The Best Two Years: Elder Alex Ditto: Success and More Love

Buna zuia si prima vara fericita!

This week was another crazy one, but also filled with a lot of success... wait- SUCCESS!? Come to think of it, we actually had a lot of success in the classical missionary way- the way where you meet people who are actually interested in the message that God still talks to his children today and so you teach them the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Ya, that was kind of a new one for me!

A nice European picture

So I have two of these kinds of stories for you guys today. The first one takes place on a rainy day, on the 2nd floor of a block where a group of positive thinkers where discussing how religion has shaped society. This group was open for anyone and provided the opportunity to make new friends and be refreshed with new ideas. This meeting was run by a nonprofit called CARP, and basically is to help young people maintain positive values in their lives. The topic of the week just so happened to be religion! We all got in different groups and read an article and then discussed it. Many wonderful ideas were brought up and I just loved hearing how people include God in their lives and seeing that there are still people who VALUE morals in this moral-degrading society. I, of course, got to say a couple things and what I really felt impressed to talk about was just the reality that we DO have a Heavenly Father and he LOVES us and he does NOTHING, save it be for our benefit. I got to testify about this to 30 people and the spirit was just so present. I realized two things that night.

Some cool skater dudes

1. People everywhere have morals. All religions have truths. Everyone wants to be happy- that is the pursuit of life! And with these three facts in mind, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints just expounds upon all of these. This church is built solely upon truth and knowing essential truths opens the pathway to more happiness than can be comprehended. How badly I want to help people understand this!

2. The MOST important truth that anyone can know is the fact that God loves you. GOD LOVES DAD, MOM, TYLER, ALYSEE, NATHAN, COOP, CHLOE, and EVERYONE who is reading this letter. And EVERYONE in the whole world for that matter! Just imagine how much better this whole world would be if everyone understood their divine potential and heritage. We are all literally sons and daughters of a Heavenly Father who loves us. What do good fathers do for their children? They give them guidance and provide for them opportunities to grow! That is what our Heavenly Father has done for us!

Just think about this for a minute... This is what I am trying to help people understand- that God loves us so he has given us guidance to know how to be happy and return to live with him. I will come back to this statement...

Casa Poporului

Super old and fancy restaurant

So after the meeting, a guy in my group came up to me and we started talking. He is a super rad dude who produces electronic music. After a while, he finally popped the question- what does my church believe? Why am I here in Romania? So I shared what I believe and I shared with him something that has really helped me feel God's love in my life... The Book of Mormon!

Keepin it real in Otopeni

I read him a verse and he felt the truth. He told me, "I know this is true!" I testified to him that I do too and that this book can truly help him find greater purpose and happiness in his life. I testified that God still speaks to us today and that he loves us. As I was testifying a great feeling of love for him and for God just filled my soul. THIS IS WHY I AM HERE. I am helping others realize how awesome they are and how awesome God knows they are! It was all about Cosmin right then. It was a real amazing realization that God loves all of us individually and wants everyone to have the opportunity to accept his guidance.

I am so excited to meet up with Cosmin again and continue to help him come closer to his Father in Heaven!

Met some cool scooter dudes

Of course I had to do this... Kaufland is having a sponge bob sweepstakes

Dang I don't have too much time left, but real quick, I met my Romanian adopted mom. Her name is Ramona and we met her on the bus ride home from Alexandria. She had such an amazing positive spirit about her and we met up with her again the other day. We went on a walk and then had a nice little tea in a really old restaurant. We talked about a lot of stuff, like how we can live moral lives, why you should buy from nice brands instead of cheap ones, and most importantly that God loves us.

Ramona.. our adapted Romanian mother

And from that we shared with her how God has showed us his love in our day- through restoring his church through Joseph Smith. As Elder Baker shared Joseph Smith's wonderful and miraculous experience, it seemed as if everything was silent, and a great sense of peace was surrounding us. Ramona was listening intently and the spirit truly testified of the truthfulness of our message. So awesome!!! I love experiences like this.

Due to the lack of time, I just want to finish with this scripture...

Ether 12:4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.