Monday, March 31, 2014

Cluj... is... incredible!

Here is news from Elder Lybbert of the last two weeks. 

March 24th, 2014

Bună ziua tuturor!
We really haven't had too much time to stop and think this week. I think it felt especially short because of the late P-day last week.
But things are going great! It's 20C and sunny every day, which is amazing! Blossoms all over the place, and a lot more people outdoors. Spring is definitely here, and this is the best time of the year right now. If it is already this warm, I am worried what the summer will be like. I'm already going short-sleeves and I can't shed any more clothes now.
Our highest potential investigator, was out of town visiting his parents over the weekend, again, but I really, really, hope that he stays in Cluj next week. He seemed to have a good time when he made it a couple weeks ago.
The less active member we are working with, however, did make it to church! We also brought the Elders quorum president with us to our last lesson with him, so the members are in on this too. I'm not sure how committed he is to become a fully active member, since his family is against the church, but he made it this week.
And we finally got to meet with the investigator that was passed over to our companionship at the beginning of the transfer. We have been having a terrible time trying to get a lesson not to fall through, but we finally did it, and it went well. This is an interesting case, since he has been attending church with his wife for 4 years, but isn't a member. However, he really has changed. At first, he was against the church but now he is very positive, and conceded that he will probably end up getting baptized sooner or later. He just really wants to do it for the right reasons. He is a really cool guy.
Other news, we went paintballing last Tuesday, not just with our district, but with Sibiu too! They came to Cluj and shared a P-day with us after zone conference. It was a blast. We played in a forest on the edge of town not too far from our house. It was exhausting, especially, after all that travel, but I really felt like I had let go of a lot of stress after that break from our regular schedule. I am feeling a lot better now.
Today was a lot of fun too. We got our bright and early and took a little hike to a hill overlooking the city, and played some games and had lunch there. It felt so good to be out in nature, in the sun, not worrying about anything. It really was great.
 
 
 
 
 I am feeling really ready to work hard this week. I can't believe that we only have a week left in the transfer! There was so much we wanted to accomplish, and I feel like we only managed to do a small part. But that is how it goes. I think we treat transfers as longer periods of time than they actually are. Since, honestly, six weeks isn't that long. We just try to fit a whole lot of things into that short time-frame. But I'm not really stressed about it this time. I haven't really stopped to think about it yet, and I don't really plan to. We will just carry on. If I leave, I leave.
Thank you for all caring about me so much! It means a lot!
Doamne să vă binecuvânteze!

Elder Lybbert


March 31st, 2014

Hi everyone!
Well, we sure had a great week. Spring is absolutely amazing, we got back in contact with a couple investigators, and guess what; I will be staying in Cluj for a fourth transfer here! I love this city! Elder S and I  are doing another transfer together! I am really happy, since we have investigators we are working with, and things to do, and we can just get back to work without worrying about transfers! Elder S is a lot of fun to work with, and I'm glad we don't have to split up quite yet.
We had a really good week too. We found a great place to do service that the missionaries went to last summer. The Botanical Gardens here in Cluj! We weeded the rose garden for a couple hours, and it was amazing. The garden is still a ways from its peak, but it is still gorgeous in there. It was really calming to just enjoy the sun and work in the garden, away from all our other worries. If I ever come back to Romania and visit Cluj around June, I know I will make a visit.
We also were able to hold a sports activity, and that was a lot of fun. It's great to have more different types of activities to which we can invite our English students and investigators.
Saturday was the best day I have had in a while. Not only did I find out I would be staying in Cluj, but we had a great activity after English, and got to meet with our great investigator again.
For an activity after our final English class, we asked our students to bring food to share, and we watched the Joseph Smith restoration movie. We ended up with tons of food, and 17 students stayed and watched the movie! It was really powerful, and we planted a lot of seeds. I also found out that one of our English students, who received a copy of the Book of Mormon a couple weeks ago, has been reading a few pages every night and likes it! Good things come from English classes.
And on Sunday another English student of ours invited us to a choir concert he was singing in. It turned out to be a big event, with at least a couple hundred young people in the choir. The theatre it was in was packed. It consisted of christian songs in both English and Romanian, and it was incredibly good. I was very impressed. Now we know why this student stopped coming to English classes, since he was getting ready for this! It was a wonderful evening, and it looks like we will be able to meet with him again.
And this week, it will be one year since I received my mission call. Wow! The time really flies. My perceptions of Romania were sure different back then.
Thank you for all the love and support!
Servus!
Elder Lybbert





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