This week! This week was something else. I guess to start off, Elder McLeod and I are still getting along great. We make a good team, in teaching and in running the branch. I was sustainted as branch clerk on Sunday, and it will take some getting used to not getting home from church until about 3:00-3:30 but it has been really sweet. We had planned to take P-day on Tuesday like I said in last weeks email, but we ended up having a whole heap of things to get done (which isn't all too terrible) but today is verrry nice :) Did my laundry this morning, we washed the truck, it was nice. The people in our apartment are so nice!! We already know just about everyone there, at least the stay at home mom's and the retired couples. There is Auntie B and Uncle P, they are a retired couple from England, very funny and nice, there is Uncle W and Auntie S who are married and have 3 girls, A, who actually went to high school with Elder McLeod (and we are currently teaching her), S and M who are SO cool. M is 11 and had a little guitar, one night I was sitting on the tail gate playing a tune and I see his head poke out of his apartment... couple minutes later he comes out and we start talking and he says he wants to learn how to play. So I'm teaching him how to play guitar. It's nice to come home and havce neighbors to chit chat and shoot the breeze with before we go inside. Very cool.
Also in excellent news, we had a baptism this week! Yeah, not mine and Elder McLeod's baptism, but the sisters had one and they asked if I would baptize him. His name is S, he's 21, and he has the SICKEST story about faith I've heard thus far on my mission. So good it's worth writing the whole thing in this email. So I met S only on Wednesday to interview him for his baptism on thursday, but a little background on him, the sisters found him about 6 months ago, just talking to him on the street and he wanted nothing to do with the church. He wasn't living a good like (in his own words) but didn't want to go to church or anything. About a month later they ran into him again and he started taking the lessons. 5 months later, we are at this point last week, he's ready and dying to be baptized. He knows the gospel is true, he wants to clean up, his testimony is rock solid. His interview was so sweet being able to hear how he got his answer about if the Book of Mormon was true. He said he was really really wanting to know and he prayed after he was done reading part of it and sure enough, he said that he just felt so good and so at peace. He wasn't worried about anything anymore, his questions were answered, he knew it was true. Now tuesday of this last week he went out on the road with J$1800 (about $20 US) in his pocket. He didn't spend it, he didn't lose it, but when he got home it wasn't there anymore. He had no explanation what happened to it, and he was shocked and worried because the baptism had to be in Mandeville which is two taxi rides away, about $800 round trip, and he's got zero money now. Wednesday rolls around and we aren't sure what he's going to do, even if we had it in Junction down in Alligator Pond he couldn't taxi up there and back. We are about to leave and we ask him if he's got any fare yet. He says he doesn't as yet. He says the closing prayer and in his prayer he says "Heavenly Father, I know I'm going to get to my baptism tomorrow. I know I am, please just let me find a way." Talk about faith!!! It gave us all the chills it was so cool. He text the Sisters that night and told them he was going to try and sell a ring in the town Thursday morning, 3 hours before the baptism is supposed to start. Funny thing about this ring- it was his absolute favorite ring, it was made of gold, and he has had it forever... and he was willing to go into town the morning of his baptism and sell it so he could make it to his own baptism. Thursday morning rolls around and we've been praying like crazy hoping he's been able to sell his ring and that he actually went out and tried to sell it. Sure enough, we get a phone call that morning saying that he had sold it and had fare to come up to Mandeville. His baptism was so awesome. It was such an honor for me to be asked and able to do that for him. You could tell and he would tell you how good he felt. He seriously just looked like his smile was gonna go through each of his ears. It made for the sweetest Thursday ever. Sunday I gave him the Holy Ghost, also very cool, and he received the Aaronic Priesthood. Something I will never forget.
Junction is just so great, we are being blessed beyond belief. We are teaching four boys, 19, 17, 16, and 15, all of them and working towards being baptized April 21st. The The 17, 16, and 15 year old are brothers and cousins and are studs. Teachings dudes around your own age is so sweet. They flip when you tell them you're only 19 haha Yep, this week has been pretty much amazing. And this up coming week will be so sweet too! Conference! We are going up to Mandeville for the priesthood session and the sunday sessions because we are having a man in our branch receive the Melchezidek Preisthood and this was the only time we could do it within like 6 months. It's gonna be legit.
The young womens broadcast was pretty nice. We watched it on the computer with the sisters and some branch members at the church. I feel bad for all the times I chose to work rather than listen to conference. My mission has made me reallize how important that stuff is. So make sure you watch it! haha
In other news... I began driving this week... yeah, talk about scary. Right hand driving on the left side of the road with drivers and taxis taht are in in a hurry going no where... I think I gave Elder McLeod a few grey hairs this week. Don't worry, I still drive like a little old Grandma, especially now. Driving stick lefty has been weird getting used to, and will be even weirder adjusting back to when I get home. It's pretty fun though. Also we have about 70 pounds of weights with a straight bar and a little curl handle. Thats been nice, I've been running stairs in the morning, we have 15 of them up to our apartment. Hopfully that will fend off the fat for a little bit. It's crazy how much less I eat though since being in a car. There was 3 days last week where all I ate was crackers and water and one legit meal and I was totally content. We were making shakes in the morning for breakfast until the Magic Bullet died on us... yeah, we were so pumped to have it... and now... its gone :( haha Oh well, just gonna have to con the sisters into giving us their blender :)
I'm gonna send some pics, buckle up for them, this place is the bush! haha I love you!
Elder Romney
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