Happy and Sappy

Hey Fam,

Thanks for the letter; I really enjoyed reading about the super-busy, yet extremely pleasant week that you had. It has been a really good week here in Pitesti as well. But, before I get into that. Can I just say that I really love you!! I couldn't ask for more supportive, wonderful parents, or for cuter, more lovable, cuddly sisters. Courtney asked me if there are pigs on the street here. No. But there are many pigs in the countryside, and I have even seen some pigs in people's back yards. Zone Conference, and our 2 day Christmas extravaganza (complete with spiritual thoughts, talks, food, hymns, and a tie exchange), will be Tues and Wed of this week. That means that unless the package gets that y'all sent me gets here before Thursday, then there is a good chance I'll not get it before Christmas. No worries, however, as I can make no promises that my package for you all will be there in time either (it's still kind of in the works). Just by the way, the Christmas day phone call is only 30 minutes long, and I will try calling the land line in Iowa. I will give you more details next week about when I will be calling you. Oh, also, I didn't get dad's Christmas letter, if he sent it by e-mail. If he did, I would love to get it. Oh, I also heard the first communication from Jenn today since she got into Sweden. It was super neat to hear how well she is doing, though it appears that her MTC companion couldn't make it out with her, for some reason. She is actually working with a Russian family that is working towards baptism, which is really great because, as you know, she speaks Russian. She also mentioned that there is only 4 hrs of daylight, which is crazy to me. I think that would be a pretty tough adjustment, but I know she can handle it easily.

As for me, this last week has been really filled with spiritual experiences. We have about 15 people we are now working with, which is a good enough amount to keep us busy, but just few enough to give us free time to spend looking for other people. One particularly poignant moment of this last week was in teaching the Muscel family. They consist of a mother, her two daughters, and the husband of the oldest daughter. The husband and wife couple have been praying and reading from the Book of Mormon, and had really felt the Spirit when we taught them, so, after praying about it, we decided to offer them a baptismal date of December 29. When we did, they were a bid timid, but they said they felt that it was what they should do. So, that is the date we will work towards, just to have a goal to reach, but I expect it may take just a bit longer to fully prepare them for such a step. Whatever the case, we are all very excited about them and they say that they have already noticed a marked difference in their lives since we have begun talking with them.

Then, there is the Dragomir family. They are a husband, wife, and 8 year old girl. The husband was baptised in April and is a very converted, very humble and wonderful member of the branch here. The daughter also has a very strong testimony and knows well pretty much everything that we teach her. She is extremely bright and I love talking to her. She reminds me a lot of Courtney. The mother, also wonderful, has been a bit more reticent. She has a testimony, but a very hard time with cigarettes and coffee. A couple of months ago she finally made a goal to quit smoking by the end of the year, but had still not been very open to discussing a date to be baptised. We were over there earlier this week, and the daughter, in saying the closing prayer, asked for her and her mommy to be baptised as soon as possible because they know it's what they should do. After the prayer, we all looked up at the mom, who, after thinking for a moment, softened and said she agreed with what her girl had said. We went back on Friday, after having prayed and felt REALLY strongly that they should be baptised before the new year. The mother agreed to aim for the date of the 29th of Dec, and the entire family was very happy!!

At church this yesterday, I played the piano again. I have decided that when I get back I WILL practice 30 min a day, because it is so amazing. I played "I Need Thee Every Hour" and "In Humility Our Savior" with one hand, and "God Be With You Til We Meet Again" with two hands. I messed up, of course, but it was good enough to be bearable, and not to take away the spirit of those wonderful hymns.

Well, we had better get on going. Again, I love you very much. I can't wait to talk to you in about 2 weeks. I hope everything there is going well and that the holiday season is really enjoyable. I am doing great!! I continue to really love Romania. Here in Pitesti, there isn't snow on the ground, but I hope for there to be before Christmas. Anyway, until next week. Pa Pa (Bye Bye) and Sarbatori Fericite (Happy Holidays) [sir-bi-toar fairy-cheat-eh].

Loving Muchly,

Elder Walker Frahm