Monday, December 30, 2013

Things are going to Change

    I got the call for transfers this morning. Looks like I am going to Snellville, whitewashing and training. This won't be the first time. Haha. I am excited for the future and pretty nervous. Whitewashing is not my favorite thing to do, it is can be confusing at times. I am just excited to get to work and get lost in my new area. My new companion's name is Elder Rose. I haven't met him yet but he is going to be coming straight from the MTC. I can't wait to show him the mission field and help him get aquainted with missionary life.
     This last week was a great week and I have so much to write about. I need to tell yall about Rex and Treena, Linda, Edythe, and David. This week was one of the most incredible weeks of my mission and I just hope that I can convey the stories well. Here we go.
     
     As you know we did the Secret Santa for Rex and Treena's friend on Christmas Eve. Treena's friend's name is Alisha and her son's names are Dillon and Talon. Last P-day Elder Robison and I went out to go and buy them their presents. We called Treena and asked her what they liked, and she told us that they like Lego's and Skylanders. And that was pretty much all that we had to go off of. Well we went shopping at Wal-mart (worst place ever to go around Christmas). I never realized that Lego's were so darn expensive! So we got some generic brand lego's that I am sure they are happy with. We got them this awesome Spiderman lego set, a lego batman game, two skylanders, some beyblades, a crayola marker maker kit, and techdecks. We got a lot of awesome presents. Bishop helped us out and gave us a 100 dollar gift card to Wal-mart. When we went to the checkout we were astounded by our shopping-expertise. All of these gifts rang up to $100.18. We were very happy. Haha. We went over to the Embry's home and wrapped them. The night came and it was time to head over to Rex and Treena's home. I felt like Santa walking in there with all of those presents. Dillon and Talon looked at us with big eyes because they knew that they were going to have a Christmas. Dillon is 12 years old and has bright red hair. He was very shy and quite, very worn out from the Christmas excitement and spent most of the time at Rex and Treena's sleeping. Talon is such a cute little eight year old and was very talkative and energetic. After talking to them for a bit we found out that they both LOVE spiderman, their favorite video games are Lego video games, and they LOVE skylanders. We were so excited for them to open their gifts and see what they got. I can't tell you the joy that I felt being able to give this family a Christmas. I can't explain it. The spirit was so strong in that room. Rex is kind of a hard faced guy that doesn't show much emotion, but even he was getting teary-eyed. Dillon and Talon loved their presents and Alisha couldn't thank us enough. Rex and Treena were so happy that their friend was able to have a Christmas this year and kept asking, "What can we do for you guys?" and we'd say, "You don't need to do anything for us... Just come to Church please!" This experience was amazing and it made for the best Christmas Eve I've ever had.
 
     Next was Christmas day with Linda! Gosh, I love Linda so much. She invited over for Christmas dinner in her little apartment. That place was crowded! But amazing. We got to meet all of Linda's family and friends and share the Gospel with them. Turns out we've met Linda's daughter and husband before. Elder Anderson and I tracted into them last transfer. They were really nice, but weren't too interested. This time we got to talk with them more and got to hear about Linda and Scott's testimony of the Book of Mormon. I think that it sparked their interest a little more. The dinner was amazing. Linda and Scott spent all day cooking a feast, and it was sooo good. We knew transfers were coming up and I had a feeling that this might be the time I got to see Linda. I told Linda how much I enjoyed teaching her and how glad I am that we found her. I told her that I was probably going to go, and she didn't seem too happy about that. She gave me a big hug and wished me luck where ever I went. Goodness, I can't tell you the crazy amount of feelings that I was having as I was walking out of that house. My heart was so full and I just couldn't contain the love that I was feeling for the people that I've served. As we were walking out of her apartments I got really quite and my eyes got all watery. Elder Robision said, "Now don't go soft on me Romero!" But I couldn't help it. I am just going to miss Linda so much. I care about her so much. I want her to have all the blessings that this Church has to give.
 
      On Saturday we went out with David again. We went to go and teach Edythe! This was such a great lesson. David and Edythe got along so well. David loves chess, and guess what! Edythe loves chess! Who would've thought? Edythe was very impressed with David and his testimony of the Gospel after being a new member. She agreed to be baptized on January 4th. I am so excited for her. After our lesson with Edythe we went out to eat with David and I gave him his Christmas present. He was very happy to get a copy of The Inevitable Apostasy. I included some pictures from him baptism and he was very excited to get those too.
 
      I have loved my stay here in Dallas. It has been incredible. I have loved every single second that I have had here. I have fallen in love with this area and the people who live here. I have had some of the most incredible experiences here in Dallas. Experiences that have totally changed my life. I am grateful for all the people that I've met and the new friends that I have made. I am really going to miss Dallas. I am going to miss Elder Robison. I am going to miss all of the investigators and members in this area. I am envious of the next missionary that gets to serve here. He is very lucky.
 
     I don't have too much more to say. It is time for me to wrap this up and get going. I love you all so much. I really really do. Getting to talk to everyone back home was great. I love my brothers and sister so much. I love my grandparents and cousins and I am so glad that I got to talk to them. I can't how much time has past. It is absolutely unreal. I have six months left of my mission, and I am going to go out with a bang. I am so excited for my new area and all the new amazing experiences that I am going to have. I love you all and hope to hear from you soon.
 
Love you guys!
 
-Elder Ryan Romero

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