Week 33

It was such a treat to receive those pictures from The Love Magnet and an even bigger treat to get those video clips. 

Sorry that you had to drive back to Idaho without any AC, we have heard about the record heat waves that have been hitting the west. We have had nothing but rain here. Its a little ridiculous. I didn't think I would ever see so much rain at one time, but it has been raining non-stop for the past 2-ish days. It is clearing up now, so that is good. The drainage system here isn't the best, so we have rivers, literally, in the streets when it rains really hard.

I cant believe that A is going to be in the MTC soon! It is so good to hear that more and more people are going on missions. President just told us that we will be receiving 18 additional new sister missionaries over the next 3-9 months! This is some really good news because it means that basically ALL the cities in Romania will have a set of sister missionaries and we might even get multiple sets in every district. Now that would be crazy! 

Good to know about D, I will be sure to add him to my fast. Fasting is such a great gift that we have. I have such a strong testimony about fasting. It is such a simple thing, go without food or water for 24 hours, having a desire(s) in your heart and having faith that, because you are making a sacrifice, God will bless you for your efforts. Before the exchange that I had in Brasov I started a fast the day before. I have had a really hard time understanding people here in Romania. Its mostly because I focus on all the words that I don't know instead of all the words that I do know. But I went into that fast praying that I would know how to help the elder I would be with (who was only a week old in the mission field) and also to have the gift of understanding. Although both of our lessons fell through, I feel that we prepared ourselves for both of them. When we were on our way to one of them we took a taxi instead of the bus...we were a little late. It was one of the best conversations that I have had in Romania. Although he didn't want to hear about the Church at the beginning of the ride, he eventually got curious and then confused on why we would come to Romania, without pay and talk to people. So I told him what we did, why we were here and a little bit about what we did. Although it wasn't a perfect contact, it helped to give me the boost of confidence that said "yes, I do know this language and yes, I can understand them." I know that extra help came from fasting. So many people don't understand how/why we fast. If they did, it would no longer be a chore, but a pleasure.

Office work will be office work. Not much to say except we have done all the visa work, minus the healthcare stuff. We will figure it out as we go. As it is, we wont be able to do anything until we have a few guinea pigs. We need to get a move on it though. 

Thanks for sending that transcript to BYU, I just need a few more things and it will be off for review. I am taking my time (cause I have a lot of it). We will see what happens there.

Love you all and I hope that all is well. Make sure Secondborn and Thirdborn write me!

Love Elder Ormsby

 The rainstorms are huge in Bucharest.  This was taken from the office window.

The streets become rivers.

Elder Ormsby showing he still has the wherewithall to brave the elements.