From March 16, 2015
This week was filled with.... Romania!We had a zone conference thing in Ploiesti. So we had to leave Tuesday and the conference was the next morning. The train ride was great.. even if it was long. nothing like the Carpathian mountains.We got in, ate at a sketchy but pretty decent little diner, then crashed at the ZL's place. Elders Montoya and Speyer are so sick. We had a good time and got prepped for the next day. They did really well talking about the heart of missionary work, and expressing what we feel and relating to people. It was awesome and the best way to do missionary work in Romania. Make friends and love em and show them the gospel. It is coooooool!I was asked to share my personal conversion story. It was cool to talk about. I realized it's a continuous path and I'm still on it.Just finding joy in the journey!So then we got on another train to Bucuresti. We got there, adventured around for a little while and tried to go to this restaurant Caru' cu Bere. We walked in and there were people in traditional clothing dancing together. It was so awesome haha, but the place was packed. SO we had to go to Pizza Hut because we were lacking time and Bucuresti knowledge - the place is huge. Elder Reed spilled water all over himself, it was awesome.The over night train was a good time. I went home to Arad. I love that place. It was awesome to see again. The weather was exactly how it was when I first got into the country. I had an awesome talk with Elder Smith who is in the District Presidency of basically all of central to western Romania. He got me stoked and gave me a solid commitment to get things going even more in Sibiu and even reaching out to a city where there used to be a branch called Deva. So basically in the next few weeks we are going to be reaching out to the members there and setting up a group for them. Next thing you know there'll be a branch and missionaries there again. Thats the vision.I saw my very first real friend/investigator Ghiti get baptized. It was the coolest thing ever. We gave each other the biggest hug when he came in and were able to visit with each other for a while and catch up. I love this man!
I remember who he used to be and watched him change and saw how much of a solid/happy and committed guy he is to following God. I was able to speak at his baptism and talk about the amazing memories we have and about the incredible potential we all have when we follow Christ and come closer to God. His whole family was there and some awesome members that I used to be close with. We had a solid time together, it was incredible!
We had to stop in Cluj on our travels home. It's such an awesome place.We ate some indian food. haha. I want to go to school in this place... :)We finally got back to Sibiu on a crammed bus ride. It was an adventurous week.So yeah, things are awesome. We are happy and doin this work. Well not really, God is handling it. We are just little instruments. It's the coolest.So if anything, find JOY in the journey and make it all matter because you have ZERO lives left on earth. Love God and FOLLOW Him.
Things are happening here in Romania/Moldova. It makes me happy. I love these people!And I love you all.over and out- Elder Boydstun
