The Adventures of Elder Ditto

Buna ziua from the best city ever!

Elder Giron and Elder Ditto in Oradea

Streets of Arad

Beautiful Oradea

Rau Mures

This week marks the 6th week of being here in Romania which means... I MADE IT THROUGH MY 1ST TRANSFER IN THE COUNTRY!!! I can't believe how fast it has gone by- it seems like I was on the sleeper train for 15 hours just yesterday...ha! Elder Giron and I are staying together for one more transfer, and boy, am I glad! I look forward to continue to learn from him and work hard.
So this week was an interesting one! Of course it was full of ups and downs, but I like focusing on the ups of course. Missionary life is just so fun because there is just so much randomness that happens. 

Oradea Statue

Oradea at Sunset

Oradea Street

Oradea Prepping for Christmas

To demonstrate: Elder Giron and I were chased out of a block by a lion dog (at least that's what it sounded like haha), and I was told by a man that he is a cannibal and he could eat me right now, but won't because he prefers skinny (but not too skinny) women instead... Ummmm I was sooo creeped out!! Turns out he wants to have a a cool nick name like Varstnicul and be baptized... If there was a branch specifically for crazy people (there's a lot of em) in Arad, I would have baptized him, but because there's not, that's a no go! Moral of that story: Missionary work is about baptizing CONVERTS not CANNIBALS. Ha!

Delicious Gogosi and Swiss Flags

In other news... I continued to eat wonderfully (I even had the best hot cocoa ever), walked something like 500 miles, traveled to Nadloc (the place by Hungary), Cluj, and Oradea... a total of like 15 hours of travelling this week! 

A couple of culture facts...

• Communism is very prevalent here. Most people aren't going to be too friendly to you at first encounter. People don't smile or laugh that much! It makes for some awkward moments! People also stare at me all the time... I've gotten used to it. The younger generation is definitely more friendly and American teenager-like, though.

• Gypsies are everywhere, and the Romanians don't like them at all. There is definitely a separation between them.

• Life for everyone here is tough. The living standards are not too nice, the government is still oppressing, and people work so hard for so little. Sora Krnacs makes 4 lei an hour. That is 1 dollar an hour here... can you believe this?

• Culture and religion are one here. So many people will not change their ways simply because that is the culture in Romania, if you switch religions, you are basically disowning your family! That is why missionary work is pretty tough.

I also made two great language mistakes. The first one was very simple, I asked this kid if he is a soccer player and said "Esti on fotbalista?" instead of "Esti un fotbalist?"... I called the kid a girl soccer player! The grammar in Romanian is very complicated, and you have to genderize and pluralize everything... I'll get it!

Graffiti Selfie

The other one was while we were in Cluj for exchanges. We met the branch president and he asked me how I was doing. Instead of responding to that like a normal person, I said "My name is Elder Ditto. It is nice to meet you!" The moment I said that I was like... what in the heck! The guy looked at me and then moved on. It was pretty funny! I am going to make the excuse of being very tired and not all the way there... haha

Cluj Orthodox Church

Building in the city of Cluj

Yummy Thai Massaman  Curry

Dinner in Cluj

Cluj Catholic Church

Cluj Centru 2

Cluj Centru 3

So we went to Cluj for exchanges. I went with Elder Cressmin (going home next transfer) and he showed me around Cluj and did some cool stuff! We visited a lady and gave her a blessing too, that was really neat. I have had the opportunity to participate in three blessings and I have given one since being here. I am grateful for the priesthood and to be worthy to hold the power of God! We then went to Oradea the next day (Sunday) for district conference. 

Elder Cressmin and I in Centru

Elder Cressmin and Elder Ditto

The Cluj Elders

Oradea Centru

Cluj River

Oradea Building

Cluj Church

Cluj Orthodox Church

Cluj Orthodox

Cluj Sign

It was a wonderful weekend and super cool to get to know new missionaries and experience new parts of Romania! One of my favorite parts of the trips was seeing the mountains as we traveled. It reminded me of home-sweet-home! By the end of the journey I was ready to go back to Arad. I realized that I truly love being here! I love the people and the city. This has taken time, and with more time this love for the people of Arad will grow even stronger, which will make me a more effective missionary!

Romanian Mountains

Bratca

Cluj Streets

Cluj

During exchanges, I learned what kind of missionary I want to become. It is an eight letter word... OBEDIENT. This is an attribute that I have a very strong testimony in, as I have had opportunities to demonstrate my obedience to the commandments of the Lord many times throughout my life. This is a time where I get to demonstrate and apply this attribute and becoming even more obedient to the Lord! WHEN we are obedient with a WILLING HEART we will be BLESSED. And this is exactly what I need right now. This is exactly what we all need right now! I know that when we have a humble heart and are obedient to the Lord out of love and trust in Him, He will bless us in so many ways. Like everything else, it starts with an attitude of GRATITUDE and POSITIVISM! 

Elder Ditto and Statue 2

That is what I am going to work on this week- being more obedient with a better attitude! 

Mihail Bravu

I am so excited for Thanksgiving this week; Romania doesn't celebrate it but we are still going to have a feast with the district and do acts of gratitude and service throughout the day. 

Euro Basketball Cup

I am thankful for my wonderful family, for this opportunity to serve the Lord with all my heart for two years, and to be a member of the Lord's church which has been restored to this earth. There is so much to be thankful for right now... Take some time to reflect!

I love all of you so much. We are face-timing in like 1 month!!! Craziness! 

Love,
Alex