Week 57

So....

Funny story. All the pictures that you took from other people and put onto the blog were from a different Christmas party. We are in Iasi haha, on the other side of the country! We went up to Moldova for our Christmas party. We had a long Maxi Taxi ride that was less than fun. When we finally reached Chisinau (capital) we were met with a brisk Siberian wind. SOOO COOOLDDD! I feel bad for those missionaries up there, but only for the cold. Moldova is a great place! It was like going from America to Romania. New country, slightly dirty, slightly broken, new language and old communistic...I LOVE IT! We started out our Christmas conference with a short training meeting and then off to hear from the APes and President and Sora Hill. We then hear about some of the mission news and found out that the new mission president is going to be President Ivory.  This guy is one smart dude (can you call future presidents "dude"?) Just as we were about to start the tie and scarf exchange, the power went out. We said a group prayer asking for power while the senior couples rushed the food over to their apartment and then us missionaries started our exchange. Good thing all our cell phones come with flash lights! I got a pretty slick tie, and my 3D tie was a hit. Still in the dark, we started to sing Christmas carols, not by the fire, but again with cell phone flash lights. Finally the lights came on, just in time for dinner and the slide show. We then found out that we would be the only 2 zones in the WHOLE MISSION who wouldn't receive root beer. This is ok, because we are ordering our own (beating the system one step at a time haha). The next day we stayed in Chis to have a Pday. It was cold, windy and awesome. There is so much communistic stuff out there. I am going to go back and get a few pins and what not. I did buy a big fluffy hat that I will have to show you at another time. 

Skype: When do you want to Skype? I can do it any time during the week of Christmas. You tell me when and I will be there. Or at least, what times will be best for you?

Love you lots,

Elder Ormsby

Sorry no pics this week, I forgot my hard drive and my camera. Next week will have lots. 

(Note from Mom:  if any missionary parents were sent pictures of the Iasi/Chisinau conference, would you please send me some pics?  And any other pics of Elder Ormsby and his comp, Elder A, Iasi, and Chisinau.  Huge thanks!)

The villa where the branch meets.

Elder Ormsby on the right.

Apparently, President Hill performed "If I Were A Rich Man" from Fiddler On The Roof , in costume and with great drama.  The missionaries all loved it!

Week 56

Dear Family, 

Sorry this letter will probably be a little short. This keyboard is not making me the happiest camper right now, but here is the run down of the past week, and then maybe I will aswer some of your email.

So my new comp has had one crazy first week. This last week we were preparing lunch when we find out that our water has been shut off. The previous missionaries hadnt payed the bill in a water (much to the anger of one man who gave me a talking to). We are then forced to vacate our apartment as our propriatara (land lady) sent us a text and told us we have 1 week before she kicks us out. She was also unhappy with the way that missionaries had previously treated her apartment. It was a pretty nice place, but it will be good to find a new one. The only problem is that the previous missionaries (the one who found the original apartment 1 year ago) looked for an entire transfer. It really takes a lot of time out of missionary work looking for an apartment. The next fun thing happened when we were in a park. I was on the phone with the ZL's and all of a sudden a man approached us and asked Elder Anderson a question. I hurried and hung up on the ZL's and asked the man to repeat what he had asked. We then proceed to talk about things that really dont matter as he tried to tear us apart. He told us that we need to read the Bible. I replied that I was, in fact, currently reading the bible and I was in isaiah. He said " No, you need to read the Bible, you dont believe in the Bible and as such, you couldnt be reading it." It was a very long and very pointless conversation. I say that only because he wasnt really interested in learning anything about the church, or about us. Mostly he wanted us to "be free". I felt really sad for him and told him as much. Elder A loved it, however. I asked him how much he understood, and he understood a bit of it. My favorite is still what he said. I think I already told you about this last story, so I wont continue. So now we live with the ZL's (this is fine, they live at the church and their apartment is HUGE) and we will be looking for a new apartment this week. Right now we are in a internet cafe, in MOLDOVA! Yup, we finally fled Romania and went to a new country. Only for a bit though. Yesterday we had our christmas party/conference, which was a lot of fun. I will be sending pics next week. We are going to go and buy a chaciula soon, so you will need a picture or two of that. Shout out to Elder Andersons mom who has tasked me with helping him to write good emails and take lots of pictures. My mom can attest that the second one will be near impossible, but we shall see what happens. 

Loves to all who read this,

Elder Ormsby

(Note from Mom:  No pics this week.  I did pull these off of the senior missionaries blog.  huge thanks to them for thinking to document this activity)

(Elder Ormsby far left)

(these incredible senior missionaries cooked a feast for homesick elders and sisters.  According to their blog the meal was ham, potatoes, rootbeer, and pie.  I'm sure that Elder Ormsby was particularly thankful for the rootbeer and pie.)

(These missionaries are saints!)

Week 55

Dear Family,

Yup, we went and ate at the Bs house! It was so much fun. We were not supposed to be able to go because we were going to leave on a train to Iasi on Wednesday night like normal. However, the office elders weren't able to get the health appointments done and we had to stay an extra day, lucky us! I asked Sora B if we could come over with Sora K and her boboaca (cause its no fun to be alone on Thanksgiving). Sora B was so excited that we would be able to stay. On the day of Thanksgiving, Sora K called me and asked if one other companionship could come over to Sora Bs house, and if she didn't have room then Sora K wouldn't be coming. I also found out that Sora G and her new comp (all of us going to the Bs house had new companions straight from America) would be out on the streets as well. I called up Sora B and basically plead their cases. Sora B is such a saint, I am so grateful that I had the chance to meet her while I was here in Romania. She said that they could all come over, and there was so much food! It was super good.

My new companion is hilarious! We are very much alike in terms of humor and what not. I will include a picture or two (just to keep you happy :)) We went out contacting the other day and as we were ready to get done, a man comes up and talks to my comp as I am on the phone with the ZL's. So I hurry and hang up, only to have him try and rip us apart. It was a very sad experience. I kept feeling so bad for him, he just wouldn't stop with the bashing. We never went anywhere and he walked away feeling like he "won" (no one "wins" in that kind of situation). My comp loved it. He didn't really understand much, but he thought it was great that the guy said that he loved us before he walked away. ELDER A  (I forgot to tell you his name) said "Well, that's nice that he loves us, at least God wont be so hard on him now" haha! First contact in Iasi and we talk to that guy. Apparently he had already talked to the ZL's, who were in the park with us, and did the same thing to them. I think the part that I was most impressed with was when he told me the Book of Mormon contradicts the Bible on every page. So I opened up a page and told him to show me where, or any other page for that matter, when it contradicted the Bible. I have been reading the Bible for personal study. I have come to understand a little bit of what I have been reading and no where does it contradict the Book of Mormon. On the contrary, they compliment each other. So I felt real bad for the guy, and told him that I was sorry he didn't understand. It was quite a lot of fun to be honest. I learned a bit about what I am made of (especially the fact that I understood quite a bit of what he was sayin') and it was just a good little talk for my new comps first time.

Happy Birthday Secondborn and Thirdborn!!!

Sorry this one is so short, we will be going bowling today and we are already a bit behind.

Love Elder Ormsby

Pic: The family

 How many people can the office elevator hold (you really gotta see these elevators Dad)

 Three of the sister trainers (there were five but the moldovans are too cool for us (I think they were in Moldova by that point))

Dogs got dreads here

Week 54

Well, this has been a crazy week. I found out on Friday that I will be leaving Buc and heading up to Iasi (Yash) for the Christmas season. Not only will I be heading up to Iasi, I will be taking a brand new missionary with me. Yup, Im training. Remember Sora K? We were trained in the same city at the same time. Well, we are keeping the tradition and training at the same time, in the same city! I'm pretty nervous to train, but I am so stoked to go to Iasi. I have heard nothing bad about the city and everything good, AND I get to teach English classes again!

We will be staying in Buc until Thursday night, which is great because we will be having Thanksgiving dinner with the Bs. They are a really cool couple that work for the embassy. I will be sure to take at least one picture of my new comp and maybe one of the Bs. 

Tell the family hello for me. I will be sending out a few letters soon. Today at least two will go out. I just need to remember N and L's new address...maybe I will just send it to the Ls or something.

Love you all,

Elder Ormsby

 Celebrating the 1 year mark with a trip to Hard Rock Cafe for real American burgers.

 Wild dogs are all over Romania.  Elder Ormsby was excited to find puppies.

 Learning how to juggle

 It hasn't been going very well.

 Singing hymns in the park.

 Cockroaches living in the microwave timer.

Langos Isle on a P-day

Eating at Langos Island (its actually called Mogosoaia

Week 53

Dear Family,

I am pretty sure I covered all that needed to be said for the year mark celebration. For us, we will be going to the Hard Rock Cafe for some good burgers. Its been a while.  

Mom, called to work in the Nursery huh? That will be fun! Snacks and nap time every Sunday? I'm in! What do you mean that one kiddo has his language in the wrong place?

Haha, when you said that you had clients without filters, I immediately thought about working for AS. I miss that job sometimes, there was a lot of good memories there. You just have to inwardly laugh when someone says something inappropriate, otherwise you will go insane. Now that I think about it, I am going to have to write a few letters to some of my old friends.

Update on the apartment. So we found a new place. Rented it out and then were waiting for the landlord (is this right?) to renovate it. Then we are told that the sisters are taking it (again, stolen twice in two transfers). The whole thing doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but fighting it only makes everyone upset. 

So we have heard about this "revolutionary idea" that the New York missionaries came up with. I am glad that they are having so much success with it! I wish it would work as well out here. We have been doing it for many years. The problem is not having the guards kick you out of the park. They don't have the power to do that, but unless we want a scene (and the unlikely chance that they really do have the power) we just leave. It works really well though. Maybe next summer we will be able to do a really big one. 

It is still so warm here. There are still leaves on most of the trees. In fact, I saw Presidents tree budding again! Its been getting a little bit colder each week, but nothing like it should be. So much for it being the coldest winter in history. 

I will be sure to look in the toe of my stocking before I put it on. What! Did you send me MY stocking?

President has decided that you can only go over to Sora G's house 2 times each transfer. That is ok for us, because we don't live in her area and were only going to visit her once a month of so. She is such a nice person. She loves the missionaries and usually just wants someone to talk to. 

Being a DL is great. I haven't forgotten to call the sisters for nightly check up in a good 2 weeks! We have talked about the talk by Bruce R. McConkie (my favorite), Prayer and God is Our Loving Heavenly Father. I love to teach them, they are so much fun and they bring us all together as missionaries. Kind of a booster for the week. 

I cant believe that it has been a year either! I agree with every thing that you said Dad. It is a very strange thing to think that I am "over the hill". It is both a great feeling and a slightly sad one. Oh well, just keep on working!

I know that I need to send more pictures. The problem is getting pictures from other people. It is such a hassle to take a picture of myself. Usually I get it from someone else. I will try and take a lot today at soccer and Hard Rock and then get a bunch from the sisters and other elders. 

Love you all!

Elder Ormsby

Week 52 - ONE YEAR MARK!

Dear Family,

I cant believe that it has already been a year! The time seems to have gone by so quickly. I keep thinking that this time last year I was about to enter the MTC, to start something that I had never done before. It has been such an enlightening year. I have no idea how the time will go in this next year, but it will be so strange (and difficult) when my sisters start to leave. That's when the missionaries in the mission will be foreign and new and by 6 months will count down. 

We don't really have a mission tradition for the year mark. We used to burn a tie or pants or something, but now we don't. 

1. Our apartment is being renovated as we speak. Hopefully it will be done before the end of the month.

2. We haven't been able to get any new investigators. We have a few potentials, but so far we haven't been able to contact with them or establish a time and place. 

3. I talked to Sora B about maybe doing Thanksgiving at her house for our district. She seems to think it is a good idea. Maybe we will have a nice feast or something. 

4. What holiday are we talking about? Easter has that thing were every goes and gets their candle lit by the priest. I am not sure about Christmas. They do have Black Friday though!

I will try and send pictures. I am a little nervous. I cant scan this computer for viruses and I don't want to get one on my hard drive, but I love you enough to try haha.

Love you all,

Elder Ormsby

Week 51

Dear Family,

MOM I AM SO STINKIN' PROUD OF YOU!!!

It is so awesome to think about the fact that you have finished with your Masters, you have finished your thesis AND passed the darn thing. Good job!

I was going to send you pictures, but we are at a sketchy cafe, and I dont feel safe plugging in my hard drive (ps I purchased a hard drive. The new mall opened and they had a great deal. 1TB for 300 lei! Hey Dad, do you remember when the GB was "big". Hahah that wasnt too long ago, imagine what the next 5-10 years brings). 

I was able to go to the US Embassy. My companion needed something notarized the American way. Sora B (a member who works at the embassy) gave us a tour after he had his paper notarized. The embassy sounds like a really cool place to work. I will admit that it has been on my watch list since coming to the mission. While we were there I found Franks Hot Sauce. You better believe that I bought it. We had wings that night...So good!

My new companion's name is M, he is from Iasi and he is super cool! I can already tell that it is going to be an interesting transfer. I dont understand Romanian too well, so this will be a great chance for me to improve! He barely speaks any English  so we only speak in Romanian. Yesterday at church was my first time translating from English to Romanian. That is SO much easier. Everyone says it is the opposite, but since when have I been on the norm of things.

Being a district leader is super fun. I love teaching District Meetings. We have gone over the talk by Bruce R. McConkie "the Purifying Power of Gethsemane" and also about prayer. The first few nights were a bit difficult cause I forgot to call my sisters until a little later than normal. I think I have the hang of it now though. 

We havent found anything that can match a world qualifying match. Hopefully we can find something fun though.

Dad, I am the same way. It is super hard for me to connect with people on the streets. If I can have a lesson or two with them, or if I meet them a few times, then it isnt so hard. I much prefer talking to people in blocs (huge cement/communistic apartment buildings). I dont know why, but it is easier for me to approach someone at their door, than to talk to them on the street. Mihai has the desire to talk to people on the streets though, so it will be good practice for me.

Well, mie foame and we still have an hour til the sisters get done with their emailing (I am pretty sure they are trying to write a novel or two )and we can go to pizza hut. Love you all!

Elder Ormsby

"The Purifying Power of Gethsemane", Bruce R. McConkie

April 1985 General Conference