Hey Fam!!

Hello Family,

What an amazing week I have had!! As always it was very packed and very rewarding. First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY COURTNEY, it is very exciting that you are going to be turning 12, or 13, or something like that. Whatever the case, it is very exciting! I'm afraid I may not get anything to you on time for your b-day, but I will do my best to get something over there at some point. (Speaking of which, I think there may be some packages for me at the MTC that never got delivered, if you want to look into that.)

I am glad that you enjoyed recieving the pictures, etc... The on-line dictionary is just something that I didn't have need of here. As for Elena Oros, she was baptised the week before I came here to Bucuresti, and we visit her a couple of times a week. She does indeed have very good English, and actually speaks much better than she writes even. She used to work for an American company here in Romania. She is constantly getting after Elder Pluim and I for not wearing a hat or scarf, etc... and threatening to write our moms. So, we gave her your e-mail addresses so that she could if she wanted. She is actually really great, and has even invited, of her own accord, many of our investigators to church and activities.

This last week, we had Zone Conference in which we talked about the importance of the Spirit in conversion, and the need to prove Christ Atonement to our investigators, not by scriptures alone, but through the spirit and power of testimony and prayer. We applied this in a discussion we had this last week that was very exciting. In fact, on Friday, I had one of the very best and most exciting discussions of my mission. We went with the Facers, an older missionary couple, to the home of the Avram family. He is the first counselor in the branch presidency here in Sector 4, and we have been talking to him and his wife consistently since I arrived here. She knows that the church is true, but has had a hard time letting go of her past traditions and Orthodox sympathies. So, at our last visit, we prepared a presentation of pictures, music, and scriptural passages pertaining to the Savior's Atonement. Then we bore our testimonies and challenged her to baptism, five times. We encouraged her, we warned her, we offered miracles a priesthood blessing and to fast with her. Every time she said that she was not prepared to make a commitment. The outcome was that she said she had received a sign from God that night, but that she was still not quite ready to commit to baptism. Whatever the outcome, the Spirit was there, and I know that at the judgment seat, I can stand before God having done all I can for her. The ball is now in her court. I am not sure if I have ever felt the Spirit more strongly on my mission; it's just that she is afraid to take the step away from the familiar into the waters of baptism.

At Zone Conference we also had the pleasure of hearing from Elder Moody, who is the church's missionary doctor for pretty much all of Europe. He had many good things to say, especially pertaining to sleep, excercise, depression, hygiene, and controlling one's emotions. I asked him what he thought about prespective missionaries, and he said that I should tell Dad to make sure that these young men are emotionally stable before they leave on their missions, as there are many pressures in the life of a missionary, and it is not uncommon for there to be emotional breakdowns at the MTC if one is unprepared. I agree.

Jenn is doing great, with one of her investigators, Helene having just commited to baptism on the 2nd of April.

We have a few investigators that are close as well, but I'll have to write more next week.

Much love,
Elder Walker