june 29, 2015 letter

Dear Family:

This week seemed like such a long week! But it was really so good.  When I went over to our investigators, we thought that they were going to put off their baptism date for a year to wait till they were financially stable enough for tithing, but when we went over there they were talking to one of their good friends who is LDS, and he was helping answer some questions that they had.  When their conversation ended they said they had talked and they both want to be baptized in September! We were so excited for them! It's a little ways off, but we are hoping that is going to change in a while, through their faith. 

We also had such a good lesson with the new investigator that was Atheist. I haven't met anyone, other than the young man and woman we just baptized who have been more prepared for the gospel. The Book of Mormon that we gave her a couple weeks ago had 20 chapters completely marked up. It was nuts! As we went over the chapters that she read, she had chosen all of the golden chapters and highlighted super super good verses. She said they just spoke to her and she found a lot through the index of the book. It was amazing. We could feel the spirit so strong there and we invited her to be baptized and without hesitation, she said absolutely. She has made so many changes in her life and she says she has never been happier.  We had to put the date back to August 8th, because she can only meet with us once a week, but we try and stay in contact with her every day through emailing videos. We are super excited. The only problem is that she lives out of the mission, so more than likely, we wouldn't be able to baptize her in our ward and we will have to give her to the Portland mission. 

We also went on exchanges with the AP's (assistants to the president) and it was super good. I learned a lot and I learned that just teaching simply and testifying and always being positive about everything can change the zone! I also learned about the power of being positive and how much that can help our missionaries by focusing always on the positive of what they've done and not the negative. 

We also had to buck 150 bails of hay. It was crazy and we got super sweaty. It is getting so hot here and it's getting pretty hard to bear! It's been at least 95, and is super muggy and humid and we sweat within like 2 minutes of going outside. But things are going really well right now and we are trying to find more investigators to teach! 

I love you guys so much! 

Love, Elder Romney (:

Totally at a pumping party!!! Not even... There wasn't a soul in miles for her party... Hahaha

 I thought this strudel looked like a little cat (:

At basketball!

Helping with some cat litter.

june 22, 2015 letter

I'll be honest, i don't even remember this week, it feels like more of a blur, but the biggest highlight of the week was our lesson with one of our investigators. She had some struggles with being able to obey the law of  tithing, but she should be back on track for being baptized on the 28th! we also went on exchanges with council creek and that was a lot of fun. i had to ride a bike all day and i actually enjoy that a whole whole lot more! the car is a blessing and a curse. it just gets me out of shape and hurts my back and you can't contact as many people, but its also such a big blessing to be able to get to lessons so fast. i really wish i was just in a walking or biking area! oh and it's super dry and hot here right now! its unusual for Oregon and all the grass and crops are dying. i here the same thing is going on in Cali. I'm sorry that i don't have too much to write this week i promise i'll make it up next week. and transfers are coming up pretty soon, so i guess we'll see if i get moved or stay here as a zone leader. i'm fine and excited with either (: and i'm at a year this month! i would have to say it feels kind of weird to be out here for a year! it feels like this is my life, but it also feels like i just left the MTC! and i always here the second half of the mission goes by way to fast, so that is super sad! i don't want to go home, but I'm excited to play football again! haha I love you guys so much! 
Love, Elder Romney (:

june 15, 2015 letter

Dear Family:

This week has probably been one of my favorite and most eventful weeks that i've had on my mission!! So sorry if you can't follow all of my thoughts or what I'm trying to say, but I'll word it the best that I can!

Well as you know, we had an awesome stake conference this last week with one of the 70 and I was able to receive a lot of revelation from it of how I want to run my family and a business when I get home and how to base it off of principles of councils. But this last week we were able to be with another 70 and I received even more revelation!! So I'll start out with talking about zone conference. It was so awesome. Elder Johnson of the 70 taught us. We were able to ask him questions and he taught us more about how to better our work as missionaries. There was a lot of revelation received during that meeting, but I don't have time nor space to write about it all, but the one that stuck out to me the most was the phrase "the field is white all ready to harvest." He explained that missionary work has to change. He said that knocking doors, like we've done in the past was good for the Lord, but doesn't suffice any longer and we have to change. He quoted Elder Bednar saying "If we always do what we've always done, we'll always get what we've always gotten." so the question is, are we going to keep up with the hastening of His work? He said we have to change.  The way we work with our wards, the way we think, the way we find new investigators.  The stake conference was geared more towards changing things to work with our wards better, but this Zone Conference was based around finding new investigators. He basically did away with tracking and knocking on homes unless specifically moved on by the spirit to do so on a specific house. And it is so true. We've wasted so much time tracting to find no results. And i said to myself, "but wait, aren't we're just planting seeds in their hearts at least so they will be ready for later missionaries?" and luckily someone voiced that in the crowed and was swiftly rebuked by the 70 and said "The field is white, all ready to harvest. We harvest, we don't plant seeds." He said that the lord will prepare them, we just have to find the ones that are ready and went on to promise that their are hundreds of people that are ready for baptism in the coming weeks, we just have to find them. So how do we find them? Through the members. I had always kind of wondered what the line was between full time missionary's responsibilities and the member missionaries responsibilities are. he explained that the missionaries responsibility is to invite ALL THEY SEE to come unto Christ, and the Members responsibility is to invite ALL OF THEIR ACQUAINTANCES to come unto Christ. And he went on to explain how little any of us knew. He did an exercise where he said (and this is in a little later meeting with all of the leaders in our stake and missionaries) "how many of you know someone that you were almost positive they were so ready for the gospel and they would be baptized and be the next bishop or branch president, but never were baptized?" and about half of the congregation raised their hand. And then he said "how many of you know someone who you never thought in a million years they would accept the gospel, but are now baptized faithful members of the church?" and about 3/4ths of the room raised their hands. And he said "That proves to how much we know..." So this tactic of tracting that we now are implementing within the mission is actually very very simple. We go to their home and basically explain everything we just said to you and tell them to clear their mind and promise that as they listened to our message, a name will come to their mind,  And it doesn't matter who it is, whether its your neighbor who drinks all day everyday, there is a reason they will come to your mind. We then pray and teach them one basic principles and testify of its truth. it takes about 3 minutes to teach and the spirit is so so strong when we are there. We then ask them what names came to their mind and have them write it down, and commit a date with them to come back and teach that person in their home. It has worked so well the past day that we have had to implement it. We have received over 10 names!! So this is our new way of finding. and the biggest part is that we bring the spirit with us to the lessons, especially when teaching the first lesson with that new person because we have to give them the opportunity to hear the voice of the lord and if we come and we don't have the spirit, they can't hear the voice of the lord, and that will be on our heads. and if we come in strong with the spirit and they don't act on our message in the first lesson or two, we have to drop them and move on to new ones. We are super excited about it!! The lords work is hastening, and the field truly is white, all ready to harvest!!!

We also had a sweet Spanish conference that I was able to go to. It was the same 70, Elder Johnson, who is actually from chihuahua!  It was after the zone conference and the member meeting, so we were there at that church for 12 hours!  We didn't get done till 10:30 so we had to stay in Woodburn with Elder Perryman and Joly and Carbajal! haha so there was a total of 8 of us in one apt, so we were just spread out all over the floor. It was awesome and I'll send a photo! 

After sleeping at the elders home we went to MLC with the 70 again and he explained the tree of life story over again in a whole new light. Study it again and look at the 3 different groups of the people and what happened with each one and why they got where they were. 

At the beginning of the week we taught an investigator a non smoking lesson and she stopped smoking! It was so sweet. She has been clean for close to a week now (: Oh and we found an awesome new investigator. She was atheist just a few weeks ago and said that her life just changed and she can't deny the feelings she gets when she comes to our church and read the book of Mormon and we asked her to be baptized and she said she would be!! So we will set a date with her this next week on Sunday so don't forget to ask about her (: She is dating a member who is less active right now. 

After MLC president Samuelian pulled me aside and said, "don't forget your Spanish, because you're still going to need it. We can't keep your skills out of a Spanish area, you will need to go back soon." So that was super awesome, but I'm nervous to go back to Spanish again!! haha but I guess we'll see if I get transferred sometime soon! That would also mean I'd probably not be a zone leader anymore which is actually super normal in this mission to get moved around a lot and get taken out of leader positions and then put back in and then all the sudden you're the assistant and then taken out again! Haha, but I'm ready and willing to do whatever the Lord has in store for me! 

Back to the first part of my lesson, if you aren't actively involved in hastening the work of the lord, get on it and invite all of your acquaintances to listen to the gospel!!! I love you all so much and bear my testimony that this work is being hastened faster than we can imagine and we have to keep up with it and change or we'll always get what we've always gotten. 

Love, Elder Romney (:

This is all of the leadership in our mission! This was at MLC (:

june 8, 2015 letter

Byu Dear Family:
This week was a pretty good week. The biggest highlight of the week was that one of our investigators husband told her that he had some interest in being baptized! Thats crazy, considering about a couple weeks ago he wouldnt even sit down with us in lessons. He is opening up even more each time we teach him. Oohhh and she somehow got into some really deep doctrine and called us the other night wondering if we reallly believed that God was once man. We were a little taken back, not really wanting to explain too deep into the doctrine behind in and we had limited access to deep doctrines like that to explain it more clearly.  We said a lot of prayers and thankfully a lady on facebook explained it out very clearly and simply. I read the thread and it was actually very very impressive. She must have been some mormon scholar and a writer because of the references and the way that she pulled things together and proved her points using the bible and tying it back to the book of mormon and how it all proves that God was once man. It blew my mind. I had already know that doctrine but had never had it spelled out quite like that, which helped increase my testimony of its truthfullness and the real explanation of why Christ came to the earth. I came to more of a testimony that Christ came, not to be adored or anything like that, he just literally wanted to show us the light and the way to become Gods. He is the way and He set the example and we will one day return, if worthy, to be on Gods right hand.

We also had Stake Conference and we went to three different meetings, the leadership meeting, the adult session and the actual stake conference, and it was so good. The member of the seventy that was there, Elder  Call, did a wonderful job and helped my testimony of the importance and usefulness of councils to grow. Councils are one of the most important things we can have within the family and the church, and  conducting them correctly and having the spirit are equally important.   Now im reading "Counciling with Your Councils" by one of the apostles.

This week was a good testimony builder for me and i loved it!
Love, Elder Romney (:

This Last picture is in a meeting with some of the elders who were saying something stupid or coming up with some excuse, and this was my face to him.... haha His comp took the pic....it was actually pretty fuunny(:

june 1, 2015 letter

Dear family:

Oohh man today was so good! But before I get on into the baptism I'll have to tell of how understanding math is bringing people to Christ (; haha 

The other day, our investigator called us and told us that her sun was failing his algebra class and couldn't fail his next class or he would have to do another year.  She called us and asked if we could come and teach him how to do his algebra homework because they couldn't get a tutor in time. That's huge for us because just a couple weeks ago he didn't want a single thing to do with the Mormons, but we have started to just open up to him and he has really warmed up to us. I'll have to say, I was pretty nervous about whether or not I would remember how to do that kind of algebra because I hadn't done it in a long time. I got there and he showed me the first problem and I was like crap... I can't remember how to do this. So I got the impression to ask him if he wanted to say a prayer and he kindly declined. And so I said in my head, "okay lord, I've done what you've asked me to do and I sincerely want to help. please bring to my remembrance how to do these things." And it was like a miracle.  As I said that prayer that everything just seemed to click again. It was a real testimony builder that the Holy Ghost can bring to remembrance all things! But it was pretty cool that through learning math I've been able to help others come to Christ! 

The baptism this week was amazing. We had over 100 people there. Even President Samuelian came!! The spirit was so strong and I kid you not that half of the room there was crying. Yes, even me. Haha but it was so good and the spirit you could feel was undeniable. It was golden. I received the impression while sitting there that those two kids will bring more people to this gospel than I could ever imagine. We are hoping that the parents will come around soon as well. 

We have also found a bunch of new people that want to listen to the lessons, so that is a huge blessing! The missionary work is going amazing and I love it out here. 

Love, Elder Romney.

Pictures from the senior missionary couple:

"Our Zone leaders came to our District Meeting today. Here are a few pictures of Elder Romney. He is doing awesome.  It is a pleasure to serve with him."