Week 45

Dear Family, 

Alright here goes all the adventures that I have been having in the past few weeks. I will include a "story" that I wrote to one of my friends out in Hawaii, which may or may not be true. I wont tell which until I get home haha.

I totally forgot that M was entering the MTC soon. It is crazy to think that she will be in South America in a little less than 2 months. The members there will greatly appreciate the fact that she can play piano. 

Ok, I am about to say something that will make Mom laugh. I regret not keeping up with piano. There I said it, I wish I had continued piano. There are only a few missionaries that can play the piano and when there isn't one in the branch with you, there is either the stereo or acapella. 

 Continuing. 

I am so happy that the E's were able to go to the temple, that is such a cool experience. How cool is it that they invited you to the sealing as well. Please say hello for me. 

Mom, I am very proud of the fact that you have completed your thesis. It is such a great accomplishment that will bring blessings into our lives, your life and the lives of the people you work with.

I laughed so hard reading that first two sentences. He ran into a mailbox. Running backwards. Talking on his phone. Man, I bet the person on the other side of the phone was like "wait, what just happened?" hahaha.

Ok, so what I didn't tell you was the story of a trip to Galati.

Dun dun DUN!!!!!

So the story goes that on a day like today 2 missionaries, an assistant and an office elder, decided that they wanted to have an exchange in Galati. They opened their hearts and allowed the elders who resided in this river city to travel with them, as they were in the same location as the a fore mentioned 2 missionaries. As the story goes the 2 missionaries weren't able to finish their chores until 6 o'clock pm, after which the assistant was famished. Together they met up with the river-city dwelling missionaries where they ate Subway, all but the office elder for he was neglecting food in exchange for bounteous blessings. As their meal settled into their stomachs all the missionaries realized it was getting late. 

With out further a do, they went off on their adventure, not stopping for directions (men don't need directions). As they began to drive around the monstrous city of Bucuresti they realized they were almost lost, and as such, needed almost directions.  Locating the nearest drunk, our valiant office elder asked in his Moldavian tongue the quickest way to Constanta, for that was the route by which they needed to travel to arrive at the river city. Drunk as he was, our intoxicated fellow gave the best directions he could, after scratching his plump belly of course. Noble and full of valor our missionaries sped off, but as the time to turn arrived the assistant stated that this was not the road that he wanted, so they continued on. After cruising for a league or so the missionaries were befuddled. Why had they not reached the well constructed road. The road on which one could travel as fast as his small 4 stroke engine could take him? Fast as lightning, or as some say, in a quick manner they turned around. 

Flying the way they originally came, with comments from the river dwellers whose  tempers were a flare, they returned to the city of many gypsies. Asking for a route to Constanta once more, for that was the route by which one went on the way to Galati, our missionaries proceeded to a different road. This incredibly straight and smelly shortcut eventually met with the way which is free (but not really there was a toll). After the many kilometers which had passed it was beginning to be late, nearly 8 o'clock as the sun stands. Tearing down the freeway, passing Dacia, Audi and Opel alike, these missionaries were finally advancing towards Constanta, for that was the route by which one took on the way to Galati. Nearing almost 10 o'clock, as the car timer stands, they arrived.

Our valiant yet tired missionaries halted for fuel, both for machine and man. Deciding that the hour was past for which to hold pride, they chose to ask for advice upon which road to take to Galati, after which they found that they had passed the turn off and needed to proceed 50 some odd kilometers back towards Bucuresti. Once again the assistant stated that this was not so, that he had passed through Constanta on his way to Galati. There was a way, and he would find it.

From the helpful river-dwelling messengers, the 2 missionaries found that if they traveled by way of Talcea, they would eventually arrive at the city where the river lies. Now remember, it is far past late and none of the missionaries had slept much in the days which had passed. Twisting and curving down dark roads, maneuvering around potholes and large cracks, they managed to finally reach Talcea. After circling the same passage multiple times they finally found the path towards Galati.

Winding through small towns and past large windmills our missionaries received a message. Wondering who would attempt to communicate with anyone at this unfortunate hour, our office elder opened the text. Tired and having a slight headache it took him a moment to read, and then translate the message. Esti in Ukraina. You are in Ukraine. The hour of midnight having already past, a road which hadn't had a sign in many kilometers and a text message stating that they were in the Ukraine, our missionaries became very excited. Nervous, intrigued and almost giddy. Why had they not passed a border? Had they somehow gone through a city into a strange land? Where guard dogs, helicopters, tanks and swearing Ukrainians surrounding them as they chattered in a hushed whisper?

After much speculation our office elder suggested that they must have had a Ukrainian cell tower bounce a signal off their phone, which still meant they were very close to the border. With a little more energy they finally reached a sign which stated that they were a mere 30 kilometers from their final destination. At last they began to see the lights along the river. With only 2 kilometers to go, they turned down a road, only to find that it led to the river. A dead end, a blank alley, a ferry crossing. They were on the wrong side of the river at two hours in the new day.  

Hearts heavy with disappointment, these missionaries turned to the next large city hoping to find a large bridge, a hotel, or a shallow area in the river. After traveling another 45 minutes they began to see hope. Again each sign stated that their new city was only a stones throw away, but just before they reached it they ran into a ferry crossing. Our assistant was exhausted, both physically and mentally. Switching seats, our office elder began to drive down a narrow foot-path which led to a ferry crossing. This crossing was different however do to the fact that it had an actual ferry docked. After talking to the captain, or one of his underlings, the missionaries drove up onto their new mode of transportation. It was almost half past the hour of 2, and the ferry was not to leave until 3.

Tick tock went the clock. Minutes passed while our office elder fought off exhaustion. He knew that he needed to stay conscious or they would never reach that city on the river. As the hour hit 3, they began to move. Water rushing past many thousands of gallons per second, they traversed this massive river. Reaching the other side, they trudged over to the apartment of the river-dwellers and crashed, only to wake up to 5 1/2 hours of service

THE END!!!!

What a great story! I should write children stories haha.

So the other story that I told Secondborn, but didn't want to tell you because I wanted to have something cool to share with Secondborn was...we wrecked another car. This time it was one of the brand spankin' new Opels (gutless cars that they are) and we were hit in the same place, although a little farther up. We were turning left when a taxi driver tried to beat the light and shoot the gap between us and the car in front of us. Well, he lost and so did we as it hit the back right wheel (pretty lucky cause it took most of the impact and then distributed it by spinning us). Airbags deployed in the front (me sitting passenger, I wasn't driving) and we all got out to inspect. Well the car is broken, that's easy enough to see. We spent the next 5 hours at the police station where the missionary who was driving finally stated that it was his fault (so not his fault, the taxi driver was speeding and probably blew the red) mostly because he was tired and it was 11 pm. We will find out soon enough if the car is totaled or if we will get it repaired. Other than that, there hasn't been a lot of fun stuff in our lives. 

That's about it. Life has been super stressing as of late. After the wreck we were asked to pick up a temple president who would be speaking at the district conference. We woke up the next morning in a very good mood (I forgot to say this was 3 days after the wreck) when all of a sudden I remembered that we had forgotten to go to the airport. After freaking out, we had called the hotel only to find out he wasn't there and had never arrived, we found him in the hotel he was really staying at. He had a good attitude about the whole thing and said that it was easy enough to forget with everything that goes on in a missionary's life.

That's my life!

Elder Ormsby

P.S. We are going to Peles castle on Wednesday. If you would like to have some pictures, I request some pictures from all of you :)

Week 32

OH man, that punk. Whenever anyone asks what I would eat if I could have anything from back home (that isn't mom's cooking) is Arby's and pizza rolls.

I didn't get the chance to see the broadcast, but I will be sure to watch it sometime this week. It is so interesting that when we prepare a talk, it is us more than anyone else who progresses from the words that are spoken. I have found that writing a talk always helps me to understand something better, answers a prayer or is something that I needed to know. It is also a good way to learn a new language ;).

The past week has been ridiculously crazy. Last Monday we had the chance to take the President and his wife to go and renew their visas. We waited in line and then had to wait a little longer for one last piece to the packet. As we start to give the visa stuff over, the man behind the window states that "a receipt is not a good enough proof of purchase"...whodasay what? After we fixed the matter the next day, our President took us to the Hard Rock Cafe as a little thank you. He expressed his appreciation, as did his wife, on all the work and trials that we go through here in the office. They had no idea what went on behind the "office scene". 

Highlight of the week. I had the chance to go on a road-trip  to Brasov. The "apes" (still cant get over that one haha) decided to go on exchanges with us office elders, and then go on exchanges with trainers and trainees. Elder Preece went to Constanta with Elder Speth and the Mihai Bravu sisters (who were also going on an exchange in Constanta), and I went with Elder Lasater to Brasov (Ya his name is really Elder Lasater...like Psych!!!).

 It was great to drive in the mountains, so pretty on the way there. Big cliffs, lots of green and the great conversation. Elder Lasater is a riot. We reached Brasov just as a massive storm rolled in and soaked everything. Luckily we were still in the car driving when it stopped.  We needed to grab something from a store so we hiked over to the nearest one, grabbed what we needed and then made our way back to the car to grab our stuff. On the way back lightning started to strike really close...as in flash BOOM, no second count. We get back to the car just as is starts to pour. The Elders lived a good half mile away, with no streets we could drive on. So we grabbed our overnight stuff, plus an air mattress for me, my pillow and a bag full of packages and letters for the sisters. I decided to put all my stuff over the bag, towel then bed on top, to keep the water off of the letters and what not. Who wants a wet letter. It was raining so hard, I have never been that wet outside of swimming and showering. Instantly all of our cloths were soaked. We didn't bring any coats, so it must have been a sight seeing 2 nicely dressed guys walking down the street with the heavens opened. People were giving us the weirdest looks, it was so funny. We would say "good evening" to people as they huddled beneath their umbrellas that the cafes have. We got a few good laughs from that. As we were nearing the Brasov elders apartment we passed another cafe full of people under the umbrellas. They gave us a round of applause for walking through water. You couldn't help but laugh at everything. When we finally go to their house/apartment we tried to lay out all our stuff so it could dry. I literally had to pour out my shoes (they were still wet the next day and I had to walk around with wet feet). So much fun! 

Brasov really is beautiful, the mountains make it all. I feel that if I had a P-day in Brasov, I would have found it even more beautiful, but we didn't have a whole lot of time for sightseeing.  I had the chance to have an exchange with one of the new elders. It was so crazy and fun to be with someone who was younger in the mission than you and to know that if someone asked you a question in Romanian, you were all on your lonesome. Did you know that if I wasn't pulled into the office, I probably would have been a trainer. Crazy! Now I have till November/December before that could potentially happen again. 

Well, that has been my week. We were going to take a picture of us totally soaked, but my camera took a little dip too, so I thought it best if we didnt turn it on...and I forgot. Hard to remember stuff when there is a swimming pool in your shoe.

Love you Lots and have a great week,

Elder Ormsby

 On splits in Brasov.

 Getting a little goofy on the drive to Brasov.

Elder Ormsby's MTC teacher came to visit.

Showing his sister that he did indeed get her letter.  She misses him SO MUCH!

Week 29

FINALLY!! School is over...phew, now we can all take a break haha! That is really cool that your manager's daughter is doing that. Are you paying her? It kinda sounds like what I used to do. Why hasn't Thirdborn been doing our Companionship Study? I hope he has a great time at Camp M. I don't know if I remember the P's, but that is really cool. 

I can't believe that {your friend] found Sora Ormsby! It is so crazy how we are put into each others paths.

{Love Magnet] I cant wait for that letter. It will make me really happy.  Did you save me some frozen yogurt?

Not a lot of chance to get out and contact people. Even though there isn't a lot to do, we usually need to be in the office "just in case". But we do teach a family in Austria and another guy in the Czech. Hopefully they continue to progress and work towards baptism. The Czech guy says that he is willing to be baptized, but will wait till winter when he comes back to Romania for something or other. That will be cool, but at the same time it is time that he could be progressing further. 

It doesn't surprise me that Thirdborn would play in 40 degree water. I remember when you came back from Oregon and they played in the water there. Who is L dating? Is it that girl H or something. Well good for him anyhow. Although, people just need to stop their lives for the next little while. They can continue in November...of next year.

Transfers are coming up and I am ecstatic. It sounds like it will be a lot of work (praise) and a lot of craziness. I learned how to drive stick the other day. I can get from point A to point B without stalling (only stalled once) and no lurches (haha remember when I used to gel my hair down and mom said I looked like Lurch, ah good times). So it will be super fun picking up all the boboci.

Sorry, I will have to get you your pictures tomorrow. We will be at the church tonight for some P-day activities, but until then no pics. Our apartment is basically our car and the office. We only use the apartment for sleeping and holding our clothes (which there is no room for mine at the moment so they are still in the suitcases).

Love you all,

Elder Ormsby

Week 28

Sooooooo sorry that I wasn't able send more stuff off last week. 

This week has been a little bit crazy. So I received call last week/ week and a half and it was one of our A.P's. So side story, last transfer I kept having this feeling that someone in my family would get really hurt/pass away. Don't know why, it was just a feeling. So the A.P. called and said in a very official voice "is this Elder Ormsby?" So I know this A.P. and he usually isn't like that, so I say "You know it is, man you sound official, what did someone die?" He responds with "where are you right now?" We were in our stairwell going up to our apartment so I told him as much. He responds with "You might want to sit down"...what...what? Oh my goodness! So I am freaking out a little when he says "there are a lot of changes with the missionaries who are leaving next week and you are one of them, welcome to the office". Elder Speth, I am going to kill you! Haha.

Well, its not the worst thing that could happen. Actually the office is a little boring, but not too much. We are in a threesome right now, the one I will replace is still with us. There aren't enough computers for us to use all the time so sometimes I just sit and stare, then realize I should at least try and do something. So I read scriptures for a bit, daze then find random things to do. Dad was right though, the office can be exciting. Only the office elders, A.P.'s and the president have cars, and the senior couples. 

Yesterday, on the way to lunch at a members house, we were T-boned. Lots of paperwork for the elder that was driving (my new comp Elder P). but every one is ok with no injuries and the person we hit has been fairly nice, so we will see (actually he hit us, but it was our fault). 

Once the old office elder leaves I will be in charge of all visa papers, and a few other stuff. mostly an office elder is someone who takes care of all the treaba that happens in the mission. My phone is broken, call the office elders, I don't know where something is, call the office elders. Stuff like that. 

E.T. means extra terrestrial mom, haven't you watched the movie? But really it means Emergency Transfer. It can be a bad thing, or an ok thing. Mine was an ok thing, no problems on my end, just needed to fill some holes. And yes, I am with my entire MTC district AWESOME!!! P-days in buc will be super cool, mainly because being in a two man city is hard cause you run out of things to do. I do miss the F family though. It was super hard to say goodbye to them this last week. It is going to happen every time I move cities unfortunately, but that means that I am making great friends for later on in life. 

That is a really funny story about the ice storm, and the fact that you called your A.P.s "apes" priceless! I might have to try it out. I am going to wait til later on in the day to send out some pics of the office so everyone will be here and you can meet the B's they are awesome. Love you all and I keep you in my prayers.

Love Elder Ormsby