FAMDIZZLE...
Wow, sounds like the Rooney Hotel was used to capacity this week! That's what I like to hear! YOU SAW A WHALE?! WHAT!? Did anyone touch it? or jump on it? I feel like if I saw a whale that would be the first thing to go through my mind..."jump man, you got this". Gosh I love Catalina! It’s great to hear the boat is getting used. Dad, I still can’t get over the fact that you’re not a Bishop anymore; do you feel like you have a ton of extra time now? I have a job for one of you, Find Sandy Bertha, my friend Alex's mom, and throw her on the my email list b/c she dear elders me ;literally every week and I keep forgetting her email. She’s awesome! Kyle! how was asb camp? You’re gunna be a SENIOR...WHAT? Blows my mind. and what is Kimi's deal? school? BYU? working? possible marriage? I feel like she got home from her mission and she fell off the face of the earth...let me know please :) Sounds like a party at home, as it should be. NATE!! Thanks for the Belt buckle!!! Nobody here understands why that’s funny, but I don’t care haha I think is rad. Mom, I got you're football...thank you so much. I really loved getting it, we'll use it soon. Football is one of the few "get-aways" we can have here to feel American again haha.
K, so this week in paradise (as Mr. Haun would say) was the saddest week ever. But, still the Lord manages to help us endure. In the beginning of last transfer, we were having a ton of success finding people and getting investigators. My companion told me that that was rare, and now I know why. This week, we had 1 investigator lesson...and that was all. Nothing else happened and we worked hard. The reason why it was a sad week, was b/c that lesson we had was with Roza and she dropped us HARD. I've met people here that I have really come to like and only few that I have come to love. Roza was like my investigator mom in the mission. In our lesson, things just didn’t feel the same; she started acting like a normal Ukrainian. It was really weird b/c from the start of that lesson I could tell that things weren’t gunna end well. First of all, I hate Satan, he's....kj;krltihaeigrasr AHHHHH...a meanie for lack of better words. I don’t think I’ve ever been that sad in my life honestly than I did that night when I watched Roza start to reject her very reason for being on the earth, the only thing that will help become truly happy, the BEST thing that could EVER happen to ANYONE...the love of Christ. This Gospel is literally the gateway to happiness and for someone to see that and tell me that she knows what we're teaching her is true and then to reject the very message that will save her from the misery she's feeling....breaks my heart almost literally. When we were about to leave her apt, I gave her the most heartfelt testimony that I could conjure up...I broke down in the middle of it. This was a hard time in my life. To see someone that you care for so deeply just deny feelings of the Holy Ghost...is a hard thing. She lost track of the importance of the Gospel. So that was on Monday, then of course we have a hot week so everyone goes to the sea, as in the streets are literally empty. The members here don’t get it and I know I have a missionary perspective but still, our branch is a wreck. The leadership down the drain except for 2 guys that have their heads on straight other than that, nothing is done properly. We tell them how things are supposed to go down and it just doesn’t get done. A lot of it is because we have a young branch and just everything here honestly isn’t up to par. Things are just tough here, but the good part is, is that I’m learning a ton! God's plan is great that’s for sure...but it’s still perfect and we just have to trust in that. I’m really excited to be on a mission b/c I’ve learned SO MUCH about so many things and I’m just in the beginning of my second transfer! To not come on a mission would literally have been the worst mistake of my life. One thing I’ve learned that I’ve come to apply in my life here is to celebrate your differences. With whoever or whatever...celebrate your differences. I’ve learned that life is AMAZING. The Spirit truly can be with you at all times. I've learned that not getting offended is crucial. Jesus really was the PERFECT example. This gospel is the true plan of happy NESS. God loves you. I love you all too! Missionary work is tough, but I love it. I’m having a great time here, and smiling is always worth it. Have a great week!
- Старейшина Руни
"This is sick!!" peace, Elder Dude
Monday, August 15, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
The "Dotcha"
HI FAMILY!!!
Sounds like things are going great at home! It’s good to hear that you're FINALLY putting some use to the boat. Good times with that thing. Well, i actually took notes of things i wanted to write to you all this and of course i left it at my temporary home so we'll see how this goes haha. To start...this week was awesome. The weeks here seem to fly by faster and faster. Some of my way good friends went home last week finishing great missions and that was kinda sad but life goes on. Now we have 2 sisters in our district! One of them is from Laguna Hills and the other is a "mini" missionary, which means she is from this mission and is only serving a transfer. It’s cool to see how girls work and how they keep the boys in line. One of them kinda talks to us like we're in 2nd grade ALL the time. It’s a little ridiculous but she's gunna be an elementary school teacher so it’s understandable.
K wow, this week was a rush. But I’m going to introduce you to a man named Valenteen.
This man helped change my view on life. He is one of the most humble people I’ve ever met in my life. He is an absolute genius. So i met him for the first time on Tuesday, and we went over to his apartment and the first thing he does is try to sell us old soviet things as most older people do. This guy seems kinda crazy but he's way dope. Anyways, after we got acquainted we had a small lesson about miracles. I then asked him to see if he could remember anything in his life that he would consider a "miracle".
He goes on to tell us that he has had 100's. Here are a few...so 2 weeks ago he remembered this girl that he studied with at a university and for some reason really wanted to see her but she moved to Italy and has been living there for 6 years. He prayed one morning and said " God...if it’s not too much, i would like a miracle and i would like to see my friend again....(i forgot her name)..Amen". Well, that day he was sitting on a marshootka (bus) and he saw his friend sitting on another one parked next to his!! He gets out and talks to her and then they go on their way. It was the friend he wanted to see!! and what’s even crazier is that she was only here for 1 DAY...next miracle...so the day we went and saw him for the first time, we walked into his apartment and there was this receipt thing outside his door that he looked at but didn’t pay too much attention too...well he goes on to tell us about another "small" miracle he had. Turns out his shoes broke that day and in the morning he prayed saying..."God if it’s not too much...i need shoes....amen" (those were pretty much his exact words hahah he can speak in broken English). That paper on his door when we walked in was a receipt thing that was mailed to him from New York from his son (who lives there) for 10 PAIRS OF SHOES!!! he prayed THAT morning for shoes and that night he got the notice saying that his son sent him 10 pairs of shoes...isn’t that incredible?! Now, here's a miracle that he considers a "big" miracle. So, something happened to where he decided that he needed a car...you can tell where this one is going...and he prayed to God for a miracle that he might be able to receive a car. So what happens? He goes to the store and sees that there is a drawing just like at the mall where you write down your information and throw it in a big box and they draw your name and you win...which never happens. Well, my good friend Valenteen puts his name in and ends up winning a brand new car. His reasoning for all of these miracles that he receives is that he works hard. Not just hard, but he works his best. He says that we have to show Heavenly Father that we're worth it, and that we're working our hardest for what we have. He has so much faith and he's humble about everything. He is not wealthy in the least bit but works hard for what he needs and God does the rest.
This week we went and did service at his Dotcha. It’s their "summer home" that everyone has but they're usually always in worse shape than where the regularly live so it’s not much of a vacation. So we went there and this place is just a mess that before the mission i would have completely overwhelmed to even look at and to think that people live there would just be impossible. I'll send you some pictures but it made me appreciate yet again, what I’ve been blessed with.
When we were there we made cement out of scratch and started cementing this house he was making. We literally smashed rocks and went to a stream for the water and added this mix thing he had and made our own cement...then used it. The Ukrainians have a different way of doing things which isn’t the best way almost ALL the time but they've been doing it that certain way their whole lives and they don’t want to change their ways...which is why everything here is 50 years in the past and breaking. Anyways, the house we were working on wasn’t nearly close to being done. We asked him what it was for and he said that it was a home for the missionaries and that he had been working on it for 7 years....and that his goal for the rest of the year is to stop everything and work only on this house. He’s amazing...but the sad part is, is that the missionaries definitely won’t be able to live there cuz of how poor the conditions are. I'll send pictures of it and just look around to see what’s holding things up and the place where these people live.
Then they fed us borsh and tea which was way good. But when we ate, we ate outside, sitting on logs cuz the inside of their place well...just wouldn’t have worked out.
So that was our experience with Valenteen at his Dotcha. On Friday he introduced us to his friend Yoory. Yoory is the Number one model ship builder in Ukraine and has the medals to prove it. So if you want a boat just let me know and he'll sell to us haha. The pictures are pretty funny.
This week has been awesome! i think my "greenie fire" has rubbed off on my companion cuz we work hard and are obedient now FINALLY. It’s great to have the spirit with you. I’ve really learned that you have to qualify for the spirit; it doesn’t just come on in to your life. I’ve also learned that everything goes better if you have an eternal perspective and it’s so easy to love people when you do that...even drunk people that want to end your life haha. I’ve also come to realize how important it is to have Hope and I’m really going to dig in to the meaning "perfect brightness of hope". Here in this mission, things don’t usually turn out the way you hoped, but with hope...your attitude changes and everything doesn’t seem so bad.
I’ve also really come to realize that if people don’t want to listen to you...it’s not that you are a bad missionary; it’s just not their time yet. And our job is to find those who are prepared, and usually those people find us. Anyways, i love this work and i love the trials i go through because that’s what’s shaping me. If you want to be happy and full of joy...serve someone. I love you all!! Have a great week!!
- Старейшина Руни
Sounds like things are going great at home! It’s good to hear that you're FINALLY putting some use to the boat. Good times with that thing. Well, i actually took notes of things i wanted to write to you all this and of course i left it at my temporary home so we'll see how this goes haha. To start...this week was awesome. The weeks here seem to fly by faster and faster. Some of my way good friends went home last week finishing great missions and that was kinda sad but life goes on. Now we have 2 sisters in our district! One of them is from Laguna Hills and the other is a "mini" missionary, which means she is from this mission and is only serving a transfer. It’s cool to see how girls work and how they keep the boys in line. One of them kinda talks to us like we're in 2nd grade ALL the time. It’s a little ridiculous but she's gunna be an elementary school teacher so it’s understandable.
K wow, this week was a rush. But I’m going to introduce you to a man named Valenteen.
This man helped change my view on life. He is one of the most humble people I’ve ever met in my life. He is an absolute genius. So i met him for the first time on Tuesday, and we went over to his apartment and the first thing he does is try to sell us old soviet things as most older people do. This guy seems kinda crazy but he's way dope. Anyways, after we got acquainted we had a small lesson about miracles. I then asked him to see if he could remember anything in his life that he would consider a "miracle".
He goes on to tell us that he has had 100's. Here are a few...so 2 weeks ago he remembered this girl that he studied with at a university and for some reason really wanted to see her but she moved to Italy and has been living there for 6 years. He prayed one morning and said " God...if it’s not too much, i would like a miracle and i would like to see my friend again....(i forgot her name)..Amen". Well, that day he was sitting on a marshootka (bus) and he saw his friend sitting on another one parked next to his!! He gets out and talks to her and then they go on their way. It was the friend he wanted to see!! and what’s even crazier is that she was only here for 1 DAY...next miracle...so the day we went and saw him for the first time, we walked into his apartment and there was this receipt thing outside his door that he looked at but didn’t pay too much attention too...well he goes on to tell us about another "small" miracle he had. Turns out his shoes broke that day and in the morning he prayed saying..."God if it’s not too much...i need shoes....amen" (those were pretty much his exact words hahah he can speak in broken English). That paper on his door when we walked in was a receipt thing that was mailed to him from New York from his son (who lives there) for 10 PAIRS OF SHOES!!! he prayed THAT morning for shoes and that night he got the notice saying that his son sent him 10 pairs of shoes...isn’t that incredible?! Now, here's a miracle that he considers a "big" miracle. So, something happened to where he decided that he needed a car...you can tell where this one is going...and he prayed to God for a miracle that he might be able to receive a car. So what happens? He goes to the store and sees that there is a drawing just like at the mall where you write down your information and throw it in a big box and they draw your name and you win...which never happens. Well, my good friend Valenteen puts his name in and ends up winning a brand new car. His reasoning for all of these miracles that he receives is that he works hard. Not just hard, but he works his best. He says that we have to show Heavenly Father that we're worth it, and that we're working our hardest for what we have. He has so much faith and he's humble about everything. He is not wealthy in the least bit but works hard for what he needs and God does the rest.
This week we went and did service at his Dotcha. It’s their "summer home" that everyone has but they're usually always in worse shape than where the regularly live so it’s not much of a vacation. So we went there and this place is just a mess that before the mission i would have completely overwhelmed to even look at and to think that people live there would just be impossible. I'll send you some pictures but it made me appreciate yet again, what I’ve been blessed with.
When we were there we made cement out of scratch and started cementing this house he was making. We literally smashed rocks and went to a stream for the water and added this mix thing he had and made our own cement...then used it. The Ukrainians have a different way of doing things which isn’t the best way almost ALL the time but they've been doing it that certain way their whole lives and they don’t want to change their ways...which is why everything here is 50 years in the past and breaking. Anyways, the house we were working on wasn’t nearly close to being done. We asked him what it was for and he said that it was a home for the missionaries and that he had been working on it for 7 years....and that his goal for the rest of the year is to stop everything and work only on this house. He’s amazing...but the sad part is, is that the missionaries definitely won’t be able to live there cuz of how poor the conditions are. I'll send pictures of it and just look around to see what’s holding things up and the place where these people live.
Then they fed us borsh and tea which was way good. But when we ate, we ate outside, sitting on logs cuz the inside of their place well...just wouldn’t have worked out.
So that was our experience with Valenteen at his Dotcha. On Friday he introduced us to his friend Yoory. Yoory is the Number one model ship builder in Ukraine and has the medals to prove it. So if you want a boat just let me know and he'll sell to us haha. The pictures are pretty funny.
This week has been awesome! i think my "greenie fire" has rubbed off on my companion cuz we work hard and are obedient now FINALLY. It’s great to have the spirit with you. I’ve really learned that you have to qualify for the spirit; it doesn’t just come on in to your life. I’ve also learned that everything goes better if you have an eternal perspective and it’s so easy to love people when you do that...even drunk people that want to end your life haha. I’ve also come to realize how important it is to have Hope and I’m really going to dig in to the meaning "perfect brightness of hope". Here in this mission, things don’t usually turn out the way you hoped, but with hope...your attitude changes and everything doesn’t seem so bad.
I’ve also really come to realize that if people don’t want to listen to you...it’s not that you are a bad missionary; it’s just not their time yet. And our job is to find those who are prepared, and usually those people find us. Anyways, i love this work and i love the trials i go through because that’s what’s shaping me. If you want to be happy and full of joy...serve someone. I love you all!! Have a great week!!
- Старейшина Руни
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
One Crazy Week!!
FAMILY!!!
K so right now...life couldn’t honestly get much better. Sounds like Kimi's talk went great and that’s awesome for Todd! I love that guy it'll be crazy when I see him again haha. I GOT YOUR PACKAGES!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! The music the pictures the candy! The COOKIES!!! Ukraine just isn’t up to par with pretty much anything haha. Except for juice, they've got us beat with that one. I know you've been planning (I think) to pick me up from the mish...if that’s the case, please rethink your decision. It honestly is not safe here unless you go to Kiev. Other than that, if you’re not doing God's work....you should have no business here haha seriously. Kimi is in Utah already? Crazy! My sources tell me that the waffle party was a blast! That’s awesome, great to hear. Time is just absolutely flying by.
This week was the craziest week of my mission...to start, two of my boys have their exit interviews today...the mission never ceases to throw crazy emotions at you. Even though I’ve only known them for a transfer, we became way tight. So it'll be sad to see them leave. But it’s cool, the work goes on. We got our transfer calls....we're getting 2 sisters in my District! I haven’t worked with sisters yet so I’m excited to see how things turn out. Ok, I’ll probably have one life threatening experience about once a week that I’ll write you about cuz i think that they're fun hahaha. I just know that if I’m doing my part, God will do his...and I’m doing my part so there's nothing to worry about :). Ready? K, so it all starts contacting, which is what we do all day everyday cuz we have only a handful of investigators, and we were seeing no success. So, I said a quick prayer to myself that we could at least talk to someone. As we know God answers prayers and about a minute later a guy walks up to us and asks us if he can have a copy of the Book of Mormon. WOW! God answered my prayer way fast it was SO COOL. We get his contact info and everything, it was awesome! His name was Victor and kind of weird but everyone is a little off here so it didn’t phase us. We had great conversation and just went on with our day. That night we get a phone call from this guy super late at night which we thought was weird but kind of just ignored. I woke in the morning with a text message from him saying he needed money which we also ignored cuz people tell us all the time that Americans are rich and that they need money....we thought it was a little weird but didn’t think much of it cuz he was probably just drunk like all the rest of the people here haha. So we set up a time to meet at his place and we head over there pretty stoked on this lesson we're about to have. I’ve got the Joseph Smith story memorized cuz i had been working in it so i could use it in our lesson...k the sketchiness begins....we go up to his apt and knock. we hear him come up to the door but then he starts talking to himself asking himself if he speaks English...in English! Then he starts making noises like he was moving things around and starts knocking on the door...we were just like, great...this guy’s drunk. So he finally finds the door knob and lets us in. His place was as bare as bare could be. Literally nothing on the walls, floors ....anything. We walk into his room slash living room and it’s just waaaay dark. Except for the TV was on. Immediately we both get this weird feeling, not to the extent that we needed to leave but, just that this guy seems like a nut. The TV looked like the TV from the movie "the Ring"...and it was playing weird children’s cartoons...static filled and everything. We look around and there were little Barbie’s kind of lying around and all that was in his room was this tiny TV, weird girl toys and a chest of some sort. He goes on to tell us that he is an "een-val-eed", mentally handicapped. then in broken English says" i kill, i kill" and something about Americans. So I’m starting to get a little freaked out and my comp and i give each other the “bro, this guy is literally crazy" look. We asked what that meant that he "kill"s. Well, that wasn’t the best question cuz he turns around and starts shuffling through his chest thing on the ground and through his bed sheets for something. me and my companion brace ourselves....we didn’t know what was about to go down so we were prepping in our minds what we would do...turns around with something that looks like a knife sheath thing and comes at me acting like he's trying to stab me with this thing he had in his hand. I probably soiled myself...i can’t remember. But after he stopped the eerie-est feeling came over the both of us. The guy starts to tell us that in 1991 he was put into a mental institution and was released in 2003.....the guy killed his dad with a knife and threw him off a "balcone"...balcony. And he started to act out how it all went down with that THING he had in his hand!! Coming at me!!!! We took off...never been so scared in my life. It was just a creepy strange environment...we thanked God that nothing happened to us. :)
We get to see Roza this week again! Pray for her! And there were 2 baptisms in our branch on Saturday! There really is no greater feeling than watching someone receive the Holy Ghost. Words can’t describe the feeling of watching some change their life. I love this work. I see blessings every day, I’ve never been so happy in my life. I know that you can literally go to God for anything cuz he's there for you. Have a great week. I loved the packages, you honestly have no idea how it feels to get things like that when you're on a mission, unless you've been here. Be happy, life is great. You literally have the choice to have a good day or not, it’s all up to you. I love this Gospel and know that it changes lives and brings true happiness to all. Love you all!!
- Старейшина Руни
K so right now...life couldn’t honestly get much better. Sounds like Kimi's talk went great and that’s awesome for Todd! I love that guy it'll be crazy when I see him again haha. I GOT YOUR PACKAGES!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! The music the pictures the candy! The COOKIES!!! Ukraine just isn’t up to par with pretty much anything haha. Except for juice, they've got us beat with that one. I know you've been planning (I think) to pick me up from the mish...if that’s the case, please rethink your decision. It honestly is not safe here unless you go to Kiev. Other than that, if you’re not doing God's work....you should have no business here haha seriously. Kimi is in Utah already? Crazy! My sources tell me that the waffle party was a blast! That’s awesome, great to hear. Time is just absolutely flying by.
This week was the craziest week of my mission...to start, two of my boys have their exit interviews today...the mission never ceases to throw crazy emotions at you. Even though I’ve only known them for a transfer, we became way tight. So it'll be sad to see them leave. But it’s cool, the work goes on. We got our transfer calls....we're getting 2 sisters in my District! I haven’t worked with sisters yet so I’m excited to see how things turn out. Ok, I’ll probably have one life threatening experience about once a week that I’ll write you about cuz i think that they're fun hahaha. I just know that if I’m doing my part, God will do his...and I’m doing my part so there's nothing to worry about :). Ready? K, so it all starts contacting, which is what we do all day everyday cuz we have only a handful of investigators, and we were seeing no success. So, I said a quick prayer to myself that we could at least talk to someone. As we know God answers prayers and about a minute later a guy walks up to us and asks us if he can have a copy of the Book of Mormon. WOW! God answered my prayer way fast it was SO COOL. We get his contact info and everything, it was awesome! His name was Victor and kind of weird but everyone is a little off here so it didn’t phase us. We had great conversation and just went on with our day. That night we get a phone call from this guy super late at night which we thought was weird but kind of just ignored. I woke in the morning with a text message from him saying he needed money which we also ignored cuz people tell us all the time that Americans are rich and that they need money....we thought it was a little weird but didn’t think much of it cuz he was probably just drunk like all the rest of the people here haha. So we set up a time to meet at his place and we head over there pretty stoked on this lesson we're about to have. I’ve got the Joseph Smith story memorized cuz i had been working in it so i could use it in our lesson...k the sketchiness begins....we go up to his apt and knock. we hear him come up to the door but then he starts talking to himself asking himself if he speaks English...in English! Then he starts making noises like he was moving things around and starts knocking on the door...we were just like, great...this guy’s drunk. So he finally finds the door knob and lets us in. His place was as bare as bare could be. Literally nothing on the walls, floors ....anything. We walk into his room slash living room and it’s just waaaay dark. Except for the TV was on. Immediately we both get this weird feeling, not to the extent that we needed to leave but, just that this guy seems like a nut. The TV looked like the TV from the movie "the Ring"...and it was playing weird children’s cartoons...static filled and everything. We look around and there were little Barbie’s kind of lying around and all that was in his room was this tiny TV, weird girl toys and a chest of some sort. He goes on to tell us that he is an "een-val-eed", mentally handicapped. then in broken English says" i kill, i kill" and something about Americans. So I’m starting to get a little freaked out and my comp and i give each other the “bro, this guy is literally crazy" look. We asked what that meant that he "kill"s. Well, that wasn’t the best question cuz he turns around and starts shuffling through his chest thing on the ground and through his bed sheets for something. me and my companion brace ourselves....we didn’t know what was about to go down so we were prepping in our minds what we would do...turns around with something that looks like a knife sheath thing and comes at me acting like he's trying to stab me with this thing he had in his hand. I probably soiled myself...i can’t remember. But after he stopped the eerie-est feeling came over the both of us. The guy starts to tell us that in 1991 he was put into a mental institution and was released in 2003.....the guy killed his dad with a knife and threw him off a "balcone"...balcony. And he started to act out how it all went down with that THING he had in his hand!! Coming at me!!!! We took off...never been so scared in my life. It was just a creepy strange environment...we thanked God that nothing happened to us. :)
We get to see Roza this week again! Pray for her! And there were 2 baptisms in our branch on Saturday! There really is no greater feeling than watching someone receive the Holy Ghost. Words can’t describe the feeling of watching some change their life. I love this work. I see blessings every day, I’ve never been so happy in my life. I know that you can literally go to God for anything cuz he's there for you. Have a great week. I loved the packages, you honestly have no idea how it feels to get things like that when you're on a mission, unless you've been here. Be happy, life is great. You literally have the choice to have a good day or not, it’s all up to you. I love this Gospel and know that it changes lives and brings true happiness to all. Love you all!!
- Старейшина Руни
Monday, July 25, 2011
Sketchy Ladder??
FAMILY!!
Wow, you guys just never stop going. it’s great to hear from everyone and to hear that everything is awesome at home. DAD!!! wait what?! huh?!! What am I supposed to call you now? "Dad"? "Brother Rooney"? hahaha what are you feeling like right now?!! Bishop Okerlund?!! that’s sickkkk!!! He’ll do great, not doubt in my mind. Sounds like a full house at the Rooney's, as it should be. Your week sounds like it was a blast. I haven’t gotten a package yet but it'll come...hopefully haha. Diana! I need recipes for anything good to eat with limited supplies ASAP. You would be proud o0f me, I’m becoming a cook! I made apple cobbler literally from scratch and it turned out AMAZING!! Maybe a pizza recipe? Anything would be great. Thanks :)
I’m having the best time out here!
This week literally flew by. I’m afraid this whole experience is going to go by too fast. Well, I had my first "funny member family feeding you till you feel like you want to explode then they whip out more food and nasty candy stuff and watch you eat it ALLLLLL" experience this week :). It was a nightmare but we were glad that someone actually met with us so we were grateful haha. So, on my split this week, in my area, therefore I was the one leading...which was a blast and a scary thing at the same time....we went to see Galia. She lives about a 30 min walk away through a maze. Anyways, she's a J dub and we've seen here twice before. So we get up to the top of her "dome", apartment building, which is one of the worst ones in the mission and she lives at the top. We knocked and waited and then knocked and waited again. She didn’t answer which was usual. So just to the left of her door, there is a ladder...a sketchy broken that goes to the top of the entire bldg. So being 20 year olds, we decided to climb it, obviously. I went first...I made it safely and waited for elder Jensen, the one I was on a split with who had never met Galia at all, and as I was waiting for elder Jensen at the top of this ladder thing I was standing on when the door opens....Galia came out!! I was standing at the top of this thing where she couldn’t see me and my companion started talking to her and she started asking where "the other American" was...she eventually figured out that I was at the top of her dome and climbed that sketchy ladder that no one climbs....they started talking and I wasn’t sure what to do! I froze like a typical greenie. Anyways I decided that I should probably come down and talk to her too being that there should always be two missionaries together...it seemed like a good idea until I had to climb back down the ladder!!! The thing was out to kill me. I tried to be as quiet as possible but with the death ladder that wasn’t even connected to the ground, that didn’t work out so well. Anyways, I got down and said hi haha she thought it was funny and the mood lightened up a ton. At the end she invited us back and said that we could go on her roof whenever, making fun of me, haha. It was SO FUNNY! I was so scared...but it all worked out because if she hadn’t started laughing she probably wouldn’t have seen that even though we're missionaries, we're still real people. When the mood lightened up, she began to soften her heart and eventually invited us back which was an absolute miracle. Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways. Next story, there was a rain storm...by far the worst I’ve ever been in...yup we were just contacting and the biggest drops of water I’ve ever seen were falling by the buckets from the sky...honestly it felt like I was in a shower with all my clothes on. People were hiding under trees and doing anything they could to get away from this thing, it was a lost cause and we walked the 15 minutes it took back to our home. I looked like I jumped in a pool...this week was a great week.
McDonald’s here is a delicacy its super weird but every time you see a McDonald’s here, you eat there cuz you never know when you'll be close to one again. But other than always sweating and dogs chasing you, OH! I got chased by a crazy dog that was on a mission to end my life!!! People on the mission here get bit all the time and have to go to Germany for rabies shots....anyways, I literally am livin the dream. Thanks for all the love and support. I love you all, have a great week!
- Старейшина Руни
Wow, you guys just never stop going. it’s great to hear from everyone and to hear that everything is awesome at home. DAD!!! wait what?! huh?!! What am I supposed to call you now? "Dad"? "Brother Rooney"? hahaha what are you feeling like right now?!! Bishop Okerlund?!! that’s sickkkk!!! He’ll do great, not doubt in my mind. Sounds like a full house at the Rooney's, as it should be. Your week sounds like it was a blast. I haven’t gotten a package yet but it'll come...hopefully haha. Diana! I need recipes for anything good to eat with limited supplies ASAP. You would be proud o0f me, I’m becoming a cook! I made apple cobbler literally from scratch and it turned out AMAZING!! Maybe a pizza recipe? Anything would be great. Thanks :)
I’m having the best time out here!
This week literally flew by. I’m afraid this whole experience is going to go by too fast. Well, I had my first "funny member family feeding you till you feel like you want to explode then they whip out more food and nasty candy stuff and watch you eat it ALLLLLL" experience this week :). It was a nightmare but we were glad that someone actually met with us so we were grateful haha. So, on my split this week, in my area, therefore I was the one leading...which was a blast and a scary thing at the same time....we went to see Galia. She lives about a 30 min walk away through a maze. Anyways, she's a J dub and we've seen here twice before. So we get up to the top of her "dome", apartment building, which is one of the worst ones in the mission and she lives at the top. We knocked and waited and then knocked and waited again. She didn’t answer which was usual. So just to the left of her door, there is a ladder...a sketchy broken that goes to the top of the entire bldg. So being 20 year olds, we decided to climb it, obviously. I went first...I made it safely and waited for elder Jensen, the one I was on a split with who had never met Galia at all, and as I was waiting for elder Jensen at the top of this ladder thing I was standing on when the door opens....Galia came out!! I was standing at the top of this thing where she couldn’t see me and my companion started talking to her and she started asking where "the other American" was...she eventually figured out that I was at the top of her dome and climbed that sketchy ladder that no one climbs....they started talking and I wasn’t sure what to do! I froze like a typical greenie. Anyways I decided that I should probably come down and talk to her too being that there should always be two missionaries together...it seemed like a good idea until I had to climb back down the ladder!!! The thing was out to kill me. I tried to be as quiet as possible but with the death ladder that wasn’t even connected to the ground, that didn’t work out so well. Anyways, I got down and said hi haha she thought it was funny and the mood lightened up a ton. At the end she invited us back and said that we could go on her roof whenever, making fun of me, haha. It was SO FUNNY! I was so scared...but it all worked out because if she hadn’t started laughing she probably wouldn’t have seen that even though we're missionaries, we're still real people. When the mood lightened up, she began to soften her heart and eventually invited us back which was an absolute miracle. Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways. Next story, there was a rain storm...by far the worst I’ve ever been in...yup we were just contacting and the biggest drops of water I’ve ever seen were falling by the buckets from the sky...honestly it felt like I was in a shower with all my clothes on. People were hiding under trees and doing anything they could to get away from this thing, it was a lost cause and we walked the 15 minutes it took back to our home. I looked like I jumped in a pool...this week was a great week.
McDonald’s here is a delicacy its super weird but every time you see a McDonald’s here, you eat there cuz you never know when you'll be close to one again. But other than always sweating and dogs chasing you, OH! I got chased by a crazy dog that was on a mission to end my life!!! People on the mission here get bit all the time and have to go to Germany for rabies shots....anyways, I literally am livin the dream. Thanks for all the love and support. I love you all, have a great week!
- Старейшина Руни
Monday, July 18, 2011
My family does exist!!
60 hours in a car?...shoot me now. I’m sure it was WAY fun! Sounds like your trip was a blast. I’m especially stoked that you got to see Danny more than anything. My zone leader looks EXACTLY like him but with brown hair...i honestly feel like I’m talking to Danny every time I talk to him. I’m learning so much every day! More about life I feel than anything actually. This place is perfect for me, it really is. The days here just keep getting faster and faster. This place is unreal. I’m beginning to see why people say that it’s tough. This week was full of emotion. For starters, Roza dropped us...but we got her back. But ALL the rest of our investigators followed in Roza's footsteps. We just haven’t gotten them back YET. It’s getting way hot here and I’m never not sweating. Step out of the cold shower...give it 10 min, and you're sweating again haha. And when you're in the internet club...you better look at your own screen cuz it’s the ONLY thing that is anything close to pure in the entire place. It blows my mind everyday how immodest people here are. Just walking around outside is worse than walking down the Strip in Vegas on a major holiday, by far, and in every aspect. The people here are so lost and it kills me how none of are willing to change. Whenever I ask someone if they are happy, almost every single person says no, and they say that they have their OWN church that they've been going to their whole lives. When we say that the Gospel will help them be happy, they can’t except it; which i understand because they all live extremely difficult lives that change seems impossible, I get that. But if they're so miserable, then why not take a chance on the gospel?!....it can’t hurt ANYTHING. Everyone is SOOOOOO stubborn, its annoying. But the work goes on. This mission is a contacting mission I guess. It’s what we do. All day every day, on the streets yo! Right now is DEAD. Yesterday was in the 40's (Celsius) and this whole next week will be just the same. So everyone is gone "to the sea", which means in my area where there is no one anyways, there REALLY won’t be anyone out on the streets. I'll definitely say Hi to Pres. Velikano and his wife (our branch Pres), they are awesome. My money situation is an interesting question....I’m not sure. We’re in to personal at the moment but we're supposed to get things work funded that haven’t been so that should give us a little more money....we'll see :)
How’s the summer so far? Kyle, do you have any camps left? Kimi, are you adjusting well? Cami, you are going to be loaded its sounds like haha. But I’m proud of you for being patient dude, its pays off. DAD!!!! you’re a boss (that means you are "cool") thanks for working out my money situation so quickly, I’ll see soon today if i can get money out. I find myself saying those lame "Dad" jokes every once in a while...thanks a lot haha. MOM!!!! Hi. how are you? how's your summer? Thanks to you people point and laugh at me because they all think I’m Armenian (I have no clue how that’s spelled) and probably make fun of because all Armenians can speak Russian minus me haha. But I can’t tell what they're saying anyways so it’s cool :) I know this is where I need to be. I know that the only reason I’m slightly healthy slash alive is because I’m on the Lord's errand and His people need this message. This experience really teaches me to appreciate the Gospel because it really is the only way to true happiness. I love you all! Have a great week!!
Ct. Rooney
ps. thanks for the pictures
60 hours in a car?...shoot me now. I’m sure it was WAY fun! Sounds like your trip was a blast. I’m especially stoked that you got to see Danny more than anything. My zone leader looks EXACTLY like him but with brown hair...i honestly feel like I’m talking to Danny every time I talk to him. I’m learning so much every day! More about life I feel than anything actually. This place is perfect for me, it really is. The days here just keep getting faster and faster. This place is unreal. I’m beginning to see why people say that it’s tough. This week was full of emotion. For starters, Roza dropped us...but we got her back. But ALL the rest of our investigators followed in Roza's footsteps. We just haven’t gotten them back YET. It’s getting way hot here and I’m never not sweating. Step out of the cold shower...give it 10 min, and you're sweating again haha. And when you're in the internet club...you better look at your own screen cuz it’s the ONLY thing that is anything close to pure in the entire place. It blows my mind everyday how immodest people here are. Just walking around outside is worse than walking down the Strip in Vegas on a major holiday, by far, and in every aspect. The people here are so lost and it kills me how none of are willing to change. Whenever I ask someone if they are happy, almost every single person says no, and they say that they have their OWN church that they've been going to their whole lives. When we say that the Gospel will help them be happy, they can’t except it; which i understand because they all live extremely difficult lives that change seems impossible, I get that. But if they're so miserable, then why not take a chance on the gospel?!....it can’t hurt ANYTHING. Everyone is SOOOOOO stubborn, its annoying. But the work goes on. This mission is a contacting mission I guess. It’s what we do. All day every day, on the streets yo! Right now is DEAD. Yesterday was in the 40's (Celsius) and this whole next week will be just the same. So everyone is gone "to the sea", which means in my area where there is no one anyways, there REALLY won’t be anyone out on the streets. I'll definitely say Hi to Pres. Velikano and his wife (our branch Pres), they are awesome. My money situation is an interesting question....I’m not sure. We’re in to personal at the moment but we're supposed to get things work funded that haven’t been so that should give us a little more money....we'll see :)
How’s the summer so far? Kyle, do you have any camps left? Kimi, are you adjusting well? Cami, you are going to be loaded its sounds like haha. But I’m proud of you for being patient dude, its pays off. DAD!!!! you’re a boss (that means you are "cool") thanks for working out my money situation so quickly, I’ll see soon today if i can get money out. I find myself saying those lame "Dad" jokes every once in a while...thanks a lot haha. MOM!!!! Hi. how are you? how's your summer? Thanks to you people point and laugh at me because they all think I’m Armenian (I have no clue how that’s spelled) and probably make fun of because all Armenians can speak Russian minus me haha. But I can’t tell what they're saying anyways so it’s cool :) I know this is where I need to be. I know that the only reason I’m slightly healthy slash alive is because I’m on the Lord's errand and His people need this message. This experience really teaches me to appreciate the Gospel because it really is the only way to true happiness. I love you all! Have a great week!!
Ct. Rooney
ps. thanks for the pictures
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
WELCOME HOME KIMI YEEE HAAA!!
HOWDY Y'ALL!! WELCOME HOME KIMI YEEE HAAA!!
haha I thought that I could contribute to the western theme a bit even if i wasn’t at the airport!! I’m stoked that you've done it Kimi! Just being here makes me realize that people that even make it through a mission are BALLERS. So way to go dad, mom, Cami, and Kimi! How’s Texas?! I’m so happy that you got to spend time with Danny! I hope he's doing well it’s got to be way tough doing what he's doing, give him my love. I was dieing when I got your emails about dressing up to pick Kimi up, my family rocks. Let the heat slash humidity begin! It’s in the mid 90's here with a stupid amount of humidity..it’s crazy. At night you have to take a cold shower if you even want to think about falling asleep. Cami...I’m so glad things are picking up with Matt...dude, kill it. He's a boss and I’m sure you have a blast working with him. I’m think I’m going to try and email some pictures today we'll see what happens. I think about my family all the time! You all rock. k so this week we found 3 more investigators!! Edeek is in his 40's and then Sasha and Dasha...they're 20 year old identical twins! They are the sweetest, nerdiest girls you've ever met! and the best part is...they speak English! So now we have 4 investigators which is unheard of I guess and we contacted all of them! People here are still nice and cold but Heavenly Father blessed us with these amazing people. Being on a mission makes me feel so many emotions that I have never felt before; it’s crazy. I guess this mission is known in the Russian missions as being the place that no one wants to go to...and the area that I’m in right now is known as a place that no one in the mission wants to go to....nice. I love it though, a lot of it feels like South America when you get outside the city and i love it. WE FOUND A WATERFALL!!! It’s near a village maybe about a 20 minute walk from our place it’s SO COOL! Oh and this place is nuts by the way...have I said that before? There is one "major" street in our area if you can even call it a major street. And people just walk around drunk or drinking at all hours of the day! Today for example at 8 am, we saw old guys sitting at the place where they sit everyday drinking vodka, which they do every day also. People tell us to go home a lot, even in English sometimes. OH! last week we were walking parallel with that "major" street I just wrote about and this dude probably in his 50's was facing us and was only maybe 25 feet in front of us..and he was PEEING like it was no big deal. Like I mean he was PEEING!! We saw everything...literally...it was sooooo funny. It was in front of everyone and people just disregard it...that’s not cool. The best is when you get an old Babushka (grandma) and she just goes and finds a nice wall...pulls up her dress...posts up...and starts pooping. You know you're having a good day when you come across that haha. This place is pretty dangerous to be honest but it’s a one of a kind. I’m really excited to for tonight and tomorrow, we have two lessons with a couple and another with Roza...we'll see what happens. Sounds like you all had an awesome week going to the lake, Kimi came home, and the fam went to Texas...awesome keep it up! Today we went bowling and it cost us 47 gr. for the 6 of us for the hour...about 2 games. That comes to be about just under a dollar per person...yup loving it. And it was a way nice place to bowl. K I’m gunna try and send some pics so that’s all for this week! I love you all SOOOOOOOOOOO much, keep praying and reading every day! Have fun in Texas!
ct. Rooney
Monday, July 4, 2011
HAPPY FOURTH!!!
Don’t worry we're having a bbq today to REPRESENT! wow...sounds like an awesome week at home. KYLE!!!!! how was EFY?!! tell me about it! your counselor? friends? spiritual experiences? Let me know! KIMI COMES HOME THIS WEEK!!!!! CRAZYYY!!! Give her my love when you see her. k...ready?
Here we go...SO, Ukraine is nuts, absolutely nuts. BUT I’m beginning to see why people love their mission. The first few days...hardest days of my entire life hands down but I’m beginning to see why people love it.
I got to see the rest of my area. Everyone here lives in giant rundown apt buildings and the way poor or way wealthy live in what’s called a "chas-nie dome" it’s pretty much a little make shift home. I have a few villages in my area!!! It’s so cool!! Yesterday we went around kicking doors to try and get people to come out of their homes to their gate door thing so that we could sing to them...it was rad. We handed out three books of mormon!! That’s a stellar day by the way. Also, we have an investigator that WE found contacting!! This never happens I guess. everyone says I’m getting spoiled here, in my first week we got let in to a home and we taught the 1st lesson AND we found an investigator! I guess that’s rare here. Like a few elders in my district that go home at the end of the month have never gotten in to anyone’s apt let alone found an investigator and they're hard workers that I can see. But we met this random lady named Roza and gave her a book of mormon and got her contact info; we felt WAY good about that cuz she was actually nice to us. We called her and met with her 2 days later!! She’s 50 and has had a tough life but is truckin along. So we teach her the first lesson and she breaks down. She tells us how she's divorced and has two kids, a daughter and son, 26 and 22. Her daughter moved out and they don’t talk really and her son is a drug addict. We asked her if she had a DVD player to show her a video, but she said her son took it and sold it for his drugs...I’m sure it’s not the first time too. Oh and everyone does drugs here, and when I say drugs, I mean needles and everything. There are used needles on the ground everywhere...skecthy;
anyway, we teach her and she cries twice and then prays at the end, where she cried again and thanked God for sending us to her. She originally wanted us to teach her English but we told her that we would have to teach doctrine too but before our lesson, she told us to just teach. That’s huge. It was the most spiritual experience I’ve had in a long time. My comp said that that’s never happened to him on his mission. Roza wants to meet with us regularly and feed us and everything! She told us that we teach perfectly together and that we stand out. It really strengthened my testimony that everything happens for a reason and that me and ct. Pulsipher were supposed to meet at BYU in the summer and become friends so that we could be companions and meet Roza so that we could help her change her life. God is perfect. I know that this is the perfect mission for me and that just meeting Roza is why I’m supposed to be here at this time. Writing letters about the mission is SO HARD! I have SO much to say! So much has happened this week it’s crazy. OH! we got a new mission president haha I guess that’s worth telling. He’s Bolivian and his wife barely speaks English let alone Russian but I guess he's already doing more for the mission than our last president did? I don’t know, I didn’t really know the last one so I can’t say anything really but he's a boss. soooooo cool, and really little. By the way, I eat way good. I’m becoming a way good cook. I eat better here than at home most days. it’s like camping, we always eat good when we go camping, and my apartment.....well let’s just say that I’ll be eating good for a while :). We jamm to “Wicked” almost every night...I’m sorry for ripping on it Cami/Kimi, I think NOW it’s the best thing ever! also, Cameron if you're reading this, remember that Disney cd we jammed to when I was in Utah? Well someone burned it and put into my apt before I got here haha we jamm to that almost every day too :) it’s cool. Anyways….I love you all and thanks for writing me!!
Have a great week!
-Ct. Rooney
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