Buna Dragilor

Hello Family,

This last week wasn't the most fantastic -- being stuck inside with some intestinal problems for a couple of days -- but, regardless of a few setbacks, things went pretty well. On your end it sounds as if you are living the high life lounging on the new sofa, taking brisk walks to the park (something that I can, indeed, appreciate, as I walk briskly pretty much everywhere we go all day), and dealing with neighborhood construction scandals. :) I particularly envy Belle's schedule of ballet and bananas. It sounds like she is growing appropriately and as cutely as would be expected. I can't imagine what a sleepover with 10 of Courtney's giggly little girlfriends will be like, but I'm sure that she'll love it all. I am glad to hear that she is feeling better, though I should caution her about the pilfering of mom's clothes. That's truly living on the edge!

As for me, Jenn would be proud to hear that Elder Pluim and I have begun to go running in the mornings now that the weather has gotten more tolerable. We live right across from Parcul Tineretului, which is the largest park in Bucuresti, and it makes for a convenient location to go jogging. I don't think that I have ever been as sore in my entire mission as I was after the first day of jogging, but it has been getting a bit easier. Between jogging and my new pull up bar, I am having some really fun and very different -- for me -- morning exercises.

We had a tough time this week, as were spent the entire week trying, unsuccessfully, to contact our top investigator, Iris, who WAS scheduled to be baptised on April 2. We finally re-established contact this morning, however, and it appears that she has just been working ridiculous hours this last week, from about 9 in the morning until 10 or 11 at night. That makes it really hard for us to meet, obviously. Whatever the case, she still really wants to be baptised, we just need to reevaluate when she will be ready. Her sister-in-law, that is, the woman who is living with her brother, Simona, has also become more interested and active in our discussions recently. She and her "husband" have two kids together, and a couple of weeks ago we read with them from the Proclamation to the Family and talked about how they should be married officially. So, this week, they started the paperwork, and within two weeks, they should be perfectly legitimate, which will be a great step for her in providing for her kids and family the atmosphere in which they can grow in the love, faith, and stability of gospel living.

Otherwise, the work goes well. We have been trying to do some more finding of late. We talked to 118 people on the streets yesterday, and it was really exhilarating to be out talking to people about Christ and His restored gospel. It was a great feeling to proclaim the gospel, and we found a few really quality people with whom we are excited to meet.

As for my correspondence with Jenn. I read 2nd hand the letters that she writes to her family (which are usually much better, clever, and informative than mine, but what can I do? she types like 4 times faster than I do. :) We also send letters through the snail mail. In her last e-mail she talked about the prices in Sweden, which made me really appreciate the low cost of living here. The same loaf of bread that costs me between 8-30 cents here costs 3 dollars in Sweden. A tube of mascara is 13 dollars. Their monthly travel, (20 dollars in Romania for metro and bus passes), is $164 just for the bus passes. Aside from the absurd prices, however, she seems to be doing pretty well, though she has had some pestering health concerns. For her, as for me, as for you, the time just seems to be flying. It really is crazy to think that I will have been out for a year in just a bit.

Well, I have to go.

I love you all very much. Thanks for your wonderful letters and support,

Much love,
Elder Walker