Wednesday, September 30, 2015

september 28, 2015 letter

Dear family,
Sunday was one of the most spiritual days of my mission. I got the amazing opportunity of confirming A a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Once again, I was a little nervous to go in front of everyone, but this time I was so much more calm and was able to allow the Spirit to work through me and not worry about the words that I was saying. I was able to feel my testimony of blessings and ordinations grow so much. It was such a great blessing to be able to give her such an amazing gift from God, and it's even more amazing to feel the love for those you lay your hands upon as you give them a blessing. Your love grows for them immensely. 

I felt that feeling, probably more than ever before on my mission, as I was able to give J the Aaronic Priesthood and ordain him to the office of a Priest in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I had such a sweet and loving experience as I was able to lay my hands on his head and give him the Priesthood of God and then proceed to give him a blessing as directed by the Spirit. The biggest thing that I felt as I was giving him the blessing was the love that God has for him, and how kind and charitable Jeff's heart was. It's such an interesting experience to give a blessing to someone. It's almost like your mind goes blank, and you try and follow exactly what the Spirit is telling you. The way that I feel the Spirit work through me in a blessing is through sensations in my chest/stomach. I can't explain it, but its then like pictures come into my mind and words follow those things that come into my mind. It's such an amazing experience to have the direct words of God flow from your mouth, to the blessing of your brother, His child. It's in the process of receiving those impressions, if the Lord sees fit, that you feel what He feels for the person under your hand. During and especially after the blessing, I felt an immense and overwhelming love for him. As they talked after, I went into my own state of pondering the monumental moment that had just happened in this man's life. All I could think about was how much I and my Father in Heaven loved him. In my patriarchal blessing, it talks a lot about giving blessings to the sick and afflicted, and lifting the hands of the downtrodden, and I want, from this point in my life and forward, to always remain worthy of being a part of a blessing, and being able to give one at any time. I could never pass up an oppurtunity like that. After he was ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood, I was also able to give his wife a blessing of health and comfort, as she had fallen down the stairs just a few days before. The same thing again happened, and I felt His love for her. At first, I was kind of worried about what I was going to say, and that I was going to repeat the same words that I had said in the blessing before with him, but as I put my trust in God, he blessed me to follow His spirit and give her a blessing meant for her.

We also had an incredible opportunity to teach a members granddaughter. She and her boyfriend. They both don't believe in God. It was amazing to hear and feel the Spirit in the room as we testified of Jesus Christ as the son of God and that God has a plan for us. They cried as they both bore witness of their Savior and His matchless love. I don't think we realize how big of an impact we, as missionaries, have on not only those whom we teach, but also those we associate with as we teach. It's obvious to see the changes in the person that you are directly teaching, because you are looking for them, but as I reflect on the families that have allowed us to teach in their home, they had a "mighty change of heart" as well. We forget how powerful the Spirit is with us, because we sometimes become numb to it, but the investigators, and especially the members can feel the literal tangibleness of the Spirit that enters in the room as we testify and as the members testify. The sister got up to bear her testimony today on Fast Sunday, and she bore a strong witness of just that; that the missionaries can bring the Spirit into your home. She invited everyone to allow us into their home to teach their families and their friends. It was pretty awesome. 

I'm being transferred this week to be a zone leader in a different area, but I don't know where, yet.  It was pretty sad when I was telling people that I was leaving. They were sincerely saddened and didn't want me to go! The common phrase was, "How can we veto this?" Haha it was pretty funny (: But it was really sad when I told a little 7 year old boy that I was leaving and he almost started crying! Haha! He pulled me down and whispered, "Can you at least come over on Monday and say goodbye?"  It was so sad! But I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for me! I know that the Lord will bless us as we follow him faithfully, and I know that the priesthood is true, without a doubt. It is the power of God. 
I love you all!
 Love, Elder Romney (:


I went in an exchange with Elder Walters!! (Spencer and Elder Walters didn't know each other before their missions, but Elder Walters' mother works at BYU with Spencer's Dad..... a fun coincidence!)


The little boy who almost cried when I said I was leaving. I kneeled down to be at his height, but he just kneeled down with me! Haha!

We played a game we call Tron on p-day. It's like all out dodgeball with frisbees. It's awesome!!


Me with a little tiny puppy (:

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