Changes, Crazies, and Opportunities

My, what a crazzy week I had... this week was a week of changes, and some faith-building/ trying experiences. I expected this last week to be my last in Arad (so sad) and so as we did our visits this week.  I had to say some very difficult goodbyes. I have already decided that I am coming back to visit Romania ASAP when I get home. I have learned to love these people with all of my soul. Each one of them has a special part in my heart and I have learned something from each one of them as well.

I love this woman!

Beautiful handmade tablecloth

The idea of leaving Arad was kind of fake to me. This has been the only city that I have served in, and it is all I know. It feels like home. We call it Aradsterdam. I just have so many memories here! I have also grown beyond believe in this little city. From making life-long friends, freezing my toes off, knocking on endless doors, avoiding mentally insane people, experiencing the death of a loved one, learning who I really am, how I can become better, and the reality of God's plan for each of us, and the truthfulness of this gospel.

Sora Lidia and Constantin

Sora Muscan, Luca, Sergiu

Crazy Luca and me

One of the biggest epiphanies that happened to me in Aradsterdam is that being a missionary doesn't take away trials or my weaknesses, in fact it enhances them :) BUT THAT IS OK. Because the Lord is chiseling away- bit by bit- shaping me into a better man of God. I am grateful for trials. Wow. That is crazy to say, but I feel like I really understand the purpose of them now.

Joseph Smith said it the best, "I am a rough stone. The sound of the hammer and chisel was never heard on me until the Lord took me in hand. I desire the learning and wisdom of heaven alone." AMEN. When we come to understand that God has a plan for us, and let him into our lives, our struggles and life itself, begins to become a powerful source of growth and improvement.

Zone Conference in Cluj

District Selfie with President Ivory!

With this in mind, the Lord is pounding at me some more. After a great Zone Conference in Cluj, we took a 6 hour train ride back to Arad, and we ready to have a great last Saturday as companions. We got a call Saturday morning saying that President Ivory needed me in my next area as soon as possible, so I would need to take the next train asap. Where too? A little town just south of Bucharest called Alexandria. If you look it up on google, you won't find anything... because there's not anything there! I'll explain later.

Beautiful Cluj

So Elder Wilstead helped me back up my bags... and I realized that I had collected a few items during my stay and ended up having to borrow a suitcase from him... I blame it on the minimal time I had to pack... So we sprinted to the tram station and then to the train station, only to miss the train by 3 minutes. Noooo!! So we looked at our options and the next train that could get us to Bucharest was from Brasov... Well if you know me and if you know Brasov, well we kind of just go together... because MOUNTAINS. So this was just gonna be a cool opportunity!

Fresh Do's

Elder Wilstead and I... Bros forever

Our nine hour train to Brasov was ok, but it was nine hours- that is like going from Yakima to Utah! I had three suitcases and a guitar, and turns out that at midnight the baggage holding place is closed, so we waited in the heater-free train station for 4 hours. A 4 HOUR LAYOVER AND I COULDN'T EVEN SEE THE MOUNTAINS. Well, there was only one thing to do- play the guitar! As I played, I ended up attracting some... ehem... strange... people. Aka a drunk man and a paint-huffing lady that was literally so insane that she would just wail randomly and ask me to play the "cantare" (not even the word for guitar in Romanian... she literally did not have a functioning brain any more). So here I am, not playing the guitar anymore, with a man who wreaks of alcohol to my right, trying to ask my who created God, and an insane lady right in front of me. It was quite the sight, considering we were the only ones making noise in the whole gara! It got so uncomfortable that we picked our stuff up and moved. And then more crazy people came up to us and it was just bad. We were cold, had just eaten microwaved french fries with a chicken-like substance, and still had 2 hours till our train. Woahoo!! Brasov!!! I decided that I am just not going to associate that night with Brasov. Only plus was that I did see the big "Brasov" sign in the hills. That was kinda neat!

On the way to Buch

So we finally get onto our train, dump our luggage onto some empty seats next to us, and hit the hay. We woke up right when we got into the gigantic city to find that Bucharest is still covered in snow... looks like I didn't escape winter yet! By that time, we had gotten maybe 4 hours of sleep on the train the whole night, and it was now  6 am. We had to take two separate taxis from the train station to get to the "auto gara" (the greyhound of Romania), and ended up being totally gypped by them and payed a crazy amount. We then took a 1.5 hour bus ride to Alexandria, my new home. The city is literally just run-down communist blocks with a little city square type thing. Let's just say it is the least-desired area to serve in all of Romania. THAT'S OK THOUGH! Because 1) I am going to make it awesome. and 2) I will only be here for hopefully 2 more weeks and then my new companion and I, Elder Forsyth, will be opening up a new area- the Otopeni area- a wealthy suburb just north of Bucharest. We will have a brand new apartment and everything! Let's just say that we will be jumping for joy when that time comes.

Elder Forsyth and Ditto= Powerhouse!

We will actually still commute to Alexandria to go to the branch there every Sunday and every Tuesday we will go for English. Lot's of travelling for us! So right when we got to the musty, moldy, grungy apartment (these are all true descriptive words of the current apartment).  

So on Sunday we went to church. Guess how many members there are?

TWO

A woman in her 40s and a man in his 50s. That's it! Crazy right? I was pretty skeptical about how church would go, but as soon as the members walked in, it just felt like home. The members are strong. They kind of have to be considering they are the only ones!  Get this...the branch president lives in Germany!  Sacrament meeting ended up being a testimony meeting, and the same lady who talked for 20 minutes at the very end of sacrament meeting taught Sunday School, which ended up going 30 minutes over. Who'd a thought that a branch with two members could go 30 minutes over? Not me! haha Besides that fact that I was so tired, I still really enjoyed hearing the testimonies of these righteous members. It reminded me that the spirit is truly the same, anywhere in the world!

I know I have complained a little, but mainly it just feels uncomfortable to be in a new area, away from a city that I love and people that I hold dear.

BUT I NEED TO GET TO WORK! I know that the Lord needs me here, and I am using this new start to recommit to being an obedient, hard-working, happy missionary. This is gonna be awesome. I have a stellar companion and I know why I am here. That's all I need! Elder Forsyth has been on his mission for 3 months longer than me, so we are both still pretty new. I actually love this because I can feel our fire-we want to be good missionaries, and we want to share the gospel. We also want to get better at this language, so it will be fun to help each other out.

The word's of Paul have been on my mind lately, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept my faith". I want to be like Paul. I want to be able to say that I have done everything that I could to truly do the Lord's will, and to help others in their journey as well. That is my drive this week- to simply be a little better each day and humble myself to the will of our Master.
So, that was my week in a nut-shell. I am basically in a whole 'nother world, with a whole 'nother set of trials, but that is ok. I am a rough stone, and the sound of the Lord's hammer and chisel is upon me.


Everyone of you are in the same situation as I am- each day we fight our own fights, and our faith is tested. Remember to keep positive, serve others, and let the Lord  hammer and chisel away!

I love you all,

Varstincul Ditto

Turkish Kebab

The Gospel of Relationships

Man, for the first time in about 4 weeks nothing really crazy happened this week! Kind of a weird change of pace, but it was a nice time reflect and refocus my efforts as a servant of the Lord. Today I want to share some success stories with you all!

Streets of Arad

Sister missionaries in our district

Romanian man enjoying the afternoon

First of all, our investigator with a baptismal date is no longer... after texting us multiple times if we wanted to join him in drinking Jack Daniels and getting some Thai women, we decided he is not ready. What a bummer! I am glad that he wants to share with us, but He is clearly drunk a lot and not ready to make the big sacrifices that will help him get to know His Savior better. That's ok! I still love him and pray that some day he will be ready. It is important to remember that the Lord's time is different than ours! I have learned to love this. I am so glad that I can be a missionary and witness His timing and plan for the people in Romania. 

Alisia drew a portrait of me!!!

Ratitulli

On the flip side, we have been meeting with a really special 14-year old ever since I have gotten to Arad. He is the grandson of some members here but has not been baptized. I hit it off really well with him when I first got here but he hadn't shown much interest in the church. If there is something that I have learned since being a missionary in Romania, it is that sharing the gospel is so much easier after becoming someones friend. That is really key, especially in Romania. People are so closed off, but once you get to know some one, and become friends, they will be your friend for life. The pivotal point of the relationship is when they ask for your Facebook... haha!

Manu loving his Kendama sticker that Tyler sent him

So we have done many fun things with this boy, Manu, and have really gotten to know him. He was also very close to Elder Day, he was basically Manu's mentor and best friend! It was very hard for him to hear about Elder Day's passing. I really admired Elder Day's vision and love for Manu. He saw potential in him that maybe was hard to see at first glance. I noticed how looking in the inside of somebody- into who they really are, is how we must interact with them. This is essentially looking through the eye's of God, because He see's our true potential. 

New sign at the church

Elder Day always believed in Manu, and he told me that he was confident that one day, Manu would recognize that He needs the gospel in His life. Well, we met with Manu this Friday and had a fun time playing sting pong, watching Tyler's YouTube videos, and hanging out like any bros would. Towards the end, he asked us why he hasn't been able to feel the spirit before. Wow! This was a really good question! We talked about it for a second but had to catch a taxi. In the taxi, Elder Wilstead leaned over to Manu and was going to explain his question a little deeper. Manu replied-let's meet up another time so you can explain it better! Hallelujah!!! Manu has a new desire to feel the spirit. And we are going to help him feel the love that God has for him- that Elder Day has for him, by helping him see his potential through God's plan for him and for all of us. What a little miracle! I testify that having a true friendship with someone makes sharing the gospel natural- they will be interested because they see the difference of our countenance!

Traian and Maria... A wonderful couple!

A similar story with a couple that we tracked into the first week of the transfer- Traian and Maria. They are in their 70's and ever so faithful. It is wonderful to see truly faithful people here, who love God and have a real relationship with him. The first time we went to their house we were fed liverwurst and this time, we expected the same thing... LUCKILY we were served surprisingly yummy meatballs with not so yummy (but bearable) cold mashed potatoes. But that's not the important part- the important part is that we strengthened our relationship with them. We got to know what they hold most dear in life, we shared scriptures with one another, and were uplifted. Ya, maybe we didn't teach a run of the mill "lesson" but we were able to exchange truths, and help them see what we Mormon's are all about- that we aren't actually weird! Traian invited us to his farm so we are going to go with him this next Saturday. 

Spreadin the Kendama love in Romania!

Remember this red door from an earlier picture when I arrive in Arad?

As we continue to be their friends, the gospel will come up, and we will have the opportunity to share these essential truths with them. If they are ready to expand their vision of the plan of our Heavenly Father for us, then that time will come. I have confidence in the Lord's timing and all I can do is continue to love them and share what I hold most dear to my heart.

Kabob House - we eat here way too much

Our favorite car

Another cool thing is that they commented that my Romanian is WAY better than when I last saw them... dang I guess I have been improving! During our meeting with them, I truly felt gifted with the Gift of Tongues. My words were just flowing out of my mouth and I could understand them pretty dang well. Man I am so thankful for the help of God in this work! He is truly watching over me, and everyone!

IronAraders 

Timisoara Train Station 

Timisoara

Thank you to everyone who has sent me letters, emails, packages, etc. I feel way too spoiled but your words of encouragement have gotten me through some very rough times! 

The Gospel is REAL. Our Savior LIVES. Joseph Smith, through the power and authority of God RESTORED the church and TRANSLATED the Book of Mormon. Let this knowledge guide us every single day! Make this a part of who you are and people will notice your joy.

Love,

Alex

Package from home!!!!!!!

I literally teared up when I opened the package!  All Cool Runnings themed.  I was SO pumped!

I can't even believe this shirt!!!!

Literally Erv Blitzen's scarf!

The Four-letter Word

Dang, another week has come and gone! January has felt like an eternity, but also a blur. So much has happened, and I have really learned a lot. This week was no exception- amidst the difficulties I learned possibly one of the most important attributes that I could ever learn- and it is just the beginning. 

The attribute is a four letter word, and something that we all need to give and feel. L O V E. And more specifically, Christ-like love. 

To start, I have been in Arad for almost four months now. That is a long time! In these four months, I have made friendships that will last far beyond this life. Something that I have truly come to love about being a missionary here is that most of the work is focused on the members of the church here. For a while, I struggled with this because my vision of missionary work was always teaching investigators and knocking on doors. Well ya this still happens, but the sacred call of being a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints extends far beyond teaching investigators and knocking on doors- it is also about establishing his church!

I think establishing the church is more than just finding new people to bring to church- it is also about helping those who have entered the waters of baptism. Being a member, especially here in Romania, is dang hard. Think about it- all of these people are first generation converts who have felt the power of the Holy Ghost, confirming to them that the things they have read are true. They have broken the chains of tradition and some have even been abandoned by their families. Yep, this is pretty much the norm here! I get a little emotional every time I think about the sacrifices that these faithful members make to partake of the blessings of salvation. This alone strengthens my testimony that Christ's church has been re-established on the earth.

Think about this scripture as you continue to read...

D&C 10:65 For, behold, I will gather them as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if they will not harden their hearts;

Not a hen...but lots of pigeons

I have grown close to all of the members here and two in particular really impacted me this week. 

So every Thursday, we meet with Fratele Petrescu, my most favorite little old man ever. I just like talking with him, and seeing his perspective. Yes I also like listening to his funny high-pitched British accent, but that is just a plus! haha. He is very lonely, that poor old man. When I meet with him, I can just feel the love that God has for him. In some ways, I almost feel like our visits with him are what helps him remember that God is watching over him.

This visit in particular, I got to really have a great conversation with him, and when it was time to go, I gave him a big bear hug and told him, "I love you, Frate!" But these three words, with that four-letter word in the middle were more than just words. I realized that I truly have a deep concern and love for him- man it was almost a tangible feeling! I looked at him afterwards and I could tell it meant to much to him. We met at the church, so as I saw him off and watched him walk away, he turned around with his french beret on his head, smiled, and waved at me. An incredible feeling overcame me, and brought tears to my eyes. Wow. I just couldn't help but think about how much God loves this man. This little old man, who is lonely and maybe not the best hygiene, - HE MATTERS TO GOD. And he matters to me. I am so thankful that I had this experience that helped me realize that God truly loves all of His children, and that when we have an attitude of Christ-like love, our hearts can be changed.

God loves all his children.

The next day I found out that Sora Krnacs had been in the hospital. I gave her a call to see if us and the sisters could go visit her. She told me that she didn't want us to catch the flu by coming over but I insisted. So, we made the 40 km journey to Nadlac to her lovely little cottage. It breaks my heart every time I see her living conditions, but I stand in awe at the faith that this lady has. SHE HAS TRIALS. She has had cancer, she makes 80 lei ($20) a month, and works horrible hours. She has no indoor plumbing, no lights, rides her bike to work in the freezing cold, and makes the 2 hour journey to church whenever she can make it. Gosh, can you even imagine? 

Salt of the earth...Sis. Krnac's home

So we enter into her house and give her the tea that we brought for her. We reminisce about Elder Day and she tells us that whenever she sees her beautiful stove, she thinks of Elder Day. I reminded her that we can use this as motivation to always strive to be faithful. 

The Arad District with Sora Krnacs

Out of the blue she asks for a blessing for her sickness. Wooo her words were powerful and her faith worth more than anything in the world. I grabbed my trusty consecrated oil vial and Elder Wilstead anointed her with it. Then I sealed the blessing and gave her a blessing of healing and comfort. Giving blessings are one of the most special and faith-building experiences. When a worthy priesthood holder gives a blessing, the spirit truly guides their words. The sisters said that as I put my hands on her head, tears began to flow from that wonderful woman's eyes. Her hands clasped together and she was pleading with all of her might to God. I felt like my words were truly guided by the man upstairs, and my love and admiration for that woman grew so much. I gave her a big hug, and we just looked at each other for a second. Again, I got a little taste of how much God loves that woman. I truly felt JOY- The joy that only comes from serving and loving without a thought of reward. 

Sora Krancs. The most faithful lady I have ever met.

These two incredible experiences were life-changing. Seeing God's love for his children first-hand is just special. When we go out with this love, regardless of our circumstances, we WILL be happier. We WILL make someone's burdens feel light and we WILL feel God's love for US. 

I know that God loves each and everyone of us. We are his children! We can change the world with love. Heck, we are the chickens under his wings- He wants all of us to feel the comfort and love that he can provide!

Just waiting for a train like...

I LOVE each and everyone of you. Thank you for all of the love and support. I am so sorry if I cannot email everyone- these darn emails take forever to write!

Keep it real- LOVE LOVE LOVE!

love again,

Alex

P-day hike pictures