january 5, 2015 letter

Well another good week here in oregon! this week was pretty good because we were able to find a couple new potential investigators that we think could get baptized sometime here pretty soon! we are still pushing hard with some families but have decided to take a look at all of the families that we are teaching and start dropping some people that aren't ready to hear the gospel. its tough, but its really whats best for them and for us. when we drop them it gives them some time to think about everything and it also gives them time to miss the spirit that we were able to bring with us. we even have some investigators that have told us that they know this church is true and that they love the teachings of the church, just don't want to join because they want to stay catholic because there parents or family or whoever is catholic.  i've come to find that there are kind of like two extremes in the world of religion. there are churches that just teach that all is well and that you don't have to do anything and that you will be saved if you accept Christ in your heart. and then you have the other extreme which says that you cant donate blood to a loved one or that if you even go to another church you'll be excommunicated from theirs. the first one is a religion that everybody wants where God is somebody who just lets you get by with everything and you don't have to do anything, and the second is a church that converts on fear and obligation and works alone. its kind of crazy because over my course of time teaching people a very common concept is the one given by Paul that it is by grace that we are saved and not by works. up to this point i would usually just pull out the scripture in mathew 7:21 that says that there are certain things that we have to do in life. so for the most part i kind of just pushed away what paul said and almost tried to prove paul wrong in a way. but it was super cool because the other night i read a talk called "Salvation, by Grace or by Works". it was really one of the best talks that i've read and it talked about how grace and works, work together. it really was able to expand my mind and help me understand what i'm doing out here and help me gain a greater grasp on the atonement of Christ. each day i seem to be learning something a little bit more about his atonement. i love what joseph smith says when he said "that the atonement is the central part of our gospel and that everything else is just and appendage of it." and its so true. since i've come out on my mission its like the atonement has taken a whole look for me! i have been able to see it in ways that i never was able to and i love that. it truly is one of the greatest things we can utilize in this life. you should definitely read that talk, it was super good! 

We were able to contact into a part member family and a family that the mother's sister is a member. they are some of the best families i've ever seen. the one that is a part member family, both the parents are member and all of the little girls aren't, and there are 6 of them! haha and then the other one is a family who has family members in the ward! so we are hoping to help them out and accept the gospel here pretty soon. one of the girls is 18 and had a baptism date but felt like she was getting pressured into it so she backed off, but we went by and talked to her and she said that she wanted to start taking the lessons again soon, so we are excited about that with them! and i don't know if you ever heard about this guy, but he was one of the first houses that i ever knocked, and through our meetings with him it just seemed kind of like he was going on with the lessons and wasn't really progressing, so we were getting ready to drop him and stop teaching him. but it was super cool because this last time that we went over we taught him about the gospel of jesus christ again and it just seemed like everything was clicking for him. it was one of the more spiritual lessons that i've been able to have out on my mission. we also just yesterday were able to sit down and talk to his brother as well and he said that he wanted to start listening to the lessons as well and that he wanted to take us out to eat! so hopefully we are able to help them both and realize the importance of families in there lives! we also were able to teach a really drunk guy which was probably the funniest thing in the world. he came up to our car so i rolled down my window and he just started ripping on us and could barely stand. by the time he was done talking to us his head was like in the car. i don't know why i found it so funny, maybe because he really had no idea what was happening, but it made my day(: 

oh and speaking of drunk people, the last time that i got my haircut this guy ran into the barber shop, on drugs, and started chanting like voodoo at us or something. haha i looked at the barber and was like, "did you know him?", and he was like "nope!" so i just shrugged my shoulders and he went on cutting my hair. and this barber that was cutting my hair is the first hispanic that i've ever seen with dreds. haha its the coolest thing in the world! looks a little funny, but its sweet!

i was able to read all the letters that you guys sent me this last week and it was the best thing. i love getting hand written letters. it just struck me as i was sitting there how manly amazing people i have that know and love me! i can't thank you guys enough for all of the prayers that i have received and all of the help that i've received throughout my life. i couldn't be happier to have you guys in my life. whether it was with school or with sports or with my mission i've always had the best support(: thank you guys for all you do i really appreciate it!!!

 i love you!

Love, Elder Romney (:

The people that we go and help each week

The party at the home of the people who's extended family wouldn't come because these people are LDS

One of the little kids at the party

A sugar cane from a drink she made.  It was the best thing ever.  You would just take it and chew on it and suck the juice out of it.  It was the best!

This is the family that the parents are mad that they are LDS.

Mom's sweet tie

me kicking trash at this awesome game! haha i was the second persond to actually complete the game that they have ever seen and i did it on my first try!! im the yellow ones(:

the missing piece of the puzzle that the pisters lost and couldnt find forever and said that whoever found it would be there favorite person ever and they would hang up a picture of them (:

this was at a different ward party. this baby, sorry its blurry. but this baby is probably one of the cutest babies in the world (:

this is our district (:

this awesome poster from walmart that a member hung up in her house!

some of the people in my district at our ward party!

 this is the one that got me those shoes (:

december 29, 2014 letter

Dear Family:
This week was super awesome. It was really one of the most busiest times that i have had on my mission. It just seems like i was running around like crazy all week. And holy cow it was crazy to finish my first 6 months. Before you know it I'll be home and be playing ball. Wow thats pretty scary. I definitely don't want to come back to the real world yet and i dont want to play football yet because i would get smashed with how weak i am right now! But i know that the Lord will bless me for being out here and doing his work!

It was such a cool experience to be away from home during the christmas holiday. Yeah i missed everyone back at home, but it was so nice to be out here and be focused on the Lord. One way that elder perryman and i always think of it is a Father and sons outing for two years. We are just out here with our heavenly father for two years having so much fun helping bring back his children(:

Really one of the most amazing things happened this week. There is a recent convert family that we have been helping out for a long time. I have been working with them since the day i got here. At first they seemed to be against some things and not really wanting to do some things and the dad didnt want the priesthood because he cant read and didnt feel worthy of it. So they had to postpone the baptism of their son for a while. It was so heart breaking. But just a little while ago they had this huge change of heart and we were able to give him the priesthood and its like they made a 180. Now hes getting ready to baptize his son and he is going to everything and is even memorizing the prayer to bless the sacrament! It was one of the craziest things I've seen. It's like hes a new person now(:   On the 24th it is a huge hispanic holiday so we went around all day just eating food with people and talking with them and the last person we had on our list was this family. We get there with all the other missionaries and president pister and his family, and when we got there, there was absolutely no one there and they were just cooking food. I could tell that the mom had been crying for a while and the family just seemed super sad. We didn't say anything but just went and tried to liven up the party and help them feel loved and that they had friends(: it was super weird because we were expecting to see so many people there because they have such a huge extended family. But come to find out just yesterday that none of their family decided to come because they had to decided to be join the church and be LDS. Their family is super rooted in their catholic beliefs and it just seems to be hard for the both of them. But it was so cool to see the mom and dad stand up for what they believe. They are some of the nicest people in the world and i love them to death. It's amazing to see how truly converted they have become (:

Also this week we went to go see another family. They are about a 30 minute drive away so we are only able to see them once a week. They come from some serious poverty and it just breaks my heart to see them. The mom just loves her kids to death and is taking care of them by herself and her kids don't ever treat her well. She literally works day and night with almost no sleep to help her kids. The member that we are taking with us is the same way and just loves her kids and works all by herself 24/7 to put food on the table. But the family is really coming around and they are showing some true desire to be baptized, her only problem is that she just thinks any church is good, It'll just take a little time to let her connect the dots that we have laid out for her. We are excited for them and the son who is 16 said he wants to come out and play basketball with us on Wednesday with all the youth, so we talked to all them and we are going to have a huge lesson with all of them on Wednesday so that will be super good(:

Well nothing too crazy happened this week, just a lot of parties and a lot of talking to people!! i love you all and miss you so much!

Love, Elder Romney (:

december 23, 2014 letter

Sorry this letter is going to be a little short, because we dont have a bunch of time and because i will be able to see you on thrusday which will be ten times better!!! This week was literally just full of singing. haha We have something called our Christmas Concert where all of the missionaries get together and they sing for members and investigators in the chapel on one day. I was on the traveling  choir so I got to go to the other zone conference in Lebenon which was super fun! All of the people in the traveling choir packed into a huge white van and drove the hour or so to get there. Since it wasnt our conference we didnt have to stay there when president started talking for the conference, so we were able to go out to people and carole to them and invite them to go to the concert. I was with 3 other male missionaries that spoke spanish, so we took our little spanish hymn books and knocked door to door and sang to them. It's funny because normally when you knock a door they are just rude to you and shut the door on you, but we wouldnt give them the opportunity to say anything to us and just sing to them instead. They actually were really appreciative of it and loved it and we didnt get any doors slapped in our face the whole time (: and then later that day we were able to sing to all of the members and investigators that came. It was a huge event with probably around 500 or so people at it! And then a couple days later on Sunday, Elder Perryman and I and Pres. Pister and his son sang a song in church which turned out to be really fun(: We sang the first noel and they designated me to sing the high tenor part in the chorus and I was like pooping my pants I was so scared to try and hit that high note, but luckily when it came to game time it worked out just fine(: And then just yesterday we had to go up to Forest Grove, which is an hour away and is a crazy drive up there and we had to drive ourselves. I've literally never seen roads like this. They're all up and down and left and right so half the time you're having to slam on your breaks because you don't even know what is ahead of you! We drove up there and we did another conference up there and it was super fun(: We had to do some skits as zones and my zone did one where we did renditions of songs but put to words that missionaries would say it, like contacting  situations on the streets, It was pretty funny. Elder Perryman and I had to do a newsies songs and then sing a pitbull song while we danced.. that was probably one of the most embarrassing things... haha but it was way fun and then a guy in our zone rapped at the end and we all jumped out and through a bunch of candy canes at everyone while some girl in our zone who can break dance did this awesome handstand pose thing at the end! Anyway, much of this week has been crazy driving everywhere! I had to drive home from the conference and that was pretty nerve racking because the fog gets so thick out there you can only see a couple feet ahead of you and we were going on crazy windy roads, so we made sure and said a prayer and everything turned out fine and we got home safe (:

The other day right after church one of the sisters investigators came up to Elder Perryman and was like, umm.. can i talk to you guys for a little bit and we were like sure! and then he started asking us some pretty deep doctorine about like kolob and how mary got pregnant and stuff like that and so we pretty much answered as best as we could but told him that he wouldnt be able to have a testimony about any of it without praying. so we ended up talking to him and he told us he didnt like the church and this and that, so we took him over and sat him down and was like, is there something else that is going on right now? and long story short, we spent 3 hours in the chapel talking about his past and how he has resentment for churches because of his experience in the catholic church as a baby and seeing exorcisms and things like that and how he hadnt eaten or slept in 3 days. it was crazy to hear all of the things that were on his shoulders and just give him an opportunity to vent and let the spirit take over in his life and replace the bad with the good. He is such an amazing guy and i love him to death. I cant wait to see what the future holds for him.

Now everyday we get the chance to go and help a lady in our ward at 2:30. She is a tiny old little lady and her son got in a car accident when he was 20 a few years back and split his head open and had to have brain surgery and is now a complete vegetable and isnt able to do things on his own, so she has been taking care of him night and day since the accident, and just moved to a new house and the way the room is set up she isnt able to work the device to pick up her son and put him in the wheel chair. So she called us last week and asked if we could help and we told her that we would love to. It must be so so hard for him because he can understand everything that is going on and can communicate with blinks and grunts and stuff. It just makes me feel so bad for him because he is trapped in his body and there is nothing to do. Its just like he is paralyzed. But interestingly enough the doctor said that there is a possibility that he could walk again and that it would just take time. I've never seen such a little lady with so much faith. She always tells us, i know he is going to be healed, i know he is going to be healed. I hope and pray that the lord will one day heal him, but i know that He has a plan and its perfect whatever it may be. And she has an amazing testimony as do we, of the after life and that his body will be completely perfect and restored (:

I can't wait to hear from you on thursday!!! I love you all,and make sure you've got some good stories and your spanish A game on (;

 love you, love, 

Elder Romney (:

A carful of travelling missionary singers

At the Christmas conference

Spencer and Elder Perryman doing their skit at the conference

december 15, 2014 letter

Dear family,

This week was a pretty good one! it really just feels like the christmas spirit is just coming out of everyone(: 

Literally one of the nicest things that have ever happened on my mission happened on Sunday. I had to pass the sacrament that day and as I was doing it I looked over the aisle and saw that one of the investigators of the sisters was sitting by himself. So right after it was over, I picked up all of my stuff and went over and sat by him. Now you have to know this guys. He is literally one of the sweetest guys in the world and is so shy. he is super selfconscious about his weight and so he doesnt ever really want you to talk to him, so he doenst really have many friends in the ward to be with. I decided I would go sit with him and try and spark up a little conversation with him to try and make him feel better. I went over there and asked him if I could sit by him and you could just see the light on his face because someone wanted to sit next to him(: I just talked to him for a little bit, but I wanted him to be able to listen to the talks, so i kept it really short. I was so tired that day, and I was literally trying so hard to stay awake, so I finally crossed my right leg over my left to try to try and make it tingle so it would keep me awake! haha As I was doing that he saw that I had a hole in my shoe ( they are some really cheap dressier shoes that i bought for 15 dollars and only wear on Sundays with my suit, so i wasnt really that sad). It was really hard to understand him in the meeting house and it kind of mumbled his Spanish, but I finally got what he was saying and he said, "do you want some new shoes?" and i told him, haha no im good, (: and he was like, "no, really im going to get you new shoes". He doesnt have a lot of money and so I kept telling him no, like really, im okay. but he insisted on giving me new shoes! So literally that night he calls me at 8 at night as was like "where are you, can you meet me at the chapel"? and i was like of course, thinking that he just was having a hard time and need someone to talk to. so when we got there his old beat up white van pulls up and he gets out and is like, holding a box in his hands, "i hope you like these shoes...". it was literally one of the sweetest things on my entire mission and i wanted to start bawling! he told me about how thankful he was that i would come and sit by him and be his friend and that he would do anything for me if i ever needed it. He is one of the nicest people in the entire world and I would do anything for him. I want to take a picture with him today at fhe and I will send it to you(: He looks kind of like a rugged guy, but he is one of the sweetest people in the world.

The other super awesome story that happened this week was when we went to an investigators of the sisters house for dinner. Her name is alejandra and is so so sweeet too. Any time that we dont have dinner she always calls us and makes sure that we are fed and is just a sweetheart. We went over there and right now she is trying to quit smoking so she can be baptized here pretty soon and this was her first day being completely off of it and she said that she was having a really really hard time, so we taught her about blessings and offered to give her one and she accepted! I have come to love blessings so so much. There is no way that you can describe the peace and wonderful feelings they bring. We promised her that if she read and prayed everyday then she would be able to overcome her challenges of smoking. I'll have to get a picture with her as well and send it to you(:

Today when we were at walmart shopping, some random white lady came and walked behind me and put her hand on my shoulder and was like, hold on just a sec. and she bent over and was trying to rip off a string of my jacket. haha i just stood there pretty much in shock! haha so yeah, i got my bum touched but some completely random stranger today too, so that was interesting!

We were also able to go to a baby shower this week of some random people that we helped do service for, and found a family of eleven people that want to hear about the gospel, so i am hoping for good things from that(:

I love you guys so much and I cant wait to see you at Christmas (:

Love,

Elder Romney

This is a picture of a guy who was shot when he was 17 and is partially paralized! I love him so much and his conversion story!! And that is his mom who takes care of him (:

Outside of one of our investigators houses with an elf (:

This is when we were practicing for doing the skit today! its Perryman and me and Elder Anzures, who i love to death. I hope he is my companion one day!!

december 8, 2014 letter

Well this week was a pretty good and interesting week! As you know we have been working with a family (of 8 people) for quite a while, about 3 months now, and they just weren't seeming to progress at all. so elder Perryman and i decided that we were going to go there and just tell her that we had to stop coming by because she wasn't keeping any of her commitments and we couldn't keeping driving forever away to get to her house. So the whole day we were thinking about how we were going to do this and how it was going to be so hard because we really do love the family so much and love the kids to death. We made it into her house and caught her before she could leave and sat down and talked to her for a while. We talked to her about how we couldn't keep coming by if she wasn't going to keep her commitments and that it was really important what we were doing and that we couldn't just keep doing this over and over again. Through all of the talking with her and trying to drop her, she eventually broke down and started telling us all about her past life and how hard things are right now and how she says that she wants the gospel but doesn't know if she can do it. We told her that we would be there step by step if she just promised to keep her promises and read and pray every night. She told us that she would. We also offered to give her a blessing and to her children, too, and she cheerfully accepted as we explained what it was. It really was such a beautiful blessing to be able to see that huge change in her, we went from about dropping teaching her, to giving her and all of her kids blessings of comfort and peace. That was such a tender moment when we did that for her. We couldn't do it in the house because the grandma wouldn't let them, so we ended up finding an old beat up chair outside and put it on there porch in the pitch black. We were all freezing and just kind of huddled around trying to keep warm in the 30 degree weather. i was given the opportunity to give a blessing to 5 of the 6 children as we asked them who they wanted to give the blessing. Each one that I gave to them was completely different and you could feel their spirit in each one. It was amazing to see the blessings that were promised by the Lord as I acted as a proxy and mouthpiece for Him. During the blessing for one of the youngest ones who was 5, we had promised him that if he stayed faithful and was baptized into the church, he would one day be a leader in the church and help change lives. I cant wait to see what happens with him in the future. The majority of the kids are boys and almost all of them have expressed how they want to be baptized and how they want to eventually serve missions like us. So in all reality their future now just hangs in the balance if there parents will follow them and be there support them because we aren't allowed to baptize them if they aren't old enough to drive themselves or if they don't have somebody who will be able to help them and guide them as they grow up, namely their parents. So it all hinges on whether she can commit to keeping her promises and be baptized eventually, because that would be 5 missionaries that would get sent out to help change others lives as well. Please keep them in your prayers and that this change of heart will be able to continue and that eventually they will be able to make that covenent with the lord and all be sealed in the temple. I really do love those kids and there futures are so bright.

Well, so i have a kind of crazy story... haha so the other day on Sunday, we went up to Mcminville for a baptism and we were going on this super super crazy and windy hilly road. like nothing you've ever seen before. I would literally close my eyes and I felt like I was on a roller coaster because we were going so fast and turning so sharp! The whole entire road is lined with trees and it was pitch black, so you couldn't see what was in front of you while you were turning until you were already there. I was sitting in the back and we had a member driving us because it was out of our area and I was thinking the whole time,"welp, if I die, I lived a pretty good life and I'll go to heaven because I'm a missonary!"  and literally as i was thinking that, jorge (the guy driving) slammed on his brakes and we go flying forward sliding of the road because there was a deer that jumped out right in front of us. I think its leg nicked the front left side of the car, but not to much damage was done to the car. We were able to get back on the road and eventually make it there safely! haha that was one of those moments where your heart just stops and all the adrenaline rushes form your face to your legs. haha, it was pretty scary, but I'm glad to know that I'm a missionary and that there is an afterlife in case things didn't turn out as miraculous as they did! i definitley know the lords hand played a part in this and that all the prayers from back at home kept me safe and made sure i didn't have antlers through my head (;

The weather here is really quite depressing. the place is beautiful, but the weather is awful. It just rains all the time and averages about 36 degrees. But no worries I'm hanging in there and my face just goes numb after a while (: but things are going well and we are still working with a bunch of families right now!

i love you guys so much!!! Love Elder Romney (:

"This was our little Christmas party that we had this past Saturday.  Santa and I were best friends (: "

With a couple of missionaries from Newberg

"These were our family pictures.  Elder Ashcraft trained all of us."

december 1, 2014 letter

Well this week was pretty fun because I was able to give a talk in sacrament meeting! it was pretty funny, just about 5 minutes before the sacrament meeting, our president came up to me and was like, well looks like you have to give a talk and you have to pass the sacrament. haha so I literally had no time to prepare anything for my talk at all, and i was the first speaker. so i was a little nervous to get up there, especially in front of everyone where they would be able to criticize my Spanish! but it was so nice, because once I got up there right after the sacrament was over, i just felt like an overwhelming peace and like i knew exactly what i was going to say and do. i opened up into 1 nephi where it talks about when lehi partakes of the fruit and how he wants to share it with his family. and i explained that that is exactly why i was here, and in fact why they were there too. its because they had tasted the fruit of the lord and now they just need to go out there and share it with others, such as there family. i then opened up to doctrine and covenents 15 or 14... don't remember, but it talks about how the most important thing that we can do in this life is to share the gospel with others. more than work or school or anything like that, it was to share the gospel and let the world know from what church they belong. i loved being able to give the talk because i could feel the spirit working through me and giving me the gift of tongues. i can speak pretty well in spanish, but it felt so much smoother this time and like i was speaking in a native tongue! 

We were looking through our closet the other day and found a bunch of old progress records sitting on the shelf and we decided to pick it up and start looking at them. it turns out that there were some people who had some dates and that they were never baptized, so we decided to go and look up those addresses. we went and tried to find this house, but literally for the life of us, we couldnt find it. it was like it was gone. so there was one house that was the closest to it but it didn't have a number, so we just decided to knock on it anyway to try and find out who lived there and if it was them! we knock on the door and we were like, so is this the lopez family? and they were like uh.... no, but come in! turns out after talking to the guy for a little while that he had grown up around mormons and that he loved the religion a lot! so we are going to be able to start talking to him and he is soo ready for baptism! ahh I'm so excited for him!

oh and today when we went to choir practice sister samulien was like, okay now who is going to sing a solo, and elder perryman started pointing at me and was like he is! he is going to do it! hahaha i was like there is no way that i am going to sing in front of 300 people alone... haha they kept trying to get me to sing, but i kept telling them that i wadn't going to. so needless to say, i chickened out pretty bad on that one. but after the thing two of the hermanas were like, so  can you actually sing or was elder perryman just making fun of you? and i was like no, i definitely can not sing. but they made me sing like 1 verse of the song and long story short sister samulien found out about it and she made me join and octet! haha so now i still am singing in front of everyone, i just dont have to do it alone (: haha i was never good at singing back at home, but maybe i just hit puberty or something and my voice came in enough to hit a few notes (;

sorry this letter is so short, i really have hardly any time because we had so much to do!

but i love you so much!!!! love Elder Romney (:

novermber 24, 2014 letter

Well another week here in Oregon and it is just getting as cold as ever!! haha but while I've been out here I've found that i am really good at being cheap with money. i think in reality my mission is just getting me ready to live on my own in college and be super super cheap with my wife when we first get married and don't have any money! i can spend about 7 dollars a week and be just fine, so that is an up, but the down is that oatmeal is now flavorless and not very good! I don't know why I'm saving money, i just feel the urge to! haha I've got like 130 dollars on my mission fund card and will be getting another 120 in a week! but I guess i just feel some sort of gratification in saving money (:

So remember how i told you last time that we have started to love getting into the deep doctrine and getting as much knowledge about the church as we can, well we just went to the church library and got 4 encyclopedias on the church and it has been one of the best things ever! there is literally every possible word and thing you can talk about the Mormon church in there and its all approved by Jeffrey R Holland(: I love being able to learn and understand more things every day and also learn those things in Spanish too!

Well this week we were driving by and there was a guy on the side of the road just walking, so we decided to stop and roll down our window to talk to him! We stopped by and told him who we were and why we were here and what we were doing and everything, and he was just like, I've been waiting for this for so long. He said he had a friend that was a member of the church and that he just wanted to learn more about the church and he had no idea how to! So we ended up getting out and talking to him. It was interesting, because as I was talking to him, things were just clicking in my head and everything was just running so smoothly with him and it seemed like we had been long lost best friends! I firmly believe that he is one of the people i was really good friends with in the pre earth life and he is one of the reasons I was sent here. we gave him a Book of Mormon and let him go on his way. Turns out he shows up to church next week and we were so happy for him! I'm kind of sad that elder Perryman and I wont be the ones to get to teach him and bring him to the waters of baptism, because he is in the sister's area and not ours, but it makes me so happy to see what a little thing like stopping and talking to someone! It's awesome to see how everything works together and to know that Heavenly Father has a perfect plan for us and that he will always put the right people in the right place at the right time, We just have to make sure that we listen to the still small voice.

So we went to the park to play some basketball with some kids and teach them a lesson. We got there and we had to run to the restrooms to change our clothes into street clothes. so we were in the stalls and i had just gotten out and I hear elder Perryman in the other stall like groaning. haha I felt so bad for him, I was just like, well, that Spanish food got to him, but I hear him right after say, "Elder Romney, I need you to come in here." I was like, "we may be companions, but there is no way i am going in there!!"! hahahaha but he said, "No i cant move!" haha It turns out he wasn't using the bathroom or anything, some muscle in his back froze and he couldn't move at all. haha So he made me go in there and put on his shoes and pants. If that doesn't show that I love my companion, I don't know what will! But it turns out he just had a strained muscle for a little bit and all is good. I was slightly hoping that he would have to go to the hospital or something, because that is the only justified reason for putting on another mans pants and shoes! (;

well I'm pretty excited about two things that are coming up here pretty soon! We have the turkey bowl on Thursday and I can't wait for it! I don't think I've been this excited for football in my life. I haven't played it for almost a year since i got my surgery! but one of the assistants to the president is apparently a really good football player and he heard that i like to play football to, so he is going to drive all the way here and we are going to go against each other, so i am pretty excited about that (: And I get to be on a traveling choir for the mission! Another buddy of mine in the zone and I get to go sing with a traveling group. But I'm not sure if that is going to fall through or not with all the bad weather that is coming in, but i guess we will see about that(: 

All of my investigators are doing super good and I love to see all of the changes in there lives and how much closer they are to Christ. I honestly would do that over playing in front of 3 thousand people every Friday night. I love it.

Well, I love you guys and I can't wait to hear all about Thanksgiving from everyone! love you!! 

love,

 Elder Romney (:

On Saturday night we got a call from Brother Pister, (pronounced "Pes-ter) who is a man who works with the missionaries in the Woodburn area.  This is the third call we have received from him, telling us that he was just with Spencer, and what they had been doing. He said that Spencer is a great missionary, and is working hard, and that he is doing very well with Spanish, and that everyone loves him there (of course!).  They had been at the church that evening, attending the wedding of investigators who had been married in Mexico, but didn't have their records, so they had to get married again before they could be baptized the following day.  Brother Pister took this picture and sent it to me.  Spencer and his companion will have Thanksgiving at Brother and Sister Pister's house this week.  I asked Spencer if he got a blanket or comforter for his bed yet, and he said that Sister Pister gave them blankets. They are very sweet people who have a missionary out themselves at this time.  I'm so thankful for good and kind people who care for Spencer!