November 18, 2013
The mission is going really great right now. I feel like I am at a
high point, and I just love being here. I love the city, I love the
branch, I love my companion. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. And I
don't need to have progressing investigators to feel that way. I know
this is the Lord's work, and we are doing our best.
Last P-day seems like it was ages ago. So much has
been going on. We did a service project for a less active member on
Tuesday, and it ended up taking six hours! But once we started, we had
to finish, since we were building a brick wall and had to use all the
cement we had mixed. Construction here is a lot different than I am used
to, especially someone in humble circumstances just trying to add a
bathroom and kitchen to their humble home. I felt like I was in a
different world. It was a hard project, and made for a long day,
especially since we had to rush to English right after we finished, with
barely enough time to change clothes, not to mention preparing our
lesson! But we helped someone in need, and we can feel good about that.
However, having wet concrete on your hands for a few hours does
something terrible to the skin. My hands have been going through stages
of peeling all week! And, we will be going back to do it again on
Wednesday! But it's all part of the experience.
We also talked to lot of people this week and
recorded a lot of phone numbers on our potential investigators list.
Most of those came from our exchanges with the zone leaders. That was a
great experience! We placed two copies of
the Book of Mormon in under three hours. It was great! I feel I gained a
lot of confidence in being able to just talk to people, just by being
real and honest about who we are and why we are here. I really feel I
learned a lot from the exchange. We have great zone leaders.
We also were fed by members twice this week, on
Wednesday by the branch president's family. We had some of the best
chicken I have ever eaten. And the next day, we went to another family
in the branch, which was great. It's been a good week.
And when we have to feed ourselves, we still keep it
good. I am converted to hot cereal in the mornings, particularly cream
of wheat (known here as griş). It's so cheap and amazing with fruit in
it. This week I plan on trying the Romanian staple of Mămăligă.
We also like keeping some variety in what we eat for
dinner. Could I get dad's recipe for sloppy joes, perhaps? We made some
this week, and it turned out really good, but it was a different
flavour than what I remember from home.
Here are some pictures from Constanta:
Christmas is coming to Romania!
November 25, 2013
Transfer week!! The suspense has been building every day, or at
least it was until Friday. We were so convinced that Elder B would
leave and that I would stay, but President called on Friday night and
we got a surprise. Elder B will be serving in Constanta again with
his fellow Italian, Elder C! That is probably the ideal outcome
of this transfer for Elder B, and he is super happy! He thought
that would be too good to actually happen.
Now to me. I'm getting shipped out, clear across the
country to... Cluj!! Yup, I'm going to Transylvania now. My new
companion is Elder C. I don't know too much about him yet, but I
know he has been out for over a year, and that he served in Constanta
for 5 transfers, in the same apartment I have been in. I have seen his
name all over our area book. I'm super excited to meet him! It is going
to be another six-person district, which will be great for Christmas.
And I have heard great things about the branch in Cluj as well. Lots of
strong members there. Constanta and Cluj are supposed to be the two best
branches in the country, so I am really lucking out so far.
As for my week, it was very busy and tiring for the
most part. We did a LOT of service. We went back to the house we were
working on last week, but the man had us mix even more cement this time.
However, we encountered another problem. The bricks he is using to
build are acutally just broken pieces, that look like they came from a
demolished building. Now that we have used all the good ones, we have to
saw every block into a usable shape. That added a lot of time to our
job. We were still working well after dark, when I was delegated to hold
the light and keep clean hands to answer the phone if needed. So I got
the easy job for the last few hours. But we were there until after 9:30
PM. It was kind of ridiculous, and exhausting. We didn't have any
gloves, or tools, so my hands got intensely dried out again, but they
are all good now.
But on Saturday, we started another project for a
different member. He is also building a house, in a little town south of
Constanta. The land was being used for a vineyard, so we had to remove a
whole bunch of big metal poles from the ground and pull up the old
plants. That was also very tiring. So it was a long week.
Sunday was great though. The less active members
that showed up last week came again, and there were also 4 investigators
at church. It was a fantastic Sunday to leave on! The primary did their
presentation, which was so cool. I love this branch!
Christmas lights around the city is pretty
typical. Christmas in Romania is a big deal. I'll have to see what it is
like in Cluj.
But today, was a wonderful day.
We celebrated Thankgiving as a district, and we pulled off a fantastic
dinner. It was a real feast, and I got to eat just like I would have at
home; that is, until I was absolutely stuffed. Elder B and I made
the mashed potatoes, carrots, cornbread, stuffing, (with a mix that
Sora N got from a package) a strawberry banana pie, and a dish of
sliced oranges (the Italian way). We also brought some drinks, so we had
seven things just from us. Even though we did some of the cooking at
the church, it took us two trips to get it all there. We had to cook it
there, since we had no water at home. (As happens fairly regularly
during the day in our apartment)
But the meal was amazing, and we have lots of
leftovers. The other Elders did the turkey and deviled eggs, and the
sisters brought rolls, some more vegetables, an apple pie. and a
beautiful raspberry cheesecake. It was amazing. It's been a good day. But I really appreciate all
the work that goes into cooking a good meal. It's exhausting! But I
really enjoy it.
Final pictures from Constanta before the transfer:
December 2nd, 2013
I'm in Cluj! Yay! Wow, there is so much to update on today. I hope I remember it all.
I'll start from the beginning, back in Constanta. Tuesday was the last day for me in the city, and I got to spend it with the other elders helping the elder's quorum president dig up the rest of that 50-year-old vinyard. It was a lot of work, but I'm done now. After we finished, we ate the rest of our thanksgiving leftovers and I packed my bags.
Wednesday morning, I took the bus out from Constanta, away from my birth city. I will miss it and Elder B. But it is time to move on. I stayed in Bucuresti the whole day on Wednesday because we didn't get our train tickets on time, and had to get some for 5:45 the next morning! So Elder R, my temporary travel companion, district leader in Cluj now, had to stay in Buc. That evening we did some contacting and did a visit to a member he baptized, so that was cool.
Thursday, Sora M, Sora F, Elder R, and I, took the 10 hour train to Cluj. It was a long trip, but a good opportunity to get to know my new district. They are really nice, and I am excited to get to know them. I'll be spending the holidays with this district! However, I preferred the three hour ride to Constanta.
Then, I met Elder C when we got to Cluj. Our apartment is right next to the train station, so that was nice and convenient. In fact, it's not even an apartment really, it is it's own separate little house! It's pretty nice. Roomy, clean, and with heated floors for that extra touch. I think I got lucky with this one this transfer.
Elder C is great. He is from California, and has been out here since fall 2012. He likes to cook, plays guitar, and is ready to work hard this transfer. We have set some high goals for ourselves, but we are already off to a good start. We are going to be doing a lot of work, despite the winter weather.
The branch here is really cool as well. It is a large, well functioning branch, with around 50 active members I think. It won't take long for them to get an actual chapel built here. We are working with a recent convert. We had a lesson with him the evening I arrived. He was baptized in Germany, but now is a student here in Cluj. He doesn't speak Romanian, so Elder C interprets for him at church. He is a really cool guy.
And, there is a little Christmas choir here too! I'm glad, since music is a huge part of Christmas for me. In fact, we are supposed to be doing a public performance later this month somewhere in the city! I don't know all the details yet, but it should be cool!
Yes, the full name of the city is Cluj-Napoca, and it is pronounced cloozh. It's a really beautiful city, with lots of huge old churches and old-fashioned buildings. I don't quite know my way around yet, since it is a little complicated, but I love it aready.
We use skype for the Christmas call, but I don't know exact details yet. It doesn't have to be right on Christmas; it can be anytime in the week I think. Since there are six missionaries here and we have one computer at the church to use for that, we can't all do it right on Christmas. I'll make sure we know exactly what to do before then.
I love you all so much! Christmas won't be the same away from home, but I know that I am where I need to be, and that the experiences I am having can't be found anywhere else. Thank you for all your prayers and support.
December 9, 2013
Thanks for the letter! Sounds like you are having fun with all that
snow!
The weather here still hangs around the freezing point,
which isn't really warm, but at least it isn't Canada! We have a little
snow too, but just some light flurries.
We are working really hard though. We have been doing Christmas message bloc-knocking, and it is going great!
I really enjoy using Christmas, since people seem more receptive when it comes
to Christmas. We got to share our short spiritual thought on Christmas twice in
the first bloc we tried, and with one of those people, we ended up having a 30
minute conversation about who we are and what we do, her religious background,
and a little about the restoration. It was great!
I am still
feeling hopeful and energetic about the work. I am starting to like this city
too. It's going good here, and the branch is cool.
I
have been having some great experiences, but I'm really sorry I can't
share them all today. We couldn't get internet at the library, so we
lost some time and had to take turns to use this branch computer. I'll
write more next week.
Thanks for all the love and support! Va iubesc!
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