Saturday, June 14, 2008
Things are going great!
Hey Everyone Back Home!
Things are going great here. We received the transfer fax(that's how it will be from now on, not a phone call) last night. Elder Bringhurst and I are staying together! I'm so glad, especially that I get to stay in Cluj. Of course, I'm way glad to be with Elder Bringhurst again. It's going to be a great transfer. Both Sora Thompson and Elder De Guzman are transferred from the district and they are both going to Chisinau in Moldova. I'm way excited for them, it's a sweet place. Elder Smith will be Elder Divis' companion and he is a stud. He was in my zone when I was in Buch. Sora Runyan is getting a mini this transfer, a girl from Sector 2 in Buch. I don't know anything about her.
Out of Oradea, Elder Anderson and Sora Ertel are transferred, the former to Pitesti and the latter to Ploiesti. In Elder Anderson's place, Elder Eyre is getting a boboc. The sister heading up there is Sora Canon, who I know absolutely nothing about. In any case, I'm sure our zone is going to be way tight again.
The last week was pretty good. Not a ton of stuff that went on. We had a pretty good activity on Saturday. I sent you part of a film that Elder Bringhurst and I made to illustrate the importance of missionary work. It took a bit of planning and because of that, we didn't have quite as much time for contacting. But it was way worth it, because it seemed that the members really liked the activity, especially the movie, and they learned how to be better member missionaries.
This week we also made district lunch for everyone. It was a huge hit! My companion made enchiladas(super good!) and I made banana bread and then took leftover frosting from Sora Hake's carrot cake and put it on top. The district must have loved it, because they ate it all. To answer your question, no I don't really cook much at all, lol. I'm still a sandwich maker or sometimes eggs and sausage. We do eat at the Hakes twice a week and those are always great meals so I don't feel much need to eat anything extravagant the rest of the week.
Our investigators are doing well. The Militarus missed church because they had a few day fishing trip. Alex is doing really well, though. We had an awesome lesson with about testimonies and growing his and sharing it with his mom. We are probably going to give him a baptismal date the next time we go. His grandma is way sure that he is ready, too. And this last week the sisters had a lesson with Sora Pacurar and talked to her about maintaining love in the home and raising Alex in such a way. I can't remember if I told you, but in the past when we've gone over there, she would rip into Alex, telling him he always did this, or always compained about that. Anyway, the sisters' lesson made a huge difference!! It is incredible. She still told him when he could do things better, but she did it in such a better way and she built him up a lot more. It was so cool to me, the Spirit was amazingly strong. Alex is getting baptized for sure this transfer.
Thanks for the updates on all the many happenings this week. E and S are amazing for winning frogs. Congrats! You guys have to teach me when I get back. It's one of the goals I have, to become a lot more proficient when I get home. I love the piano, but we only have keyboards here, and of course, I don't really have much time even to practice on those. I'm almost back up to hymn level skills again, though. Jake, good work on everything, seminary, high school, singing, etc. You're a stud.
Yeah, I'm still working out every morning. I'm glad to hear that it is paying off. I feel like I'm getting a lot stronger, but it's hard to see my own progress. I've got to get in top shape for all the ladies when I get home.
Well, I don't have a ton of news this week. We're going to Buch on Thursday for mission council. It's weird because it will be the last time I see President and Sora Ashby. We wanted to fly down, but the tickets are too expensive if you don't either get lucky or buy them enough in advance. So it's the 9 hour train ride, instead of the 40-minute flight. What can you do. Well, have a great week everyone. I love you!
Elder Ross
Things are going great here. We received the transfer fax(that's how it will be from now on, not a phone call) last night. Elder Bringhurst and I are staying together! I'm so glad, especially that I get to stay in Cluj. Of course, I'm way glad to be with Elder Bringhurst again. It's going to be a great transfer. Both Sora Thompson and Elder De Guzman are transferred from the district and they are both going to Chisinau in Moldova. I'm way excited for them, it's a sweet place. Elder Smith will be Elder Divis' companion and he is a stud. He was in my zone when I was in Buch. Sora Runyan is getting a mini this transfer, a girl from Sector 2 in Buch. I don't know anything about her.
Out of Oradea, Elder Anderson and Sora Ertel are transferred, the former to Pitesti and the latter to Ploiesti. In Elder Anderson's place, Elder Eyre is getting a boboc. The sister heading up there is Sora Canon, who I know absolutely nothing about. In any case, I'm sure our zone is going to be way tight again.
The last week was pretty good. Not a ton of stuff that went on. We had a pretty good activity on Saturday. I sent you part of a film that Elder Bringhurst and I made to illustrate the importance of missionary work. It took a bit of planning and because of that, we didn't have quite as much time for contacting. But it was way worth it, because it seemed that the members really liked the activity, especially the movie, and they learned how to be better member missionaries.
This week we also made district lunch for everyone. It was a huge hit! My companion made enchiladas(super good!) and I made banana bread and then took leftover frosting from Sora Hake's carrot cake and put it on top. The district must have loved it, because they ate it all. To answer your question, no I don't really cook much at all, lol. I'm still a sandwich maker or sometimes eggs and sausage. We do eat at the Hakes twice a week and those are always great meals so I don't feel much need to eat anything extravagant the rest of the week.
Our investigators are doing well. The Militarus missed church because they had a few day fishing trip. Alex is doing really well, though. We had an awesome lesson with about testimonies and growing his and sharing it with his mom. We are probably going to give him a baptismal date the next time we go. His grandma is way sure that he is ready, too. And this last week the sisters had a lesson with Sora Pacurar and talked to her about maintaining love in the home and raising Alex in such a way. I can't remember if I told you, but in the past when we've gone over there, she would rip into Alex, telling him he always did this, or always compained about that. Anyway, the sisters' lesson made a huge difference!! It is incredible. She still told him when he could do things better, but she did it in such a better way and she built him up a lot more. It was so cool to me, the Spirit was amazingly strong. Alex is getting baptized for sure this transfer.
Thanks for the updates on all the many happenings this week. E and S are amazing for winning frogs. Congrats! You guys have to teach me when I get back. It's one of the goals I have, to become a lot more proficient when I get home. I love the piano, but we only have keyboards here, and of course, I don't really have much time even to practice on those. I'm almost back up to hymn level skills again, though. Jake, good work on everything, seminary, high school, singing, etc. You're a stud.
Yeah, I'm still working out every morning. I'm glad to hear that it is paying off. I feel like I'm getting a lot stronger, but it's hard to see my own progress. I've got to get in top shape for all the ladies when I get home.
Well, I don't have a ton of news this week. We're going to Buch on Thursday for mission council. It's weird because it will be the last time I see President and Sora Ashby. We wanted to fly down, but the tickets are too expensive if you don't either get lucky or buy them enough in advance. So it's the 9 hour train ride, instead of the 40-minute flight. What can you do. Well, have a great week everyone. I love you!
Elder Ross
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Busy week here
Hey Everyone!!
Wow, I can't believe how busy your lives are! Especially yours, J. Nice job on the scripture mastery, by the way. I hope you guys have a great week finishing everything off and maybe even getting a little time to rest afterwards. Maybe? It's crazy to believe that the school year is finished and during next school year, I get back.
My week was pretty busy, too. We had a lot of things to get done that weren't necessarily missionary work, at least missionary teaching. For example, we spent just about a whole morning trying to find tortillas for Sora Runyan's birthday lunch that the Hakes threw for her(she turned 22). Well, we didn't even find them, which was lame. We lost more time because the AP's asked us to go to the autogara(bus and maxi-taxi station) to check times for traveling to Sibiu to see if we could get Sibiu in our zone next transfer. There are frequent buses and it's fairly cheap, but we found out later there was a kink in the logistics in one of the other cities, so the Transilvania zone will probably remain the smallest zone in the mission. And then on Wednesday, the sisters and us had exchanges with the sisters and two of the elders in Oradea. We got to the gara and I went to pull out my zone funds from the ATM...and they weren't in yet. They were supposed to be in a few days earlier, but it didn't happen somehow. So we didn't have money to get tickets for our train. We grabbed a taxi, hoping to make it home, grab my personal money and make it back in time to make the train. Well, we thought we did, but it turned out to be a train to Oradea that left 20 minutes later and arrived in Oradea 2 hours later! It was a personal train, meaning it stops at every little village or crossways even. So by the time we got there we couldn't really get back to Cluj in time to do any missionary work, so all of us stayed in Oradea. I was with Elder Eyre and even though we had two lessons to go to, we got bunged on both of them, so we contacted the whole day. It was actually pretty fun. We even villa knocked, which is basically knocking on houses. The first time in my mission, but it was sweet. Kinda felt like a states-side missionary.
Anyway, moral of the story, we were busy, but we made it all the way to thursday afternoon having only one lesson on the week(since we were in Oradea, they got all the lessons because it's their area). After that, though, we got a lot more and had a really solid end to our week. Church was amazing on Sunday, something like 57 people! I think that's what Sora Hakes said. There were a few visitors, like one RM and his gorgeous wife(that's why you work hard ; ) ), and also a daughter of one of our members here and her fiance came. They both live in the States. It was cool to have our vila so crowded, even if there were only 7 total investigators there, five of them ours; the Militarus and Alex.
We had another bloc-knocking member exchange and it was good. I went with Cosmin and unfortunately we only had one lesson and it was with a blind man, lol. Calin and my companion got 5, though! At least it gave Cosmin a greater appreciation for missionary work. He kept saying he couldn't believe how hard it is, and how much no one wants to listen.
Alex is doing really well. He is a sweet kid. I think he will call his mom next week or soon after that in any case. Our next lesson we are going to talk about how he can share his testimony with his mom and how he can talk to her on the phone helping her to understand how important it is to him. Alex's grandma is a great lady, she is always willing to go with us on lessons. Yeah, since she became a member or before, when she was an investigator, she just took Alex with her, since she is in charge of him and they live together. Unfortunately, sometimes she is really harsh with him and puts him down and tells him he does certain things badly. The sisters teach her sometimes while Alex is at school so they are going to teach her about raising kids in a loving, constructive atmosphere.
Cosmin's friend, Bogdan, went to FHE this last week, but he didn't come to church yesterday. I talked to Cosmin and he said he will tell us when we can help. The two ladies we met are just really busy. One of them bunged us. She said she would like to go to church with us and so we set up to go with her, since we live close. We got to her apartment and rang at the interphone. No answer. So we called her and she answered and said she didn't want to go today, but that we go by later that night. We didn't, because I hate visiting people on Sunday that didn't come to church. It shows that it was ok that they didn't come. We'll see what happens.
This morning the whole district went on a big hike. We took a bus to this canyon outside of Turda, which a smaller city outside of Cluj. We hiked around for a while, took some pics, stopped and had lunch, explored a cave, crossed some cool bridges and came back. It was a fun adventure. I'll try to remember to put up pictures next week. Btw, next week we'll know who is transferred. I can't believe that! I really, really hope I stay. I'll be way sad if I don't. We'll see. It'll be different without transfer meeting, but we'll make everything work out.
Yeah, I think my clothes and shoes are doing all right. The insides of my shoes are pretty worn, but I just got some new insoles and put them in. That helps a lot. I think I'm alright on the clothing department. The only thing is that I still want to come home with a bling, european-tailored suit. I've put aside enough from the money I accidentally took out last month, so that is going to happen. : ) I'll let you know if I need anything. I'm really happy with how everything has held up, especially garments. My suit is a bit tattered at parts, but that's ok, that's what makes it look like I worked hard. It gives it class.
Well, I'm going to bounce. I hope you guys have a great week and I'm sure it will fly by, because of how busy you will be. Oh, and J, good luck on your multiple singing appearances. You'll tear it up. I love you all!
Elder Ross
Wow, I can't believe how busy your lives are! Especially yours, J. Nice job on the scripture mastery, by the way. I hope you guys have a great week finishing everything off and maybe even getting a little time to rest afterwards. Maybe? It's crazy to believe that the school year is finished and during next school year, I get back.
My week was pretty busy, too. We had a lot of things to get done that weren't necessarily missionary work, at least missionary teaching. For example, we spent just about a whole morning trying to find tortillas for Sora Runyan's birthday lunch that the Hakes threw for her(she turned 22). Well, we didn't even find them, which was lame. We lost more time because the AP's asked us to go to the autogara(bus and maxi-taxi station) to check times for traveling to Sibiu to see if we could get Sibiu in our zone next transfer. There are frequent buses and it's fairly cheap, but we found out later there was a kink in the logistics in one of the other cities, so the Transilvania zone will probably remain the smallest zone in the mission. And then on Wednesday, the sisters and us had exchanges with the sisters and two of the elders in Oradea. We got to the gara and I went to pull out my zone funds from the ATM...and they weren't in yet. They were supposed to be in a few days earlier, but it didn't happen somehow. So we didn't have money to get tickets for our train. We grabbed a taxi, hoping to make it home, grab my personal money and make it back in time to make the train. Well, we thought we did, but it turned out to be a train to Oradea that left 20 minutes later and arrived in Oradea 2 hours later! It was a personal train, meaning it stops at every little village or crossways even. So by the time we got there we couldn't really get back to Cluj in time to do any missionary work, so all of us stayed in Oradea. I was with Elder Eyre and even though we had two lessons to go to, we got bunged on both of them, so we contacted the whole day. It was actually pretty fun. We even villa knocked, which is basically knocking on houses. The first time in my mission, but it was sweet. Kinda felt like a states-side missionary.
Anyway, moral of the story, we were busy, but we made it all the way to thursday afternoon having only one lesson on the week(since we were in Oradea, they got all the lessons because it's their area). After that, though, we got a lot more and had a really solid end to our week. Church was amazing on Sunday, something like 57 people! I think that's what Sora Hakes said. There were a few visitors, like one RM and his gorgeous wife(that's why you work hard ; ) ), and also a daughter of one of our members here and her fiance came. They both live in the States. It was cool to have our vila so crowded, even if there were only 7 total investigators there, five of them ours; the Militarus and Alex.
We had another bloc-knocking member exchange and it was good. I went with Cosmin and unfortunately we only had one lesson and it was with a blind man, lol. Calin and my companion got 5, though! At least it gave Cosmin a greater appreciation for missionary work. He kept saying he couldn't believe how hard it is, and how much no one wants to listen.
Alex is doing really well. He is a sweet kid. I think he will call his mom next week or soon after that in any case. Our next lesson we are going to talk about how he can share his testimony with his mom and how he can talk to her on the phone helping her to understand how important it is to him. Alex's grandma is a great lady, she is always willing to go with us on lessons. Yeah, since she became a member or before, when she was an investigator, she just took Alex with her, since she is in charge of him and they live together. Unfortunately, sometimes she is really harsh with him and puts him down and tells him he does certain things badly. The sisters teach her sometimes while Alex is at school so they are going to teach her about raising kids in a loving, constructive atmosphere.
Cosmin's friend, Bogdan, went to FHE this last week, but he didn't come to church yesterday. I talked to Cosmin and he said he will tell us when we can help. The two ladies we met are just really busy. One of them bunged us. She said she would like to go to church with us and so we set up to go with her, since we live close. We got to her apartment and rang at the interphone. No answer. So we called her and she answered and said she didn't want to go today, but that we go by later that night. We didn't, because I hate visiting people on Sunday that didn't come to church. It shows that it was ok that they didn't come. We'll see what happens.
This morning the whole district went on a big hike. We took a bus to this canyon outside of Turda, which a smaller city outside of Cluj. We hiked around for a while, took some pics, stopped and had lunch, explored a cave, crossed some cool bridges and came back. It was a fun adventure. I'll try to remember to put up pictures next week. Btw, next week we'll know who is transferred. I can't believe that! I really, really hope I stay. I'll be way sad if I don't. We'll see. It'll be different without transfer meeting, but we'll make everything work out.
Yeah, I think my clothes and shoes are doing all right. The insides of my shoes are pretty worn, but I just got some new insoles and put them in. That helps a lot. I think I'm alright on the clothing department. The only thing is that I still want to come home with a bling, european-tailored suit. I've put aside enough from the money I accidentally took out last month, so that is going to happen. : ) I'll let you know if I need anything. I'm really happy with how everything has held up, especially garments. My suit is a bit tattered at parts, but that's ok, that's what makes it look like I worked hard. It gives it class.
Well, I'm going to bounce. I hope you guys have a great week and I'm sure it will fly by, because of how busy you will be. Oh, and J, good luck on your multiple singing appearances. You'll tear it up. I love you all!
Elder Ross
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Bloc knocking successes; lots of fasting
Hey Beautiful People!
It sounds like everyone had a really good week! Even if there was stress along with preparing for the big concert. My week was way solid, too. I liked it a lot and it went by sooo fast, it's ridiculous. I really can't believe that it is almost June!!!
I want to start off by saying that it sounds like the concert was incredible!! I really hope you guys can send me a DVD or put some of it on youtube or something. I went to the site Dad told me about and checked the pictures out. They are super sweet! They made me want to see it even more. Good job, J!
I'll start by answering your questions and then I'll fill in the rest of my week with all the big, fun, hugely important things. The Militarus are doing really well like always, but I don't know that they are getting any closer to getting baptized. I really don't know how to help them anymore. We still pray a lot for them, but that is about all I know to do for now. On Saturday we went over there for a little bit to help Gabi get ready for an english test. It was so much fun. Elder Bringhurst was cracking jokes like crazy and Gabi, too, it was hilarious to just chill with them and have fun(we were just chatting in english).
Alex is doing well. We've been going over the missionary lessons with him to review it all, and focusing on baptism. We've done the restoration and the plan of salvation so far. After we finish we're going to make a plan with him how he can prepare and then call his mom and tell her about why he wants to get baptized. I really hope that goes well.
In the blocs we have found some cool people this week. We met two ladies(neighbors actually) and then the next day we went back to both of them with Sora Pacurar(Alex's grandma). She was great and the ladies were really cool. They didn't come to church unfortunately, but hopefully next week. Ok, one of the highlights of the week was Saturday evening. We had an exchange with Calin and Daniel. I went with Calin and it was a blast. He is so talkative and so eager to try new things, he did at least 75% of the speaking. It was really sweet and we had some solid lessons. Lessons that we might not have gotten without a Romanian. It was good, because it helps to find solid people and it also pumps up the members for missionary work. Daniel who is a way shy guy started to open up on his exchange with Elder Bringhurst and he really felt the Spirit. He had a really good time and is anxious to go again. I really don't know why I never started doing this earlier in my mission. I've had exchanges once in a while before, but we are going to start doing them every week. I just got the idea last night to have the day planned when we want to do it and then every Sunday at priesthood talk for a minute about the last exchange we had and how the members were awesome and then ask who can come with us for an exchange that next week. It's going to be sweet. I think this is really going to boost the whole branch. I feel pretty fired up about this right now. Hopefully, members will gain even more trust in us and a greater desire to give their friends as referrals.
Yesterday, one of Cosmin's friends came to church. He saw a difference/change in Cosmin a long time ago when Cosmin got baptized and finally came to church to see what it's about. He is a way high class guy and he asked tons of good questions in Sunday School. We're going to call Cosmin tonight and ask him more about Bogdan(the friend) and see if we can help answer some of Bogdan's questions.
I love the branch here. There are some complete families here and some young ones, too. Francisc and Monica have an almost 1-year old kid, Mihai and Veronica(she's Polish, they speak english together) and she's pregnant and then Cosmin and Lavinia are getting married on July 12th. These people are the future of the Church in Romania! And a lot of the reason why I love this branch so much. Those three men(Francisc, Cosmin and Mihai) are all super solid guys and anyone of them could be branch president. I look up to them a lot. I want to have a sweet young family like them. We also have some quality youth like Calin and Daniel(both 18) and then there is Simona(17), Iulia(24?). There a lot of children/younger youth growing up in the Church. Victor(Fratele Iepure's, our branch mission leader, son) is 14 and just became a teacher and then, though not members, Gabi, Cristi and Maria and also Alex are sweet and will definitely become members one beautiful day. I'm in love with this branch and I hope with all my heart I get at least one more transfer here.
Our english classes are a joke, they've pretty much died off. We still have maybe 4 students left, hopefully we can get a couple of them to church this next Sunday. Yeah, the classes are usually the same time, with beginner, medium and advanced. We have them Tuesday night and Saturday morning.
In the last over two months I have only had one Sunday where I wasn't fasting! And next week is fast sunday. I don't mean to be a gripe, but it's kind of getting to me. Iulia called us and asked us to fast with her for something. Elder Bringhurst talked with her so when he told me, I was kind of mad at first. But I got over it and tried to fast with purpose and not complaining. I'm glad we could help her. Still, fasting is starting to lose its meaning/ purpose for me. After this next week, I hope I don't need to fast until the next 1st sunday of the month.
Well, I don't really know what to do. It was a great week. Not just for us, but the whole zone. We're hoping that next week is even better. We have a lot of great things to build off of. I hope you guys have a great week, too. I love you all!
Elder Ross
It sounds like everyone had a really good week! Even if there was stress along with preparing for the big concert. My week was way solid, too. I liked it a lot and it went by sooo fast, it's ridiculous. I really can't believe that it is almost June!!!
I want to start off by saying that it sounds like the concert was incredible!! I really hope you guys can send me a DVD or put some of it on youtube or something. I went to the site Dad told me about and checked the pictures out. They are super sweet! They made me want to see it even more. Good job, J!
I'll start by answering your questions and then I'll fill in the rest of my week with all the big, fun, hugely important things. The Militarus are doing really well like always, but I don't know that they are getting any closer to getting baptized. I really don't know how to help them anymore. We still pray a lot for them, but that is about all I know to do for now. On Saturday we went over there for a little bit to help Gabi get ready for an english test. It was so much fun. Elder Bringhurst was cracking jokes like crazy and Gabi, too, it was hilarious to just chill with them and have fun(we were just chatting in english).
Alex is doing well. We've been going over the missionary lessons with him to review it all, and focusing on baptism. We've done the restoration and the plan of salvation so far. After we finish we're going to make a plan with him how he can prepare and then call his mom and tell her about why he wants to get baptized. I really hope that goes well.
In the blocs we have found some cool people this week. We met two ladies(neighbors actually) and then the next day we went back to both of them with Sora Pacurar(Alex's grandma). She was great and the ladies were really cool. They didn't come to church unfortunately, but hopefully next week. Ok, one of the highlights of the week was Saturday evening. We had an exchange with Calin and Daniel. I went with Calin and it was a blast. He is so talkative and so eager to try new things, he did at least 75% of the speaking. It was really sweet and we had some solid lessons. Lessons that we might not have gotten without a Romanian. It was good, because it helps to find solid people and it also pumps up the members for missionary work. Daniel who is a way shy guy started to open up on his exchange with Elder Bringhurst and he really felt the Spirit. He had a really good time and is anxious to go again. I really don't know why I never started doing this earlier in my mission. I've had exchanges once in a while before, but we are going to start doing them every week. I just got the idea last night to have the day planned when we want to do it and then every Sunday at priesthood talk for a minute about the last exchange we had and how the members were awesome and then ask who can come with us for an exchange that next week. It's going to be sweet. I think this is really going to boost the whole branch. I feel pretty fired up about this right now. Hopefully, members will gain even more trust in us and a greater desire to give their friends as referrals.
Yesterday, one of Cosmin's friends came to church. He saw a difference/change in Cosmin a long time ago when Cosmin got baptized and finally came to church to see what it's about. He is a way high class guy and he asked tons of good questions in Sunday School. We're going to call Cosmin tonight and ask him more about Bogdan(the friend) and see if we can help answer some of Bogdan's questions.
I love the branch here. There are some complete families here and some young ones, too. Francisc and Monica have an almost 1-year old kid, Mihai and Veronica(she's Polish, they speak english together) and she's pregnant and then Cosmin and Lavinia are getting married on July 12th. These people are the future of the Church in Romania! And a lot of the reason why I love this branch so much. Those three men(Francisc, Cosmin and Mihai) are all super solid guys and anyone of them could be branch president. I look up to them a lot. I want to have a sweet young family like them. We also have some quality youth like Calin and Daniel(both 18) and then there is Simona(17), Iulia(24?). There a lot of children/younger youth growing up in the Church. Victor(Fratele Iepure's, our branch mission leader, son) is 14 and just became a teacher and then, though not members, Gabi, Cristi and Maria and also Alex are sweet and will definitely become members one beautiful day. I'm in love with this branch and I hope with all my heart I get at least one more transfer here.
Our english classes are a joke, they've pretty much died off. We still have maybe 4 students left, hopefully we can get a couple of them to church this next Sunday. Yeah, the classes are usually the same time, with beginner, medium and advanced. We have them Tuesday night and Saturday morning.
In the last over two months I have only had one Sunday where I wasn't fasting! And next week is fast sunday. I don't mean to be a gripe, but it's kind of getting to me. Iulia called us and asked us to fast with her for something. Elder Bringhurst talked with her so when he told me, I was kind of mad at first. But I got over it and tried to fast with purpose and not complaining. I'm glad we could help her. Still, fasting is starting to lose its meaning/ purpose for me. After this next week, I hope I don't need to fast until the next 1st sunday of the month.
Well, I don't really know what to do. It was a great week. Not just for us, but the whole zone. We're hoping that next week is even better. We have a lot of great things to build off of. I hope you guys have a great week, too. I love you all!
Elder Ross
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Mother's Day Note
Hey Everyone!
I don't really have any motivation to write much of an email right now. Sorry! Also, being that I haven't really done anything since I talked to you on the phone. Mostly slept. Anyway, it was really great to talk to everyone. It was a really gratifying phone call and I think I'm tied over until I see you guys in person! Craziness! I liked what you said, Dad, in your email. Don't dread coming home or rush it, but just work hard and let the Lord direct me and I'll be ready for all the challenges in my life. You guys are amazing and I love you a ton! Have an incredible week!!
Ross
I don't really have any motivation to write much of an email right now. Sorry! Also, being that I haven't really done anything since I talked to you on the phone. Mostly slept. Anyway, it was really great to talk to everyone. It was a really gratifying phone call and I think I'm tied over until I see you guys in person! Craziness! I liked what you said, Dad, in your email. Don't dread coming home or rush it, but just work hard and let the Lord direct me and I'll be ready for all the challenges in my life. You guys are amazing and I love you a ton! Have an incredible week!!
Ross
A Couple Exchanges, Zone Conference . . . and a Funeral
Hey Everyone!
Well, I hope I can respond to the demand for a long, newsy email. Unfortunately, despite the fact that I type an email every single week, my typing skills haven't improved a ton. I'm not a slow typer, but I'm definitely not fast, either.
This last week was slower, as far as normal missionary work. We had a couple exchanges, zone conference, preparing to go with that and a funeral. Yep, a member of the branch passed away. He wasn't a very active member, but a lot of that is because he actually lives in a city a little outside of Cluj and he also had brain cancer. He came to church once since I've been here and he definitely wasn't all there. So we found out he died Wednesday and the service was on Thursday. It was odd, because it was half Mormon and half Pentacostal. Let me just say they don't mix very well. Just like it was in Iasi when Sora Maria passed away, it was interesting to note the difference between our members who understand the plan of salvation and the others, many of whom were weeping and wailing. The two Pentacostal preachers both spoke really loudly and sang really loudly when it was their turn to present something. Like really shouting and somehow thinking that would bring the Spirit of the Lord. And then when we sang our hymns it was much, much quieter, being a lot less of us, but it just felt better, too. I'm so grateful that our church doesn't have loud yelling and repeated shouts for us all to repent(of course without teaching how) and saying we'll be damned if we don't. It was interesting. Oh, and there was so much BLACK. Everyone was loaded with black. It was insane.
So a bit of our week was spent on preparing zone conference which was on Saturday. I felt really good about our presentation. It was a lot of fun and we got a lot of compliments. It was on personal revelation and also on how we can teach it to our investigators. Sora Ashby said it was one of the best ones she has seen. The AP's gave an incredible presentation, too, and the 10-minute talks were great as well. The whole conference was really sweet and I loved it. President and Sora Ashby said a lot of great stuff. It was weird, because that was the last time I will hear them give a zone conference presentation.
Let's see...on Wednesday we had exchanges with Oradea. I was in Cluj with Elder Manzione. He has progressed a bunch since the last exchange with him. Elder Bringhurst also had a great exchange with Elder Roundy. Our whole zone is so tight, they are super solid! On Friday we had an exchange with the AP's. They got here on Thursday night and left Sunday during church. It was a lot of fun to have them with us, especially because Elder Jepsen and Elder Rigby are both my former companions.
Ok, our investigators, in this last week, Alex progressed the most. Elder Jepsen was with me and we started teaching him again the missionary lessons. So we talked about the Restoration and we used two candles, one representing Jesus Christ and His authority and another representing the apostles. So we talked about about how Christ passed on the authority and so even after He died, the "light" was still on the earth. But then they were killed and it was lost so after a while, Christ came down and passed the light on to someone else, Joseph Smith. It went something like that. Alex understand really well and told us that he has prayed and knows that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I asked him if he shared that with his mom. His answere...."I forgot." I think he is really close to getting baptized. I really hope that his mom will understand how important it is to him. We'll sure be praying.
The Militarus were at church, except for the dad. They are doing just as good as ever. Elder Rigby and Elder Bringhurst had a lesson with them, so I don't know the details. Ionut was gone at a competition and so he wasn't at church. Neither was Alex :(, he had an activity with school or something.
That's kind of the update with us. Things are going really well. The whole zone is geared up for a wicked sweet week. Oh man, last night, Elder Bringhurst and I went crazy in the blocs. First of all, Sunday night is the worst night of the whole week for knocking doors and second of all, we had 3 full hours to do it. At this one door, this guy said we all need to read the Bible more and apply everything that is in it. Then we'll know about worshipping Mary, the cross and something else. So, I responded, but those things aren't in the Bible. Then he said, well, Jesus was killed on the cross. I HATE when people say that. I was like, so if Jesus was shot we'd make a pistol! And I started waving my hand around in the shape of a pistol. The guy had nothing to say to that so he said we're done and shut the door. My companion thought it was the funniest thing ever and started laughing really hard. I thought it was pretty funny, too, but I was a kind of agitated, so I didn't really laugh. Anyway, that's my bloc-knocking story of the week.
I should go. I love you, everyone! Have a fantastic week!
Elder Ross
Well, I hope I can respond to the demand for a long, newsy email. Unfortunately, despite the fact that I type an email every single week, my typing skills haven't improved a ton. I'm not a slow typer, but I'm definitely not fast, either.
This last week was slower, as far as normal missionary work. We had a couple exchanges, zone conference, preparing to go with that and a funeral. Yep, a member of the branch passed away. He wasn't a very active member, but a lot of that is because he actually lives in a city a little outside of Cluj and he also had brain cancer. He came to church once since I've been here and he definitely wasn't all there. So we found out he died Wednesday and the service was on Thursday. It was odd, because it was half Mormon and half Pentacostal. Let me just say they don't mix very well. Just like it was in Iasi when Sora Maria passed away, it was interesting to note the difference between our members who understand the plan of salvation and the others, many of whom were weeping and wailing. The two Pentacostal preachers both spoke really loudly and sang really loudly when it was their turn to present something. Like really shouting and somehow thinking that would bring the Spirit of the Lord. And then when we sang our hymns it was much, much quieter, being a lot less of us, but it just felt better, too. I'm so grateful that our church doesn't have loud yelling and repeated shouts for us all to repent(of course without teaching how) and saying we'll be damned if we don't. It was interesting. Oh, and there was so much BLACK. Everyone was loaded with black. It was insane.
So a bit of our week was spent on preparing zone conference which was on Saturday. I felt really good about our presentation. It was a lot of fun and we got a lot of compliments. It was on personal revelation and also on how we can teach it to our investigators. Sora Ashby said it was one of the best ones she has seen. The AP's gave an incredible presentation, too, and the 10-minute talks were great as well. The whole conference was really sweet and I loved it. President and Sora Ashby said a lot of great stuff. It was weird, because that was the last time I will hear them give a zone conference presentation.
Let's see...on Wednesday we had exchanges with Oradea. I was in Cluj with Elder Manzione. He has progressed a bunch since the last exchange with him. Elder Bringhurst also had a great exchange with Elder Roundy. Our whole zone is so tight, they are super solid! On Friday we had an exchange with the AP's. They got here on Thursday night and left Sunday during church. It was a lot of fun to have them with us, especially because Elder Jepsen and Elder Rigby are both my former companions.
Ok, our investigators, in this last week, Alex progressed the most. Elder Jepsen was with me and we started teaching him again the missionary lessons. So we talked about the Restoration and we used two candles, one representing Jesus Christ and His authority and another representing the apostles. So we talked about about how Christ passed on the authority and so even after He died, the "light" was still on the earth. But then they were killed and it was lost so after a while, Christ came down and passed the light on to someone else, Joseph Smith. It went something like that. Alex understand really well and told us that he has prayed and knows that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I asked him if he shared that with his mom. His answere...."I forgot." I think he is really close to getting baptized. I really hope that his mom will understand how important it is to him. We'll sure be praying.
The Militarus were at church, except for the dad. They are doing just as good as ever. Elder Rigby and Elder Bringhurst had a lesson with them, so I don't know the details. Ionut was gone at a competition and so he wasn't at church. Neither was Alex :(, he had an activity with school or something.
That's kind of the update with us. Things are going really well. The whole zone is geared up for a wicked sweet week. Oh man, last night, Elder Bringhurst and I went crazy in the blocs. First of all, Sunday night is the worst night of the whole week for knocking doors and second of all, we had 3 full hours to do it. At this one door, this guy said we all need to read the Bible more and apply everything that is in it. Then we'll know about worshipping Mary, the cross and something else. So, I responded, but those things aren't in the Bible. Then he said, well, Jesus was killed on the cross. I HATE when people say that. I was like, so if Jesus was shot we'd make a pistol! And I started waving my hand around in the shape of a pistol. The guy had nothing to say to that so he said we're done and shut the door. My companion thought it was the funniest thing ever and started laughing really hard. I thought it was pretty funny, too, but I was a kind of agitated, so I didn't really laugh. Anyway, that's my bloc-knocking story of the week.
I should go. I love you, everyone! Have a fantastic week!
Elder Ross
Monday, May 5, 2008
Zone leaders with MTC Companion
Hey One and All!
So basically, lots of exciting changes have happened in our zone, as far as the type of missionaries that are in it now. To start out with, my new companion is Elder Bringhurst. Sound familiar?... I'm with my MTC companion again! I'm super excited and so is he. We are going to tear it up this transfer. That also means that I am now senior zone leader, not really a huge change, Elder Bringhurst is obviously an experienced missionary, too, and so I just have to teach him about some of the business, finances, whatnot that we do as zone leaders. Both our district leaders are brand new, in their very first transfer of it. Elder Divis here in Cluj(he was in my district back in Buch) and Elder Roundy in Oradea. So that is a huge change to last transfer where both of them were former ZL's. The ZL/DL meeting tomorrow should be a great chance to help teach and train them, though I'm sure they know most of what they are doing.
Poor Elder Rigby didn't dodge the bullet, he is now an assistant to President Ashby. It's really crazy, but 3 of my 4 seniors have gone AP(Selck, Jepsen and now Rigby) and the other one(Elder Garrett) went into the office. It was fun at mission council because there were 6 missionaries from my MTC group there. We learned a lot there. Our big focuses were: the role/how to use the branch mission leader, object lessons, focusing more on the numbers that count(member presents, new investigators, investigators at church, baptismal dates and baptisms) and the importance of distict meetings.
A big announcement was made at transfer meeting and that is that there won't be any more transfer meetings in the future. They take a lot of money and, more importantly, time. So when transfers come around and someone is transferred, then we put them on a train by themselves and off they are to their new city where their new companion will pick them up. It will be interesting to see it done like this, especially because I know that is how most other missions are done. I remember Peter telling me it was like that in Germany. I will miss the chance to see other missionaries, we won't have another chance to be like that together again the rest of my whole mission. There are a lot of friends I might not see again, at least not here in Romania. But at the same time, I really feel that this is what the Lord wants and every sacrifice is just a chance to gain more blessings. I'm excited to see those blessings come to this mission.
By the way, Mom, I really appreciate what you wrote to me about hard times, but how the Lord will see us through. I think I will print off those paragraphs and have to see and review. I am grateful for the trials that have made me draw closer to my Father.
The flight to Bucharest was really nice. We were in the air for only about 35 minutes, so much better than a 9 hour train ride. Unfortunately, we didn't have such luxury on the way back. For some reason, the flight back was way more expensive and so we had to take a train. We wanted to take the 7:30 pm train on Thursday, but it didn't have any sleeper cars. We were going back with the sisters from Oradea and also Elders Eyre and Anderson from Oradea. We had a 6 person compartment for all of us also 2 people's luggage. It was comfortable in the least. We got to Cluj at 4 in the morning and then slept until 9 just so that we could make it through that day.
We haven't had a ton of time to meet with investigators because of transfers, but the Militarus(minus the father) and Ionut came to church. It was especially good to see Ionut, because he has only been to church a couple times before. We have found a couple really cool new investigators who I will tell you about next week if they continue to progress.
Well, I'm going to take off. I love you guys! Have a great, successful week!
Elder Ross
So basically, lots of exciting changes have happened in our zone, as far as the type of missionaries that are in it now. To start out with, my new companion is Elder Bringhurst. Sound familiar?... I'm with my MTC companion again! I'm super excited and so is he. We are going to tear it up this transfer. That also means that I am now senior zone leader, not really a huge change, Elder Bringhurst is obviously an experienced missionary, too, and so I just have to teach him about some of the business, finances, whatnot that we do as zone leaders. Both our district leaders are brand new, in their very first transfer of it. Elder Divis here in Cluj(he was in my district back in Buch) and Elder Roundy in Oradea. So that is a huge change to last transfer where both of them were former ZL's. The ZL/DL meeting tomorrow should be a great chance to help teach and train them, though I'm sure they know most of what they are doing.
Poor Elder Rigby didn't dodge the bullet, he is now an assistant to President Ashby. It's really crazy, but 3 of my 4 seniors have gone AP(Selck, Jepsen and now Rigby) and the other one(Elder Garrett) went into the office. It was fun at mission council because there were 6 missionaries from my MTC group there. We learned a lot there. Our big focuses were: the role/how to use the branch mission leader, object lessons, focusing more on the numbers that count(member presents, new investigators, investigators at church, baptismal dates and baptisms) and the importance of distict meetings.
A big announcement was made at transfer meeting and that is that there won't be any more transfer meetings in the future. They take a lot of money and, more importantly, time. So when transfers come around and someone is transferred, then we put them on a train by themselves and off they are to their new city where their new companion will pick them up. It will be interesting to see it done like this, especially because I know that is how most other missions are done. I remember Peter telling me it was like that in Germany. I will miss the chance to see other missionaries, we won't have another chance to be like that together again the rest of my whole mission. There are a lot of friends I might not see again, at least not here in Romania. But at the same time, I really feel that this is what the Lord wants and every sacrifice is just a chance to gain more blessings. I'm excited to see those blessings come to this mission.
By the way, Mom, I really appreciate what you wrote to me about hard times, but how the Lord will see us through. I think I will print off those paragraphs and have to see and review. I am grateful for the trials that have made me draw closer to my Father.
The flight to Bucharest was really nice. We were in the air for only about 35 minutes, so much better than a 9 hour train ride. Unfortunately, we didn't have such luxury on the way back. For some reason, the flight back was way more expensive and so we had to take a train. We wanted to take the 7:30 pm train on Thursday, but it didn't have any sleeper cars. We were going back with the sisters from Oradea and also Elders Eyre and Anderson from Oradea. We had a 6 person compartment for all of us also 2 people's luggage. It was comfortable in the least. We got to Cluj at 4 in the morning and then slept until 9 just so that we could make it through that day.
We haven't had a ton of time to meet with investigators because of transfers, but the Militarus(minus the father) and Ionut came to church. It was especially good to see Ionut, because he has only been to church a couple times before. We have found a couple really cool new investigators who I will tell you about next week if they continue to progress.
Well, I'm going to take off. I love you guys! Have a great, successful week!
Elder Ross
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
From the land of Dracula and other vampires
Hey Beautiful People
Things are going alright here in the land of Dracula and other great vampires. This week seemed like a long one for me, but at the same time I can't believe the transfer is almost over. Next week, I'll be writing you and telling you who is transferred. I'm pretty sure I will stay and my companion probably will become assistant, but who knows. For his sake, I hope he stays here in Cluj.
Yeahhh! J got into BYU!! That is way tight.
Easter hasn't happened yet. It's this next Sunday and hopefully some baptisms will come with that, too. :) We haven't had our zone conference with Elder Christofferson yet, either. It is on Thursday. He will be speaking to us from 9-12, then we'll have lunch and then Elder Rigby and I have a presentation. We'll be talking on developing the absolute faith to find the very elect. It's a sweet topic and I've learned a ton by preparing for it. I'll tell you how it goes next week. We were told that in all the zone conferences that Elder Christofferson would speak and then leave after that, but I don't know if that will happen in ours, because he has a fireside, too, later that night and I can't imagine where he would go. Well, I guess we'll see if I have to present in front of an Apostle of the Lord!
This week we started handing out fliers for English. Actually, we didn't get them until Saturday morning and the first sign-ups are on Tuesday so we have to get those bad boys out. We are actually going to take the rest of our P-day on Wednesday, so we can spend today handing out fliers. Hopefully, a ton of people show up. The fliers are really well made. I'll send you a picture next week. I was going to send you guys pictures today, but in my hurry, I brought the camera and forgot the cable. So, next week. Hopefully. Church was pretty good. We're still maintaining a pretty good average, there were 48 people there.
While we were passing out English fliers, we talked to these two girls that were handing out fliers for Orange. And then they came to church! Sweet, huh? They seemed to really like it. I can't claim credit, Elder Armstrong was the one that talked to them the most and invited them. It's cool to see new people come, though.
For us, the Militaru's came, without the father :(, and Alex, of course. Today is going to be a deciding factor in what baptisms are coming next week. We finally got a hold of Ionut and we are meeting him. If he is really prepared then he'll get baptized this sunday. If not, soon after that. Then we are meeting with the Militaru's and we are taking Calina, the brand new member who got confirmed yesterday. I'm not sure yet why we are taking her, but I just had the impression when we were thinking of who to take that we should go with her. I'll guess I'll be able to tell you why next week. We pretty much have to give them their date today for this sunday if they are going to make it so it's going to be an intense, way cool lesson. Also we are going to talk to Catalin and his dad, who doesn't like his. We tried to stop by and talk to Catalin a few days ago but he wasn't there and his dad said if we want to talk to Catalin more we need to talk to the father first and tell him what we're doing with his son. He wasn't too pleasant of a guy. Hopefully that lesson goes well and my companion doesn't get in a fight, lol. He's fired up already for that lesson.
Oh man, we had to back to that pottery/porcelain/china/whatever it is store and buy more stuff for Sora Ashby. She wanted to have 12 pieces to give out at the seniors' conference that is coming up. We went and I hope we picked out good stuff. It cost 800 RON, lol, something like $350, but that was within the prices she told us she wanted. It was weird, I never imagined buying china on my mission. It was fun, in a different way, lol.
Well, I haven't gotten that package that, because we haven't had zone conference. Hopefully I get it this week. I can't wait to have more short-sleeve white shirts. Well, I don't know what to write. Not a super eventful week. I had an exchange with Elder Anderson, the boboc from Oradea. It went really well, he is an incredible missionary and I love his fearlessness. He was talking to everyone, wherever we went. Riding the train to Oradea then back again and then to Oradea the next day and back again drove me nuts. A total of 10 hours sitting. I got so restless.
Anyway, I'm going to bounce now. We're going to take lunch and then pass out more fliers and then start having those lessons. I love you all!
Elder Ross
Monday, April 14, 2008
A Few Bumps in the Road - but Forward with Faith
Good Morning Everyone!
Your last line was very appropriate, Mom, this week was a lot harder than the one before. ["Keep trusting in the Lord, even on days when things seem discouraging."] We worked really hard, both with our investigators we already had and also with trying to find new ones. It is sad when people get such a good chance to accept the Gospel, they seem so promising and then it doesn't work out. They either don't care or other things come into their lives and take priority. It brings to mind the parable of the sower. Well, we'll keep looking for those seeds that fall into the good ground and bring forth fruit.
Church yesterday was pretty good. The great attendance continues to happen. There were 52 people at church yesterday, woohoo! The Militaru's came again, too! At first they weren't there, they were running late, I mean, so when church started our only investigator at church was Alex. Man, we were so happy when we saw them, with the dad :), coming in. Unfortunately, Ionut and Catalin didn't come and we haven't really had a lesson with them since last week. We'll meet with them soon I hope.
About our goal for 7 baptisms this transfer, at one point this last week, we were a little discouraged and to be honest, I think our faith slackened a little. But we continued working hard and studying and praying, with more real intent than before, and I really believe it is still going to happen. There are only two sundays left in the transfer, so all 7 need to be at church on this sunday(preferably, not a rule, but important if you are getting baptized the next week) so they can get baptized the following sunday, which will be Easter. A great gift to the Savior, I think! This makes me think about when Jesus came to his disciples when they were on the sea in the midst of a storm. It's in Matthew 14 and He comes in the fourth watch, the very end of the night. That is how it will be with us, because He needs to try our faith first.
On Wednesday we had exchanges with the APs, Elder Linsenmeyer and Elder Jepsen. It was a lot of fun, I really enjoyed it. Beforehand, I was a little nervous just because I went with Elder Linsenmeyer and I didn't know him at all, before that, and also because I don't know this city that great. But it went well. We did some dorm blocking and it was really successful. Students are really open. That's also where one of our trials came, though. We went back on Friday and an adminstrator came down and yelled at us and kicked us out of the dorms and told us we can't be there, so just two days after finding a great new place for finding new people, we lost it.
Interviews with President Ashby were ok, nothing special. Haha, we were assistants for a day! Sora Ashby wanted to get some china that I guess is only found in Cluj so we went all over the city with her. First we drove to a hotel that displays it and they sent us to the factory, but they don't sell it there and we were sent to the outlet store where Sora Ashby a lot of money on china and pottery things. It was funny, she was complaining that she didn't have a girl to consult with. I thought we did a great job, we found a really cool one that she could fill with Skittles and another one that would be perfect for putting cookies in. Whatever. :)
Yeah, the Hakes are the senior couple. Their responsibility is to run Outreach and other youth activities and to feed us missionaries twice a week. :) They are awesome, they do a lot. They are the coolest senior couple I've met yet on my mission.
Well, this is an important week and we're going to get down and dirty and work ourselves to the limit! We've got to make some miracles happen! Thank you for all of your support and prayers. They are much appreciated. I loved reading Elder Bednar's talk on praying in faith. It works when we follow that pattern. I love you all! Have a great week!
Elder Ross
Your last line was very appropriate, Mom, this week was a lot harder than the one before. ["Keep trusting in the Lord, even on days when things seem discouraging."] We worked really hard, both with our investigators we already had and also with trying to find new ones. It is sad when people get such a good chance to accept the Gospel, they seem so promising and then it doesn't work out. They either don't care or other things come into their lives and take priority. It brings to mind the parable of the sower. Well, we'll keep looking for those seeds that fall into the good ground and bring forth fruit.
Church yesterday was pretty good. The great attendance continues to happen. There were 52 people at church yesterday, woohoo! The Militaru's came again, too! At first they weren't there, they were running late, I mean, so when church started our only investigator at church was Alex. Man, we were so happy when we saw them, with the dad :), coming in. Unfortunately, Ionut and Catalin didn't come and we haven't really had a lesson with them since last week. We'll meet with them soon I hope.
About our goal for 7 baptisms this transfer, at one point this last week, we were a little discouraged and to be honest, I think our faith slackened a little. But we continued working hard and studying and praying, with more real intent than before, and I really believe it is still going to happen. There are only two sundays left in the transfer, so all 7 need to be at church on this sunday(preferably, not a rule, but important if you are getting baptized the next week) so they can get baptized the following sunday, which will be Easter. A great gift to the Savior, I think! This makes me think about when Jesus came to his disciples when they were on the sea in the midst of a storm. It's in Matthew 14 and He comes in the fourth watch, the very end of the night. That is how it will be with us, because He needs to try our faith first.
On Wednesday we had exchanges with the APs, Elder Linsenmeyer and Elder Jepsen. It was a lot of fun, I really enjoyed it. Beforehand, I was a little nervous just because I went with Elder Linsenmeyer and I didn't know him at all, before that, and also because I don't know this city that great. But it went well. We did some dorm blocking and it was really successful. Students are really open. That's also where one of our trials came, though. We went back on Friday and an adminstrator came down and yelled at us and kicked us out of the dorms and told us we can't be there, so just two days after finding a great new place for finding new people, we lost it.
Interviews with President Ashby were ok, nothing special. Haha, we were assistants for a day! Sora Ashby wanted to get some china that I guess is only found in Cluj so we went all over the city with her. First we drove to a hotel that displays it and they sent us to the factory, but they don't sell it there and we were sent to the outlet store where Sora Ashby a lot of money on china and pottery things. It was funny, she was complaining that she didn't have a girl to consult with. I thought we did a great job, we found a really cool one that she could fill with Skittles and another one that would be perfect for putting cookies in. Whatever. :)
Yeah, the Hakes are the senior couple. Their responsibility is to run Outreach and other youth activities and to feed us missionaries twice a week. :) They are awesome, they do a lot. They are the coolest senior couple I've met yet on my mission.
Well, this is an important week and we're going to get down and dirty and work ourselves to the limit! We've got to make some miracles happen! Thank you for all of your support and prayers. They are much appreciated. I loved reading Elder Bednar's talk on praying in faith. It works when we follow that pattern. I love you all! Have a great week!
Elder Ross
Monday, April 7, 2008
In love with the work - Grateful to be a missionary
Hey One and All!
Thanks, Mom, I'm glad that my letters sound good. And I think I'm doing even better than my letters sound. I really have fallen in love with the work and I can't really express all the gratitude I have that I get to be here. I'm all too aware of all my shortcomings, but it is ok, because as I strive to do my best the Savior and His Atonement make up the rest. It is a nice realization and helps my faith.
I hope that I am able to write everything that I want to. I have less than an hour today and it usually takes me a bit longer than that. But President Ashby is coming into town within the hour and we have interviews with him. So if the email is shorter than usual, sorry!
This last week was really great, I enjoyed it a lot and it went by really quickly. I am blown away when I think that the transfer is half over already. In the past I've always looked forward to the transfer passing quickly, but now I don't want it to end. I have a great companion, an amazing district and a high-quality zone. The investigators are so cool and I love the members. Pretty much the perfect transfer :)
I went up to Oradea for an exchange with Elder Valentine. It was a lot of fun. I got to know that district a little bit better and they are all, every single one of them, really good missionaries. It was sweet to see another city,too, and I snapped a couple pictures. The work is going well there. I got to meet with one of their investigators that is getting baptized pretty soon.
I have gotten to see three sessions of General Conference and it is amazing! I don't know what the difference is this time around, but I drank in the words like I never have before. It was amazing and so good to hear the words of the living prophets and apostles. Elder Christofferson was scheduled to come to Romania at the end of the month, but we don't know if that is still happening. It would be incredible to meet with a living apostle of the Lord. We'll see. Church was normal here. We watched the sessions at the Hakes' place. The Saturday morning at 7pm Saturday night, so that was live. After lunch at their place Sunday, we watched the Saturday afternoon session and then we watched the Sunday morning session live. Wow, it was sweet. We invited members and investigators, too. Not a lot came, but a few and I'm sure it was good for them.
Church was so good! Between the 6 of us here in Cluj, we had 15 investigators at church! It's the most I've ever had in my mission. Total, there were 48 people. We set a goal at the beginning of the transfer to have it up to 35(before it was 25-30, around there), so we are definitely making it! There were 48 last week, too. Ionut came, which was amazing, he was supposed to have a competition out of town, but stuff got changed around. He doesn't have a date yet, but he should get baptized this Sunday or the following, we're praying for this one. Catalin is struggling, a lot because of his mom. It is a big trial of his faith. I hope he pulls through. Hopefully he gets baptized in two weeks.
The big miracle of the week....The Militaru dad came to church!!! Elder Rigby and I and several members fasted for them on Saturday until Sunday and it worked. We are making progress! I was standing by the entrance when he came in, his family had already entered like 5 minutes before. He gave me a big smile and said, "My family doesn't know I'm here." Then went and sat by his wife who looked sooo happy. Usually he just drops the others off, but something made him want to stay and he did, with his family for all three hours. I think he liked it. I also think we have a decent relationship. He's always on the computer so we asked him if he would help copy some of Elder Rigby's music so that I could have it and he said to come over anytime and he'll help us. We're going over there tonight and it will be sweet if he joins us on the lesson, too. We'll see.
To answer some questions, mission council is a meeting that happens after every transfer meeting when all the zone leaders go to President's house and sit down with him and the AP's and we talk about the mission and its direction, make plans for improving the work and whatever. The theme this time was building the faith to baptize. Oh, we carry money to reimburse other missionaries for their utility bills or train tickets, stuff like that that doesn't come out of their normal funds.
Elder Armstrong's meeting with President Condurachi actually went really well. He took Elder Hakes and I think that was a big help. He is seen as someone older with a lot of Church experience and it is a lot easier for the Romanians to take counsel from someone like him.
Alex is an 11-year old kid. A total stud. He lives with his grandma. His mom works in Italy and she hasn't given him permission to be baptized yet. His grandma, btw, is a really great member. But Alex's mom gets here in the end of April and so we'll talk with her. She wants to come to church, is what his grandma said. So hopefully that all works out and we get two baptisms, instead of one in that family.
We are still pumped for our big goal of 7 baptisms this transfer, even though no one has a set date right now. We've seen so many miracles already, we know that it will happen somehow as we keep working hard and keep believing. We think that the Militaru dad will get baptized as well this month and we are going to work hard for it and pray hard for it.
Wow, Dad! Employee of the Year! That is super awesome, you definitely deserve it. Congratulations! My companion and I were talking earlier about how lucky we are that we grew up with such incredible parents and I really know that is true. I'm so grateful for both your example and for Mom's. This award you got is just a sign of the hard work and diligence you have always put forth and that I hope to inherit a little of. Thanks, Dad! I love you.
Thanks so much for all of your emails. I love hearing from you so much. And Happy Birthday E! I can't believe you are 10 now! Ridiculous! La Multi Ani!(To many years! lit. translated). I don't want the journal as either of the ones I have now, something completely new. I would love a hardbound one, just something big and tome-like that will be fun to write in.
Well, wonderful people! I better bounce to my interview. I'll let you know how it goes next week. I love you!!!!
Elder Ross
Thanks, Mom, I'm glad that my letters sound good. And I think I'm doing even better than my letters sound. I really have fallen in love with the work and I can't really express all the gratitude I have that I get to be here. I'm all too aware of all my shortcomings, but it is ok, because as I strive to do my best the Savior and His Atonement make up the rest. It is a nice realization and helps my faith.
I hope that I am able to write everything that I want to. I have less than an hour today and it usually takes me a bit longer than that. But President Ashby is coming into town within the hour and we have interviews with him. So if the email is shorter than usual, sorry!
This last week was really great, I enjoyed it a lot and it went by really quickly. I am blown away when I think that the transfer is half over already. In the past I've always looked forward to the transfer passing quickly, but now I don't want it to end. I have a great companion, an amazing district and a high-quality zone. The investigators are so cool and I love the members. Pretty much the perfect transfer :)
I went up to Oradea for an exchange with Elder Valentine. It was a lot of fun. I got to know that district a little bit better and they are all, every single one of them, really good missionaries. It was sweet to see another city,too, and I snapped a couple pictures. The work is going well there. I got to meet with one of their investigators that is getting baptized pretty soon.
I have gotten to see three sessions of General Conference and it is amazing! I don't know what the difference is this time around, but I drank in the words like I never have before. It was amazing and so good to hear the words of the living prophets and apostles. Elder Christofferson was scheduled to come to Romania at the end of the month, but we don't know if that is still happening. It would be incredible to meet with a living apostle of the Lord. We'll see. Church was normal here. We watched the sessions at the Hakes' place. The Saturday morning at 7pm Saturday night, so that was live. After lunch at their place Sunday, we watched the Saturday afternoon session and then we watched the Sunday morning session live. Wow, it was sweet. We invited members and investigators, too. Not a lot came, but a few and I'm sure it was good for them.
Church was so good! Between the 6 of us here in Cluj, we had 15 investigators at church! It's the most I've ever had in my mission. Total, there were 48 people. We set a goal at the beginning of the transfer to have it up to 35(before it was 25-30, around there), so we are definitely making it! There were 48 last week, too. Ionut came, which was amazing, he was supposed to have a competition out of town, but stuff got changed around. He doesn't have a date yet, but he should get baptized this Sunday or the following, we're praying for this one. Catalin is struggling, a lot because of his mom. It is a big trial of his faith. I hope he pulls through. Hopefully he gets baptized in two weeks.
The big miracle of the week....The Militaru dad came to church!!! Elder Rigby and I and several members fasted for them on Saturday until Sunday and it worked. We are making progress! I was standing by the entrance when he came in, his family had already entered like 5 minutes before. He gave me a big smile and said, "My family doesn't know I'm here." Then went and sat by his wife who looked sooo happy. Usually he just drops the others off, but something made him want to stay and he did, with his family for all three hours. I think he liked it. I also think we have a decent relationship. He's always on the computer so we asked him if he would help copy some of Elder Rigby's music so that I could have it and he said to come over anytime and he'll help us. We're going over there tonight and it will be sweet if he joins us on the lesson, too. We'll see.
To answer some questions, mission council is a meeting that happens after every transfer meeting when all the zone leaders go to President's house and sit down with him and the AP's and we talk about the mission and its direction, make plans for improving the work and whatever. The theme this time was building the faith to baptize. Oh, we carry money to reimburse other missionaries for their utility bills or train tickets, stuff like that that doesn't come out of their normal funds.
Elder Armstrong's meeting with President Condurachi actually went really well. He took Elder Hakes and I think that was a big help. He is seen as someone older with a lot of Church experience and it is a lot easier for the Romanians to take counsel from someone like him.
Alex is an 11-year old kid. A total stud. He lives with his grandma. His mom works in Italy and she hasn't given him permission to be baptized yet. His grandma, btw, is a really great member. But Alex's mom gets here in the end of April and so we'll talk with her. She wants to come to church, is what his grandma said. So hopefully that all works out and we get two baptisms, instead of one in that family.
We are still pumped for our big goal of 7 baptisms this transfer, even though no one has a set date right now. We've seen so many miracles already, we know that it will happen somehow as we keep working hard and keep believing. We think that the Militaru dad will get baptized as well this month and we are going to work hard for it and pray hard for it.
Wow, Dad! Employee of the Year! That is super awesome, you definitely deserve it. Congratulations! My companion and I were talking earlier about how lucky we are that we grew up with such incredible parents and I really know that is true. I'm so grateful for both your example and for Mom's. This award you got is just a sign of the hard work and diligence you have always put forth and that I hope to inherit a little of. Thanks, Dad! I love you.
Thanks so much for all of your emails. I love hearing from you so much. And Happy Birthday E! I can't believe you are 10 now! Ridiculous! La Multi Ani!(To many years! lit. translated). I don't want the journal as either of the ones I have now, something completely new. I would love a hardbound one, just something big and tome-like that will be fun to write in.
Well, wonderful people! I better bounce to my interview. I'll let you know how it goes next week. I love you!!!!
Elder Ross
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