Monday, July 29, 2013

Tender Mercies


     This week was a very difficult week. It was however a week that I will remember for the rest of my life because it was a week where I could feel the tender mercies of the Lord comfort me in my time of need. I am so thankful for my friends back home. In the middle of this week it reach the climax of the trails. That very same day I received an a letter from my old BYU roommate Chris. I'd have to say that I feel like that letter was a heaven sent gift from God. Just right when I felt so low I receive a letter from my hero that I have been wanting to talk to forever. A letter that encouraged me to just keep going. I never knew who my roommates where going to be when I went to BYU, but I have always felt that it was part of God's plan to place me with the people I lived with that year at BYU. That year changed my life, and really helped me decide to go on a mission. I don't think that my roommates will ever know how much I looked up to every single one of them, and how thankful I am for all that they did for me that year. Their help is still continuing to affect me to this very day.
 
     Elder McMahan and I are having a fairly rough time getting around in our new area. This area has to be the least bike-friendly place in the the world. There is no place for bikes. The designer of the Georgian roads must've not known there was such a thing as a bike. Because he did not make room for them on the road. People are continuously honking at us, or saying rude things to us to get off the road. There are no sidewalks. There is no shoulder for us to ride on. We are just doing we have to do to get around. I just wish that they could be more understanding.
 
     Like I said, there were many tender mercies of the Lord that have happened over this past week. I also got to hear from one of my favorite members from the Dunwoody ward this week, Bro Beaver! He informed me that Tony is still taking the lessons and that everyone really misses me. I miss that ward so much. I truly didn't realize how much I loved it until I left.
 
     Things with Elder McMahan and I are going really well. We get along great and have a lot of fun. I can tell that him and I are going to be good friends for a long time. I really am blessed for having such a great companion.
 
    That is all for this week, Love you all so much!
 
-Elder Ryan Romero

Monday, July 22, 2013

A Wet Week


   I have never seen so much rain in my life. It just won't stop raining. It has rained more in the last 30 days than it did all last Summer. I am not a fan of the rain here. The rain doesn't cool anything down in Georgia. It is not enjoyable like it is out West. All the rain does is make everything steamy and sticky. It makes the humidity go up like crazy. After it rains all you can see is steam off of the roads. I am hoping that the upcoming week is dryer than the last. But I don't think that it is going to happen.
    This last week has been a pretty difficult week. We moved apartments and I have seen no ghost yet. Everything seems fine. We live with a family in the ward named the Carnell family. They are really nice. Brother Carnell is a great cook and is really teaching me a lot about cooking. Him and I get along really well. He is a business man and works with a lot of franchises. I really enjoy talking with him about business ideas and such.
    I have lost quite a bit of weight since I came into this Ward. There are three sets of missionaries. Two of those being Sisters. So we don't get very many meal appointments. Also I've been on bike this whole time. I do feel healthier and I like being able to control what I eat. My and Elder McMahan's diet basically consists of greek yogurt. I don't know why but it is just our favorite thing to eat. People laugh when they open our refrigerator and all there is is greek yogurt, almond milk, spinach and water. Haha. We don't really want to eat anything else though.
    The best part of the week was that Courtney and his family came to church. His wife came for the first time. She really enjoyed church. Tonight we will be having a family home evening with all of them. I am very excited. Courtney is not going to be able to be baptized this weekend because of some issues that we ran into. Nothing that can't be fixed though. We would really like to be able to baptize him with his wife too so the delay won't be too detrimental.
 
    I am excited for what the Lord has in store for me over the next transfer. I know that miracles are going to happen. I miss you all so much.

 
-Elder Ryan Romero

Monday, July 15, 2013

Changes are coming


 Some changes are occuring this transfer. Elder Mcmahan and I are staying together, and in the Lost Mountain Ward. We are switching apartments with the Sisters though. We are in the Southern part of the area and we are in the North. We are going to be moving apartments on Wednesday. The reason for the move is because the Sisters said that they saw "something" and that they don't want to stay there anymore. They lived in a member's basement. They have been staying in the bishop's house since the incident. I don't know for sure if they saw anything. When the bishop went over to the house that night he said that he didn't feel any strange pressence, he felt like the Sisters were kind of just freaking eachother out. That kind of my feeling about it too. However, if the house is haunted then I'm excited. I've always wanted to see a ghost. Haha.
 
    No baptisms this week. The people that we have scheduled baptisms with this week fell through. We lost contact with Cal for awhile, but just found him a little bit ago. Edythe dropped us... Really hard. He daughter absolutely does not like us around and has stated that, "She does not want her children (Edythe's grandchildren) around influences like us." Her daughter has had some negative experiences in the past with religion. Not the Mormon religion, just religion in general. So she won't let Edyther or her children meet with us while they are living in her home. Very disappointing, but I know God is in control and whatever is suppose to happen will happen.
   On the good side of things we have a great investigator named Courtney. He has come to church the past two weeks and came to the music event that we had yesterday. Oh yeah, the music event, forgot to talk about that. That went extremely well. Elder Mcmahan and I put so much work into this event. It went so well. We got some speakers, guitars, microphones and all this stuff. We had a concert outside the pavillion in the back of the church and had a lot of non-memebers and members there. It was such a great experience. It went so well in fact that the Stake is talking about putting together some sort of event committee to coordinate a weekly activity in the Church geared towards non-members. We are really excited for this.
 
    We got to go to the temple this week for zone training meeting. I love the temple so much. It is so calm and so peaceful. It was such a breathe of fresh air in the hectic life of a missionary. I am really excited for the future of this mission. I feel like this mission is a character building mission. President Harding and his experience in his work is just so educated in how to make people better. He has taught me so much about goal setting, and commitment keeping. I am so much more confident in my ability to change and become better.
 
    Well I have got to get going. Not much time left. Here is my new address. 4300 Bristlecone Dr. NW, Marietta GA 30064
 
Love you all so much.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Great Week!


  It rained every single day this week. There were a lot of flood warnings, luckily it never flooded. Despite the rain, and despite being on bike we had a very successful week. We got 16 member present lessons and set two new baptismal dates. We are really working this area. I am so happy with the work that we are getting done. We are really talking with everyone and not letting a soul get past us. I am coming to realize more and more that I am becoming a mighty missionary. I am learning how to work with people, and how to talk with anyone. I am learning how to be organized and how to lead. I can tell that God is molding me into who he would like me to become.
 
     We set a baptismal date with this awesome guy named Courtney. Courtney is in a pretty rough situation in his life. He is going through a lot of trails but really wants to come closer to Jesus Christ. He showed God his sincerity and faith by coming to Church this Sunday. He LOVED Church. I am so glad. This ward has the most amazing Gospel Principles teacher I've seen yet on my mission. He evokes the spirit every lesson.
 
     This District is just unreal. The Sisters in this District just do so much work! They are fearless and have so much faith. They are bringing so many people closer to Jesus Christ it is just astounding. The amount of lessons that they teach, and the amount of people that they talk to is amazing. You can tell that these Sisters really want to be out here, and they aren't wasting a second of the time that God gave them. This District is one of the most successful Districts in the mission, and I know it is because of each missionary's faith.
 
     One of my favorite things to do in the mission is to go out with the Priests. I love being a possitive example for these young men. My main hope is that I can influence them enough to serve a mission. There is this boy named Joseph Sears in the ward. This kid is awesome. He comes out with us anytime that he can get the opportunity. Joseph is a fearless missionary. I am so glad that we have his support in the ward to come out with us.
 
     I really wish that I had more time to write, but my time is running out. I love you all so much and hope to hear from you soon.
 
-Elder Ryan Romero