Week 29 – Galaţi, Romania
This week has had some very interesting twists to it. The start of the week really didn’t bring anything special, we just went out and did our traba and moved on. We went on an exchange with our Zone Leaders which was really great. We went to lunch on a boat, floating on the Danube! It was so great! Really cheap, and really good. The funny part to this story is what I ate/drank. So nothing to crazy with the food, I had a chicken, ham, and apple salad, with a sauce that was exactly like fry sauce. It was okay, but what I drank is the fun part. I had a Safe S** on the Beach! They sell that without alcohol. So I bought one, and it was sadly delicious! So fruity! I can now say that I have sipped a delicious Safe S** on the Beach beverage on the Danube in Eastern Europe…Whoa. That was fun. After that we kept working and moved forward.
On Sunday came the crazy travel and a twist. So we have been working with an investigator for some time now, and we decided that we needed to change his baptismal date back another week, so it is now on the 28th of June. We also decided that he needs to come to church for three consecutive weeks in a row before baptism, which he hasn’t come to one. This last week was the first week to start the three weeks, and lead him to the water. However, he didn’t come. We were really bummed because now we need to move it back another week! AGH! SO I go down to the main floor, and one of the sister missionaries stops me and tells me that there is a woman here that knows me and first companion. I had no idea who it was, so I went over to say hi. I knew her! About four months ago she let us in her apartment in her block. (She was the first person on my mission to do that). She wasn’t really interested in the church at the time but we left a Book of Mormon with a small testimony in it. She told me that she had been reading the Book of Mormon every night! She was all the way in Mosiah 25! She continued to tell me that she just felt really good when reading it. That led her to come to church this last Sunday. That was a complete shock, and one I give thanks to Heavenly Father for. After the meetings I talked with her again, and I asked her what she thought. She said it was great, and she told me she would come to as many of them as she could! It was a real testimony builder for me because we honestly thought that nothing had happened with her! It was so cool to realize that Heavenly Father keeps an eye out for all His children, and what may have been a failure to us at the time, was actually a great success. It was really cool to see her there and we will probably let the Sora’s work with her. That was really cool!
Right after church we had a 9 hour Maxi Taxi ride through Iasi to Chisinau. That was a bit rough, and bumpy but it was all good. (One of the other elders and I talked Star Wars for probably two hours…I am still me I guess 😉 ). We arrived safe and sound at 11ish in Chisinau, and went right to bed. We hurried off to our Zone Conference in the morning. It was seven hours long (one was for lunch), but it was so good! It was also sad, because that might have been the last time I will see President and Sora Hill again, for a long time. They have been such great people to have here for this mission. I am really excited to see how President and Sora Ivory work her though. I think it will be really great!
I did buy some really cool stuff, and I am going to be sending home a pretty big package here in the next month I think. It will be pretty big. I found some really cool stuff, but most of it will end up in the package home, because I really don’t have space for stuff out here. We really enjoyed our time in Chisinau. It was fun to be with everyone, however we as missionaries are never off! I contacted a ton of people at the small stores and handed out pass along cards all over the place. I realized how much I love telling people about the Gospel. I love it. It is so much fun, and easy! i just tell them what makes me so happy!
On our train ride home from Iasi to Galaţi, we chatted with this girl for a long time, and she told me that when I speak Romanian I have a Moldovan accent! That was cool to hear from her. Nothing came from that contact, but now she knows who we are!
Oh there was another story I wanted to share with you. Okay, so we were walking on the street this last week towards the church for something, when this lady stared at us (very common). Normally I would just keep walking, but this time I stopped and started chatting with her. With zero help from my companion, I had a conversation about the church and her life, asked question, and understood what she was saying all in Romanian. We gave her a Book of Mormon and we are going to call her today to see if we can meet up with her. I walked away and realized that I hadn’t just not needed help, but I spoke fluently and correctly. It was by every means the gift of tongues. I couldn’t believe it, and I had a very full heart to tell Heavenly Father that night. It was incredible. whoa…I am bilingual. Life has been very good hear this past week. I am just ready to get out there and keep sharing the Gospel!
I am super envious of those missionaries that got to go mountain biking with you! I have really missed those trails! I am sure that was a nice break for those guys that were there. That is way cool about Mr. Stubbs. He really was a great teacher. I loved choir so much. Go MOTAB! Hey for the summer you should go and learn how to kayak! That would be fun! I don’t really know what to tell you, because my definition of fun right now is very different for the little kids. I wonder what would happen if the t.v. disappeared for a week…hmmmm.
The apartment you saw is the other Elders apartment, and it is the biggest one in the mission. It is so nice, and I love the modern look too! I could live in something like that for a long time, and be very comfortable. The pictures of the small city thing, is indeed Costache Negri and everything with that has seemed to come to a stop. I don’t know what happened, but we have done everything that we could to move the process along. It is tough to see so much struggling and not do anything about it.
I hope things with work and summer fun keep happening and that you are all staying very close to the Savior!
Love, Varstnicul Oldham