Alex Raducanu's Baptism!

Conductor!

Last Train to Buch'ville!

Oxygen Deprivation @ 10k

Buna Ziua Dragi Frati si Surori

The highlight of the week was the baptism of Alex Raducanu!  Super cool kid that Elder Barclay found about a year back.  I had the opportunity to teach him and his family for the last few weeks and I asked that he start thinking of a date for baptism and out of nowhere he caught us off guard and said (last) Friday!  It was a super cool day for him and the missionaries.  His dad is a member but his mother and little brother are not.  They all have been attending church for about a year but the mother was a super strong orthodox member and stumbles on doctrine a lot and has a ton of difficult questions for us missionaries.  I feel like she is testing us, and the gospel, to make sure we have all the right answers. Obviously we don’t have all the answers so a lot is left up to faith on her part.  I say this because at the baptism, Alex asked that his mom come up to the stand and bare her testimony with him.  It was super emotional for her and it was a big step forward for the family.  I can tell the little brother is ready for baptism but is still a little unsure; same with the mother. 

Work, work, work - Elder Dearden is go all the time!  We spend lots of time in blocks and on the street contacting, which is good.  I received my iPod and am pretty surprised with the music selection – Thanks Shanley!  I can now listen to Steely Dan and Don Henley (who the heck are Steely Dan and Don Henley? – Haha!) 

We didn’t meet with Florin (beard guy) this week but he asked that we come over tomorrow to talk with him some more.  The success has slowed down a lot lately but I guess it’s just how things work.  Don’t have too many other strong investigators to talk about but I have hopes for Florin! 

The weather has been a bit chilly and super windy lately! I hope it starts warming up and the sun comes out because I am ready for spring!

Things Romanians say . . . Ce tare - Literal translation is "what loud" but they use it as "cool" or "Sick"
Romanian
-Uite, am pantofii nou!
-Tare!
English
-Look, I have new shoes!
-Sick!

Gnomes are Following Me!

Walk in the Park!

Not Sure What's Happening Here?

Peles and Me

Bears at Church?

Sr. Companion

Staying in Ploiesti with Elder Dearden!

Something that we just found out today is that Alex Raducanu asked to be baptized this Friday which is pretty sweet!  If you don’t remember, Elder Harris and I asked him to start thinking of a day to be baptized a few weeks ago.


We also found this guy last week that I didn’t tell you about.  His name is Florin and he has a sweet beard. He also has a speech problem and it sounds like the words get caught in his awesome beard.  Other than being super hard to understand, he is just a cool guy who told us he likes to talk about religion and asked us to come back another day!  We've had two lessons with him so far and I think he is liking it.  Last night he asked "what are you guys doing here, like do you want to baptize me in your church or what?"  I was nervous to respond ‘cause people don’t like conversion here but we just responded and said "it’s our responsibility to share a message to everyone, whether they believe it or not."  Dearden asked him that if he were to listen to all of our lessons, and come to find it to be true, if he would be baptized . . . he just said "se poate" (it’s possible) so he is probably the best investigator we have right now and the one I’m most excited about! 


All that excitement about all the people i met last week died down... Most the people didnt pick up their phone this week! Some of them have been in the hospital and some are just crazy and we decided to not go back to their house. 


We had our branch conference yesterday and it went pretty well!  We had 50 people at church instead of the usual 30.  The cool part happened in priesthood though.  Gott’a say that Romanian men are super macho and have a super tough outside and don’t show emotions at all.  With that being said . . . We started priesthood and the area president from Bucharest (Pres. Doru) asked that we do an experiment instead of a lesson.  He just started to tell one of the members (Fratele Fotea) how much he loved him and admired him.  It got super emotional for those two and they hugged it out after.  Then Doru asked that Fotea choose one of the members in the room and do the same.  Then that person would choose another, and so on ‘till everyone had something said about them.  It was super cool to see everyone go around the room and get all emotional.  Usually, because Romanians are such passionate and argumentative people, priesthood meeting turns into a giant argument where everyone tries to talk over one another.  By the end of the meeting, everyone was just quiet and it was like a fresh start for the branch!  


The weather here is really warming up and it makes it easier to go outside and work.  I’m liking it more than when it was cold and walking through mountains of snow to get here and there! 


Things Romanians Say . . . 


Stai frumous! (sit beautifully) - Everything in this country is done beautifully!  The way you sit, stand, walk, talk, run, eat, and so on.  They even ask beautifully!  Just like little kids say "pretty please" in English, EVERY Romanian does the same thing . . . Va rog frumous (To you, I ask beautifully) regardless of age, you ask in a beautiful manner.  


Love you guys so much and miss you!  


Elder Brown