A New Year

  The end of the year is here. Goodness. Time goes by so quickly. I love New Years. I loved setting goals with my family and making toasts to the new years and to our goals. I still remember the Goals I set with my family last year. It was to get into the BYU Mechanical Engineering Program and to go on a mission. I am glad to say that I accomplished both of those goals. I need to think really hard about what my goals are going to be this year. I have a few things in mind, but they are still in the making. 

      The highlight of my week was being able to call home. Hearing the voices of my loved ones really made my Christmas. It wasn't the presents that I opened, or the great food. It was being able to communicate with the people I love so dearly. It really brought a whole new aspect to Christmas that I never before realized. I have never had a Christmas away from my family. I have never spent a Christmas outside the state of Utah. I am sad to say that before my mission I didn't really understand much about Christmas. When I hit the age of about 14 Christmas kind of lost it's spirit. I assumed that it was just because I was growing up that Christmas lost it's spirit, but I have come to realize that Christmas never lost it's spirit. It was always there. I just got so caught up in the material things of Christmas that I lost my spirit of Christmas. While talking to my family I got that same feeling that I would get when I was young. Sitting in my living room with my family exchanging brother gifts and enjoying each other's company. The spirit there would be so strong and it would just warm my soul. While talking on the phone I got that same feeling as I did when I was young. It is too easy to take things as important as family for granted. I am glad for the opportunity that I had this Christmas to reflect on really what is important. 

      Not much has happened this week. The Roldan family is out on vacation this week for the Holidays so we didn't get to meet with them. We have met quite a few times with Tony and Kim, and they are really progressing. Kim calls us her sons. I told them that when I go home that I am taking them with me. Tony was excited because he wants to see the Salt Flats. Haha. I really love these two. Tony is so excited about The Book of Mormon. I have never seen anyone as excited about it than he is. He finds it absolutely FASCINATING. It makes sense to him, and he reads it to Kim every night. We are hoping that they will come to Church the upcoming Sunday. Tony has a few health problems that makes it kind of difficult for him to come to Church, but we know that they will come soon. 

      One of my goals for the new year is to really work hard. Harder than I have worked in the past. I really want to change and become a different person. Not a complete different person, but a better person. I want to have the integrity of the Apostles and truly have the same desire to follow Christ as they do. I want to know more about all the Scriptures. Every single book. My goal is to study my heart out. 

     I have got to get going. But I love you all so much. I hope that you all have a great new year. I hope to hear from anyone who reads this soon! I love you guys! 

-Elder Ryan Romero 

The Greatest Gift

It's Christmas Eve and I am far from home. At least the home that I used to know. The phrase, "Home is wherever you have the people you love" is  making more sense to me. I have come to the knowledge of the truthfulness of that statement over this Christmas holiday. What I didn't realize when I arrived in Atlanta six months ago was that I was coming home, a new home. A home very similar to the one that I left, except a lot bigger. The people that I love, truly love, aren't just in the Salt Lake Valley. They are here in Atlanta. They are the people I have served. They are the people's whose lives I have changed in someway. This is where home is for the next 18 months, because I am surrounded by people I love. 

     I want to tell you a story that happened recently (yesterday actually). It is nothing exciting but I feel that it is a real turning point for me in my mission. We were in a member's home and he was taking us around and showing us his house. He had a lot of children and he and his wife raised them in that very house. He decided that once they moved out from the house that the children could keep their individual rooms and decorate them so he could have a piece of the children's childhood once they moved out. So he took us around the home showing us each child's room. He'd tell us a bit about the child and show us the things from their childhood. It was very interesting to hear about their fun stories. Most of his children went on missions, in fact all of them. They went to Chile, Africa, Mexico, Russia, just all these awesome places. On their walls they had swords, spears, maps, flags, maps and all sorts of souvenirs from the places they served. Seeing these things made me really upset. I really wanted to go on a foreign mission. I wanted to learn a foreign language. I wanted to have all these cool things to bring home and show my family and friends. I wanted to learn a new culture. I wanted to teach my kids a foreign language and show them all the cool cultural things I've learned. When I saw all these things on the wall I instantly thought, "What am I going to bring home from Georgia? A confederate flag?" It made me really sad. Out of nowhere the thought came to me, almost a voice saying, "Ryan, these things are not important. You are going to bring home the greatest gift. Far better than a sword, spear or map. You are going to bring home a testimony, you are going to bring home the atonement of Jesus Christ. A gift worth far more than any language, cultural food or story. You are going to bring home stories of people whose lives have been changed. Your walls may not be covered with cultural souvenirs from the place that you served, but they will be covered with pictures of people who YOU gave God's greatest gift to. The atonement of Jesus Christ, and in turn you will receive that greatest gift also." It occurred to me at that very moment what my wall would be covered with and what my children would learn when they looked at my wall. It would be covered with the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and my children would see that. My hope for them is that they would not be excited to go on a mission to bring home a spear or sword, but to bring home the greatest souvenir of all. The Atonement of Jesus Christ. 

      That is all that I really have time to share with you today. God's greatest gift to mankind is truly the Atonement of Jesus Christ. That is what we should be remembering on Christmas. I invite you all to partake of God's greatest gift. Read the scriptures, pray, repent, go to Church, serve a mission, serve your neighbor, serve your children, serve your wife. Partake of Christ's atonement and watch how much better your Christmas will be. I love you all so much. I truly do. I hope that you all have the best Christmas ever. 

-Elder Ryan Romero

Another transfer week

Holy Cow, I'm starting my fifth transfer. I will hit my sixth month mark this week. That is absolutely crazy. Time is going by faster than ever. Elder Armenta and I are really doing work. We are working with so many people! This area has totally turned around since I white washed in. Goodness, I love this place. Dunwoody was the area that no one wanted to go to, but now Elder Armenta and I both don't want to go. The AP's called us this morning and let us know whether or not we were going to be moved this transfer. We picked up the phone and they said, "Well... Elder Armenta was going to go back to Lithonia, But... We have had people calling in from your area requesting that you both stay. So we had to move things around this morning, but you are both going to stay." This news was the greatest news ever. Elder Armenta and I are best buds, he is seriously my favorite companion. I love the members here. Right after that phone call we got on our knees and thanked God for allowing us to stay another transfer. One of the families that called the President was the Roldans. We had a meeting with them last night and let them know that there was a good chance that one of us was getting moved, and that we'd call them in the morning and let them know what is going on. After we got off the phone with the AP's we texted Bro Roldan and said "We're staying!" and he texted back, "We have the power! We prayed that you'd stay and texted your President." 

     The Roldans are amazing. We are continuing to teach them. Their daughter comes home from BYU today for the holidays. Having her there is really going to help us. They have committed to live all the commandments. Yesterday they stayed for all three hours of church for the first time. They are really really progressing. I love this family with all of my heart. Leaving them when I eventually do get transferred is going to be so difficult. I just hope that I can be here for their baptism. I can't wait for my friends and family to meet the Roldans. This family is seriously amazing. 

Elder Romero and Junior

     I want to talk about a member in this area for a little. His name is Brother Asper. This man has been a member for one and a half years. He is now the High Priest Group Leader of the ward. Next week the whole bishopric will be gone for the holidays so Brother Asper will be on the stand. There is only one word to describe this man, Inspirational. He will do anything to help us out. He is the smartest guy I have ever met. He studies everything. His desire to follow Christ is stronger than anyone's I have ever met. He has read about ever Church study material that you could imagine. He's read about every book from the most famous BYU religion professors you could find. The most amazing thing about Brother Asper is that studying and being kind and Christlike is just who he is. It is just part of his character. He is hands down the most inspirational man I have met on my mission, or possibly in my life. He's promised to come camping with me in Utah when I get back and come to my homecoming, so hopefully everyone will get to meet him. 

Junior, Elder Romero, Elder Armeta, Joe

     I don't have too much time today because we got a busy P-Day today. We have got a lot of cleaning to do! Things are going great here in Dunwoody. I am enjoying my mission to the fullest right now. I want to thank everyone that has sent/sending me a 12 days of Christmas present. You guys are the greatest. I am so thankful for everyone back home that loves and cares about me, and I want you to all know that I love and care about you too! I love you all so so much!! 

Merry Christmas! 


-Elder Ryan Romero 

Changes

  Elder Grassley is now back in Springville Utah. His headaches were getting the best of him and the mission doctor said that it would be best if he took care of them back home. I am really going to miss that kid. Him and I got along so well. I hope that they can figure out what is going on with his head so that he can come back out. I really want him to come back out.
     My new companion's name is Elder Armenta. This guy is the best. He is just like my friends back home. He is a short little soccer kid that wears size 7 shoes. Him and I have a ton in common. He knew a couple of my friends from back home. He knew quite a few of the kids on the Murray Soccer team. He was really good with my friend named Andy Christensen. He reminds me a lot of Andy. They are both the kindest kids ever. Elder Armenta is a great teacher, our teaching styles really compliment each other. I can see Elder Armenta becoming my favorite companion. I just hope that in a week in a half one of us doesn't get transferred... I wouldn't be surprised if one of us did.

     This week in my district we've had two emergency transfers. One with Elder Grassley and Elder Armenta. Then another with two other Elders in my district that weren't getting along. It was a crazy week, but a very good week. Elder Armenta and I are really working hard, and the Lord is blessing us immensely. We have great investigators that are really progressing. The ward is really seeming to turn around and love the missionaries again. People are just seeming to pop up left and right for us to teach. This whole area has taken a 360. It went from being an unproductive area to the point that they closed it to one of the most productive areas in the zone! The Lord is just amazing!

     The Roldan Family is really progressing. I see them getting baptized pretty soon. I have so much to say about this family. So many amazing experiences while teaching them to the point that everyone in the room was in tears. There is no doubt in my mind that God answers prayers, because I have been praying hard for this family and he has helped them out so much. I can't wait till my family in friends have the opportunity to meet this amazing family. I don't have much time today to talk about this family, but I want everyone to know that God is working in the hearts of this family.
    
     I want to talk about two people today. Tony and Kim. They are husband and wife, and they are proof that opposites attract. Kim is the most talkative enthusiastic lady I've ever met, and Tony is the most meek humble quite man I've ever met. Together they create one of the greatest couples I have met so far on my mission. They are both our investigators. To simply put it, they LOVE God and Jesus Christ. They are both very very well read on the Bible, and have been searching deeply for answers to their questions. When we told them about the restoration, Joseph Smith, and The Book of Mormon, it just made sense to them. Kim kept saying, "I keep getting the shivers." And Tony would say, "I have always wondered why... Now I know." Tony and Kim have been truly prepared to receive this Gospel. I have never seen someone so interested in The Book of Mormon as I have seen Tony. When he reads the Book of Mormon, he is IN to it. Goodness, I love them both so much. I wish that everyone reading this could just meet them right now!

     I am realizing more and more what is important in life. Everyday I am out here it becomes more and more clear to me what I want and need for my future and how I am going to get it. I know that everything that I am learning out here is preparing me for something that is going to happen after my two years is up. I just hope that I can learn everything that I am supposed to. I hope that I can become who God expects me to become. I hope that when I am done with my mission that I can continue to grow as much as I have out here. I love my mission, and I love what it is doing to me. I know that going on a mission is the only way that this change could have taken place in my life.

      I hope that all is well back home. I hope that all is well in the world, because I have no idea what is happening in it. I hope all that read this remember who they are, Children of God. I love you all!

-Elder Ryan Romero

Week Three in Dunwoody

     This was a good week. I can see God's hand in this work. He is helping me grow, and helping the work in this area grow. I can tell that I am truly getting lost in the work. The things in the mission are now far more important to me than things of the world. I am realizing what is important in life. My relationship with God is growing. My knowledge of him and his nature is growing. I can feel myself changing. I can feel the atonement working in my life. I just need to work harder, and trust in the Lord with ALL of my heart. I need to trust him that things back home are going to be taken care of. I need to trust him and have faith that he will take care of me and the people that I love back home. I know that if I can do that that I can get further lost in the work and grow even more.

     Things with Joe and Junior haven't changed much. Joe is still smoking, and Junior is smoking less. I have other people that I would really like to talk about right now, so I am going to majority of this letter talking about them. I want to talk about a family. This family is called the Roldan family. Everyone in the family except the 21 year old daughter who attends BYU is not a member. The daughter joined the Church two years ago. She is a very very strong member now and is encouraging her family to investigate the Church and become members. He family has been through 10 sets of missionaries since the daughter joined. We are now the eleventh set. I have faith that we are going to be the difference in this family's life.
     The Mother, Father, Son, and youngest Daughter are not members. The Son and Daughter are both very active in every program of the church. The son even goes to early morning seminary. The Roldan family is one of the most active families in the ward. They come to Church every Sunday without fail. The Mother and Father don't go to any other hours of Church besides sacrament. The children stay for all three hours.  This family is amazing and would make great members of the Church. They are such a strong and loving family.
     The Mother and Father both have a Catholic background. We have been able to answer a lot of questions for them that the Catholic religion just has not been able to answer. Yesterday we got them to come to Sunday school for the first time ever! They loved it so much. We met with them later that night, and they told us, "No other missionaries have ever got us to do the things that you guys have helped us do. Thank you for pushing us. I can tell that something is different about you two." They have a lot of questions about the Church. I love answering questions for people. I feel like there is not one question that this Church doesn't have an answer too. I love the hard questions because they push me to find an answer. We have been able to answer all of their questions so far. I can't wait to see what else they are going to throw at us in the next meeting.
      I know that this family is special. God has seriously played a HUGE role in their lives. He cares for this family as he does every family. This family is prepared. I am so excited to see what happens with them.

     Being in the "Bible Belt" I have really gotten to know the Bible well. I know the Bible quite a bit better than most people out here. I have grown a deep love for the Bible, especially the New testament. The Bible absolutely testifies of the truthfulness of this Church. There is not one thing that does not support our religion. Our Church uses every teaching in the Bible to its fullness! I wish that people could just realize that! If you truly read the Bible (not just one part of it) and study it (not just one part of it) then you will come to the conclusion that there was an Apostasy, and there was a need for a Restoration. It is so clear in every page of the Bible.

     Elder Grassley's birthday was on Saturday. We had a good time. I took him out to this great burger place and talked and shared stories. He is a great kid. We get along so well. His head is still bothering him but we are going to figure it out.
He is a great missionary and a hard worker.

     Well I hope to hear from anyone that reads this over the next week. My time is up, I have got to go. I love you all so so much!

-Elder Ryan Romero

The holidays are flying by. It feels like Halloween was yesterday. Thanksgiving was better than Halloween. It is a holiday that they let you celebrate on your mission unlike Halloween. No one in the ward I am in now invited us to do anything for Thanksgiving, so we drove down to Decatur and celebrated it with my old ward. It was a very good Thanksgiving dinner. The Mallory's cooked a feast. We had all the Thanksgiving specialties, and some things I'd rather not try again. Chitlings, they are disgusting, never eat them. Haha. I got to see Glovia again and got to say goodbye to her. I am going to miss her so much.   I am going to miss the Mallory's. Especially brother Mallory and his southern accent. He can't pronounce anything right. Christmas is "Krimas" street is "skreet" straight is "skraight". Gosh I love that man.

Graffiti in a tunnel...not too shabby!

Elders at the last Zone Conference

Elder Romero and Sister Mallory

Elder Romero and Brother Mallory

Elder Romero and Glovia, a convert from Decatur

     The work in Dunwoody is alright. The difference in openness to our message due to geographical location and financial situations is becoming more and more apparent to me. People here are very wealthy. It seems like the more wealthy neighborhoods won't listen to our message at all. They open the door, give a sigh, and shut the door. It is very different from the poorer areas. The poorer areas the people at least listen to you. We have been doing most of our tracting in the poorer areas of Dunwoody. There aren't many, so we have pretty much covered all of it already. However, the Lord has blessed us for our efforts.
      We have two investigators with baptismal dates. Their names are Joe, and Junior. They are neighbors and good friends. We found them both within the last week. Joe is the father of one of our former investigators. He is a Jehovah's Witness but doesn't know too much about the religion. He is a very kind man and you can tell he really cares about Elder Grassley and I. He had many good questions. Questions that other religions just couldn't give him answers to. He loved the story about the restoration and Book of Mormon. Junior is a Vietnam vet. Very kind and funny country boy. Junior loves to talk. He loves to share stories with us and we love listening. He is a very kind man, as he would say, "Junior tries to be good to everyone."
      We were teaching Junior before we were teaching Joe. We talked to Junior about the restoration and the history of the Church. A couple days later we met with Joe and started teaching him. In the lesson with Joe we were explaining how Satan tries to mislead and confuse. While God's path is clear and simple. As we were talking about this Junior busts through the door furious. He was coming to tell Joe to never meet with us. He didn't know that we were meeting with Joe at that very moment. Junior looks at us very angrily and says, "You didn't tell me that you had multiple wives. I am not doing that. I don't want anything to do with you guys anymore." After he said that I turned to Joe and said, "See how Satan misleads?" Luckily we were there to straighten things out and calm Junior down. After teaching them and explaining things to them we invited them to both be baptized together on December 16. They both have a problem smoking so they said that they are going to help each other quit so they can get baptized and they are going to go to Church together. It was an amazing lesson that I could really see the hand of God in.

      Elder Grassley is great. He reminds me a lot of my good friend Ian Kelley. Haha. For those of you that know Ian that may seem really weird... But they are very similar. He has been having quite a few health problems though. He has diabetes and has been having really bad headaches since the MTC. We are going to the doctor today to hopefully figure everything out. Him and I get along great. We were into a lot of the same T.V. shows back home. He has been filling me in on what has been going on since I have been gone. We have a very similar sense of humor too. He is a great kid. I am trying my hardest to train him the best I can. I think I am doing a pretty good job. It is weird being in the position I am in when I feel like I was in his shoes yesterday... Sometimes I don't feel strong enough. I still struggle with things just as he does. Being a trainer I have been trying hard to stay strong for him.

      Well that is about all I have to say for today. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. I love you all so much. I miss you all so much.

-Elder Ryan Romero.

New Transfer, New Companion, New Area

I have been transferred. My new area is called Dunwoody. Dunwoody is in the Northern part of Atlanta. It is a much more wealthy part of Atlanta. When I first got my call to Atlanta I questioned whether or not I would even serve inside the city haha. Looks like I am probably going to serve half of my mission in the city. Dunwoody was recently closed to missionaries... I am now opening it back up. The relationship hasn't been the best between the missionaries and the ward, so I am hoping to repair that relationship. Besides getting a new area, I have got a new companion. His name is Elder Grassley and he is fresh out of the MTC. He is a great kid and we have a lot in common. Besides getting new area and companion, I am now a District Leader. I have three areas in my district. I have gotten to know most of the kids in my district pretty well because I am still in the same zone. I am very excited to serve all of them by being their new District Leader.

     Dunwoody is very different from Decatur. It is amazing how diverse Atlanta is. Dunwoody is a very rich part of Atlanta. I have seen more 100+ thousand dollar cars than I ever have in my life here. The work has been slow in Dunwoody in the past. I am confident with enough faith and hard work that Elder Grassley and I can make this area new and productive. We have already seen the fruits of our hard work.

     I feel very bad for Elder Grassley. I white washed into my first area and I didn't really enjoy it. At first it doesn't feel like you are doing much missionary work because most of your time is spent reorganizing all the paper work. Over the past couple days we have completely redid the map, and reorganized the area book. It took a lot of time. This area was a mess, it is no wonder it hasn't been productive. I know that when we leave this area, we are definitelty going to leave it better than when we found it.

     I don't have too much to say today. A lot has happened. The past week feels like it has been a month... The start of transfers always feels really slow. I don't know why I don't have much to say... The sky is gray today. I hate gray days. I am running out of time and I just don't know what to say. My mind is so full of thoughts, it has been running a million miles a second. I just can't wait to see what is down the road. I want to be the best trainer ever, I want to be the best District Leader ever. I just hope that I can stay strong for Elder Grassley and help him in any way possible. It is odd having someone who relies on you. It is really pushing me to be the best missionary I can be. I know how important that first companion is.

     My new address is 9105 Peachford Circle, Dunwoody, GA 30338. I hope to hear from anyone that reads this. I hope that all is well back home. I hope everyone is staying safe and doing the things that they are supposed to.

 Elder Romero and Elder Grassley-Dunwoody GA

I love you all so much.

-Elder Ryan Romero

End of a transfer

Another six weeks have come and gone. I can't express how fast time is moving. It is crazy to think that only six weeks ago Elder Shelley and I were waiting in our apartment to find out where we were going to end up. We are still waiting for that call. I could stay here in Decatur, or go off somewhere else. I wish they would tell us sooner so that I could let you guys know what is happenning.

 

     As time goes on I can feel the world slip away. I can feel the desires of my heart begin to change. It sounds cheezy, I know. That is what the Gospel of Jesus Christ does for you though. I still love music any music from heavy metal to indie rock, I still love to snowboard, I still love to go to concerts, I still love to play guitar, and I still love to talk about politics and conspiracy theories. As time goes on I can feel myself miss those things less and less. I can feel them just slip out of my grasp. I can feel my heart stowing them away until June 20, 2014. I am finding joy in the work. I am learning to trust the Lord with all my heart. This does not mean however that I don't have tough times. It just makes them easier to bear. I am begining to realize that going home from my mission might not be the happiest day of my life. It will once again be taking me from the things I have learned to love, and learning to love something new again. Watching the other Elders that I have grown to love and admire go home is harder than watching my best friends leave on their missions. It is something that I think only a missionary can understand. Watching Elder Hansen, Elder Heimuli, and soon Elder Shelley leave. I am realizing more more and who I want to become at the end of my mission. I don't want to be running towards the gate of the airplane when that time comes. I want to be walking towards it looking back towards my mission reflecting on the change that it has had on my life.

 

     This week has been an interesting week. I will start off with the good news. We have come across two new investigators. Their names are Joe and Josh. Great guys. We met Joe on the train. He is a very very interesting man. He owns a bar down in Midtown. He loves talking to us and is a very very nice guy. Josh is also a very interesting man. Josh reffered himself. His fathers side of his family is all Mormon. He wants to learn more. He is about 80% deaf and can only hear a little bit out of his left ear. He is such a friendly guy and loves meeting with us. Elder Shelley and I are so excited to see what happens with these two new investigators.

     Now for the bad news. The Crofts called us Sunday after church and told us that they no longer want to meet with us. They got antied at Church. The baptist church puts Homosexuals, Muslims, and Mormons all in the same bucket. They are all going to hell according to them. In most churches around here, if they find out you are meeting with Mormon missionaries, they will excommunicate you. Or give you loads and loads of anti-mormon litterature and tell you to stop meeting with us.

     I love the Crofts. I love them so much. We met with them twice after our first visit. Every visit was so great and spiritual. You could tell that they loved us and their hearts were so open. Mr. Croft thought that our message was facinating and would often say, "It just makes sense." Mrs. Croft told us that she wanted to adopt us. I just don't understand. It just does not make sense to me why? They loved us. They knew that The Book of Mormon was true, they would say it constantly. They knew that our message was true. The hate that other religions have towards Mormons makes me absolutely ill. I love the Crofts so much and hope to somehow continue to teach them. I'll do anything that I can to help them, but people have their own agency.

 

     That is about all that I have for you this week. Things are going pretty well. I hope to hear from some of you soon... Send letters (Not packages. Don't send packages till you have my new address) to the mission office over the next week until I figure out what is happening regarding transfers. I love you all so much. 

 

-Elder Ryan Romero

Fall is in the Air

The trees are changing and I can feel the coldness in my lungs. Fall is here and I love it so much. Georgia is absolutely gorgeous in the Fall. Sometimes I just sit and look up at the canopy of leaves in wonder as the light shines through the leaves. God is good. He loves his children.

     Halloween is my favorite Holiday. I love scary movies, haunted houses, costumes, dry ice, and all the reese's. Halloween is a lot different on the mission. You have to be in your apartment at 6PM due to the stupid things other people like to do on Halloween. No dressing up or scary movies for me that night. It was a very tough day for me. I feel like I learned a lot that night while sitting at my desk pondering on how I felt.  I was reminded why I was out on my mission. To bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. I need to find more joy in this work. That is what Jesus Christ finds joy in, and what matter of people are we to be? Just like Him. Halloween was a turning point in my week. After my Halloween night I decided that I am going to work harder and become more lost in the work then I was before, and guess what? I found joy.

     After Wednesday we found two new investigators. When I decided to truly hand over my whole self to God, I could see his hand more clearly in my life. We decided to go down to the bottom of our area where the buses don't run and see a former investigator. After walked about two miles we get to the house and knock. No answer. I chose not to be discouraged and knew that we were being obedient, we were working hard, and God would bless us for our efforts. We decided to knock on a house two doors down and an old lady opened the door. We told her who we were and she said, "come in it's cold." So we came and sat with her and her husband on the couch. I began to introduce myself and tell her about our purpose as missionaries. I told her what we've given up, and why we do what we do. She was so touched she started crying. It was so cute haha. She said, "I don't wanna talk, you talk. I just cry when I talk." She reminded me so much of my Mother. I began to talk to her about Mormons and The Book of Mormon. I read her a scripture out of The Book of Mormon and she liked it so much that she asked if she could buy it off me haha. I told her it was hers for free.
     Once we were done introducing ourselves and The Book of Mormon it was about time to head out. She told us that when we pray to pray for her husband because he has heart problems. After she told me that I told her about the Priesthood and asked if we could give her Husband a blessing. She said yes, and her husband said yes. It was such a touching experience to give him a blessing. While giving him a blessing I could feel the words come to me and it truly felt like I was not talking at all. After the blessing he got up and shook our hands. It was a great experience.

    After Halloween we ran into a ton of people. It was as if they were just placed in front of us. There are so many instances of them this week that I really don't have time to write them all down in this letter. I could truly see the hand of God in my life this week.

     Tomorrow I am giving my first training. It is going to be at a zone training meeting, and the mission president will be there. I doubt very many people have had to give their first training in front of the whole zone and mission president. I have planned well though, and am confident that I will give a good training.

      A member in the ward is taught me how to make this pro-biotic drink. They are big hippies haha. They gave me this mushroom or "mother" to make it. You can buy the same drink in the stores, but it is four dollars a bottle. So they just make their own. Elder Shelley thinks I am a freak because I am so amazed by this mushroom and how it lives and excretes these pro-biotics haha. It is fun though. I love learning weird cool little things. I have learned so many things from the members. I learned how to make probably one of the best pepper peanut sauces last night at dinner. I love the members of the ward.

     Well it is time to go. I love you all so much.

-Elder Ryan Romero

I am Learning!

  I am growing. I can feel it. Physically, I think I've grown an inch. Spiritually I've grown a mile. My first journal is filled up. I have successfully wrote in it every day since I've been out. I occasionally look back and read my old entries. There are a lot of differences between the new entries and the old ones. My hand writing has improved quite a bit, haha. Most of all I can see the change in myself from these old entries. I won't go into too much detail, but the mission does amazing things for an individual. I still have a long way to go. I look at all my friends in the mission that are going home soon, or have already gone home. I look at Elder Heimuli, Elder Hansen, and Elder Shelley and I wonder what they were like when they first came out.  It makes me so curious as to what I will be when I am finished with my mission. There is so much for me to do, so much for me to learn. It is crazy to think that I am still in the beginning of my mission because I feel like I have already done and learned so much.
     My new mission President, President Harding, is absolutely amazing. He reminds me so much of my Dad it's almost as if I never left home. You can tell that President Harding has a deep love for all his missionaries. I was invited to go to a leadership training meeting this Wednesday. I don't know for sure why I was invited to go because I am not in a position of leadership. My guess is that I will be training next transfer. At this meeting I got to hear him speak. His vision for the mission is to make missionary a better person, therefore making a better mission. That is the whole purpose of Preach My Gospel. I am so thankful to have him as a mission president. I know that I have become a better person because of his influence.
     I have been really sick over this past week. My sinuses have been clogged and my ears won't pop. It is very annoying. I feel like I just got done being sick, and now I am sick again. I don't know what my problem is. I probably keep getting sick from all the stupid germs on Marta. I had dinner with a couple doctors and they took a peak inside my ears. They said that they are pretty swollen up and I should probably go get them checked out. So I probably going to go do that pretty soon.
    
     As far as missionary work goes it is the same as last week. We have been trying and trying. Still not much success. I know that God has plans for me though and I have seen them throughout this transfer. If I would have gotten transferred last transfer, then I would not have been able to see what happened to my recent converts. I would never know that Gaki has become such a strong and active member of the church. She attends every single week. She goes to all the activities and brings her grand kids. We have grown so close and she truly loves me and is thankful for me. I would have never known what happened with Brian. Brian had to move to North Carolina to take care of his children while his ex-wife cares for her mother who had a stroke in Tennessee. I am so thankful that God chose to keep me in this area and give me the opportunity to watch the seeds I planted grow.
     I have been able to help a couple less active members regain their activity in the Church. One of those people being a man named Ray. He has had a very tough life. I can't go into detail, but just trust me, this man has a tough life. He went to the doctor a couple months ago and found a growth under his chin and around his neck. The doctor said that it may be Lymphoma and that he needs to go see a specialist. When I first met Ray he wanted a blessing before he went to go see the specialist, so I gave him one. We met with Ray on a consistent schedule and a few months past and he still did not make an appointment to see the specialist. I told Ray that if it is cancer that time is not your friend and you need to find out what it is as soon as you can. He shared with me his concern about finding out if it was cancer or not. He told me that he just doesn't want to know. He said that he didn't have much to live for anyways so he just didn't care. I felt so sad for Ray, I wanted to help him so badly but I couldn't make him call the specialist. Last week he called me and told me that he made an appointment to go see the specialist. I was so happy. Then yesterday I walk into the chapel and I see Ray for the first time. My joy overtook me and I ran to him. The first question I asked was, "did you go to the specialist" and he said "yes, and they determined that it wasn't cancer." It was one of the first times that I saw Ray smile genuinely. I was so happy for him I gave him a big hug. I was so happy to see him at church. I was so happy to see him taking steps to getting a better life. These are the moments in my mission that I just want to press pause and live in forever.

     I hope all is well back in SLC. I love you all and miss you guys SO much. I hope to hear from you over the next week.

     Last thing I'll say is that I am proud to be a Cougar. I think that I was the only BYU student in the crowd of missionaries that was allowed to go to the game. You can bet Bronco could hear me from our nosebleed seats. I am so happy that I got to go to that game. GO BYU!

Love you all. The Church is true, Jesus Christ Lives.
Elder Ryan Romero

This week not much different than the last...

This week was not much different than the last. I am beginning to get discouraged. I can tell that people are seeing it in me and I don't like that. I want to be strong. I want to make it through these rough patches without a sweat. I am beginning to realize that life is just not like that. I want to be like Ammon and be able to convert a nation. I want to be like Amulek and give up everything. I want to be like Alma and dedicate my life to the Lord. I want to be like Moroni and not let Satan have any power over me. I am seeing that God has not asked me to be like them, he doesn't want me to. He wants me to learn to be the best me I can be. I need to find out what I was designed for. Maybe I wasn't meant to convert a nation or lead an army. Maybe I was just meant to touch a few souls and plant a few seeds. If that is what God has planned for me then let it be. I will keep trying to be the best me that I can be.
     The work here is hard. Especially during the election. People do like like Romney and idolize Obama. People have painted pictures of him in their house. They have tattoos of him on their bodies. They wear a clothing brand named "Obama" (I don't know if Obama really made his own clothing brand or it is some third party brand). People come up to us and asking us questions about the Church as if they are interested, then they start speaking slander about Romney and tell us that we are on the wrong side. They think that we represent Romney and not the Church.  They try and tell us what we believe from something that they saw on a youtube video. Regardless of what you say, there is no changing their mind. The only thing that you can do is just walk away and try to forget about that encounter. We are consistently getting political text messages saying that Romney is a baby killer and he needs to have a millstone wrapped around his neck and be sunk to the bottom of the sea. I don't know much about the election this year, but what I do know is that I am sick of hearing about it. Haha.

     My best friend in the mission is going home soon. Elder Heimuli leaves in 4 weeks. I don't know what I am going to do when he is gone. I have no doubt in my mind that God knew to have him as one of my trainers. Him and I get along so well. Everyone that I have been close to in the mission is going home.

     I don't have much time to write today because they are shutting down the computers for some reason at the library today... I wish that I could say more but I just don't have time.

     Some good news. I get to go to the BYU vs Georgia Tech game. This is definitely a tender mercy from the Lord. What are the chances? That I would go to this mission, and be put into this zone (only the ATL East and ATL West zones get to go). God knew that I would love to go to this game! It is going to be awesome.

Well, I love you all. I hope to hear from anyone who reads this over the upcoming week... See ya in 20 months.

-Elder Ryan Romero 

PICTURE TIME

This spider was an inch away from crawling on my back at the train station. I hope this wasn't somebody's pet because it is dead now. Haha.

waiting for... and on public transportation. That is all I do. Haha.

In a Drought

This has been a tough week. The start of this transfer is not starting out as I would have hoped. We have no one. We are trying. We are working hard. We need to have stronger faith that God will provide a way. We have walked and walked and walked and walked. We have had doors slammed on our faces and people tell us to get off their front porch. I have had about as much of MARTA as I can handle. MARTA has recently been going through a time economically. Their prices keep going up and up. This could be due to the fact that none of their buses arrive on time and their weekend schedule is horrific. So people choose to no longer use it because it is not a source of reliable transportation. It is hard when you take two hours to go and see less active members. You get to their house and knock on their door and you hear people inside but no one answers. If they only knew what I've given up and knew the efforts and took to see them. They don't know though, and I can't blame them.      
      I think of Alma and Amulek. Amulek is probably one of my favorite people in The Book of Mormon. Right next to Ammon. Amulek gave up everything. He had a high status where he lived, and he was wealthy. He gave up all of it and didn't look back. He preached to his own people and they rejected him. They bound him and Alma up naked and made them watch as they burned all the people who believed their words. I can't imagine what Amulek must have felt. I can't imagine the "drought" he felt like he was in after that event. He had faith. He knew God had a plan for him. This event did not destroy Amulek but made him into one of the mightiest missionaries in The Book of Mormon. His hardest moments defined his character.
      Now I know that my situation is quite the same as Amulek's. At least I hope people aren't being burned to death in my area... Although, this is a hard time in my mission just as it was in Amulek's. I am not going to let the past two weeks discourage me, but define me. I will show God that even though I am praying my heart out, being obedient, and wearing the soles out on my shoes and not finding success. I will not give up. I will not give up on the souls that can benefit from Christ's restored Gospel. When times get tough that does not mean that my hard work and obedience is not paying off, it just means that I need to endure to the end and show God I am dedicated to him. Salvation was not meant to be easy. Even if I don't find success this transfer, maybe the success was meant to be found in myself. 

      The people in the Twin Oaks Ward are amazing. There are so many great examples to me there. The two that I love the most are Brother Berg and Brother Saldana. They both are amazing fathers. They always have a child in their arms. Even when they bare their testimony, teaching a lesson is priesthood, or walking in the halls. They are being the best fathers they can be. They respect their wives and will do whatever they can to help them out. They magnify their callings in Church and often feed us great food =). I love these two men and their amazing wives. I know EXACTLY the kind of future father I want to be. I can tell the difference in their lives compared to the fathers in the ward that don't help out their wives or magnify their callings. They just aren't as happy. They aren't as happy in their lives, relationships, or in their home. 

Well I have got to get going. I love you all. I love hearing from anyone that reads these letters. 

-Elder Ryan Romero

Transfer time-

     It is the start of my third transfer. Time is truly flying. It seems like yesterday I entered into the mission home and met President Snow. Time is moving fast and I want to savor each moment I get in the mission field. I have been looking back at my journal and I read some of my older entries. I can already tell a change in me and my thoughts. I hope to keep changing. 

     The start of this new transfer is quite slow. We don't have very many investigators... Yet that is how the start of last transfer started and we had faith that we could be successful and we were. Last transfer we were the most successful area in our zone. I am confident that God will provide a way for us again to be successful. I know that with enough faith anything is possible. 

     Conference was fantastic. Sadly, this is probably the first time I have stayed awake for all 5 meetings of conference haha. I payed very close attention and took a lot of things from conference that I am going to apply to my life. I am so thankful to have prophets, seers, and revelators who we are promised will not lead us astray. While watching conference you can feel the love and guidance from our Heavenly Father working through his appointed people. This world is chaotic, and we need the guidance of our Heavenly Father. I just feel that if the whole world could watch conference and listen to the speaker's guidance. The world would be such a better place. 

     The big announcement. Woman can now go on missions at age 19, and men at age 18. This was a bigger announcement to me than the new Iphone! This is AWESOME! I have a couple of friends that are girls that have previously told me that they were thinking about serving missions. I don't know if any of them are reading this but if so, GO! Go on a mission, and serve the Lord. You will not regret it, and you will be forever blessed for it.Our Sisters in the mission are amazing and are very successful missionaries. I am so thankful that the Lord has made missions more accessibly to woman in a probably more convenient time in their lives. I know that to many woman this is probably the best news they have received. I can't wait to see what kind of an affect this is going to have on missions around the world. 

     Brian and Gaki and doing pretty well. Brian has had a pretty tough week, but the members of the ward are helping him out. Gaki is just awesome. I can truly feel her love for Elder Shelley and I. She is a great lady. I can't wait to see what they come to accomplish in the time I have left to serve in this ward. 

     The transition of transfers is a pretty slow time. I wish I had some awesome stories to tell you. The truth is the past couple days have been very slow. We keep praying that things will pick up in our area and that we will find more people to teach. I'd ask for your prayers. 

     I love you all so much. God be with you till we meet again! 

-Elder Ryan Romero

Lots of Photos:)

Elder Romero, Brian and Elder Shelley

Elder Shelley, Gaki, Elder Romero
Sept 30,2012

Bishop of Decatur ward, Elder Romero, Brian, Gaki, Elder Shelley

Elder Romero, Brian, Elder Shelley

Motivational Pic With his friend from home, Garrison Green at airport leaving for missions

Big Big Week

Sunday Sept 30,2012
Bishop of Decatur ward, Ryan, Brian, Gaki, Elder Shelley

  Brian and Gaki and now members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They were both baptized on Sunday before Church. Yesterday was one of the happiest moments I have had so far on my mission. I had the opportunity of baptizing Gaki, and confirming Brian. Brian was baptized by the Bishop and confirmed by Elder Shelley. It was such an experience that I will never forget. 
     The baptism started at 8:30 AM before church. We could not do it Saturday as we originally planned because Brian had to work. We had to baptize them this week so that they could receive the Holy Ghost this week in sacrament meeting (because next week is conference). Neither Gaki or Brian has source of transportation. Finding them transportation was not extremely difficult. The Bishop was going to pick up Brian and Gaki's daughter was going to bring her. When we got to the church Brian was there but Gaki wasn't. I was very nervous due to the fact that the baptism started in 5 minutes. I called Gaki and asked if she was on her way. She said that her daughter hadn't picked her up yet and my heart immediately sank. She lived 15 minutes away from the Church... I thought the first person that I was going to have to opportunity to baptize was not even going to be there! I said a quick prayer in my heart, and no later than 10 minutes later I see Gaki, her daughter, and grand daughter coming down  the hall. They must have been driving pretty fast. 
      The baptism got started pretty much on time. Gaki can get dressed quick. I sat down in the seats in front of the font with Gaki on my right and Brian on my left. I look over at Brian and he had his head down praying. I look over at Gaki and she turns to me with a big smile and says,  "I am giving my life to God." When Gaki said this it really struck a chord in my heart. Our only worry throughout teaching Gaki was her understanding of what we were teaching her. She is from Africa and her English is pretty broken. So when we'd ask her what she learned from the last lesson, she had a tough time communicating in English what she had learned. When she turned to me and said "I am giving my life to God" I realized that her understanding of what we have been teaching her is better than anyone's. She knew exactly what she was about to do, and she knew exactly why she was doing it. She had felt the spirit during our lessons and that is what confirmed to her that what she was doing was right. Regardless of our teaching skills the spirit is the best teacher, and it testified to Gaki that what she was doing was right. 
      Brian was baptized first. Right when he came up out of the water he said, "Yes!" He was so happy to be baptized. When I opened the door to go into the side of the font to baptize Gaki, Brian was there just weeping. I gave him a big hug and he said, "I love you man, thank you." When I stepped down into the water and showed Gaki where to stand I was very surprised by Gaki's calmness. The last two women her age that I have seen getting baptized were very nervous to go under the water. Gaki was not scared one bit. I turned to her and asked her if she was ready and she said that she was. She went down into the water and came right back up. I asked her how she was and said "great!" with a big smile. We went back and got changed and then came and sat in the seats in front of the font. When I sat down Gaki turned to me and said "I gave my life to God." Later Glovia told me that Gaki was saying to her daughter and grand daughter that she loves it here and she is never leaving. I was so impressed by Gaki and Brian's dedication to following Christ's example. 
      The baptism finished about 20 minutes before sacrament meeting. Before Gaki was going to be confirmed she decided to scare me again by just disappearing. Sacrament meeting started and Gaki and her daughter were no where to be found. I was so stressed I couldn't help but laugh. Five minutes into the meeting I get a call from Gaki and I go out in the foyer and there she is with her daughter. Her hair was put down into braids and I immediately knew why she left. Her hair was pretty wild after the baptism, so they had to go do something about it. Haha. In sacrament we had three confirmations. Gaki, Brian, and HINDILLO! Hindillo was baptized on Friday! Three people that I loved dearly were about to receive the Holy Ghost. Hindillo was confirmed first by the bishop. Then Gaki was confirmed by Elder Shelley. Goodness, I love this lady so much! Right after she was confirmed she gets up and I go in for a handshake and she pushes my hand away and just give me a big hug! I was took me by surprise but it was so touching. It was then Brian's turn to be confirmed by me. It was absolutely an honor to confirm Brian. He has been waiting for this moment most of his life. As I was confirming him you could tell that he was getting very emotional and I just know that it is because he knew his search for the truth was over. After I was done confirming Brian he gets up and give me a big hug too. 
       After their confirmation they stayed up on the stand and were presented to the congregation. You could see the joy and excitement in all of their faces. When the Sacrament Hymn started Elder Shelley and I look at each other and just smiled. During the sacrament I felt so at peace. I knew that I had done a good job and that Heavenly Father was proud of me. Yet I knew that none of this happened because of my own efforts. Gaki and Brian were placed in front of us by God. There is no doubt in my mind about that. They were prepared by the Lord to hear our message and all we had to do was bring in the harvest. I am so thankful that God let me have this experience. 

      When I came out on my mission I was scared that I might not get a baptism, that I would not be a successful missionary, or that I might not affect anyone. I am so thankful for choosing to come out here and serve God. I am so thankful for the experiences that he has given me. I have seriously had the best start to a mission that anyone could ever have. I am so blessed. 

      I hope that y'all enjoyed this letter. I hope to hear from everyone the upcoming week. I am not being transferred so my address is not changing this transfer. So don't be scared to send me TONS of mail. Haha. 

I love you all sooooo much. 

-Elder Ryan Romero 

Sending E-mail from the Hospital...

 Don't worry I am fine. We were asked to give a child a blessing this morning. They said that it was an emergency so we rushed over. Right now the child is having tests done so we have some extra time so we decided to email from these computers. Pray for this child. He Cystic Fibrosis and they are most likely going to have to remove one of his lungs. I am very nervous to give this child a blessing, but I know that the Lord will do whatever he needs to do.

     This week was a pretty good week. We had to move Gaki and Brian's baptismal dates to the 30th because Brian has to work on Saturday. So we are going to do it Sunday before Church. They are both very excited to be baptised. Teaching both of them has been a privilege. I am so thankful for their spirits and the joy that they have brought into my life.

      I don't have too much time to write today because they don't allow us a ton of time on the computers here in the hospital. I also don't know when they are going to call us to give him a blessing. I want to talk about just a few things.

      I want to tell you about Glovia. Glovia and I have become very very close over the past weeks I've been in Decatur. I have had such a great start to my mission because of the examples in it. Elder Hansen was a great example of a missionary and a leader. Brother Berg has been a great example of a strong member. Glovia Pride has been a great example of a strong recent convert. Her willingness to help other people in the ward and he desire to learn are so Christlike. I have been pretty sick over the past week and she brought me Orange Juice this morning. Simple things like that just astound me. It has been a pleasure to get to know her and to have a friend like her in my life.

     The other thing that I wanted to share was a thought that came to me after sacrament meeting on Sunday. The thought came because of the lack of transportation our ward has. Over 60% of our ward has no transportation. So a lot of members carpool with each other. I don't really like asking people for things when I don't know how to repay them. I had to ask a lady named Sister Holder if she could give Gaki a ride to Church. Gaki's original ride fell through so she needed a way to get to Church. I felt very bad asking Sister Holder to give Gaki a ride because she was on the other side of town, but she was really the only person whose car wasn't already full. When I asked her she said she would without hesitation. I was so thankful but felt so sad because I didn't know how I was going to repay her. All I could do was just thank her, but that just didn't seem like it was enough. She wasn't asking for anything in return, nor did she expect it. I felt so in debt to her yet I knew that she wasn't expecting anything in return.

     My realization came in Priesthood when I was thinking about how I could repay Sister Holder. I realized that there was not much I could do. I could be nice, and show kindness and gratitude towards her action, but if she ever needed me to pick up someone I wouldn't be able to do it. I hated that feeling. So I kept thinking and I eventually started to think about Christ and compared Sister Holder's sacrifice for me to Christ's. That "in debt to someone" feeling grew tremendously. I realized that I will never ever be able to repay Christ for his sacrifice for me. Nothing that I ever do for him will come close to what he has done for me. My eyes immediately began to tear up and I felt really stupid. The lesson wasn't even about Christ or very emotional. I was just having a moment. Haha. I realized what Sister Holder had done was follow in Christ footsteps. That is all that he asks of us, and that is all that I can do.

     Well I have to go now. I hope to hear from all of you soon. I love you all so much.

-Elder Ryan Romero

Time Flies By

Random Georgia Picture

     This week has been a great week. Quite a few awesome things happened. We have an amazing new investigator, who also has a baptismal date. Gaki has a baptismal date. I have learned so much this week and I can't wait to share some of what I have learned in this email! 

     First off, let me fill you in on me and Elder Shelley. Still best buds. We are just two peas in a pod. Haha. We work so well together. He reminds me a lot of my brother Taylor. He has a very similar style in his humor. I love being around him. Going on exchanges is tough. I always like to be back with my buddy Elder Shelley. Recently we got an awesome bread recipe from another Elder. The bread is so easy to make. You just take flour, salt, yeast and water. Mix it all together and let is sit over night. Then just pop it in the oven in the morning. We have done this quite a few times over the past week for breakfast. It is awesome having fresh bread in the morning. I am running out of honey though. I looove honey. 
                                                                               Elder Shelley and Elder Romero

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     Okay, now time to get into the good stuff. Our new investigator's name is Brian. He is sooo awesome. Brian walked into the Church one Sunday. A couple days prior he was sitting by the sign outside the Church after having a terrible experience with his Ex-fiance. While he was sitting by the sign he had a feeling that he needed to go into the Church the upcoming Sunday. So he did, and he met us. I have never met someone so prepared to hear the Gospel. I have not heard of someone so prepared to hear the gospel. Of course I have only been out 3 months, but Elder Shelley has not met someone so prepared to hear the gospel either. 

      You cannot judge a book by its cover. My first impression of Brian was not the best, but I was too quick to judge. When we sat down with him and actually started talking we were quick to discover that this man has been searching his whole life for the truth. He has been studying the only scripture he knows, the bible, and has studied it DEEPLY. I have never met someone so learned in the bible. When we started to talk to him about everything that The Latter Day Saints believe. Baptism by proper authority, the laying on of hands, the gift of the Holy Ghost. Not one thing surprised him, or was even new to him! He has been searching for a church his whole life that has taught this, and has finally found it! He understood the Restoration and the need for it. Teaching the Plan of Salvation was a breeze. He named all the kingdoms before we even got to it! He told us every step of the Plan of Salvation before we even got to it. This man has never once studied the Mormon church, but he has studied the Bible. In the Introduction of the Book of Mormon it says that "We believe the Book of Mormon to contain the fullness of the everlasting gospel, as does the Bible." So many people say that our beliefs contradict what is said in the Bible. THAT IS SO NOT TRUE. Just talk to Brian Haha. We invited him to be baptized first lesson and accepted. He will be baptized on the 29th of this month along with Gaki. =)

      I don't really have too much to say about Gaki. Haha. She is just a great lady. Very quite, but very humble. She has a deep desire to do what is right, and she knows in her heart that this is right. She wants to see her family again so badly. She loved hearing about the Plan of Salvation and hearing about how she can be with her family again. She is going to make us FuFu the next time we come over. I have heard quite a bit about that African dish and I don't know if I am crazy excited for this meal... Haha. I am excited for the experience though! 

     I know that God is watching out for me. It is quite obvious that he is placing people in my path for me to teach. I have always wanted to have those wild missionary experiences where people are prompted to talk to you. Quite honestly, I didn't think it would ever happen. I was lacking in faith. This past week has been amazing and only because God made it that way. This Church is so true and I am realizing it more than ever. I am so thankful to have been called to the specific place I have been called to. I have no doubt in my mind that revelation from God has played a role in why I am where I am. 

     Well, I love you all. I hope that you all are staying true to the faith and growing in Christ. 

-Elder Ryan Romero