Merry Christmas From Cluj

Hey everyone! Thanks for the awesome emails mom and dad! That's cool that hearing me talk about my experiences brings back all those memories for you of your mission dad! Oh and not to sound rude or incensitive, but you've got nothing to worry about with me, I wasn't crying at the end during our skyp call. It was so awesome to be able to see everone, and Ember and Tristan are soooo cute!! I was just so extremely thankful that I could see all of your faces! It was the perfect Christmas present. I actually haven't really been homesick. I did feel a little down on Christmas morning, but it's hard to keep feeling that way when you go caroling and get your faces stuffed with sarmali and baked goodies! I've really felt the homey family Christmas-y feeling here with the other missionaries and the branch members. And when I get my presents from you all back home, It will be like having Chrismas all over again!

 

So I just read an email from Adam, he told me about the baptism he had in November, but didn't say he had another one in January! Apparently his mission allows him to email other missionaries, but mine does not, so I guess if you get have the Vosses let him know that he'll have to wait for some snail mail from me that would be nice. Oh and I was going to send you some pictures this week, but I forgot to bring my stuff to upload pictures from my camera onto the computer. We have to go to internet cafe's to do email. So I will have to send you picures next week. So you asked about the living situation with the missionaries, Elder Clonts and I live in an apartment block on the kinda eastern/central part of Cluj, and Elder Johnson and Elder Brunner live on the other side of the city, and the Lameraux's - the senior missionary couple here - live in the same block right below us. Oh and as for the whole mailing situaution, I asked the other Elders and they said they've never had mail sent directly to their apartment, so they don't know if it's any faster than sending it to the mission office, so just have Anna and Sarah send their packages to the mission office, that'll be fine. As long as there's no perishables in there, it should be good.

 

So yeah, like I said over skype, not too much missionary work has been done, because everybody's so busy with the holidays. We've had about 4 lessons total this week. Actually, yesterday we had a lesson with a friend of a member and her daughter that was really cool. So there's this guy in the branch named Dorel, he's about 29 or so and looks and acts just like Mr. Bean, haha, he's a pretty funny guy, super friendly. He made a bunch of food a couple nights before, and invited all the missionaries to his house for lunch after church yesterday. He also Invited a friend of his named Mihala (I think) and her son Denis to church for the Christmas program, and then to his house for lunch. After lunch we had a lesson with her and talked about Christ and His atonement, and also the restoration of the gospel. It was awesome having Dorel there, he was able to explain things to her really well. The Spirit was really strong during the whole lesson, and she said that she wanted to come closer to Christ. We gave her a BoM, and invited her to pray about it, now we're just waiting to find another time when we can all meet and have anther lesson. That was probably the best spiritual experience I've had this week.

 

That's really cool hearing about your experience teaching Relief Society mom! I'm just constantly amazed at how Christ works in our lives and how the Holy Ghost can have such an impact on people when they are open and receptive to its teachings. I've started reading Our Search for Happiness by M. Russell Ballard the past couple of days. I don't know if any of you have read it or not, but you should, it's really good! It explains what we believe in and the history of the restoration so well, it's a great missionary tool. (That's probably why it's one of the few books we're allowed to read).

 

Oh, and I got Grandpa Gary and Grandma Linea's Dear Elder in my email today, so people can send me stuff through Dear Elder, but just make sure they send it to my emial I guess...That's awesome that Heather's staying with you all Tuesday, I hope you all have an awesome time! Get caught up on your book club haha! Well today for P-day we are going to Pizza Hut for lunch, and then going ice skaying in Centru, so that will be fun! It's been snowing a ton all day today (ironically, it rained on Christmas day) so everything's covered in fresh powder thats absolutely beautiful!

 

My language comprehension is slowly starting in increase, although it can still be a little frustrating at times to be three or four sentences behind everyone during a lesson haha. That's where you just have to rely on the Spirit right? I'm not really too worried about it, just making sure that I'm working my hardest to stay on task, follow all the rules, and study up! Well, It was great reading all your emails, I look forward to them every week! I love you all so much! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!

 

Love, Elder Myers

 

Welcome to Transylvania !!!!

Buna Ziua!!!

Hello everyone! Thanks for the email mom, wow give a big thanks to the Poppa's and Nana and Poppa Graham! I still have to buy some gloves, scarf and a hat. It is soooo cold here!!!! It's been -6 or -8 C wich I think is somewhere in like the 20's F. So the plane ride was super long, and I've been getting over the jet lag the last few days, but it's not too bad. So as the the money question - where I'm serving? I'm in Cluj right now, and my companion is Elder Clonts. He's a cool guy, he's from Thatcher Arizona, and he's been out for about a year and a half. He's been a lot of help to me and a great trainer. Oh and yes my pday is on monday. although today we have to do our email's in the morning because we have a zone christmas party at the church all day today, so we don't really get a pday today haha. So far I love it here! Its kinda hard to understand people - when I was at church yesterday I was trying to talk to this investigator after sacrament. He was asking about how many missionaries are in Cluj and what parts of the city we preach in and I was having a hard time following what he was saying so he points to his son and says something like just speak english to him and then he'll translate for you haha. oh man I felt so dumb but it was funny! Most of the younger people here know a fair amount of English. 

My first day in Bucarest was crazy! We went to the Church office, got our pictures taken, met the elders who were going to go out contacting that night, and had a quick little medical exame, basically the doctor just asked if we were healthy and stuff like that. so then that night Elder Tefft and I went out with Elder James and Elder Ransom who were actually in the group ahead of us in the MTC, so it was fun to see them again. We didn't end up doing much contacting because we only had a couple hours and we couldn't find an ATM with cash so we could buy dinner haha. Our plain got in late so their whole schedule got kinda messed up. The next day we went to the mission home, had breakfast and interviews with President Lundberg, then went to this park on top of this hill made out of a bunch of rocks where the dedicatory prayer was given, and we read the prayer out loud. Then we went back to the mission home where Pres told us who our companions are and where we were going, and we were off! I had a 10 hour train ride from like 6 to 4:30 from Bucarest to Cluj. First time on a train with beds and everything, that was pretty cool! 

So about Cluj: It's in Transylvania (of course), it's actually a pretty good sized city, although not nearly as big as Bucarest. I don't really know any numbers for like population and stuff like that...but anyway, there are four Elders, and then a senior couple serving here. Elder Clonts and my area is basically half the city, and the public transportation isn't very good so we walk pretty much everywhere. The city is kind of in the foothills of I guess the Transylvanian Mts (I don't really know that's a total guess.) so the terrain is a kinda hilly. There's a good amount of snow here which is awesome! I love snow haha! As far as lessons and stuff goes, we've had 8 lessons so far, which have all been pretty cool! Some of them were with some new potential investigators we found block nocking. One is this old man named Ioan who seemed pretty interested in the BoM and restoration, he asked us why God lets bad things happen to good people so we (meaning Elder Clonts. I'm mostly there for moral support haha.) talked to him about agency, and stuff like that. We've also had a couple lessons with some recent converts, they're both 15/16 year old girls from different families, and weve been giving them the new member lessons. So as for the language, some of the members who have heard me speak said that I speak very well for being a boboc. (baby duck. that's what they call greenies) and my companion says that I speak pretty well too, so that's encouraging! As for understanding whats going on, most the time I can kinda figure out what people are talking about but it takes a lot of focus and energy to follow along. By the end of the day my brain is totally fried!

Yeah, so things are going pretty well, I'm loving it here in Romania! things are really different from America, but I think its so cool that I have this opportunity to learn about a culture that's different from my own. So far I haven't really been hit by too much culture shock, I'm just kinda taking things as they come, but everything's super different for sure! Oh one thing - the juice here is amazing!!! So I hope I will get that christmas package at the party today, and a big Merry Christmas to everyone back in good ol' Cali! One quick thing, I got an email from Heather (which I absolutely loved) but she was asking if I can email back, which sadly i cannot. :( So if someone could let her know that I will be writing her a letter asap. actually I think she usually reads these on the blog, so yeah ok. Hi Heather! lol. and also if you could forward this to my MTC teachers, their addresses are: Christina.Petrisor@gmail.com, alex.jepson@gmail.com, ctrben@gmail.com, robbieirion@gmail.com, steveyboy408@gmail.com

Ok thanks so much!! Oh yeah and about Christmas- so i found out that we are allowed to skype so if you want to try to set that up, then that would be cool. other wise a phone call will be awesome! I figure I could call at like 7pm for me, which is....10am for you guys allright well I gotta go, I'm already over my time limit! I love you all, Merry Christmas!

Elder Myers

Email From Romania

Shane's flight was due to arrive in Bucharest at about 3:30 pm on the 15th. None of us were sure how or when word would come to us regarding his arrival and assignment. We just knew he was in good hands and all must have went well or we would have heard something. Each  mission is supervised by a Mission President and his wife. They sort of become the mother and father of the missionaries while they are away from home. They teach, train, advise and watch over them as well as give them their assignments. Saturday afternoon we were thrilled to receive the following e-mail from the Mission President's wife:

Dear Families,

I'm sorry this is so late in coming.  We've had a crazy week, and I didn't get all of your email addresses from your missionaries before they left town.  However, I want you all to know that your missionaries arrived in Bucahrest safely and all are in good spirits.  They've each been given their first companion and are hard at work.  I saw several of them last night at their Christmas party/devotional/dinner, and will see the others within the next few days at theirs.  We are thrilled to have them here with us.

Plan on hearing from your missionary on Mondays, which is our preparation day.  A few of them will be off schedule this coming week because of traveling to the city where their Christmas party and training will be held.  If you don't hear from them Monday, you should hear from them for sure by Tuesday.

Thank you for sharing these wonderful missionaries with us and the people of Romania and Moldova.  Have a Merry Christmas.

Sincerely,
Sora Lundberg

Shane's Phone Call!

Missionaries are only allowed to call home on Christmas Day, Mother's Day, and while in transit to a foreign country, so phone calls are precious and memorable events during their two year service. Tuesday the 14th Shane called us from the Seattle airport during a three hour layover (which turned into a four hour layover).  Mort took the time off work, and Allyson cam over with Ember and Tristan. It was great to hear his voice and get immediate responses to our questions. We had the phone on speaker mode, so everyone shared in the conversation. Ember and Tristan added their gurgles, coos, and happy noises in the background,  which Shane really enjoyed. He was excited to be on his way to Romania, and glad to be back out in the real world again. I had been missing him quite a bit the previous few days, and talking to him was my cure.  His itinerary included a ten hour flight to from Seattle to Holland, a three hour layover there, and then a flight to Bucharest, Romania. We settled in to wait for word of his arrival there.

Last Week in the US

Buna Ziua familia mea!

 

So this is my last P-day in the US for the next two years!!! I'm so excited to go to Romania, and can't believe that I'm already leaving on Tuesday! Time just flies on by. So I got the package yesterday that you sent, but didn't find a tape in it... :( Maybe someone could send a dear elder tonight telling where it was, cuz I didn't find it anywhere. It might be possible that I accidentally threw it away. But I loved the picters you sent of Ember and Tristan! Oh my goodness they're just the two cutest babies in the whole world! Give them a big hug and kiss for me. And also I will be sending a package today with my SD card, probably some extra clothes and stuff I won't need, and a little something I got you all for Christmas. I hope you enjoy it!

 

So this last week I've learned a lot about what it means to have faith and to endure through trials and hard times that are placed before me. I don't want any of you to worry about me, I'm doing perfectly fine, I've just been experiencing the lessons of life and learning more about my Savior Jesus Christ and how the Holy Ghost teaches us in different ways. I've recieved so much support from my companion, my roommates, my district, and my teachers and I've really grown and learned a lot this week and I can honestly say now that I'm very much ready to go out to Romania, to thrust in my scycle (however that's spelled...curse you English why can't you be phonetic!) and get to work teaching the gospel to Romanians! I've still got so much to learn, I'm nowhere near being fluent in Romanian, I'm starting to understand the Book of Mormon in Romanian, but not the Bible. The Bible is ridiculous. However, my overall speaking and understanding of the language has deffinitley been increasing.

 

There hasn't been much snow here for the past couple weeks, there was a good snow storm a couple weeks ago, but it's all melted by now. :( I hope there will be snow in Bucharest when I get there, that would be awesome! I'm really excited to spend Christmas in Romania! Apparently on Christmas day the missionaries go caroling, so that will be fun, and Bucharest is supposed to have the 2nd largest christmas tree in the world, next to New York (although the Christmas tree in new york was imported from Romania last year haha!). 

 

Thanks for the extra cash in my account, I plan on buying some gloves, a scarf and a hat in Romania. Mom sounds like you've got a pretty good day ahead of you, I hope you have a good time with Grammy. Say hi to her and Aunt Crissie for me! I can't really think of anything that I need...but if I think of something I'll let you know. Oh and about the whole calling business, I will be in Seattle from about 9:00 to 12:00, I'll doulbe check on that and let you know in a letter. So I plan on calling you then, and Heather as well. Well my time is almost up, I wish I could share more but I have a bunch of letters to write today. I can't wait to tell you all about Romania!! I love you all so much!

 

Love, Elder Myers

Mailing Letters or Packages or E-mail to Shane

Time is running out for sending letters or packages to Shane while he is still in the United States. He will be in Provo, Utah through Dec. 13th. If you would like to send mail to him there before he leaves, the best way at this point is to send something through the DearElder.com link.You set up a simple, free account, and type up your letter online. It will be printed out and taken to his mailbox at the MTC. If you send it before 12:00 A.M. Mon- Fri., he will receive it that same day.

If you decide to send a package to Romania, plan on it taking four weeks at this time of year. A letter will take 10 days to two weeks this time of year. This is the most accurate info I have at this point. We do not know where Shane will be assigned once he gets to Romania, so any mail should be sent to the Mission Home (headquarters) and addressed as follows:

                                            Shane Myers
                                            Sos. Pipera  Nr. 41  Et. 7
                                            Bucharest, Romania 014254


Some people have been e-mailing Shane, and he loves it, but he can only e-mail  his immediate family, so include your physical address if you e-mail him so that he can hand write a letter back to you. Thanks for supporting Shane!

BUNA ZIUA!

Buna ziua familia mea!

 

Ce mai faceti? This week has flown by! It was so awesome hearing about everything that happened on thanksgiving. I'm glad that you all had such a good time with Heather! In her last letter she told me that she had a really good time, and loved seeing all of you. And all the missionary experiences that are happening in the 5th ward? Wow, that's just amazing, I don't remember there ever being that many investigator's coming into the ward! Oh, and sorry I didn't really tell you anthying for what to get me for christmas haha. I kinda forgot...but hey, basically anything you do get me I will absolutely love, so it doesn't really matter. 

 

Man, ok, so what's happened this week? Elder Bruner and I continue to have really awesome teaching experiences. Our method is that we have a few goals set to accomplish, like commit them to read the BoM and pray about it, or come to churhc, our last lesson we made a soft committment to baptism, which was really cool! But yeah, so we have these goals in mind, then we pray for the Holy Ghost to guide our lesson, and not really plan anything as far as 'oh, you say this and I'll say that,' or, 'we'll start with this doctrine and scripture and then move into this,' but we just let our whole lesson be centered around the investigater's needs, letting the Spirit prompt us things to say, and scriptures to share. Every time we've tought that way, we end up accomplishing all our goals, and covering all the material that we thought would be important for them to hear. It's SO amazing to see the Holy Ghost work through me and my companion like that.

 

The new district came in yesterday, 3 elders and 1 sister. It was really fun talking to them and seeing their half scared overwhelmed expressions. It made me think about my first day here at the MTC, and just how much progress I've made since that first day! It's also kinda given me a confidence boost for the language, which I think my whole district will need before we head out to Romania! Oh, and also, another thing about teaching, all our lessons the past couple weeks have been all Romanian. My first lesson I was pretty nervous about the whole thing and while I was teaching I found myself focusing more on the language and less on the investigator's needs. One of my teachers pointed that out when he asked, 'how do you think you did as far as applying the gospel to their lives?' and I though 'uuuuhhhhhh I didn't. I was too worried about the language -- haha! That was a really good learning experience for me and since then, I have been making sure that I really focus on the investigator and his/her needs, and showing them how the gospel can bless their lives, and let me tell you, THE GIFT OF TONGUES IS REAL. I know that I never spoke anything near perfect Romanian, but I know that I taught with the Spirit, and that the Lord allowed me to convey such a profound gospel truth in a language that I barely knew, and in a way that touched the hearts of my "investigator's. In my last lesson, we were teaching this guy who didn't believe in God because he couldn't see God's influence in his life. My companion shared an analogy of how God's hand in our lives is like gravity. We don't necessarily see it, but we see it's affects. While Elder Bruner was sharing this, I felt impressed to share my experience of when we were in that huge crash in Idaho, where Allyson wasnt wearing a seatbelt, and I remember seeing the roof dented in around Mom's head, and how not a single one of us had even a broken bone. It was such a powerful spiritual experience, and I could tell that it had a strong impact on the guy we were teaching. All of this I was saying in Romanian, and didn't know half the vocab I needed to explain a car crash and used a lot of hand motions haha, but still, the Spirit was there and testified of the truth of God.

 

Last of all WE GOT OUR TRAVEL PLANS YERSTERDAY!!!!!!!! We report to the travel office at 5:00 am Dec 14, fly from SL to Seatle to Amsterdam to Bucharest!!!! I told Coralie, so hopefully she will be able to pick me up! Oh man, I cannot WAIT to get out there and start teaching the gospel to Romania! Well my time is just about up, hope you enjoyed everything! Va Iubesc!

 

Love, Elder Myers

 

P.S. I got an e-mail from Nate Mckeever, and I can't email him back. Could someone get his address for me? Oh, and if you can get it, I would like to know Erik's mailing address as well. Merci, ciao!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hi everyone!

 

I hope that your thanksgiving is going well! Thanks for those pictures of Ember and Tristan, they're soooo cute!!! And I loved the card as well, I have it sitting on my desk in my dorm room. And the packages, I and my district very much enjoyed those cookies, thank you! And yes, I did get the package with the new debit card, sorry I didn't let you know sooner. There's always so many things I want to put into these e-mails, I always seem to forget something.

 

 Good luck with the nursery calling Mom, sounds like you've got your work cut out for you! I'm glad that it is such a good experience for you. I'm glad you enjoyed the tape! Feel free to add onto it and send it on back then I can send you another one!

 

This day is kind of a strange Thanksgiving experience, not being at home, but I wouldn't rather be anywhere else. This morning I was thinking about how you all are getting together with the Cooleys, and I was missing home a little bit. But later this morning we had a devotional and Elder Jeffrey R. Holland spoke! It was so amazing, such a spiritual experience. He brought his grandkids, and had them all sing a song to the entire MTC and said that for anybody who was feeling at all homesick, then don't be. He said that he and his family were there for us to have a family experience, and that we are all in this together. I was so amazed at the selflessness of him and his family members, that he would share his family with everyone at the MTC so that no one was left out in having a very personal and spiritual Thanksgiving. Elder Holland's talk was so amazing, I could tell that the entire time he spoke, he was being led completely by the Spirit. The scriptures and messages he shared about Christ and his Atonement, and our purpose as missionaries really touched me, and made me feel so elated and good about being a missionary!! Later today we will participate in a Humanitarian service project, and then there is a Fireside tonight, I'm very much looking forward to all of it!

 

That's so awesome that Heather is going to come up and spend a couple days with you! Im jealous!!!! I know that you will all have a great time together, and I will enjoy hearing all about it. So to everyone at home, have a wonderfull Thanksgiving, I'm sure dinner with the Cooleys will be a blast haha! And I'm glad to here that the Turkey bowl continues on, I always looked forward to that. Last night one of the elders was sent a pin the feather on the turkey game that he used to play every Thanksgiving with his home ward, where you write something that you're thankful for on a paper feather, and try to stick it on a turkey while blindfolded. It was pretty fun, and our own little family Thanksgiving game. My district has really become my family here at the MTC. We've all grown so incredibly close in the past 5 weeks, it's something quite amazing. It's going to be hard parting from everyone when we get to Romania.

 

Well thank you again for the packages and cards and etc. I really appreciate everything so much! Next week the new Romanian district comes into the MTC, and I'm excited to meet them all. We should also be getting our travel plans next week, so here we go! I love you all so very much, and look forward to hearing from you next week!

 

Love, Elder Myers

 

P.S. "I love you" in Romanian is "te iubesc." Ciao!

Shane's Handwritten Letter

Dear Mom and Dad,                                                                      11/18/10

     Ok so here is everything that I either forgot to say , or didn't have time to say in my e-mail. So my schedule is pretty full....of classtime. An average day I wake up at 6:15, breakfast at 7:30, then class from 8-12:00, lunch for 45 min., then gym from 1:10-2:30, then class again till 5:00, dinner for 45min., then class until 9:00. So lots and lots of class time! Tuesdays nights there is a devotional where a general authority speaks and then my district holds a testimony meeting about the talk. I think Tuesday night are one of my favorite parts of the week! The Spirit is so strong during those testimony meetings!

     Thursdays are P-days, so we go to the temple in the morning, then we have time to do laundry and write letters until 5:00 when we have dinner, then we have class the rest of the night. Sundays are really nice because I get a break from all the classes and get a chance to just relax a bit more. Sundays evenings we have a fireside where someone who works at the MTC gives a talk. I love the first 15 minutes before the firesides and devotionals start because the whole MTC sings those powerful hymns (that's 2000 people, mostly young men). It's very awe-inspiring. I also love it when the MTC choir sings at the devotionals.

     Aunt Coralie e-mailed me today and I'm really looking forward to having her take me to the airport! I hope you enjoy the tape and pictures. I'll try to get more pictures sent so you can post them on the blog. I think I might just send one of my SD cards with all my MTC pictures before I get to Romania. I miss you all and love you so much!
                    Tepup,
                           Elder Myers

Shane Sent Photos!

       Saturday we received a letter from Shane that included several photos and a micro cassette of him speaking Romanian. It was beautiful to hear! Of course we don't now what a Romanian accent sounds like, but he sure sounded good to us. I am posting the photos here, and plan to post a sound bite soon if I can find a way. I am also retyping the letter he sent us via regular mail. It tells about his daily schedule.

         I love this photo. It's so creative.You might recognize the standardized name tags worn by all LDS missionaries. There is one for each of the missionaries in Shane's district.

                     This is Shane with his MTC companion, Elder Brunner, in front of the Provo Temple.

                    Eleven elders and one sister missionary (not in photo)  arrived at the MTC on the same day. They form a district and have been studying and spending most of their time together since then. Shane says they have become a "family" and it will be hard for them to go their separate ways. They will travel to Bucharest, Romania together, and then be assigned to different places throughout Romania and Maldova. The young man on the far right is Shane's MTC companion. Throughout their stay in Romania they will have many different companions and serve in various cities. They generally move around every 2-6 months, but there is no set rule.

4th Week in MTC

So I just got Dad's email, and I'm betting that it's too early in the day for Mom to have written one yet, so you might just get a letter if I don't end up having time to write a second email later today. Thanks for the advice Dad, I have been keeping a journal, writing every night - way more then I've ever done before!! And I'm actually really enjoying it. It's really awesome to records thoughts and impressions that have come to me from talks, or from scriptures I've been studying. I can't believe I've been here for a month already!! Concept of Time in the MTC is very obscured....especially when most of your day is spent in a classroom! I really appreciate what you said about having patience with my companions. The Lord has definitely been teaching me patience with Elder Bruner. He's a great guy, our personalities just don't mesh well all the time, and I find myself having to just tune him out when we are walking to and from class, or just hanging out in the dorms at night to keep myself from getting too impatient. Its surprised me too, because I've always thoguht of myself as someone who is pretty patient and flexible, and I guess I still am, its just harder when you're with the same person 24/7.

Thank you so much for all your support, love and understanding. I love getting emails and letters from you all, and I just want you to know that even if I'm not thinking about you all the time directly, I've found myself turning back to every bit of advice and everything I've learned from you, Mom, my friends, my siblings, and everything is all interconnected in the gospel. This past week I've been thinking and praying a lot about how I can become a better missionary, and have greater faith. I've been reading in Alma about Alma, Ammom, and the sons of Mosiah, and the amazing missionary experiences they had and what exemplary missionaries they were. I connected with those stories more then I ever have before, because I'm a missionary. So I've been thinking about how I can have faith like Ammom, Aaron, who converted entire cities of Lamanites, and how I can be as great of a missionary as them, and my answer came in Tuesday's Devotional. Elder Kevin W. Pearson of the 70 spoke about finding you divine identity, giving your whole self to the Lord, leaving behind everything that you thought you were, and letting the Lord take care of everything. So that is what I'm trying to do. He said the day you reach your full potential as a missionary is when you can look in the mirrior and say, "I am a disciple of Jesus Christ." This really changed my perspective on things. Last week one of the teachers told us that the Romanian Mission doesn't allow any fretted instruments, and I'm not going to lie, that really brought me down for the rest of the day. But my patriarchal blessing says that I have been endowed with a gift of music, and that I will use it in times when my words won't be as effective, and I will be able to touch the souls of those who need it. So after hearing Elder Pearson's talk, I realized that I need to stop thinking of myself as Shane Myers, who is a musician, artist, and student, and is on a mission, but as Elder Myers, a missionary, disciple, and son of God and Jesus Christ who has God-given talents that will help me accomplish the work that the Lord has in store for me.

I'm so excited to get out there and start teaching the gospel to those Romanians that have been prepared to here from no one else but me, and I'm doing everything that I can to make sure that I will be in the right place at the right time for that to happen. It's amazing being able to have a  taste of what it's like to know that you are always guided by the Spirit, and that as long as I'm doing all that God commands, I will recieve blessings promised to me, and I will be able to have the faith of Ammom, Aaron, Alma, and so many other amazing missionaries that performed wondrous miracles. I also recently read Hebrews ch. 11, which talks of faith, and the miracles that were performed by men because of their faith. It's a really good pep talk to get you going if you're feeling stuck in the gospel, or just not very motivated.

Thanks again for the awesome emails, I look forward to them so much every week! I love you all!! Va iubesc! Oh, and I'll send a tape today with some Romanian on it!

Love, Elder Myers

3rd Week in MTC

Dear Mom and Dad,

 

Its so wonderful to read your emails every week, I look forward to it so much!! There's so many things that I've been experiencing that I want to share with you, but I never have enough time to say everything. Yes, my departure date is Dec 14th, so I will be in Romania for Chrismas! It sounds beautiful in chico, the way you described the trees mom. It's been pretty cold here the last week, and snowing off and on. It actually snowed the week of Halloween, which was really cool! Things in my district are going well, we are all continuing to grow and learn more about the gospel, ourselves, and each other. It's really amazing to see the growth in myself and in the other missionaries in my district. Things with my companion Elder Bruner could be going better, nothing horrible, I'm just finding that we have personality differences that tends to try my patience sometimes. I'm trying my best to be Christ-like and patient, he's a great missionary and a good guy. This week an Elder from Romania came to the MTC, he will be serving in Italy! His classroom is on my same floor, so the night he came he stopped by and said hi to us all.

 

This Tuesday Elder Bednar spoke at the devotional! Three aposltes in three weeks! I never would have imagined that happening. It has been such a blessing to all of us to have three aposltes of the Lord speak to us and give us direction, guidance, and blessings. I think Elder Bednar was one of my favorites. He talked about how we need to teach doctrines instead of focusing on applications and principles. He spoke of home teaching as an example, saying that more often than not home teaching relys on silly gymics or incentives for members to get it done, when really if everyone truly understood the dotcrine behind home teaching - which is to be there to support and love those that you home teach, then everyone one would want to do it no matter what kind of incentives were involved. His whole talk was so insighteful and taught me a lot. Something else that just about every speaker who we've heard from has said, in the beginning of their talk, is that instead of taking notes and really listening to what they were saying, we should be focusing on what the Spirit is communicating to us and wright down any impressions we get, because that is where we are going to learn the most. I've been focusing on the Spirit so much here and it has definitely paid off! Things haven't been to hard for the most part. I've really been relying on the Lord and the Spirit and because of that, my yoke has been made easy, and my burden made light. Just as Jesus promised. Something that Elder Bednar said that really spoke to me is that problems don't change, people do.

 

Dad, thank you so much for your words of support. Whay you said about pushing through the hard times really gives me comfort. Although things haven't been terribly difficult for me, there are times when I will have moments of fear, claustrophobia, doubt, and just overwhelmed with the task that's ahead of me. But i'm finding more and more that when I just give my whole self to God's will, things are made easier for me. Before I got set apart I expected to have kind of a hard time not being able to play or write any music, or really have any alone time and get homesick, but none of those things have really bothered me. I've been able to just focus on being a missionary and put my whole heart and soul into it. I do miss all of you a lot, and I miss being back home, but I know this is where I'm supposed to be, and because of that I've been able to just work, work, and work.

 

I'm really sorry to hear about President Brown's wife. I will be sure to keep her and the Browns in my prayers.

 

A few days ago I recieved a care package from Sister Landerman, that was so nice! Give her a big thank you and a hug for me. Oh yeah, and so although I "can" print out pictures, they're only in black and white and a part of the emails you've sent. There isn't a photo printer here that will print off emails. And I'm sorry I haven't sent any photo's yet, I'll send some as soon as possible!!

 

Thank you so much for the emails, I love reading them. The best part about p-day!! I love you all so much, and I'm so thankfull that I have such a wonderful family. I keep you all in my prayers always. Can't wait to here back from you! Oh, and I'll send a tape asap as well. Well gotta go, clock's a tickin! I love you!

 

-Elder Myers

A Taste of Romanian!

I know this letter is hard to read, but it adds a personal touch that no font can duplicate!
Maybe after people have struggled with it a while, I'll transcribe it. We'll see.

*Lacie*

2nd Week in MTC

Dear Mom, Dad, and anyone else who ends up reading this email,

Thank you so much for the emails! It's so incredibly wonderful to read about everything that's going on back home. I had no idea that my decision to serve a mission would bless my family so much! It gives me a lot of comfort and makes me even more motivated to be the best missionary I can possibly be. So Chad's in already? I was wondering when he would be, I'll keep my eye out for him! And yes, I can print out the pictures you sent me. They're so cute!! Man, I can't believe how big those two are going to be when I get back. This week has gone by really fast, and I can't believe how much I've experienced and learned already! Yes, Bucharest is pronounced Bucuresht. The language is so beautiful, I will be sending you some tapes of me speaking Romanian. One of our teachers is native, so its awesome to be able to hear her speak the language.

So remember how I said Elder Richard G. Scott spoke last week? Well this week Elder M. Russell Ballard spoke!!! I can't believe that I've been able to see two apostles of the Lord speak in the past two weeks! Their messages have been such a comfort, motivation, and inspiration for me. Things in my district are going well, we all get along really well. I truly believe that we were all placed in the same district for a reason. After Elder Ballard's talk on Tuesday my district held a testimony meeting and the Spirit was so strong! We all have such strong testimonies and it is so incredible to witness other missionaries growth and experiences. They have literally become my new family here, and it will be hard to separate once we're in Romania. Yes, all 11 missionaries are going to Romania. There is another district about the same size that is leaving on Monday for Romania, they have helped us a lot with the language. There are currently about 80 missionaries in the Bucharest Romania Mission, so the two districts here at the MTC will make up a quarter of the missionaries in Romania!! So incredible. I can't wait to get out there.

I got a letter from Grandpa Gary and Grandma Linea today, it was really nice. I'm so glad to know that all of my family members, immediate and extended have so much love and support for me and my decision to serve a mission. I can't imagine what it would be like being here without every one's prayers going out to me and other missionaries. It's really such a huge blessing. Missionaries literally live off of prayers and tithing! I never really knew what that meant before now. So thank you all for the pictures and letters, I will be sure to send some pictures of my own. I've been meaning to do it, but my days are so busy that I never think of it until it's too late! 

I wish that every member of the church could experience the MTC, even if its just a couple days. The amount of spiritual and personal growth I've experienced in just the past two weeks has been so incredible! Mom, what you said about how you've started to pray morning and night and how you've been feeling the Spirit so much really touched me. It almost made me start crying here in the laundry room! And Dad, I'm sure you'll find a movie buddy to replace me ha ha! Eli, good luck with the braces thing man. It'll hurt for a few weeks, but you'll get used to it. I miss you all so much! give a hug and kiss to Ember and Tristan for me! Oh and Mom and Ally, I just want to say thank you so so so so so so so so so much for all the love and support you've given to Heather. I could never ask for a better family. I hope Erik's new living situation is going well for him. Well I can't wait to here back from everyone. I love you all so much!

Love, Elder Myers

Shane's First Letter

Dear Mom,

 

It is so wonderfull to hear from you!!! That is so amazing about Eli, and Erik, I'm really glad things are going so well! Things are absolutely insane here at the MTC, after you dropped me off i had about an hour and a half before I was in class meeting my companion and district and learing Romanian!! The Spirit is so incredibly strong here, it is unlike anything I have ever experienced, and the atmosphere is absolutely wonderfull. My first few days were hard, I had a tough time adjustingl to the intesity of everything, but now things are smoothing out. I have grown to rely so much on the Lord and the Holy Ghost, without them none of this would be possible. I'm sorry about the whole email mix up, I didn't really know that would be an issue. Oh my goodness, there's just so many things to say! I'm so excited to be learning the language, and the lessons are coming along very well too. So far we have done some roll play teaching that has really opened my eyes to whay missionary work is all about. The days are starting to go by faster the more I focus on the work, and I think I will be in Romania before I know it!

 

Last tuesday I went to my first MTC devontional and Elder Richard G. Scott spoke to us!!! It was such an amazing experience. The Spirit was so strong, he talked about learning how to recognize the Spirit and used experiences from his own life to teach us. At the end of his talk through the priesthood power he holds as an apostle he gave everyone there the gift of tongues, and invoked a blessing of protection and comfort. It was so amazing to here him speak those words, and to know that he holds the same priesthood power of Peter James and John.

 

My companion is Elder Bruner from American Fork UT, he is a pretty cool guy. He spent a semester of his high school senior year in Ruwanda, which is something he likes to talk about a lot. My district is really cool too, we all get along really well and I truly believe that Heavenly Father put us all together for a reason. One of the Elders is from Norway! His name is Elder Horgmo and he is from Oslo. He's a really funny guy, and speaks English very well. It's really interesting to here him talk about how American culture has leaked into parts of the world. Kind of sad actually...a lot of really stupid stuff from American culture that you would never want other countries to adopt.

 

This morning my district went to the temple to do endowments, and that was a really cool experience. The Provo temple is very beautiful. I still can't believe that a week has already passed by, so many things have happened. I got two letters from Heather which I absolutely loved, but no others. So tell people to write me letters! Haha but seriously, getting letters is one of the best feelings in the MTC. That is so wonderful to hear about Heather, I know how much you all care about her and I am very thankful for that. I hope that Erik's new living situation works out for him. I plan on writing to him often. I mailed you a letter about the language, hope you get it. Well I'm almost out of time, but I can't wati to hear back from you! I love you all so much!

 

Elder Myers

Check Back Soon

Shane has been at the MTC for a week now. He will be assigned one day of the week as a Preparation Day, or P-day   as the missionaries call it. On that day he does laundry, shops, writes letters and has some fun. Shane will have his first P-day any day now and he will be able to e-mail us and tell us about the first week of his adventure. I will post his letter here as soon as it arrives. 

Sending Shane Off

Shane was asked to report to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah on October 20th at 1:15 PM. We decided to drive him there and visit  Mort's family who live in the area. The Provo Temple is right across the street from the Missionary Training Center, and we decided to say our goodbyes there. The MTC was under construction, so there wasn't anywhere else to do it anyway. Before we even got through the temple gates we met another family sending their first son on a mission to El Salvador. We met another missionary going to Belgium and even one going to Romania. They were all doing the same thing we were--taking photos and saying goodbye while awaiting their check-in times. And so Shane began his transition to the MTC life. Mort gave Shane a father's blessing while we sat on a nearby bench as out of the way as possible. That made the tears flow. We kept reminding each other of the good things waiting for all of us once we get through this transition stage. We absolutely know that when we make sacrifices to serve others in any way, tender blessings of love, strength, and perspective come to us. All of us who love Shane can share in the adventure and the blessings! I look forward to that.

The sidewalks of the MTC were lined with missonaries wearing tags that read HOST. There must have been close to a hundred of them smiling and waving as we were directed to the next available drop off spot. It made me smile and feel excited for Shane to join that body of positive energy. We got out of the car to unload Shane's luggage and four or five missionaries approached Shane immediately to help with suitcases, welcome him, and ask questions. "Where will you be serving? Do you have your immunization record? Do you have any cell phones or keys still on you?" One humorous elder added, "Or any guns other other dangerous objects?" All answers were short, and their was no time for any of us to shed the tears that were welling up as we realized this was it! We were no longer at the precipice of this great adventure, but were jumping off. Forgive the metaphor, but those missionaries were like a body of ants that had found a precious lump of sugar and were carrying it back to their hill. Shane seemed to respond immediatley to the game plan. He followed them and didn't look back. It felt right. I think that's exacltly what he needed--no more limbo time--no lingering or wallowing--just a quick and cheerful envelopment in the Lord's work.

*Lacie*