Week 70

Dear Family,

Rabdare Mama, rabdare...

Lol, we just got back from our zone conference in Arad. We were going to write tomorrow, but we have English and FHE, so we decided to take a bit of time to email our stuff now. Lucky you! I have received the bank card and will send it out as soon as I can. I will read over it and see if there are any special instructions that I missed magically. Send me an email if you know something that I need to know. 

I have learned so much on my mission. One of my favorite things comes from my Grandma and has been my internal motto this transfer. "Lighten up” in spirit and attitude and enjoy everyone around you and everything you are doing.  Appreciate the beauty of the snowflake and how if it wasn’t so cold you wouldn’t ever see such a beautiful creation...Don’t look back at what you wish you might have done but push forward solidifying relationships and testimonies remembering in whose name you are working." 

This transfer has been the best transfer of my entire mission. NOT because everything is perfect and we have baptisms and all that jazz. Oh no, we have 0 investigators and have had quite a few people fall out of contact with us (including another member). Its my favorite because of my district and the fact that I have been enjoying "everyone" and "everything". I laugh about the drunken guy, I smile about the mistake in Romanian, I almost cry from laughing so hard about all the funny little things that happen each and every day. 

Life is pretty good. For example (and this one might make you cringe a little bit Mom), today for Zone Conference I was asked to sing in a quartet. We were supposed to sing "Mila sus de straluceste" or "Brightly Beams, Our Fathers Mercy"...something like that. Anyways, its the same song that I sang in Timi last year, only I was singing bass. This time I sang the melody...the "easiest" part. It was so funny. First, I kept going to the bass line, but remembering that I needed to be higher than the bass, I sang an octave higher, then the alto part sounded nice, so I sang along with him. Finally, I would remember my part and get that out of my system before the end of the verse. Then the show started all over again. To make it even better, my body decides that it is going into shock and starts to shake...hard! I was trying so hard not to laugh because all I could think about was how ridiculous I looked. Then I squeaked one of the notes. Better and better! I am smiling right now, as I am writing this letter, it was so funny. I never would have been able to laugh, about a situation like that, before my mission. I loved every second of it! My favorite part was looking up with smile, ready to see some of the agony on the other missionaries faces. One of the sisters had her head down with her hand up, as if she couldn't look at us after the song. Like a "oh those guys, I don't know them" LOL!!! Best zone conference ever haha. The other thing that I was thinkin' was about how you never wanted us to watch the bad performances on American Idol (Trademark symbol (just in case)).

I have just finished the OLD TESTAMENT. Wow, that was one behemoth that I could use a translator for. It was rough going, but compared to the Old Testament, the New Testament is like a bag of cookies. I love reading the different accounts of the life of Jesus. How some apostles put emphasis, where others neglected to mention it. Pretty cool stuff. I also listened to a really good talk from Elder Bednar.  It was a great talk about how we pray for our trials to be changed. But it is more often that we receive the strength to overcome our trials, rather to have them taken from us. The Enabling Power of the Atonement

Ya, so life is good. Missionary work isn't really going to fast, but its going and I can see some hope, so why shouldn't life be good?

Love

Elder Michael Ormsby

Week 69

Dear Family,
I am so sorry, I have no idea how, but I totally forgot to write you. Yesterday we were paintballing in Arad and didn't get back until a little later. I read your email, but I thought that I had written something back....my bad lol. Everything is good right now. I haven't had such a fun district in a really long time, and I have never had a district that all get along basically 100% of the time. It has seriously been a blessing for me to be in this district, back in my old stomping grounds. God knew that He would have to do something special when He took me out of Bacau.

I have kept in touch with my other family, they are so funny. One of the new sisters there was asked by an elder what kind of cake she was eating. "Lemon" "No, in Romanian" (he had just taught her not to say it the wrong way). Here is where the story splits. The Bs say that she said it with an "u" sound...lol....the sisters there say that before she had a chance to finish the word, the Bs said the "u". Honestly, they are both probable, almost even. Those 3 are so funny! (Side note, saying some words in Romanian only a little off can make a huge difference(. I miss them a lot, but I have been having a lot of fun with my district. No one thinks themselves higher than anyone else. No one thinks they are below anyone else, and I have been 100% myself!!! No need to wonder if I have offended someone, no need to worry that someone is going to think that I am weird (who cares) and yup, its been great! 

Today we went paintballing in Arad, it was super weird to be with a lot of the same people (P, H, R) doing the same thing we were doing a little over a year ago. I feel like time has been moving forward so fast, and yet so slow. I haven't been angry ONCE this transfer!!! Annoyed, not so much (today was one of those days when I was losing lol), but not angry. You have no idea, it has been such a long time. 

So cool story, they said that they were never coming back. Guess who came on Sunday AND taught Sunday School? Yup, those guys! It was good to see them.

Talk to you next week!

Elder Ormsby

Week 68

Dear Family,

Well, it has been great to be back in Timisoara. I have the best district so far in my mission. Elder S is exactly like Elder B (and I LOVE Elder B). We have two really cool sisters and the other elders are legit. I haven't been able to visit any of the old investigators, that is going to be this week. A lot of the members were surprised to see me again and commented on how I had returned!

We have been hearing bits and pieces about Ukraine. It was something to worry about in Bacau, seeing how we were right there, but now its not so bad here. People know, but not really worrying. We hear enough to worry a bit, but it doesn't stop us!

Unfortunately the missionaries still need to take a course on record keeping. I once found a record that said "well a lot has happened in the last six months, so I will summarize..." Good luck on that one elder haha. We try to be better, but no one is perfect.

Sorry this email will be real short, the keyboard doesn't like me, but I will attach a few pics...just for you!

Love you all,

Elder Ormsby

ps Sora S thinks its very sweet/funny that you commented on her blog.

Week 67

Dear Family, friends and blog stalkers,

I have to laugh every time some new missionary comes in and says "ya, I stalked your blog." Haha, its all good. I'm glad that someone reads it!

So this last week has been a really strange one. I would be lying if I said I wasn't angry when I left Bacau. I would be lying if I said I wasn't incredibly depressed, but I would also be lying if I didn't say that it all went away the minute I entered Timisoara. It was as if the Lord said "Ok, you've had your time to grieve. Now, I need you, go to work." Walking out of the gara, I felt what every kid feels on Christmas morning. Excitement and anticipation. I am here in Timisoara and ready to make the best of it. I am ready to see all my old investigators, to see if they are finally ready. I am ready to see the members (including one that we all thought would have passed away almost a year ago).

We have got a really good district here in Timisoara. Besides having the Hs back :) we have Elders M1, M2, S (you were so close on the spelling) and then Soras S and L. We have had a great time already and I know that we are going to get along really well this next transfer. 

We don't have dental appts, unless we have an emergency (I can tell you that the dentist isn't going to like that when I get back). Add to the fact that my eye sight has gotten worse in a year and a half makes me really excited to go see the doctors when I get back...

Tell Secondborn and Thirdborn to send me some pictures and to write me once in a while! Don't worry about making me homesick, it would take a lot more than that, trust me. 

Please pray for a friend of mine. Her mom just passed away and I know that it is really hard for her. I'm not going to include a name, cause I don't think she would like her name out and about. Just keep in mind Elder Ormsby's friend. 

Love you all and Ill talk to you soon,

Elder Ormsby

Thanks to the Senior Missionaries for the pics:

Happy to be back on the streets of Timisoara.

 With new companion, Elder S!

 And the beloved Maxi Taxi rides to Oredea for district conference.

Week 66

Dear Family,

Ok, that is not even fair. Telling me all these really good foods...oh well, at least I have M...oh wait....

Well, we didn't have any cupcake tins, so I tried to turn the [red velvet cake mix] into brownies and they were just soggy for some reason. The frosting was really gross looking too. Its weird, they definitely looked better last year, oh well. The cookies were great. I used them for my spiritual thought and did the "only a little bit of poop". You know, the one where I explain whats in the cookie and then have them eat it, but before they do I explain the "secret" ingredient. A tablespoon of dog poo for the whole batch. Its fine, cause it was cooked and there were a lot of cookies, so not much poo would be in them. It had the desired result, except from my comp, who tried to be smecher and "beat the system"...what a punk lol. We had a really poor turn out for English classes. Hopefully it will be better next transfer.

We aren't teaching anyone right now. One of our investigators went to Constanta for the winter and is coming back real soon. The others went out to Paris for some treatments and wont be back for 3 months. Kinda sad, but asa merge viata.

I have been trying to finish the Bible. Its a really  big part of peoples lives here (even if they don't read it) and so I wanted to better understand where they were coming from. It has been a rough journey, but I am finally in Ezekiel. I hope that I will finish the New Testament in a few months. It will be an easier read than Chronicles, that's for sure.

Romanians have 2 days that are like Valentines day. The actual day, Sfantul Valantin, and the 24th. I forget what that one is called, but its basically the same thing. Lots of commercial stuff.

So, I have literally had my heart ripped apart this last week.  Transfer boards came out. I am going to my home city of Timisoara.  I wanted to stay here so bad, to be with the people that I love The people here are just so amazing. I cant explain why Bacau is one of the greatest cities in Romania, it just is. I have four new sisters here and one of my best friends. The B family were investigators 14 years ago. Two days before they were set to be baptized, they were found amazing jobs and a decent place to stay. God has blessed them so much in the last little while. They have become so close to me, all in 6 weeks.  Its just been a great transfer. I would do almost anything to stay here. I will come back at one point. I kept that promise to the Timi members, it will happen to Bacau too.

Stay pretty,

Elder Ormsby

Week 65

Dear Family,

Sorry you didn't get an email yesterday. President came for interviews and we had a wild day. Elder L and I were going to wake up at 3 am to start lunch for President (roast pork, mashed potatoes...you know, the works). I know its early, but I love seeing people eat something that I made, that I know tastes good. Any ways, I wake up and shower and what not, only to have a big feeling. Don't go to the church right now. I couldn't tell if it was the Holy Ghost or me wanting my bed. I decided that testing that feeling wasn't something I wanted to do, so I promptly went back to bed and woke up at a more decent hour. 4:45 lol. We were out the door around 5:30 and started the food closer to 6. After we prepared the food and stuffed it in the oven, we took a little nap in the church and then listened to some really great talks. "The First Great Commandment" by Elder Holland, "We Are Doing a Great Work and Cannot Come Down" by President Uchtdorf, and "Where is the Pavilion" by President Eyring. We also watched the new Mormon message about the Prodigal son. It gives a modern day story about the Prodigal Son, but from the point of the older brother. Its really good, you should watch it for family home evening. I will include a link, just to make it a little easier ;) Haha, computer smiley faces are so funny.

That's pretty funny about the whole Olympics thing. How is the US doing anyways?

What an interesting conversation it must have been. It must be really nice to have someone love you, the fact that you would visit them and cherishes your time. The story she told you about her daughter made me really sad. It is something that I have come to acknowledge on my mission. The fact that The Love Magnet will probably pass away before I do. In the beginning of my mission, it brought me a lot of heartache, but now I have a changed perspective. I still have a lot of time left with my favorite little sister, there are lot of things we can do together. Will I be sad when she leaves this life? You better believe it, but I take solace knowing that I will be able to see her again. Not only that, but in a perfect body. I don't have to think about that for a long time, but it still makes me really excited.

For my 21st birthday we went to a Chinese restaurant with a member. 'A' is way a way cool and solid member. She's really funny and so not excited for sister missionaries to come to Bacau. I keep praying we get really good sisters. The members, us and the city need it. After Chinese, we went to internet and then off to the B family for dinner. They have a tradition where they buy pizzas on someones birthday. This is a very rare treat and I am so grateful that they would include me on one of their family's traditions. We also had cake. I have a video where they are singing to me. I wish I had been holding the camera, cause I look so awkward in the video. What is one supposed to do when others are singing happy birthday? Basically be as awkward as possible. The other missionaries hadn't been shopping yet, so they left early and we just talked for a bit. Answered a few gospel questions and what not. S, one of the daughters, is really smart and has been reading everyday. She has some good questions. After answering a few, we ran home. While we were planning for the night, the other elders called us into the main room. I went out, expecting them to have a camera and some balloons or something. I tried to go to the kitchen, but then Elder L stopped me. Apparently only he was supposed to go out haha.

They had a cake and we sang happy birthday again and ate some more cake (chocolate this time, instead of an angel food cake(ish)). The next morning, we all woke up sick because of all the sugar. Hadnt had that much sugar in a long long time.

This week we were at the store and I wanted to get a treat. My favorite thing that I used to get was a Swiss Roll. Now, Elder T had become super paranoid about alcohol in the candy here (its in a lot of stuff and you usually don't notice it). So when I got my swiss roll, I turned it around, just to humor myself, only to find that the dumb thing has alcohol. Well shoot, there goes my favorite treat. Now I need to go find an equally delicious roll of chocolate and plastic to quench my hunger.

Missionary ideas for Dad:  One of the things that the aps are pushing is a small paper that has a few lines for friends and then cooresponding boxes for dates. The dates are when they are going to invite that certain friend to what activity. After the 8th or so activity, they will invite the friend to take the lessons. On the back has a bunch of things such as, how to ask a friend to an activity, which activities are good, how to choose a friend etc etc. We haven't tried it yet, but I will let you know the results.

I got that package! Thank you so much. I am actually using the cookies today for a spiritual thought and the red velvet cakes will be for tonight when we finish our pday. I will send you pics later today. We have English soon and are leaving in a few minutes.

Love you all and talk to you soon,

Elder Ormsby

 It is so cold!

 Found another Bacau Creep.

The foyer of the rented Bacau church building.

 Sacrament room

 Foyer hallway to the left.

 Foyer hallway to the right

 This is interesting. This is how romanians (and most of europe) heat their homes. It heats water to 70 C and then pumps it to water heaters. Those things are HOT!

 My apartment kitchen.  Yes, it is messy right now.

 I dont know why, but Elder O likes to point at me with an strange face...

 This is American Week at Lidl (a store). I bought "hot dogs" cause I was bored of what we had back home...they werent hot dogs...

Don't they look appealing?..

 How about now?

 Elder T bought "cheese cake". Do I see a trend?

 Chocolate muffins (werent so bad) and popcorn (havent tried it yet)

 What Romanians think Americans eat. 

now that is a real meal!!!

Thanks for the package!

Week 64 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!-

Dear Family and others,

Well, I'm glad you all remembered my birthday this year haha!

Another year has come and gone, which is so crazy to think about. This time last year I was sick, tired and totally overwhelmed with everything. I remember my birthday very clearly. The night before we had come home a little early because of a fever. I told my trainer that I would take a half hour-ish nap while he made dinner and then I would clean it up and we would be out the door. So of course I woke up at 9, hungry but nauseous, with my trainer sheepishly calling potentials. I love that guy so much. He took good care of me. The next morning I was feeling even worse. I was contemplating not going to church, but as a missionary, I felt that only giving up my internal organs in a violent manner would be a skip-church worthy. So church was cold, hot, really cold, really hot. I am not sure what happened, except that one of the members said something about my birthday and how we need to remember less actives birthdays, and then he says "not that you understand anything I am saying right now". Well, I caught that part. As we left church, the sisters gave me some very sad looking cookies that they had made and a Dr. pepper (oh snap, I haven't had one of those in forever!). I was really grateful that they had remembered my birthday and would make cookies. Walking home was so painful. AH! I just remembered that it was also a fast Sunday and I decided that I needed the blessings, so on top of being sick, I was super hungry and weak. Anyways, walking home was so painful because I was so tired and it was misting. Now misting normally doesn't hurt, but please remember that my face was on fire and it felt like small daggers were attacking all my pores. Think needles, lots and lots of needles (I know I just freaked one of you out). As we are walking home, Elder H turns and reminds me that all we have back home is Lipie (large tortilla, but better) and some peanut butter. He apologizes as he tells me that we don't have anything for a cake either! He kept that up for a while making me feel worse and worse. I had been working really hard at being positive, so I turned and said that I was with a great companion, in a great district, in one of the best cities in the mission, in ROMANIA and that this was enough for me. Exhausted, we approached the door of our block when Elder Harrison stops. "Please open the door, Elder H". "I am so sorry, I forgot that I promised Sora Hunt that we would go and show her how to *blank* (I forgot what it was)" "Does it have to be right now?" "Ya, I promised her..." Sigh. Off we go, in the other direction. I was trying so hard to see the good, so hard to keep positive, and I was so close to my bed. Bless Elder Harrison, he contacted people on the way there, and I am sad to say that my love was wearing very thin by that point haha. We finally come to the Hunts block and he walks past the darn thing. Yup, definitely on the verge of something bad. In the elevator we go and when we arrive on the H's floor, I saw some people. The glass is warped and colored so my first fevered thought was "Oh, the H's are having some "get to know your neighbor" activity." Close, it was my entire district. They had set up a surprise party for me. They had made some tunnel thing with their arms and I walked straight through them, in the door, past the kitchen and onto the couch. Sora H came in and told me to sleep while they finished dinner and then we could eat. They had tried to make my favorite meal, Pot roast. They tried so hard to find beef, but only could get pork. It was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me, especially in such a sneaky conniving way haha.

Now, we arrive to a new year. It astounds me to think of all the experiences that I have had, all in one year. I have learned a new language. Lived in another country half way around the world from home. I have made almost every single meal, every day (exclude all the days we went out to eat and the comps that knew how to cook). I have met crazy people and made amazing friends. Most important, I have come closer to my Savior. So much frustration, and anger and despair have been made easier through His hands. Every time that I have turned to Him, I have felt peace. I really like the scripture found in Matthew 14:28-33. Peter walks out on the water and then becomes afraid. As he fears the winds and the waves he begins to sink. Crying out with fear he reached his hand toward Christ and asked for his help. Immediately, Christ reached out and caught Peter. I love that word. Immediately. Not in five minutes, not when Christ was less busy. No, immediately.

Thank you for your birthday wishes and for the videos. Its pretty early over there and I know you have stuff to do today. Have a good celebration.

Love Elder Ormsby