Ceau

That's actually how  Romanians spell "ciao." Man what a week it's been! It barely feels like it was a week. Spending two whole days in Bucuresti kind of threw my inner clock off and made it hard to get everything done we had planned for the week. My new companion, Elder Harrison, is awesome! He's from Brigham City Utah, is in the same MTC group as Elder Cox, and this is his 3rd transfer as a zone leader. He's a fantastic missionary, speaks Romanian like a champ, is a hard worker, but also knows how to have fun with the work. Oh yeah, and he plays the guitar! Usually when you get a new companion the first week can be a little awkward as you try to get to know each other and get a feel for each others' styles, but it hasn't been like that at all with Elder Harrison. 


The new boboaca (bo - bwa - ca) is really cool too. Her name is Sora Cook, she's from Sandy Utah, and looks like she could easily be Sora Remsburg's sister! And yes, after her first day of church she definitely had the what-did-I-get-myself-into look. But she's going to do great, she already knows the language really well for having barely come into the country. I can tell this is going to be a super fun transfer! Oh yeah, before I forget, I just got an email from Heather, thanks for forwarding her letter! I was going to tell you last week that I had sent it to you because I didn't know if she would still be in Rexburg or not. Apparently she is. Oh well, is she still planning on staying with you all for her seven week break? And thanks for the college update, I just found out that we will be having interviews with President on July 5th so I can talk to him about it then. 

This week we were still able to get some things done, even though our week was cut a little short. We met up with T---i at the church and had a lesson with him! It was focused on the Book of Mormon being a source of guidance and help in raising a family. He's a married father of two kids, and his kids mean everything to him. He's such an awesome dad! I'm not really sure how much of what we were trying to get across he understood, but we're still keeping in touch and he actually said that he wants to meet up again this Friday or so. Hopefuly he will be willing to meet at the church again. It's proving a little hard to break out of the just "friends" sphere to teach him the gospel in a formal setting. After the lesson we had with him, he gave us a ride back to our street in his restored vintage sky blue '62 VW bug! It was so cool! He had to pick his kids up from ping pong practice, which was really close to where we live so he offered to give us a ride. He also is planning a p-day for all of us to go to the country-side and have a picknick and play some frysbee! He's  incredibly nice. 

M---l didn't come to church, and he hasn't been answering his phone, but that probably just means he's been in Hungary. He travels quite a bit for work. We also haven't been able to meet up with C--- or the V---'s yet but we have a lesson scheduled for this evening with C---. We've had a lot of hours full of contacting people on the streets while trying to find inactive members or with other objectives in mind, like finding an affordable newspaper to place an add for our English courses, going to different colleges to either advertise there for English, or to see if we would be able to give a presentation on the Church in a Religion class. So far no luck. Most of the schools are closed for summer, and I don't really know if the universities here do summer courses. 

Thanks for everything, really. I can't wait to get my birthday package! Hopefully I will be able to get it before next transfer. If not, then it will be just like having two birthdays! That's so crazy that Brandon Balderston just left for his mission! Wow! That is really cool. Well, I love you all and hope you have a wonder full well-weathered week! I heard that it's supposed to cool down into the 70's for us too. It's been mid to high 90's all week which with the humidity here makes it feel like over 100! Till next week!

Love,
Elder Myers

Transfer Week

Hey everyone! Sounds like you all had a good vacation time. I was surprised to hear that it got up to 105! It's been getting pretty warm here the past couple weeks, but I don't think it's broken 100 yet. Of course with the humidity sometimes it feels like it! A drier heat is so much more tolerable.

Well, I've got all the transfer information! So I will be staying in Arad, and Elder Nilsson will be going to Bucuresti into a district where he will be with three other missionaries that were all in his MTC group! My new companion will be Elder Harrison, who was trained by Elder Nilsson about a year ago. I'm really excited, Elder Nilsson says that Elder Harrison is an awesome guy.

On the sisters' side, Sora Schuld will be serving in Cluj (I'm so jealous) and Sora Remsburg will be training a new sister missionary here in Arad! That will be exciting. Having brand new missionaries always adds a fun touch to a district. And guess what???? I'm going to transfers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I haven't been to transfers since I went into Pitesti, so I I don't know  half of the missionaries here since they're all younger than me. Wierd right? It's still wierd for me to think of myself as one of the old missionaries. I'm excited to be able to see some new faces and old ones. Elder Laherty has still been in Pitesti this whole time, he actually just finished training a boboc and he's getting transfered out to Alexandria, so I'll be able to see him at the train station on Wednesday. When I refer to transfers, I mean on transfer day, the first Wednesday of each transfer, everyone who's getting transfered to a new city goes down to Bucuresti no matter where the are serving -- to get their supplies, new companion, etc, and then they travel back to their respective cities. So transfer day becomes like a huge gathering of missoinaries at the Bucuresti train station. It's so cool!

So flying into Chico airport sounds like it's the best option. That's what I was pretty much thinking of doing. I'll let Sister Patton know that today. There was just one more thing, she needs Presdident Brown's email address. I think she sends the travel plans to you and also to him since he's the stake president.

What has happened this week? Well, we were unable to meet up with M--- for a lesson, but he did come to church again yesterday! We also met up with T---, who is a friend of Elder Hyatt's (the current assistant to the President) from when he served in Arad, and had a talk over a juice. That seems to be one of the main ways people socialize here, they meet up at a bar or a cafe and just sit and chat while having a drink. We invited him to church, and also asked him if he would like to meet with us at the church building to talk more about the Book of Mormon. He happily agreed, and when we told him that Elder Nilsson was getting trasnfered, he was really sad and said that Tuesday he would take us out for a pizza before he left. T--- is such an incredibly nice man! He's been married for a while and has two kids, and seems like a really awesome dad. He also knows decent English, so whenever we meet up he likes to talk to us in English.

On the other end, we haven't been able to meet up with C---l because he's been too busy with work. But, we found 2 new investigators! We were knocking a block, and this very nice friendly older couple by the name of V---  let us in almost right away! The wife talked the most, and she seemed like a very positive, happy person which is so nice to see! She would just smile, and laugh and was really easy to talk to. A good chunk of the lesson was focused on the ways that God works in our lives, and how Christ's atonement has had an influence on our lives, and then connecting that into the message of the Book of Mormon, how it testifies of Christ along with the Bible, and how it came about through the Prophet Joseph Smith. We asked them if they had ever had an experience in their lives where they had seen God helping them through trials and Mrs. V--- told us a story about how some years ago, her mom was home alone when to men broke into the apartment and murdered her right on the spot. She said it was a very traumatic experience for her and was very hard to go through. She told us that since then, we were the only strangers she had ever let into her house. However, she also said that it strengthened her faith in God because she felt Him lifting her up and helping ease her sorrow and burdens. It was a very humbling story and the Holy Ghost's presence was felt strongly by all of us the whole time. We left them with a Book of Mormon and an invitation to read it and pray about it, which they said they would do and we set up for us to return the next week. 

We have also had a lot of little experiences here and there that just reminded me that Heavenly Father is always watching out for me, and reminding me that He knows best and that if I just rely on His guidance, then everything will work out. I think that's the hardest part, always seeking the Lord's will instead of just going off of what you think is best. I have found though, that the more I seek after the Holy Gost's guidance, the more I am aware of my thoughts and actions being guided. Of course, only if I let them be guided. It's one thing to recongize and hear the promptings of the Spirit, it's another to actually do what He tells you. That's the hard part. I love the verse in Doctrine and Covenants 88 where the Lord instructs us to always "be anxiously engaged in a good cause" and to not be "slothful" in our doings or wait until we are commanded to do something. As disciples of Christ, we should always be looking for good causes to engage ourselves in and ways we can serve our fellow man.

That's my tidbit for this week. Oh, ok, so yeah, birthday package requests. Well, I will be out of vitamins and alergy medicine, probably be the end of July, so some of those would be nice; and dried mangos, let me think......of course!!! I loved the ones you sent me for Christmas! Other than that, I was actually wondering how much money I have in my checking. I kind of need to buy some new summer slacks and a new suit eventually. I've already gone through one of my suits, and the other is thrashed. I've had to do some make-shift mending jobs on it myself! Oh yeah and I'm going to need new shoes and probably a couple shirts as well. Wow that sounds like a lot! .....but it's all going to be put to good use. Just let me know what kind of a budget I've got to work with. I love you all and can't wait to hear back next week!!

Love,
Elder Myers

Hey All

Well, heading into the last week of the transfer! I'm a little nervous about what's going to happen next transfer, but I know that whatever it is, it will be good. My guess is that Elder Nilsson will be the only one who leaves and I'll get a new companion, but we'll see. It was really fun hearing all about Adam's homecoming and your trips down to the Bay Area, and all the pictures were great! 

June 5th one of Shane's best friends, Adam Voss, came home from his mission to Japan.

Oh my gosh, of course Tommy is dating an LDS girl, and OF COURSE she has a friend serving in Romania haha! Such a small world...I'm not sure who it is though. I didn't recognize the name at all, but I can look at the mission roster we have back home. Also, I got an email from Heather today, and she said that she'll be staying with all of you for her 7 week break! Jealous!! That's really nice of you to let her stay there. Of course, I can't say I would expect anything less. :) Man, 7 weeks, that's a whole transfer and a week! Of course these days 2 transfers barely feels like one. Especially when you stay together with the same companion for two. I'm almost in my 14th transfer!!! I can't even explain what that means. It's soooo wierd. I know I've probably said that many times before, but each transfer goes by faster, and I'm realizing more and more how little time I have left. I've been trying harder and harder to just focus everything on my calling because once I start thinking about time.....it's hard to stop. I realize all the ways that I've grown and progressed, and then a realize everything that I still need to improve on. Hopefuly by the end of my last transfer I'll finally really know how to do missionary work. Is that how you felt dad? 

This has been a good week, we were able to meet up with a former investigator  V--- for the second time. He's been an investigator for 4 or 5 years, and from the teaching record, it seems like he's always had the same problems and hasn't yet been able to overcome them. However, from our last lesson I feel like now is a critical time for him in that he already knows everything he has to do, and he understands why he needs to do it he just acks the faith to truly repent and change his life. He told us that he recognizes that, and he wants to have a stronger faith, so that's what we're working on with him. Building his faith. I feel like if he puts the effort in and has the right desires he could completely turn his life around. He's already so close. He seems like a really good man, just caught up in the world like everyone else. 

Also, M--- came to church yesterday for the 6th time in a row!!! I talked with him a little after church to try to establish a time when we can have a formal lesson with him and he was more than willing to set a time up. Also, P--- the 14 year old less active guy we've been working with came to church as well and stayed for the first two hours. In one of our last lessons we set a goal with him to prepare himself to go to the temple with his mom in the fall. The branch president has also been trying to set up an interview with him for the Aaronic Priesthood. P--- is a really good kid, but as a teenager going to church isn't his favorite thing to do. 


As far as Alex goes, I asked Brother Moldovan about him at church and he said that he had left Romania and was back in LA. So, that's the end of that chapter with Alex, but I will definitely keep in contact with him when I get home, and hopefully remain friends and become better friends. 

We went to another funeral this week. This time it was for Ghita's (gee (as in geek) - tsa)  mom. She had been sick with some kind of tumor it sounds like and passed away Tuesday night. Ghita is a recent convert that we've been teaching for a while, and he asked us to come to the funeral. This one was an Orthodox service and all in Romanian so we could understand everything this time. It was very similar to the last one we went to. It made me very grateful for the Plan of Salvation and knowing that families are meant to be eternal. 

This week we will find out about transfers, and then bam, before you know it the week will be done! Sounds like good progress is being made on all the college stuff. In connection to housing stuff, I'm not sure exactly what I want. I think I would prefer something off campus, and there are a few missionaries here that I would love rooming with and will be going to BYU at the same time. I'll have to talk to them and start seeing what kind of details we can work out. Thank you so much for getting all of this taken care of for me! When I first started doing the college research stuff, it started to distract me from my work here, so I'm so incredibly grateful that I don't really have to worry about much because you're doing practically everything. Thank you!!! I love you all, and I'm glad that the MRI results weren't too bad on mom's ankle. Have a wonderful week, and know that I'm keeping all of you in my prayers. 

Love,
Elder Myers

Happy June!

And Happy Birthday to Allyson!! I forgot to add that in last week. Sooooo that means she's.....26 right? Or 27? I feel horrible, I don't even know how old my sister is. I've never been good with birthdays or names or stuff like that. Either way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Well, I'm glad to hear that everything went well this past week. Thanks for sending all the pictures! It was great seeing Uncle Chris looking so good. So Uncle Mo got bored trying to restore that old Camero Z-28 and decided to just go buy a Corvette huh? Holy smokes that thing looks fun! I'll definitely be making some visits there while I'm at BYU..... I'm also really glad that mom's leg is getting better, and I'm glad she enjoyed the photos! Actually the first thing I thought of when I saw the snap dragons is when I planted some around the tree in the front yard, so we were both totally on the same page.

This week for me has also gone by really fast.      

 Oh, first off before I forget to mention, Brian Passentino - Elder Passentino that is - emailed me with a referral from a couple in Argentina who live in Romania! That is so crazy! He sent me two different adresses, one for Bucuresti, and the other for Brasov.

But back to my week. On Tuesday we had our first two investigator lessons since being in Arad! one was with a former investigator, and the other was with a really nice man who let us in his apartment while we were block-knocking. We still have yet to meet with either of them for a second time, but it was sooooo refreshing to be teaching the Restored Gospel with someone who had never heard of it before!

Then on Thursday we went to a funeral for a less active member's grandmother. It was an interesting experience. A lot different from any of the funerals I had been to back home. It was held outside in the cemetary in front of a church, and they had everyone gathered around the open casket (but the body was covered) as two priests gave their sermon. Most of it was in Hungarian so we didn't really understand much, but the parts that were in Romanian were very uplifting and hopeful, talking about how the deceased had passed on to a better place, and how Christ overcame death for all of us. I'm pretty sure it was a Catholic service. The Hungarians here are usually Catholic, and plus the priest's robes didn't look Orthodox. Orthodox priests usually wear all black robes, and the Catholic priests that I've seen here wear mostly white with maybe some gold or other colors.After the sermon, the pall-bearers carried the casket to the grave sight and everyone followed, carrying these big wreaths of pine branches and roses which they laid on top of the grave after it was filled.

Then, a few hours later zone conference started! It went from 6-9 Thursday night, and then from 8am-4pm on Friday. It was great seeing other missionaries  i know and get to know some new ones, and the presentation Elder Nilsson and I gave went really well. Then Saturday was Elder Nilsson's 21st birthday! We had a small party as part of our lunch break after English class. The sisters made some cookies, and I made some brownies, and Elder Nilsson opened a birthday package his family mailed him.

Today for p-day the sisters set up for us to go play tennis with Marcel! And after tennis Marcel invited us over to his place for some ice cream. We sat out on the lawn that we had helped him plant (which is looking pretty good!) and Sora Schuld had us all talk about our favorite memory with Elder Nilsson. So far it's been a really good day!

That was the essence of this week. A little more about my return date, I'm pretty sure that the 24th is official because it was brought up in my last interview with President Hill. Either way, I'm pretty sure next transfer they'll be making up my travel plans. You'll probably get them towards the end of July or so. But enough of that, there's still two whole weeks left in this transfer! I can't believe Adam is coming home on Tuesday!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's soooo crazy. Say hi to him for me, and let him know that I'll be writing him back soon.

I hope all bodes well with mom's MRI scan, and tell everyone hi, and that I love them all and miss everyone from back home. I'm just trying to do my best and work hard. Zone conference gave me a lot of things to think about, most of them being ways I can improve. I always leave zone conference with a mixture of excitement and confidence, mixed with humility as a lot of my weaknesses  come to my attention. It seems like that's usually how large doses of the Holy Ghost make you feel. At least me, anyway. I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week! I wish you health and only good, as the Romanians say!

Love,
Elder Myers