The Best Two Years: Elder Alex Ditto: It Never Gets Old... the Lord is Guiding Our Steps!

Hey fam!

Well, Elder Bontempo and I worked our tails off this week. We definitely saw the fruits of our labors, too!

Working hard from dawn till sunset!

I want to start off sharing a little scripture that I read this week from one of the greatest missionaries, Paul himself.

Romans 1:1616 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Let me explain why this scripture hit me hard. In Bucharest, the fastest and most efficient way to travel is by metro. You can get from the north part of Bucharest to the south in about 30 minutes or so... that's lightning! Most times I try to talk to people, assuming I can hear them as the metro can be pretty noisy sometimes. That particular ride, I was doing a little thing called "people watching." No it's not be a creep-o, it's just a form of observation and reflection! As I was deep in thought, I realized that even though so many people seem like they are well-off and strong on their own, without God, they are nothing. This goes the same for my life! That's when I realized the significance of Paul's words... the gospel of Jesus Christ IS the power of God unto salvation... to everyone!!! That means that, wherever we are in life, we can improve our relationship with God. That's why I am a missionary, pretty simple!

Elder Krieger always told me about these... happened to find them in an international market. Proud to say I too am a weet bix kid!!!

The reality that God truly has provided a path for each of his children to follow and be blessed through the gospel of Jesus Christ was so evident in every single day of the work this week. It seemed like every time we stepped out of the house, the Lord placed some one in our path or helped prepare us to say words that were not our own, but words from Heavenly Father to his beloved children here in Romania.

A communist truck... photo credit: Elder Bontempo

One day we decided to go to Piata Unirii for a companionship study. We were waiting at a stop light when a lady asked us if we know Jesus. We turned around and were like... uh better believe it! She went on saying her son (right next to her) doesn't believe in Jesus and wanted us to talk to him. That was the awkward part. Eventually, after getting to know the mother and the son, we had a great discussion about how the Book of Mormon can help us strengthen and come to understand how and why Jesus Christ is so important in our lives. The kid loved it and said that he wanted to meet up. Praying that we will be able to!

Another wonderful experience... We planned to meet with a great brother in the branch named Fratele Gabi Marin. He is a great and humble man who doesn't have a whole lot in his life. He wanted to meet us at a certain metro station and then go to a little park that is surrounded by communist blocks. There were no open benches except one that was two feet facing another bench with a couple occupying it. We asked if we could sit on the other one and they said ok, but chuckling. We awkwardly had our own conversation with Fratele Gabi, until brave Elder Bontempo brought the couple into the conversation. As we began to talk, they couple began to have religious questions that turned into a whole lesson. Fratele Gabi was able to share his conversion story as well as his testimony. What a wonderful sight to see- a Romanian testifying of truth to another Romanian! My heart was touched. We concluded the conversation, got their numbers and parted ways, empty handed as we had given them our copies of the Cartea Lui Mormon.

Piata Obor

The iconic Mega Image... Bucharest's favorite grocery mart

Two days later, we called up the woman and she accepted our request to visit her. We taught her The Plan of Salvation, testified of the importance of families in this life, and the essential truth that God is our Heavenly Father. The spirit was strong and I could see her gears turning- The Plan of God that has been restored by modern day revelation through Joseph Smith is TRUE! What a blessing it was to see how God led us to this woman and softened her heart as she listened to our message.

First time heating up milk... apparently you have to constantly stir!!

Like Paul, I know that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation. What a special opportunity I have to share this knowledge and invitation to the people of Romania!