I Would Walk/Hike/Drive 450 Miles

Hello my family!!!

This week was pretty dang awesome... in total we traveled over 450 miles including a trip over to Craiova with the Hettingers to visit the branch... more about that later!

Photo shoot fun

The week started with transfers, which also meant that a few missionaries were going home. Elder Forsyth, who was my companion in Alexandria and Otopeni way back when, had arrived to the finish and I got to bid him farewell. 

Gonna miss these guys!

Elder Parrett...sad to see this man go!

It was a bittersweet moment- each of my companions have taught me many lessons, and I have so many great memories with each doing the Lord's work. Elder Forsyth was no exception to this list. I couldn't help but wipe away a tear when we hugged for the last time in the mission field.

After transfer day, our schedule freed up a tad, and we were able to get some good lessons, member visits, and contacting sessions in. 

Sora Stoica and I

Sora Stoica spoiled us with sarmale and mamaliga (a personal fav), and we got to have a great lesson with an investigator that we are teaching from Craiova about the priesthood. I felt the power of the Holy Ghost witness to me and to Petru that the priesthood- God's power and authority- has been restored to the earth under the direction of Joseph Smith. 

Us and Petru... phenomenal guy

I had another really cool experience while contacting in Piata Romana. I stopped a guy who was initially not interested in religion because he had a lot doubts about God. After talking for a little, I started to ask inspired questions and then after talking about how I know God is real, something clicked in his brain and started to become curious in how a belief in God could help him in his life. By the end he had accepted a Book of Mormon and was on his way. I stood there a little shocked, reviewing what had just happened. The moment when he became curious about how a belief in God could help him, I was able to teach to his need, and testify with power. It reminded me a little bit of Ammon's experience in the Book of Mormon.

Alma 1834 Ammon said unto him: I am a man; and man in the beginning was created after the image of God, and I am called by his Holy Spirit to teach these things unto this people, that they may be brought to a knowledge of that which is just and true;

35 And a portion of that Spirit dwelleth in me, which giveth me knowledge, and also power according to my faith and desires which are in God.

Pretty cool verses that I can say are TRUE! We can have the experiences that the great heroes from the Book of Mormon and the Bible have.

We had been planning a trip to Craiova for about two months, and all this week we prepared and helped the members prepare in various ways. I had the thought that I should see if I could locate the old area book for Craiova, as there are currently no missionaries in that city. The DeSpains (Senior couple that are serving in the office) helped me find it and I was able to look back at all of the past people that I had met and invited them to church. 

Early Sunday morning we took off with the Hettinger family and made the long journey to see our fellow brothers and sister in Craiova. The church building had just been remodeled and looked amazing! I honestly felt like a super star... everyone was so excited to see me and I was excited to see them. In total we had twenty-four people at church, and eleven of those were investigators... that is definitely a new high for that branch! During sacrament meeting, I played the guitar just like old times. After finishing "I'm trying to be like Jesus," the whole room got quiet, and then burst into applause! Super funny, and I loved feeling their energy. The best part was singing "Eu cred in Hristos," as we started singing I felt a great love for the people here, and for their desire to learn about Jesus Christ. This branch, like most branches in Romania, have a lot of work to be done, but I know that God is mindful of each one!

A walk in the park with the crew!

After church, we had a lunch all together and got to visit for a while. Mirela is doing well, sure do love my Romanian mom! Craiova has a special place in my heart!  

We finished this crazy week with a P-day hike and added a couple of miles to our total for this week.

Super duper foggy today

Capra neagra

I love spring hiking

Pioneer club in Romania!

ET si ED

Elder Jacobson and me

Band of brothers

This is what a classic communist Romanian city looks like.

I don't know if it was just super humid, if I was out of shape, or if the Ditto genes caught up to me, but I was a sweaty guy! I feel refreshed and ready to go for another crazy and busy week.

Love you all!

Elder Ditto

I love traditional Romanian garb

People were doing the hora in the hall!

Romanian Folklore night

We had primary today!

The kids loved the guitar!

Romania Means Family

Well, not a ton to report on from this week, to be honest. We did a TON of things...but it's stuff that is way too complicated to explain, or things that don't really apply to any of your lives. Pretty much, Elder Trottier and I are getting everything ready for our big move to Hungary. We don't have too much guidance from the higher-ups about this move, so we are the church on this one! Together with the office couple and the Hettingers, we are ensuring that all things are thoroughly thought out and prepared. We have a whole lot to do before the move in a month!!!!

Early morning P-day tennis with Fratele Lupan

Tennis is really a life-long sport. We need to enjoy every moment that our bodies are strong and healthy!

Still love it!

Right next to the National Stadium... sick!

We went to a member's mother's home to celebrate his birthday Saturday night. They live in a cute little village a little outside of Bucuresti; it is quite serene and relaxing. They have a good-sized courtyard and the whole family was there celebrating. 

Antonio is quite the Italian singer!

Birthday party for Lucian!

Elder Parrett wowing the crowd with his music... incredible!

I was so impressed, that although the family are not all members of the church, they have a great love for one another. It was so refreshing seeing the family members show love towards each other as they danced, ate, and laughed together. It made me think about how awesome it is that God has put us here on earth as families! It is so important that we continue to strengthen our relationship with our family members. 

The family unit in Romania is very important, and it isn't uncommon to see multi-generations staying in the same apartment. It also isn't common to see kids or parents move to a foreign country, in hopes to make more money and provide a better future for their kids, or themselves. Can you imagine doing either of these? Living in families teaches us how to love and make sacrifices- to turn outwards! When people don't understand that, problems come rolling in the front door. 

Caruta langa mine

Romania adeverata

After having a prompting to talk with a lady and her two little boys two consecutive times as we were walking to a good contacting spot in Piata Unirii, the third time I saw the little family, I got the guts to talk with them. After learning their story, I found out that they left Romania to America in hopes to give their kids a better education. After her husband not being able to find a job, and getting into a lot of debt, they were forced to move back. The really interesting thing about this is the fact that the mother said that she loved Romania, and supports this country with all her heart. She did it for the kids. I then told her that we have free English courses that her boys could go to. The mom seemed so thankful and excited. It was then when I realized how awesome it is that in the church we have opportunities to grow both temporally and spiritually.

The Suit Squad

I know that God wants each one of his children to find happiness. There is a reason that we were born in our respective countries, and a reason that we are placed in our families...that is why the gospel is so important! Wherever we are and whatever our circumstance, we can find peace, love, and joy by living the teaching of Jesus Christ. 

My view from my apartment...we are spoiled!

Alejandro. The newest member of Mihai Bravu!

I love Romania. Sure it has it's quirks, and the infrastructure is crappy, but I have met incredible people, who are rock-solid friends, and incredible examples of making sacrifices. Romania has taught me how to be a real man. Romania has taught me how to really love. Romania has taught me how to be thankful for what you have. Romania is my home away from home!

Love,

Elder Ditto

Life of an Office Elder

Ahhh I feel so rejuvenated after talking with my favorite seven people in the universe!!! Each one of you are so awesome, and I feel so blessed to be apart of an awesome and loving family. Time is flying by, and I am so grateful for the season that I have to labor in Romania as a missionary... I'm all in till it's over!!!

Mother has requested to know more about the day-to-day life here in the office, so I thought I would share a couple of tidbits from my life here.

To start, my bed is definitely the highlight (and the most dangerous) part of my morning... it's so dang comfy! Even though it's a top bunk (what I slept on my whole life), the two mattresses stacked on top of each other blow my one at home out of the water! I feel blessed to have the basic necessities taken care of here in Romania. 

Lucky Charms...how I missed you!

There are many times when we have to wake up before the sun rises, as missionaries arriving in the aeroport or train station need picked up and transported for various different reasons. I am not one for early mornings, but it is a blessing to have a car that allows us to do so much more than we could otherwise to help missionaries. We typically drive every where, but plan our days and the errands that we need to run according to the traffic hours... I have heard that Bucharest is in the top five worst cities in terms of traffic. On another note, my parallel parking skills have drastically improved- I can get our little Opel Corsa into any space (within reason)!

After a work-out, breakfast and personal study, we are out the door by 10 am on a day where we don't have any weird assignments. We often head to the office and begin our work. We make a list of all of the things that need to get done that day, or at least need to be get looked at. Things that we do include ensuring all missionaries are legal to stay in the country, preparing residency permit applications for missionaries coming in to the country, planning for zone conference travel, creating travel "doctrine" (itinerary of travel) for transfers, picking up mail, getting name-tags printed, organizing travel for any other event that might take place in the mission for missionaries (ei. we are currently working getting travel itineraries for all the missionaries for the Mission Tour in two weeks), doing odd jobs to make President and Sister Hettinger's lives a little easier (changing their tires), and doing all that we can to prepare for the big move of the mission office to Hungary on July 1st. So that is a good, yet surface-level description of some of my duties as an office elder in the Romania/Moldova mission. 

Keep up my ping pong skills every once and a while

I have really learned good problem-solving skills during the time I have been here as well. We have had some missionaries who have had pretty serious visa issues, and Elder Trottier and I are left to find a solution. It is kind of sad that we are the legal gurus here being that we don't really have any idea what we are doing half of the time... BUT the Lord has always blessed us with little miracles along the way, and we have learned so much as we have confronted random problems. 

A big source of all of our problems is the fact that Romania's legal processes are typically very unorganized and completely paper... it's like what I would imagine how America ran in like 1960. The government offices prove that by their crappy computers and use of carbonless copy paper for everything. You know if a paper has been endorsed or approved by a government entity or business by the stamp used... they really like using stamps!!! These little quirks of Romania have caused some problems, but we usually work with really great people, and many people are eager to help us. 

A scripture came to mind that kind of sums up what I have learned from this new adventure:

Doctrine and Covenants 107

99 Wherefore, now let every man learn his duty, and to act in the office in which he is appointed, in all diligence.

100 He that is slothful shall not be counted worthy to stand, and he that learns not his duty and shows himself not approved shall not be counted worthy to stand. Even so. Amen.

Somebody told me once that whether I am buying plane tickets, or in a nursing home, my purpose is the same- to help other's come closer to Christ. I pitied myself for not having as much time to do "normal" missionary stuff for quite a while, but the reality is that the Lord and President Hettinger have entrusted me with another duty, and I must learn how to act accordingly, and learn how to be effective in every second, that I might be "counted worthy to stand." 

This has been no excuse for going and contacting, visiting members, or teaching our investigators- we always make time to do these things as that is what our main purpose is- to help build the Lord's church in Romania! I truly feel that God has given me the energy and abilities to fulfill all that my mission has entailed. I love being a missionary!

A fun Mother's Day Tribute https://youtu.be/hShlOAtws_A

Here's to a great week,

Elder Ditto

This is what my hand looked like a week ago.  It already looks SO much better now.  I have dyshidrotic eczema on my hands - I get blisters all over my hands and then they itch, crack, flake, repeat.  

P.S. Thank you to all of you who have prayed for my hand to get better. For about a year and a half by hand has had skin issues, and in the past four months, has gotten worse. I finally got in to the doctor two weeks ago and since then my hand has made a 180 and feels like new!!! I know that it is through your prayers and modern medicine that my hand got better at the time it did. Miracles!

Our last Mother's Day

Mom here - hijacking Elder Ditto's blog to share a bit about our wonderful Mother's Day phone call.

Always so good to talk face-to-face!

All of us missing Alex but loving him across the world!

A few tidbits from our phone call (we had 40 minutes to talk - we started out with us singing and doing a hula to "Oh we're going....to Hawaii" -- after a few exchanges about this awesome surprise we have been saving for to do as a family right after Alex gets home from his mission and before he leaves for BYU):

-Alex's main responsibilities as an Office Elder include helping missionaries by being in charge of travel and doing anything to make President and Sister Hettinger's job easier

-he helps missionaries get/stay legal in the country.  Rules allow missionaries to stay for 90 days when they first enter the country and then they need a residency permit that usually lasts one to two years before they would be deported. Sometimes Alex and his companion are given "empowerment" title in order to do things in behalf of other missionaries

-also in charge of housing, insurance, visas

-He said that he realized for the first year and half of his mission he never once had to think about being legal in the country because there were office elders doing what he is doing now which allowed him to focus just on proselyting.  Now he is getting that chance to give that gift to other missionaries.

-He and his companion often work with an attorney

-They are doing things to prepare the office to move to Budapest, Hungry on July 1st.  This is stressful AND exciting.  The new mission will be called the Hungry/Romania Mission.  Everyone will need to open their hearts to new missionaries when this change happens.  This next transfer will determine whether you are in the Hungry/Romania mission or the Ukraine/Moldova mission.  President Hettinger is also like the Stake President for all of Romania as they are broken up in districts.  He is very busy doing temple and new missionary interviews and other stake president responsibilities on top of mission president duties. 

-His hands are doing so much better!  The best they have looked in a year.  He feels so blessed!

-He is getting some new shoes made by Constantine, a dwarf, they are made out of leather and have Romania/Moldova countries stitched into the sides of them.  They will cost 800 lei ($40 USD)

-Often on Friday nights they have sports nights and have many international people come join them

-Alex said, "I feel like I am a little boy still" and that when I get home I'll look back at the past two years and say, "was I really in Romania?"

-Alex said that when he gets home he will miss the food!!  He said he eats like a king.  Each morning he eats chocolate muesli and then for lunch they usually go out to eat to KFC or some other fast food restaurant depending on what errand they are running at the time.  For dinner every night they make Mămăligă - a porridge made out of yellow maize flour.  He adds goat cheese and sour cream to it.  It only costs them about .10 cents to make and he plans on eating it as a staple at college.

-Alex added that he will miss Romanian church - as dystunfunial as it is -- it is also beautiful.  He said, "the members just LOVE you."  He said the little cute old ladies love to snuggle up to him.

-The weather is very similar to Yakima but a bit more humid.

-He loves getting his haircut in Romania.  For a really nice haircut it costs around $10 but in some areas he has lived it costs as cheap as $2.50.  He gets his haircut once a month.

-Alex said he LOVES the Hettingers.  He said President Hettinger makes him feel "like a million bucks."

-His final advice/motto that he loves from President Hettinger, "Every moment we can choose who we are."

The Gospel Is Fun!!

Hello from Bucharest!

This week was one of ups and downs. Thankfully the week ended with huge ups, for which I am grateful! 

Dinner at Sora Radu's

Sora Radu's food was also top notch!! Pork, mashed potatoes, and fresh cabbage salad

Looking back at the pictures from this week, we had sooo many fun things that we took part of. The first of May is "Ziua Internationala a Muncii" (International Worker's Day), which means a day-off for all of Romania! One thing that Romanians excel at is their ability to throw and plan mean barbecues. This year was nothing shy of amazing! 

A huge success!!

Doing the Hora dance

Both branches in Bucharest joined together for a day (yes, from 10 am until around 4 pm) of games, conversation, and delicious food. 

Presedintele Doru manning the grill

Some wonderful ladies in the branch

A traditional "gratar" (barbecue) meal in Romania... sausages, mici, chicken, half a tomato, cucumber, bread, and don't forget mustard!

The men were in charge of the meat, while the women got all of the other preparations ready. I am very impressed with the Romanian people's ability to share and ensure that everyone is taken care of. Even after the party finished, the women all got together and made little leftover boxes to give to some of the members who weren't able to come. I thought that was nice until we went over to an older lady's house where she served the exact meat, yet four days old and smothered in nasty grease...

Tudor and us

One of the most difficult challenges that we face as missionaries here is the ability to connect members with investigators. For some reason it is just harder for them to make friends! The barbecue was really a cool experience being that non-members got to really see that Latter-day Saints have FUN! Many people were able to connect because of this great activity.

We had a great lesson with one of our investigators about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He has been able to come to church and mingle many times with the members and I think he is catching the essence of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. 

I am reminded of what President Hinckley told us that every member needs in order to remain active in the church and grow in testimony. 

1. A friend

2. Responsibility

3. Nurturing with the word of God.

Regardless of who we are- even if we aren't members of this church- I think these three things really are the key to a happy and fulfilling life! As members of the church it is our responsibility to be our "brother's keeper," and make sure that each one has these three needs satisfied.

Elder Dahl and I on exchanges.. we were blessed with a day full of miracles

Killer shaorma from "Saorma Orient," our favorite place in Bucharest

I am thankful for the time I have spent here, especially in Bucharest, because I have seen first-hand how desperately missionaries need the help of the members in this work. We all have our shortcomings, but we all have unique talents and qualities! Remember living the gospel is fun! Use your insights and abilities to help others see how the restored church can enhance their lives!

I love each one of you, talk soon!!!

Elder Ditto

Ciorba de perisoare... love me some traditional Romanian food