Miracle after Miracle

HI FAMILY!!

  IT was great to hear from you today!  Everything sounds great at home. This could be a little short today, b/c of lack of time.  This week was great! We have 2 investigators that are ACTUALLY INTERESTED!! its so cool to see people that actually want to meet with us. We have a man named Toleek who is 27 and an absolute BOSS.  He just started out as an English lesson then HE brought up the church and we meet with him twice a week with our less active on the lessons with us.  it so amazing to see the Gospel change not only my life but also Sveta (less active) and Toleek's too. Toleek said that since we've been meeting with him, we've changed his life.   It wasn't me or my comp at all, it was the Spirit and the Atonement.  I'm so grateful to be the instrument that God uses to make this work possible here in this area of my mission. I've seen miracle after miracle.  And I've realized that if you want a miracle and you're doing your part...just ASK.  Classic example, this morning its was way cold and windy and gross, and we all wanted to play Basketball for the first time in a LONG time for P-day.  So I said a little prayer to myself that we could see the sun today...I went into the kitchen to eat breakfast and the clouds opened up and the sun hit pretty much just our kitchen, like the rest of the sky was gloomy and cold (and hailing) and as I'm eating, the heavens opened and our building was completely covered by sun shine.  It was a tender moment for me that again let me know that God is listening to me. What a blessing.  Last night we met with a man named Andrey...he wants to get baptized and has been keeping commitments with everything! However he works on Sunday.  and that's the only thing that is holding him back that I can see from entering in the the waters of baptism. Its been so hard for me to try and bring up the subject of keeping the sabbath day holy because I was afraid of what he might say, but it was hammer time and the Spirit helped us out a TON on our lesson.   He told us he feels great when ever he meets with us and that he wants to get baptized.   We gave some pretty heavy promises and it was way powerful. He  wants to talk to his boss and see if he can get Sundays off so he can come to church!  I'm so excited for him.  But I was doing a lot of pondering about why I was so afraid to ask him to him to give some things up for the Lord because I shouldn't be afraid to ask someone Right?  I came up with the conclusion that the reason I was afraid to be bold and tell him straight that he has to be at church was because I'm finally starting to love the people here and I don't want to offend them not because of the Church or anything like but because I just really want them to experience happiness and it gets scary bringing up some of the Gospel laws because I just don't want to lose them because these people are awesome.  I'm having a great time here, things  get hard but I rely on my Heavenly Father and my district actually a lot more than I thought I would.  These Elders are rock solid, and I'm so blessed to have been put in the same areas as these men.  Anyways,  I love you all so much, keep working hard and choosing to see miracles because they happen all the time, you just have to open your eyes and see them.

- Elder Rooney

 

Goodbye Winter

Hey Family,

  Another week has gone by, my mission is FLYING by. its great to hear from you all!  I got a letter from EVERYONE of you! thank you so much! its means a lot. I'm so grateful to have an amazing family.  My comp and I are doing great. Its been the biggest blessing and I'm learning a ton.  I miss having "me" time not gonna lie, it'll be nice to be able to relax once this is all done, but for now, its game time.  I have never been so tired in my life and sleep time is SO nice.  My trainer goes home in a few weeks, and I'm gonna miss him a ton b/c he's been my best friend, not to mention he was my buddy at BYU.  Its kinda hard seeing all my friends home already or going home (from missions), I was thinking a little about Life after the mission (which I try not to do all that often) but I realized that all my friends (from BYU) will have been home for a year already and already in the groove of everything, or married.  My life will literally be so different, especially with friends from home ( Garrett, Danny...etc) b/c I'll be in Utah and working and I'll have to grow up some, which probably means less trips home, surfing...etc.  it makes me way sad actually, but its ok...its time to move on and change is good.  I just have to use my faith and know that God has a plan for me, and that everything will ok and it'll all work out.  

    The weather here is playing games with me, its FINALLY warming up! GOODBYE WINTER! I'm so excited, I'm OVER the cold. It was funny, the past few days the sun has been out and is melting everything and pretty much the Nile River runs down every single street thanks to horrible drainage systems, if any. Things are going well and we are actually having some investigators! I'm really excited to see what happens this transfer.  We had a PMG class that we started in this branch and it went really well, the kids were getting way into it.  Hopefully the momentum picks up here and stays strong. I'm still blown away at the strength of the youth here.  K well, here's my little advice for the week, and it comes from something that my comp's high school coach told him.  He asked  him if you need to have any certain abilities or talents in order to bulldoze a building, the answer is NO. Anyone can take a beautiful bldg and knock it down with a big metal ball, not hard at all....Then his question was "what kinda of person does it take to create and build that beautiful bldg?"  The answer is, a special person. not just any one can do something like that.   So when you are out with your friends or someone starts gossiping about someone, just remember that anyone old person can say something mean or crude (or whatever to that effect) to tear or break someone down, but its takes a special person to build someone up.    Have a great week everybody!  thanks for your prayers

-Elder Rooney

PS peanut butter is NON existent here...if you want to send others things the CD "Eclipse" is amazing its acapella and just small American candies or things that I can give to members...Thanks for everything, seriously love you all so much.

New Companion

Hey family!

   Thanks for your letters mom dad and Kyle! Dad, your insight about receiving the Holy Ghost when confirmed was way cool.  It is a gift but we still have to choose to live worthily in order to use it in our lives.  The army of Helaman sounds like it was a success and we really need things like that over here. Thanks for your letters and I’ll pray about everything about when I’m coming home I got the schedule for BYU so we'll see what happens. 

  This week was the biggest tender mercy ever.  It just builds my testimony about how when you go through trials and try your best, God blesses you with more than you can handle.  I have a new companion, he's from Utah Roosevelt?  Something like that and he’s great.  we work so well together, I’m not training but  my comp just came from being trained  ...and a few days ago we taught a lesson and it was his 3RD lesson in Russian....how he's gone 2 transfers without any RUSSIAN lesson where everyone here speaks RUSSIAN....beats me.  He's 180 degree change from my last companion.  It’s a huge blessing. So here's my story for the week.  This is one of my favorite experiences on my mission.  We had a lesson with 3 of the youth where we teach a little English lesson and then a spiritual thought.  Their names are Alena, Sveta, and Kostia. They are all 17 and SOOO strong.  Sveta was inactive for 3 years, and my 1st Sunday here was her 1st day back and she came only b/c of a youth night that we started the Friday before, for the 1st time.  She hasn't missed Sunday yet and now she wants to serve a mission.  But that day at district meeting we set a ton of way good goals that we ACTUALLY will accomplish.  There is some much faith and work in this new district and we are all so motivated and SO STOKED for this transfer!  My zone leader is my MTC comp....I’m literally serving in paradise right now.   But in our lesson, we started talking about missionary and we all got SO PUMPED.  The faith of the youth here (the few) is SO strong and blows me away. I can’t even describe the feeling that was there when we met together.  The topic of missionary work came up and they all got so excited, i was prompted to share our goals that we made that day and they were so excited about everything.  We shared with them how in America we have Mutual every week and that there are callings and things to go along with it, they were shocked.  And they were so pumped about everything, then we shared with them that it’s going to be like America here someday and but we just have to have more members and a functioning program.  We then talked about how missionaries here, don’t do what missionaries at home do.  Missionaries in other booming places teach people.  the members find and the missionaries teach (at least that’s how it’s supposed to be)  Pres Hinckley said that the better way to missionary work is through the members, members on lessons...etc.  And we talked about the situation in Ukraine right now and how were progressing but we have SO FAR to GO!  They eventually came to the conclusion that it’s all in the members' hands.  They even said that, b/c missionaries can only do so much, but missionaries LEAVE and members stay.  They got so pumped and Alena said this “I want to receive my celestial glory in the Donestk temple"...I was blown away.  My description doesn’t to any justice for how much progress was just made in this area. I can’t even begin to describe the feeling of the spirit that was there. It’s finally starting.  the spark its happening and I hope I get to help it out while I’m here.   I love my life, I’m literally in paradise.  My mission isn’t about numbers and baptisms. It’s all about how I can become more like my Savior. We are literally building the kingdom here.  And striving to do what our Savior did and is still doing.  I can't imagine not coming here and going through everything...I’m just so grateful for everything I’ve learned.  I know this letter probably doesn’t sound all that crazy but that’s just b/c I cant type or write well haha but I also want you to know that after that meeting with those kids, I couldn’t fall asleep I was so amazed.  The Spirit was so strong and I felt God's love so strongly.  It was a very powerful experience.   I’m just so happy to be here and it'll be a hard day when I have to take my tag off.   Keep working hard and I love you all with all my heart.

-Sean

 

Gift of the Spirit

Hey family!

I got a little carried away writing a sibling of mine so this letter will be a bit short.  It sounds like there was a great week of birthdays! Happy Birthday once again!  This week was great.  I love this branch that I’m serving in!  These members will never leave my heart. We have transfers on Thursday and word on the street is that I’m training?!  We’ll see what happens; I’m excited for a change. I’m staying in my area and couldn't be more grateful.  I know that all of my companions are given to me by God.  I’ve learned so much form every single one. I've seen miracle after miracle on my mission and JUST realized that I’ve been under utilizing the Gift of the Spirit.  I thought I was getting a hold on things....HA! I'm learning more and more every day that the spirit in my life will as big of a deal as I make of it. One of the hardest things for me is following the promptings I receive. I feel so young and immature in the gospel sometimes.  And then I see others around me that don’t even know who or what God is.  God's Plan is crazy...for example in my 1st area, we were in a village and the OLD woman was walking up to her "Dacha" and she looked like she lived a tough life.  Her years were very apparent and her life had taken a tole on her body to say the least.  She had probably done the same thing every day for the past 10 or so years.  Walking with her cain, body bent over, moving very slowly, up a good sized hill, through dirt mud and rocks.....what is God's plan for her? Why do I have the Gospel in my life?  These are just some things that I ponder sometimes.  This whole experience is crazy and I wouldn’t change it for the world.   Thanks for all that you do family and friends!  I feel your love and prayers.  Keep striving to become better every day. I love you all

- Старейшина Руни