated your last one filled with gratitude. It's something I needed to hear because I am so incredibly blessed as well. Thanks! That is very cool about the church baketball game, I am definitely jealous and miss playing with you and with the other guys as well. I love you, Dad.
Mom - Thanks for being amazing! I love you. Haha, thanks for passing my message on to P. [His friend who has been attending BYI-I. The message was "Tell the punk to write me!"] I can't wait to hear from that punk. To answer your question, I don't really know what Easter Monday is, but stuff is closed today. We're not in the internet shop where we usually are because it's closed. It's way lame. Well, Mom, thanks again for everything you do.
J - Sounds like you are owning life, like usual. What events are you doing in track? That is way cool about your voice lessons. How is that going? Thanks for sharing that missionary moment you had with me. I'm proud of you. Have a great week, J! I love you.
S - Thanks for the email! Haha, I laughed when I read that you came back alive after taking the kids to the easter egg hunt. I miss those little rascals. No jelly beans, huh? They don't have them here in Romania. Sad, huh? Well, good luck with your movie project on our family. I want to hear more about it. I love you, S.
E - Happy Birthday!! Man, it was one year ago when you turned eight and I got to baptize you. Thanks for being my first baptism! That is way cool that you got a suit! Are you going to send me a picture of you wearing it? You better! Have a good week, E. I love you.
A - I heard you got a ton of candy for Easter! Are you going crazy with all the sugar? How is your book, "You are Priceless"? I think it describes you! I love you, A. Keep being a cute girl and don't forget to do your chores!
W - Buddy! How are you doing? Mom told me you got a book that was all about you and me. You have to read it to me when I get home, ok? Keep being a sexy 'lil beast, ok? lol, I love you little man.
Well, everyone, I'm glad you had a great Easter and I love you all!
--Elder Ross
Monday, April 2, 2007
Hey Everyone!
Things are going well out here in Timisoara. Sounds like everyone had a great General Conference. I wish I could say the same, lol. We don't get it out here and so for church on Sunday we watched a session from October 2005. There were some good talks but it was in Romanian and I didn't get a lot out of it. I will get both an Ensign and a Liahona about them but it won't be for a month or two. I am very excited to get them and I really missed not being able to see Conference.
That's very nice of you guys to send me a package. Who knows when I will get it, either at transfer(Apr. 18) and the zone conference after that. It is better to send packages through the mission, though. With letters they come faster when it is to my specific address but with packages, they probably won't even make it to me at all. So just send everything through the mission, it's easier.
A few things about my life here in Romania...our apartment isn't too big but it's not bad. Our tub has no curtain and so I have to take a bath everyday and use one of those showerhead nozzles to wash. I really miss having showers. Oh, we have to light our stove to start it, it's like a propane stove. Anyway, so I've burned off a lot of my finger hair lighting it up. It's pretty wild. The other day I had ramen, duck flavor. It's actually really good. We don't eat a large variety of foods. I have cereal every morning, exept this morning. Elder Selck finished it all so I made myself eggs with sausage. Then for lunch we have sandwiches, either salami and cheese or grilled cheese. Pretty much the exact same thing every single day, lol. It's not too bad though.
Man, the culture here is pretty different. Almost everyone smokes and there is porn on every other corner. The immodesty here is ridiculous. These people need the gospel! Oh man, I saw the saddest thing the other day. This teenage girl(probably about 14) was with some friends and a little kid who was about 2 years old. She was smoking(pretty typical) but she started giving the cigarette to the little boy and he was pushing it away and she was laughing, trying to get this kid to smoke. I wanted to punch her in the face! It made me sick.
Well, it sounds like everyone is doing really well. Dad, J and S are in stake choir, huh? I really miss that.
Dad, I remember reading Fourth Down and Forever, it's a very, very good book. It was very inspiring and I hope you do find a way to be able to share that story with others.
That is really sad about the deaths that have happened. [In the last month, there have been two deaths of young people that both Ross and J knew.] It really is comforting to know God's plan for us and what really happens after this life. It's really good to hear that you understand that so well, J, and are dealing well with it. Share that with others as they need it. Tell W I am having fun and I am teaching lots of people just like he hoped I was. That's very cool that he is going to be a goalie, just like a certain older brother in Romania!
That's very cool that you are such high demand, J, with the jobs. Looking back, I did a lot of tough jobs, with hard labor, but I really am glad I did. I kind of miss those, even roofing. It's a good feeling to work so hard, especially when it has a purpose like saving up for college and a mission.
Well everyone, I need to go but I am doing really well. I am even in really good shape, my morning exercise time has made me more defined than when I entered the MTC. I'll be huge when I get back! Just kidding but I do love staying in shape. Everyone take care and have a good Easter! I'll be at the Shaws(the american family) all Sunday after church, because Easter is bigger than Christmas and no one would let us in if we tried. We'll get to watch movies and eat food. Sounds good to me! Have a great week all! I love you!
--Elder Ross
P.S.
Have a great birthday E!
Things are going well out here in Timisoara. Sounds like everyone had a great General Conference. I wish I could say the same, lol. We don't get it out here and so for church on Sunday we watched a session from October 2005. There were some good talks but it was in Romanian and I didn't get a lot out of it. I will get both an Ensign and a Liahona about them but it won't be for a month or two. I am very excited to get them and I really missed not being able to see Conference.
That's very nice of you guys to send me a package. Who knows when I will get it, either at transfer(Apr. 18) and the zone conference after that. It is better to send packages through the mission, though. With letters they come faster when it is to my specific address but with packages, they probably won't even make it to me at all. So just send everything through the mission, it's easier.
A few things about my life here in Romania...our apartment isn't too big but it's not bad. Our tub has no curtain and so I have to take a bath everyday and use one of those showerhead nozzles to wash. I really miss having showers. Oh, we have to light our stove to start it, it's like a propane stove. Anyway, so I've burned off a lot of my finger hair lighting it up. It's pretty wild. The other day I had ramen, duck flavor. It's actually really good. We don't eat a large variety of foods. I have cereal every morning, exept this morning. Elder Selck finished it all so I made myself eggs with sausage. Then for lunch we have sandwiches, either salami and cheese or grilled cheese. Pretty much the exact same thing every single day, lol. It's not too bad though.
Man, the culture here is pretty different. Almost everyone smokes and there is porn on every other corner. The immodesty here is ridiculous. These people need the gospel! Oh man, I saw the saddest thing the other day. This teenage girl(probably about 14) was with some friends and a little kid who was about 2 years old. She was smoking(pretty typical) but she started giving the cigarette to the little boy and he was pushing it away and she was laughing, trying to get this kid to smoke. I wanted to punch her in the face! It made me sick.
Well, it sounds like everyone is doing really well. Dad, J and S are in stake choir, huh? I really miss that.
Dad, I remember reading Fourth Down and Forever, it's a very, very good book. It was very inspiring and I hope you do find a way to be able to share that story with others.
That is really sad about the deaths that have happened. [In the last month, there have been two deaths of young people that both Ross and J knew.] It really is comforting to know God's plan for us and what really happens after this life. It's really good to hear that you understand that so well, J, and are dealing well with it. Share that with others as they need it. Tell W I am having fun and I am teaching lots of people just like he hoped I was. That's very cool that he is going to be a goalie, just like a certain older brother in Romania!
That's very cool that you are such high demand, J, with the jobs. Looking back, I did a lot of tough jobs, with hard labor, but I really am glad I did. I kind of miss those, even roofing. It's a good feeling to work so hard, especially when it has a purpose like saving up for college and a mission.
Well everyone, I need to go but I am doing really well. I am even in really good shape, my morning exercise time has made me more defined than when I entered the MTC. I'll be huge when I get back! Just kidding but I do love staying in shape. Everyone take care and have a good Easter! I'll be at the Shaws(the american family) all Sunday after church, because Easter is bigger than Christmas and no one would let us in if we tried. We'll get to watch movies and eat food. Sounds good to me! Have a great week all! I love you!
--Elder Ross
P.S.
Have a great birthday E!
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Tuesday - March 27, 2007 -- No fears, I'm OK
Hey everyone!
Happy birthday S! I thought about you, I know I actually remembered, on your birthday. I'm going to get a few small things to send you soon. I was thinking I was going to do it today, but I had absolutely no time. Hopefully I send it off next week. Who knows how long it will take though?
Sorry I didn't write before, but it was because I had zone conference in Arad yesterday and didn't get back until about an hour ago. It was really great, I needed the boost and I learned lots(you should see my notes!). It started with President telling about what is going on in the mission. You probably have heard but two elders got beat up in Galati by 12 guys. One of them is in Bucharest now. I guess a lot of elders have experiences like that but not as bad. Lol, sorry, I'm not trying to scare you.
We had three workshops with the topics of faith, working with branch leaders and pink eye/hemorrhoids. The last one wasn't my favorite but I guess those two things have been a problem. Anyway, the other two were awesome and I learned a lot, especially the one on working with leaders. A branch president from Oradea taught it and it was really good.
Then after those workshops we ate. That was a highlight, tons of food and it was all(most of it) really good. Then dessert was extremely good, too. All these dishes were made by missionaries and they did well. When conference started up again we had talks by two missionaries(everyone prepares and two are selected). After that the AP's talked to us about tithing and how we can better teach it. Then President talked about accountability. Both presentations were really well done. At the end, all the bobocs(greenies) bore their testimonies as did the one elder in his last transfer. It was a long day but I came away with a lot. It was incredible!
So then today was P-day. We got permission to go to Lipova, a small town outside Arad. We went and saw a monastery and then we all(my zone) sang a hymn inside it. It was sweet because of the reverberations(no idea how to spell that). Then we hiked to a castle, well, ruined castle. It was fun to walk around it and would have been more fun to climb but its against rules :( I got a ton of pictures today, more than I had for the 3 weeks prior since I've been in Romania. I will probably try to download those next week.
We are teaching some cool people right now. The coolest investigator is this 17 year old guy who is ready to be baptized and has been taught everything like 3 times. He comes to church, FHE and Outreach every week. He's a stud, but his mom won't let him be baptized so he is waiting a year until he is 18. We are teaching a lady Maria who has come to church twice now and is ready for the Gospel. We are giving her a baptismal date on our next lesson. Ciprian has a date for April 15, he is a younger man (late 20's?) and is a baptist so he loves to learn doctrine. Our biggest challenge is getting him to understand the simple parts of the Gospel and their importance. He is great, though. Those are the main ones, I will tell about their progess and others that are progressing well.
Dad - One thing I've learned since being out here is how I want to be when I get back, as a normal member, and I've started a list. Being a member missionary is definitely on there. Keep me posted. It's nice to hear about your going to the temple and the good feelings and experiences there. I am pretty jealous but I will have many years ahead of me to attend the temple. Keep up the good work, dad. You are an awesome example for me.
Mom- Sounds like you are keeping the family under control and have great hikes and activities for them! It's nice to hear what everyone is doing. That is exciting about the WWII photographer. I'm sure he has very interesting stories. It sounds like your business is staying pretty busy and that's good. Thanks for all your love and support(this is for Dad, too). I love you!
J - Thanks a lot for the email, that was really nice to get. That's cool you met Elder E. [a recently returning missionary. Is he way cool? Where'd he go again? It's good to hear you are excited for a mission. They are definitely hard, but I have already grown so much, it's sweet! I hope my personality hasn't changed, just that I have learned more about this Great Plan and I guess, changed my priorities. I'm certainly more humbled...still can't speak the freakin' language, lol!
That is way sweet how you asked J. to prom. [J.had our youngest go to his "friend's" class and ask her to the prom. In front of the entire class, W said, "Will you go to the prom with J? If not, will you take me?" It was pretty funny!]
Well, bro, take care. I miss you, too. I tell people how good friends we are and how I hope I get a little time to chill with you before you take off. Have a good week.
S - Happy Birthday! Again! I already wrote a little up top but here's some more. That's way sweet you got an iPod. Now you and J have them and I never had one! :( lol, it's ok. Maybe I'll get one when I come home, haha. How was your birthday party?
E - What's up, E? I got a letter from you yesterday! I get mail from the pouch only at zone conference and transfer meetings. Yesterday I got two letters from you guys and one from Guy and Stephanie. I think there were two letters inside from you, E. Thanks! It was nice to have mail. You are an awesome little brother and pretty much a stud! Keep being a champion.
A - How are you doing? I think I got a letter from you, too. Thank you! You are a very sweet little sister. Are you and the other kids excited for the hike on Friday? Are you excited to go to that fun toy store? I remember that store, it's very cool. How many beans do you have saved up? Have fun there!
W - You little stud, you! J told me how you went to school and asked J out to prom for him. Someone has to be the man, and it's you! What else have you been doing? I bet you are a champion reader now, huh? You can read to me when I get home, ok? I'll be too tired! Have a good week, W!
Well, everyone have a great week! I love you all!
--Elder Ross
Happy birthday S! I thought about you, I know I actually remembered, on your birthday. I'm going to get a few small things to send you soon. I was thinking I was going to do it today, but I had absolutely no time. Hopefully I send it off next week. Who knows how long it will take though?
Sorry I didn't write before, but it was because I had zone conference in Arad yesterday and didn't get back until about an hour ago. It was really great, I needed the boost and I learned lots(you should see my notes!). It started with President telling about what is going on in the mission. You probably have heard but two elders got beat up in Galati by 12 guys. One of them is in Bucharest now. I guess a lot of elders have experiences like that but not as bad. Lol, sorry, I'm not trying to scare you.
We had three workshops with the topics of faith, working with branch leaders and pink eye/hemorrhoids. The last one wasn't my favorite but I guess those two things have been a problem. Anyway, the other two were awesome and I learned a lot, especially the one on working with leaders. A branch president from Oradea taught it and it was really good.
Then after those workshops we ate. That was a highlight, tons of food and it was all(most of it) really good. Then dessert was extremely good, too. All these dishes were made by missionaries and they did well. When conference started up again we had talks by two missionaries(everyone prepares and two are selected). After that the AP's talked to us about tithing and how we can better teach it. Then President talked about accountability. Both presentations were really well done. At the end, all the bobocs(greenies) bore their testimonies as did the one elder in his last transfer. It was a long day but I came away with a lot. It was incredible!
So then today was P-day. We got permission to go to Lipova, a small town outside Arad. We went and saw a monastery and then we all(my zone) sang a hymn inside it. It was sweet because of the reverberations(no idea how to spell that). Then we hiked to a castle, well, ruined castle. It was fun to walk around it and would have been more fun to climb but its against rules :( I got a ton of pictures today, more than I had for the 3 weeks prior since I've been in Romania. I will probably try to download those next week.
We are teaching some cool people right now. The coolest investigator is this 17 year old guy who is ready to be baptized and has been taught everything like 3 times. He comes to church, FHE and Outreach every week. He's a stud, but his mom won't let him be baptized so he is waiting a year until he is 18. We are teaching a lady Maria who has come to church twice now and is ready for the Gospel. We are giving her a baptismal date on our next lesson. Ciprian has a date for April 15, he is a younger man (late 20's?) and is a baptist so he loves to learn doctrine. Our biggest challenge is getting him to understand the simple parts of the Gospel and their importance. He is great, though. Those are the main ones, I will tell about their progess and others that are progressing well.
Dad - One thing I've learned since being out here is how I want to be when I get back, as a normal member, and I've started a list. Being a member missionary is definitely on there. Keep me posted. It's nice to hear about your going to the temple and the good feelings and experiences there. I am pretty jealous but I will have many years ahead of me to attend the temple. Keep up the good work, dad. You are an awesome example for me.
Mom- Sounds like you are keeping the family under control and have great hikes and activities for them! It's nice to hear what everyone is doing. That is exciting about the WWII photographer. I'm sure he has very interesting stories. It sounds like your business is staying pretty busy and that's good. Thanks for all your love and support(this is for Dad, too). I love you!
J - Thanks a lot for the email, that was really nice to get. That's cool you met Elder E. [a recently returning missionary. Is he way cool? Where'd he go again? It's good to hear you are excited for a mission. They are definitely hard, but I have already grown so much, it's sweet! I hope my personality hasn't changed, just that I have learned more about this Great Plan and I guess, changed my priorities. I'm certainly more humbled...still can't speak the freakin' language, lol!
That is way sweet how you asked J. to prom. [J.had our youngest go to his "friend's" class and ask her to the prom. In front of the entire class, W said, "Will you go to the prom with J? If not, will you take me?" It was pretty funny!]
Well, bro, take care. I miss you, too. I tell people how good friends we are and how I hope I get a little time to chill with you before you take off. Have a good week.
S - Happy Birthday! Again! I already wrote a little up top but here's some more. That's way sweet you got an iPod. Now you and J have them and I never had one! :( lol, it's ok. Maybe I'll get one when I come home, haha. How was your birthday party?
E - What's up, E? I got a letter from you yesterday! I get mail from the pouch only at zone conference and transfer meetings. Yesterday I got two letters from you guys and one from Guy and Stephanie. I think there were two letters inside from you, E. Thanks! It was nice to have mail. You are an awesome little brother and pretty much a stud! Keep being a champion.
A - How are you doing? I think I got a letter from you, too. Thank you! You are a very sweet little sister. Are you and the other kids excited for the hike on Friday? Are you excited to go to that fun toy store? I remember that store, it's very cool. How many beans do you have saved up? Have fun there!
W - You little stud, you! J told me how you went to school and asked J out to prom for him. Someone has to be the man, and it's you! What else have you been doing? I bet you are a champion reader now, huh? You can read to me when I get home, ok? I'll be too tired! Have a good week, W!
Well, everyone have a great week! I love you all!
--Elder Ross
Monday, March 19, 2007
March 19, 2007
Hey everyone!!
I am doing great and the work here is exciting. It's been really sunny and beautiful here, it's nice. It's hard not to just love every day and to appreciate all the beautiful things that God has given us. Lately I have been filled with a deep gratitude for all the many, many things that I am blessed with. I really feel like the luckiest guy on the earth!
Not too many exciting things, I guess I should say things out of the ordinary, have happened so hopefully you get lots of information from my answers to your questions. [I asked several questions in my letter. Part of the letter is in direct response to my questions.] Bucharest is a very cool city, it's huge and there are tons of people. I liked it but it's dirtier and bleak I guess than Timisoara. I'm not sure how the people are in Bucharest but here in Timisoara a lot of the people are very warm and friendly. Of course, some still slam the door but many are open and we've had decent success in the blocs.
There are 6 missionaries here, 4 Elders and 2 sisters. The Elders are all sporting European fohawks today as part of blending in with the culture. I'll take some pictures and eventually I'll send them. There's one branch here and they are awesome. There are a decent amount of young people in the branch and even more that come to Outreach. The youth in this city seem way cool.
Our house...it's hard to explain, but it's really pretty small. Whenever I send a memory card, it'll have a video of my house. It's still not to clean...a lot of clutter that was there when we got there. No, lol, our dishes weren't beyond saving. Just took a little elbow grease. I haven't seen any cockroaches there yet, but I saw them when I was in Bucharest, staying the night in the sector 6 apartment. There's just myself and Elder Selck in the house. The other Elders' apartment is sweet! It's bigger...has two bathrooms! I'm jealous...We get around our area by taking the public transportation or walking. Bikes aren't used in this mission.
Yeah, I've had the bread since I've been here and it's good, but not amazing. I'm slightly disappointed because it was so hyped. The food is decent here. We have cereal for breakfast, usually sandwiches for lunch and then maybe eat some crackers or whatever other food we happen to have when we come in at 9. Sometimes we get lunch at a restaurant, though. There a lot of really cheap ones and we've been scoping some out. We found a pretty good waffle place that wasn't bad at all...about those lollipops...I still have them, I kind of forgot about them. There are a lot of beggars around, though, children included.
The language is coming, slowly, but it's coming. The hardest thing for me is understanding people, I can usually say more or less what I want but then when I have to listen I struggle more. Well, I just keep trying and I'm sure I'll get better. It's a fun thing, though, to be able to teach and talk to others in a different language and have them understand you.
I only get to check my email once a week. If you wanted to send regular mail, the pouch is the way to go. [Write me and I will send you the address.] It's slower but cheaper. well, everyone is waiting on me. I really wanted to write something to each of you individually but I guess I am too slow. Hopefully next time. I love you all! Have a great week!
Love,
Elder L
I am doing great and the work here is exciting. It's been really sunny and beautiful here, it's nice. It's hard not to just love every day and to appreciate all the beautiful things that God has given us. Lately I have been filled with a deep gratitude for all the many, many things that I am blessed with. I really feel like the luckiest guy on the earth!
Not too many exciting things, I guess I should say things out of the ordinary, have happened so hopefully you get lots of information from my answers to your questions. [I asked several questions in my letter. Part of the letter is in direct response to my questions.] Bucharest is a very cool city, it's huge and there are tons of people. I liked it but it's dirtier and bleak I guess than Timisoara. I'm not sure how the people are in Bucharest but here in Timisoara a lot of the people are very warm and friendly. Of course, some still slam the door but many are open and we've had decent success in the blocs.
There are 6 missionaries here, 4 Elders and 2 sisters. The Elders are all sporting European fohawks today as part of blending in with the culture. I'll take some pictures and eventually I'll send them. There's one branch here and they are awesome. There are a decent amount of young people in the branch and even more that come to Outreach. The youth in this city seem way cool.
Our house...it's hard to explain, but it's really pretty small. Whenever I send a memory card, it'll have a video of my house. It's still not to clean...a lot of clutter that was there when we got there. No, lol, our dishes weren't beyond saving. Just took a little elbow grease. I haven't seen any cockroaches there yet, but I saw them when I was in Bucharest, staying the night in the sector 6 apartment. There's just myself and Elder Selck in the house. The other Elders' apartment is sweet! It's bigger...has two bathrooms! I'm jealous...We get around our area by taking the public transportation or walking. Bikes aren't used in this mission.
Yeah, I've had the bread since I've been here and it's good, but not amazing. I'm slightly disappointed because it was so hyped. The food is decent here. We have cereal for breakfast, usually sandwiches for lunch and then maybe eat some crackers or whatever other food we happen to have when we come in at 9. Sometimes we get lunch at a restaurant, though. There a lot of really cheap ones and we've been scoping some out. We found a pretty good waffle place that wasn't bad at all...about those lollipops...I still have them, I kind of forgot about them. There are a lot of beggars around, though, children included.
The language is coming, slowly, but it's coming. The hardest thing for me is understanding people, I can usually say more or less what I want but then when I have to listen I struggle more. Well, I just keep trying and I'm sure I'll get better. It's a fun thing, though, to be able to teach and talk to others in a different language and have them understand you.
I only get to check my email once a week. If you wanted to send regular mail, the pouch is the way to go. [Write me and I will send you the address.] It's slower but cheaper. well, everyone is waiting on me. I really wanted to write something to each of you individually but I guess I am too slow. Hopefully next time. I love you all! Have a great week!
Love,
Elder L
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