Week 63

Dear Family,

The conference sounds like it was very informative. I hope you had a chance to have a little fun. How long was the conference? Were you paid to go out there, or was it a "pay or own way" conference? It has been super cold here as well. I was going to talk about how nice the weather is while you all freeze over in America. Then the wind hit. It was supposed to be the coldest winter in 100 years, but up until 4 days ago, it was extremely mild. All the old people were wigging out over it. "Tomorrow there will be snow, tomorrow it will freeze". They didn't know what to think of 5 C. Now its a winter wonderland, except I have to walk in it. Remember all of the really really cold days, where you just want to stay inside with a book, a blanket and some hot cocoa? Yup, every day haha,  but we still go out and get work done. This week we had a major goal of 26 hours of contacting. With BP duties, that was a ton! I haven't been so tired in a while. By Sunday afternoon, I was done with contacting. Somehow we went out again and got a few more hours in. We didn't get 26 but we were darn close!

I don't know about fluent, but I have seen an increase in the last little while. We were given permission to watch Frozen in the movie theaters (very appropriate seeing how cold it is and probably a little joke for our President). It was a way good movie, comparable to Tangled, and all in Romanian. I love Disney movies in Romanian. It helps a lot if you have already seen the movie in English, cause then your brain just matches the two, but I understood a good part of it. I was told the songs were better than the ones in Tangled. I will need to see the English one before I can either confirm or deny that fact, but it was still a great movie. 

Unfortunately English classes haven't been going very well. Blame the weather or what you wish, we only have 1 student that isn't a member. The snow has finally stopped, so I hope we see a few new faces tomorrow. The good news is the woman has stayed for both of the spiritual thoughts we have had so far!

We did find a new apartment for the elders and are just awaiting the contract for the apartment.

I haven't been chosen as the BP yet (still have a little time til we are sure), but so far it is pretty similar to Deva. I do the clerk work again and it is pretty simple and straight forward. I haven't seen a lot of the other side (interviews, welfare etc. etc.) but those are some of the things a BP does here.

Answers for the Love Magnet:

My favorite foods in Romania are Sarmale (if made correctly (I have had some really bad luck with it lately)) and Ciorba cu Borta (stomach soup). They are both really good. But I love suc (juice). It is so much better here than in America, hands down, no contest. Mmmm Panda Express....Arby's.....

I am doing my missionary work and trying my best to obey the rules. I listen to my teachers and I know that I am being blessed each day. One can never have too many blessings.

I am so excited to play basketball in the summer! I am going to play with the friends of a member here in Bacau. It is going to be legit! We don't have a place right now cause there  is about 1 foot of snow outside (probably more).

Nope, none of my sisters are with me right now. Sora K is still in Iasi. Sora P is still an STL in Bucuresti and Sora G is with the F family in Ploiesti. Side note, I talked to Fratele F today! He is in charge of all the churches in Romania and sent us a text reminding us of the monthly report. I talked with him for a bit, it was great! Anyways. We are going to be getting sisters here in Bacau next transfer and we need some really good sisters. I am hoping for one of my sisters. It would be so cool! Just Dance Wii will be so fun! You better take lots of pictures!

Like I said, all is good here in Bacau. We found 4 potential investigators by doing some area booking and had a lesson with two of them. They said that they loved the discussions that the missionaries had had with them, but then one day they never came back. Turns out they had gone la tara and got caught in a snow storm. They missionaries were transferred and the people forgotten about. Now they are found again. I really hope they will be able to progress, they are super cool.

Well, that's all for this week!

Love you all,

Elder Ormsby

Weel 62

Dear Family,

First of all, I have been in the beautiful country of Romania for over a year now, how amazing is that? Time has flown by so quickly. One of my friends just recently returned from the Netherlands, which only shows how fast time goes by in the mission. I had totally forgotten about my year mark in the country until one of my best friends gave me a call. We talked about how crazy it was that time had gone so quickly. I still cant get over it!

This week has only renewed my love of the Romanian people. I was given a challenge, last week, by a friend back home. It was to go and find a friend that would last me even after my mission (missionaries don't count). I already have a few people here in Romania that I love a ton (the Fotea family, the S family, etc...), but I needed to find someone new. I have already mentioned them, but I found my new friends, the B family. They are so loving and kind. They were investigators 14 years previous and returned to the church after some really hard trials. They are so dedicated to the church. They love the missionaries, and they are just so solid. The mom is so funny. On Sunday, Presedintele L was teaching Sunday should always feel worthy to pray, when Sora B adds her comment. Then she turns to this member and talks about how amazing it is that people our age would come from our country and try and learn their language. How we need to help the missionaries, but how they have come really far and already speak really well. It was the best part of Sunday. Sora B, champion for missionaries everywhere! Sora B2, another member,  has also become a really good friend. She is the member whos friends I am going to beat at basketball and soccer haha. Mission life is so crazy, and so awesome!

Bacau is very similar to Deva, only with a lot more members. It has about the same as Timi (12 on a good day) and I do about the same things. We have a few priesthood holders, so we don't do everything, but I am the Clerk and 1st Councilor. I pass the sacrament, conduct, and soon will teach.

My comp and I have been really busy trying to find a new apartment for the other elders, and doing the duties of the BP, but this week we are going to try and get 20 hours of contacting. To some that might not sound like a lot, but I'm going to get to try out my juggling skills cause between missionary work and BP work, this is going to be a busy week. We don't have anyone to teach right now. We are starting English tomorrow, and I hope we find some people there. Funny story. Today we were walking home from the church and two girls heard us speaking English. They both turned and started talking to me. I now know how a boy band feels, only on a much smaller level. It was pretty awkward and I don't envy any of those boy bands. Hopefully they bring a lot of friends to English class, but at the same time, I hope they don't cause any problems. Boy bands...

Thanks for the Bday package, I will be on the look out. You shouldn't have to worry about me paying for any packages. I don't know what the problem was, but it seems to have passed. Sora Hill talked with me at Zone Conference and we couldn't come up with an explanation of why it was happening, and then it just stopped. Strange.

 I have my health, for now. I am lucky that it has been the most mild winter on record here in Romania (I heard it was the opposite for you in America). It was supposed to be the coldest, maybe the Germans got the coordinates wrong! No coughing and no being sick. You are right, though. I haven't been sick this many times in such a short period. Remember when I used to get strep  throat twice a year like clockwork? We could have almost timed the day!

Tell everyone to write me! The family, that is.

Love you all,

Elder Ormsby

Elder L

Week 61

Dear Family,

Well, darn it, buy the Charger of course. I looked at the price, they are almost the same! It looks roomy enough, and...oh just pick the Charger! Haha.  That was a dirty little trick you pulled there. I was like O.O. INSANE! My comp was very impressed with the "new" car.

I need to send Sora B a letter, see if my Romanian is as good as I hope. That's cool that her husband spoke in church. One of the new missionaries was at the temple as they were earthquake proofing the place. He described a similar thing as Bro. B did.

I loved watching The Love Magnet's ballet video. She did such a good job! I cant wait to see some more!

Ive been to E a few times, that's quite a drive for work, are you getting some kind of compensation? It will be cool to branch out though. I actually used E-Stim when I was in Sports Med. It is an interesting little box. It never worked on my legs, N turned it all the way up and nothing. I asked her what should be happening and she said my leg should have jumped out of my hip by that point haha. Too much leg hair (haha I can see the readers faces haha).

Good luck to Thirdborn on his project. Tell Secondborn to give me a type. I want to hear how basketball is going.

Fun story about basketball btws. On Sunday, our newest missionary goes up to the members who stayed a bit afterwards and asks if any of them had referrals. This is one way to get referrals, but in my opinion it doesn't work very well. It is a really scary thing for members to give referrals here. They can be ostracized from their family and friends for doing that. Not just a some people, but everyone. So they all said no. Well, I wasn't going to let his courage go to waste, so I added my own. " Hey, I bet that I could beat all of your friends at soccer (bold statement)!" The member was like "Not possible, but how about basketball?" "Perfect, Ill beat them at both!" It will be fun to see what comes out of it. I gotta hit some courts before our game though, its been a while since august.

My new comps name is Elder L. He is in his 13th transfer. He is currently the BP here in Bacau. Super optimistic, super weird and totally awesome. We have had some strange conversations already, and it can only get better. I don't even know how to explain him. Tall, blond, very funny, has a very big vocal range. We get along really well. Bacau is awesome. I love it. This is something I wrote to a good friend " I love Bacau. Read that last sentence slowly and emphasis each syllable. Bacau is probably one of the greatest cities. 3rd on my list here in Romania. The members here are awesome! They are so loving. They have such powerful testimonies, I love them so much.  Most baptisms last year with 100% retention. I love Bacau." Bacau gets a bad name for some reasons.  Someone tried to shut it down in the past and then made it sound bad, but I am here to testify that it is amazing. I am only a DT for now. President will decide next transfer what he wants to do with the whole BP thing.

Love you all, and Ill talk to ya really soon,

Elder Ormsby

This is the Bacau Creep! My goal is to get a picture of all of them before I leave

Largest Orthodox church in all of Romania, weird place to put it...

 Our church building has some historic value to it...but no one really knows what it is

Week 60

Dear Family,

Thank you for clarifying at the beginning of each paragraph what feeling I should expect haha! They fit each line perfectly. I am sorry to hear that the insurance is being a pain. I am glad I never had to deal too much with it while I was in the office. Sorry to hear that your favorite patient had to leave you. Hopefully you will be able to work with him in the near future, but the other story is really cool.  How long have you been working with her? It cant have been very long, so that is a really impressive accomplishment! 

That is Sora L! She is the happiest person on the planet. He first name is _______ (or something close), literally means Sunny! That is so cool that she is in Gs ward. I cant believe that all these people are going home. It is so sad, but life moves on. I think it will be the hardest when my sisters go home. We shall see what we shall see.

Yes! Remind Secondborn to write me, and Thirdborn. I don't remember ever saying that they could stop haha. No pictures for this week. I will tell you why in just a bit. Good for Secondborn for doing the math tutoring. Tell him that his grades are important (say its from me). It probably wont do anything, but eh who knows. 

I am so excited to play bball in the spring. It is so much fun when you are a little bit better haha. Ive been trying to be a more obedient missionary with morning work outs. I am going work on my vertical before summer. 

So, it looks as if my turn here in Iasi has come to an end. I am being transferred to Bacau. It is the weirdest feeling to leave someone you are training, especially since I thought I would have another one with him. I am going to be companions with the missionary branch president. President says that he is "testing the waters". We shall see what that means next transfer. If I stay another one, it means I will be the next BP in Bacau. I am both excited and nervous. It will be like nothing I have ever done before, except when I was working with President F. The other weird thing is that I am going to be traveling by myself on Tuesday down to Bacau. It is a 3ish hour maxi taxi ride, but I will be all alone. It will be the longest time I have been by myself in the last year. Nervous? A little. I might stop a few times to "stretch". Just kidding Mom, no eye rolls now (i hear it now "oh, you little stinker"). 

We met this couple while English contacting that was very good for myself and Elder A. They were a bit hesitant at first, but then opened up. My favorite part was when the wife asked me where I learned to speak such good Romanian. The husband immediately turned to me with a wink and said "From his girlfriend of course!" I had a good laugh and then explained a bit of what we do here as missionaries and who we were.  They were really polite and reminded me why I like missionary work and gave Elder A a taste of acceptance. I really hope that they come to class on the 21st. They would be great investigators. 

With working hard this last week, we were given a great opportunity. On Saturday, R (a member, who is legit) texted us and asked us what our schedule was like. He then forwarded a message from one of his friends. "Anywhere, it doesn't matter. I need to meet with them. I received an answer and I want to be baptized." We met with him that day and he is very prepared. He used to be an investigator 3 years ago and went so far as to pass the baptismal interview. I don't know exactly why he wasn't baptized, but he is ready now. He was very guided during our lesson, even when I almost messed up a part! There are at least 4 potential baptisms here in Iasi for the next few transfers. I am very excited for Elder A and Elder F.

Love you all,

Elder Ormsby