The School of Life

Hey everyone,

Seriously can't believe all of you guys start school TOMORROW! It is still a little weird to me that I am not in school right now. This life that I am living right now is a very different one compared to the one at home. Rather than learning math and economics, I am fully invested in the school of life "scoala vietii." I did a lot of thinking this week about life in general, and the life that God gave me. 

Love this guy...

I am reading in 1 Corinthians right now and came across a scripture that I really liked. 

1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

I really like this verse because it puts life into perspective. This week, Elder Bontempo and I faced a lot of adversity and we had to work with grit. 

Our bellies were full and happy after the Hard Rock Cafe!

The one and only...

I don't really know what to talk about this week, my brain is just a little empty!

We went to Craiova for exchanges. It was great to be with Elder Krieger again. He is such a great man, one who is all in to teaching the gospel to everyone. We got to visit Mirela which was so wonderful. I am amazed at the change that I see in her as she continues to commit to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. It has truly changed her whole person! We took Craiova by storm with three sets of missionaries and talking to everyone about the gospel. Elder Krieger and I focused on talking to families as we made a survey that talks about the Family Proclamation. 

Let the road trip begin

49km till Slatina

Cake with Viki

Dan the Man

A great contacting session in Parcul Romanescu

The original gang all back together! 

Me in my beloved city of Craiova

6AM travel back to Bucharest

Although we did not have our baptism this week (we are still helping Vio become ready to make this great step of baptism), we did get to participate at another's baptism- the wife of a recent convert. 

The font wasn't filling up fast enough... so we did plan B

It was such a special experience to see a man of God baptize his wife into the church of God. One of the coolest things I have seen here for sure! I was reminded about what the gospel is all about- families! I feel so grateful to have a family who loves me and supports me in all my endeavors. I realized that I want to talk to more families about the gospel as I go throughout the mission... to help them realize the wonderful blessing it is to have their home based on the principles of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ!

Family night at the Leavitts [a senior missionary couple]

Paninis and corn on the cob with a fruit smoothie... now that's livin.

Thank you Ami for this cozy pillow case!

Sora Gorzo and I chilling after some ardei umpluti

Well, I am sorry for the lame letter but I hope the pictures make up for it!!

Bucharest at night

Power companionship of the Bucharest

Love you all so much, and am praying for a great first week of school!!!

Love,

Alex

Ran into my brother Elder Loder!!! 

The crew trying to be like the Finnish in the middle.

Just a Dang Solid Week of Preachin' the Gospel

Hey everyone!!!

Well another lightning fast week with some incredible experiences. The week was kicked off by Zone Conference. I enjoyed each moment of being with so many great people and friends, not to mention Elder Bontempo and I ordered 15 medium sized pizzas from Dominos for the lunch, each equipped with Philadelphia cream cheese...

We had the opportunity to present about the importance of making daily goals and raising our level of commitment. I felt like our words were guided by the spirit and we were able to get the missionaries pumped! It is so much fun being in this gigantic city with many missionaries and help each other catch the wave of commitment to teaching repentance and baptizing converts!

Elder Bontempo and I worked our buns off again- walking and travelling by metro many kilometers, and helping our friends come to know their Savior more as we bore bold testimonies with the spirit.

A great evening in Cismigiu

Real quick a couple of amazing experiences...

We are helping our friend Vio get ready for baptism! We taught him most of the commandments this week. Ever since Vio felt like he should come into the church to see when we have sacrament meeting, he has had a fairly easy time accepting the truths of the restored gospel. As we taught him the Word of Wisdom, it was all good until we said "coffee." Yup! He likes his coffee. As we talked with him and helped Vio understand why God gives us commandments, his attitude began to change from "I can't," to "I want to, because I know the Lord will bless me!" What a tender mercy!!!! From then on no more coffee from Vio and he tells us everyday!

We also had many opportunities to teach about the role of the Book of Mormon. I find it so amazing that someone who seems to have no faith in God, or no desire to change, can have a paradigm shift as I testify of the truthfulness and the reality that Joseph Smith did translate this book by the power of God. The Book of Mormon truly does bring man closer to God than any other book.

Finally, Mom said that she prayed for my "tongue to be loosened." I have felt discouraged at times with speaking Romanian. This week I truly felt like God blessed me with the gift of tongues. There is nothing cooler than saying a crazy sentence in Romanian and then thinking to yourself, "Did I just say that!?" The miracle is that it wasn't by my own power, but God's!

George and I

I know that the Lord is the author of this work, and he blesses those that keep His commandments and come unto him. Hurrah!

Love,

Elder Ditto

The Good News Is For Everyone

Hey family!!

Crazy that it's almost the end of summer, and what's even crazier is that today marks my half way mark of my mission. Nu vin sa cred! Just like time on the mission, this email is going to be lightning fast, because I have some other stuff that needs to be done! 

A little bike trip to celebrate Mihai leaving on his mission!

Sorina and George... true friends

This week was good in terms of missionary work. We set a baptismal date with one of our friends, and taught many people about the reality of Christ's restored church on earth. I had many opportunities to learn from my experiences. The Lord has been giving many new opportunities to learn new things here in Bucharest. It has been fun being a leader over the missionaries in Bucharest [Alex is a zone leader]. I am learning how to love and be an example in words and in deeds. 

Playing with Ianis

Elder Stanciu and Ditto

Besides from committing our friend, Vio, to baptism, there was another really awesome experience. There is a great man in our English class who we have felt for a long time that we need to talk to him about the gospel. We had been trying to set an appointment with him for quite a while, and finally we made one- and we were going to bowl with him and his wife! Turns out that his wife couldn't come, and that he invited some of the other English students. That was fine, but we were nervous that we weren't going to be able to have a good conversation with him about the gospel.

So we get to the mall and head over to the bowling alley and wham! All of the lanes are booked for the evening. We decided that we would try and go to another mall. At this point we were pretty nervous that we weren't going to have an opportunity to talk with him. Just then, he offered us a ride to the other mall. We joyfully accepted, and he even invited another guy to go with us in the car, but he rejected the offer... 

And then it was just us and our friend. 

As we drove through the horrible traffic of Bucharest, we talked about many things, and he expressed that he didn't even know why he took his car. Eventually, we asked him if he had ever talked with the missionaries about our believes. He said he hadn't and this led in to an incredible discussion about the Plan of Salvation and the Book of Mormon. 

We arrived at the mall, thanking God that he blessed us with an opportunity to talk with this man about the gospel. He was curious, and we were able to give him many answers, and invited him to learn for himself. 

What a tender mercy!! I know that I am on the Lord's errand, and that he knows the needs of His children. I am thankful to see God's hands in the details of my life.

Mirela came for a visit!

I know that this work is directed of God. Jesus Christ lives, and as we base our lives upon the teachings of Jesus Christ's gospel, we will be forever blessed and have more happiness in this life than we could ever have otherwise.

I love all of you!

Ginormous clams in lacul herestrau

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!

Our friend Cristian. Incredible lesson with him!

I love all of you, and appreciate the love and support through prayers, emails, letters, etc.

Till next time!

Elder Ditto

A stadium in the middle of a communist neighborhood

A neighborhood fotbal cage

A trolli hamburger... just as weirdly delicious as I remembered