Dear Family,
Oh my goodness, let me tell you how good it is to be back out in the field once more. This last week reminded me of every memory as an office elder. With the new transfer we had to bring in new missionaries and bring in missionaries for visas. My companion and myself went to the Gara at 8 to pick up 36 missionaries who needed to retrieve their visas. One problem was that the train from Cluj, which had 3 missionaries who needed visas (one of which couldn't get their abonament without it). The pressure starts to build!!! My companion promptly ditched me and went to hang out with the other missionaries haha! Its alright I had 33 companions left (the other three were sisters).
We went through the retrieval process without too much hassle, only to wait on the last three. With only 15 minutes before closing they finally made it to the visa office. I can honestly say that I was sweating a bit. It would have been such a bummer if they had come all the way from Oradea and Cluj only to not receive their visas. After all that madness the new sisters showed up with the office elders. They were all hungry and we had 2 hours before their stuff opened so we went to Pizza Hut. One of those sisters was so out of it. She did not care what she ate,or if she ate, but she was sure a whole lot happier after she had a full stomach.
We went back to the visa office only to find a huge line! I have never seen so many people at the visa office. As we were standing in line a man starts talking to us. He knew a little bit about who we were and about Joseph Smith. We talked for a second and then kinda broke it off. When the doors opened. Everyone surged forward trying to get in the line first. Usually we have a short line because our line only covers religious visas, business and students. The only problem for that day was the fact that they were all students. The students who are in Romania need to renew their visas before the new semester and that day happened to be the day when a lot of them went to the office. We were there for a good 3 hours. This turned out to be a great thing. That guy I previously talked about came up to us again and asked us about our free English course. He had heard about them and wanted to know if he could go, even if he wasn't a member. We gave him the info and talked a bit more about why he was in Romania. He walks away, only to come back 30 minutes later. So finally I pick up on the fact that the Lord wants me to talk to this guy (lasa-ma I've been in the office). I started to talk about who we are and why we were in Romania. Two of those new sisters were sitting next to me and so I asked them why they know the gospel is important and why they had chosen to come on a mission. They did such a good job. The guy was super patient. He is from Armenia or Albania, I couldn't tell which one, and knew how hard it was to learn Romanian. So the sisters bore testimony, doing a great job, and we were able to place a Book of Mormon. We are going to call him this week so we can talk to him more about the church.
Unfortunately that man with the Book of Mormon from 1977 isn't turning out so hot. He keeps telling us that he will call us when he has time to meet up.
Good news! We had found an apartment that was small, but the Proprietar (landlord, I think that's the word) is super cool. We had to give up the apartment to the new Aviatiei Sisters, but we are going to meet up with the proprietar this week! He and his wife have come to church the last 2 weeks and have a copy of the Book of Mormon. They are so nice. They told the sisters that they could have anything that they wanted. They took us all to IKEA (ya we have that here...mmm meatballs) and they let the sisters buy whatever they wanted. They tried to get them to buy nicer more expensive stuff. Sora S was totally overwhelmed. She would pick out a nice looking chair and a desk and the propriatar would say "oh no, this one is much nicer, get this one." The problem was that the stuff was way more expensive. Remember, this guy is PAYING for ALL of this stuff OUT OF POCKET! You really don't get this kind of thing in Romania. He really loves the missionaries. When we found the apartment, he told our realtor (a member) that he really wanted us to live there because we were "faithful people". When I told him that we might not move in, and that the sisters might move in, he looked like I had told him that I kick puppies. Not angry, but so sad. He said something on the lines of "but I want you, I want you faithful people". I had to explain that the sisters were just like us, name tags and everything. He perked right up and was so happy. I can definitely see this man and his wife getting baptized. They are so prepared. We will have to work on a few things, but we will see where it goes.
Mom, I will pray for you to do well on your defense.
B is going to be Sister B!!! That is so cool, send me pictures and an update when she gets it!
I had no idea that P's dad died. He was so nice to me at C's homecoming. That is really sad. Its true though. Sometimes you feel that nothing should go wrong if you are doing all that you should. This is not actually what happens. I feel like the Lord is then ready to trust you with trials. You have made all the sacrifices so far to do what is right. You have learned so much from all those trials. He knows exactly how far you can go, and what you need from him.
I am so happy to hear that S has my email, I was about to write a letter. Actually I am still going to write a letter, and a few others beside that.
Wait! When did T get married? Why did I not receive any pictures on his new wife? Oh my goodness, there are so many things that are happening outside of my little sphere haha. Mission life is so funny.
Sorry to hear about work, dad. I have been praying for you and mom to have guidance when it comes to the family. I will continue to keep you all in my prayers.
I love you all. I cant wait to talk to you in December (which is NEXT TRANSFER). Keep up on your family prayer and study, it makes all the difference.
Love,
Elder Ormsby
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