Hey Family of Mine,
Things are going fantastically well out here in Ploiesti. First to answer some questions: I check and write e-mails at the same time every week about 11:00 ish AM on Monday. I can print them pretty cheaply if I want, so that is no real big deal if you want to write long one's, but it's up to you. I don't get mail all that often, only about 2 or 3 times a transfer, which is a period of 6 weeks, so don't expect any quick responses to your hand written mail. Also, I think I only get packages once a transfer, so, there you go. I tried one of mom's "fluffy French toast" recipes this last week and it was really good, I didn't realize how dense they would be. yummy. I don't typically eat dinner, but I have never felt hungry. It is kind of funny, but nobody here eats dinner. We have usually cereal and some toast for b-fast, then pasta, French toast, grilled sandwiches, etc... for lunch. When we get home around 9ish, we just do phone calls, write in our journals, do other administrative stuff, then go to bed. AS for things that I could use, I could use just a tad bit of money (not too much though), and peanut butter (absolutely cannot find it here) but otherwise I think I'm set. (Elder Miller would like bacon bits, but don't worry if you can't get them.)
This last week has been amazing. It sounds like things are going well for you all, I love hearing about them. It really brightens my week. This last week we taught a man who asked us to be baptised. His name is Costel and he is super cool. He is also quite sharp, studying at the university of Bucuresti for his masters in sociology. We taught him about Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, the restoration of the priesthood and he came to church a couple times, then he actually said to us without any prompting that he would be honored and privileged to be a member of our church because he feels he has found something in our open church format and unique doctrine that he hasn't ever found anywhere else. It's a great feeling to see somebody listen to our message and embrace the gospel.
In other news, I went on exchanges early last week with Elder Lyon, who is one of the Zone Leaders (who are in charge of three or four districts, which are usually just one city) serving here in Ploiesti, and we had quite a time. First we taught an Adventist Pastor who is one of the highest ranking members in Romania, and is actually going to DC to preach there. He was approached and was interested both in learning about our message and, since we regularly teach English courses, in learning what English he could. So we started by teaching him English, then introduced him to the Book of Mormon and he said he would read and pray about it, which was really good. He was open enough, that I think eventually he will accept it. He tried to argue a few Biblical passages with us, I think just for fun mostly, but we just kept bringing it back to what's really important, which is whether or not the Book of Mormon is true. We just told him that by reading the book and praying about it he can know it's true, then if it is true Joseph Smith was a true prophet, and if he was a prophet, this really is the church of Jesus Christ. After saying that a couple of times, he got the message and actually seemed willing to try it out. After that, we went bloc knocking and a lady chased after us for a while screaming and yelling about how we are not allowed to be in her building (which we were) and how she would call the police if we didn't leave (which we invited her to do). After she realized we wouldn't leave, we wouldn't get worked up because she was yelling at us, and we wouldn't get scared at her idle threats, she eventually just asked for something which a phone number on it, so we gave her a church invitation with our number on it and she went back to her apartment. It was kind of a funny experience. It's actually rather sad how people view religion here more as a tradition to be preserved than as something to be investigated and applied to our lives. Some people can think of no greater offence than for us to present to them a religion that is not Romanian orthodox, while they themselves openly admit that they only go to church twice a year, for Christmas and Easter, and many of them think of the Orthodox churches as sad places where only old ladies go and which they reverence out of a feeling of guilt or obligation rather than out of any true conviction. Not to say that there aren't good orthodox people, but for most of them religion has been devalued by tradition and they refuse to investigate the truly invigorating and joyful message we bring that God's true church is on the earth today and church can be a play of strength and comfort rather than one of guilt and obligation.
Stepping off my soapbox,
I was asked to give my first talk in Sacrament Meeting this last Sunday, after only 2 weeks in the country. It was quite an experience speaking to our 50 person congregation with extremely limited language skills. But I was strengthened and magnified to be up to the task and it ended up going really well. I think I was able to kind of both introduce myself to and gain the trust of the members by going out on a limb like that. President Mushat, who asked me to speak, came up to me afterwards and told me I should save my talk to be published in the next Ensign. He's a great leader and it's been a lot of fun working with him. That was really nice of him to say.
Language wise, I can understand the general idea of pretty much every conversation. I can communicate general ideas, but still have trouble being confident when I speak and with phrasing things exactly as I would like to. I love learning Romanian though, and people are really patient with me. Overall I'm loving my time here, and I couldn't ask for anything better than to spend two years serving the people here.
Much love,
Elder Walker Frahm
P.S. yes, I have eaten snacks at members houses a few times, but never any full meals. They usually serve the missionaries sweets, so its pretty good typically.
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