SUP FAM!
Sounds like everything at home is getting into the groove with school, work, and a MARRIAGE! It’s great to hear from you all. I love you SOOOOOO much. Things here are going well. The weather for starters is ALREADY colder than Utah and it’s not ever NOVEMBER! I’m gunna die out here. The temp isn't that low yet but for some reason it likes to be reallll realllly windy when it’s cold out...:) we're doing great though, we're having a great time. This week will be SO COOL. On wed we are having a Young Single Adult fireside and Elder Bennett and Elder Richardson will be speaking to us and yes, it will be in Donetsk at my branch bldg of all places!! It’s for the whole Europe east area I think. Anyways, I’ll be there and it will be awesome! What won’t be awesome is the fact that there will probably be more missionaries there than actual youth. People here just don’t get it and it breaks my heart. We've been working with a less active named Michael and he has a smoking problem (like everyone else here) and we found out that he really wants to do family history work and the best part is that he has a testimony of it and its way strong. What makes me super frustrated is when the home teacher gets called to go over and help him out with it and does nothing. Then our branch president calls Him AGAIN, and still, the home teacher does nothing. Then I spoke with the branch pres. and he told me that Michael's home teachers just aren’t going over there. So we devised a solution, talk to the family history lady for the branch and the missionaries will go with her to teach him how to use family search. So we go over to her place last night to ask her for her help and she kind of just goes off about how this man doesn’t need family search but that he just needs to stop smoking and all about how he pretty much is a lost cause and how she won’t literally walk 5 min to the NEXT APT COMPLEX and spent one half hour with us, to teach him. And it’s just gets frustrating when I want to just take over everything and get things moving here...but it’s not in my stewardship. My job is to invite others unto Christ....Oh and our branch president hasn’t been to church in a month now. Like my companion has never seen him at church yet :) there are also a ton of other problems about how things are run here and well, it’s not run correctly and I just want to help but it’s not my job. Its soo hard to do missionary work here b/c there is no branch bldg. in my area b/c there aren’t enough people at church. So when I tell people on the streets that our bldg. is in Donetsk...an hour away on buses (b/c no one here has their own car unless you're part of the mafia) they get turned off to everything. There used to be a bldg. in our area but then everyone decided to go inactive and so then they combined braches. And the best part is...that we have an area that the church bought and is ready for construction for a brand new bldg. in our area...but we just need members to come to church then they'll ok it for building. It’s a paradox really, people don’t want to listen to us b/c the church is so far away and its costs a ton of money just to get there and back. But if the members just went to church then they could have a closer bldg. and investigators would come more often. Things here are just slacking. We really do have awesome people who really have a true desire to come to church but the honestly just can’t afford it. as;dlkthaeoith;askldjhg;oearit! Anyways, thanks for letting me vent to you all, I feel better :) other than that, things are great! I’m becoming great at having almost nothing to cook with and making edible things! Now I just have to work on making it all taste good haha.. No really though, we're having a great time together and missionary work is great. My mission prep class is turning out good too. Next week I’m taking my class out to a park right by the church and we're going to practice contacting! We practiced it yesterday in class so next week they get to really experience it, it'll be way fun, and I’m stoked for it. Well, that’s all for this week. We pretty much just looked for all the youth to try and invite them to this fireside on wed b/c it’s our priority for now. I really am super happy though, it’s crazy how when you just trust in God, EVERYTHING will turn out. I love personal study; right now I’m studying the time line of the Book of Mormon, in comparison with the Bible...its super interesting and actually kind of fun to see all the connections. Well, I’m going bowling right now so I hope you all have an AWESOME week! I love you all!
- Старейшина Руни
"This is sick!!" peace, Elder Dude
Monday, October 17, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Conference is the BEST THING EVER!!
Those were the sickest pictures EVER!!! The family sounds like all is well! I’m sure the pepper eating contest was a waaaay funny. it reminds me of when we had family reunion in California and we went fishing out of Davey's Locker and me and Nate threw the live bait in our mouths...good times. I honestly have the Raddest family ever. It sounds like things are getting crazy with an upcoming WEDDING!! Blows my mind, can’t get over that still. That'll be a fun P-day getting all of those pictures. We got to watch General Conference in our native tongues!! It was the best thing ever!!! President Monson is getting funnier and funnier. It’s good to see that having a sense of humor is allowed in the church... I think people need to loosen up a bit, especially here haha. I can’t choose a favorite talk b/c they were all sooooo good. It annoys me that I never took advantage of General Conference before my mission, but that’s just another reason why the mission is sooooo important. It really is the Best 2 years for my life. It’s my (and anyone one who has served) school for eternity. Watching General Conference made me way trunky haha, but not in a sense that I wanted to come home really bad, but it made me just want to get my life after the mission started already so I can FINALLLLLLLY apply everything that I’ve learned. Never letting the mission leave you is something that I want to strive to happen when I get back. Families are forever, and there is NOTHING greater. That’s why we're here. AHH I love the Gospel so much. And it makes me sad that I’m just BARELY allowing it to REALLY change my life and I’m a missionary. The more I learn about the Gospel the more I realize that I don’t know a thing! And it’s so hard to see the people here, that much further away from it all. This truly is an Inexhaustible Gospel. What I’ve learned a ton on my mission is seeing things as they really are. After reading a ton of conference talks and byu devotionals out here, you begin to see patterns in the way prophets and apostles speak and write. Neal A Maxwell almost ALWAYS brings that reference up in his talks. It’s SOO crucial to see things as they really are, and to have that eternal perspective about everything. PMG (preach my gospel) is becoming more and more inspired as I dig into it. Here's an interesting concept about having an eternal perspective I think is from PMG....but think of all the people that you associate with every day, even the ones that you might not have the strongest feelings for...they still are just like you in that they also have the full opportunity if they choose, to become like God. Crazy. Changes your view about them doesn't it? I love getting all of your letters! I feel your love. Know that I love you all soooo much, but that God loves you perfectly. Keep working hard and keep being missionaries! None of us are perfect, I know I’m definitely not but this is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day SAINTS. I like the quote that I heard that I have absolutely no idea who wrote it but..."saints are just sinners who kept going". So don’t EVER stop trying and moving forward with your Eternal Goals, and let’s stop living below our privileges! I love you all!! Have a great week!
- Старейшина Руни
Our Branch President and his family...
Bath time, with a little help from a friend, Valentin.... can't wait for winter :o)
The neighborhood....
- Старейшина Руни
Our Branch President and his family...
Bath time, with a little help from a friend, Valentin.... can't wait for winter :o)
The neighborhood....
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Mission Prep Class
FAMILY!
NO letter today from anyone?? wooooooow....there's only 5 of you that could write.....its ok I forgive you ;) . You’re all lucky I had a killer week!! So I hope things are go well at home. A lot can happen in a week! How was general conference?!!! I get to watch it in my native tongue in a week when all the translations are done. I guess they put all the missionaries in a room at the church and we chillllll all day and watch conference together! I’m way stoked. Kendra sent me a dearelder!!!!! Kendra! Thank you so much!! You’re the best. Letters mean a lot here so thank you!! I’m glad to hear that all is well Kendra; you'll be a way dope cub mom! Just make cookies and play with fire and all the kids will love you :) keep up the good work, and I’m glad you remembered I like VEGAS ROLLS!!! We’re going again when I get back. Kyle, my man I haven’t heard from you...write me a.s.a.p. fool. Anyways, I love you all and I hope you all have a good week!
This past week was way good. Yesterday was fast Sunday...I love fast Sunday! But other than the sacrament the coolest part was my mission prep class I started!! Sunday we planned everything out and how we wanted to run it and kind of just went for it. After our zone conference I was really motivated with getting youth to serve missions b/c by how it looks now, there won’t be a very strong leadership in the church here if the youth don’t shape up. And we know that temples are going to scatter this land like South America...so I hope that I can help move that prophecy along. So after zone conference there were a ton of ideas that people came up with to try and help the youth here, then I thought back to what helped get me motivated to serve a mission and that was the mission prep classes. It was way cool b/c actually went through with something and did it. Ideas are easy to get going but when it comes down to actually doing something, that’s were people slack (including me). So, we got permission from our branch president and got the word out. There are 2 in our branch that are working on papers to go so that’s who we're aiming toward. B/c we want them to get stoked so that they will get their friends stoked. So we had 2 in our class on Sunday but one of them is debating whether or not he wants to serve and the other is solid. The other person working on his papers didn’t show up but we'll get him next week! It was way cool, it was in a little nursery room but it was all good b/c Sasha (21) said that he felt the spirit and that’s all that matters to me. Another reason why it was so rad was b/c I led the WHOLE thing...in Russian. CRAZY!!! My Russian is so bad but God makes weak things become strong and everything worked out perfectly! So that was yesterday....on Tuesday we contacted this drunk dude on the streets, which we never do. They chose to give up their agency so why would we talk to them right? Wrong...this one was pretty toasted but we decided to go through with it, his Name is Nikol. Anyways we called him Saturday along with another contact that we contacted into and we have 2 new investigators!!!! Nikol blew me away with how prepared he is and it was just another lesson to me that even though we see people who are drunk out of their minds EVERY day...they still need the Gospel too. I’m definitely not perfect so that gives no room to judge. I learn a ton of lessons out here, and I have more and more respect for those that served before me because this is no joke. If I wasn’t on the Lord's errand....I’d be dead out here already haha. Just kidding...but probably. The weather is getting way cold and our apt has no insolation, yup its freezing. I wear a hoodie and sweats to bed already! And the worst part is, that it’s supposed to get 80 DEGREES COLDER!! Last year was a MILD winter I guess and the lowest it got was 40 degrees F in the NEGATIVE....yup, it was nice knowing ya. I’m loving life right now, seriously I feel the love of God so much and I can’t wait to go home so that I can actually apply the things I learn. I figure that I learn a ton of lessons on the mission, buts it’s not until you're on your own to apply them, that’s when things really count. I love being a missionary. It’s so hard, but its way rewarding, this Gospel truly is the Inexhaustible Gospel. I love you all!
- Старейшина Руни
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Zone Conference
HIIIII!!!!
That’s crazy that my buddy is in your area!!! He served in Taiwan but then had an infection of some sort then got sent to our mission! crazzzzzzyyyyy we were just talking about him too! Small world. It was great to hear that Alex is official now! Way to be!!! I love hearing about what’s going on at home. Chris Hunt is now married...blows my mind. I love life.
This past week was great! we had zone conference that went for 2 days and from what i got out of it is that we need to start working more with the youth who are ready and worthy to serve missions...and if they're not worthy, we need to get them there! there are 550 members in just the one center Donetsk branch but only 70 are active...there are 650 youth in the age ready to serve missions in my whole mission and only 135 of them are active and only 6 of them are on missions, and the majority of them are girls. So, with that i decided to start a mission prep class for all the youth that are of the age and i just got it approved on Sunday!! I felt like i was in ASB all over again, it was fun to brainstorm what could be done to help the youth. This transfer so far is going great. There are a ton of inactive members in my area that we are going to find! My area used to be bumping and now is one of the slowest areas in the mission, but that’s changing little by little. K so here’s the miracle for the week. We just finished service at the Dacha and Valentyn calls us when we just got home and says something about sis Hatch (senior couple) lost her passport and dredit cards and stuff like that and that he wants us to call Elder hatch and tell him about it....so we tried and no one answered. sooooo, i thought that this was weird b/c the Hatchs were in Harkov with president Campero for the Zone conference up there (8 hours away) and then i got a phone call about Sister Hatch's stuff in the Don Bass (where i live) I guess what happened is that her purse was stolen while at the zone conference and everything was taken except for the passport, credit cards, and a planner; the rest was gone. A woman found the "stash" and looked in the planner and saw a number so she called it. That number was to a woman who lives in the Don Bass who was a member of the church but not active. Then the woman in the Don Bass had no idea who Sis Hatch was so she called someone she thought might know....Valentyn. He then called us. He ends up getting a hold of my branch President who was with President Camero in Harkov...making full circle back to Sis. Hatch. They got the personals back to sister Hatch. So here's why it’s a miracle in a few ways. Earlier that day, Valentyn tells us that he had prayed for a miracle but didn’t know what he wanted...he just wanted one. Also, up in Harkov (being missionaries) they prayed specifically that Sister Hatchs things would "fall into good hands". So....everything turned out perfectly AND the lady who found the passport is now taking the lessons....God's plan is perfect. Oh and to top it all off, from the time that they noticed the purse gone and after the prayer that was said....it only took 8 min to locate it...which means God's plan was already deep into action before they even found out that the purse had gone missing....yup, i was blown away too. Anyways the weather here feels like at home and it’s the craziest thing but the snow is coming soon so that will all go away haha, i love you all!
Have a great week!
That’s crazy that my buddy is in your area!!! He served in Taiwan but then had an infection of some sort then got sent to our mission! crazzzzzzyyyyy we were just talking about him too! Small world. It was great to hear that Alex is official now! Way to be!!! I love hearing about what’s going on at home. Chris Hunt is now married...blows my mind. I love life.
This past week was great! we had zone conference that went for 2 days and from what i got out of it is that we need to start working more with the youth who are ready and worthy to serve missions...and if they're not worthy, we need to get them there! there are 550 members in just the one center Donetsk branch but only 70 are active...there are 650 youth in the age ready to serve missions in my whole mission and only 135 of them are active and only 6 of them are on missions, and the majority of them are girls. So, with that i decided to start a mission prep class for all the youth that are of the age and i just got it approved on Sunday!! I felt like i was in ASB all over again, it was fun to brainstorm what could be done to help the youth. This transfer so far is going great. There are a ton of inactive members in my area that we are going to find! My area used to be bumping and now is one of the slowest areas in the mission, but that’s changing little by little. K so here’s the miracle for the week. We just finished service at the Dacha and Valentyn calls us when we just got home and says something about sis Hatch (senior couple) lost her passport and dredit cards and stuff like that and that he wants us to call Elder hatch and tell him about it....so we tried and no one answered. sooooo, i thought that this was weird b/c the Hatchs were in Harkov with president Campero for the Zone conference up there (8 hours away) and then i got a phone call about Sister Hatch's stuff in the Don Bass (where i live) I guess what happened is that her purse was stolen while at the zone conference and everything was taken except for the passport, credit cards, and a planner; the rest was gone. A woman found the "stash" and looked in the planner and saw a number so she called it. That number was to a woman who lives in the Don Bass who was a member of the church but not active. Then the woman in the Don Bass had no idea who Sis Hatch was so she called someone she thought might know....Valentyn. He then called us. He ends up getting a hold of my branch President who was with President Camero in Harkov...making full circle back to Sis. Hatch. They got the personals back to sister Hatch. So here's why it’s a miracle in a few ways. Earlier that day, Valentyn tells us that he had prayed for a miracle but didn’t know what he wanted...he just wanted one. Also, up in Harkov (being missionaries) they prayed specifically that Sister Hatchs things would "fall into good hands". So....everything turned out perfectly AND the lady who found the passport is now taking the lessons....God's plan is perfect. Oh and to top it all off, from the time that they noticed the purse gone and after the prayer that was said....it only took 8 min to locate it...which means God's plan was already deep into action before they even found out that the purse had gone missing....yup, i was blown away too. Anyways the weather here feels like at home and it’s the craziest thing but the snow is coming soon so that will all go away haha, i love you all!
Have a great week!
Monday, September 19, 2011
Transfers
WOW
What a week, sounds like it was a dream come true. I’m so proud of my family!! Way to do missionary work, one down...only 1000000000034659028437502938750293845 to go :) who's next? Really though, I couldn’t be happier for Alex, its sounds like she gets it. There are a ton of members who aren’t at that stage yet. DAD!! How many baptisms have you done?! Classic...I’m glad it all worked out. Keep up the good work guys; it’s so nice to have a family who is willing to work with missionaries, that’s VERY rare out here, so you guys are a huge blessing. Kimi and Nate are getting married, Kyle is a SENIOR in high school, and Cami has a dope job with Matt Frisbie...blows my mind. It’s great to hear from you all.
This week was a whirlwind of emotions. My trainer left me....that was way harder than I expected. We became a great companionship after these few months together. the mission throws everything at you...it was hard because we both put so much effort into our companionship and now I have to do it all over again. Well, the good news is that my new comp is elder Jordan Smith...yup sis Love's grandson that was in the MTC with me, from Chino. He is in his 4th transfer and I’m in my 3rd....and the whole Russian language thing, well....it’s coming. Our district this transfer is way young. we have 6 and 2 are training ( who haven’t been out a year yet), which means 2 of them just got to the country less than a week ago, and then there is me and my comp, its gunna be crazy. I’ve noticed that whoever your companion is, in the beginning of the transfer...it’s kind of hard adjusting. I just know that we'll get into the groove and turn this place upside down. We FINALLY got a hold of a "ward" list so now we have that to work with which is huge. I have met with only 7 members/ families since I’ve been here (and 2 of those are inactive) and now with this heaven sent list...turns out that we have 52 members in our area!!! This and 5 of those members/ families are active...we've got some work to do. So we had a miracle yesterday but I have to start the story from the beginning. About a month ago I would say, we went contacting (as usual) and ran into a man who was baptized but is completely inactive. His name is Michael (Mee-kh-i-el) and said that we could meet with him. Then I met with him only once after that. We called him yesterday morning and asked if we could meet and he said yes!!! So we get there with a lesson about how to break an addiction because he related a bunch of his problems to smoking and that he wanted to stop (at our last meeting). So we start and everything is going well, then it was as if he got way offended and he told us not to bring up smoking again...so we agreed went on to our back up plan...the Restoration. We asked him if he wanted a blessing and he said yes, but that he didn’t want to sit but to kneel as we gave it. That was powerful. That let us know that he has a testimony and really wanted to change...we will meet with him next week I hope. So that was great but when we got back to our apt I called our branch president to report that we had given a blessing. turns out that our branch president had called about 10 days earlier just to see how things were going and Michael told him of his no job and bad health. The branch president then offered to come for a blessing and Michael said not at that time but in the future....that blessing was given yesterday. We had no idea that branch president had that conversation with him. God's hand is in everything! I’m learning so much right now during my personal studies, that’s “MY TIME" and I love it. Also I’m becoming a pretty good cook :) well, my new companionship will be great and I’m excited for the upcoming transfer. The weather here is stupid. It is EXACTLY like California right now and every time I’m outside if I were to close my eyes....I would be home. Anyways, that’ll change in a few weeks when its starts snowing and getting dark at 4 pm :) I love you all and have another GREAT week for me!
What a week, sounds like it was a dream come true. I’m so proud of my family!! Way to do missionary work, one down...only 1000000000034659028437502938750293845 to go :) who's next? Really though, I couldn’t be happier for Alex, its sounds like she gets it. There are a ton of members who aren’t at that stage yet. DAD!! How many baptisms have you done?! Classic...I’m glad it all worked out. Keep up the good work guys; it’s so nice to have a family who is willing to work with missionaries, that’s VERY rare out here, so you guys are a huge blessing. Kimi and Nate are getting married, Kyle is a SENIOR in high school, and Cami has a dope job with Matt Frisbie...blows my mind. It’s great to hear from you all.
This week was a whirlwind of emotions. My trainer left me....that was way harder than I expected. We became a great companionship after these few months together. the mission throws everything at you...it was hard because we both put so much effort into our companionship and now I have to do it all over again. Well, the good news is that my new comp is elder Jordan Smith...yup sis Love's grandson that was in the MTC with me, from Chino. He is in his 4th transfer and I’m in my 3rd....and the whole Russian language thing, well....it’s coming. Our district this transfer is way young. we have 6 and 2 are training ( who haven’t been out a year yet), which means 2 of them just got to the country less than a week ago, and then there is me and my comp, its gunna be crazy. I’ve noticed that whoever your companion is, in the beginning of the transfer...it’s kind of hard adjusting. I just know that we'll get into the groove and turn this place upside down. We FINALLY got a hold of a "ward" list so now we have that to work with which is huge. I have met with only 7 members/ families since I’ve been here (and 2 of those are inactive) and now with this heaven sent list...turns out that we have 52 members in our area!!! This and 5 of those members/ families are active...we've got some work to do. So we had a miracle yesterday but I have to start the story from the beginning. About a month ago I would say, we went contacting (as usual) and ran into a man who was baptized but is completely inactive. His name is Michael (Mee-kh-i-el) and said that we could meet with him. Then I met with him only once after that. We called him yesterday morning and asked if we could meet and he said yes!!! So we get there with a lesson about how to break an addiction because he related a bunch of his problems to smoking and that he wanted to stop (at our last meeting). So we start and everything is going well, then it was as if he got way offended and he told us not to bring up smoking again...so we agreed went on to our back up plan...the Restoration. We asked him if he wanted a blessing and he said yes, but that he didn’t want to sit but to kneel as we gave it. That was powerful. That let us know that he has a testimony and really wanted to change...we will meet with him next week I hope. So that was great but when we got back to our apt I called our branch president to report that we had given a blessing. turns out that our branch president had called about 10 days earlier just to see how things were going and Michael told him of his no job and bad health. The branch president then offered to come for a blessing and Michael said not at that time but in the future....that blessing was given yesterday. We had no idea that branch president had that conversation with him. God's hand is in everything! I’m learning so much right now during my personal studies, that’s “MY TIME" and I love it. Also I’m becoming a pretty good cook :) well, my new companionship will be great and I’m excited for the upcoming transfer. The weather here is stupid. It is EXACTLY like California right now and every time I’m outside if I were to close my eyes....I would be home. Anyways, that’ll change in a few weeks when its starts snowing and getting dark at 4 pm :) I love you all and have another GREAT week for me!
Monday, September 12, 2011
End of Summer :(
Hey guys!
Great to hear from you mom and kimi! Thanks for hooking me up with some good things to read. Sounds like Alex is gunna pull through with the baptism! That’s great. I pray for her b/c its coming fast and this is when Satan will whip out the big guns so Alex...you got this, you're making literally the best decision of your life so hang in there. Other than that, Kyle is a senior in high school which still blows my mind and kimi is getting married....and cami sounds like she’s living the dream. Mom that’s dope that your new principle is Mormon! Way to 9 hours a day! I finally know what that feels like haha; and Dad it’s still weird for me that you're not bishop anymore more but it’s got to be great with all the extra family time.
Well, this week was not eventful in the least bit. The mission is crazy with all the ups and downs. I have transfers on Thursday where I’ll get a new companion!! I’ve heard that I’m staying in my area and that a young comp is coming to me, as in I was with them in the MTC, as in we both don’t speak Russian haha. Its going to be a blast though b/c so far its sounds like the sister in our district will be training and the other missionary will be training as well....young district!!! I’m sad to leave my trainer cuz we've become way tight. He was a friend from BYU before my mission, like we would chill together and now the mission has brought us way close. I’m STOKED to get a new companion though.
The summer days here are over; the weather went from hot to cold in 2 days literally so we're expecting not to see the sun here soon. I guess in the winter it is ALWAYS overcast and the sun goes down at 3:30 - 4 ish and by 4:30ish it’s as if it was midnight....crazy, I guess you literally don’t see the sun for 6 months!! I will be a ghost :) As for Victor he didn’t come to church and we didn’t get to meet with him! When we called him his whole demeanor changed and it was as if he were a different person. I hope that he doesn’t drop us. But I met another AWESOME person on a bus named Andrei; he was in the Soviet Army's Special Forces and is in love with the missionaries. He’s this short stalky guy who is always calling us and letting us know the scores to all the "Shocktor" games (Ukraine’s pro team, means Miners) and he said that since we live in a dangerous area that if we call him he will "take care of us". I honestly feel safe now here I’m not even kidding. We had a great first lesson with him while I was on a split and he fed us this soup stuff that I thought was way good although I didn’t really ask what was in it nor did I want to find out.
Well, honestly that’s all for this week but next week will be a great letter b/c I’ll be going in to my next stage as a missionary! As for the package, I would really like the Voice male cds please!! Especially Christmas! Just burn them and send them over if possible! I’ll try to send pictures today, but most times the card reader thing doesn’t work haha but I’ll try :)
I love you all! Sorry this was a short letter, honestly NOTHING happened this week. But I love you and Have an AWESOME weeeeeek!
- Старейшина Руни
Great to hear from you mom and kimi! Thanks for hooking me up with some good things to read. Sounds like Alex is gunna pull through with the baptism! That’s great. I pray for her b/c its coming fast and this is when Satan will whip out the big guns so Alex...you got this, you're making literally the best decision of your life so hang in there. Other than that, Kyle is a senior in high school which still blows my mind and kimi is getting married....and cami sounds like she’s living the dream. Mom that’s dope that your new principle is Mormon! Way to 9 hours a day! I finally know what that feels like haha; and Dad it’s still weird for me that you're not bishop anymore more but it’s got to be great with all the extra family time.
Well, this week was not eventful in the least bit. The mission is crazy with all the ups and downs. I have transfers on Thursday where I’ll get a new companion!! I’ve heard that I’m staying in my area and that a young comp is coming to me, as in I was with them in the MTC, as in we both don’t speak Russian haha. Its going to be a blast though b/c so far its sounds like the sister in our district will be training and the other missionary will be training as well....young district!!! I’m sad to leave my trainer cuz we've become way tight. He was a friend from BYU before my mission, like we would chill together and now the mission has brought us way close. I’m STOKED to get a new companion though.
The summer days here are over; the weather went from hot to cold in 2 days literally so we're expecting not to see the sun here soon. I guess in the winter it is ALWAYS overcast and the sun goes down at 3:30 - 4 ish and by 4:30ish it’s as if it was midnight....crazy, I guess you literally don’t see the sun for 6 months!! I will be a ghost :) As for Victor he didn’t come to church and we didn’t get to meet with him! When we called him his whole demeanor changed and it was as if he were a different person. I hope that he doesn’t drop us. But I met another AWESOME person on a bus named Andrei; he was in the Soviet Army's Special Forces and is in love with the missionaries. He’s this short stalky guy who is always calling us and letting us know the scores to all the "Shocktor" games (Ukraine’s pro team, means Miners) and he said that since we live in a dangerous area that if we call him he will "take care of us". I honestly feel safe now here I’m not even kidding. We had a great first lesson with him while I was on a split and he fed us this soup stuff that I thought was way good although I didn’t really ask what was in it nor did I want to find out.
Well, honestly that’s all for this week but next week will be a great letter b/c I’ll be going in to my next stage as a missionary! As for the package, I would really like the Voice male cds please!! Especially Christmas! Just burn them and send them over if possible! I’ll try to send pictures today, but most times the card reader thing doesn’t work haha but I’ll try :)
I love you all! Sorry this was a short letter, honestly NOTHING happened this week. But I love you and Have an AWESOME weeeeeek!
- Старейшина Руни
Monday, September 5, 2011
Victor!
hey family!
I love getting your emails and hearing everything that’s going on. Sounds like things are pretty rock solid. It’s great to hear about Alex and her progression in the Gospel. I can’t wait for her to really let it change her life. I still have no idea what’s going on with Cami! but I talked to kimi...everything is going great so I hear. Dad, it’s funny that you mentioned the house becoming empty b/c I was JUST talking with my comp that everyone is leaving the hectic Rooney residence which is definitely a change. I realized that when I get back from this whole mission thing I will be at school, Kimi will be long gone, Kyle will barely be home if at all ( depending what he does for school), and Cami will most likely be out too. So it'll be just the old Folks at home! That’ll be a first...I’m not sure how much I like it to be honest haha. But change is good and is necessary for us if we want to progress. Mom and Dad I just want to say thank you. You've created and helped developed 4 little machines that are all strong in the Gospel. You 2 did it right. Every once in a while I try and picture what kind of father I want to be and all I see is this dude named Mike Rooney...who surfs. And I mean it...and I know that you (Dad) are who you are today b/c of Moji Rooney. So thank you both.
This week was great! The time flies by literally. So I have great experiences ALL the time and those who have been on missions know that it’s impossible to write home and tell about every single one no matter how fast you can type. So I’ll just stick with one for this week....it’s a good one :) So....we have AN investigator, his name is Victor and he's a doctor for the miners who get in wrecks. He's a great guy and I’m sure I’ve told you a bit about him. Well the Spirit helped us find him and well I just gets better. So we decided to call him Saturday morning and he agreed to meet with us! We called a member named Vadeem to come with us but he couldn’t....sooo we called up our branch president to come with us b/c we thought he needed to be able to relate to someone. Our branch president said he could make so that was RAD. The ENTIRE lesson was guided by the Spirit and was near perfect. I remember the branch president brought up an experience he had with priesthood blessings which was cool but it was completely off topic. but it was exactly what Victor needed to hear ( of course it was) then the rest of our lesson was perfect and not really at all what we planned but that’s the beauty of the Spirit. So I called him Sunday morning to see if he could make it to church which is at least 45 min away on 2 buses. he works 7am to 7pm and we were at his house till 9 the night before so we were hesitant to see what his response would be...I spoke with him and he pretty much said that he needed to sleep (I called at 8 30 ish in the morning b/c our 2nd bus leaves with all the members on it at 9 30 and we still had to get on our first bus....so he was tired). So I left that conversation with a “bummer, we'll get him next week". We get on our first bus and are about 3 min away from the second and my companion gets a phone call from a random number and almost didn’t pick it up...but good thing he did cuz it was Victor, and said that he was already at the second bus!!!!!! how he got there BEFORE us? No one knows but he ended up coming to church with us for the 1st and 2nd hour!! But not us, the other missionaries in my district had people show up too! And randomly some members brought friends to church...there were 6 investigators at church yesterday :) God delivered, big time. Gospel principles was a blast b/c they ALL stayed for that class. it was NUTS! plus it was fast Sunday which can be good and bad for investigators...we have a few crazies in our branch that like to talk about kolob and how long it takes to get there...and this old guy (not a member) comes almost every week and he literally thinks that he is God. So we always have to make sure investigators don’t talk to him very long. But if those investigators were at church that day...its b/c God wanted them there so. I don’t speak Russian so I can’t really tell you what the testimonies were about but I’m sure they were good ones :). anyways, I had a great week and have another one coming...transfer calls are this week so next week I’ll be in my 3rd transfer already....crazy. I love you all! Have a wonderful week!
PS: things that would be great in a package include:
- Beanies/ ear muff things
-maple extract
- Gatorade powder for drinks
- Hot chocolate packets
I met this man named Richard who is with the Peace Corps and lives right next to us! he's 28 and a BOSS
...here are some pictures from a carnival for Makeevka's 321st birthday!!! no big deal...
I love getting your emails and hearing everything that’s going on. Sounds like things are pretty rock solid. It’s great to hear about Alex and her progression in the Gospel. I can’t wait for her to really let it change her life. I still have no idea what’s going on with Cami! but I talked to kimi...everything is going great so I hear. Dad, it’s funny that you mentioned the house becoming empty b/c I was JUST talking with my comp that everyone is leaving the hectic Rooney residence which is definitely a change. I realized that when I get back from this whole mission thing I will be at school, Kimi will be long gone, Kyle will barely be home if at all ( depending what he does for school), and Cami will most likely be out too. So it'll be just the old Folks at home! That’ll be a first...I’m not sure how much I like it to be honest haha. But change is good and is necessary for us if we want to progress. Mom and Dad I just want to say thank you. You've created and helped developed 4 little machines that are all strong in the Gospel. You 2 did it right. Every once in a while I try and picture what kind of father I want to be and all I see is this dude named Mike Rooney...who surfs. And I mean it...and I know that you (Dad) are who you are today b/c of Moji Rooney. So thank you both.
This week was great! The time flies by literally. So I have great experiences ALL the time and those who have been on missions know that it’s impossible to write home and tell about every single one no matter how fast you can type. So I’ll just stick with one for this week....it’s a good one :) So....we have AN investigator, his name is Victor and he's a doctor for the miners who get in wrecks. He's a great guy and I’m sure I’ve told you a bit about him. Well the Spirit helped us find him and well I just gets better. So we decided to call him Saturday morning and he agreed to meet with us! We called a member named Vadeem to come with us but he couldn’t....sooo we called up our branch president to come with us b/c we thought he needed to be able to relate to someone. Our branch president said he could make so that was RAD. The ENTIRE lesson was guided by the Spirit and was near perfect. I remember the branch president brought up an experience he had with priesthood blessings which was cool but it was completely off topic. but it was exactly what Victor needed to hear ( of course it was) then the rest of our lesson was perfect and not really at all what we planned but that’s the beauty of the Spirit. So I called him Sunday morning to see if he could make it to church which is at least 45 min away on 2 buses. he works 7am to 7pm and we were at his house till 9 the night before so we were hesitant to see what his response would be...I spoke with him and he pretty much said that he needed to sleep (I called at 8 30 ish in the morning b/c our 2nd bus leaves with all the members on it at 9 30 and we still had to get on our first bus....so he was tired). So I left that conversation with a “bummer, we'll get him next week". We get on our first bus and are about 3 min away from the second and my companion gets a phone call from a random number and almost didn’t pick it up...but good thing he did cuz it was Victor, and said that he was already at the second bus!!!!!! how he got there BEFORE us? No one knows but he ended up coming to church with us for the 1st and 2nd hour!! But not us, the other missionaries in my district had people show up too! And randomly some members brought friends to church...there were 6 investigators at church yesterday :) God delivered, big time. Gospel principles was a blast b/c they ALL stayed for that class. it was NUTS! plus it was fast Sunday which can be good and bad for investigators...we have a few crazies in our branch that like to talk about kolob and how long it takes to get there...and this old guy (not a member) comes almost every week and he literally thinks that he is God. So we always have to make sure investigators don’t talk to him very long. But if those investigators were at church that day...its b/c God wanted them there so. I don’t speak Russian so I can’t really tell you what the testimonies were about but I’m sure they were good ones :). anyways, I had a great week and have another one coming...transfer calls are this week so next week I’ll be in my 3rd transfer already....crazy. I love you all! Have a wonderful week!
PS: things that would be great in a package include:
- Beanies/ ear muff things
-maple extract
- Gatorade powder for drinks
- Hot chocolate packets
I met this man named Richard who is with the Peace Corps and lives right next to us! he's 28 and a BOSS
...here are some pictures from a carnival for Makeevka's 321st birthday!!! no big deal...
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