Week 15

That is so cool about Adam, I bet Grandpa was really excited too. They will both be able to speak French by the time he comes home, although his will be a little different.

Life here is really good, we had mission conference as you know and Elder Richards talked a lot about obedience and referrals. Good thing I have the best companion in the world. I prayed for a companion who would work me really hard and be diligent in all things, and I received it. Elder H is a rockstar here in the Romania/Moldova mission. He is known for his work ethics and everyone loves Elder H, or H as some of the Romanians call him.  Hopefully he rubs off on me a little bit in the next 4 months.

I cant wait to hear about Adam in the MTC, tell me his email, so I can write him a time or two. When does Steph enter in? Or is she already in? OH how is Steph our neighbor? If you haven't seen her in a while, will you just see how she is, take the Love Magnet. Tell her I just wanted to know how she is and then tell her She needs to write me. 

If Dad doesn't get better soon, call up the home teachers. Some of the things that I have come to appreciate here in Romania are: water I can drink from the tap, dishwashers, dryers, elevators that don't scare me when I get in them, ovens with a temp gauge, home teachers and other church callings. We are trying to get things running here in Timi. Right now Timi is jogging, before we leave it will be at a dead sprint. Any ways, call up the home teachers and ask them to give a blessing to Dad, Secondborn and Thirdborn if he needs it. I have learned that it blesses not only the person receiving  but also the person giving. You are depriving those people of the blessings that come from giving a blessing when you think you are wasting their time or dont want to bug them. I learned this in the MTC, understand that you are not bugging someone who holds the priesthood when you are asking for a blessing.  The Priesthood, when worthy, is to be used. Not saved for another time, it doesn't really work that way. Hopefully what I am saying makes sense. Don't be afraid to ask for  a blessing pur si simplu. Love you all and I hope you guys feel better soon.

 

Elder Ormsby

Thanks to the senior missionaries for the pictures 

 Bowling Youth Activity.  Most of them had never bowled before.  The missionaries had to show them how.

Elder Ormsby kept his coat on.

The whole group at the Youth Activity.  Only one was a member, the rest are investigators.

 Missionary concert.  The district from Arad joined in.  Elder Ormsby participated in an Acapella Quartet.

 Missionary choir.

 Must have been the missionaries' idea.  It looks like the Romanians aren't quite sure what to do.

The audience for the music concert.

Going private

Elder Ormsby's blog is going private in the next 2 weeks.  Please msg me if you want to continue to read the blog.

Week 14 with pictures

Know that I love you all and I am so grateful for the opportunity to be in Romania at this time. I have met so many people who I love so very much. I know that this is the true church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and that we can come to know of its truthfulness through pray and reading the scriptures. I encourage all of you to find out for yourselves, for the first time or to renew your testimony, by reading the Book of Mormon from the beginning to the end with these questions in mind. Does a God exist. Does he love me. How can these stories help me. Is this a true book? Is this the true and everlasting gospel of God? Do these things and end with prayer each time, and I know that our Loving Heavenly Father will answer you. Know that He will answer through the feelings of love, joy and peace in your heart. God can and will help you, if only you ask him with faith, a sincere heart and real intent. Love you all.

- Elder Ormsby

 Showing off his awesome cooking skills.  No, he won't starve.  However, his mother is wondering where are the vegetables?

 Cool car?  Cool car but pink?  Or cool car for mom?  The Love Magnet says "Wow, cool pink car!  I am going to get that for my birthday!"

 Showing the state of his apartment elevators.

Are they up to code?

 Birthday dinner for Sora K and Elder H.  This picture and the next one courtesy of the senior missionaries.  They are so sweet to host these dinners in their apartment.

Info about missionary work

Week 13 with pictures

ok so unfortunately sending those pictures took a long time so here is a generic I'm fine email. I'm sorry it will be very short, but I just want you to know that I love you and you are all amazing. Thank you for the package it will be very helpful. You said you are sending another package, which is awesome!!! Thank you so much. Um well here is the wish list and it will probably be over 4lbs. but a crock pot would make the world turn upside down. We have tried so hard to find one here and it has been a no go so far. It would make dinners and everything else so much easier. I love you again and thank you for the letters in my package. I will try and send another email during the week.

One last goodbye with the MTC district and teachers.

Uh, Elder P, does that thing have a Mormon Tabernacle Choir channel?

 International traveling is exhausting!

 Gorgeous sunrise in Timisoara

 The changing of the water filter. 

Bowling with the Soras and (he didn't say if investigators or members).

 In Romania, guests are offered slippers when they come into a home in order to keep their feet warm.

 Investigator at an activity.  (English class?  Elder O didn't say.)

 R created a birthday picture and gave chocolate to Elder O for his birthday.

 A Baptist church in Romania.  Beautiful!

 Early morning from Elder O's apartment window.

another investigator with Elder O and Elder H.

The district including the senior missionaries (taken from the senior missionaries' blog).

Week 12 with pictures!

Another week has come and gone and it is just flying past. Its crazy to think that I have been here for only 3 weeks, but then I realize that its been 3 weeks...wow. 

Anyways, super cool miracle this last week. SO on one of the first days in Romania, we were block knocking in the student housing and had some success with talking to people and we gave out a lot of English cards (we give free English classes on the side of our missionary work). It was getting late, and I was hungry so we decided to go and get a Shwarma/ shoarma/ şormă, almost every where its sold it has a different way of being spelled. Oricum, we went to the better looking place and ordered one. Elder Harrison wasn't hungry so I ordered by my self, slightly afraid that she would say something back, and lo and behold she talks back in perfect English  It was the best English I had heard in Romania (not that impressive, I'd only been there 4 days), and it was the best English that Elder Harrison had heard (super impressive!!!!). So we talked to her, trying to figure out where she had learned to speak English so well. She kind of avoided the question and just moved on to making the food. When she was done we asked her again where she had learned to speak so well, and she told us (sounding slightly embarrassed  that she had taught herself!!! So we were impressed, who wouldn't be, and so we gave here a mormon.ro card and then a card that had a link to a video made by a TV Station in Romania about the church. I actually cant remember what the English word is...emisiune....special...I don't know, Ill ask Elder Harrison later. Oricum, she stopped us short and told us that she was Catholic and that we had to know that before we said anything else. We said that we were only inviting her to watch the video and look at the cite. 

Ok, so we jump to 2 weeks later. We worked really hard on getting the information about the English classes out to everyone and it payed off. Over 70 people show up, which is really good for Timi. So we teach the class, give a spiritual thought at the end and then everyone leaves. We have Family Home Evening that night and 6 new people from the classes stayed for FHE. It was really cool. BUT the coolest part was when D walked in (remember D, she was the one who made my shaorma, the one who speaks really good English  ya that one). Mind is BLOWN, so I go and talk to her for a bit, just thanking her, and the Lord, for coming and asked her how she was. Sora S (probably spelled that one wrong) talked to her for the rest of the evening and its pretty much the coolest story ever. 

So the night that we saw her was the last night of her working there. Her brother had died and she was really angry with God. After we had left, she said that she felt her anger leave and felt that we had been sent by God. It was so cool to hear this, such an amazing experience. She came to church on Sunday and I hear that the Sisters will be teaching her this week. I know that we were placed there for a reason. It is amazing to think that we were in the right place at the right time and were worthy of the Holy Ghost.

So yesterday was my birthday and it was probably the best birthday ever. So I was sick with the same thing I had in the MTC on Saturday, and I really didn't want to be sick on my birthday. We had to stay home Saturday evening cause I just couldn't go anywhere. Sunday was even worse, but I had to go to church, so I sorta fibbed to my companion (shh). We went to church and it was so hard to do anything. All I could think about was how hot it was, how much I hurt and how much my head hurt. But I was determined to make it through. Church ends and Elder Harrison wants to see an investigator who wasn't there and then decides that I need to go home. I didn't put up much of a fuss and as we are walking home he starts talking about how we have nothing to eat for my birthday, how we forgot to buy a cake...But I have been trying really  hard to see the blessings in my life, so I stated that being with a great companion, in a great district  in the amazing city of Timisoara, in Romania, on a Mission was good enough for me. 

So we get to the apartment and before we enter the door, Elder Harrison remembers that he needed to go tell Sora H (Senior couple, awesome people) how to do something. It is now misting, yes misting, and I'm just not all there, but still working to look for blessings decided I could wait a half-hour or so, and as we are heading to their apartment he is contacting everyone we see, which is a good thing, but pushing the line for me. Then he mistakes another building for the H's. So the question that you must be asking yourself is 1) Why is this the best birthday ever and 2) is companion is a terrible human being. Ok, well here's where it goes all good. We go up in the elevator and I see the H's with 4 other people with their hands up making an arch and my first thought is "The H's are doing some meet your neighbor activity" then I realize that it is my district and they had prepared dinner for my birthday. It was really nice because it was completely by surprise and it just made a hard day really nice. They tried so hard to make my favorite meal (Pot roast), but had to settle for a pork roast. It was still really nice, and really really good. I miss the whole Sunday meal from back home. So the whole experience was really nice.

Oricum, thats all for this week, I love you all and pray for you all.

Pa!

(note from Mom:  "Oricum" means "anyway" according to Google Translate)

Birthday pictures from Elder and Sister H's blog:

Birthday cheesecake!  How did they know the Ormsby love of cheesecake? 

Elder H sings!  I hope Elder H and Elder Ormsby do a duet for the branch.

Surprise Birthday dinner with the district.

D (from the story above) and Sora K.  D is writing a story about the missionaries and her school is sending it to Bucharest for a competition.

Week 11

Ok so we have all heard everyone say that their mission is the best and how everyone else told them that theirs was the best and so on, but that's just because they haven't been to Romania. I love it here. The people of Timişoară are fantastic and so nice. They just accept what you give them with a polite thank you very much and either continue on their way or else they stop and listen. 

The members here are fantastic. There aren't very many, but the ones that are here have great testimony. They are all very patient with the new boboc and are just a great group of people. I love each and every one of them. 

So, everyone who has been on a mission has had this moment come to them at some point in their mission. One of the days last week, it was ridiculously hard to wake up. Then there was a lot of rocks in the road. People were just saying no, and not listening at all and one of our investigators wasn't progressing. Anyways, I was a little down, and I just thought "Come on, give me someone to teach that's all I want OK, Its not a lot, just something" the thought then came to me of a talk that Elder Bednar gave at the MTC the Christmas before I was there. He stated that we need to have patience, that sometimes we follow the thought process of a beloved blue monster on a childrens tv show. "I want cookie NOW!!!" Sometimes we say "I want investigator NOW!!!" "I want baptism NOW!!!!" Have patience and know that God hears your prayers.  So I took the hint, I said "ok, I get it, how about a little sign, just something to lift my spirits, how about a pink hat. Show me a pink hat and then Ill know that I am doing the right thing and that you care" It was a really hard day ok. So my companion, the ever faithful Elder Harrison, decided to go Block Knocking. Its this thing that we missionaries do when we go door to door in an apartment building. Anyways, I decided that block knocking again didn't sound fun and so I was trying to steer us to Centru, the town square, to go and get some chocolate pretzels  He pulls up short and points out a block. "That one." Ok, so we go and attempt to get in by ringing up to someone. First one tells us its late (730?) and that we shouldn't talk to people at this time. Next one no answer. Third one however buzzed us up. So we go up and knock on the door and are LET IN!!!! We had a really great lesson and left a Book of Mormon with him and his roommate. 

As we were coming home, and I was saying my thanks to my Heavenly Father, we saw someone that looked similar to a gentleman who asked us for a Book of Mormon and a lesson, but gave us the wrong number on accident. We had been looking for him and praying to find him. I told Elder Harrison, "If this is Ioan, it will be too much" AND IT WAS!!! We set up for a lesson and he gave us his address. It was fantastic and really shows that the Lord does love us, we just need to be humble and ask him for help when we are feeling down. 

The next day, it was brought to my attention that as we were walking home, Sora Kelly contacted a lady with a pink hat...I love this work. It really is hard, but everything that is worth doing in this life is hard. I love you all so much and hope that you can read this and understand the little things in life.

Elder Ormsby