april 25, 2016 letter

Dear Family:

We have been keeping super busy! This has been a really tough week, and could definitely use some prayers. This week we went on some exchanges with the Elders and I stayed in my area. We had so many lessons set up with members coming with us, and not a single one went through, on either of the exchanges! That was super lame, but we were able to go around and tract and find people instead! I think that one of the worst feelings is going to a door with a member, and then the investigator doesn't answer . You take these members out of their busy day, and then it doesn't even go through! But it was still awesome to go on exchanges with the Elders and be able to increase our friendships even more. 

I am working so hard out here, I don't even remember the last time I took a lunch break. We are just working straight through them! Please pray that I will be able to find people who want to make the commitment to be baptized and that I will know how to help them reach that goal. 

I love you all!

Love, Elder Romney

spencer singing

Elder Bromley and Elder Romney enjoy singing together and they are so good at it!

Click play it will come up!

I Believe in Christ

I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go

I Hope They Call Me on a Mission

april 18, 2016 letter

Dear Family:

It was another really good week. I got the awesome oppurtunity to go back to Newberg and be a witness in a baptism of the man Elder Bromley and I put on date a few weeks before I left. Hie has overcome so many things in his life, including a stroke that paralyzed him on the left side. He was a trooper and has made a 180 degree change in his life in the last 2 months. He was someone you might have walked by on the street and never thought he would be a part of the church, but he has changed so dramastically (I guess that's a mashup of dramatically and drastically --sandy romney), you can see it in his countenance. He told me about how much he was loving the Book of Mormon and how much he was receiving revelation from God. I will send you some pictures of him, Elder Bromley and his companion Elder Winder (who came out with me, but goes home a transfer after me), and I. Elder Bromley and I sang I am a Child of God at the end of the meeting. There is nothing that I love more than being able to be part of such a crucial and important part of someones life. They usually wait to do the confirmation on the next day, but he was confirmed on the same day he was baptized, because of Stake Conference. 

Our zone had ZTM this week and it was really good. Elder Anzures and I trained on planning for lessons with our progressing investigators, and the STL's trained on how to help our investigators come to church. We have such a small zone, so it is definitely different from the other meetings that had I had been a part of the past 5 months. Our zone also had a baptism the same day, so I wasn't able to go, but it was of an 11 year old boy, and his parents are getting baptized in May when they get married. It was awesome because Elder Anzures and I found and taught the young boy's uncles who were later baptized and helped this young man come into the church. 

Our investigators are doing well, we had some pretty direct and stern lessons with some of our investigators, one of whom said that he was 110% committed to Jesus Christ, but he said he didn't want to come to church. I quoted him the scripture in the bible that says "if ye love me, keep my commandments," and told him that "commandments are commandments, not suggestions", and he told us that he would come to church this upcoming Sunday, but I guess we will see what happens!  

We are also working with a father and son. They are awesome and Elder Perryman taught them before he left Woodburn. They would be an awesome family to be a part of the church, and I hope they make the decision to be baptized! 

I love you all!

Love, Elder Romney

Spencer is on the very far right in the white shirt.

At the baptism with Elders Bromley & Romney

In the car with Elder Anzures

Crossing a river in the car on a ferry

At the baptism with Elders Winder, Bromley & Romney

april 11, 2016 letter

Dear Family:

It was another crazy week!. We had MLC last Wednesday and it was awesome, as always. I was thankful to be able to sit back and relax and just soak in the Spirit! haha Previously, I had to always be attentive and alert to things that go wrong so we were able to fix them, but this time I could listen for personal promptings. We talked about standing in holy places, and we talked about being grateful. I loved the training on being grateful and the power that comes from being grateful for the things that you've been given, especially from your Heavenly Father. Sister Samuelian challenged us to make our prayers more about being thankful, rather  than just asking for things. I had noticed that many times my prayers were predominantly asking for blessings, and not enough for giving thanks. I would often times say, "please bless this family to be able to do this", instead of "thank you Heavenly Father for giving me such an amazing opportunity to teach a family that will allow me to come into their home and be willing to act on this message." It has seemed to even liven up my spirit and I've been able to see great and small miracles from changing my prayers. I know that He hears me and I know it fills His heart to know that we are grateful for Him.

The best thing that happened to me this week was teaching this family. Ever since I left Woodburn last year, I prayed for an opportunity to come back and teach the entire family. They are one of the families that I have become the closest to. From speaking with previous missionaries, it sounded like they had become a little bit shut off from listening to the gospel, so when I went over to the house yesterday, it was probably one of the most nerve wracking lessons I have taught on in my mission, probably because I knew how important the lesson was, and I just love the family so much. We taught from Matthew 16:19 about the sealing power that was given to Peter. We testified that they could be sealed together as a family in the temple by the same keys that were given to Peter. We set up a lesson with them on Tuesday, so we will see how it goes. 

It has been an awesome week, and I can't wait to see what this week holds in store!

Love, Elder Romney (:

It was fun to see old missionary friends again!

The former Sister Hedges (who was in the Mexico MTC with me) and her new boyfriend, the former Elder Clem, who is from this mission and was a zone leader when I was!

MLC

april 4, 2016 letter

Dear Family:

I loved this week specifically for General Conference. There is almost no greater blessing than to hear the testimonies and the guidance from prophets and apostles who commune with God. It makes me sad, that even many members decide not to watch some of the sessions of conference. I think it shows a real part of conversion when you realize that a literal Prophet of God has prepared to speak to the world. 

My favorite message of all of the conferences was probably the first talk in the  Priesthood Session. It really spoke to me and made me have a greater desire to hold the power of the Priesthood rightousely. I turned to one of the Elders that was sitting next to me and said that, that was one of the best talks I had ever heard. There were so many other good talks. I loved Jeffrey R Hollands, the one who talked about the refugees, Mervyn B Arnold, and Deiter F Uchtdorf in the Priesthood session. It was one of the best Priesthood sessions I have been to,
even though it ended sooner than we had expected. I was grateful to have spent conference with the Pisters. They are awesome and I am grateful how loving and giving they are, and they truly have become eternal friends. 

We had an amazing lesson with one of our investigators. We taught him the restoration and he told us that it all just made sense to him. We invited him to be baptized on the 24th of April. He said he would pray about it, but that it was going to be hard to leave his past behind. He really is an amazing guy. 

I also got in contact with the another family. They are a family that I had taught at the very beginning of my mission and they would such a great family in the church, and contribute a lot, if they would join. And a sister from one of the families that I had taught with Elder Carbajal, found out that I was back in town and called one of the members in our branch and told her that she wanted us to come back and teach them again. Both of these families were so close to being baptized, but then various things got in the way. I truly feel thatI have come back to help baptize them and help them find the door to the blessing of eternal families. That is my greatest desire while being here in Woodburn. 

It was a little tough with some of the people that we had met this last week, who don't seem to be as interested as we thought. We are really working to find new people, so keep us in your prayers!! 

Love, Elder Romney

The Capitol Building for P day