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

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.