Hello From Bucuresti

Today I'm writing you from a little internet cafe here in "the jungle" (out here that's what we call Bucuresti )! Last transfer our zone leaders left their car in a dealership in Pitesti to get some repairs done, and the office had us drive it back up to Bucuresti, which means we get to spend our P-day in Buc!! It was weird walking into the mission office - I barely even recognized it, I haden't been there since the day I came into the country! The office elders, assisants and President and Sora Hill were all there and gave us a warm greeting. Apparently Pitesti has been the talk of the mission lately!


 Elder Simmons was just called to be the new assistant, so it was really good to see him again! On average though, our P-days have been pretty much the same. We went to Curtea de Arges last transfer, my second time going there. Elder Bateman's uncle drove us out, and it was gorgeous seeing everything covered in snow. We also went out to see a Cathederal in Mioven which is a small town 20 minutes outside of Pitesti. Other than that, we'll mainly just relax at our apartment. It's kind of nice sometimes to have a p-day where you don't really do anything. Mission life is just a consant go go go go. 


By the way, I forgot to say this last week, but that story about the Moldovan police officer was incredible! That is such a miracle the way everything was timed just perfectly. Oh and I also remember mom asking me a couple weeks ago where I am in my Old Testament reading, and right now I'm over halfway through 1 Kings. It's been pretty interesting reading all the stories in there. I can't really say that it's always as spiritually fulfilling as reading the New Testament, or Book of Mormon, but it helps me get a better understanding of Jewish culture and also of all the symbolism that exists in Christianity. I've also been reading Jesus the Christ throughout my mission, and am getting close to finishing it. James E. Talmage was an incredibly intelligent and knowledgeable man, and reading that also helps me understand the Bible so much better. 


Well, there's bad news and good news. The bad news is that D--- wasn't baptised this Saturday. He didn't pass his batpismal interview. Our zone leader who conducted the interview said that there were a couple things that D--- wasn't totally sure on. We established a new baptismal date for March 3 with him. We feel a lot better about this date, and I think that everything has happened this way for the better. I think it has helped him really see how big and significant getting baptized is. I felt disappointed and frustrated with myself; feeling like I didn't do my part as a teacher as well as I should have, but like I always say hindsight is always 20/20. 


We were able to meet up with our investigator D--- on Saturday, and he came to church for like the 5th time yesterday! He's progressing really well. He's been absolutely eating up everything the church has to offer. He's still reading the Book of Mormon, and he's also been reading the Gospel Principles manual and loves it. He's a really inteligent man and humble enough to be taught by the Spirit. In our lesson with him we covered the first half of the Plan of Salvation and he understood everything perfectly. Everything we share with him he really takes it to heart and ponders and meditates over it. Yesterday I sat next to him during church and all throughout the service he was either fixated on the talks being given and lessons being shared, or he was reading from the scriptures. At one point during Sunday School he turned to me, looked me in the eyes and sais "Myers, ce mici suntem. Nu stiim ce se intampla peste o ora." "Myers, we are so small. We don't know what happens in even an hour." The way he said it really hit me. At that point I knew that the Spirit was working deep within him. He was beginning to truly understand the nature of God and the gospel, and I knew that he was experiencing a change within himself. I could see it in his eyes, hear it in his voice, and feel the Holy Ghost close to us. 


We also met up twice with C--- and unfortunately he's not progressing very well and dropped his baptismal date for the 3rd. He's going through a tough time, getting a lot of pressure from his family to find a job and to start picking up his life and going somewhere. The problem is, he never graduated high school and has no work experience and no money to go back to school. He's feeling pretty lost and looking for a way to have a stable family life and financial situation. We've been trying to help him see that the thing that will help him the most is putting God first in his life, and seeking His will. Once you do that, then everythying else starts to slowly piece itself together. He told us that he prays every night, but he hasn't been reading from the Book of Mormon or the Bible for that matter and he's just confused. We asked him if he ever prayed to have God show him what He wants him to do, and he said no because he's afraid that what God wants him to do won't line up with what he wants to do.


 Hopefully he will start putting more trust in God and relying on Him for help with his family and for finding a job. It was a good reminder to me of how important it is that no matter what, we need to put God first, above everything else in our lives, and how living the gospel really does bless you in every aspect of life. I feel so blessed to have grown up in the gospel and to have these things taught to me since I was a little kid. They have become ingrained in the person that I am today and I know that everything that I have has come to me because of my commitment to living the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 


I know there's probably more to say, but I can't really think of what.....the weather's been warming up a tiny little bit here. At least, it's stopped snowing and the sun has been coming out during the day. I can't wait for spring! Thanks for the pictures of the cats, they looked warm and cozy! Whenever I read Miranda's name it always makes me think of a type of soda that's here called Mirinda. Random thought. I'm glad you've been enjoying so much warm weather. Hopefully it will rain and snow some more though so that summer doesn't turn into a drought. I remember the one winter where it would be up in the 80's in the middle of December and January!


 That's awesome that Eli was able to brave out the snowy cold campout. Those were always some of my favorite campouts. I always loved sleeping out in the snow, even if I did freeze half to death most of the time, it just had a sense of adventure that I loved. It's been fun beeing surrounded by snow out here although sometimes it gets pretty old having to trudge through loose slush and slippery ice all day. Thanks for the great emails, hope you have a wonderful week! 


Love,
Elder Myers

Let It Snow!!!

Hey everyone! Sorry about the whole email mix up from last week. I think I either just forgot to hit the send button, or it just didn't go through. I was surprised when I got a call from President Hill telling me to go email my family! 


As for the weather, it is snowing pretty hard as week speek, and its been snowing since Saturday! Last week it snowed for a good several days straight, and then there was about 5 or 6 days of freezing temperatures, as low as -11-12 C during the day, and down in the -20s C at night!!! Don't worry about me though, that huge blue scarf Ally made me for Christmas has been keeping me nice and warm! Here in Pitesti there's probably a good 2 or 3 feet of snow. It makes doing missionary work pretty exciting, we've been instructed not to be outside for very long if temperatures get much lower than -10 C. Luckily we have investigators we've been meeting with! That's crazy that the Danube and the Black Sea are freezing over! I hadn't heard about that until just now. I had heard about how in parts of Romania people's houses have been completely covered in snow however. From what I heard, that's only happening in the northern part of the country, close to Moldova. 


This week has been pretty good for us, but Sunday was pretty disappointing for the other Elders. They had two investigators who were supposed to come to church who never showed up. One of them, M---  was baptized Wednesday in Timișoara was supposed to get comfirmed, but lives about 50 minutes away from Pitești and missed his bus to come in. The other investigator was A---, who needed to come to church for her second time so that she could be baptized on Tuesday. 


Oh yeah, just so you know, transfer results are..............everyone is staying except Elder Staheli who is going Craiova. Elder Bateman's new companion will be Elder Abbott, who is in Elder Cox and Ekins' MTC group. I'm really glad I'm going to be staying here. This will be my 4th transfer in Pitesti!! All in all I will have stayed here for six months by the end of next transfer. 


So here's everything new for our investigators:


D--- is still completely on for his baptism this Saturday! In our last lesson he told me that I had been like a guiding angel for him and that he wants me to be the one who baptizes him. I was really humbled by that. D--- has been changing so much. He's a lot more open, and really happy and full of hope! It's so amazing to see how prepared he was to receive the gospel. He's already living every single one of the commadments. Basically lessons go like this: we tell him that Christ taught us so and so or such and such and that in the church we do this and this or we can't do that or that, and he ends up teaching us why its not good to drink alcohol or smoke, or to look at pornography, or why it's important to pay tithing. We only have a few more things to go over with him just to officially check it off on his teaching record and then he is 100% ready. He's even started sharing the gospel with his family! He gets rides to and from work from his older brother and so a couple times he's had them come by the church while we have a lesson with him. The last time he came he brought his two brothers, and we ended up teaching M---, one of the brothers, the gospel and giving him a Book of Mormon while D--- played ping pong with his other brother! They both said that they want to come to church this week as well! 


D--- is doing really well also, we had a lesson with him on Thursday and he came to church yesterday. He's still reading from the Book of Mormon, but he hasn't prayed about it yet. Being a member of the military since he was in high school he didn't get very much of a religious education and has never really prayed before. We've been helping and encouraging him to start praying and helping him understand why it's so important to pray every day so that we can develop a personal relationship with God. He hasn't commited to a baptismal date yet, but he knows that he wants to be baptized. I think the main thing holding him back is his family. He really wants his wife to be involved, so we told him to have her come to our next lesson with him. He said he would talk to her about it, and thinks that she would probably be interested in coming. 


C--- is still struggling with family problems. He told us that he had talked to his mom about getting baptised and she told him that he was baptized when he was a baby, and doesn't need to be baptised again. He asked me before English on Saturday if it matters whether you were already baptised once or not and I told him the next time we meet up we'll talk about it. He still can't come to church because his mom won't let him. We're just praying that he will be able to find a way to come. We still has a baptismal date for March 3, and we're still working towards making that date a reality, but he's got a long way to go. 


We're still meeting with V--- once a week. We testified that we know that the Book of Mormon is true by the power and witness of the Holy Ghost, and the only way he will get his answers is by listening to what God's trying to tell him, not what all the latest scientific and psycological theories say. He had read the Plan of Salvation brochure and in there it references to the Restoration, and he asked us what it meant by restoration, so we gave him a Restoration of the Gospel brochure and told him that we would talk about it next time. 


Those are all our current investigators. We're working really hard on trying to find new investigators so that we're always sharing the gospel with someone new, and bringning new people into the church. Something that I'm seeing more and more about missionary work is that it's not necessarily all about how HARD you work, but it's also about how SMART you work, and how COMMITED you are. God always places people in your path, and most of the time it's through people that you already know and work with. 


Hope you all are staying cozy and warm over there in good ol' Cali. I look forward to hearing back.


I love you all!


Elder Myers

Happy Leap Year!

Shane took this photo somewhere near his apartrment in Pitesti, Romania

Hey all!! Someone told me that this year is leap year, one more day in February! Thanks for the adorable pictures of Ember and Tristan! There's one from the pictures that dad sent me of both Ember and Tristan sitting in the grass that looks like it could be the album cover of some indi band! Nice photography, Jared! That's awesome they got to have a sleep over at grandma and grandpa's.


 Man, 60-70 degree weather sounds heavenly! It's pretty much snowed the whole week here in Pitesti, and temperatures have been as low as -24 F at night, and 14 F during the day. It kind of makes it difficult to find effective ways of using our time, but we've been doing alright I think. We've spent most of our evenings block knocking if we're not having any lessons with our investigators or meeting with members.


 On Saturday the baptism went through all according to plan. It was such a beautiful experience. Here in Romania if the branch doesn't have a chapel than they use basically a small upright swimming pool called a bazin for baptisms wich take a few hours to fill up, so us missionaries spent most of the day at the church preparing for the baptism. I remember sitting next to D--- in the sacrament meeting room about a half hour before the baptism, and I felt a shift in the atmosphere. All of a sudden I no longer felt like I was sitting in a meetinghouse for a dinky little struggling Romanian branch, but the whole building took on the same atmosphere as any chapel in America as the presence of the Holy Ghost saturated the air around me. It felt like a baptism. It felt like my baptism. Even though I was only eight years old at the time, as I sat in that chair of the meetinghouse for a split second I remembered just like it was yesterday coming up out of the water and being filled with one of the most extraordinary sensations I have ever experienced; and C--- was about to experience the same thing. The next day at church he was just absolutely glowing and full of the Spirit. His wife and his mom attended the baptism, and they really enjoyed seeing him make this big step. In fact the other Elders told us that C---'s mom had been talking to him more about the church, and told him that she wants to be baptized. Elder Bateman's biological family also attended the baptism, and came to church the next day!

 Out of our investigators only D--- was able to attend, but I thought of him and how he has made the same decision and in just a couple weeks will be making the same covenant with God. We still have a lot to teach him, but he will be ready. He already has an incredible understanding and knowlegde about the gospel. I think it is a gift of his. He has a good heart, and a strong desire to serve God and others, and really understands that the church is one big family. During one lesson he brought up tithing, saying that in the past he's been really disappointed with other churches when he's seen pastors or priests who use the money given from members to buy an expensive car or house, and feels like that money should be used for helping people who need it. 


This week we also invited R--- to be baptized on March 3, and he accepted! He's come to church two weeks in a row now, and loves meeting with us, and has been finding answers to many of his questions through the church's doctrine. The only thing is, his mom has been getting angry at him because he hasn't been getting home on time and he's been gone a lot. He hasn't told her that he's been meeting with us or coming to church. We're just praying that her heart will be softened. He wants to find a job in Pitesti in the next couple of months and hopefully move into the city. 

Shane and missionary buddies on their way to some p-day adventure!

We're really excited for D--- this week, because we will finally be able to meet with him!! He's been really really busy with work, and this weekend he went on a trip to the mountains with his wife. He's continuing to read the Book of Mormon, and a few days ago I had called him to check up on him and see how he was doing. He said he was almost done with 2 Nephi, and that up until then he felt like the Book of Mormon was just a lot recounting of history about Nephi's family and he didn't really see how it applied to him, but he said when he got to the last 20 or so pages of 2 Nephi, it really grabbed him, and made a big impression. He also said that he'd been talking to Baldea a lot about the church and about baptism, and he said that he for sure wants to be baptized!!!!!!!!!!!

O---, unfortunately, has pretty much fallen off the map. She didn't show up to our scheduled meeting with her this week, and she won't answer any of our phone calls. That was pretty disappointing, but unfortunately that's what happens  pretty often. If we didn't have as solid and promising investigators as we do know, it probably would have affected me a lot more. V--- is progressing very slowly, we had a lesson with him last night and talked about the after life and kingdoms of glory. He thought it was really interesting how we believe in our eternal reward as a thing of degrees, and how we believe that hell is more of a state of mind rather than a physical place. At the end of the lesson we told him more why he needs to pray about these things, and how he needs to start thinking more with his heart, and less with his head. 

We're continuing to work with the elders in the branch on picking up the pace on home teaching. Most of the members here are starting to realize more and more what they have to do to make this branch stronger. Once they get home teaching and visiting teaching organized and running than this branch will grow exponentially. Serving in all these struggling branches has really given me a profound and deep understanding and appreciation for home and visiting teaching, and what it really means to be a home teacher and to be an Elder's quorum member. The members of a branch or ward literally are a big family and just like any family, if the members of that family don't reach out to each other and serve and love each other, the family falls apart. 

That's pretty much all for me. This has been a pretty eventful week! This week is the last full week of the transfer, and on Saturday we will have transfer calls to find out who's staying and who's going. If you had asked me six weeks ago if would want to stay in Pitesti a fourth transfer I would have given a resounding "no," but now I really really hope I stay. I hope you all have another wonderfull warm weathered week!

Love, 
Elder Myers

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!

Shane standing on pond near his apartment in Pitesti, Romania

That's right, mom's birthday is the 29th of January. I know I've had 20 years to get everyone's birthday down, but I still don't quite have it. Numbers have never been my forte.......Sorry! I remember asking mom before I left on my mission everbyody's birthdays and I have them all written down in my address book but obviously it hasn't helped that much, sadly. La mulți ani!!! You're 50!! That's half a century!

Sounds like you all had a good time down in the bay area helping Nana and Papa Graham with their house. I thought that was interesting what dad shared about working in synergy. I've definitely noticed big differences between some companions and others and how well we worked together.


We only have 2 weeks left in the transfer!! This Saturday one of the other elders' investigators, C--- is getting baptized! He has been doing so well, and changing so much. He's come to church every Sunday, and he's quit smoking in just a couple weeks and over the course of the past couple weeks there has been a visible change in his countenance. It's been something really special to see. As for our investigators, this past week we have found 4, and 3 of them came to church yesterday! So here's who we have:


D---. He is 34, in the military, married, and is friends with someone in the ward. He's been really busy with work the past couple weeks so we haven't been able to meet up with him very much, but his member friend keeps in close contact with him and thinks that he is ready to set a baptismal date. He's been studying from both the Bible and the Book of Mormon, and yesterday was his second time coming to church. He seemed to really enjoy it.


H--- This is the guy who called me last week while I was writing my email to you! We had a lessons with him on Wednesday and Friday. Fratele Negrici sat in on both the lessons and was a huge help. H---is a really humble guy, humbled it seems mainly due to his life up until now. He works construction and doesn't make very much money. He has 3 kids and is really searching for a way to help unify his family. He wants that way to be faith in God and Jesus Christ, and he told us he felt like God led him to find us. He's been reading the Book of Mormon and praying to know if it is true and he has been receiving answers! He told us that he feels God's love and peace whenever he reads from it and whenever he talks with us, and he thinks this is the path that he needs to take. In our second lesson with him, he accepted a baptismal date of February 18 which is the first Saturday of next transfer. Yesterday was his first time at church, and he enjoyed it a lot.


T---. He is my age and has been coming to our English classes for the past couple transfers. He's a really nice guy, kind of quiet but a really spiritually in tune person. Last transfer he took a Book of Mormon and he told me that he reads from it and form a Liahona he has when he feels down or upset. We had a lesson with him about the restoration, and invited him to read from the Book of Mormon every day, to pray to know if it is true, and to come to church, and he's done all three of those things! We also asked him that if he receives an answer that it is true if he will be baptized and he said yes. It was a really good lesson, and the Spirit was strong. He told us he had a question, and asked us why does God let bad things happen. We read out of 2 Nephi 2 about the fall of Adam and opposition in all things, and he immediately understood. It was incredible!


W---. He is an older man we block knocked into one night. Very very intelligent, knew some English, said that he had studied theology in college. At the door we asked him if he believed in Christ, and he said that he wants to believe, but hasn't gotten to that point yet. We told him that what we have to share will help him develop faith in Christ and he let us in. He told us that he had a question that for his entire life he has never found the answer too. His question was essentially the same as T---'s, but his reaction was completely different. He presented the question in a much more complicated way, saying that if God is all powerful, why does he let Satan take control? He used examples of a drunk violent parent beating a child to death, or natural dissasters killing thousands of people - good and bad. We talked about how man has the freedom to make his own choices and how without opposition in all things life would have no purpose, but he wouldn't accept anything we said. In the end we assigned him some chapters from the Book of Mormon to study and to pray specifically about and he accepted. He is a very calculating and logical man which seems to hinder him from being open to the Spirit, but has a true desire to develop faith in Jesus Christ.


K---. She is 18 and a senior in high school. We contacted her two weeks ago, and our first lesson with her went really really well! We talked about the Restoration, and she just ate it all up. She understood all of it, from the need for priesthood authority to praying to find the truth. She said she would read the Book of Mormon and pray about it, and come to church as often as she could. She wasn't able to come yesterday though, because she was out in the countryside taking care of her Grandma. We think she would get along really well with Ani, and want to have her at the next lessons.


So that was pretty much my week in a nutshell. Add in some really cold weather and snow, and you've got it. This morning we went to Curtea de Argeș with Elder Bateman's biological uncle. Oh yeah, I don't think I ever told you. Elder Bateman is Romanian, born in Pitești! He was adopted just after his birth by an Americal couple who are members of the church from Utah. He grew up knowing that he was Romanian, but knew nothing about his family. Since he's been on his mission he found his biological family here in Pitești! They're all really really nice, and a bunch of them actually came to church yesterday, and all want personal copies of the Book of Mormon!!! It has been an incredible experience for Elder Bateman serving here.

Oh yeah, also, on Wednesday, we went to the wedding of an investigator of the other elders!! My first Romanian wedding!!!!

Well that's my time, wish I could right some more, but here's some more pictures. Love you all!!


Elder Myers

Hey All !

Well it's finally starting to get colder. So far this has been a really warm winter compared to last year. During the day it will usually be anywhere from 5-10 C and now a cold front is just moving in. As I walked to internet this morning the temperature was around -2 or -3 C and from what I've heard it's supposed to snow this week. Finally!!!

I'm glad my SD card came in the mail. I've actually been wondering when it would arrive, and I don't remember ever telling you when I sent it. I'm glad you enjoyed the song. You were right that I wrote it in Romanian and then translated it to English. It was kind of weird doing that. I have the lyrics done from the second song I wrote and I'm working on the music. I can translate those lyrics too and send them to you.

Thanks for the pictures, man Taylor's beard......haha! I just got an email from him today, it was really good hearing from him. And Jodi had another baby!! Wow! I'm sure you had told me she was pregnant, but I had just forgotten about it until now. He looks like his brothers. I'm sorry to hear about your big mix up with the staples and the gun dad. Stuff like that always really gets me, but in hindsight it's just one more thing to laugh about. It gave me a pretty good laugh when I read it!

I'm am most satisfied to say that this week has been my busiest week in Pitesti! We have been working a lot with less active members, and it's beginning to pay off. All of the less active members we've been working with came to church this Sunday! They are: The V-----family, a mom and her 14 year old daughter. The father is an international chauffeur and is only home for a few weeks out of the year. Then there is the branch president's wife, Sora (sister) G-----, and Fratele (brother) S------We've been working really closely with Fratele S----, teaching him English and having lessons with him. I have never seen someone who is so devoted to his family. He would give up his life for any one of his kids or his wife without a second thought, and he makes so many sacrifices to make sure that they have the things they need. And now he's doing everything he can to bring God back to the center of his life and let me tell you Heavenly Father has been pouring down the blessings to him and his family.

The last week he worked almost 7 days straight driving the taxi, and has only been home 2 or three times. He goes out to work, works all day and most of the night, and then gets a few hours of sleep in the car, and then goes right back to driving. On top of that he makes time to meet with us to study English and to have gospel discussions. The effect that our discussions has on him is miraculous. When he first comes in he is exhausted, coughing,  but by the time he leaves after our lesson his whole demeaner is changed. He has more energy, he smiles and laughs, and is at peace as he goes back out into the world. I've also noticed that any time he talks with his wife on the phone it has the same effect on him.

As for investigators, we had a lesson with Fratele B---'s friend, D--- on Thursday. It went really really well! D--- is a truly prepared person. He pretty much told us his life story, and how for the past 4 years he's been going through a process of changing himself. He's been improving everything about himself. His diet, his family relationships, and his outlook on life. As a part of this process he seems to be searching for God as well. For the past two months Fratele B--- has been sharing things about the church with him. He already has a Book of Mormon, and he's read from some Liahona issues as well. He's very open and humble and committed to reading the Book of Mormon and praying about it. He even said the prayer at the end of the lesson! He also said that if he recieves an answer from God that this is His true church then he will be baptized. He is married and lives with his inlaws, and he's not really sure how they will react to the church. However, he really wants them to be included, and told us that he wants his family to take the same passes along with him. We are scheduled to have another lesson with him on Thursday and we're thinking about asking him if he would be willing to bring his wife.

The branch is doing well. We're going to be having some changes here in Pitesti pretty soon. A member of the district presidency came and spoke at church yesterday and announced that we will be receiving a new branch presidency. Also, one of the members here, R--- is getting married to a return sister missionary at the end of this month. She came up this weekend, and apparently she's staying until the wedding and then after that.......as far as I know they're going to live here in Pitesti. She had served in Pitesti, and actually just got home about six months ago. I think they're planning to be sealed in the Kiev Temple.

Last week we also had interviews with President Hill, and as usual they went really really well. I love President and Sora Hill so much, they are perfect for this mission. They're the kind of people who always make you feel good about yourself. Whenever I have an interview with President Hill I always go out feeling encouraged, loved, and supported. So, things are going pretty good. Elder Laherty and I are working hard, but I'm also glad to say that he's one of the funnest companions I've had so far. He's someone who really knows how to work hard, but also to enjoy himself. I think we both help keep each other laughing and smiling through the day. That's all for this week. Sorry I haven't sent any pitures in a while, I promise I'll send somthing next week.  I love you all, and hope you have a great week!

Love,

Elder Myers

New Transfer

Elder Myers in Pitesti, Romania, Dec. 2011

Well, transfer week is over and I everyone's getting settled in. Serving with Elder Laherty right now is proving to be the biggest blessing ever. He's a really energetic, easy going, funny guy, but also his attitude and committment to the work, and the experience he's gained on his mission has proved to be exactly what I need right now. He's someone who knows how to work hard, but to have fun doing it and not being too hard on himself.

As we've been talking more about our experiences on our missions I've realized that we've had a lot of similar experiences, and he has lots of great ideas of things we can do to help the members here. We both feel really good about this transfer. Elder Staheli's new companion, Elder Bateman is an absolutely awesome missionary as well. He's in his 14th transfer and it shows. He's got such an amazing attitude about being here in Pitești, and is really fun to be around. 

City Plaza   Pitesti, Romania

Yesterday was probably the best service I've seen here in Pitești! We held a fast and testimony meeting, and there was not a single moment of silence during the testimony meeting. All of the time was taken up by members bearing their testimonies of how they have come to know that the true gospel was restored. Usually fast Sundays are full of long silences and no one really gets up to bear their testimony. Also, the less active member who we've been meeting with and teaching English came to church with his wife and two kids, and stayed for the first two hours. He bore his testimony, and it was the first time I've seen someone get up in front of the congregation and show the true fruits of repentence. He was humbled and strong in his conviction of the truthfulness of the gospel as he asked forgiveness from the members for mistakes he's made in the past and as he stood and witnessed to them all that from then on he and his family would put God first in their lives.

There was another less active sister and her 15 year old daughter that we have weekly lessons with that came to church too! The Pitești branch seems to be going through a rebirth right now, and you can feel the renewed hope in the members and especially in the branch presidency. If this branch keeps up its momentum, and if us missionaries do everything we can, this branch will grow very quickly.

In fact, on Friday the four of us missionaries along with President Georgescu and his 1st councelor Brother Bâldea and Marius met up at the new church to clean it up and finish organizing everything. Afterwards, Brother Bâldea had a friend of his who he had been talking to about the church for a while stop by and get to know us. His name is L---, looks like he's in his late 30's, married with kids and doing well for himself. He was very friendly, and told us that Brother Bâldea had told him about us missionaries, and he was very interested in learning more about our church. We exchanged phone numbers and set up to meet with him the next Thursday!

Things are looking good for this branch. I remember when I first got into Pitești and just thinking, "Oh great, here we go again." I was not looking forward at all to serving in another branch that seemed to be falling apart. Now I've been learning to love and appreciate the people who are here. This branch has some very acceptional and chosen leaders and potential leaders that are such a huge blessing to the members of the church here. Sure it's got its problems and setbacks, but what place doesn't? I've come to decide that there really is no "good branch" or "bad branch" to serve in, just different ones and I'm learning how to really appreciate all the blessings that can be found by serving in Pitești.  I actually hope I have the opportunity of serving a fourth transfer here after this one. Wherever you go, being a missionary is going to be a hard thing. I'm understanding now better and better that your attitude really is the deciding factor of your experience. When last transfer ended I decided that I was done being a "victim of circumstance" and that I was going to make the best out of every day that I have and try to enjoy all of my time here. It's not worth it to reach the end of my mission, look back and realize that my experience could have been so much better.

Thank you for your words of advice. I knew there was a reason that you are my parents. ; ) You always help me realize the good that I've done and am doing here. As far as the whole faith thing and what direction to focus it, you really gave me some good perspective mom. You're absolutely right. There's no sense in praying for something specific if you don't know that it is what God wants for you. Better to always be asking Heavenly Father to guide you in all that you do, and to be able to perceive the guidance when it comes. Then you will be more prepared for the specific problems when they come.

When I think about it, it's the same principle when we teach investigators. We're told to teach to their needs and not worry so much about whether we cover all the lesson material. The first time you meet with someone, you know nothing about them, so it's impossible to teach to their needs; so, you have to take some time and get to know them, then the Spirit guides you in knowing what specific things you can teach them to help them bless and enrich their lives.

I love you all soooooooooooo much! I hope you have a good phone call with Heather mom, tell her "hi" and that I love her. Good luck with seminary, and congratulations Eli for the new calling! I'm sure you'll be an awesome Teacher's Quorum President. Have a wonderful week everyone!

          Elder Myers 

La Multi Ani!

Happy New Year everyone!! I'm not really sure where to start today. It was so good seeing everyone on Skype, and talking with you face to face. The timing on that was such a blessing for me. I don't think there has ever been a time on my mission when I felt a greater need to talk to people who knew me and loved me the way you do. It feels like forever ago. This has probably been the longest week of my mission, and a real rollercoaster ride. I've done a lot of reflecting and self examination and have figured out some things I need to do differently.


Things are better now with the other elders, and especially my companion. This last week has probably been the best one I've had as far as our relationship goes. On Thursday I talked to President Hill, and he gave me some great advice about being a more effective leader.


I really appreciated everything you both said in your emails mom and dad, and this next transfer will be a fresh start. Elder Martin and Elder Ekins are both being transfered out, Elder Martin is going to be district leader in Timisoara and Elder Ekins is going to be serving in Bucharest, and will still be in my zone. My new companion will be Elder Laherty!! He was one of my roommates in the MTC, and is a really fun guy, I'm really looking forward to serving with him. Elder Staheli's new companion will be Elder Bateman, who is an awesome missionary as well. 

Now I'm starting a new year, a new transfer, a new district, the branch has a new building, and a renewed faith and hope for the future. Speaking of the branch, yesterday's service was one of the best I've been to in Pitesti. There weren't very many people there, but those that were there were filled with a love, energy and hope of a new beginning. The branch presidency has a renewed urgency to get things moving and make the branch grow. 

On New Year's Eve we spent the day visiting members, and we talked with Brother Baldea, one of the councelors, President Georgescu, and Brother L---, an older man in the branch. Brother Baldea told us that there are a few families that he has been talking with about the church and told us that after the holidays he will give us their phone numbers and addresses to start having discussions with them! And Brother L----, who never really lets anyone visit him, let us right in when we knocked on his door. Lately he's seemed to be in a bit of a dark place in his life, and our visit seemed to just make his day. He was more talkative and cheerful than I've ever seen him! And now that the holidays are over we have several potential investigators that we will be able to start meeting with and hopefully get things moving for this branch. The Pitesti branch has a lot of potential, it just needs more quality members who will help support it. On Sunday Brother Baldea took a few minutes at the end of sacrament meeting and talked about how we need more than "members" but we need to be converting disciples. People who are committed to a life of serving God and fellow man, and I couldn't agree more. 

Thank you for sharing the story about Renzo, dad. It really helped give me some perspective. There's always been a part of me that has felt like there has to be some magical connection or miracle that happens for me to really effect someone's life, but that's not necessarily true. Your story of teaching Renzo and helping him later on after your mission helped me understand better the scripture that says by small and simple means great things come to pass.

Thanks for telling me about Jeanette's sister too, mom. I have to be constantly reminding myself of that to remember that nothing I do here will go to waste. Sometimes I just find it hard to know how to direct my faith. Should I have faith in finding someone that will accept the gospel, or should I have faith in knowing that in the end what I do here will serve a purpose, whatever that purpose may be? I guess when I put it that way the answer's pretty clear. I have always told myself and other missionaries around me that we need to always focus on the eternal perspective of things. It's kind of silly for me not to be taking my own advice.    

Well that's about it for my time. I love you all so incredibly much. That's too bad that Heather was sick when she came. At least she was in good hands. Have a wonderful week!

Love,

Elder Myers